The Martial Unity

Chapter 2281: Reunited Friends

”Wait, youʼre telling me it hasnʼt even been a day since you got up, and youʼve already been targeted by assassins?” Kane laughed. ”Thatʼs hilarious, man.”

Rui had made his way to the manifold without any further impediments. He quickly found Kane, informing him of his most recent incident with assassins after having reunited with him.

”Well, ten billion gold coins is a lot,” Rui replied. ”There arenʼt that many bounties on the black market comparable to that. Iʼm guessing that they were dragged in by their greed. But they should have known that it wouldnʼt be as easy as popping my head with a sound bullet.”

Rui came to learn that not all Masters were masters of the art of assassination like Master Reina. He had always thought that at the Master Realm, any assassin would surely be more than just stealth and assassination techniques, but apparently not.

”It makes sense, I suppose. Masters are so strong that just their strength alone lends them to being excellent killers. Only the cream of the crop master everything there is to the art of assassination outside of Martial Art as well.”

”You might have to deal with them soon,” Kane mused. ”Hell, for ten billion gold coins, Iʼm tempted to undertake the assassination myself.”

He grinned as Rui turned to him with a deadpan stare.

”So, are you planning to undergo any training at the moment?” Kane asked, curious. ”Maybe an anti-assassination that allows you to antithetically dismantle all the assassination attempts?”

”...That actually sounds interesting, but no.” Rui shook his head. ”I havenʼt reached the point where I feel the need to train another technique. Iʼll do so when I happen upon an avenue of adaptive evolution that is worth pursuing or upgrading.”

Kane shrugged. ”Suit yourself. I suppose it is true that youʼre way too strong to be easily pushed to the point of feeling the need to train your adaptive evolution.”

Rui nodded. ”Iʼm looking for a challenge that I am unable to overcome with my existing Martial Art techniques. I have considered creating something to aid me with war, like with large-scale conflicts, but I figure that I might as well wait until I experience more conflicts of that nature before I try to create a technique for it.”

The battle against the Sekigahara Confederate was hardly the norm. It was actually extremely abnormal given the sheer size and scale of the conflict; such types of conflicts were highly atypical for a war.

Once he got a good grasp, he intended to ensure that he created a technique, training system, or system of thought that would allow him to deal with large-scale conflicts with much greater proficiency.

”For now, however, I simply look forward to dealing with the war in earnest.”

”Well, I intend to spend more time training and getting my Martial Art in synergy with my Martial Mind,” Kane explained. ”I donʼt really have any other goals at the moment. Of course, I intend to participate in the war; I could use some experience as well.”

Rui nodded. ”Also, have you been told about the breakthrough to the Sage Realm?”

Kane winced. ”Yeah, I donʼt like it, but it is what it is. Iʼm not really good at philosophy and whatnot.”

”It sounds philosophical, but itʼs more than just philosophy,” Rui remarked. ”But, yes, I donʼt like it either.”

Kane directed a knowing look at Rui.

He had been there when Rui learned the truth about his reincarnation. He recalled that Rui had speculated that it had something to do with the Sage Realm. And he was right; it was the key to the sage Realm.

”So, what do you plan to do?” Kane asked with a concerned expression. ”Feels like in your position, just the ordinary method isnʼt going to cut it.”

”Youʼre probably right...” Rui heaved a sigh. ”There is a more effective path than the ordinary method of simply growing stronger and individuality. Dying.”

Kane looked at him with an incredulous expression; youʼre telling me your plan to get to the Sage Realm is dying?”

”Yes,” Rui remarked. ”Allegedly, the more one approaches death, the more one learns about the depths of oneʼs self. The idea is that by dying, one can accelerate oneʼs path to the Sage Realm.”

”That... sounds super risky. But knowing you, youʼre probably going to take it.”

”Well, it appears you just might know me better than myself.”

”Hah! Itʼs a shame the rules donʼt allow Masters to delegate the task.”

Rui chuckled. ”Well, these are super long-term considerations. For now, I am nowhere near the Sage Realm. I donʼt intend to train a new technique in the hopes of trying to close the distance either; I just need to fight some more.”

”Well, I donʼt think that the Sekigahara Confederate is going to mount another attack like that after I decimated almost all of their Masters. So, how is the war going to evolve from now?”

”...Allies,” Rui informed him. ”Both sides are scrambling for allies. Our enemies know that, while they have more Martial power than we do, they do not have enough power to overwhelm us without suffering horrific losses in a pyrrhic victory. The Kandrian Empire is trying to stop them from gaining the allies they seek by reeling them to our side. Thus, I expect we will see many medium skirmishes across all of East Panama.”

”I see...So, you plan to fight battles by heading over to the battlefield and fighting for our allies; that sounds fun. Iʼll join in.”

Rui smiled. ”The more the merrier. My first stop, though, is Vilun Island. Iʼm heading there to enlist the support of Master KʼMala of the Gʼakʼarkan Tribe.”

Kaneʼs eyebrows rose as he recalled those names. ”Vilun Island, huh? How long has it been? Twenty years?”

”Around that much.”

”And she managed to break through to the Master Realm, huh? Good for her. Still, I think Iʼll sit this one out. I never liked that place. And if itʼs just a diplomatic venture, I donʼt really have anything else to do. But make sure to let me in on the next one.”