Young Samurai: The Ring of Wind (38 page)

Jack clambered on to the rock and stood over the lifeless body of Dragon Eye. A large pool of blood was trickling into the lagoon. His nightmare was over.

Then a single bloodshot eye flickered open and Jack’s heart froze.

‘This
isn’t
possible. No man can be immortal!’

The ninja began to laugh. Dropping to his knees, Jack grabbed Dragon Eye by the lapels of his jacket and shook him furiously.

‘Why won’t you just
die
?’ he cried, all his pain and frustration welling up.

The ninja flopped limp as a rag doll in his grip. He spluttered and choked, unable to breathe, let alone reply to his question. Jack now saw that Dragon Eye was, in truth, a broken and dying man. He lay him back down and stared in utter disbelief.

His shaking had partly dislodged the ninja’s hood to reveal a
second
eye.

Whipping the hood completely off, Jack was met by a stranger’s face. During the Battle of Osaka Castle, he’d discovered Dragon Eye’s real identity to be the exiled samurai lord Hattori Tatsuo. But this ninja
definitely
wasn’t him. Along with possessing two eyes, there was no facial scarring from the childhood pox. And this man was some ten years younger than the Dragon Eye he knew and feared. Only his build, jawline and green-tinted eyes were similar.

‘
WHO
are you?’ demanded Jack.

‘Dokugan … Ryu,’ replied the ninja weakly.

Jack shook his head. ‘No, you’re not. I’ve seen Hattori Tatsuo’s face with my own eyes. You’re an imposter.’

The man grunted, accepting defeat. ‘I’m a
kagemusha
 … his Shadow Warrior … that’s why,
gaijin
 … Dragon Eye can
never
die!’

‘But my guardian Masamoto killed Hattori’s double in the Battle of Nakasendo.’

‘The perfect deception!’ wheezed the ninja. ‘And now another of our clan will take over the mantle from me …’ The ninja gloated at the shock on Jack’s face. ‘Black Cloud will have a new master … and Dragon Eye’s legend will live on!’

For the first time Jack understood the warrior spirit’s
true
meaning of ‘an old enemy returns
anew
’.

All of a sudden he was seized by the throat, the ninja’s fingers cutting off his air supply. He writhed in the iron-like grip as the man rose up before him.

Squeezing the life from Jack, the
kagemusha
spat into his face, ‘I’ll haunt you … to your grave,
gaijin
!’

Then the man slumped back down and fell still, his two eyes staring soulless at the smoking sky.

Recovering his breath, Jack bowed his head and began to sob.

‘Jack!’ called Miyuki, running along the shoreline. ‘Are you all right?’

Yori and Saburo dropped down beside him, astonished to see Dragon Eye unmasked and their friend in one piece.

‘Why are you crying?’ asked Saburo. ‘Dragon Eye’s really dead this time.’

Jack shook his head. A small flame of hope in his heart had just been extinguished. ‘Because … because it means Yamato is dead too.’ He grieved once more for his loyal friend and brother, the pain of loss as raw as the first time.

Yori rested a hand upon Jack’s shoulder. ‘Yamato lives on through you, Jack. In everything
samurai
that you do. His spirit is your spirit.
Forever bound to one another
.’

Jack wiped his eyes, comforted by Yori’s wise words.

Miyuki knelt beside him. ‘I can’t bring your friend back, but I did manage to recover these.’ She handed him his Shizu swords. ‘I realize you can’t be a samurai without them.’

Smiling gratefully, Jack stood and sheathed the blades into their
sayas
. He felt strengthened by their presence, but even more so by the support of his friends at his side.

‘Let’s go,’ he said, turning in the direction of the gated tunnel. ‘We’ve got a boat to catch.’

A Favourable Wind

Leaving the dead ninja behind, Jack and the others headed towards the gate. But, as they approached, they heard a low rumble and felt the ground start to tremble.

‘RUN!’ screamed Miyuki, realizing what was happening.

The four of them charged along the lagoon’s shore. But it didn’t look as if they were going to make it. Pirate Town was collapsing like a deck of cards. Roofs cascaded on to one another, walkways crumbled and buildings toppled. An avalanche of flaming wood, broken beams and loose rocks poured down the crater walls.

As they sprinted for their lives, Jack caught a glimpse of Li Ling urging the last surviving Wind Demons on-board the
Koketsu
, before giving the order to cast off. He couldn’t see Tatsumaki among them, though. But, when he glanced up to check the state of the landslide, he spotted a lone figure standing on the lip of the citadel’s broken balcony.

Like a true captain
, thought Jack.
She’s going down with her ship.

The citadel, finally surrendering to the inevitable, began to tumble piece by piece into the lagoon.

