The Distortion

Adam woke up from a rough night. Such a shame…he desperately needed good rest to recover from the previous night’s fatigue and prepare for an eventful day. The inn was unbearably crowded; it was not suited to welcome forty-six individuals under one roof. Under normal circumstances, no one would have accepted all those people in a humble residence such as this one.

However, in this case, it was the intention all along. Daisuke deliberately opted for a shabby inn to keep a low profile. Besides, the owner of the place was somewhat of an informant who offered useful bits about this particular district and helped them keep track of any development. The innkeeper would even offer some assistance when it pertained to the actual raid.

Be that as it may, the end result was still not favorable. The disgusting smell of sweat filling the air was inescapable, perpetuated by the high density of men present under the same roof, not to forget the relatively high temperature. The cartoon squiggly odor lines manifested that night; they were lucky no cases of asphyxia were registered…and that was but one inconvenience. Adam may have plunged into the deepest of slumbers, he’d come to find out it was far from being a comfortable one. He was feeling the aftermath right about now after he fully woke up, his body in a world of pain. Adam could have sworn his back and neck were screaming at him.

For most of it, he was stuck in one precise position—curled up in a ball—not able to twitch a single finger, otherwise he would have hit the person to his right, to his left, on top of him, below him or all four at the same time, with no right to complain of course…it was akin to a sleep paralysis episode. Alas, he and the rest of the men had to suffer for the sake of the ladies who were prioritized to occupy the actual rooms. The result was a clustered mass of men sleeping on the floor without even a proper mattress to cushion the impact.

A charming experience overall.

Lucky bastard, that tiger…

Adam envied Râad…as if he didn’t have enough reason to dislike him already. Indeed, the tiger was the only one lucky enough to escape the miserable conditions inside the inn; he had the luxury to sleep outside wherever he saw fit. The whole garden was his…

Was he really begrudging a tiger for sleeping outside? Adam felt rather stupid all of a sudden, so he let it go.

He had to straighten the mass of hair stuffing both his face and head in order to regain his sight. He missed the days when he was clean-shaven with well-combed shorter hair. This new look, serving as a disguise, was growing tiresome. He greeted the few people around him as he strode towards the entrance. He instinctively shaded his eyes from the sun; his sight had yet to adjust to the sunlight which stung like a volley of needles. The babbling brook provide the water necessary to wash his face before putting his glasses on. As he did, Adam caught a glimpse of his brother to his right; Laith sat on a nearby wooden platform.

“Morning.” Adam said, yawning.

“Ah, you’re finally up.” Laith said. “Sleep well?”

“I wish…” Adam sounded regretful. “But hey, we’ve seen worse.”

“True, most of us spent years sleeping in the wilderness. A crowded inn is like a five-star hotel compared to that.” Laith replied, looking ahead absentmindedly.

“Can’t argue with that.” Adam said, pushing back his glasses.

A short silence.

“Hey Adam, what do you say we go take a walk around the district? I don’t like this…tension.”

Laith was growing restless, desperately looking for ways to get busy with something that did not involve thinking about the raid. Looking at the stressed and anxious faces of the samurais made it worse.

“Huh, I was wondering how come you managed to wake up this early when you usually don’t miss a chance to oversleep…is this the high school pre-exam stress?” Adam asked wryly.

“Something like that…only the stakes are much, much higher.”

Laith always had his stomach rumble and make all sorts of embarrassing noises whenever a challenge drew near, no matter how small. It could be an exam, competition, war…his stomach was always there to disrupt his mood.

“Hmm, I was slightly mistaken about you. The initial impression I got of you—albeit vague—was one of those battle maniacs who would get excited about combat. Don’t take this the wrong way, but it would fit your Incarnation.”

“Uh…I mean I would love to hone my skills and increase my combat ability; anyone would wanna get better at what he does best. It’s like leveling up in a videogame; you get to unlock new and stronger skills.”

“I really don’t know about these analogies, little brother…” Adam shook his head. “What’s stopping you from being excited about this battle then?”

“I would be if it were an exhibition match, maybe. But this is life or death, nothing to be excited about.”

“I guess, yeah.” Adam replied, pushing back his glasses. “But you’ve taken part in a war, two if I recall correctly. You’d think you already got used to that kind of atmosphere at least.”

