The first soldier lunged, cleaver raised high. The ronin didn't even lift his sword. Instead, he stepped forward and slammed his fist into the soldier's mask.
A shockwave burst outward. The soldier flew backward, crashing into a tree with a violent crack. Hiroto's jaw dropped.
"Wh..what kind of strength is that?!", The ronin yawned. "Maa… Just a tap. I didn't even start drinking yet."
The other soldiers charged him all at once, weapons drawn. The ronin moved like water slow, relaxed, almost lazy. But each time a soldier swung, he wasn't there. Each time a blade descended, he'd shift just out of reach, humming to himself as though bored.
Then he finally lifted his sword It shimmered in the moonlight, chipped and worn yet strangely elegant in its simplicity. With a single sweeping motion, the ronin drew a half-circle in the air, Dark wind exploded from the blade. All three shadow soldiers staggered backward, armor cracking, masks splintering.
The ronin sighed. "You shadows hit hard, I'll give you that. But you're stiff. Predictable."
One soldier roared and swung again. This time, the ronin moved, His sword flicked once so fast Hiroto barely saw it. The soldier froze.His mask split in two, Then his entire body crumbled into black dust,The ronin sheathed his sword with a soft click.
"Now then," he said, turning to Hiroto and Yui, "why are shadow-forged soldiers chasing children?", Hiroto swallowed hard. "I… I don't know. They attacked our village. Everyone"
His voice broke.
Yui grabbed his hand, trembling.
The ronin's expression softened just slightly. "Village attacks… shadow soldiers… Hmph. Looks like trouble's brewing."
Then his eyes narrowed at Hiroto.
"No. Not trouble. You. They're after you, boy."
Hiroto stiffened. "Me? Why?", The ronin pointed at Hiroto's hand.
Specifically, at the dark mist still curling faintly around his fingers.
"That power you're carrying…" he said. "Only one kind of human can forge a shadow like that."
Hiroto's breath caught.
"What… what am I?"
The ronin exhaled deeply, then knelt until he was eye level with Hiroto. "You," he said, "are a Shadowforge", Hiroto felt his world tilt.
"That's impossible those are just legend!!"
"No," the ronin said coldly. "They're very real. And every clan in Japan will kill to obtain one."
Hiroto's heart pounded.
"So… what do I do?"
The ronin pushed himself back to his feet and stretched. "You follow me." Hiroto blinked. "What?"
"I'm Goro, ronin of nowhere, master of nothing, drinker of everything," the man said proudly. "And you two? You're not surviving a single night without help."
"But why help us?" Hiroto asked.
Goro scratched his stubble. "Because anyone the Black Daimyo wants dead is probably someone interesting." The Black Daimyo. Hiroto didn't know the name, But it made his blood run cold. Goro looked toward the burning village, expression unusually serious. "Let's move. More will come. And the Black Daimyo doesn't leave witnesses." He glanced at Hiroto's hand.
"And kid… learn to control that shadow. Because if you don't…"His eyes narrowed.
"…it will consume you before the soldiers do."