Ten fingers, ten puppets.
The people controlled encompassed almost all the upper echelons of power.
In this way, the entire Asakura Island, along with its most proud Seven Great Dojos and swordsmanship competitions, had unknowingly become tools for the Carpenter to make dirty money.
"So it was you, a despicable villain, behind all this!"
Junichi drew his sword, recalling the hardships he and his father had endured over the years. He gritted his teeth, almost on the verge of tears, "Absolutely... absolutely unforgivable!"
Just as he was about to charge at the Carpenter, a sharp whistling sound came from behind him. In an instant, Junichi's bamboo sword was severed in half.
Junichi turned around in shock. The one who had cut his bamboo sword was none other than his own father.
At this moment, Sakuraba Itsuki's face was twisted in a grotesque expression. His right hand tightly gripped a pale pink longsword, maintaining a downward slashing motion, while his other hand desperately clutched his right wrist, trying to stop it.
Clearly.
The target of that strike was not originally Junichi's bamboo sword.
But his head.
"Go... go, get away!" Sakuraba Itsuki let out a painful scream from his throat, "Stay away from me, Junichi!"
"Father!" Junichi's eyes widened, still not fully comprehending what had happened. Suddenly, a strong hand grabbed his arm and yanked him back more than ten meters.
"Xiano, let me go! I can't abandon him... I need to save my father!"
"Stop talking nonsense."
Xiano threw him forcefully into a corner and said coldly:
"Staying by his side will only harm him! Have you ever seen a puppet show? The only way to stop this performance is to kill the one pulling the strings behind the scenes!"
"Do you think, with your current strength and a broken bamboo sword, you can make it to that guy?"
Junichi looked up, staring blankly at the distant Carpenter.
"What are you looking at, kid?"
The Carpenter sneered, exhaling a puff of smoke, and suddenly swung his left hand and the two fingers at the end of his right hand toward the south.
"Anyway, these old guys won't be of use anymore. Turn them into complete puppets!"
—Whoosh!
Invisible ripples filled the air, revealing strands of threads shooting toward the first row of seats in the southern section of the audience.
The seven dojo masters suddenly began to clatter and creak, rising in unison and marching forward with stiff steps. Seven gleaming blades were drawn simultaneously with a sharp shing.
As they moved, their elbow and knee joints emitted dull, thudding sounds, like wooden balls colliding.
The exposed parts of their bodies began to show increasingly dense wood grain patterns, and their eyes rolled back, filled with dark yellow threads, making them look eerily grotesque.
In an instant.
The seven of them formed a semi-circle.
Shielding the Carpenter behind them while also blocking all possible escape routes around the arena.
"And you!"
The Carpenter laughed wildly, pointing his right index finger at Sakuraba Itsuki. Another dark yellow puppet thread shot out.
"You were so good at resisting, weren't you? Try resisting me now! At this close range, under my power, there's no room for you to struggle!"
"You beast..."
Sakuraba Itsuki's veins bulged on his forehead as he used all his strength to resist.
But it was futile.
He could only watch in despair as wood grain patterns began to spread across his body, one circle after another.
His left hand, losing control, slowly loosened its grip, while the right hand holding the sword gradually turned towards the direction of Xiano Junichi.
His once clear consciousness grew increasingly hazy.
He closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, it seemed he had finally made a decision.
"Puppetization is irreversible. I don't want to completely turn into a mindless monster..."
"Perhaps this is my best fate."
Sakuraba Itsuki smiled, "Goodbye, Junichi."
"Father..." Junichi's eyes widened as if he suddenly realized something. He scrambled up from the ground in panic, trying to rush onto the platform, but was firmly held back by Xiano beside him. He could only flail his arms, tears blurring his vision as he screamed, "No... no! Please don't! Father!!!"
Ssssh!
In an instant, the blade in Sakuraba Itsuki's hand suddenly reversed direction and plunged fiercely into his left chest, swiftly twisting once.
"..." Junichi's movements froze abruptly.
In the reflection of his pupils, the emaciated body, with a smile forced out by the last ounce of strength, collapsed forward onto the ground.
It felt as if the world had crumbled at that moment.
"Mr. Sakuraba Itsuki!"
"President!"
From the audience seats, cries of grief and anger erupted, mingled with sobs.
...
Under the spotlight.
The black-haired youth had somehow returned to the arena. He stared at the motionless face, his brow furrowing slightly, but in the end, he said nothing.
Then he turned to look at the audience.
