Chapter 199: Another Strength

(Enishi has taken off his jacket and removed the cloth from the bundle on his back.)

Enishi: I told you when we met on Shinonome Bridge that I'd show you another strength, not that of an arms dealer. Watch me fulfill that promise.

(He holds up a long sword.)

Megumi: He's just back from China, so of course he'd have a Chinese sword...

Sanosuke: Pretty long, though.

Kaoru: No ... The workmanship is Chinese, but that's unmistakably a Japanese sword!

Saitou: That's right. It's too long to be one of the uchigatana they made in the Edo period. It's more like the tachi popular in Sengoku times.

Megumi: What does this mean?

Sanosuke: He's bluffing. Those other five were the fighters, not him.

Kaoru: But that sword is too good to be a bluff...

Saitou: Stop panicking. It's pathetic. You never know what your opponent intends to do in a fight. It's a question of whether you have enough strength to win, whatever his intentions.

Sanosuke: That's true. As long as he isn't stronger than Shishio, Kenshin's not going to lose.

Kaoru (thinking of the terrifying Shishio battle): Kenshin...

(Enishi flips his sword about him, ending in a kung fu-like stance.)

Enishi: Shall we begin?

Kenshin: Those dark glasses. You should take them off. You could hurt your eyes.

Enishi: Don't worry. I won't allow you to touch me. Now go!

(He attacks. Kenshin leaps over his sword to strike downward; Enishi parries. The fight carries them farther away from the onlookers.)

Megumi: He's good...

Kaoru: Yes ... you can see it in his physical strength and the weight of that tachi. He combines speed with strength. And he won't be outdone by Kenshin in fighting spirit. He's a first-class fighter.

Sanosuke: So what? Kenshin's better than first class. And this guy's nowhere near Shishio.

Saitou: On that I'll agree. He has talent, and training. But that's all.

Kaoru: But if he hadn't gone to China and studied kenjutsu instead...

(Kenshin and Enishi fall back a pace.)

Enishi: That was weak. Was that supposed to be a warm-up? Show me the sword that soars the heavens. Or do you need to see what I can do first? Then take this--

Watoujutsu Shuugekitousei!

(He leaps forward with a strike to the chest that Kenshin just manages to block. Kenshin is knocked back against a wall.)

(The onlookers are shocked.)

Saitou: The cutting attack and the footwork combine to increase the force of the attack.

Sanosuke: So the bastard does know kenjutsu...

Kaoru: But I've never heard of a kenjutsu style called Watoujutsu...

Enishi: This is the strength it took me ten years to master ... The strength that allowed me to start from nothing in China and climb my way to the top. The new kenjutsu passed down from ancient times in Japan and perfected in China ... Watoujutsu.