‘FASTER!’ urged Jack as the first of Pirate Town’s wreckage and rubble splashed into the lagoon. A huge boulder ploughed into the
Jade Serpent
, taking all on-board with it.

Saburo stumbled and Jack dragged him to his feet. They threw themselves the last few paces to the iron gate.

Yori fumbled for the key.

‘Come on!’ begged Miyuki as more rocks and debris rained down on them.

In his haste, Yori dropped the key. Groping on the ground, he snatched it up and rammed it into the lock. He turned the key and pushed.

‘It’s stuck!’ he cried.

Saburo drove his shoulder into it and the gate burst open. They all dived inside just as Pirate Town engulfed the lagoon. The roar of rock and wreckage resounded down the tunnel like the bellow of a dragon. Then all went silent and they were plunged into darkness.

Coughing and spluttering from the dust, Jack called out, ‘Everyone OK?’

Three voices answered, hoarse but relieved. Gingerly getting to his feet, Jack took the lead and they blindly followed the tunnel wall.

‘Are you certain we’re going the right way?’ asked Saburo after a while.

In the pitch-black, Jack had no idea if the tunnel split off at any point.

‘I think so,’ he said, trying to be reassuring. Then relief swept over him. ‘I can hear water lapping.’

They kept edging through the darkness, the sound of waves growing louder with every step.

‘I can see light!’ exclaimed Yori.

Up ahead, the faintest of gleams was wavering over the moist surface of the rock wall. Turning a corner, they emerged into a small cave, sunlight dimly reflecting from the sea outside and illuminating the space. A skiff was tied to a metal ring in the wall, its mast lowered so that it could enter and exit the low cave entrance.

‘Li Ling’s done us proud,’ said Jack, inspecting the boat and finding it fully stocked with provisions and two casks of fresh water.

They clambered on-board and stowed their packs and weapons. Jack gave the
rutter
a reassuring pat as he tucked it beneath the gunwales. With the demise of Tatsumaki and her captains, and the logbook back in his possession, his father’s precious knowledge was safe once more. Jack knew he’d been reckless to reveal so many of its secrets to a band of ruthless pirates. But he believed his father would have understood his bonds of friendship to Miyuki, Yori and Saburo. All of them had been willing to sacrifice their lives for him. And in return, he would lay down his life, and whatever else it took, to save them.

Saburo picked up one of the oars and pushed off. Carefully navigating between submerged rocks, they rowed out of the sea cave and into bright sunlight. The cave was located on the southern side of the island, so they were safely out of sight of the approaching Sea Samurai fleet. As soon as they were clear of the shoreline, Jack raised the mast and hoisted the sail.

‘Keep rowing,’ Jack instructed Saburo and Yori. ‘We need to get as much distance between us and this island as possible.’

As they pulled away, the rim of the crater came into view. Black smoke and flaming ash rose up from the caldera, the extinct volcano now looking dangerously active as Pirate Town burned. On its western side, a few Wind Demon ships had made it out of the lagoon and were fleeing into the distance. Jack spotted the distinctive armoured roof and dragonhead of the
Koketsu
. He just hoped that Li Ling would be able to outrun the Sea Samurai.

‘Which way are we heading?’ asked Miyuki, pulling out the sea chart.

Jack studied the map. He plotted a course that would take them across the wide expanse of the Seto Sea, through the Kanmon Straits and on to their final destination, Nagasaki. Having got his bearings, he pointed over the starboard bow.

‘West,’ he said, striking a course towards the setting sun.

Feeling the fresh sea breeze on his face, Jack smiled at his friends. ‘And we’re in luck for once. The wind’s in our favour!’

Notes on the Sources

The following quotes are referenced within
Young Samurai: The Ring of Wind
(with the page numbers in square brackets below) and their sources are acknowledged here:

 

1. [Page 277] ‘A ship is safe in harbour, but that’s not what ships are for.’
   By William Shedd, theologian (1820–1894).
   
2. [Page 296] ‘Ten soldiers wisely led will beat a hundred without a head.’
   By Euripides, Greek playwright (484–406
   BC
   ).
   
 

Ninja Pirate Ship Competition

A
Young Samurai
competition was held in the Young Times section of
The Times
newspaper to name the Ninja Pirate Ship that would feature in
The Ring of Wind
.

The winner was:

for his suggestion of the
Koketsu
, which means Jaws of Death (or Tiger’s Den, or dangerous place).

Out of the countless excellent entries, this one stood out immediately. It fitted the image of my ninja pirate ship perfectly, since the vessel has a dragon-shaped battering ram on its prow to sink other ships.

Congratulations, Jonathan!