Out of fear that his young and beautiful wife would age, The man sewed her head onto his own shoulder. At this moment, the girl's face twisted grotesquely, for one of the heads happened to be her long-lost mother's. The girl's name is Asano, and her father was a remarkable swordsman.
But two years ago. Asano's home was suddenly invaded by a group of swordsmen. They called themselves the Ittoryu school of swordsmanship.
They killed her father, and one of them violated her mother. Subsequently, they kidnapped her mother. Asano, being young and powerless, had no ability to resist.
In order to rescue her mother, she trained in swordsmanship tirelessly every day. But it was not until one day, when Asano was paying respects at her father's grave, that she encountered an old woman. Upon hearing about Asano's situation, the old woman made a proposal to her: She asked her to find a man named Manji to help her seek revenge.
And Manji was reputed to be the world's strongest assassin. Legend has it that Manji single-handedly killed hundreds of swordsmen who came to pursue him a long time ago. However, in doing so, he caused the death of his own younger sister.
As a form of redemption, Manji vowed to kill one thousand evildoers. After searching continuously for two and a half months, Asano finally found this man known as the strongest. But when Asano expressed her request to Manji, he asked if she was prepared to abandon everything for revenge.
Asano expressed her willingness, offering her body as a price. After saying this, she began removing her shirt. Manji's slap left Asano at a loss for words.
As he watched her expression, he was thinking about his late sister. From that moment on, the two embarked on their path of revenge. Their first target was Sabato, a swordsman from the Ittoryu school who frequently harassed Asano.
Manji demanded a duel with him. However, Sabato seemed only interested in Asano. Enraged, Manji charged at him.
But with just one strike, Sabato effortlessly killed Manji. Asano couldn't believe it. The supposedly strongest swordsman in the world was easily defeated.
As Sabato closed in on her, Asano had no choice but to fight for her life. Her throwing knife instantly tore through Sabato's cloak. And there, on the shoulder of that monstrous man, were two additional heads.
On the left was his beautiful wife, and on the right was Asano's mother. At that moment, Asano completely broke down. She picked up a dagger, intending to end her miserable life.
But in that instant, a flash of a blade struck. It wasn't aimed at Asano, but at Sabato. He never expected Manji to still be alive.
After killing Sabato, Asano regained her senses. Manji's secret to coming back to life was that he was harboring an immortal blood fairy bug within him. By reattaching his severed limbs, his wounds would quickly heal.
However, through this battle, Manji also realized the terrifying power of the Ittoryu school. To increase their strength, Asano led Manji to her uncle, Souri. Though Souri appeared to be a painter, his true identity was a spy for the shogunate, and his swordsmanship was exceptional.
But when faced with Asano's request, Souri did not agree. Manji, enraged, chose to leave immediately. Asano, persuaded by Souri, decided to stay the night.
Little did she know, she would encounter an assassin upon waking up. Asano immediately kicked the assassin away and prepared to escape. But her clothes were pinned to the wall by the assassin's spear.
The man approached, filled with excitement. Just then, a large hand suddenly grabbed him and threw him out of the window. It was Manji, who had hurriedly arrived.
But Asano shouted in alarm. Behind Manji, a large group of assassins were closing in. Clearly, they were lackeys of the Ittoryu school.
However, Manji felt no pressure facing so many swordsmen. Meanwhile, Souri was inside, pondering artistic inspiration. The chaos outside was irritating him, as he couldn't find the right colors for his painting.
But then, the blood of the combatants splattered onto his canvas. Souri finally found the color he had been longing for. Before he could even put away the painting, a bald man stomped on it, shattering his creation.
At that moment, Manji was trapped by hidden weapons. The bald man aimed his attention at Asano. At the critical moment, Souri pierced the bald man's neck with a single sword thrust.
Although unable to assist Asano in achieving her revenge, Souri provided them with 30 gold coins under the pretext of selling corpses as pigments. Furthermore, Asano planned to sell the weapons of the assassins. To make bank.
But by accident. She stumbled upon a sword in the weapon shop. The sword was her father's former weapon.
Now wielded by Magatsu, a swordsman of the Ittoryu school. Though Asano desired to reclaim the precious sword, she remained calm. After all, it was just a sword.
Her priority now was to find Kagehisa, the leader of the Ittoryu school, and exact her revenge. However, when Manji saw Asano's sorrowful expression, he decided to help her retrieve the sword. They met in a forest of withered trees.
