White Serpent Castle Read Free

hissed. Determined to wipe out the insult, he drew his sword and rushed furiously at the ronin. His sword flashed up in a great arc and came down with an impressive swish. But it fell on air, for Zenta was no longer there.
    Watching the officer struggling to regain his balance, Zenta laughed. “That was a breach of etiquette, you know. I’ve heard about cases of people who were ordered to commit hara-kiri for this.”
    Shifting his grip, the furious officer slashed again at his tormentor. The force of his swing nearly brought him to his knees, but Zenta had no trouble escaping the blow. He decided to play the furious officer the way a hunter might direct the charge of a wild boar. He maneuvered his position so that he was standing in front of the wooden gate. When the officer brought his sword down again, Zenta quickly ducked his head, and the sword was driven deeply into the wood.
    Zenta looked around the courtyard. Had he succeeded in attracting the attention of the rest of the castle? He couldn’t see any sign of additional activity. Very well, then, more drastic measures were necessary.
    Looking over the rest of the chamberlain’s men he said, “Is this officer a particularly bad example, or are you all as incompetent as he is?”
    Meanwhile Matsuzo had finally realized what Zenta was trying to do. “Since the officer can’t seem to get his sword out,” he said loudly, “perhaps one of the other men could lend his. They don’t have much use for their weapons here.”
    This taunt was too much for the self-control of the chamberlain’s men. On all sides, swords flashed out as the men rushed forward without waiting for orders.
    Zenta threw himself down to avoid an attack aimed at his head. Behind him another burly samurai rushed up with raised sword, but Matsuzo moved in to deflect the attack. The battle began.
    When Zenta got to his feet, his right hand was holding his long sword, and his left hand was gripping the short sword which he had earlier thrown on the ground. Although the short sword was usually reserved for the ceremonial suicide, some samurai have developed a technique for using both swords at once.
    The two ronin assumed a defensive position by placing themselves back-to-back. Surrounding them, the castle men did not immediately rush to attack. The samurai sword, razor sharp and exquisitely balanced, was not designed for constant hacking. Combatants tested each other with their eyes, not with physical contact, and the physical clashes, when they came, were savage and brief.
    Suddenly two of the castle men lunged forward. Zenta’s right hand swung down while his left hand flashed up and across. One man staggered back and the other one doubled up with pain. Matsuzo kicked him out of the way.
    Once more the combatants froze in place. The courtyard was quiet except for the sound of rough breathing and someone’s foot grating on sand.
    Again there was an explosion of movement. One man aimed a cut at Matsuzo, who swerved to dodge the blow. The young ronin swung his sword in the stroke which he had learned from Zenta only two days earlier. His attacker stepped back, clutching his bleeding shoulder.
    Darting a quick look at the blood, Zenta whispered, “Use the back edge of your sword, you fool! We don’t want to kill anyone!”
    â€œMaybe we don’t, but they don’t seem to feel the same reluctance,” muttered Matsuzo.
    The charges from the chamberlain’s men were now coming faster. Zenta made a savage slashing attack, temporarily breaking the ring around them. When the encircling formed again, Matsuzo saw that Zenta had succeeded in shifting their position so that they were in front of the open gate.
    Apparently the chamberlain realized it too. “Don’t let them get away!” he screamed. “Close the gate!”
    â€œWith pleasure,” answered Zenta. Stepping to one side, he swept the door into the faces of the