"What are you all still doing here! Aren't you afraid of death? Do you think this is still a match?!" Xiano took a deep breath and roared with all his might, "Run!!!"
The audience was startled.
Looking at the grim-faced "Carpenter" and the eerie puppets that seemed to have stepped out of a horror movie, they finally realized what this scene truly meant.
"Let's go!"
"I... my legs are weak... help me, pull me up!"
"Ahhh! We're going to die here!!!"
Panicked screams erupted as people scrambled towards the exits on both sides.
The host also fled, crawling and stumbling through the staff restroom corridor. Before leaving, he didn't forget to grab the two trembling Den Den Mushi from the wall, clutching them to his chest as he ran.
Some reluctant Swordsmen wanted to turn back and fight, but they were coldly stopped by Lieutenant Commander Tomte and the security officers, who mercilessly riddled them with Flintlock fire.
Amidst the flying blood mist.
The "Carpenter" flicked the ash off his cigarette with a look of satisfaction.
"I say,"
He looked at Xiano on the stage, clicking his tongue in amazement,
"Kid, I didn't expect you to care so much about the people. Even when you're in danger, you still have the heart to tell them to run first. It's almost making me want to recruit you."
"You seem to have misunderstood something."
Xiano slowly raised his head. The "Carpenter" was slightly taken aback, for what he saw was a pair of frenzied, blood-red eyes, like those of a beast:
"—I told them to get lost because I didn't want them in my way. They're just in the way of my hands and feet!"
"Stop talking big, kid!"
Carpenter, being stared at by those eyes, felt an inexplicable unease in his heart. He forced out a cold laugh, "As you said, this isn't a competition. Even if your swordsmanship is decent, what can you do with that broken Bamboo Sword?"
Swish!
The two Martial Arts School masters suddenly stepped forward and struck, their blades gleaming brightly. Xiano's Bamboo Sword was easily sliced into several pieces.
Immediately, two swords were placed firmly against his neck and chest, one in front and one behind.
"Blame yourself for trusting this swordsmanship tournament too much. As a Swordsman, you didn't even bring your real sword with you."
Carpenter finally relaxed completely and laughed heartily, "Now tell me, kid! What's the difference between a Swordsman without a sword and a lion with its claws cut off?"
"Talking to yourself, after all..."
Xiano looked at the Bamboo Sword, now reduced to just its hilt, and suddenly let go, letting it fall.
He raised his head and grinned, "After all... who told you I was a Swordsman?!"
Boom!!
The moment his words fell, two large hands suddenly reached out, pressing down on the heads of the two masters beside him, exerting force.
Crack!
The sound of walnut shells cracking echoed as the skulls of the two masters instantly deformed under the immense pressure, their facial features twisting and distorting.
Their skin cracked inch by inch, but no blood flowed from the fissures.
Instead, dark yellow Puppet Strings surged out like iron worms, attempting to wrap around Xiano's wrists.
But the moment they touched his skin, they were shattered by the bulging muscles of his arms.
"Is that all?"
The strength Xiano's fingers injected grew increasingly terrifying and violent!
Crack! The hard forehead bones of the two masters could no longer withstand the force, and ten circular finger marks were imprinted.
In the next moment, Xiano, like grabbing a bowling ball, exerted force and hurled them out with a fierce throw!
Boom!
The two Puppets, like Cannonballs, smashed into the audience seats, collapsing countless rows of chairs. When the dust settled, the two bodies were folded and twisted at sharp angles, unable to move any longer.
The wood grain covering their bodies gleamed a waxy pale under the spotlight.
"..."
Carpenter stared dumbfounded at the scene, his Cigar falling to the ground with a clatter.
Rip— The sound of tearing clothes suddenly rang out behind him.
He turned around in a panic, just in time to witness Xiano tearing off the expensive Kendo Uniform he had bought, crumpling it into a ball, and tossing it off the Arena like trash.
Freed from the constraints of the clothes, his bulging muscles writhed and expanded outward, as if breathing. The heavy thumping of his heartbeat was clearly audible.
The already imposing figure on the Arena seemed to expand even further, now towering over him like a small mountain.
"You, you..."
Carpenter instinctively swallowed, his legs trembling as he
stepped back, nearly stumbling and falling.
"Warm-up's over."
The black-haired youth in front of him licked his dry lips, grinning as he spoke, his cheeks trembling and twitching. It wasn't the fatigue of muscles, but the excited shiver of a beast about to pounce.
"—Now, it's your turn."
(End of Chapter)