Magatsu initiated the attack, but Manji effortlessly parried his strikes. However, Magatsu fought in a despicable manner, taking advantage of the terrain. He always chose the most opportune moments to launch his attacks.
Both of them admired each other's skills, even exchanging their names. But in reality, the battle had already concluded. Because Manji was certain to lose.
Under Magatsu's cunning inducement, he lured Manji into a swampy area. Magatsu immediately stabbed Manji in the chest with both swords. But what Magatsu didn't know was that Manji possessed an undying body.
Manji exerted all his strength and managed to crawl back up, thrusting his sword at Magatsu. Although the strike wasn't lethal, it rendered Magatsu unable to continue the fight. Thus, he tossed Asano's father's sword to Manji and made a pact with him.
If they both managed to survive, they would engage in another life-and-death duel. The next morning, Asano woke up and discovered the precious sword. Although Manji pretended not to know, anyone could tell that he had retrieved it for her.
Through their days together, Asano had already regarded Manji as her brother. Likewise, Manji saw Asano as his sister. Despite being a prostitute, she possessed exceptional swordsmanship skills.
When facing her beloved, tears would well up as she passionately kissed him. Yet when encountering a street thug, she transformed into a fearsome demon. This woman's name was Makie.
Although her sword skills were formidable, her life had been tragically bleak. Once, in order to save a young boy, Makie revealed her identity and slayed a hungry wolf. However, to her dismay, the boy's grandfather not only failed to show gratitude but also knocked her unconscious.
He left her tied to a tree surrounded by a pack of wolves. After seven long days, when the boy finally came to visit, he found the corpses of thousands of starving wolves. Makie, who narrowly escaped death, resorted to becoming a courtesan in a brothel to sustain herself.
However, within a few short years, a man spent a significant amount of money to redeem her from that life. Yet, this man's intentions were not driven by genuine love but rather a desire to exploit her exceptional swordsmanship for assassination purposes. As a result, Makie became an assassin.
Her first target was none other than Manji, known as the "Hundred Man Slayer" by the masses. At this moment, Manji clearly didn't realize how frightening Makie was. She wore a white cloak.
And approached Manji as a prostitute. However, before Makie could strike, Manji sensed something amiss. A prostitute would never carry a dagger on her person.
Realizing the danger, Manji swiftly pressed his blade against her throat, interrogating her about her employer. Makie had no choice but to reveal everything. She did not know the person's name, only that he was a samurai who had paid her 20 gold coins.
After hearing her words, Manji turned and walked away. Since the surprise attack failed, Makie had no choice but to engage in a direct confrontation, utilizing her immensely powerful swordsmanship to determine the outcome. Makie fell to the ground after hitting a wooden plank.
But her backhanded sword was still blocked by Manji. Then Manji kicked Makie to the ground. Makie lost the battle.
But Manji didn't kill her. He just taunted Ittoryu for not having a good fighter. Little did he know that Makie wasn't fully committed.
Her defeat was not due to her inferior swordsmanship compared to Manji's, She was hesitating between returning to the brothel as a prostitute or becoming a swordsman with blood on her hands. Finally, on this day, Makie found the answer she had been seeking. She had fallen in love with her employer, but in order to be with him, she had to kill Manji.
From that moment, Makie made up her mind. Confronting the thugs who harassed her, she cut off her long hair and fully transformed into a fearsome killer. A day later, Makie found Manji again.
Manji could clearly sense her change, not just in her hair but in her eyes, the gaze unique to a swordsman. The current Makie could easily leave Manji breathless with just a slight move. This one mistake Manji was pinned down by a plank.
By the time he stood up, Makie had already disappeared. Manji cautiously searched for his target, but Makie had been waiting for him. She struck, piercing her sword through Manji's body.
Manji, using all his strength, kicked Makie away, Just as Makie reached the door, Manji swiftly kicked it open to launch his surprise attack, but there was no one there. However, Makie was hiding directly above him. With a single strike, she severed one of Manji's arms.
Then, she impaled him on the wall with her sword. This battle finally came to an end. Manji was defeated, utterly defeated.
Now, all Manji wanted was for Makie to kill him. Moved by Manji's desperate plea, Makie picked up her sword once again and engaged in a final life-or-death struggle with him. But suddenly, Asano rushed in.
Even though she knew she couldn't win, she raised her sword to protect Manji. Makie recognized the girl; she was the one seeking revenge against her employer. Though Makie didn't know the details, she knew one thing: Asano's path of revenge would surely claim many lives.
