Young Samurai: The Ring of Wind

by Chris Bradford

  It was too late for the captain, however. Although his body still twitched occasionally, the poison had seeped into every limb and muscle. His eyes flickered around in despair, his life ebbing away with each feeble breath.

  ‘He’ll be fish food soon,’ the Korean slave muttered. ‘We’re all fish food.’

  The gate opened. The pirate boy hefted a large cooking pot, which he dumped in the middle of the cage. A thin gruel of rice water slopped over the sides. The prisoners leapt hungrily at it, feeding like a pack of wild dogs.

  Jack was about to go over and see what he could scavenge for his friends, when the pirate boy hastily approached. From under his arm, he produced a jug and swapped it for the empty one. Then, reaching into the folds of his jacket, he removed a couple of cooked fish and presented them to Jack.

  ‘More poison and salt water?’ enquired Jack bitterly.

  ‘No, it’s fresh,’ insisted the pirate boy. ‘And these are mackerel.’

  Jack eyed the boy distrustfully.

  ‘Honest. Last time Skullface made me switch the water for a joke.’

  ‘Well, we’re not laughing,’ said Jack.

  The pirate boy looked shamefaced. ‘Just take them before anyone notices,’ he urged. ‘I’m risking the whip for you.’

  His stomach knotted with hunger, Jack grabbed the fish. He dipped a finger into the jug and tasted it. The water was fresh. Realizing the pirate boy was genuine, he bowed his head gratefully. ‘Thank you. What’s your name?’

  ‘Cheng.’

  ‘I’m Jack.’

  Cheng grinned, the smile lighting up his whole face. The boy had delicate features, with high thin eyebrows, almond eyes and fine lips. His hair was tied into a short braid at the back and his body was lithe, yet deceptively strong. He didn’t appear to be the typical ninja pirate … or Japanese, for that matter.

  ‘Where are you from?’ asked Jack.

  ‘A village near Penglai, China.’ Cheng studied Jack with fascination. ‘I’ve never met anyone with golden hair before –’

  ‘Oi, cabin boy! What’s taking you so long?’

  Skullface was standing at the bow with his gang, coiling ropes.

  ‘Just spitting in their food,’ Cheng shouted.

  Skullface grunted appreciatively. ‘We’ll make a pirate of you yet!’

  Cheng turned back to Jack, his eyes deep wells of sympathy. ‘I hope your friend lives,’ he whispered, before clambering out of the cage.

  Jack’s faith in human nature was restored a little. Watching Cheng cross the deck back to the ship’s galley, he wondered how a Chinese boy like him had ever become involved with the Wind Demons.

  He picked up the jug of fresh water and leant over Saburo. ‘Can you still swallow?’

  Saburo blinked twice. With Yori’s help, Jack raised his friend’s head and offered him a few sips. Some dribbled out of the side of his mouth, but the water appeared to revive him. Jack gave Saburo a little more before letting his friend rest. Breaking apart the two fish with his fingers, he shared their precious meal.

  ‘Can Saburo have any?’ asked Jack.

  Miyuki shook her head. ‘He might choke. Besides, we want the poison to pass through his system first.’

  As a matter of courtesy, they sat out of Saburo’s sight while the three of them devoured the mouth-watering mackerel. Immediately Jack felt his strength return. But the vital meal was over all too quickly.

  As they were licking their fingers clean and drinking their ration of water, Saburo went into spasms. They rushed to his side. His breathing was erratic and his eyes bulged.

  ‘What’s happening?’ asked Yori.

  ‘The poison must have reached his lungs,’ replied Miyuki.

  She immediately resumed her Sha healing ritual. But this time it had little effect. Saburo continued to shudder in the fugu’s death grip.

  ‘I can’t channel enough ki,’ gasped Miyuki, a bead of sweat breaking out on her brow. ‘We’re losing him.’

  Jack immediately took up position opposite her. Having been trained in kuji-in, Jack knew the hand sign and mantra for Sha. But he’d only ever practised it on himself. He just prayed that the combined power of their ki would be enough.

  Saburo’s convulsions reached a peak. Then, little by little, they diminished until his body was only trembling, and his breathing became more steady.

  ‘Just a little longer,’ urged Miyuki, ‘and we can save him.’

  ‘Hey, gaijin!’ snarled an all-too-familiar voice. ‘We’ve unfinished business to settle.’

