Young Samurai: The Ring of Wind

by Chris Bradford

  He’d not actually seen him land … or had any real proof of his death.

  Perhaps Dragon Eye had landed upon a lower roof? Or used a grappling rope to halt his descent? Maybe a sakura tree had broken his fall? Whatever had happened, there was no denying the fact that his nemesis was back and very much alive.

  As Jack returned the ninja’s cold pitiless stare, he felt the old wounds open up again. His heart bled with sorrows he’d once thought healed, or at least subdued. Grief for his dead father flooded through him in a fresh wave of loss. Visions of Dragon Eye thrusting the blade into his father’s chest flashed before his eyes and he began to sob. All his struggles to overcome the ninja had been in vain. Justice had never been carried out. His father was dead, he and his sister orphaned, while his murderer still lived. Yamato, his friend and brother-in-arms, had sacrificed himself to save Jack and Akiko. Now it appeared Yamato had died for nothing …

  Jack was struck by a startling revelation. If Dragon Eye had survived, then so too might Yamato!

  A burst of unimaginable hope filled his heart. Even now, Yamato could be reunited with his father Masamoto, or roaming Japan searching for him. Jack tried to calm himself and temper his expectations. He knew the odds were stacked against such a possibility – otherwise Akiko, Yori or Saburo would surely have got word of their friend’s survival. But there was still a slim chance and Jack wasn’t willing to give up on his newfound hope. He used it to ignite a renewed determination to survive.

  Jack had no idea how he could escape. Tied to a mast, guarded by samurai and watched by Dragon Eye, the situation was hopeless. He couldn’t depend upon his friends to save him this time; they were relying upon him to free them. Still, he had no intention of letting them down.

  A realization slowly dawned on Jack. He’d been warned of Dragon Eye’s return – not once but twice.

  First, the warrior spirit of Taira Masamori, the Great Pirate Queller – or whoever the man was – had given him a lesson in the Ring of Wind ‘for when an old enemy returns anew’. Jack recalled the unyielding oak on the cliff top that had lost its fight against the wind, and the flexible feather that had survived.

  And, second, the Wind Witch had foreseen: ‘Pain will nourish your courage when the dragon returns …’

  It was so obvious now. Both had tried to prepare him for this encounter with Dragon Eye.

  Jack decided to follow their advice. He would ‘go where the wind blows’, letting the memory of his father burn like a fire within him.

  49

  Flying Fan

  The Sea Samurai ship was still in sight of the barren island when there was a commotion on deck.

  ‘What’s the problem?’ demanded Dragon Eye.

  ‘One of my lookouts saw something,’ replied the ship’s captain, peering astern into the darkness.

  ‘What exactly?’ said Dragon Eye, impatient for details.

  ‘I don’t know. It looks like –’ Suddenly a blinding blast of hellfire lit up the night sky. ‘– A SEA DRAGON!’ screamed the captain as he dived to the deck.

  The ball of flame rocketed towards the ship. Dragon Eye took cover just as the stern bulwark exploded into lethal shards of blazing timber. A samurai too close to the rail was engulfed. Screaming and flailing his arms, the burning man toppled over the side.

  Held captive, Jack could only watch as the fire-breathing monster surged closer. It spat out another flaming ball. This time the rudder was hit. The ship lurched. The captain desperately tried to regain control, but there was little he could do. All steerage was lost.

  ‘Port side, fire your cannon!’ ordered Dragon Eye as the creature charged headlong at the disabled ship.

  From below came the hurried sounds of priming. A loaded cannon was hauled into firing position and a few moments later an almighty boom rocked the deck. The shot whizzed through the air and, more by luck than fine judgement, struck the dragon first time. But the cannonball just bounced off the armoured back of the beast.

  Unharmed and undeterred, the dragon continued to hurtle towards them at terrifying speed.

  ‘BRACE YOURSELVES!’ snarled Dragon Eye, a second before the beast rammed into the port side. The bone-shattering impact sent samurai flying across the deck. Dragon Eye alone, as surefooted as a cat, kept his feet – as did Jack, but only because he was tied to the mast.

  Jack now found himself staring into the jaws of death: tendrils of smoke rose from the dragon’s throat, the gaping mouth of the beast large enough to swallow him whole. Two rows of jagged teeth threatened to rip the flesh from his body.

