The Way Of The Dragon Read Online Free PDF Page A

understand.’
    Akiko politely acknowledged his request with a nod of her head and the old man knelt beside them.
    ‘Kunitome-san is a student of the greatest swordsmith to have ever lived, Shizu-san of the Soshu School of Sword-making. Several years ago, Kunitome-san challenged his master to see who could make the finer sword. They both worked at their forges day and night. Eventually Kunitomesan produced a magnificent weapon he called
Juuchi Yosamu
, Ten Thousand Cold Nights. Shizu-san also completed his, which he named
Yawaraka-Te
, Tender Hands. With both swords finished, they agreed to test the results.
    ‘The contest was for each to suspend their blades in a small creek with the cutting edge facing the current. A local monk was asked to preside over the competition. Kunitome-san went first. His sword sliced through everything that flowed its way – dead leaves, a lotus flower, several fish, the very air that blew upon it. Impressed with his protégé’s work, Shizu-san then lowered his sword into the stream and waited patiently.
    ‘It didn’t cut a thing. Not a single leaf was parted; flowers kissed the steel and floated by; fish swam right up to it; the air sang as it gently blew by the blade.’
    ‘So Kunitome-san’s was the better blade,’ interrupted Yamato.
    ‘No! The monk declared Shizu-san the winner. Kunitomesan contested the decision, for his master’s sword had failed to cut anything. The monk then explained. The first sword was by all accounts a fine weapon. However, it was blood-thirsty and evil for it didn’t discriminate as to who or what it cut. “It may just as well be cutting butterflies as severing heads,” the monk had said. Shizu-san’s sword, on the other hand, was by far the finer of the two for it didn’t needlessly cut that which was innocent and undeserving of death. The spirit in his sword demonstrated a benevolent power worthy of a true samurai.
    ‘Because of this, it’s believed that a Kunitome blade, once drawn, must draw blood before it can be returned to its
saya
, even to the point of forcing its wielder to wound himself or commit suicide.’
    Jack glanced down at his healing thumb, then at the
tantō
with his blood still stained upon the steel. Perhaps there was some truth in the old man’s warning.
    ‘Mark my words, that
tantō
is a demon blade. It’s cursed and will breed bloodlust in those who carry it.’
    ‘Old man, are you serving or gossiping?’ demanded a samurai who sat impatiently at a table on the other side of the tea house.
    ‘My apologies,’ replied the proprietor, bowing. ‘I will be with you right now.’
    He got up and retrieved his tray.
    ‘My advice is to lose that
tantō
in the forest you found it in.’
    The proprietor then bowed and left the three of them to ponder his words. They all gazed at the blade, its awakened spirit seeming to draw them in as if they were caught in a whirlpool.
    ‘What did I tell you?’ said Jack excitedly, breaking the spell. ‘It’s fate. We have to go to Shindo. The
tantō
comes from the same village that Orochi mentioned. This must mean the ninja came from around there too.’
    ‘Didn’t you hear anything the man just said?’ asked Yamato, his dark brown eyes wide in disbelief at Jack’s jubilant reaction to the news. ‘That knife is cursed.’
    ‘Surely you don’t believe that?’ dismissed Jack, though he wasn’t quite as certain as his bravado made out.
    ‘Yet you believe in fate; that we should go to Shindo.’
    ‘Yes, but this is different,’ Jack argued, cautiously sheathing the
tantō
and slipping it into the
obi
around his waist. ‘The knife’s superstition. This is a clear sign we must follow our destiny. We must follow the Way of the Dragon – find where the ninja hides. Isn’t that right, Akiko?’
    Akiko was flattening the folds of her ivory-coloured silk kimono and appeared to be thinking very carefully before answering. Jack had used the very words she’d whispered to him after