Without another word, I turned and began walking out of the domain, towards the vast, open plains to the east.

My sudden, enigmatic departure caused a ripple of confusion. Yukiko, ever the pragmatist, was the first to react. "He's up to something," she said to Taro. "I'm going to find out what." She began to follow.

Ryu and the other Masters, seeingtheir ultimate role model leave, immediately fell into step behind them.

Taro, seeing everyone important leaving, panicked. "My lord! Wait! The evening meal!" He scrambled to gather his ledgers and hurry after them.

And then, the onlookers came. The common folk of the domain, the farmers, the laborers, the families. They saw the silent procession of their leaders walking towards the plains, their curiosity overwhelming their fear. They began to follow, a growing, murmuring crowd, drawn by the promise of witnessing something momentous.

I led them to a vast, open field, a sea of green grass under a pale blue sky. In the distance, perhaps a kilometer away, stood a solitary mountain, its peak capped with pristine white snow.

I stopped in the center of the field and turned to face them. The crowd fell silent.

"This will do," I said, pointing to the distant mountain.

I just stood there, my hands at my sides.

And the world changed.

The air grew still. The wind died. The birds in the sky went silent. An oppressive, bone-chilling cold settled over the plain, a cold that had nothing to do with temperature.

A dark miasma began to emanate from me. It was a visible, crackling aura of pure, negative energy. It was the color of a starless midnight, and it smelled of ozone and ancient stone. It writhed around me, a living shadow that devoured the light.

My feet lifted from the ground. I began to float, my body rising slowly, weightlessly, until I was ten paces in the air, a dark god hanging in the silent sky. My red eyes burned through the darkness, the only points of light in the sudden, terrifying gloom.

I drew Kageyoshi.

The world seemed to hold its breath. The crowd stared, their hearts pounding in their chests, their minds unable to process what they were seeing.

I held the blade aloft, its dark steel absorbing the light.

"Tenka Kōka."

I simply spoke the words, my voice a low, enigmatic vibration that seemed to resonate not in their ears, but in their very souls.

And then, I unleashed hell.

It was not a single strike. It's a continuous pulse of pure energy that erupted from the tip of the blade. It was a wave of pure destruction, a thousand black slashes that tore through the air. They were lines of absolute darkness, slashes in the very fabric of space itself.

The crowd watched in silent, abject terror as this storm of black energy connected me to the distant mountain. For thirty long seconds, the mountain was simply... erased. It was shredded, carved, and cut apart, a relentless assault of infinite cuts. A third of its peak vaporized. The rest sheared off, collapsing in a massive avalanche of rock and ice. The sheer, clean cuts left behind were like sliced by a razor, leaving behind two perfectly smooth, glassy cliffs.

There was no sound during the attack. Only the terrifying, silent visual of a mountain being unmade.

Then, the sound came. A delayed, deafening roar that shook the very ground. It was the sound of a mountain dying.

The energy receded as quickly as it had come. The dark miasma was sucked back into my body. The air warmed. I gently lowered back to the ground, landing softly on the grass.

I looked at the devastation I had caused with a detached, curiosity. "Hmph," I grunted. "A bit messy."

Then I turned to look at my followers.

Taro was on his knees, sobbing uncontrollably, his face buried in his hands. He had seen the god he served, and it was more than his mortal mind could comprehend.

Yukiko was standing perfectly still, her face pale, her usual cynical composure shattered. Her hand was on the hilt of her sword, but I knew it was not for defense. It was a reflex, a useless gesture against a force of nature. For the first time, she was truly, deeply afraid.

Ryu and the other Masters were on their knees, their foreheads pressed to the ground in a gesture of absolute, unquestioning worship. Their pride, their ambition, their very sense of self-worth had been utterly annihilated. They had seen the true, unbridgeable gap between a master and a god. They understood that they were not just my Hands; they were less than dust motes in the light of my power.

I looked at them, at their shattered, terrified faces. I felt a familiar, welcome feeling return. The Boredom.

The show was over.

"Well," I said, my voice back to its usual flat, uninterested tone. "That's one way to do it. I'm hungry. Let's go back."

