The Asian golden cat and the martial eagle looked at each other as they readied themselves for battle on top of the Frog Dojo's roof. Usually, they would spar in the underground training room, but they wished to have more room to fight and, besides, some other students were already using it. Watching them both while sitting on the very edge of the rooftop with a cup of tea, was Master Shujinko whose hand was raised. "Fight!" he said with lowering it at the same time.

As soon as the signal was given, Mei Ling reeled back on her legs before jumping forward at lightning speed toward Kivuli. This last one responded by swinging her purple-handled sword at her, hitting her bo staff as she raised it to defend herself, knocking her to the side where she landed perfectly on the ground. Sliding several feet back, the feline growled as she readjusted her hold on her weapon and charged again.

"You're doing good, girls! Keep it on!" Shujinko praised from the sidelines as he took a sip from his peppermint tea.

Back to the sparring match, Mei Ling rose her bo staff above her head to block Kivuli's Purple Rainmaker sword as it came down on her. The avian started pulling the blade of her weapon in every direction, trying to knock the staff off Mei Ling's paws. To her surprise, the golden cat actually dropped her staff on purpose before delivering a devastating spin kick across her beak, stunning her.

With another spin kick to the beak as she gracefully landed on the ground, the martial eagle found herself knocked on her back. Refusing to give up, she ignored the pain rushing through her beak and continued swinging her trusty sword at the golden cat who blocked with the bo staff she recovered a few seconds earlier. However, she soon twisted her lips into a smirk as she shot her palm forward, dodging Kivuli's defense, and landed a powerful blow to her chest, which sent sliding all the way to the other side of the rooftop. She ended on her back, defeated.

"Mei Ling is the winner!" Shujinko announced. "Good work, Mei Ling, as always. As for you, Kivuli, you did very well too. You just need more training and you will become better in no time, I can tell you that."

In a mark of good sportsmanship, Mei Ling walked over to Kivuli and offered her a paw to get back up. The avian accepted it, reaching her wing to get back up and pulled her sword away with her seal. "I don't understand how you can move so fast, Mei Ling."

"Hey, it's not for nothing that I was top of my class in one of the hardest and most demanding academies in China," the golden cat replied with a wink.

Kivuli nodded. "Everyone says that you're also the best master of the Frog Dojo - after Shujinko, of course. If you had participated in the Legendary Tournament with us, we would have probably won."

"Maybe, we'll never know," Mei Ling replied with a shrug, resting her bo staff on her shoulder. "So? What do you wanna do now? Willing to go for another sparring match?"

"Actually, I had other plans for today," the martial eagle replied. "I've been thinking a lot since the end of the tournament and decided I would go buy myself new swords."

"Really?"

"Yes. I've been using only Purple Rainmaker so far, but maybe if I add different swords, shields, and bows to my arsenal, I would get more efficient on the battlefield," the martial eagle explained.

Mei Ling rubbed her chin with her thumb and smiled. "Yes, that makes sense. There a few good weapon shops in town; let's go there and find you something to buy."

#

The two Frog Dojo masters departed to the downtown of the Valley of Peace. The place was busy with the civils going on with their everyday lives, walking around and entering into shops to buy stuff, or just enjoying a good walk on this beautiful day. "Which shop are we going to?" Mei Ling asked her friend.

"It's called 'The Silver Blade'," Kivuli replied. "It is known for being the best sword shop in this city. If I want to get first quality blades, this is the place to go."

"Cool, let's get to it," Mei Ling said as they continued walking. On their way, they came across a few citizens who greeted them and even asked for a pawshake due to them being famous masters. While Kivuli kept her neutral expression, Mei Ling acted sweet and happy. Soon, the shop in question came into view as a sign reading: "The Silver Blade" in... well, silver, stood above the shop's entrance.

However, before they could enter, the two girls heard panicking screams and turned to see a group of what looked like street thugs running in their direction. "HELP US! HELP US!" they begged with grabbing the masters' vests.

"Whoa, whoa, calm down! What's going on?" Kivuli asked, backing off a bit.