  ‘Later,’ said Jack, trying to concentrate on the healing.

  ‘Now,’ insisted Skullface.

  The tip of a spear was pressed against Jack’s neck.

  Jack refused to budge. His friend’s life was at stake.

  ‘Don’t make me push any harder,’ threatened Skullface, the spear’s iron barb now on the verge of puncturing his skin.

  Yori knelt next to Jack and whispered, ‘I’ll take over if I can.’ They both knew that Yori had only studied Miyuki’s healing techniques and had never performed them before on anyone.

  With the greatest reluctance, Jack stopped. Saburo’s condition worsened. As Yori took up the Sha chant and began circling his hands, Jack was pushed out of the cage. Unable to take his eyes off his immobile friend, he was manhandled by Skullface’s gang into the middle of the deck. A crowd of pirates had gathered in a circle to watch the gaijin prisoner’s punishment.

  Spear in hand, Skullface confronted Jack. He advanced until they were nose to nose. ‘You’ve not only disrespected me, gaijin. You’ve upset other members of the crew.’

  Four pirates stood to Jack’s right, glaring at him, their wrists ringed red with rope burns. They appeared to be itching for a fight.

  Jack quickly assessed his opponents. They looked tough, but he’d defeated them on-board the Golden Tiger. And he could defeat them again. Skullface was another matter. His scar-ridden body was evidence that he was battle-hardened and no doubt a vicious fighter. Jack realized he must overcome Skullface first, while he remained strong enough, before dealing with the other pirates.

  ‘Let’s get this over with,’ said Jack, slipping off his sandals for a better grip on the wooden deck.

  ‘Oh, you’re not fighting me … or them,’ said Skullface, with a sly grin. ‘You’re fighting the ship’s champion, Manzo.’

  Stooping to clear the cabin doorway, a ninja pirate of Herculean proportions stepped out on to the deck. Three times the size of Jack, he had a bald head solid as a cannonball, a wiry beard and fists like hammers. Muscles rippled across his broad chest and his tree-trunk legs thudded with every step upon the wooden deck. Aside from the black spider tattoo, he had a screaming demon bursting from his brick-like stomach. To complete his terrifying presence, he had kanji symbols branded on to the backs of his hands. His right bore the character for ‘thunder’:

  His left bore the symbols for ‘lightning’:

  Manzo banged them together and, fists raised, thundered towards Jack.

  19

  Fist Fight

  Jack felt his heart stop at the sight of this colossus. Manzo was the stuff of nightmares – a hulking mass of muscle, bearing down on him like a charging bull. The pirate wasn’t carrying any weapons. This was clearly to be a fist fight. Not that it mattered – Manzo’s hands were his weapons and could demolish Jack in a single swipe.

  Dressed only in his breeches, Jack was unencumbered and would be able to move fast. And he’d have to. He couldn’t afford to let his guard down against such a dangerous opponent. Bouncing on the balls of his feet, he prepared to engage with the pirate.

  As Manzo lumbered towards him, Jack recalled his taijutsu match in the Taryu-Jiai three years ago. During that inter-school martial arts contest, Jack had fought Raiden, a samurai student of similar proportions to Manzo. Jack had stood little chance of beating him then. But prior to the fight he’d had a vision of a red demon and a butterfly. The demon had tried to squash the but
terfly with an iron bar, but the butterfly had survived by evading the attacks until the demon collapsed with exhaustion, subdued by its own efforts.

  This ninja pirate boasted a tattoo of a screaming red demon. The vision had spoken again! If he could tire Manzo out first, then he might be able to defeat him.

  A huge fist – Thunder – rocketed towards Jack’s head. Jack ducked and skipped aside. Lightning now came at him, a devastating hook punch to the ribs. Jack sucked in his stomach and arched his body. The fist shot past, grazing his skin but doing no other damage. He backed away as Thunder returned for an uppercut. Then Lightning attempted a savage cross punch.

  Jack continued to evade the brutal attacks, Manzo being strong, but slow.

  ‘Hit him!’ cried Tiger.

  Becoming more and more frustrated, Manzo started throwing wilder punches. Jack ducked and weaved. He bobbed beneath Thunder; jumped away from Lightning. Not a single punch landed on target and the ninja pirates, who’d been baying for blood, now began to boo and jeer at the pathetic display.