--

The process of creating the 'Kensei Kōryū Sho' was as tedious as I had hoped. When the dense, cryptic, five-volume manual was complete, I gathered my most loyal followers.

Holding a thick leather-bound volume, I spoke grimly. "This is not a book for everyone. It's a pact. Inside these pages is my will given form. To read it is to bind yourself to me. To teach it is to carry that will. To share it with those who have not sworn the oath is betrayal. If you betray me, I will kill you. Find you anywhere and kill you so tediously you'll hate the day you were born. Understand?"

Their eyes widened, caught somewhere between respect and fear.

"Good," I said. "Ryu. You will teach. You are the only one who has a chance of understanding the gibberish Eiji has written. The rest of you will learn from him."

I explained the tiered system of mastery, my voice cold and clinical.

---

The Kensei Kōryū System: A Graded Path to Mastery

The path of Kensei Kōryū is not a ladder to be climbed by the ambitious, but a filter to be passed by the worthy. Each form builds upon the last, increasing in complexity and physical/mental demand. Only those who have sworn the life-oath to the Tsurugi Domain are permitted to learn even the first form.

Tier 1: The Initiate (The Loyal Mass)

• Forms Mastered: 1 ('Asahi no Kata')

• Description: This is the baseline. The foundation. Any loyal follower with sufficient discipline can learn the Form of the Rising Sun. It teaches the core principle of aggressive, decisive action. It is the opening statement in every argument.

• Combat Application: An Initiate is a competent soldier. They can deliver a devastating opening strike and are a threat in a one-on-one engagement. They are the backbone of the Tsurugi Domain's forces, but they lack the adaptability for more complex conflicts.

Tier 2: The Adept (The Dedicated Warrior)

• Forms Mastered: 1-3 ('Asahi no Kata', 'Utsusemi no Kata', 'Sazanami no Kata')

• Description: To reach this tier requires a significant step up in talent and dedication. The student must not only be strong but also possess a certain fluidity of mind. They begin to understand that Kensei Kōryū is not a series of tricks, but a language.

• Combat Application: An Adept is a true duelist. They can control the flow of a fight, using evasion and area denial to their advantage. They are capable of holding their own against multiple lesser opponents and are often given command of small squads.

Tier 3: The Master (The Prodigy)

• Forms Mastered: 1-6 (Adding 'Kumo no Shiba', 'Tetsu-Kabe no Kata', 'Kage-Utagoe')

• Description: This is the realm of the genius. Only one in a hundred students will ever reach this tier. It requires not just physical talent but a profound, intuitive understanding of the principles. They can begin to read their opponent's intent and use it against them.

• Combat Application: A Master is a force on the battlefield. They are unbreakable on the defense and terrifying on the offense. They are the commanders, the elite guard, the enforcers of the Tsurugi Domain's will. They can fight and win against entire squads of conventional samurai.

Tier 4: The Exemplar (The Legend)

• Forms Mastered: 1-12 (All forms)

• Description: This is the theoretical peak, the realm of myth. To master all twelve forms is to achieve a state of perfect synthesis with the language of violence. It requires a once-in-a-generation intellect and a lifetime of obsessive dedication. Ryu is the only one currently on this path.

• Combat Application: An Exemplar is a walking natural disaster. They do not simply win fights; they rewrite the rules of engagement. They can face an army and emerge victorious. They are the living embodiment of the Tsurugi Domain's power, a testament to what can be achieved through absolute devotion to a single, perfect system.

---

"Now you understand," I finished, looking at their stunned faces. "Go."

I walked away, leaving them to their new, terrifying purpose. I found Yukiko and Taro standing on a balcony overlooking the training pit. Below, Ryu was already beginning to teach the first form to the other masters, his voice clear and confident as he quoted from the dense manual.

Taro was fussing over a ledger. "The cost of the paper for the manuals alone... and the ink! We'll need to budget for more."

Yukiko watched the students, a dry smile on her lips. "There's something almost charming about their clumsy attempts, a mix of determination and uncertainty that makes you want to watch a little longer."

I stood between them, the frantic steward and the cynical realist. For the first time since this whole mess began, I felt a flicker of something like peace. I had built my system, and I had found the right people to run it. I was finally free to be bored in peace. And it was glorious.

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