Young Samurai 06 - The Ring of Fire (16 page)

Jack left them to their antics, pleased to see some light-hearted fun in the village for once.

In the far corner of the field, Hayato had begun the training in
kenjutsu
, the Art of the Sword. Jack hurried over to his half of the students, who were waiting patiently for his instruction. As there hadn’t been enough swords for every man in the village, a small group of farmers had been selected to become the Sword unit. Each of them had been given either a
katana
or a shorter
wakizashi
. Jack would have preferred them all to start with a
bokken
, a wooden sword being far safer for a beginner than a live blade. But with little more than ten days before the black moon, there simply wasn’t time. So he decided to instil in his students a healthy respect for the samurai sword from the very beginning. Picking up a length of bamboo, Jack said, ‘This is as tough as the bones in your body.’

He rammed the stem into the ground so that it stood upright. Within the blink of an eye, Jack drew his
katana
, its steel blade flashing through the air in three lightning strikes. The whole display was over in a few seconds.

One of the farmers laughed. ‘He missed it!’

The bamboo stem did appear untouched. Then the top segment slid slowly off, followed by two more surgically neat pieces. They fell to the ground like dismembered fingers.

Jack picked one up and showed the man the perfectly smooth slice his sword had made. ‘That’s how sharp these blades are,’ he warned. ‘Be extremely careful when training with your swords. You don’t want your partner’s arm – or your
own
– ending up like this!’

The farmers all held their weapons with a newfound reverence.

‘But you need not be so respectful to a bandit!’ added Jack.

A ripple of laughter greeted this and the farmers relaxed a little.

‘As an extension of your arm, the samurai sword has no rival,’ explained Jack, demonstrating the correct stance and grip – his
katana
in both hands, the tip pointing forward, in line with their faces. Having taught Akiko’s brother Hanzo some
kenjutsu
, the role of teacher no longer daunted Jack and he already had a clear idea of what needed to be done. He realized only a few basic cuts and blocks could be learnt in the time. But his
taijutsu
master, Sensei Kyuzo, had ingrained in him that
the basics are for battle
, and Jack hoped this would be enough for the task ahead.

‘By the time Akuma comes, you’ll all be warriors,’ promised Jack.

Cheered by this, the farmers copied Jack’s stance and raised their swords. Once Jack had corrected their postures, he taught them their first cut –
kesagiri
– a simple yet deadly diagonal strike.

As the farmers swung their swords in unison and practised the technique, Yori came over.

‘Any problems?’ asked Jack, who’d left his friend in the half-finished watchtower to keep guard over the village.

Yori shook his head. ‘The lookouts have spotted only a deer or two so far.’

‘Let’s hope it stays that way.’

Glancing around at the different classes going on, Yori remarked, ‘This is like being back at the
Niten Ichi Ryū
!’

Jack nodded, feeling a pang at the memory. It seemed like only yesterday they were all together in Kyoto. He was amazed at how far they’d come since their own training days. ‘Except now we’re the
sensei
at this samurai school!’

Yori laughed. ‘What’s Sensei Saburo up to then?’

His group had gathered beside the woodpile at the back of a farmhouse and Saburo was laying a short plank of wood between two supporting beams at waist height.

‘
Tamashiwari
, by the looks of it,’ said Jack, intrigued.

He stopped his sword class so they all could watch the Trial by Wood.

‘I’ll prove how powerful these techniques are!’ said an indignant Saburo to his students.

Raising his right hand, he clenched it into a hammerfist and, with an almighty
KIAI
, brought it smashing down on to the wood. His fist demolished the board in a single blow, splinters flying in all directions.

The gathered farmers burst into spontaneous applause.

‘He’s improved since last time!’ remarked Yori.

Jack nodded his agreement, although he noticed the triumphant Saburo quietly massaging his hand behind his back.

As the applause faded, an old man muttered, ‘That’s easy.’

Saburo glared at the farmer, annoyed to have his impressive demonstration brought into question.

‘Why don’t
you
try then?’ Saburo challenged, and set up another board.

Much to his and everyone else’s surprise, the old man shuffled to the front. He was little more than skin and bone, and Jack wondered if the ageing farmer still had all his wits about him.

Standing in front of the board, the old man examined it briefly. Then, turning round, he picked up an axe. With one easy swing, he chopped straight through the wood.

The rest of the farmers fell about laughing, as did Jack and Yori.

‘B-b-but that’s cheating!’ exclaimed an outraged Saburo.

The old man shrugged. ‘You samurai make things so much harder than they need be!’

27

THORN BUSHES

The days passed quickly. Too quickly. With each setting of the sun, the threat of Black Moon drew nearer. No one spoke of Akuma out loud, but he was on everyone’s mind. The earlier episodes of playfulness and light-hearted jesting disappeared, to be replaced by a grim determination. Alongside the daily training of the army, the defence preparations continued unabated. As the pressure grew, their labours stretched from dawn until late into the night.

On the sixth day before the black moon, Jack heard a great shout from the northern end of the village. Fearing the worst, he sprinted up the track, Yori following close behind.

‘Why haven’t the smoke beacons been lit?’ he demanded, pulling out his
katana
.

‘The bandits must have used a hidden route!’ Yori panted, his staff in hand, its metal rings jangling as he ran.

Flying round the corner of the last farmhouse, they were met by a great wall of thorns and spikes. Twice the height of a man, the barricade blocked the entire northern approach. Stakes jutted outwards and the sharply pointed pillars threatened to impale anyone foolish enough to climb over.