"W-We met this guy and he... and he...!" one of them rambled, barely able to talk.

"This guy? What guy?" Mei Ling asked with a curious eyebrow.

"M-Me and the guys were relaxing by the entrance of the city when that crazy bunny guy carrying a sword arrived. We approached and asked him for money and he... HE JUST KICKED OUR ASSES LIKE IT SHOULDN'T BE POSSIBLE!" one of the young people exclaimed in panic.

"Crazy bunny?" Kivuli asked with a somewhat interested expression.

"BOSS! HE'S BACK!" one of the thugs suddenly exclaimed.

As the young people rushed to go hide around, the two girls turned in the direction they looked at. Indeed, a figure came walking their way, gathering the attention of everyone who happened to see him. Snow-white fur and shoulder-length ears tied into a ponytail with a band, revealing a round, intimidating face. Sinister dark blue eyes, set buried within their sockets, watched seriously ahead, not paying attention to the figures around them. Despite being a bunny, he was pretty tall - reaching the same height as Mei Ling. His dress consisted of dark blue robes with a red drawing of a bunny about to be beheaded on the back.

However, the part of that man that intrigued Kivuli the most was the sword tied to his right hip by his blue belt. Its handle was wrapped in a pitch-black bandage with the collar being made of gold and the scabbard being a flamboyant red. He had another sword tied to his left, this one having a wooden handle and scabbard.

"A bunny... These swords... No, it cannot be...," Kivuli mumbled, her amethyst eyes widening in shock.

"What's wrong, Kivuli? You know this guy?" Mei Ling asked her friend.

"... Mei Ling, this bunny right here is Bosan Miyamoto, also known as "The Sword of Heaven". He is one of the Imperial Army's Commandants... and the best swordsman in the whole world."

Mei Ling's golden eyes widened upon hearing that last part. "T-The best swordsman... in the whole world?"

Bosan Miyamoto came to a stop before the spot where the little thugs attempted to hide. He lowered his intimidating gaze on them. "You..."

"Y-Yes?"

"I have something to ask you... Do you where I can find the finest bread and wine in this town?"

Everybody around was taken aback by this question. Bosan Miyamoto, the Sword of Heaven and best swordsman in the world, comes out of nowhere and asks a bunch of teenagers where he can find the best wine and bread in the city? Everyone around thought that same thing: "That was random..."

"Hey, you there!" Kivuli suddenly said as she stepped toward the bunny. "You're Bosan Miyamoto, right?"

The bunny in question turned around, giving an indifferent look to the martial eagle. "Yes, why?"

"Is it true that you're the best swordsman in the world? The man who won 62 duels and lost not a single one in his whole life?"

"What if I am?"

Kivuli's black beak twisted into a grin. "I've been looking to meet you for a very, very, VERY long time." She reached her wing upward. "Come to me, Purple Rainmaker!" Her trusty sword came out from the purple seal to be grabbed in her wing by the handle and she pointed its blade at the swordsman. "I challenge you to a duel, Miyamoto!"

All the people around gasped in surprise upon hearing this. Did this Kung Fu master really challenge the greatest swordsman in the world to a duel? The bunny simply stared at her with an indifferent expression. "... Why not. I have to find a way to kill time anyways."

Kivuli smiled. "Thank you."

#

The two swordsmen left to go duel outside the city as to avoid causing any damage to the buildings or hurting the citizens. They stood in the middle of an open area with nothing but grass. Mei Ling, the young teenagers, as well as some other citizens gathered nearby to watch what should be an interesting encounter.

"What weapon are you gonna use?" Kivuli asked.

The bunny turned his head toward one of the teenagers. "Hey, you, there. Give me your knife!" The young boy was surprised by such a demand, but complied, pulling a knife out of his pocket and tossing it for the bunny to catch it in his paw.

Kivuli blinked her amethyst eyes at this. "... What are you doing? I said I wanted a sword duel; not a sandwich contest. Take one of your swords out!"

