Tokyo Sword Saint Online Dealing

"Sea Tiger Maru" is Narumi Shinobu's companion "pet". It is a huge fish creature of unknown species. It is good at hiding its whereabouts, has considerable aggression, and is extremely fast in the water. Most of Narumi Shinobu's combat power comes from the "Sea Tiger Maru" she controls.

"Never mind that! Big oaf, who is this 'he' you were talking about? Tell me!"

Narumi Shingo raised an eyebrow slightly and gave a rather fake smile.

"Want to hear it? Call me brother."

Despite his usual seriousness, he seems to have a particular fondness for bullying his younger sister.

Narumi Shinona pouted, clearly reluctant, but her curiosity got the better of her, and she finally spoke softly, "Onii-san."

Then, her expression turned somewhat fierce—fierce in a cute way.

"Alright! Speak quickly!"

Narumi Shingo didn't care; it happened hundreds of years ago, so it was fine to just tell it as a story.

"Who else could it be? You've met that person before, one of the two kings of Suzuka Mountain, the evil king of Ise Province, Ōtakemaru."

"This weapon from the Sea Kingdom is the one I took from him."

“Back then I was young and always felt that Arakawa was not a place I should stay for the rest of my life, so I wandered around along the river to see a wider world and also wanted to fight stronger people.”

"I want to conquer the sea, to etch my name on every body of water, and to become the ruler of all the water monsters in the world—this is a young man's dream."

"It's not that I'm bragging, but when I was young, I was quite strong. Whether it was a water demon or a sea demon, few could withstand a single blow from me. Gradually, my name spread beyond the Arakawa River."

"Until I met that great demon named Ōtakemaru on the shore of Ise. He was half the master of the sea kingdom and a worthy opponent for me to fight with all my might."

“I was young back then, and my temper was worse than it is now. He blocked my way, so I naturally had to test whether he was qualified to block my way.”

"So I fought him fiercely. I don't remember how long it lasted, maybe three days, maybe five days. Anyway, the beach was smashed to pieces, the waves were suspended in the air, and the sun and moon were obscured."

"In the end, it was a close contest. He left several scars on my body, and I also took one of his swords."

"We had no reason to fight to the death, so we stopped at the same time. After chatting for a while, I felt that he was a respectable opponent and a good friend."

"He gave me that Sea Kingdom sword, and we made an appointment for him to visit me in Arakawa."

Narumi Shingo recounted a past event in a somber voice, his expression somewhat gloomy.

"But I never expected that our next meeting would be a life-or-death battle."

"You know what happened next. Ōtakemaru led the demons of the four seas in an attempt to attack Heian-kyo. Arakawa was his stepping stone and the first place to bear the brunt of the attack."

"The water demons of Arakawa are used to being idle. With my protection, they live a comfortable life. Their fighting strength is no match for the brave and fierce sea demons. The gap is too great. I had no choice but to block them alone and pass on the title of Lord of Arakawa to you. I want you to lead the people of Arakawa to survive."

Narumi Nobuna's gaze also became somewhat obscure, as if that long-buried past had stirred up memories she didn't want to recall.

"Yes! And then I heard the news of your death in battle. You big idiot, you liar, you're not dead, your soul is still here, your divine kingdom is still here, and you even made me cry several times."

Narumi Nobuna said this somewhat angrily, wiping her eyes with a slightly aggrieved expression.

Narumi Shingo shook his head and sighed deeply.

"I did not lie to you."

"I have single-handedly held off the army of the Sea Kingdom for three days. I am exhausted, my spiritual strength is depleted, and I have no strength left to fight."

"I don't know what illness Ōtakemaru has fallen into. He has even thrown aside his dignity as a strongman and attacked me with his sea monster subordinates. I am indeed seriously injured and on the verge of death."

"But I was lucky."

"That battle was so big that it attracted the attention of some people, and someone came to my rescue."

"You must have heard of that person. He was a swordsman from the Genji clan, the lord of a hundred demons who commanded all the demons in Musashi Province. His swordsmanship was unparalleled. Despite being a mortal, he could fight against the demons and suppressed all the great demons in Musashi Province. He established himself as king and protected all the beings under his command."

Narumi Shinona nodded vigorously, but hesitated before saying, "Yes! I know him... but..."

"What's his name?"

"Damn it, I can't remember his name!"

Narumi Shingo sneered, his expression becoming complicated.

"That's what I don't understand. I don't remember his name either."

"Historical records, unofficial histories, biographies of Yin-Yang Masters, folk tales—this person's name has been completely erased from history, as if he never existed."

"How could someone of such exceptional skill, a swordsman of unparalleled talent, become just another ordinary person?"

"Someone must be up to something!"

"It's alright. I've already found some clues, and I should be able to figure out why things turned out this way soon."

"I have found the current owner of the scroll that he used to command all the demons."

Upon hearing this, Narumi Nobuna looked up and asked in confusion, "What? Did he also reincarnate?"

This remark earned him a shake of his head from Narumi Shingo.

