In Niag, Duke goes to Fate’s place of origin. He comes across a village, most of whom give him vulgar stares. Fate had advised him to keep Yamikami available and keep it sheathed around his waist (Duke can produce an ornate sheath by moving his hand over the blade) Finally, Duke is confronted by Samurai Swordsman. They exclaim that he is clearly a foreigner, and that his clothes, his face, and his eyes look unusual. They tell him that he must leave this place, or they will kill him. Duke says that he cannot do that because he came here for a reason, but he did not come here for a fight. They begin to draw their swords, and Duke does so as well, and they commence a battle. In comparison to his opponents, Duke’s Swordsmanship and footwork are inexperienced, clumsy, and flawed. However, Duke compensates for this by Transforming for defense. While Duke at his current level would never have a chance of landing a blow on his enemies due to the difference in skill, and both he and the Samurai clearly know that, Duke is able to overpower and destroy their blades because of the simple fact that Yamikami is an extremely powerful sword. Duke doesn’t hurt them badly; he hits them each with a kick engulfed in a blue flame that sends them flying a great horizontal distance and knocks them out. The one that told Duke to leave is still conscious, but Duke has his sword pointed at him. He wants Duke to kill him, stating that it is a disgrace to lose to such an unskilled warrior. Duke says he is uninterested in fighting random people; the only time that he will use his sword is because he is forced. He did not come there to harm anyone, or his nation. The samurai asks where he got that sword. Duke hesitates to give him an answer, but then he finally says that it was given to him. The swordsman prods further and asks who, and Duke is even more unsure of how to answer. Duke simply asks if the man is aware of someone named Fate. The Swordsman, however then states that if Fate is who gave the sword to him then he does not believe that Duke is not hostile. Duke then begins to quickly cover his story and says that it wasn’t Fate, and that he is actually against Fate and wants to destroy him. The Samurai is skeptical, but then accepts it. Duke offers to help him up, but the he refuses. The man leaves but also states that he will report to his commander Duke’s objective, and if that is truly his goal, it won’t be any issue. Duke is left alone after that, and begins to wander closer to where he is going; it is a large dojo, with a forest of cherry trees in the back. It appears ancient, as if thousands of years old, but it is still in use and Duke can see people training. Duke simply wanders around it awkwardly and watches the people train; it does not take long for the master to notice and confront him. Duke is asked what he wants, but before Duke can answer, the master quickly notices that Duke has Yamikami sheathed around his waist, and gets aggressive. Duke then finally states that he wants information on Fate. The man stares at him, sighs, and agrees. He then tells Duke to walk with him. He tells Duke that this place is thousands of years old, and that over a thousand years ago Fate Trained here.

Fate was ruthless killer from an enemy clan, and while he fought for his allies he showed no mercy; Many of his own friends questioned his true motive. He thirsted for power and was more than willing to go to extremely levels to get it. Hybolians are our enemies, but that didn’t stop Fate from ascending. He only justified it by fighting on their side. At his peak he could take on thousands of enemies at once, but while he could win the fight, he could not win the war. Fate’s clan lost all of their leaders, and then practically all of their soldiers. Even after our clan had formal victory Fate continued fighting, and the few who chose not to fight to the death betrayed Fate instead, but Fate killed them all. Whenever we encountered Fate he would not rest until everyone was dead, and not just Samurai--Peasants, women, and children. Fate has not been seen for an eternity, but we believe he’s still alive.

The master leads Duke through the forest of cherry trees, and comes up to an unusual tree; it has pitch black bark, and the cherry flower petals are blue, and glowing. On the trunk of the tree is Fate’s emblem carved in jagged edges, glowing blue as well. He then returns to the fact that Duke has Yamikami, and then like the samurai, asks how he got the Sword. Duke also says it was given to him by someone, but that he is also interested in training here. The master then asks why does he want to train, and he replies because he wants to save his homeland. He wants to save everyone there, his friends, his family, and it was because of “You know him” that it happened. Duke says he has two and a half years, and in that time he would like to become a master swordsman to become strong himself and wield Yamikami more effectively. The man laughs, stating that it requires far greater time. He then asks how old Duke is, and after hearing, states that Duke is past the time where one would ideally begin training and that it would be even more difficult for him. Duke is persistent, stating that it doesn’t matter. After hearing Duke the man becomes more sympathetic. The master says that he didn’t say Duke couldn’t try. He doesn’t know anything about him, so who knows? Maybe he is a prodigy. Duke has a noble goal ahead of him, and let that give him the resolve to be strong. The master asks if he is alone. Duke tells him that he is not, but the only reason why he traveled here is because he was given Yamikami, and that they are far away. Duke came here to learn about Yamikami and Fate who once wielded it. The master nods and tells Duke to come with him. They go inside and the master tells him to sit down. He then fetches a sword, and then comes back to Duke. Duke sits improperly but once Duke sees him sit Duke copies him. The master firmly tells Duke that for what he is concerned Yamikami’s past is irrelevant. As long as he trains under this dojo, Duke is forbidden to use Yamikami for any purpose, and that the only sword he can use it this one: Saisho no renshū. It is an ordinary blade from a local blacksmith, and therefore will break fairly easily. If Duke ever breaks this blade, then he will be kicked out of the dojo. Furthermore, Duke is not allowed to modify or repair it.

Saisho no renshū

Duke trains under the master who's name I have yet to come up with, under the condition that as long as he trains under the dojo, he is prohibited from using Yamikami. The master gives him a sword, Saisho no renshū, which is a frail sword made by a local blacksmith. If Duke breaks it then he is kicked out of the dojo. At the same time, Duke fully acknowledges that he won't have enough time if he only trains at the dojo, so at night he decides to train with Fate. Hybolians don't need sleep, so he is able to effectively double the amount of Training a normal human could obtain. Duke Trains for two and a half years, but effectively has trained for five. Saisho no renshū at this point is badly beaten and terribly chipped, but he fulfilled it. Nearing the end of his training the dojo is attacked, and Duke defends it. He is urged to use Yamikami, but Duke says Saisho no renshū will be enough. They protest in that Saisho no renshū is unfit for combat and is essentially a piece of junk, but Duke ignores them. As Duke faces the enemy they watch to see the skills he has developed. With Saisho no renshū, Duke easily outmatches and actually shatters every single blade that it clashes with, despite being on the verge of shattering itself. Duke points out that a sword is an extension of one's being, and because of that, the "Old Lady" is unbreakable