Makie asked if it was worth it, and Asano firmly replied that she would do anything, no matter how dirty, for revenge. Those people deserved to die; they were demons. After hearing those words, Makie seemed to have found her own path.
Instead of killing Manji, she told him to protect Asano. After bidding farewell to her acquaintances from the brothel, Makie chose to leave this place completely. That day Manji met his lifelong enemy, Eikuu of Ittoryu.
By chance, they happened to sit together. In an instant, Manji could sense a powerful killing intent. Within the blink of an eye, both Manji and Eikuu struck each other's vital points.
However, it was merely a scratch for Manji, causing no real harm Little did he expect that the fallen Eikuu would also rise again. He too possessed immortality. Eikuu uttered the words, "Nothing in this world is truly indestructible," and then turned and walked away.
At that moment, Manji couldn't comprehend the meaning behind Eikuu's words. But it was during the night that he experienced the true extent of his agony. Manji's body began to rupture, as if bugs were about to crawl out.
Eikuu had put poison on his sword. A poison that kills Blood fairy bugs. Witnessing his suffering, Asano quickly retrieved the secret medicine passed down in her family.
She didn't know whether the medicine was effective or not, so she could only have him take it first and then see. After administering the medicine, Asano rushed outside to find a doctor, but to no avail. Instead, she was captured by Eikuu.
He proceeded to cut her tongue with a knife, followed by slashing his own palm. He forced her to drink his blood, as the merging of their fresh wounds had the potential to transmit the Blood Fairy Bug within Eikuu's body to Asano. Eikuu had been lonely for 200 years and sought a companion to spend eternity with.
Moreover, this ability would greatly aid Asano in her quest for revenge. Thus, Asano believed his words. In a flash.
A flying dagger came straight at him. The man standing in the doorway was Manji. If he hadn't intervened in time, Asano would have been poisoned to death by drinking Eikuu's blood.
Manji's survival was attributed to the effectiveness of Asano's pill. And so, the two of them embarked on a brutally violent battle, Although they were both stabbed through the chest. But these wounds were not enough to kill them.
The true clash of blades had only just begun, But after just two rounds, Manji was on the ground. Yet, just as he was about to be killed, Asano bravely stepped forward. Although Eikuu successfully blocked the flying knife, Manji had vanished from sight on the ground.
Suddenly, he descended from above. In this battle, Eikuu was defeated. As agreed, he revealed Kagehisa, the leader of Ittoryu's location to Asano.
In half a month, Kagehisa would be heading to a place called Koga Asano and Manji came to Koga ahead of time to set up an ambush. But she never expected She encountered the swordsman who had once humiliated her mother. However, Asano was very clever.
In order to get close to him, she first targeted Araya's son. When the boy was being bullied, Asano stepped forward and used the identity of an older sister to establish a connection with him. But little did she know, this man was extremely despicable.
Not only did he insult Asano, he also made her fix his shoes. In that moment, Asano did not resist, because there were too many wicked people in this world, and she could only choose to endure. After gaining the boy's trust, Asano successfully met his father, who was none other than Araya, the Ittoryu swordsman who had humiliated her mother.
But at this moment, Asano didn't want to kill him. She knew that if she killed Araya for revenge, his son would be blinded by hatred just like her. So Asano asked him to apologize.
But Araya suddenly launched an attack and subdued Asano. Araya, not wanting his son to know he was a swordsman, intended to kill Asano completely. But Manji wouldn't allow such a thing.
After a fierce battle, Manji was knocked down again, and even received a deep gash on his chest. At a critical moment, Asano pushed Araya away and bought some time, And Manji regained his form at that moment. Araya never expected that Manji had hidden a weapon on the balcony.
Now badly injured, Araya asked Manji to kill him. Although Asano tried to stop him. Manji forcefully approached and stabbed him with a sword, ending his life.
And this scene happened to be witnessed by Araya's son. Manji sarcastically told the boy that if it weren't for Asano's constant interference, he would have killed his father long ago. Enraged, the boy rushed at Manji with a weapon, but Manji didn't dodge.
In the end, he died at the boy's hands. A few days later, the boy erected a tombstone for his father and planned to leave this place. Because when he went home to collect his father's body, the man's corpse was gone.
He must still be alive. From now on, The rest of his life had only one goal. And that was to get back at him.
