Ch.275Sword and Blade

Caw.

Caw.

Caw.

Crows fly in the sky.

Below them, a man rummaging through corpses comes into the audience’s view.

The sword demon who was testing blade durability earlier is nowhere to be seen.

The overall battlefield situation is visible under the sky.

An open field.

What fills it is not resilient weeds,

But cold corpses that have already lost their color.

In this meaningless land where a pointless war of attrition ended,

With no one wearing valuable-looking armor,

The man was still repeating the same actions, collecting swords.

Since iron swords weren’t suitable for pressing with weight,

They had to compete with sharpness, but to maintain that edge, durability was terrible.

And since he couldn’t carry multiple swords around,

Collecting them like this was the only way to save money.

Then behind the man.

“What are you?”

Five samurai approached.

Their armor similar to the dead bodies.

But without uniformity.

“So it was you who’s been taking swords from the corpses lately?”

The man didn’t bother answering the lead samurai’s question.

Instead, he stood up and assessed the battlefield.

Roll.

The camera captures the man’s eyes rolling.

The count is exactly five.

No additional forces expected.

While continuing the silent standoff with these thoughts in mind.

Caw.

Caw.

Caw.

As if they’d been waiting for this moment.

Crows slowly fly in, fold their wings, and survey the situation.

A signal that they won’t miss the opportunity to feast on fresh corpses.

Simultaneously.

“Kill him!”

The samurai move.

Musashi is an action film.

And in an action film, the most important thing is naturally the action.

And at this moment, the first action scene was crucial.

The first action scene is the only window into what kind of scenes this film will show,

What kind of feats the protagonist will accomplish.

Whoosh!

The screen focuses on the man.

As if telling the audience to watch closely how the protagonist kills these minions.

Slash!

The man’s sword reflects in the sunlight.

That light brings death.

Thunk!

The blade precisely pierces the Adam’s apple of the samurai who charged in bravely first.

Immediately, the sword handle rotates, turning the blade.

Crack!

Something snaps.

The samurai drops to the ground like a puppet with cut strings.

Musashi’s action scenes lack flashiness.

It’s a story about a swordsman, so it can’t have

Hollywood-style action with explosives and such.

Does it have grand scale then?

Not that either.

Because it tells the personal story of Musashi.

Because it can’t show the grandeur of large-scale battles.

Then what kind of action can Musashi show?

That would be.

‘Speed.’

The audience didn’t even realize their jaws were dropping at the continuing action.

“Aaaaargh!”

Screams are heard.

And simultaneously, the swiftly moving man is seen.

This wasn’t action that could be created simply with editing techniques.

The film industry people in the audience could tell.

‘The speed created by a single actor…!’

‘He really doesn’t use stunt doubles.’

‘It’s on another level, a different dimension.’

Even as they mentally exclaimed in admiration countless times,

The man on screen continued his sword dance.

Whoosh!

Under the field full of corpses.

As the man’s face gradually zooms in on camera.

The blade hiding behind him reveals itself like a snake.

Thunk!

“What the hell is this guy!”

Another one.

A person died.

But three still remained.

And since that meant they still had numerical advantage,

The samurai swung their swords without hesitation.

Swoosh!

Swoosh!

But it was no better than children playing soldier.

Those who had killed people relying only on numerical advantage

Couldn’t handle the man rolling across the field of corpses.

The direction of the three charging was straightforwardly direct.

They couldn’t even run side by side to swing their swords.

One by one.

In order, they came in a line.

“Hyaaaah!”

A sword raised high above the head.

Since it was too obvious where it would come down,

The man dove into the leading samurai’s chest instead.

Thread and container.

If there’s a situation where you don’t need to use a sword, don’t use it.

If there’s a more effective method, use it without hesitation.

Under that belief,

The man’s opposite hand, not holding a sword, strikes the samurai’s solar plexus.

“Ugh!”

Unable to breathe,

Balance disrupted by broken breathing,

The orderly line following behind instantly crumbles.

The man didn’t miss that opening.

Thunk!

He stabs a dagger hidden in his chest into the leading samurai’s heart,

And using the samurai as a foothold, launches himself to the left.

“Wh-what!”

The samurai on the right collides with the leading samurai,

And the one on the left suddenly faces the man.

As if not giving time to grasp the situation,

The man instantly grabs the left samurai’s wrist.

Crack!

“Aaaaargh!”

He twisted it.

This wasn’t simply to make him drop the sword.

More cruelly,

Breaking the sword-holding hand itself,

Making the blade point toward its owner’s neck.

Of course it wouldn’t cut on its own.

Bang!

Like hammering a chisel,

He strikes the blunt back of the blade,

Driving the edge into the samurai’s neck.

“Aaaaargh!”

They started as five.

But when he came to his senses, only one remained.

Naturally, he tried to flee.

“Move! Get out of the way!”

The cold corpses of his former comrades blocked his path.

