Miyamoto Musashi was learning a lot by being a stal-close watcher of what her future husband was doing as training.
Well, sorta 'a lot' as some of the things she was seeing weren't exactly... easy to replicate without chakra. Her Kojiro was a Ninja after all, that surely amounted to a lot considering the cool feats she already saw him perform just mere minutes ago mid-training. Even more when it was time for a real fight. His master, Muramasa-san, was also quite entertained by the notion to train someone that he could subject to more tort-training, and Musashi felt a bit of sympathy for her beloved.
Well, most of that was sympathy, the rest was just her ogling at him. He was just so fit, so well-trained, so cool-looking and also the one that made food for the cute sister dragon girl that he had. Ah yes, she would think all the time she saw him behave like the ideal hubby, I am going to claim him for good once this is all wrapped up.
Attempting to crash into the training and unceremoniously impose herself as part of the group felt quite distasteful, and it took a while to explain this to Mifune. The good boy was a bit too stubborn for his own good, but he was quite easy to distract through training. And boy did Musashi learn a lot in these few days than she did in months.
It wasn't like she was making huge steps into throwing meteors on her opponent, but she could feel her sharpness in using the swords had severely improved as she renovated her style. Using multiple swords was difficult and even she knew that her favored style was still open to clumsy mistakes. Muramasa's solution came forth when he wanted Kojiro to use two uneven swords at once in a spar, despite the fact those were unfit for combat.
In his explanation after the fight, he made his point clear: "A Samurai always has to consider using anything that can work as a sword. Nobody can guarantee you will keep your hands on your sword, and anything that fits in your definition of sword has to be fit with your hands."
And that was it. Well... kinda. The meaning was so generic, but it gave Musashi an idea which proved to be effective. Her swords were not the issue, it was her body. She was flexible, but she had been so stubbornly set in trying to make the swords fit with her physique that she failed to see how she had to 'change' for the sake of that. So, she slowly started to take on Kojiro's own physical regiment as her own. Not entirely and not in its fullest connotation as she knew her bones would break under that strain, but it was a more tedious exercise than the usual.
Her body groaned at the new hard level to beat, but it persisted and produced her boons in the form of a more nimble frame. Muscles were forming, not too visibly, and her attacks were getting faster and smoother. The power behind each strike was lowered to the usual, giving half the might to the momentum that carried with each perfect slashes. It was less on the 'hit hard and hit fast' and more like 'strike swiftly and thus powerfully'.
Tedious was the path, but more stubborn was Musashi for the sake of self-improvement. Mifune's cheering helped immensely as it made her feel under scrutiny and thus with the need to prove something to someone else beyond herself. Many would see it as a negative factor, but to Musashi that allowed her to push through just enough to get all of these exercises wrapped up.
After just three days, Musashi could effectively see her results. At first, she could decimate a tree after fifteen minutes, and now she could do it in one. Energy carried with her flow which extended and wrapped around her blades, turning her in a killing machine if given the need or the purpose to murder someone in combat.
A small thought started to treacherously manifest the more she trained about it: what if she trained for long enough and intensely so to eventually outmatch anyone trying to get her hand in marriage?
At that point she would need to marry Kojiro, and then she would effectively be free for the time being from- Nah, I wanna marry Kojiro-kun~!
For many, this could be seen as Musashi being childish, but the truth was a bit more complex. She knew Sasaki Kojiro was Shimura Danzou, the same applied on the opposite. A cheerful and cheeky samurai and a battle-hardened and kind shinobi. And that combination, mixed and blended together, drew from her a sense of strong attraction.
So youthful and yet so serious- he would definitely let her be something that isn't a mere stay-at-home wife, and it would give her the need to eventually settle down with a family someday in the future. That was what Musashi wanted- it wasn't like she couldn't see how limiting that would be, but between an eternal fight with no end and actually going through the natural process of being a mom to someone who could end up becoming her heir, Musashi preferred the latter.
She will still fight, but that didn't mean she was going to sacrifice that form of personal happiness. Which is why she wasn't planning to give him up just yet. Kojiro was going to be hers, they would be happy and then, kind of sheepishly, she imagined what sort of children would come from their union. Quite the silly thought, but it made her all happy and mushy inside.
Plus, it was another reason to train hard to ultimately beat her Kojiro and prove to him that they were meant for each other!
With that in mind, training was just a necessity and she put her whole soul into it to draw the most from the potential results. And while she was committed to it, she couldn't help but feel that, by the end of it all, she was going to be pleased by any result this adventure was going to grant her and her little assistant.
It was a hunch, but it felt quite real and she hoped her gut feeling wasn't lying to her. After all, she was a maiden in love, she deserved some mercy in her loving stal-close watching.
Nashiro was quite sure she was asleep at the moment... so, why was she in some prison with large jail bars in front of her?
And why, beyond these bars, a pair of silvery eyes peered at her?
