The Sword Deity in Tokyo

Due to his terrifying glare, Sanagawa Shiraishi had always been widely feared by others since young. This made him discover that he could derive pleasure from bullying others – with a glare, he could easily send shivers down the spines of those wimps.

When he first entered middle school, he deliberately slit his cheek with a knife. Once the wound had healed, it left a horrifying scar on his face. The gruesome combination of his glare and the scar on his face allowed him to be even more unscrupulous at school. Even the teachers at school refused to interact with him, barely suppressing the fear in their hearts.

Throughout the three years he spent in middle school, he had lost count of the number of people who fell victim to his violence and his bullying. Anyway, he never had financial problems to dwell over. As an experienced delinquent, the key to bullying people without repercussions had already been engraved in his mind.

As soon as he advanced to high school, he immediately had his eyes locked on Mikito Hanzawa. After going around and briefly gathering some information on him, he found out that his target was not only small and weak, but he was also an orphan. His only family member was a brother who worked in a different district.

At first, after knowing that Mikito Hanzawa had a brother, he had held back slightly on the bullying. However, half a month ago, he overheard his victim’s voice while loitering outside the office and found out that the brother had passed away in a car accident. After that, Shiraishi stopped holding back and dialed the bullying up a few notches as he knew he had nothing to worry about.

Today, he had approached Mikito Hanzawa in hopes of borrowing some money, but Mikito appeared reluctant and fidgety, which eroded his patience.

He felt boiling anger pump through his blood – he had not expected Mikito Hanzawa only to keep a few dozen yen in his pockets. He felt like he was duped. As he exited the alley, he noticed a student standing there, dressed in a different uniform. That jerk was probably enjoying the show earlier.

This simply infuriated him further.

“B*stard, I’m talking to you! Cat got your tongue?” Faced with Kazuki’s silence and eerie stare, Sanagawa Shiraishi felt the rage spark in his veins.

Seeing that Sanagawa Shiraishi had stepped forward, his three followers also began to inch forward with unpleasant intentions glittering in their eyes.

They were already in a bad mood as they did not manage to glean much money from Mikito Hanzawa. So, when another victim presented himself, it was only natural that the bullies would not let them go so quickly.

As Sanagawa Shiraishi approached him, Kazuki raised the Sun and Moon Sword and swung it at his looming target. With an immense amount of power accompanied by the roaring speed of the wind, the scabbard landed heavily on Sanagawa Shiraishi’s waist.

Argh!!!

Before Sanagawa Shiraishi’s eyes could take in Kazuki’s movements, a sharp pain flared from his waist, making him scrunch his face up in pain. A pitiful yelp of pain escaped his lips, causing passersby to jump. The acute pain made him move his hands to protect his waist on instinct. Then, Kazuki topped it off with a kick to his abdomen, sending him flying to the ground.

With just two moves, Sanagawa Shiraishi was sprawled out on the ground, rolling around in pain. His face was pale as the intense pain spread through his entire body, large beads of sweat trailing down his forehead. The only thing he was capable of doing anymore was wail in pain.

In one corner, Akie Hanzawa looked daggers at the limp body of Sanagawa Shiraishi. It was a pity that he did not have a physical body. Otherwise, he would have bestowed upon him a couple more kicks for good measure.

“Boss Shiraishi!”

“Bastard! Did you just hit me?”

Despite Sanagawa Shiraishi’s howls, his three followers were quick to respond to their growing rage, rushing straight for Kazuki, eager to teach him a lesson.

However, these delinquents were not professional fighters, so there were many openings in their stances. There was not even a need for Kazuki to dodge – in a few swift movements he had sent them to the ground to reunite with their sorry excuse of a leader.

As they laid on the ground whining in pain, Kazuki prowled forward to stand beside Sanagawa Shiraishi. He was trying to regain his composure, attempting to climb onto his feet. Kazuki pressed a foot onto his chest and spat out the cold words, “Did I give you permission to get up?”

As he spoke, he crouched down, examining the pain and hatred shining in Sanagawa Shiraishi’s eyes. He then landed a heavy slap on his face. The sheer amount of force in the slap caused his face to twist in pain. He could only emit a sound close to a puppy’s whine, his tearful eyes full and pleading.

“Where’s the money?”

Upon hearing this, Sanagawa Shiraishi immediately dug through his pocket and produced his wallet, passing it to Kazuki.

Kazuki briefly riffled through the wallet, noting that there were at least a few thousand yen in there. He followed up with another slap on Sanagawa Shiraishi’s already swollen cheek, and said stoically, “Just this much? Are you trying to appease some mere beggar?”

Sanagawa Shiraishi cupped his face fearfully, not daring to resist. He brought a shaky finger up to point at his minions, indicating they had money on them as well. Seeing that he had betrayed his partners without hesitation, Kazuki lifted Sanagawa Shiraishi by the collar and flung him toward them.

Horrified, the three others timidly scrambled to their feet and emptied their wallets. They were frightened half to death, they did not dare to make a single sound, let alone object to this.

