Soul of a Samurai

The sound of wooden swords clashing echoed through the training field.

I breathed heavily, gripping my weapon tightly as I parried my father's strike.

I had been training for hours, but the intensity never lessened.

Focus. Watch his movements.

He came at me again—his swings were slow, deliberate, controlled.

To him, this was effortless.

To me, it was a battle to keep up.

But then, something happened.

I saw it.

An opening.

For the first time, I could actually land a hit.

I didn't hesitate.

I knew that if I wanted my attack to matter, I needed chakra.

I had never successfully infused it into my weapon before—

But now wasn't the time to doubt myself.

I poured chakra into my wooden sword, feeling the energy pulse through it.

I could tell it wouldn't last long—only a few seconds at most.

That was all I needed.

I swung down.

Father moved to block, just as I predicted.

But the moment our blades clashed—

His eyes widened.

His sword, which had always stopped my attacks with ease, now met unexpected resistance.

For the first time, I wasn't the one being overpowered.

He looked at me in shock—

And in that moment, I moved.

I dropped low, chakra flowing into my legs.

Then—I spun.

My heel slammed into his gut, a burst of chakra propelling the force behind it.

Father stumbled back, skidding slightly across the dirt.

For the first time—I had pushed him back.

I exhaled, panting as I stood back up.

The silence between us stretched.

Then—

"Kyojin…"

I looked up.

His expression was unreadable.

Then he asked—

"Did you just use chakra?"

I nodded. "Yes."

For a moment, he just stared at me.

Then, suddenly—

He smiled.

And before I could even process that—

He started laughing.

I blinked, confused.

I had never seen him laugh before.

It was strange.

I couldn't tell if he was happy or if he had gone insane.

When he finally stopped, he walked toward me, still smirking.

"Tell me," he said, crouching to my level. "How did you awaken it?"

I hesitated for a moment before answering.

"I always saw them," I said. "The blue particles. They're everywhere—in the air, in the trees, in people."

He raised an eyebrow but let me continue.

"I can absorb them," I said. "When I do, I get stronger. Faster. I don't get as tired."

I paused.

"No one else sees them."

I looked up at him.

"Right?"

Father's eyes darkened slightly as he listened.

Then, after a moment, he let out a breath and nodded.

"You must be a sensor," he said. "Someone who can sense the chakra of others."

I tilted my head. "Is that rare?"

"It is," he admitted. "But the part about absorbing chakra…"

He trailed off, frowning slightly.

"That's… not something I've heard of before."

I stayed silent, letting his words sink in.

I was different.

Even among those who could use chakra, I wasn't normal.

And for some reason—

I liked that.

Father stood up, dusting himself off.

"Well," he said, glancing back at me. "Now that you've awakened your chakra…"

His smirk returned.

"I'll be upping your training."

I grinned.

"Really?"

He nodded.

"I'll teach you how to control it. How to use it properly."

Excitement surged in my chest.

For the first time in a long time—I was going to learn something completely new.

I smiled.

"Okay."

We returned home, the smell of food filling the air as we stepped inside.

Mother had prepared dinner, setting everything on the table as we sat down.

She glanced between the two of us, noticing our expressions.

"You both seem in a good mood," she said, raising an eyebrow.

Father chuckled.

"Our son," he said, "has finally awakened his chakra."

Mother blinked. Then, slowly, she smiled.

"I see," she said. "That's wonderful."

I grinned as I started eating.

Tomorrow… my real training would begin.