Super Fighting Tokyo.

"..."

Tap, tap, tap, tap...

Shiraki Shōka and Miyamoto Musashi continued their leisurely stroll through the streets on this early morning, chatting about whatever came to mind.

"Four hundred years, more than ten thousand days..."

Musashi scratched his head, looking very happy, but there was a strange sense of emotion in his tone.

"Well... it's not a question that needs to be thoroughly investigated, but it did startle me. I still don't understand how I got here..."

"..."

Shiramu Cheng didn't really know either.

Whether it's cloning or Tokugawa Kanko's spirit communication, these are all areas that even modern people would find incomprehensible, let alone Musashi.

Therefore, Shiraki Sei could understand this.

"Those ones……"

Musashi looked up at the sky, recalling the diverse group of people at the gathering the previous night.

“Those people are all with you…”

Musashi tried to describe them, saying, "Among them are many skilled fighters and people with outstanding demeanor, who should be people of high rank and power."

Shiraki nodded, recalling what Musashi had said; it must be King Lalma XIII, "He is the King of Thailand, that is, the ruler of a foreign country."

"Yes, he's very young."

Musashi lowered his head in thought and asked, "So, have you fought all of those people?"

Bai Mucheng shook his head, "Some do, some don't, but thinking about it carefully, we did indeed come together because of 'battle'."

"Whether it's friends, lovers, family, or mentors—it's all related to 'fighting'."

"..."

Upon hearing this, Musashi lowered his gaze and said with sudden realization, "I see. That's why it felt like a grand garden party."

……

……

The two continued walking, crossing a small bridge, and the city center was just ahead.

Meanwhile, Musashi also toured the surrounding buildings, looking at the houses in the residential area and the skyscrapers in the distance.

"Bai Mu, your dojo is called Dou... Fighting Soul Martial Arts Hall, right?"

Musashi's lips curled down, his face revealing neither joy nor sorrow, he simply stated, "That place seems to be your 'starting point'?"

"……Yes."

Shiraki nodded, “'Fighting Spirit Martial Arts Hall' is my starting point, just like 'Elder' Kojuu versus Hanma Baki, and 'Aokigahara Forest' versus Tokita Ohma.”

Musashi thought for a moment, "Well, the concept of 'starting point' is not something to consider in chaotic times, nor is it important. It's not as important as 'final point'."

"These are words that only people in the modern world would care about."

"However, in such a relaxed atmosphere, pondering things over is also a form of practice."

Musashi stared straight ahead and suddenly asked, "Shiraki, where do you think my starting point is?"

"..."

After a moment's thought, Shiraki finally spoke, "There's no going back..."

"Of course I know about that, after all, it was four hundred years ago!"

Musashi put his hands on his hips, tilted his head and teased, then happily recounted:

"So, tell me, which one do you think it is?"

Was it when I was thirteen years old, when I killed Arima of the "Shinto-ryu"? Or was it the Battle of Sekigahara? Or perhaps the battle with the members of the "Yoshioka-ryu"?

"..."

Shiraki listened to Musashi's words with a hint of helplessness, "Even if you go back four hundred years now, you can't go back to the 'starting point', Mr. Musashi."

"Well!?"

Musashi was puzzled, yet seemed to be deep in thought.

Shiraki tried to understand, "I think Miyamoto Musashi's 'starting point' should be from his first 'slash'."

"When the first strike and kill were completed, Miyamoto Musashi set off from the starting point and embarked on that 'path,' moving forward and upward all the way."

"—This is a path leading to prominence and becoming unparalleled in the world."

Bai Mucheng grinned, "This kind of path can never go back to the starting point, and there's no way they'd want to go back to the starting point, right?"

Upon hearing this, Musashi's eyelids immediately curved upwards, and he beamed with joy.

Shiraki's idea was indeed very similar to, and even coincidentally the one that Musashi had just figured out.

"To be honest, my starting point wasn't always the same either."