  But the dragon held off, its fiery eyes staring unblinking at him. Then Jack watched in astonishment as Wind Demons, clad in black, clambered across the armoured back of the beast and swarmed on to the samurai ship’s deck.

  The crew, stunned by the dragon’s surprise attack, were slow to react to this new threat, and some were slaughtered where they stood.

  ‘THEY’RE JUST PIRATES!’ bawled Dragon Eye, his ninjatō already at work.

  The Sea Samurai snapped out of their shock and began to fight off the invaders. Weapons flashed through the night and the two sides clashed in a ferocious battle.

  Leading the Wind Demons, a whirling dervish in black and red robes cut a path through the samurai crew. True to her name, Tatsumaki was a tornado of destruction as she wielded a formidable naginata. The curving blade atop the long pole sliced in arcs, felling Sea Samurai left, right and centre.

  Jack was awed by the ferocious skill of the Pirate Queen as she spearheaded an attack towards the main mast.

  Realizing her intention, Dragon Eye yelled, ‘KILL the gaijin!’

  A samurai broke off and headed for Jack. Struggling against his bonds, Jack tried to free an arm to fight back. But he was bound tighter than a hangman’s noose. The samurai grinned as he raised his sword to hack the head off his defenceless victim. Jack writhed in desperation to avoid the lethal blade, knowing Tatsumaki could never reach him in time.

  The Pirate Queen, realizing this too, pulled her tessen from her obi. With a flick of her wrist, the iron fan opened and she threw it in Jack’s direction. The tessen spun through the air like a single-winged hunting bird. It skimmed in front of the samurai, causing him to falter in his attack. Then the man’s eyes widened in shock. He dropped his sword and clasped his neck. Blood poured through his fingers, the fan’s razor-sharp edge having sliced his throat wide open. Spluttering a final breath, the samurai collapsed at Jack’s feet.

  Moments later, he was surrounded by a protective cordon of Wind Demons.

  ‘Secure the ship!’ commanded Tatsumaki as her pirates laid waste to the remaining Sea Samurai.

  A Wind Demon rushed to Jack’s side.

  ‘I thought you were as good as dead,’ said Li Ling, pulling off her hood.

  In a single swipe of her naginata, Tatsumaki sliced through the ropes binding Jack.

  ‘Thanks for coming to my rescue,’ he said, rubbing the circulation back into his arms.

  Tatsumaki flashed him a triumphant smile as she retrieved her deadly fan. ‘You’re too precious to let anyone take you.’

  Jack looked around at the slain samurai. ‘Where’s Dragon Eye?’ he asked.

  ‘Dokugan Ryu? But you said he was dead,’ replied Tatsumaki, bemused.

  Jack gave a despondent shake of his head. ‘I was wrong.’

  ‘That ninja must have more lives than a cat!’

  The Pirate Queen ordered an immediate sweep of the ship. The Wind Demons turned over dead bodies, searched the cabins and hunted below deck. But it was as if Dragon Eye had never existed.

  50

  The Koketsu

  Jack stood before the sea dragon and laughed at how easily people had been fooled. In the moonlight, the beast had an unsettling lifelike quality. But close up, no longer distracted by the chaos of battle, he saw the creature for what it was – a strange and formidable battleship.

  The design was unlike anything he’d ever seen, or could possibly h
ave imagined. Protruding from the bow was the dragon itself, an immense figurehead large enough to contain a gun crew and a Heaven cannon that fired flaming shot. The armoured back of the beast was a curved roof of iron plates with vicious spikes thrusting up. Not only did this ‘dragon skin’ deflect cannonballs but it prevented the enemy from boarding the ship – grappling hooks couldn’t gain purchase and any boarder foolish enough to try would find their feet pierced by the spikes. This iron-clad roof completely enclosed the ship’s overhanging top deck and shielded the crew within. From a defensive point of view, the Wind Demons’ battleship appeared unassailable.