“The heat of the battlefield? Sure, I can get used to it as the fighting progresses. But this insufferable waiting? Never. I guess I’m not a very patient person when it comes to doing nothing; I don’t deal with downtimes like this one very well.”

“Fair enough,” Adam paused shortly, “Speaking of battlefields, you never talked to me about the wars you’ve fought; kind of hard for me to imagine it since last time I saw you, you were a fifteen-year-old high school student. What’s it been like?”

Adam honestly should have asked this question much sooner, but he had a lot on his mind ever since he reunited with his brother.

“Well, I did have a decent initiation prior to that experience. From my own Incarnation to the battle royale in the wake the Distortion, I was already predisposed to engage in wars, not just randomly thrust into it.”

“Still, I would imagine war is its own thing. Armies deploy trained soldiers, not just any physically-abled fieldworker. The experience must be terrifyingly unique.”

Laith hesitated a bit before answering. He stared at the ground swinging his feet from the elevated platform.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this but…war has actually been more of an educational experience for me than a traumatizing one.” Laith gazed absently, visualizing some past scenes. “It taught me a fair number of values like discipline, valor, respect, honor, loyalty...not to mention how precious life is. You tend to appreciate it a lot more when it constantly flashes before your eyes during the battle.”

“That sure is an interesting take on war…” Adam replied, intrigued. “The common opinion I’m used to hearing is that it’s just two armies facing each other, ripping the opposing force to pieces and claiming it was all done for a righteous cause when it’s really just senseless brutality.”

“I don’t necessarily disagree that it rarely amounts to any good, and peace is something we should all strive towards, but I think that’s nothing more than a utopia. We could try all we want; we will never get rid of war or disease or poverty or famine. The duality of good and bad will always there, our entire existence was shaped around it. In the end, you just have to pick your side.”

“Do you really believe that, for example, the wars you’ve been in had a good side and a bad side? As far as I know, they were basic struggles to conquer new territory. Every nation has a tendency to expand its land which is usually justified by a certain belief often considered irrational by many—those who aren’t proponents of it at least.” Adam pushed back his glasses.

“But that’s just it, that strong, sometimes irrational and absurd, belief is what made me think back on our time before the Distortion. Ever since I became a soldier, I’ve fought with and against people who had this sparkle in their eyes, this fire burning inside them, this genuine drive and passion…admirable, fascinating even. I may not agree with their view, but I can’t help but admire the fact that they firmly stood for something and never budged while defending it.

“In fact, soldiers had the utmost respect for their sworn enemies. There was almost a sense of camaraderie even, because they realized they shared the same conviction, despite literally being at each other’s throat. And it goes beyond war and soldiers, simple everyday workers had these fiery eyes, eyes I didn’t see much of growing up in the twenty first century where it feels like people just turned…hollow.”

Laith’s response—more like venting really—caught Adam off guard; he did not see that coming. One moment they were discussing peacefully and the next Laith was arguing fervently about an almost philosophical topic. Totally unlike him. Adam would gladly lend an ear to what his brother had to say, it had been a while since he engaged in such an absorbing conversation. The fact that his own brother sparked that conversation made it even more interesting.

“Alright, this is rather unexpected,” Adam said, sitting down properly—the walk can wait. “Aren’t you exaggerating though? They did exist even in our time, people who weren’t ‘hollow’ I mean. There were many who still had that passion to follow through with their ambitions and achieve great things. Maybe you just didn’t have the chance to meet those people; you barely had fifteen years after all under your belt—holed up in an uninfluential country no less.”

“You’re not wrong. After all, most people I knew hid behind some social media profile and their biggest satisfaction was defined by how many likes they got on some filtered picture. What a lovely way to validate your existence…” derision was all over Laith’s voice.

“Hello? Weren’t you one of those people?” Adam raised both eyebrows.

“Yeah, when I was still a horny teenager, waaaay before I had to brandish a sword for a living, enlisting in armies and waging wars. You know, experiences that broadens your perspective and reminds you that getting insulted online is hardly the end of the world when there are people going through far, far worse…”

“Well, not every person was slapped in the face by the Distortion, so you can’t really hold everyone to your standards. You know, the whole ‘walking a mile in someone’s shoes’ type of thing. And even then, you could still argue not everybody was as shallow as you claim. Aren’t you being a little hyperbolic?”