  ‘Stop running, you coward!’ heckled Crux.

  ‘Call yourself a samurai!’ derided Skullface. He beckoned to the crowd. ‘Move in!’

  The circle of pirates tightened, restricting the fighting distance between Jack and Manzo. As Thunder and Lightning came at him in a series of chain punches, Jack had to retreat rapidly. Unknown to him, Snakehead stuck out a foot and he tripped over it, sprawling on to the deck.

  Manzo seized his chance, raising his leg high to stamp-kick Jack in the chest. There was a horrible crunching sound as his foot connected. But Jack had rolled away at the last second and it was the deck that had taken the full force of the blow. The wooden plank splintered and Manzo’s foot shot through, his ankle becoming trapped.

  Jack leapt up and went on the attack. With the devastating speed and power of a trained warrior, Jack launched a roundhouse kick at Manzo’s back.

  The pirate barely registered the blow. Undeterred, Jack fired off a blazing side-kick into the ribs. Manzo grunted, but didn’t crumble. Jack stepped in and drove a spear elbow at his kidneys. The pirate simply batted Jack away as if he was no more than an irritating mosquito. The swipe of his forearm sent Jack careering across the deck. Stunned, Jack cautiously circled the snared pirate. Trying not to panic, he racked his brains for a martial arts technique that might have some effect on this impregnable rock of a man.

  Manzo finally managed to free his foot and turned to face Jack once more. He blew across the tops of his fists as if clearing them of dust, then he banged them together and smiled, certain of victory.

  But Jack smiled too. He had a secret weapon … one that Sensei Yamada had taught him at the Niten Ichi Ryū.

  Chō-geri.

  The Butterfly Kick – a highly advanced and indefensible manoeuvre that could cut a swathe through any attack. All the limbs were extended in a position similar to that of a butterfly’s wings in flight.

  As the ninja pirate advanced, Jack sprang into the air, his torso twisting, his arms swinging in a wide arc. Both his legs shot out, twirling before him. The first would smash Manzo’s left guard aside, the second would hammer into his head, connecting with his jaw at the knockdown point. As tough as Manzo was, he’d drop to the deck like a sack of sand.

  But Jack was out of practice. He misjudged the distance and his legs got tangled up in the complex attack. He flew past Manzo, entirely missing his target. Trying to correct his mistake, he flapped his arms like a crazed bird, only to crash-land on his back.

  For a moment, there was complete silence. Then an almighty booming laugh burst from Manzo. The rest of the pirates fell about too. Jack felt an utter fool. Not only had he failed to defeat his opponent, he’d made himself a laughing stock.

  ‘What was that?’ cried Skullface, wiping tears from his eyes. ‘Lame Duck Leaping technique?’

  Badly winded, Jack tried to suck in air and clamber to his feet. Before he’d reached all fours, Manzo seized his ankle. Jack was spun headlong through the air. He collided into the mast, pain rocketing through his shoulder.

  Dazed and disorientated, Jack lay in a heap at its base. The next moment he was grabbed by the throat and wrenched upwards, until his feet were kicking helplessly above the deck. Spluttering, Jack tried to break the pirate’s hold. But it was futile. Manzo’s grip was like a vice.

  Jack felt the blood pounding in his head and his lungs started to burn. He glanced over to the cage. Yori was still performing the Sha mantra. But Miyuki was now bent over Saburo, fingers clasping his nose, her mouth pressed to his. She lifted her head, took a deep lungful of air, then blew into his mouth. She repeated the process and Jack caught the look of sheer desperation on her face.

  He realized both he and Saburo were fighting for their lives, neither able to breathe. Jack had to fight back. But, with his legs flailing off the ground and his breath fast running out, what could he do against a man as powerful as Manzo?

  The pirate grinned triumphantly and brought up his right fist to end it all.

  Black spots were dotting Jack’s vision. None of the samurai techniques Sensei Kyuzo had taught him were having any effect. He was out of ideas …

  He saw Miyuki look up in horror at his plight.

  ‘Eight Leaves Fist!’ she cried and the day Miyuki had shown him the Sixteen Secret Fists of the ninja flashed before his eyes. He might have exhausted all his samurai skills, but he still had a ninja trick or two …

  Cupping his hands, Jack used the last of his strength to clap Manzo either side of the head on his ears. Manzo reeled from the unexpected ninja attack. His legs buckled and he lurched to one side, the strike causing complete loss of balance. Releasing Jack, Manzo staggered across the deck as if the ship was in a ferocious storm.