  But it was also an attack vessel. On all sides there were gun ports, three to the bow and stern and ten down either side. The dragon’s twenty legs were powerful yuloh-style oars, projecting down from the overhanging deck, giving the ship not only speed but manoeuvrability. Its long tail turned out to be the main mast, which had been lowered to protect it during the assault. At the waterline was another carved face, one that Jack recognized. A twisted and scarred protrusion with hooked teeth and blood-red eyes, it was the battering ram that had hulled Captain Arashi’s atake-bune.

  ‘She’s named the Koketsu,’ remarked Tatsumaki proudly. ‘It means “Jaws of Death”.’

  Jack thought it an apt name for such a fearsome vessel.

  ‘We captured her from the Korean navy,’ the Pirate Queen continued. ‘Only a handful have ever been built, so the Sea Samurai have never seen one before. That’s why they believe in sea dragons!’

  She gave a throaty laugh and climbed on to the ship’s roof.

  ‘Welcome aboard,’ she said, offering her hand. ‘Let’s talk, while my men finish unloading the samurai ship of its weapons and supplies.’

  Stepping up a gangplank, Jack followed the Pirate Queen along a narrow walkway between the rows of iron spikes to a wooden hatch. Clambering inside the belly of the beast, Jack found himself on the main deck. Unusually for a battleship, the deck was shared by both oarsmen and gunners. The twenty Heaven and Earth cannon were divided by twenty teams of hulking oarsmen, each so powerfully built they could have crushed a man’s skull with their bare hands.

  ‘These men are the pumping heart of the Koketsu,’ proclaimed Tatsumaki as her muscular crew bowed their respects. She indicated the two rows of cannon. ‘And these its teeth.’

  As they headed for her cabin, Jack was surprised at how orderly and neat everything appeared. The Pirate Queen evidently maintained a disciplined ship. When she opened the door to her quarters, there came a screech of delight and a flash of fur landed on Jack’s shoulder.

  ‘Saru!’ exclaimed Jack, for once glad to see the little monkey. Saru chattered back in answer, happily preening his hair.

  Tatsumaki’s cabin was in stark contrast to the opulence of her citadel. Functional and uncluttered, it housed a lacquered cabinet in one corner, a low table in the centre and a weapons rack down one wall – upon which Tatsumaki now laid her naginata. Drawing up a red silk cushion, she sat upon the polished wooden floor behind the table and invited Jack to join her. Jack took his place opposite, Saru still perched on his shoulder, contentedly chewing on a piece of fruit.

  ‘How did you find me?’ asked Jack.

  ‘Li Ling raised the alarm, when she discovered you hadn’t returned to the citadel,’ explained Tatsumaki, cleaning the edge of her lethal tessen before fanning herself with it. ‘At first, we thought you’d escaped. The skiff was missing. But you were last spotted with Skullface and his gang. And they were missing too. Then it was just a combination of guesswork and luck that we found you. That barren island is the closest to our base. But, if we’d arrived any later, you and that samurai ship would have been long gone.’

  There was a knock at the door and Li Ling entered with another female pirate, hefting a small wooden chest.

  ‘This was the only treasure we found on-board,’ Li Ling informed Tatsumaki.

  She placed it on the table and opened it to reveal the stack of gleaming koban.

  ‘That was the reward for my head,’ explained Jack.

  ‘And now it’s payment for your rescue,’ said Tatsumaki, closing the lid and taking possession of the gold. ‘Though you still owe me for saving your life.’

  Jack realized it was a debt that would be hard to repay.

  ‘I also found this,’ said Li Ling, handing Tatsumaki the scroll with the daimyo’s wax seal. ‘It looks important.’

  Tatsumaki broke the seal and read the contents. She scowled. ‘Where’s that traitor Skullface and his gang now?’

  ‘Dragon Eye tortured them to death,’ replied Jack gravely, recalling the gruesome scene.

  ‘Good.’ Tatsumaki crushed the pardon in her hands. ‘Saves me the trouble. We can now return to Pirate Island without further delay.’

  Jack wondered whether he should tell Tatsumaki about Snakehead’s confession. If Dragon Eye had got away, then the Sea Samurai would probably launch an assault on the island. The Pirate Queen would be grateful for the warning. She might even trust him more; maybe release him and his friends as promised. Then again, a surprise attack could be just the opportunity they needed – in the confusion of battle, they might be able to slip away unnoticed. But it would be a risky strategy, since they could be caught or killed by either side. And Dragon Eye would be hunting him down too.