The weight of those bodies, instantly killed,

Was not something the terrified samurai could easily push aside.

“P-please… spare me…!”

So all he could do was beg.

Abandoning the killing intent he had just moments ago,

The screen shows a human who has become infinitely small as soon as numerical disadvantage arrived.

In the blink of an eye.

The expression of the man who killed four remains unchanged.

Like an office worker calmly doing his job,

The process of killing people is very plain and businesslike.

As the sequence ended,

The audience finally able to breathe, caught their breath.

‘Another long take.’

‘Is long take action just Kim Donghu’s default now?’

‘Not a single breath or movement is casual. Every action has meaning.’

‘How can he do scenes like that….’

‘Isn’t this just the Japanese version of John Wick?’

Following these successive admirations,

The film continued,

When the man, no,

Musashi first demonstrated Niten Ichi-ryū.

“Gasp!”

“In-incredible!”

People who loved Japanese culture couldn’t hold back their voices.

A swordsmanship that anyone who likes Musashi would recognize.

Who would have thought they’d see it in real life?

The immersion in the film grew deeper.

And after maintaining that concentration for a while,

When the final confrontation with Sasaki Kojirō approached.

“Ah.”

The audience sighed.

Waves crashing beyond the pebbles.

In the middle of a rugged island made of rocks.

Because they saw Musashi leisurely arriving by boat.

That scene evoked indescribable emotions.

An appearance that seemed light.

But an aura that seemed profound.

A long wooden sword casually held in one hand.

Not a single thing looked natural.

It was alien.

Wild hair fluttering in the sea breeze.

Amidst it all, Musashi casually threw out words.

“If I cut you down, am I the greatest under heaven?”

Representative of some clan.

What’s at stake in this duel, blah blah.

Putting all that aside.

Right now, two swordsmen are facing each other, putting their lives on the line.

“Does that matter so much right now?”

“Of course it does, of course it does.”

With those final words, Musashi approached Sasaki without hesitation.

Bold steps as if no duel signal was needed.

And after numerous retakes, the brilliant swordsmanship that followed.

Clash!

A duel between a long sword meant to kill and a wooden sword meant to become the greatest.

It seemed like it would end, then wouldn’t,

As they fiercely pressured each other.

To freely wield a long sword,

Constantly shifting the center of gravity,

Changing stance and adjusting position.

With each step,

Creating a path on the gravel floor like an icebreaker advancing.

When would the match be decided?

How long would they continue cutting each other’s bodies?

Blood splattered.

As bodies tired.

“Hnngh…!”

Sasaki moved one beat faster.

The final movement.

At the moment when strength was almost gone.

Confident the opponent couldn’t dodge.

Tsubame Gaeshi.

Slash!

From top to bottom.

From bottom to top.

With a long sword, unfolding in an instant.

The fastest slash said to have even cut a swallow.

Musashi didn’t counter but immediately threw his body backward.

Some might call it ridiculous, others cowardly,

But such things weren’t important to him.

The essence was thread and container.

Since you can’t use either if you’re dead.

After retreating once, Musashi.

“Huff… huff….”

Moved toward the exhausted Sasaki.

Despite being equally tired.

Despite his upper body being cut by the slash he couldn’t completely avoid.

“…So this is how it’s done?”

Still firmly gripping the wooden sword,

He mimics Sasaki’s exact movement.

More perfectly.

More quickly.

Demonstrating Tsubame Gaeshi with the approximately 5kg wooden sword as if it were a feather.

Crack!

Though it can’t cut because it’s wood,

It can perfectly crush the impact point.

Chin.

Sasaki immediately fell to his knees.

“For the last time… your name….”

“Miyamoto Musashi.”

With that answer,

A great wind blows.

And at that moment,

“Oh, ohhhh….”

The audience couldn’t hold back and rose from their seats.

Because there was no other way to express this excitement.

++++++

“Musashi, Acclaimed at Cannes”

“Continued Standing Ovations, Even Cannes and Japan Were Surprised. Musashi’s Achievement!”

“Kim Donghu, Perfect Resurrection of Musashi, Who Can Stop Him”

“Excited Japanese Reporters: ‘Grateful to Kim Donghu for Playing Musashi'”

“Director Kiryu Cried After Screening. ‘It Was an Honor to Work with Kim Donghu'”

Articles pour in.

Tremendous acclaim erupted after the screening.

People flocked to the director and actors of Musashi as if they’d been waiting.

But actually.

“Where is actor Kim Donghu?”

“Uh… he went to rest because of his condition.”

Kim Donghu was nowhere to be seen.

In a way, it was an obvious excuse.

Because.

“Kim Donghu, you’re crazy… kidnapping someone to a hotel as soon as you see them.”

“What can I do when I see you? We have to have fun.”

“Is this place for fun? A suite room?”

“This is adult play.”

He was catching up with a childhood friend he hadn’t seen in a long time.