She stood up from the floor, sleepiness forsaken momentarily as she narrowed her eyes at the intense glance in an effort to see beyond the curtain of shadows hiding the large monster from her gaze.
"Finally, my host has awakened me."
Massive clawed palms tightly grasped some of the bars as the beast drew nearer.
"And you look ready to accept me. Ready to accept your destiny and-"
"Who are you, miss?" Nashiro inquired, a bit slowly as she didn't feel fully operational just yet.
There was a pause, then the monstrous entity looked perplexed.
"Do you not know who I am? What is your destiny all about?"
Nashiro blinked, trying to think of a response to that on the spot. Her brain wasn't there just yet, but since she looked ancient, her large claws had white scales on them- did that mean she was-
"A Genryu?"
"I am THE Genryu, child," The entity shrieked. "I am the beginning of the Light and the end of Darkness. The children that came from me are all but fractions of what I was, their union my body manifested and you... my soul."
The girl's mouth formed a 'O' out of surprise. "So, you are why that creepy priest is trying to kidnap me!"
The entity faltered once more, yet her tone grew irated. "A... Creepy priest? And kidnapping you, my host?!"
Nashiro nodded, glad that the Genryu was listening to her without any distraction.
"Well yeah, I am on the run with Niichan and Muramasa-jiji from a mean man that is also creepy and a priest. He said that he wanted to use the Genryu's power to give his god the power to change the world or something like that."
There was more silence, yet this one felt heavier and more meaningful compared to the last pause.
"Someone, under the order of a 'deity', decided to kidnap you for the sake of using MY power to elevate said 'deity'? Is there something else I am missing?"
"They..." Nashiro lowered her gaze. "The creepy priest and his men also killed my family."
...
"My apologies-"
"I-It's alright, I am with Niichan and Muramasa-jiji now."
The entity looked genuinely saddened by the news of her parents' death, yet the mournful silence didn't last too long.
"This creates a very peculiar circumstance. My return may have to be... altered due to these circumstances," The Genryu hummed, thoughtfully and yet seemingly gaining a mischievous undertone with her humming. "How about we punish the creepy priest with a little trap?"
Nashiro perked at this idea, giving the entity a smile as the two chatted a bit more about a very interesting prank just in case the bad priest got hold of her. She giggled a bit as she knew it was going to be hilarious, but she knew she would have to keep this a secret from her Niichan. Since Kojiro told her that it would be fine to lie if it was in the name of good intentions, then that shouldn't be a bad idea.
In fact, Nashiro knew it was going to be a blast!
Out of all potential students, a Shinobi was a first for Muramasa.
He trained farmers that lost their lands and wanted them back, tax officers that had been forced to resign due to a duel for the sake of a rematch, and even some of those guards that protected the Shogun. A ninja was not the same as the previous cases. Their exceptional control over Chakra within their bodies gave them the edge, but only for the sake of specializations rather than serious combat.
Only with the advent of the major villages Ninjas started to develop greater might to keep up with Samurai. But, even then, it wouldn't be a bad idea to teach someone like Shimura Danzou how to fight the Samurai way. The young man was already at a good point in his training, and given a few more months of exercises, he was going to become a formidable Kenjutsu user.
And he was his student. Danzou was not a picky student, but he wasn't even a tool while listening to his lessons. He would share his input, be diligent and show something not many his age would have: experience with being a student. To be a student was an art in itself like being a master. The former required one to not only be able to learn, but be able to take punishment and lectures whenever a mistaken view was applied.
That was not to say that Danzou was a perfect student, but he was a pleasant one to teach to. Not too impatient, but clearly eager to know more about Kenjutsu. His first style was shabby, but refined by experience- he was a little veteran, and yet he had so much to learn from others.
Their journey to Koryu was close to being over, but Muramasa's hard work was not only aimed at this quest to protect Nashiro and provide Danzou with education, but to create his last masterpiece. A sword that was inspired by Danzou's and that would provide a parting gift for when his last breath would be drawn. He was living his last years, maybe months. His old body took quite the beating as of recently and while it did heal in most part, it wouldn't be long before it was all going to catch up to him. So this... this was a must for him to have completed before time came for him.
The blade was mostly over, with the alloy used providing a greater hold over seals and as a containment of energy. The hilt was purposely imbued with a special resin which made it capable of withstanding elemental manipulation without forcing the user to rely on extra seals to lessen that peculiar phenomenon. It would be light, it would be swift, and it would be powerful.
And its primary power was a little white crystal that Nashiro had given him. It was a special gem that her mother gave her as something to sell, but the old man saw its potential. It was imbued with a dense amount of Yang Chakra and it had the power to convert the user's chakra into new energy to fuel it. Compared to Danzou's current sword, it was slightly weaker due to its lack of elemental variety, but the powerful Yang energy would still make it a formidable tool in trying times against true shadows. Worthy of his greatest gift to a student.
One last parting gift for one last student of his.