  ‘Something on your mind, Jack?’ asked Tatsumaki.

  Jack realized that his best chance of survival lay with Tatsumaki and the Wind Demons. He took a deep breath before replying. ‘Snakehead revealed the location of Pirate Island.’

  For a moment, Tatsumaki’s face appeared to turn to stone. ‘To whom?’

  ‘Dragon Eye and his samurai escort.’

  The Pirate Queen’s expression relaxed slightly. ‘Then we have nothing to worry about. They’re all dead.’

  ‘Not Dragon Eye, though,’ reminded Jack.

  ‘I don’t see how that ninja can elude death a second time. If he’s no longer on the ship, he must have drowned.’

  ‘You should never underestimate Dragon Eye,’ said Jack.

  ‘But we’re in the middle of the Seto Sea,’ contended Tatsumaki. ‘Even if he managed to swim back to the island, it’s barren and he’d be marooned.’

  ‘Not if he found Skullface’s boat.’

  Tatsumaki snapped her fan shut with such force that it sounded like a bone breaking. A second later, she was on her feet, ordering her pirates to stop plundering the samurai ship and set sail at once for the barren island. The Koketsu surged across the sea. But, when it rounded the headland, the skiff was gone.

  51

  Nihon Maru

  ‘WIND DEMONS! Will you RUN before the Sea Samurai?’ challenged Tatsumaki. The Pirate Queen stood atop the Koketsu’s dragonhead, her naginata in hand, her mane of black hair with its angry red streak billowing out behind her.

  ‘NO! NEVER!’ responded the Wind Demons, who crowded the walkways and jetty of Pirate Island, hungry for a fight.

  ‘Will you BOW before their pirate-murdering lord?’

  ‘NO! NEVER!’ they yelled, clashing their weapons furiously.

  ‘Will you SURRENDER your hard-fought riches?’

  ‘NO! NEVER!’

  ‘This island is your castle,’ pronounced the Pirate Queen. ‘Defend it with your lives. Destroy all samurai with lightning and thunder!’

  She raised her naginata in a salute and the Wind Demons howled a battle cry so loud that it echoed round the lagoon walls and shook the vertical town as if the crater were erupting once more.

  Jack stood with Li Ling on the jetty in front of the Koketsu. He glanced up to the citadel high above. Miyuki, Yori and Saburo would no doubt be looking down, wondering what all the shouting was about. Although he’d managed to get a message to them that he was alive and well, he hadn’t seen them since his return three days ago and they were probably thinking the worst. But, following his kidnapping, Tatsumaki was unwilling to let him out of her sight.

  As soon as they
’d docked at Pirate Island, Tatsumaki had summoned every pirate captain to a council of war. A few of the captains suggested relocating to a new island before their sworn enemy attacked. But the majority felt that daimyo Mori’s personal war against the Wind Demons had gone on long enough.

  ‘We’ve never been stronger!’ argued Captain Kurogumo, once again fighting fit.

  In the end, they voted unanimously to stay the course and conquer the Sea Samurai, once and for all.

  The ensuing days had been a blur of preparation. Weapons were sharpened; cannon were inspected and cleaned; iron shot and daejon fire arrows loaded aboard; horoku hand bombs assembled and primed; extra casks of gunpowder stowed below decks; defensive brocade curtains hung along the gunwales; and every ship made ready to sail at a moment’s notice.

  A bell tolled three times.

  ‘TO YOUR SHIPS!’ cried Tatsumaki, knowing the Sea Samurai had been sighted.

  The Wind Demons thundered along gangplanks, raised sails and took up oars.

  Li Ling turned to Jack. ‘Being a pirate certainly isn’t dull,’ she said, forcing a smile.

  ‘A ship is safe in harbour, but that’s not what ships are for,’ replied Jack, recalling the words of his father. ‘I suppose it’s the same for pirates. If you want to be one, you have to go out and fight.’

  ‘For riches or for worse!’ she said, patting her sword and clambering aboard the Koketsu to take up her post. Jack, however, had other plans now that all the Wind Demons were distracted. He turned to head the other way back to the citadel. Then he felt a hand on his shoulder.