At the Municipal Youth Palace, the Musashi Kendo Training Center. In the center of the arena, two individuals wearing kendo protective gear and holding bamboo swords face each other. The tip of the bamboo sword on the left side slightly trembles. It is not the holder's fear, but rather a probe, while also concealing the potential attack that could come in the next moment. This is akin to the feints in Taekwondo, Sanda, and Jeet Kune Do. However, the individual on the right makes no move—no movement in any sense. The bamboo sword in his hand remains steady, his breathing calm and long, and only his feet make small shifts, adjusting to find the optimal position for defense and counterattack.
The arena is quiet. Countless eyes are fixed on the duel, but a kendo match is not like a typical combat sport, where attacks come in rapid exchanges. Victory or defeat is often decided in a single moment, as suddenly as the clap of thunder. In the era of wandering swordsmen, when the thunder struck, it was not met with applause, but with a silent rain of blood.
The stillness lasts for two full minutes, as neither swordsman moves. They only shift, advance, and retreat, yet neither makes the first strike.
At the three-minute mark, the person on the left, having tested the waters for so long, can no longer hold back. A roar erupts from beneath his face guard, reverberating through the arena — yet he still does not strike.
The person on the right remains unperturbed by this sudden burst of energy. He doesn't move, not even the slightest tremor in his bamboo sword.
At three minutes and twenty seconds, the left-side swordsman finally makes his move. Without any warning, his bamboo sword rises high and executes a downward strike that he has practiced thousands of times.
The right-side swordsman, however, responds the moment his opponent raises his sword. His bamboo sword intercepts the downward strike with a sharp deflection, stepping forward as his opponent fails to regain his balance, delivering a clean, decisive downward strike to his opponent's head.
A duel that had lasted three minutes and ended in mere seconds. The arena erupts in thunderous applause, accompanied by the cheers of children.
This is the largest youth center in the city, so there are many children present. Therefore, the duel taking place is not a world-renowned contest between sword masters, but rather a demonstration match in the kendo training class at the Youth Palace, designed to showcase the appeal of kendo to the children and their accompanying parents, in hopes of recruiting new students for the spring semester.
"If my face weren't still numb from the shock, I would think I was just dreaming," the person on the left said as he removed his face guard, revealing the face of a middle-aged man, likely in his forties, with a look of disbelief and amazement.
The victorious swordsman on the right also removed his face guard. However, beneath it was the face of a young boy, his black hair and black eyes reflecting an expression of calm, without the slightest sign of joy from his victory.