“You know what? Maybe I am, and a little biased at that too. It wasn’t everyday that you see a farmer show gratitude when it rained, tearing up when seeing his crops grow. I’m not even gonna touch upon a sailor seeking a grand adventure to explore new lands, or a great mind delving into the mysteries of life and metaphysical questions…I honestly don’t think there were as many of them when we grew up, the majority mostly content with going with the flow, letting outside factors dictate their lives. Why, you could just look at our parents…”

Adam frowned. “I didn’t think you’d bring them into the conversation. What about our parents?”

“You surely remember how they were almost suffocating all the time, either worrying about their jobs, their rent, their parents, their children…I never felt any spirit behind any of it. Yes, even baba’s reckless and downright suicidal stubbornness at his job. We both know it was carried out mainly out of his strong sense of duty and responsibility, not necessarily enthusiasm.”

Adam snorted, rubbing his beard. “What can I say, that’s how life works, times change, priorities shift and so, people have to adjust. What was once considered precious could easily lose its value if made abundant. I know this even better now since I had the time to study these matters in-depth and had conversations and debates on them. That’s the law of evolution and adaptation.”

“And do you think that’s necessarily a good thing? What I’m trying to say is that change and evolution don’t always happen in the right direction. Life used to be far simpler yet had a lot more meaning to it. And as it progressed, it feels like it became a giant complicated maze with very little substance.”

“Care to elaborate?” Adam asked, pushing back his glasses.

Laith snorted. “We’ve achieved great things, reached new heights in such a short amount of time, gained much more than anyone could have imagined. But I just can’t help feel that we lost something in return. I can’t tell what it is exactly…maybe it is that burning fire. I felt, from my humble experience, that Humanity used to have a thrill for life, the joy of exploring new grounds, sailing unknown seas, conquering new lands…they were all ambitions people have longed for and those ambitions have continuously pushed them forward.

“The world also allowed them to do so; they didn’t have mostly closed borders and strict laws that prevented them from the simple act of getting to see the world they live in. But me and you? We grew up in a world where the most some people hoped for was to get a job after a long and arduous process just so they could put food on the table. Maybe we didn’t evolve as much as we thought we did. Maybe we have freed ourselves from many shackles, and ended up putting on new ones.”

Adam listened carefully to his brother. This was a rare occasion where Laith let loose, and Adam made sure he wouldn’t cut him off very often. He certainly did not regret doing so. He got to see a different side of Laith which he would have probably never known under different circumstances. It also helped that the topic was quite captivating and worth all of Adam’s attention.

“I think I get what this is about now…I guess you were one of those people who would consider themselves being born in the wrong era.”

Laith frowned as he thought his brother was mocking him. But, funnily enough, his brother was dead serious about his statement. And thinking about it, he was probably right. Laith had felt a lot more comfortable in his own skin after the Distortion. He could no longer imagine himself growing up to be the same man if the world remained as was. The last decade was an illuminating experience, despite how grim it was. It opened his eyes to a brand-new reality, reshaped him as a person, and most importantly, enabled him to do more, to be more. None of it would have been possible—or even crossed his mind—were he to grow in a world before the Distortion.

Laith truly was at peace with the world around him and how he turned out to be.

“Suppose you’re right about me and I’m just infatuated with the world of Mihad, what do you think about the whole thing? And I mean ‘you’ the man, not ‘you’ the ‘Scholar’.”

Laith noticed how his brother’s subtle attempts to distance himself from the argument, approaching it solely from an academic point of view. It did sound a whole lot like a politician providing boring diplomatic answers instead of facing the question head-on.

“Quite perceptive, eh,” Adam smiled good-naturedly, “Honestly? I think you’re not the first person to romanticize the past. People look back to older times with a sense of nostalgia and admiration and consider them the ‘the good old days’. Conversely, there are those who see the past as this horrible dark age whereas modern society enabled them to reach enlightenment. After the Distortion, some of us actually had the chance to experience both worlds and had some tangible basis for any of the claims.”

“You still didn’t answer the question.” Laith gave his brother a flat look.

“You just said ‘The duality of good and bad is always there’ and ‘we have freed ourselves from many shackles, and ended up putting on new ones’. That means that no place or time is better than the other, wherever you go, whenever you go, you will find a different set of rules, a different set of standards, and a different set of problems.

