Chapter 32: A Farcical Duel Before the Shogun
Tn: This chapter is re-written at 5 / 20 / 2025
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"Glory to the Shogun and her everlasting reign!"
That was the battle cry of Inazuma's soldiers as they marched to the frontlines.
The "Shogun" they spoke of—none other than the Almighty Shogun Herself, the Goddess of Thunder and Eternity.
From the moment humans are born, they are filled with wonder and longing for the world.
This yearning becomes the foundation of reason, the anchor of understanding.
And for the people of Inazuma, that understanding was shaped by a single force—the Raiden Shogun.
There was wind and rain. There was thunder and lightning.
There was the sky, and the sea—and there was the Shogun.
It was the Shogun who called down thunder to ignite the trees and bring fire to mankind.
It was the Shogun who summoned the rains to nourish the land and bring forth abundance.
It was the Shogun who protected Inazuma, who defeated the gods of chaos and delivered peace.
Her name had transcended mortality itself.
She was not merely a ruler—she was faith incarnate, passed down through generations as the eternal pillar of Inazuma.
Under her divine might, it was easy to believe that their children, and their children's children, would look upon the same sky and build their worlds on the same beliefs.
That this was the eternal paradise promised by the Shogun.
Even though two of the three Commissions had already been infiltrated by the Fatui, the brilliance of her lightning had never dimmed.
And now, She appeared.
The woman who stepped out of Tenshukaku wore a deep violet kimono adorned with patterns of gentian flowers.
Unlike traditional ceremonial wear, this outfit split at the shoulders and stopped just above the thighs—designed not just for grace, but for combat.
Her long dark-purple hair was braided neatly, the strands fading to a softer lilac toward the tips.
It was a style often associated with countryside maidens—but on her, it looked just right.
Her only ornament was a combination of a folded fan and a gentian blossom.
Golden tassels swayed behind her ears, adding a hint of nobility to her already regal presence.
But the most captivating detail... was the small tear mole beneath her right eye.
It didn't mar her beauty—if anything, it softened the sharpness at the corner of her cold gaze.
"Glory to the Shogun and her everlasting reign!"
As she emerged, Kujou Sara led the crowd in chanting Inazuma's most sacred oath.
It was a phrase that had echoed across the land for generations.
The Raiden Shogun said nothing.
Her pale lavender eyes shimmered faintly with arcs of electricity.
But her face remained impassive—like a doll carved from divine jade.
High above the training grounds, Bai Luo, crouched nervously on the branch of a cherry blossom tree.
He didn't dare make a sound.
He wasn't sure if the Raiden Shogun could see through his concealment.
But it seemed her attention had shifted entirely to the young man who had challenged Kujou Sara to the duel.
She hadn't looked his way even once.
Only then did Bai Luo quietly exhale in relief.
"Mn."
No speeches. No declarations.
Just a simple nod from the Shogun.
Emotionless. Formal. Final.
As the puppet serving as the front for the God of Thunder, the Raiden Shogun operated with a binary understanding of the world.
There were only two categories: things that must be done—and things that must not.
A duel like this? Just another box to check.
No room for anything in between.
Kujou Sara, who was long familiar with the Shogun's ways, took a deep breath and stepped down into the training grounds.
Her movements were steady. Calm.
The boy gently set his white cat aside, stroking its head softly as if to say, "Stay safe."
And with typical feline curiosity—or maybe fate—the cat pranced right toward the very cherry tree where Bai Luo was hiding.
His whole body tensed.
Out of all the places it could have gone, it had to choose here!?
But it was too late to worry now.
"There's no turning back anymore," Kujou Sara said softly as she drew her blade.
"If you have any final wishes, I'll do what I can to fulfill them."
"Final wishes?"
The boy spat out the grass stalk he'd been chewing, gripping his own sword with fiery resolve.
He lifted his gaze toward the Shogun seated high above, her presence like a thundercloud looming over the battlefield.
"I've eaten all the good food I wanted. I've seen the Tenshukaku with my own eyes. Aside from witnessing that Musou no Hitotachi... I have nothing else to ask for."
"I understand."
So he's seeking death, then?
With a swift motion of his arm, the bannerman and military officer, Shima Masayuki, signaled the start of the duel.
The official duel before the Shogun had begun.
Both combatants were wielders of Electro Visions, and their fighting styles reflected that—fast, sharp, and unforgiving.
Kujou Sara struck first.
Her blade gleamed with lightning as she surged forward, the flash of her strike aimed directly at her opponent's neck.
Inazuma's swordsmanship, if traced back far enough, could all be said to originate from one source—the Raiden Shogun herself.
Naginata techniques, kenjutsu, even the art of forging blades…
All were born from the teachings of the God of Thunder.
Though branches had split off over time, the roots remained the same.
You could still see her shadow in every swing.
And so, in a duel like this, it wasn't just a matter of elemental power.
It was a battle of understanding—of how deeply each had grasped the essence of swordsmanship.
Sara's style had been forged in the crucible of the military.
Each movement broad and bold, her strikes carried the weight of blood and steel.
And after training personally under the Raiden Shogun herself, her sword bore an unmistakable aura of divine thunder.
But the boy she faced was different.
He was a drifter—a wanderer of the world.
His strikes always carried a certain hesitation, a subtle reserve.
Because of that, he was quickly pushed onto the back foot.
But being pressured didn't mean he would lose.
Not necessarily.
If Sara was a short-range explosive, he was a slow-burning ember.
A spark that could endure and outlast.
She came in strong, like a storm crashing over a cliff.
But if she failed to finish him with that momentum, then the tide of battle would turn.
Her energy would fade.
And then... it would be his turn.
That was how it was supposed to go.
But as the clash dragged on, Kujou Sara began to feel that something was wrong.
Across the field, the three Commission heads remained standing—none of them had dared to sit.
After all, if the Shogun Herself remained standing, how could they presume to rest?
Even Kamisato Ayato, known more for politics than blade work, had noticed it.
He too was a Vision wielder—one with power hidden behind his gentle smile.
He could tell: Sara's opening burst had run its course.
But strangely, the boy had yet to counterattack.
Time and again, Sara struck at him with power and precision… and he only blocked. Parried.
Even when opportunities opened before him like blooming flowers, he let them wither.
He wasn't just holding back.
He was avoiding victory.
This wasn't a duel.
It was a farce.
Clang—!
Finally, seeing an opening, Sara flicked her blade upward and knocked his weapon from his hands.
In a flash, she was upon him, pressing the cold edge of her sword to his throat.
The boy didn't resist.
In fact, he even threw his sword farther aside—as if surrendering completely.
Watching from the sidelines, even Hiiragi Shinsuke, not known for martial prowess, began to sense something was off.
"Do you even understand what you're doing?!"
Sara's voice trembled. Her hand holding the blade wasn't steady either.
She had never believed her swordplay would beat him.
Her plan had been simple: suppress him with sword techniques, then switch to her bow and take him by surprise.
She never imagined the duel would end like this—with her opponent all but giving up.
"I still need to save my strength," the boy said quietly, a faint apology in his eyes.
"For that one strike from the Shogun herself."
He knew what this duel meant to her.
He knew what he had just done—how it had mocked the sacred weight of a duel before the Almighty.
"I see…"
Sara withdrew her blade, her voice low, but serious.
"You won't be able to block it."
She had followed the Raiden Shogun into countless battles.
She had seen it—that strike.
The blade that embodied the Shogun's ultimate mastery of the sword.
A slash born of no thought, no desire, and no equal.
Even gods could not withstand it.
Let alone a single mortal boy.