“When I was seriously injured and on the verge of death, he arrived with his sword and forced back thousands of sea monsters with a single strike. His hundreds of demons formed an array to block the invading enemy outside the Arakawa River. Even the demon king of Suzuka Mountain was helpless against him.”

"It was clearly just a human being, clearly just a sword, yet it was like a city wall forged from iron and stone. Within the sword's reach, flesh and blood flew everywhere, and there was no one who survived."

"I don't know what happened after that. When I saw that reinforcements had arrived, I could no longer hold on and was exhausted. He passed on a secret technique to me, allowing me to retain a trace of my true spirit and be reincarnated. As the Lord of Arakawa, I couldn't take the power of faith and divine power I had accumulated with me, so I gave it all to him."

"He's a very interesting person. He didn't want the windfall. He just told me that he would keep this power for me and return it to me when we meet next time."

"Ever since my memories of my past life have been awakened, I have been searching for information about him. Such a great kindness, if I don't repay it, I will not be able to eat or sleep. I hate owing people favors the most."

"but."

"Based on the intelligence I've gathered, it seems he's already dead."

Narumi Nobuna raised her voice in surprise: "Dead?"

"No way! Someone of his level must have an incredibly robust Dream World. As long as his reputation continues to spread throughout the world, he's practically immortal!"

"Unless he is like you, with his power severely depleted and his soul dried up and decaying, this situation is extremely rare."

Narumi Shingo's smile grew even colder.

"Yes, you're right, so... do you remember, I told you that?"

"His name no longer exists in this world."

"Even I forgot—I don't have Alzheimer's, I'm not that forgetful!"

"This is probably because someone was afraid he wouldn't die completely, so they did it on purpose!"

"He died in the last battle of the Heian period, the Battle of Heian-kyo."

"This is the information I could gather."

"That was a real free-for-all, with powerful demons roaming everywhere, gods being treated like dogs, and quite a few beings skilled at manipulating souls participating in the battle."

"The nine-tailed fox of the Land of Demons, the King of Hell, the master of the flower field by the River of the Dead, the ruler of a hundred tales who guides souls with a blue lamp, the god of Takamagahara, the son of the white fox, the great general of the Minamoto clan, the phoenix of the Fujiwara clan."

"The best of the best people, gods, and demons of that era were all fighting each other, and Heian-kyo was in complete chaos."

"After that, the Lord of a Hundred Ghosts disappeared without a trace."

"Although I acknowledge his strength, I doubt he could survive a melee of that level. Plus, his name has vanished without a trace, so I think there's a high probability he's dead."

"Do you remember Uesugi, the guy we met before?"

"He looks very familiar to me. His swordsmanship, demeanor, and attitude towards life are all very similar to the Lord of a Hundred Demons."

"Either he is the inheritor of his Hundred Demons Scroll, or he is his [Linker] -- fragments of his soul may survive in the world and become the Mirror of Inheritance."

"Anyway, that Uesugi is definitely involved with him."

"This favor might just be repaid to him."

Seeing his younger sister's slightly open mouth and dumbfounded expression, Narumi Shingo couldn't help but chuckle and patted her forehead hard.

"What are you daydreaming about? The story is over. Hurry up and eat. After you finish eating, go buy some fruit and visit Ueno-senpai. He usually takes good care of us, so we can't be too late with this courtesy."

This former lord of Arakawa, now a human, is still very courteous.

Narumi Nobuna covered her bright red forehead in dissatisfaction, sullenly lowered her head, but didn't say anything in protest.

She often went to the Ueno family's house to freeload, so she was indeed missing Ueno Mitsuishi and Ueno Usagi.

However, she still muttered to herself, somewhat unwilling to give up.

"Hmph, you big oaf, you have no idea."

"When I led the demons of the Arakawa River to migrate, it was thanks to his care that we were able to find a body of water to settle down. I have seen that person before."

"He doesn't seem like the type to die so easily!"

"You yourself admit that he is stronger than you, and you are still alive, so how could he have died so easily!"

Narumi Shingo sighed more today than he had in his entire life, and he let out another long sigh.

"What do you know, you little dwarf? You need to understand that his opponent is far more terrifying than my opponent back then."

He hesitated for a moment, then, seeing his sister's stubborn expression, he finally said in a low voice, "Him?"

"You could say they're going against the world."

"To face the world as an enemy with a single sword—I cannot match his courage."

"These are facts I deduced from fragments of information I extracted from the documents left behind by those great monsters."

"I also hope he's alright. If someone like that were to perish, the world would truly become much less interesting."

Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly perked up his ears, frowned, and stood up.

"Hey, shorty, something's not right."

"The noise coming from next door is a bit strange."

"Isn't it Akiyama-san who's taking care of Ueno-senpai?"

Why did I hear the sound of a sword being drawn?

"."

"You stay here! I'll go check!"

Chapter 204 Invasion and Decline

The apartments where the Ueno and Narumi families lived were very ordinary, but far from being considered slums.