“Monarchies have given birth to tyrants, and so have democracies. Blades have killed people, and so did bullets…The shape, the setting, the format, they were never the issue. The issue always lay within the actors; we were always the constant in the equation.”

“Please don’t tell me you’re one of the guys who think we should just disappear as a race because we’re the ‘root of all evil’…”

“Nothing of the sort, the problem does lie within us, but to label the whole of mankind as the problem is a severely short-sighted opinion. As I see it, we just have to fight the good fight, be it now, a hundred years in the past or a thousand years in the future. Now you may ask what the good fight is and the answer is rarely as simple as we’d like it to be. No matter how convinced we are of our own truth, life haw a way of putting us through situations that challenge our beliefs.

“Our existence is a lot more intricate for the solution to be cut-and-dry. You needn’t look farther than this raid. Is Tokugawa san really justified in what he’s doing having no evidence to back up his claims? What if he was right but decided not to go through with it? A murderer would escape punishment in that case. What do you make of that?”

Laith sighed. He knew Adam’s question wasn’t supposed to be answered.

“So we’re bound to get stuck in that vague grey area that offers no clear answers?”

“That’s what life is about, an endless quest to solidify, complete, modify or refute a previous answer. I’ve lost count of the scientific discoveries we made, only to find out right away how little knowledge we actually acquired. Ultimately, I say perfection is a peak you’ll never reach, yet you must climb towards it every day.” Adam gazed upward into the vast open sky.

“A never-ending battle, eh…”

“You did say we can never reach a utopia, and yet here you are, still fighting.”

Laith paused, realizing what his brother was getting at. Why was he still fighting…? Laith already figured the answer to that question which was actually quite simple: he was taught that a good deed matters, one way or another. If not today, then tomorrow, if not in his lifetime, then in his grandchildren’s, if not in the mortal life, then in the afterlife. Ultimately, it has to matter. Whether or not it was the definitive answer, it remained a promising one, a quest worth navigating.

His brother did well to jog his memory. Laith tended to forget quite a bit whenever it pertained to complicated issues, so an aide-memoire was always appreciated.

“Well, you still managed to one-up me with your elaborate arguments, using my own words against me no less…smartass. That’s why I always let you do the talking, you’re just too good at it, even more so now that you’re a damn scholar.” Laith’s teeth flashed when smiling.

“For what it’s worth, you’ve gotten better yourself. I never expected to hear an idiot like you tackling existential topics. Quite the upgrade you had after the Distortion.” Adam said while clapping his brother on the back.

“Ever the asshole, eh.” Laith clapped his brother on the back as well.

Adam felt a tremor jolt his entire body. “Next time you do that, bear in mind the gap between constitutions.”

“Alright, you still up for that walk?”

“Yeah, let’s get going.”

They got to their feet with a hop. Laith whistled for Râad who came rushing to him, wagging his tail with joy, startling the samurais in the area. They were so busy to where they didn’t find a good opening to ask about the presence of such a beast among them. They were aware that he was Laith’s partner, but it was strange nonetheless. By that time however, it was already too late to argue about anything really, it was fine by them as long as he wouldn’t see them as his meal. Adam, naturally, wasn’t thrilled with the idea of inviting him to take a stroll with them, but he finally reached the point where he deemed it futile to contest.

Laith started petting Râad on his head between his ears, under his chin and along his cheeks. Râad made a hearty snorting sound through which he expressed his satisfaction. Everyone in the area, except for Adam who had already seen this scene play out before him, was left with their jaw dropped to the floor. He really looked more like a cat than a mighty tiger while being in that state.

“You guys look soooo cute together!”

“Ugh, please don’t call me that, Yuuna…” Laith replied, wrinkling his nose.

Yuuna came out of the inside of the inn looking like she just got done preening. “Oh, that’s the first time I hear someone dislike being cute. Fine, but I’m still calling him cute though.” she insisted.

“I don’t think he can object to that now, can he….” Adam said dryly.

“Would you mind if I touch him?” Yuuna’s eyes were sparkling.

“Yeah sure, just be gentle with him. He doesn’t attack any of you but he doesn’t consider you a friend either, not yet at least.” Laith gave her a slight warning.

She extended her hand slowly and, with Laith’s assistance, put it on the tiger’s head, who snarled reflexively at first. Laith’s soft touch lulled Râad into lowering his guard, allowing Yuuna to run her fingers through his fur.