"That won't be necessary," Miyamoto nonchalantly responded as he twirled the little knife between his fingers. "I won't need more than this to defeat you."

Kivuli narrowed her eyes in anger and flapped her wings to dart forward. "DON'T UNDERESTIMATE ME! TIGER SLASH!" Charging her sword with a lot of energy, the martial eagle swung her glowing blade with all of her strength.

CLANG!

The watchers could not believe their eyes upon seeing the scene unfolding before them. Kivuli unleashed a very powerful attack that could easily kill someone... So how was Miyamoto able to block the blade with the simple tip of his knife?

"W-What?!" Kivuli mumbled in nothing short of shock and awe. "My attack was at full strength! How could he block it with a mere knife?"

"You truly are an amateur," the bunny said with a sigh. "It's not the size of the blade that matters; it's the skills of the one using it. Any good swordsman knows that."

Scoffing, Kivuli pulled back and started swinging her sword over and over again, only for it to be blocked by Miyamoto who used the tip of his knife while having his eyes half-closed. He was bored. "Don't you go thinking that I know nothing about swordsmanship!"

CLING! CLING! CLING! Mei Ling and the others could only watch as Kivuli attempted in vain to land a strike ton Miyamoto. Mei Ling's golden eyes were wide open. "The best swordsman in the world... is really that strong?"

"Alright, that's enough," the bunny declared and, with a swift swing of his little knife, knocked the sword out of Kivuli's wings before going for a stab. However, he stopped the the tip of the blade right in front of her chest. "... You lost. Recognize your defeat and surrender now."

"... No."

This answer surprised Miyamato quite a bit. Normally, after seeing how superior he was to them in terms of sword skills, his opponents would surrender and run away in fear, quitting on their dreams to beat him. 'No' is an answer he never received. Why did this eagle refuse?

"... I can't give up now..."

Miyamoto turned his head to give her a confusing look. "You wanna continue fighting? Even if you could get killed?"

"It's because... I've done a promise to someone that I would reach my goal of becoming the best swordsman in the world. And I have the feeling that if I decide to step back right now...," Kivuli looked up with a wall of determination on her face, "... it would break that promise I made to this person... and to myself..."

Miyamoto looked at the determined eagle in surprise... before grinning. "It has been a long time since I've met a swordsman with such determination." He tossed the knife back in the teenagers' direction. "Guess what, I'm gonna let you go with no injuries for now. You see these swords?" he asked with tapping the swords tied to his hips. "They are called Wakizashi and Daisho. If you want a chance to defeat me, you're gonna have to form a stronger connection with your sword than I have with them. When you feel ready for a rematch, come and see me; I will be waiting for you."

Kivuli smiled at this. "Thank you, Miyamoto. I'm looking forward to this day. Until then, I'm gonna work harder than ever!"

#

And so, Miyamoto left to go eat some bread and vine at a very fancy restaurant while Kivuli went to the Silver Blade to get new weapons. Mei Ling waited outside as she did not want to bother her friend in her choice. After around one hour, the martial eagle walked out. "So? What did you buy?" Mei Ling went to ask her feathered friend.

"Look." Kivuli pulled out her first new sword. It was a big two-handed sword whose blade was glowing orange and emanating heat. "This is called a Great Fire Sword." She then pulled out her second weapon, a sickle whose blade was curling into an half-moon and had a red handle. "And that's a sickle. I now have one elemental weapon and a swift, sharp sickle into my inventory." She summoned her purple seal and pulled both weapons away into it.

"Cool! Let's go show them to the others!"

Author's note: We met the strongest swordsman in my world. You must think I'm crazy to introduce such a powerful character so soon in the series. But hey, better be in advance than making last minute decisions, right?

'Bosan Miyamoto' is a reference to Miyamoto Musashi, the man who history remembers as the strongest samurai who ever lived. There are plenty of references about him in this chapter such as the names of his swords.

Will Kivuli manage to defeat him one day? How will she adapt with the use of her two new weapons? Stay stunned to find out. As always, constructive reviews are welcome and may the gods watch over you all.