Chapter 4: Hope For The Future.
My brothers and I destroyed camp, after camp, after camp. Our plan was simple. I take care of the Mongols, and once finished, my brothers would guide the captives to safety.
An easy, yet risky job. There were multiple times where a Mongol soldier would grab a captive, and threaten to kill them. Fortunately, I had Fujin to help me.
This power allowed me to create a future for the hopeless. As we took down the camps, we found little tables with papers that sat on top, which showed the locations of the other camps. By our sixth camp destroyed, we had freed at least 100 men, women, and children. Some were being kept because of their jobs or status, others, for the cruel fun of it.
And the unfortunate ones that died because of Mongol torture were buried properly and honored.
The three of us, Kiyoshi, Akaji, and I, treaded along the bushes as we came to a river. I knelt down, cupping my hands, and sipped the ice-cold water. My brothers copied me.
"Hey Tsuji..." Akaji said, "Have you thought about who's controlling...or leading the Mongols?"
"Of course." I replied, staring at my reflection in the water, "...Khan."
"Do you think one day you'll have to fight him?" Kiyoshi asked.
"Yes." I stated, "And at the rate we're going, destroying these camps...it'll be sooner than preferred."
We went silent, looking at ourselves in the water's reflection.
"But," I sighed, standing up and putting a hand on my blade, "I'll be ready."
My brothers stood up as well.
"What if you die?" Akaji asked blatantly.
"Yeah...what if something bad happens to you?" Kiyoshi added.
I managed a soft smile.
"I'll be fine." I said, "Now let's keep moving."
My brothers and I pressed on. As we walked, the clouds got darker, heavier. I felt drops of water land on my face.
It had begun to rain. As we treaded through the now-wet mud, we discovered another Mongol Camp.
But something was different about this camp.
It wasn't a camp.
It was a Base.
My eyes widened as we crouched behind a broken log. The Mongol Base swarmed with soldiers by the hundreds.
"They must be well-stocked..." I muttered, analyzing their weapons.
The Mongol Base was a huge, towering structure that reached the sky. Surrounding the fortress was a wooden wall, about 12 meters tall, lined with archers that were ready to fire. Towards the center of the front wall was a huge bell -- an alarm.
Then, I saw it.
A bulky figure that stood out among the rest of the soldiers sat on a throne, sipping on fine alcohol. He had black hair tied into a bun, a black mustache, evil eyes, a huge nose, and tanned skin. He wore shining, thick armor that seemed impenetrable. Impaled into the ground was a long, sharp, and heavy axe, stained with innocent blood.
Khan.
"That's their leader..." I muttered, "If I can sneak past their defenses...and kill him..."
I then turned to my brothers.
"The war is over." I ended.
"W-wait...that's risky..." Akaji tried, "You haven't fully gotten control of your power-"
"-Stay here, don't move..." I interrupted, "I'm gonna-"
"No!" Kiyoshi exclaimed, grabbing my arm, "You'll get hurt!"
"Kiyoshi." I said, "Trust me."
Reluctantly, my brother let go.
"Stay here...I'll be back in a minute."
With that, I leapt over the broken log, and into the bushes.
"Okay..." I said, "How do I get in?"
I scanned the fortress and found an opening: From the wall facing west, there was a small hole that I could slip through. I made a mental pathway that could secretly get me behind the Khan, and kill him.
Time to stop this war.
I made my move. Using the bushes to my advantage, I snuck past the soldiers that surrounded the outer area and slipped into the Mongol Base. Ducking under crates of sake and weapons, I reached the behind of the Mongol Leader's throne. Quietly, I unsheathed my blade, slowly raising it...
Then, everything slowed down. I felt the pulse of everything around me: the footsteps hitting the grass, the rustling leaves, and the flow of the wind.
But something cut through that flow like a knife.
An arrow.
I leaped back, my sword falling with a clanging to the ground, as an arrow barely missed my head. I turned to the shooter, and we locked eyes.
Time was frozen for five seconds.
Four, three, two, one.
"INTRUDER!" the Mongol screamed, firing arrows at me, "HE'S TRYING TO KILL OUR LEADER!"
Immediately, all the soldiers turned towards me, including their leader, who dived from his chair.
I crouched behind the throne, using it was a shield to protect myself from flying arrows.
"Halt!" The Leader commanded, and all the ruckus stopped. I knew my brothers were watching from the broken log in fear.
"Let me see the man who attempts to kill me." The Leader stated.
I was frozen. I didn't know what to do.
Putting my shaking hands into the air, I poked my head out from behind the throne.
The leader's eyes narrowed.
"Come forward. I will not harm you." He gestured.
My hands still in the air, I emerged from my hiding spot without my sword.
"Ah..." The leader mused, "I've heard about you..."
"You're the boy who my men rumor to be...'Blessed by the gods?'"
I said nothing, my hands still in the air.
"Hm..." He said, scanning me up and down.
He then began to laugh heartily.
"This?" He pointed at me, looking to the crowd of Mongol soldiers, "Is what you fear? Oh my! So scary! It is merely a boy!"
He then stopped laughing.
"But do not fear, my men. I will prove that this is nothing to worry about..."
"Your name?" He asked me.
I didn't speak.
"So he's Nameless..."
"Tsuji...Takeichi..." I stated shakily.
"Ah...he does have a name!" The Mongol leader smiled, "I am Kublai Khan, grandson of the great Genghis Khan..."
"I challenge you to a duel, Takeichi." He finished, picking up his axe.
My eyes widened.
"Time is ticking..." He gestured, "Pick up your blade."
Slowly, my hands grasped the hilt of my blade, and I readied myself.
The Khan displayed a cocky smile, and charged at me.
"Not even the gods can stop the Mongols!" He swung his axe at me, and I dodged to the side.
The Khan pressed on with his attacks, and I could only run around and evade in fear.
Eventually, I was cornered. My thin blade wasn't going to do anything against the Khan's heavy axe and thick armor.
"Come on boy! Show me your power!" He lifted the axe over his head.
"Show me..." He ended, "Your blood!"
He swung down on me, and something unbelievable happened.
I heard the clash! of two weapons.
There I stood with my sword, blocking the Khan's attack. He was surprised himself.
"A blade...?" He questioned, "This strong?!"
I pushed upward, making the Leader lose his balance. But he recovered quickly for his size, and countered my attack, the butt of his axe hitting me in the ribs, sending me flying. I crashed into a barrel of sake.
"Agh..." I tried to get up, but the Khan had me pinned to the ground with a heavy foot.
He lifted his axe over his head once more.
"A fun show..." He said, "But still...you're worthless, Takeichi."
He swung down once more.
And then, my body got goosebumps, spreading a tingly feeling throughout my entire nervous system.
I muttered something as I felt a huge pit in my stomach.
"Amaterasu..."
"...Omikami."
In total silence, I was suddenly to the left of the Khan, my blade lifted into the air with an firey glow in my eyes.
"Strength...of the Sun."
I slashed forward, blasting the Khan back and into the crowd of his soldiers. It created a clear route to escape.
I dashed through the route and escaped the Mongol Base.
As I passed by the Khan, I noticed something insane.
I had completely sliced through the Khan's thick, iron armor and clothing, leaving a very light cut on his chest. If it wasn't for his armor, I very well could have sliced him in half.
Amaterasu Omikami is the most powerful being in Shinto.
The Goddess of the Sun.
Chapter 4: Hope For The Future, End.
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