“Kawaiiiiiiiii!” her joy was immeasurable.

Adam watched with indifference. He didn’t wish to show his dissatisfaction not to upset Yuuna, so he took the conversation to a different direction.

“Hey Yuuna, we’re taking a walk, wanna tag along? I’m sure you could show us around as well.”

“Yes sure, why not.”

And so, the four of them went on a casual saunter in the district. It wasn’t that much different from the one they have been residing in, scenery wise. Most of the architecture was identical, much of the same facilities were found here as well. They walked slowly, enjoying every stop, doing whatever came to their minds at the moment like buying some trinkets or trying their luck at a silly game to win an even sillier prize. Similar stands were all over the streets seeing how it was the day of the festival.

In Laith’s case, this was a precious experience he had to take full advantage of. It was the first time he had the opportunity to travel away from his land, be it before or after the Distortion. And even though he wasn’t here as a tourist, it wouldn’t hurt to enjoy whatever little time he had here—very unlikely for him to ever get back. He couldn’t think of a better time to do it than today when the country was celebrating.

They passed by a martial arts dojo that fed into Adam’s nostalgia. Before the Distortion, he attended one for few years, developing his skills to a respectable degree. Part of him regretted losing those abilities…he did acquire a scholarly brain in return though. Not the worst compromise. Adam would have liked to pay the place a proper visit and see masters and trainees up close in action, but this special day called for rest and not practice.

Next was a shrine, a Shinto shrine.

A very notable gate marked the entrance, as was the case for all shrines. Two long posts painted vermilion with a black and slightly curved upper lintel formed what was known as a “Torii” gate. Yuuna explained that the gate represented the transition from the mundane to the sacred. Once they crossed it, they had to go up a short stairway edged by two rows of cherry blossom trees on both sides, most commonly known as Sakura trees. Petals like snow pellets, the flowers made for mesmerizing clouds of pale pink that formed a roof over the entire stairway, adding to the divine touch intended from the passage and the place as a whole.

Laith’s mouth hung open, eyes widening, all of his senses captivated by the dazzling scenery. It didn’t matter how many times he’d seen it online or when his brother described it to him, nothing compared to witnessing it up-close. Before the Distortion, people around the world had to carefully choose the period of the year should they wanted to feast on this sight. That was no longer the case. As it stood now, and due to the behavioral changes of the sun and Mihad, each part of the world was stuck in one specific season. Fortunately for Yamato, it happened to be the most beautiful one: the cherry blossom season.

After the stairs, one would have to walk a main road. On its left was a fountain where worshippers had to cleanse their hands and faces before proceeding. The road itself was also decorated on both sides by stone lanterns and other unidentified structures could be spotted in both directions—both brothers did not wish to annoy Yuuna with too many questions. The small number of people attending the Shrine did however make Adam wonder, since shrines usually hosted a good number of festivities. The reason for that was a simple one: the “Fukkatsu” festival was a national festival, bearing no religious character. At most, few people would attend the shrines these to express gratitude.

At the end of the main road, a pair of statues stood at the entrance of the hall of worship. Laith recognized the lion-dog creatures but couldn’t quite remember their exact name. The main building was fairly small with a gabled roof which was curved upwards at the eaves. Yuuna suggested they would enter the structure and the brothers accepted, albeit reluctantly. Both of them were slightly embarrassed at the idea; they felt so out of place when a few others were paying their respects and worshipping the deity venerated by this particular shrine.

As they left, Laith was curious about an additional structure—smaller than the one they had just exited—that resided further behind.

“Unfortunately, that is the one part we can’t visit.” Yuuna stated.

“Why is that? Not complaining, just asking.” Laith kept his voice low.

“It is the most sacred part of this whole complex. It is mostly closed and opens on very rare occasions.” she too replied in a quiet voice.

“What’s point of it? We’ve seen the worship hall, so what purpose does it serve?” Laith followed with another question.

“It’s literally the keep of the Kami’s sacred body, the building—called “Honden”—is purely intended for the use of the enshrined Kami.”

“Wait, there is the body of a god in there?” Laith shouted, disrupting the prevailing calm and quiet.

“First, lower your bloody voice and second, of course not you idiot!” Adam quickly pinned Laith, hand over his brother’s mouth. “That structure houses an item which acts as a temporary repository of the kami.”