Yuudai and his team were collapsed in a heap by the secondary wall of hay bales, admiring their construction.

‘The barricade’s finished!’ declared Yuudai, to which the farmers gave another exhausted yet jubilant cry.

‘
That
is worth shouting about!’ said Jack, sheathing his sword with relief.

Crossing the wooden gangway Yuudai had built over Saburo’s moat, he took a closer inspection of the barrier and could find no obvious weakness.

‘With a unit of spearmen behind the barricade, Akuma should be unable to breach this,’ explained Yuudai, patting it proudly.

‘You beat us to it, Yuudai!’ Miyuki called out, appearing from the direction of the forest with Neko and her two helpers. ‘We’re about finished too.’

Jack didn’t bother asking her if they could have a look. He knew, apart from the narrow wooden barrier, there’d still be nothing to see.

Leaving a couple of farmers to stand guard, Jack and the others returned to the square. Positioned in the far corner, the watchtower was now twice the height of the rice store. On the top platform the last of the wooden protective screens was being hammered into place. Rough and ready in its construction, the tower nonetheless commanded views over the entire village and plain.

‘I know it doesn’t compare in strength to your barricade, Yuudai,’ said Jack. ‘But it serves its purpose.’

Jack stepped on to the rickety ladder to lead Miyuki and Yuudai up to inspect the finished tower.

‘That won’t take my weight,’ excused Yuudai, indicating he would stay on the ground with Yori. ‘Besides, I’m no good with heights.’

Miyuki looked at him in amusement. ‘How do you cope with being so tall?’

‘I just don’t look down!’ replied Yuudai with a laugh.

Working their way up the ladder, Jack and Miyuki eventually reached the top and gazed across the Okayama Plain. Below, the paddy fields were filling with water, Hayato labouring with a team of farmers to redirect the river along pre-dug channels.

‘You’ve done a great job, Jack,’ said Miyuki, surveying the defences that the Five Rings had inspired.

‘Thanks, but the carpenter did most of the work,’ Jack admitted.

‘I didn’t mean the tower. I was talking about your leadership. Once the moat is complete and the bridge dismantled, the village will be the fortress you envisaged. No matter how powerful and dangerous Akuma is, he’ll have second thoughts before raiding the farmers this year.’

‘It’s been a team effort,’ reminded Jack.

‘
To lead people, you should walk beside them
,’ said Miyuki, smiling warmly at him. ‘That’s exactly what you’ve done. You should be proud of yourself.’

She looked into Jack’s eyes with something more than admiration. ‘I’m glad I came to rescue you,’ she whispered, demurely lowering her gaze. ‘The clan hasn’t been the same since you left –’

‘Jack! We’ve got a problem,’ shouted Saburo, dashing into the square. He urgently beckoned them to join him on the eastern edge of the village.

‘This doesn’t sound good,’ said Jack, making for the ladder.

Clambering back down, Jack and Miyuki joined the others and hurried after him. They discovered the ditch was still far from complete, more than a third remaining to be dug. Yet none of Saburo’s team was working. Kunio sat morosely on a pile of fresh earth, his shovel discarded to one side, his head in his hands.

‘It’s been a total waste of time!’ he moaned.

Walking over to the ditch, Saburo pointed to its muddy bottom. ‘Hayato was flooding the paddy fields and I asked his team to divert a channel from the river, so we could test the moat. But as you can see, it doesn’t work. Because the village lies on a slope, the water just drains away.’

Jack stared into the ditch and then at the other young samurai. They all realized the scale of the problem.

‘It’s my fault,’ said Saburo, shaking his head with despair. ‘It was a stupid idea in the first place.’

‘No, it’s still another defence,’ consoled Jack, although he knew the immense effort made by the farmers had hardly been worth it.

‘But without water, the bandits can
easily
cross.’

‘Not if we fill it with thorn bushes instead,’ Miyuki suggested.

There was a pause while this was considered. Then everyone began to nod their heads with approval.

‘That’s a great idea!’ said Jack. He turned to Yuudai. ‘Can your team collect more bushes?’

‘Of course,’ said Yuudai.

His ready agreement generated a groan of protest among his farmers.

‘We’ve cut ourselves to shreds just building the barricade!’ objected one man, raising his forearms to show the countless scratches he’d suffered.

‘Akuma will cut far more than your arms,’ said Yuudai, showing no sympathy. ‘Come on, we’ve got work to do!’

As he led his group away for their painful mission, Hayato strode over.

‘All the fields should be flooded by tonight,’ he announced. ‘Then we’ll take down the bridge tomorrow.’

‘Good work,’ replied Jack. ‘And we’ve found a solution to the moat – thorn bushes.’

Hayato regarded him with admiration. ‘Brilliant idea, Jack!’

‘Thanks,’ said Miyuki, flashing him a smile, and Hayato winced at his unintended praise of her.

Concealing his amusement at their awkwardness, Jack handed them each a shovel. ‘Let’s start digging!’ he said, jumping into the ditch.

28

A LOST CAUSE

The frozen earth was as hard as rock, hampering their progress to a snail’s pace. Blisters formed on their hands and their muscles ached with the strain of digging. At the opposite end of the trench, repeated yelps and curses could be heard as Yuudai’s team packed thorn bush after thorn bush into the ditch. After several hours of hard labour, Jack called a halt. Downing tools, the farmers headed wearily back to their homes.