Bai Mucheng recalled, "At the beginning, Douhun Martial Arts Hall was just a dilapidated dojo left by my grandfather, and it was almost taken away by the Yakuza."

Musashi continued to learn new terms, "Yakuza?"

Shiraki explained: "In Mr. Musashi's time, there were actually similar groups, namely gamblers and merchants—the gambler and merchant group."

Musashi understood, "They are petty villains."

Bai Mucheng nodded in agreement, "That group of yakuza used my family's land as a wager, wanting me to fight against others, handing the opportunity to fight to their doorstep."

"So I agreed."

"It was because of that battle that I got to know Feng Shui, and also met Grandpa Miedang and Mr. Akagi, and that's how it all began..."

"..."

Musashi understood, "In this way, you have begun to climb upwards, and this is the first step for you to rise above others."

Bai Mucheng hesitated, "Climbing upwards, standing out from the crowd... is that a bit inappropriate?"

Musashi ignored those things and was curious about something else: "What was the final outcome for those petty villains?"

Shiraki recalled, "My opponent, Komada Shigeru, who fought me, no longer fights in underground fighting and went to work for my friend Rito's company."

"As for the yakuza group leader 'Inoue Suga,' he has been arrested by the Metropolitan Police Department. I heard that he has also offended other yakuza groups. There are people in jail who want to teach him a lesson. I guess he won't have a single day of peace."

"..."

Musashi rubbed his chin, puzzled. "They're not dead? Shiraki, you didn't kill them?"

"what……"

Bai Mucheng scratched his head, somewhat embarrassed.

"In general, I didn't even think about that kind of thing at the time, because there were too many more important things, so I didn't pay attention to them."

"It's perfectly fine to uphold justice when facing cunning villains; that's the duty of a martial artist."

"Mr. Yuji Doppo and I once teamed up to take down a fugitive murderer."

“While the act of ‘killing the opponent in battle’ may be an accident, an impulse, or even an instinct, it should not be the goal; that won’t work in this era.”

"..."

Upon hearing this, Musashi's expression became very strange.

"Well……"

"Warriors born into this world temper their fists and feet into swords, capable of achieving the same result as 'slaying,' but their purpose is not the same?"

"...That's really not frank."

Musashi suddenly smiled, raised one index finger, and pointed it to the sky.

"Since we possess the 'principle' of swords, we should uphold the 'principle' and 'way' throughout, and constantly climb the ladder through 'slaying'."

"Constantly killing, constantly climbing..."

"Climb to the top! Climb to stand out from the crowd!! Climb to be unparalleled in the world—!!"

Musashi lowered his finger.

But the fervor only intensified, even bringing Musashi to his delight.

He turned to look at Bai Mucheng, and seeing the other's strange expression, he grinned maliciously and emphasized, "This is how I want to be. Do you want to argue with me, Bai Mucheng?"

"..."

To Musashi's surprise, Shiraki Shō did not refute it.

Although the expression of "disagreement" was almost written all over his face, Bai Mucheng did not utter a single word in rebuttal.

"Why should I argue, Mr. Musashi?"

"How could I possibly refute the existence of 'Miyamoto Musashi'?"

"If you were to try to instill any ideas or principles in Miyamoto Musashi, he would probably be cut to pieces the moment he opened his mouth...?"

"..."

Hearing Shiraki's words, Musashi's expression gradually calmed down.

With a skill level as high as Musashi's, one can naturally discern that Shiraki has inherited many different "schools" of martial arts, each with its own unique style.

Perhaps this is why Shiraki Cheng has an innate acceptance of the "Tao".

Baki, Ohma, and of course Miyamoto Musashi.

"You must have some questions, Mr. Musashi."

Me too.

Bai Mucheng laughed and said, "That's why we need to 'ask' and 'travel'!"

"Speaking of which..."

Bai Mucheng changed the subject, glancing at the time, "The bookstore is about to open. Shall we go see what future generations will say about you—about 'Peerless Under Heaven'?"

Musashi was taken aback at first, but then his eyelids and the corners of his mouth curved into a smile, showing his great joy.