Six Warriors

Blood Katana g**g - (Jack)

The next day, Jack was with his hosts as they ate breakfast, Jack tried not to eat too much and give the wrong impression, but he was too hungry to care about it, not to mention that Kazumi made delicious things.

"Without a doubt, your appetite is heroic, Jack!" Kazumi joked. Hayato looked uncomfortable.

"Jack, Kazumi told me what you two talked about." Said the man. Jack almost choked.

“Gee! Kazumi, let's take it easy. Are you already asking your father for permission for our relationship? I don't know if I'm prepared, things are going too fast!” Jack thought as he blushed.

"She said you are the envoy of the goddess of heroism, our Queen of the Sun." Hayato continued.

"Do you speak of the goddess Tsuki?"

"Yes, and… look Jack, don't get me wrong, but… you don't have the heroic gestures, my boy."

"What do you mean?"

"Well… don't be offended, but… you're just a little boy and on top of that…"

"Fat? Is that what you mean?"

"Well, I didn't want to talk, but since you know, yes."

"Dad!" scolded Kazumi.

"I have to speak Kazumi!" Hayato spoke loudly for the first time, "Jack, I admire your intentions, but you don't stand a chance against the Blood Katana. And if you dare to make a rebellion against them, our village is the one who can pay… so, give up this crazy idea of facing them, please!"

"Dad, never judge a book by its cover! Jack is from a faraway place, he is the hero, even though he appears to be just a ridiculous boy with a goofy face!" Said Kazumi.

"Thanks for trying to defend me…I guess…" Jack thought.

"I understand your concern, Mr. Hayato", Jack said, smiling "but I can prove you wrong. You'll see."

"I see" Hayato gave a sad smile, "in that case, I think you're well enough to continue on your journey. Lightland, isn't it? I think you should leave as soon as possible if you want to reach your destination. Good luck on your journey." Saying that, Hayato stood up and motioned for Daisuke to follow him.

"Jack…" Kazumi babbled. That was it. He was officially kicked out of those nice people's homes. Jack wondered what was wrong.

Hayato and Daisuke went fishing. Meanwhile, Jack was thinking about his goal and how he had ended up there like that. The headache was no longer so strong, but it was still difficult to remember. The only things he remembered was that he needed to retrieve a scroll or something and then go to Lightland.

"Jack doesn't think too much about what my dad said, he was just a little nervous, the Blood Katana has this effect on us..." Kazumi spoke.

"Oh yeah I know, I don't blame your dad, I was just thinking about my goal here, something about a scroll and getting to Lightland. I wonder how I'm going to do that."

"Maybe Mr Kenichi can help you. He is a sage from our village. I can take you there after lunchtime."

"That would be great, thanks." Jack smiled.

At lunchtime, Daisuke and Hayato were back. Hayato tried to approach Jack.

"Jack, about yesterday," he said, "I'm sorry, I just didn't want you to act on impulse and end up dying because of us. There have been other heroes in our village. They didn't do so well."

"Wow, you know, this reminds me a lot of Naruto's first mission, thugs taking over the place, discredited villagers... eh! Eh! Eh! That's it, that's when the hero reveals himself!" Jack thought.

"Don't worry. You're being kind enough to welcome me here." Jack said, smiling at Hayato.

"Who knows… well… Daisuke is still young, he accompanies me fishing, but he's still not a real help. I was just wondering if… maybe if you had nowhere to go, you could stay here. You would be treated like a son , I assure you."

Jack looked at Hayato and widened his eyes, not knowing quite what to say.

"Ha, ha, ha! Forget about it! Just an old fisherman's ravings." The old man laughed, trying to hide it and then changed the subject.

After lunch time, Kazumi took Jack to where the wise old man Kenichi lived, which was a bit far from the village and Jack had to walk a bit through forests and valleys to get there. When they arrived there in a simple wooden hut, Kazumi knocked on the door.

"Sage Lord Kenichi!" Called the girl. "Sage Lord Kenichi!"

"Who is it?" She screamed weakly, a husky voice coming from inside the house. "Go away!"

"It's me, Kazumi. Kazumi Ryoshi."

"Which Kazumi?"

"Mister Hayato's daughter."

"Hayato…? Which Hayato?"

"The fisherman."

"Oh yes! Hayato! And what about Hayato?"

"I am Kazumi, his daughter."

"His who?"

"Mr. Hayato."

"Hayato? Which Hayato?"

"The fisherman, Hayato Ryoshi."

"Ah! Hayato, my old friend Hayato… and what about Hayato?"

"Can you come here soon?"

An old man wearing a kind of brown kimono came out the door. He was bald in front and had cotton-white hair at the back of his head, tied back in a small ponytail, he also had a long mustache and goatee that covered his entire neck, both were the color of his hair, his eyebrows were thick and also very white.

"I was testing your patience and perseverance, young lady." Said the old man with a knowing smile, "Tell me, young Kazumi, what do you want?" Kenichi looked at Jack "and who is this young man who accompanies you? Your fiance? No, I don't want to go to any wedding."