“Which is a sword in this case.” Yuuna finished.

“Whish shword ij it?” Adam’s hand garbled Laith’s words.

“Ame no Habakiri.”

“Whoshe shword ij it?”

“Susanoo, the god of storms. It is said that is the sword he used to slay the eight headed snake, Yamata no Orochi.”

That was quite the recognizable name. There had been no shortage of mentions of this particular deity throughout all sorts of media and both brothers happened to come across few of them. The thought of Susanoo, a god belonging to the Shinto religion, manifesting in this reality crossed both of their minds for an instant. They quickly dismissed that likelihood; the implications were seismic. Besides, they had a more pressing matter waiting for them that very same day, far more urgent than worrying about the possible existence of a mythological god among them.

Following the short—slightly intimidating—field trip in the shrine, they reunited with a bored Râad who stayed at the gate. Laith denied him the entry out of respect for the entire complex and the people frequenting it. Their next stop was a restaurant where they had the meal of their life. They filled their bellies with a variety of meals, most of which Laith had been dying to try. And yet, the one who enjoyed himself the most was the very lucky tiger that benefitted the most from the owner’s generosity.

“I haven’t been here long, but I will definitely miss this place.” Laith said with a loud burp.

“Watch your manners you disgusting creature…even your pet tiger has the decency to not burp that way.” Adam scolded him with an acidic voice while Yuuna chuckled.

“By the way, where will we head next? After Yamato I mean.” she asked.

“One thing at a time, let’s worry about getting out of this place alive, in possession of the fragment.” Adam answered.

“Woah, that’s optimistic.” Laith said—not at all sarcastic.

“That’s realistic.”

“Fair enough.” Yuuna nodded. “Well then, I think it’s time we head back”

Tension was steadily rising on the way back, steps growing heavier by the minute, conversations few and far between. It was the same back at the inn…no, it was much worse. Time was passing and the raid was drawing closer than ever. A number of faces were turning pale. Not the most inspiring sight. It was mortifyingly static. Barely anyone cared to walk around; the most notable motion was that of fidgeting muscles seen through the shaking katanas held tightly in the samurais’ hands. They were grouped in four or five, some outdoors, others indoors. It was the longest afternoon most of them had ever endured, torn between the wanting it to end and fearing what came after it.

It was times like these that people desperately wished for the day to revert to the way it was before the Distortion. This was a brand-new existence where all established logic needed reevaluation, and the temporal dimension was no exception. As a matter of fact, time flowed much slower now, though many didn’t notice at first, mainly due to their perception of it being altered to better adapt to this reality.

For some, there was no issue since they had always relied on the sun to determine the hour, using its brightness instead of its position as the defining parameter. That transition was seamless to those who never witnessed an era where watches were a thing. For those who did however, it was hard to detach themselves from the metric they had relied on their entire life and thus, they actually counted the hours.

What a surprise it had been when the day lasted ten times longer than the regular twenty-four hours.

People used to wish for more hours in their day before the Distortion. Well, how about ten times the usual amount. Luckily for humanity, the adaptation wasn’t something they had to worry about, it happened spontaneously, much like breathing.

Accordingly, a century-long decade was no longer deemed a short amount of time for humanity to rise above the challenge they were presented with after the Distortion. At the very least, it was long enough for civilizations to revive and flourish again.

And if the dreadful Age of Calamity—the first half of the decade preceding the Distortion—bowed down before the passing of time, so would this meager afternoon. The anxious wait for the raid eventually came to an end.

Akira ordered the troops to organize themselves and deposit the various weapons at the inn; they wouldn’t be let inside the Daimyo’s castle otherwise. He later counted the men and women on their side, forty-six—including him and the tiger. One man was missing.

His footsteps became audible, the outline of his silhouette followed shortly after. His gait was steady, sure and imposing. A thunderous expression adorning his face, his eyes struck fear into the hearts of his own allies. The aura surrounding him was completely different from before. He radiated his murderous intent to all of his surroundings. The man was out for blood.

“Is everyone ready?” the voice was as sharp as a katana.

They did not answer immediately. They had to shake the feeling of consternation coming over them after seeing him in that state. The samurais actively reminded themselves that this was in fact a comforting sign, a sign of unwavering determination. The samurais mustered their confidence and answered as a united front.

“Hai, Tokugawa san!”