The warrior stood alone in the arena and Jack wondered where the man’s opponent could be. No one else appeared to be preparing for combat. As Jack looked around the crowd, he noticed that a group of samurai on the opposite side to him were emblazoned with the same lightning emblem as the warrior, while those samurai surrounding him bore the round crest of a phoenix.

So where was their champion?

Jack gauged that an hour must have passed, for the sun had traversed some fifteen degrees further across the cloudless sky. The heat had intensified and the villagers were now growing restless. The samurai under the torii had become even more agitated and paced the beach like a caged tiger.

Another hour went by.

The mutterings of the crowd grew louder as the heat became unbearable. Jack dreaded what he would have felt like in his old shirt and breeches, instead of the silken kimono he now wore.

Then, just as the sun reached its zenith, a small boat cast off from the jetty.

The listless crowd instantly became animated. Jack could see a little fisherman rowing unhurriedly across the harbour, while a larger man sat Buddha-like at its prow.

The boat drew closer. The crowd let out a huge cheer and began to chant ‘Masamoto! Masamoto! Masamoto!’

Akiko, Taka-san and Jiro joined in the thundering refrain of the samurai’s name.

The group of samurai bearing the lightning crest challenged the call with a rallying cry of their own champion ‘Godai! Godai! Godai!’ and the warrior stepped forward thrusting his nodachi high in the air. His followers roared even louder.

The boat came to rest on the shoreline. The little fisherman shipped his oars and waited patiently for his occupant to disembark. Another huge cheer went up from the crowd as the man stood up and stepped barefoot on to the beach.

Jack let out an involuntary gasp of surprise. Their champion, Masamoto, was the man with the scarred face.

12: THE DUEL

12

THE DUEL

The mass of dried skin and reddened welts fanned out like molten lava from above Masamoto’s left eye, across his cheek and down the line of his jaw. His remaining features were otherwise even and well-defined. He had the solid and muscular build of an ox and his eyes were the colour of honeyed amber. He wore a dark-brown and cream kimono which bore the circular emblem of a phoenix and, like Godai, he had a headband, but his was crimson red.

Unlike Godai, Masamoto had a completely shaved head, though he maintained a small trimmed beard that encircled his mouth. To Jack, Masamoto appeared more monk than warrior.

Masamoto surveyed the scene before turning to retrieve his swords from the boat. He slipped them, along with their protective sayas, into the obi of his kimono. First the shorter wakizashi sword, followed by the longer katana. Taking his time, he walked up the beach towards the torii.