After collecting the money, Kazuki watched as Sanagawa Shiraishi’s underlings helped him to his feet, ready to bolt. He commented coldly, “Did I give you permission to leave?”

“Is… Is there anything else you need?” Tanimoto Natsu was the first to react. He was holding his stomach; though the acute pain had mostly subsided, waves of pain would still radiate from his stomach. He dared not go up against Kazuki.

Although it was four against one, they could not parry a single one of Kazuki’s moves. Not to mention that he had that mighty wooden sword in his hands… Their trembling eyes held fearful respect for him.

However, they felt resentment arise in their hearts, aimed at Sanagawa Shiraishi – why did he have to provoke such a scary person for no reason?

“Let’s exchange contact numbers; meet me here tomorrow, and bring along 200,000 yen.”

“Wh… What?” Tanimoto Natsu stuttered.

“W-we don’t have that much money. 200,000 yen is too much!”

“That’s right, that’s right… We’ve already given all of our money to you.”

Sanagawa Shiraishi did not speak; the pain was keeping his words at bay. However, the desperate pleading in his eyes was enough for Kazuki to know that they really did not have that much money.

“I am not here to negotiate. Tomorrow, this place brings me 200,000.” Kazuki did not seem fazed by their objections. He forcefully obtained their contact numbers, then dismissed them with a wave of his hand.

Of course, Kazuki knew that they would not be able to produce this amount of money. He simply needed an excuse.

After watching Sanagawa Shiraishi and his gang limp away, Kazuki stepped into the alley… to see Mikito Hanzawa laying on the ground, his gaze distant as if deep in thought.

It was not until the sound of Kazuki’s footsteps gradually drew nearer before Mikito Hanzawa finally broke out of his trance. He picked himself up, his head hung low, and shrinking into himself. “I’m sorry I’ll leave now.”

Watching from aside, Akie Hanzawa let out a deep sigh. Kazuki did not even do anything, but his little brother simply bowed his head and apologized…

“So you’re Mikito Hanzawa?”

Hearing this voice, Mikito Hanzawa peeked up at Kazuki, surprised. He did not recognize the teen in front of him.

“I am one of your elder brother’s friends.” Once these words were out, Kazuki saw the caution that sparked in Mikito Hanzawa’s eyes.

His elder brother had passed away for a month; any of his friends would have come a long time ago, not now. Furthermore, this person was wearing a uniform from a different school, which further fueled his suspicion. He was probably here just for his elder brother’s compensation! Mikito Hanzawa felt his heart turn to ice. He silently cursed these delinquents under his breath, hoping that they would all just die already.

“Being my elder brother’s friend, why didn’t you come to help me when you saw me being bullied?” Mikito Hanzawa was laying on the ground. He had absolutely no idea that Kazuki had taught Sanagawa Shiraishi and his partners a lesson that they would remember for life.

Sanagawa Shiraishi’s screams were miserable, but Mikito Hanzawa had already immersed himself in his own sea of self-pity because of the beating. From past experiences, he had discovered that this would significantly reduce the amount of pain inflicted on his body while getting beaten.

“Are you questioning me?” Kazuki’s lips curved into a smile that did not reach his eyes. He wondered, “You dared to question me, but you did not dare to question the four delinquents from earlier? Or is it because they are four people, and I’m alone, so you’re not scared of me?”

Mikito Hanzawa mumbled something under his breath. He was dying to get out of there, but Kazuki was blocking his path – he could not leave. Carefully, he gathered the courage to reply, “The four of them study in the same school as I do. If I don’t do what they say, I will get beaten up every day.”

“So you would just let them have their way? Have you ever tried resisting?”

“Is there any use in resisting? I can’t beat them.”

“You know you can’t beat them, but you’re not doing anything to increase your strength. Taekwondo, karate, wushu… Find a dojo and go work out – In three months you can completely turn over a new leaf, and those four would not think of bullying you again… But you didn’t do any of these. Why is that?”

“Working out… is too tiring,” Mikito Hanzawa’s voice was reduced into the tiniest whisper, as soft as a mosquito’s buzzing sound.

Though incredibly soft, both parties had heard what he said, clear as the day.

After hearing his younger brother’s words, Akie Hanzawa let out another deep sigh. He felt that his little brother was thoroughly beyond help… An immense regret shook his heart. He should have come back every now and then to check on Mikito even if he had work, and not neglected him as he had.

Kazuki delivered a kick to Mikito Hanzawa, sending him toppling to the ground. Although he had used a relatively small amount of force, he still managed to keep Mikito Hanzawa seated on the ground for quite a while, locked in a dumbfounded daze.

“Tomorrow, I’ll drop by your school to discuss this.” Kazuki let out a snort and turned to leave.

After exiting the alley, Akie Hanzawa asked cautiously, “Kimura-sama, why did you attack him?”

“He annoys me. Do you have a problem with that?”

“No… no…”