"W-what?! N-It's nothing like that!" Kazumi replied immediately.

"True, I hope." muttered Jack.

"What did you say, Jack?" Kazumi asked suspiciously.

"Huh? Me? Nothing, nothing!"

Kenichi scratched his beard.

"Ah! So your name is Jack, isn't it? Foreigner? Funny your Kutomi Feud accent… no… Imperial City! So what do you want?"

"Jack is here looking for information about how he can get to Lightland, he's also looking for information about a scroll or something..."

"I don't remember much of the name... it was something with... configuration... I don't know" Jack said.

"Metaphysical Configuration?" The old man spoke with seriousness in his voice. Jack even noticed a certain hostility in his eyes, "What do you want with such knowledge, boy?"

"Jack is an adventurer, he will help our village" Kazumi said, smiling at Kenichi, who still wasn't so comfortable.

"I've met many adventurers, many say they fight for justice! No, most adventurers are always looking for treasure, gold, rewards and legendary items. Do you think I'm going to offer information about something so powerful, so easily?" Kenichi now showed a certain impatience in his voice, a little more, and Jack thought he could drive them away.

"Maybe," Jack also said seriously, "but I'm no ordinary adventurer." Jack took off his shirt and showed the Kerd mark in the middle of his chest. The old man looked stunned.

"This…this is no mere ordinary tattoo, this is…" Kenichi immediately bowed forty-five degrees to Jack and said with respect "Sir, it's an honor to welcome you to my humble abode!"

Kazumi didn't understand and Jack put the top of his clothes back on. Kenichi invited them inside.

The old sage told us that getting to the Lightland would usually take a long time and had three ways; going by ship, going on flying gnome contraptions he didn't consider very safe, or requesting portal services. He said it would all depend on how much money Jack had and that it should go to large cities such as the Imperial City to request such services. The old man showed a map and, indeed, Lightland was very far away.

"About the other thing... the scroll that was in our village, well... I knew where to find them, actually I was one of the few who did. Me and my grandson. Osamu, the leader of the Blood Katana heard about it..." Kenichi seemed to feel a sentimental pain and closed his eyes, "he... he tortured my young grandson until he got the information he wanted. I tried to face him, but I didn't have enough strength. Osamu let me live, said maybe I would be useful one day... He stayed with my grandson, said he would be treated well as long as I cooperated. He asked me to tell him the secret of the guardian spirits that protected the scroll, and I... unfortunately, I did. I don't care about my life, but my grandson!..." he stopped at that moment. Jack understood that he cared too much about his grandson not to do what Osamu wanted, "so Osamu killed the guardian spirits and took the scroll, having never given me back my grandson."

"I'm very sorry." Jack said. Kenichi nodded to Jack that everything was fine and regained his composure.

"The scroll is with him, Jack. The Demon of the Two Swords, Osamu Zankokuna."

A tense atmosphere remained in the air for a few seconds, until Kazumi spoke:

"Jack is going to finish this i***t, we don't need to worry!" She spoke with energy and a lot of confidence, "Now, Mr Kenichi, here is a mess!"

"Ah! Ah! Ah! I'm sorry, I didn't know I would have visitors today!" Kenichi laughed embarrassedly.

"Don't worry about it, you are in no condition for this service. Leave it to me, I'll fix this for you, with the help of our friend Jack, of course. Isn't it Jack?"

"What?" Jack thought, but what he replied was:

"Yes of course!" He smirked, scratching the back of his head. So the cleaning of old Kenichi's house began.

"They're good people, the fisherman's family". Kenichi was talking to Jack while they were cleaning and Kazumi was away. "They didn't deserve all the bad things they went through."

"Bad things? What bad things?"

"Some time ago, the villagers, tired of the oppression of the Blood Katana, made a revolt. Needless to say, it was a fiasco, so Osamu Zankokuna, the leader, did some punishments. The poor fisherman hadn't participated in anything, but his brother, the former local woodworker, was the head behind it all. As the carpenter had no other family besides the poor fisherman, this one suffered. His wife was taken by the Blood Katana and his son was killed. I suppose he would be your age these days, his son."

"So why was he so worried…" Jack thought, feeling a lump in his throat. Whoever the Blood Katana was, they had no right to do that to those good people.

"Anyway, boy, your coming is the prelude to very big things to come," Kenichi said, as if giving a predictive sentence. "People are discredited in the legend of the Six Warriors, but I will always believe in the judgment of the goddess of heroism."

The sky was already orange, golden and pinkish, predicting the coming night when Jack and Kazumi said goodbye to Kenichi, who thanked him very much and said he was very honored to welcome Jack.

On the way back, Kazumi wanted to know why Kenichi had acted that way with Jack, if he was some special kind of adventurer, but Jack just turned it off. When they were arriving at the village, they noticed a movement and cacophony coming from there.

"This is because you're trying to stall us!" She screamed a man while hitting another who was lying on the ground, being beaten. People just watched, horrified, but not moving a finger to help him.