  Jack dropped to the floor, gulping in lungfuls of air. He rose back to his feet, using the mast for support. Meanwhile, Manzo had recovered from the shock of the blow. Furious at being robbed of his victory, he pushed through the pirates and snatched up a grappling iron lying against the gunwale. The three spiked hooks attached to the end of the stout wooden pole were like a vicious bear claw. Used for gaining purchase on an enemy vessel, the kumode made a deadly weapon and would rip the guts out of anyone who stood in its way.

  Manzo returned to finish off his opponent, but was dumbstruck to find Jack had disappeared.

  ‘He’s gone aloft!’ shouted Crux.

  But Eight Leaves Fist had temporarily deafened Manzo as well. The pirates had to point to where Jack was escaping to. Still unsteady on his feet, Manzo used the kumode to help him climb the mast after Jack.

  Returning to familiar territory, Jack’s skills as a rigging monkey flooded back. He shimmied to the top without effort. Spreading his arms for balance, he then walked out along the main spar.

  Manzo clambered up to his level. At this height, the mast swayed like a pendulum. The pirate looked nervous and uncomfortable. His bulky physique was fine for pulling in ropes, but totally unsuited for rigging duties.

  Clutching on to the mast, Manzo tentatively stepped on to the spar and slashed with the grappling iron. Jack shuffled backwards beyond the claw’s reach. Leaning out, Manzo took another swipe at Jack. The bear claw passed a hair’s breadth from his bare chest. But Jack had reached the end of the spar.

  ‘Nowhere to go!’ snarled Manzo.

  ‘Come and get me then,’ goaded Jack.

  Lured by how close he was to winning, Manzo let go of the mast for a last attack. As he swung the kumode, the ship rocked to one side and he lost his footing. Arms flailing, Manzo tumbled through the air. He smashed into the deck below, buckling the wooden boards. The great man-mountain lay spread-eagled, groaning briefly before falling unconscious.

  The bigger they are, the harder they fall, thought Jack.

  The pirates were enraged at the defeat of their champion.

  ‘Bring me bow and arrows!’ demanded Skullface.

  The next moment Skullface had an arrow trained on Jack.
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br />   Jack darted along the spar. He felt a brush of feathers and heard a soft whoosh as the arrow clipped his arm, drawing a thin line of blood.

  Clinging to the mast, Jack saw more pirates run to fetch their bows. Skullface’s furious response was now turned into a game. They nocked their arrows and took aim.

  ‘First to hit the gaijin earns a jug of saké!’ promised Skullface. ‘Two jugs if you kill him!’

  20

  Sea Samurai

  Jack was a sitting target. It would only take a single arrow to dislodge him and he’d plummet to his death. His choices were limited. He could jump into the sea – yet even if he survived the fall, he’d be adrift in open water and where would that leave Saburo and his friends? Or he could make a leap for the rigging and slide to the deck. That would certainly be faster than descending the mast. But he’d still be faced with a gang of armed pirates.

  An arrow skimmed past his nose. Another struck the mast by his hand.

  Deciding he’d at least be able to fight back on deck, Jack prepared to jump for the rigging. With the ship swaying, it was a dangerous and daring move. He couldn’t afford to misjudge the leap …

  ‘HOLD YOUR FIRE!’

  Captain Kurogumo had appeared on the stern’s upper deck. Behind him stood Cheng, looking anxiously up at Jack. The crew lowered their weapons.

  ‘What’s all this about?’ demanded the captain.

  ‘The gaijin was trying to escape,’ explained Skullface.

  Noting the fallen Manzo, Captain Kurogumo glanced up. ‘And where exactly is he escaping to?’

  Skullface’s mouth opened then closed. He struggled for a reply as the captain’s jet-black eyes bored into him.

  ‘H … he’s a troublemaker.’

  ‘He’s a gaijin,’ replied Captain Kurogumo. ‘And a samurai that shouldn’t be underestimated. Now lock him back in the cage.’

  Skullface and the other pirates bowed obediently. Turning to his gang, he ordered, ‘You heard the captain. Bring him down, Snakehead.’