53 Chapter 53
The morning soon arrived, and the sun's rays peeked over the horizon, bathing the sky with its warm glow.
Birds chirped as they began their morning work, and a cool, refreshing breeze blew, causing dew drops to fall to the ground.
Ginryu was seated meditating on the ground, a practice he had been accustomed to over the years.
Sadly, he hadn't been able to do this for the past several days, but now he could, and it was refreshing.
During yesterday's dinner, Ginryu had properly introduced Inuchiyo and Goemon to Yoriichi and the twins.
Yasuhiro was also introduced but was with the physician that Ginryu had asked Goemon to call for earlier in the evening.
The twins quickly took a liking to both Inuchiyo and Goemon.
Ginryu attributed it to them being almost the same size as the twins, but Inuchiyo's and Goemon's personalities were also quite compatible with them.
"Phew!" Ginryu exhaled as his meditation came to an end.
'I guess now I should address that,' Ginryu thought. Even though he had turned Inuchiyo and Goemon into his blood kins, that didn't automatically make them loyal to him.
He could force complete loyalty like Muzan, but that wasn't what he wanted nor would it end well if he did.
Even if people were fickle and could change, over time his blood would slowly induce loyalty to him from his blood kins, a fact that Ginryu wasn't aware of.
It wasn't really a direct mind control but it made his blood kin have a form of biased positive favourability towards him.
The loyalty induction was slow and could be easily resisted in the early stages, so by genuinely winning their loyalty, his blood kins would have little to no resistance.
Though he was unaware of such a feature, his current way of doing things was somewhat in his favour.
"Goemon, call for Inuchiyo," Ginryu said to Goemon, who had been hiding among the trees watching over him. Soon, Goemon returned along with Inuchiyo.
"Hmm, where to begin?" Ginryu briefly pondered.
"I know that there has been a lot to take in these past few days, and I know of the mission assigned to you by your former lord," Ginryu began.
He could see both Inuchiyo and Goemon visibly flinch.
"No need to be on guard; I didn't call you both here to do anything other than talk," Ginryu reassured them.
"We...," Goemon wanted to speak, but Ginryu held a finger to her lips to silence her.
"I know that your loyalty is not something earned in a day, and you can't very well just abandon your former lord and friends," Ginryu paused, letting his words sink in.
"I have probably changed both your fates with my blood, and there is no way you both will ever live a normal life again; that much you should both understand," Ginryu said. Inuchiyo and Goemon both nodded in agreement.
"So what happens now?" Inuchiyo asked.
"For now, I have to ask. Do you both resent me for turning you?" Ginryu asked.
"No, you saved our lives and showed us a world that we may have never seen in our entire lifetimes. We can't resent you for that," Inuchiyo replied, while Goemon nodded in agreement.
"But that wouldn't have happened if I didn't take you both from your former lords," Ginryu countered.
"That...," Inuchiyo wanted to say something but stopped.
"I may not be able to let you both return to your former lives, but if any of you have a wish I can grant, do tell me," Ginryu offered.
Inuchiyo and Goemon both looked at each other and nodded.
"We swear our eternal loyalty to Ginryu-sama," they both said in unison. They had seen various lords, and rarely did any of them show much care for their retainers.
What Ginryu had just said touched them. From what they had observed about him, they could tell he was the kind of person who really cared for those he considered close but didn't care for much else.
It wasn't a bad way to live, as they too lived like that. Goemon was the daughter of a bandit, while Inuchiyo was an orphan. Both their lives were not all flowers and roses.
"Thank you for your kind words," Ginryu accepted with a smile.
Yin, Yang, and Tora, who were on the other side of the tree where Ginryu was meditating, walked up to Ginryu and all pounced on his lap.
They looked at the kneeling Inuchiyo and Goemon and nodded their heads in approval. Ginryu chuckled upon seeing this while scratching their fur.
"Well, you can both get up now. Over the next few months, I will be training you all on how to use your abilities effectively. I will also have Yoriichi teach you both how to use manmade weapons," Ginryu said.
He had gotten Yoriichi drunk enough last night and made him sign a contract that he would train Inuchiyo, Goemon, and Yasuhiro with weapons.
That was the reason why Yoriichi hadn't gotten up yet to meditate.
'He will probably be pissed when he wakes up, but he will keep his word,' Ginryu thought, chuckling as he imagined a pissed-off Yoriichi.
Ginryu then dismissed both Inuchiyo and Goemon.
They were to return at early noon to be trained by Yoriichi while he would train them in the evening.
Time seemed to pass quickly as the servants came in and went about their work.
Ginryu informed them of their new schedules and the fact that he would be dismissing them in a few months.
They were to only work in the morning before leaving. Ginryu couldn't afford to let them witness the practice sessions that were going to begin from noon.
Soon the early afternoon had arrived, and training was supposed to begin.
"Eh, how did this happen," Ginryu muttered to himself.
His plan was to laze around with the cubs till the evening arrived, but currently, he found himself standing at the center of the sparring ground with a pissed-off Yoriichi opposite him.
"Can we reconsider this," Ginryu asked.
"No, I believe that everyone can learn a thing or two if we both display our skills," Yoriichi replied, veins bulging from his hands as he firmly gripped his sword.
"Why do I feel like this has less to do with sparring and more to do with you taking it out on me for your weakness to alcohol," Ginryu countered.
Yoriichi appeared hesitant for a moment, but that soon changed.
"Go Go, you can do it. Take down Gin," Hikari and Hikaru cheered Yoriichi on; they still hadn't completely forgiven Ginryu for leaving.
'Ugh, damn kids,' Ginryu grumbled internally. Yoriichi's expression changed to a serious one after hearing the cheers from his kids.
Ginryu, seeing this, took a deep breath then slowly lowered his stance.
The air was now thick with tension as both opponents observed each other, awaiting the first strike.
Inuchiyo, Goemon, Hikari, Hikaru, and the cubs could feel the heaviness in the air and had fallen silent.
A drifting cloud suddenly passed over the sun, drowning out its light.
Muscles tensed as Ginryu planned to make the first strike; blood spilled from an opening in his palm until it completely coated his hand with hardened blood claws.
As soon as the cloud passes over revealing the rays of the noon sun...