"Hey, what's going on?" Jack asked.

"The Blood Katana g**g" Kazumi said with disgust and anger in his voice, "that man must have delayed payment somehow, and now...maybe they'll cut him to pieces."

Jack gritted his teeth. The men stretched the villager's arm and one of them raised his sword as if he were going to cut the villager's limb.

"Nooo!" Shouted a girl who was leaving the crowd, "leave my father alone! Please!"

"Natsumi, come in!" The man screamed and after that he was slapped on the head.

The bandits began to laugh.

"Hey, stupid old man" said one of them, "your daughter is hot, huh?"

The girl took two steps back, startled. There were all seven bandits, all of them armed with some kind of melee weapon.

"Leave my daughter alone!" shouted the man. "I beg you! Do what you want with me, but leave her alone!"

Two of the bandits were already holding the girl who was struggling frantically.

"Let me go, please!" she screamed.

One of the bandits made a point of tearing Natsumi's clothes with his short sword. The girl's father was desperate.

"Stop it now!" The man on the ground screamed in despair. "I beg you! Please, someone help! Please someone, I beg you, anyone, please!" He begged, but no one did anything.

"You worthless worm, shut up!" Saying this, the bandit moved his sword in a slashing motion to strike the man's arm, but something stopped the blow.

Everyone in the village was wide-eyed, including the members of the Blood Katana. Jack, with a simple piece of wood that looked like a makeshift staff, blocked the sword's attack, not looking directly at the bandit.

"W-when this brat?!..." One of the thugs asked himself when seeing the scene.

Once the initial impression had passed, the bandit who was going to cut off the villager's arm growled aggressively:

"Hey, hey boy, what do you think you're doing?"

Jack swallowed hard. “Damn, so scary! These guys are very intimidating! What was I thinking about wanting to play the hero, what was I thinking…? Not! I can't have that kind of thinking anymore. I am the hero of fire! Time to act like it.”

The chosen one smiled confidently. Well, he had to show confidence, even if he was scared shitless.

"Your mommy never taught you it's dangerous to play with knives, sucker?" Jack asked, finally facing the thug.

"I'm in a good mood, Pudding Face, so if you turn around now and walk away, I'll forget about it, okay?" Said the thug.

"What if I don't want you to forget?" Jack gave the man a sharp look, smiling with absurd confidence. The villagers looked stunned.

The man made an angry face and attacked Jack with his sword. The boy, in turn, prevented the course of the attack with a swift blow to the stomach of the bandit, who fell to his knees in pain.

"I'm faster and more agile", Jack thought "compared to Hana, this freak is just an amateur." The bandit, full of pain in his stomach, started to get up.

"You… little brat! Guys, finish him off in the worst possible way!" He screamed. The bandits advanced against Jack.

"Stand back!" Jack said to Natsumi and her father.

The girl having only her hands to cover her bust, she went to her father to help him up.

"Poor guy," said one of the bandits, "chose to die, ha, ha, ha!"

Jack tightened his grip on the piece of wood he used as a makeshift sword. The villains advanced screaming against the boy. At this time his heart was racing. Jack did not remember mastering a sword that well, nor being so fast and agile, but that was how he found himself at that moment, dodging the multiple attacks of his various opponents and defeating one by one, without even using his fire powers. In less than a minute the battle was over, the bandits were all defeated and knocked out, but Jack noticed another one who had just watched too late. This one escaped on horseback.

All the villagers were looking at the scene still dumbfounded, until they realized what had happened and started shouting:

"Kill them! Kill them! Finish them!" Some villagers shouted, others just remained silent, still fearing the g**g.

"I'm not the one who should judge them," Jack said. "They didn't do wrong to me, but to you all." He said this and withdrew away from everyone's eyes, going to a secluded spot still listening to the ecstatic villagers. When he was sure he was alone, he celebrated with himself:

"Yooooshi! Whoa! Uhul! How awesome! I was awesome! I rocked! Uhul!"

"Jack?" She called a voice from behind him. Jack looked, and saw Kazumi approaching. Instantly, he cleared his throat and became serious. "You're crazy!"

"W-wait were you seeing this? It's just..."

"I'm talking about facing those bad guys! It was... amazing, brave and... crazy at the same time!"

"I said, didn't I? That I was capable of defeating them?"

"Perhaps Tsuki really did hear my prayers! But they were just the beginning, Jack. You must be more careful now, they will come looking for you in droves, and Osamu... he is very strong."

"As long as I'm here, Kazumi, neither you nor anyone else in this village should fear again!"

As he walked back to the Ryoshi house, Jack noticed that some villagers congratulated him, but most still feared the g**g, especially those who remembered the last villagers' revolt.

"Boy, what do you think you did?!" An old lady asked him, approaching with hostility. " We don't need new rebellions here. Leave before things get complicated!"

"I won't run away. Not until I get this over with."

"You're going to die and you're going to take us with you! What do you think you are? A hero?"

"I don't think I am..." He turned back to go back to the Ryoshi family house. "I just am." He spoke with a confident smile.