The Ring of Earth - Chris Bradford [36]
‘All the more reason to keep a low profile.’
‘All the more reason to hand over the samurai boy. We don’t know where his loyalties lie. He could betray us for his own freedom.’
‘I doubt that,’ Soke replied, putting down his teacup. ‘Jack may be samurai, but he is honourable and has a pure heart worthy of a ninja.’
‘You place too much faith in this gaijin, Soke. I will speak with Shonin. Maybe he can make you see some sense.’
Bowing curtly, Momochi strode off in the direction of the farmhouse.
Jack waited for the Grandmaster to go back inside.
Why did Soke feel so compelled to help him?
Jack got the sense the old man somehow blamed himself for his predicament. Or perhaps Soke knew about the rutter, and was trying to work his way into Jack’s trust so he could acquire the code. But isolated by choice within this valley, Soke and his clan could have no connection with Dragon Eye or the political ambitions of the man who’d hired him, Father Bobadillo.
Soke had said, A single tree doesn’t make a forest. In the short time he’d been living and training with the ninja, Jack was starting to appreciate that. And whatever the Grandmaster was up to, he was just glad the man was willing to teach him their skills – they’d be vital to his survival on the journey ahead.
Though he had no reason to trust any ninja, he had some sympathy for their situation. The samurai lord sounded a tyrant and Jack certainly didn’t want to attract further trouble to the village by staying. At the same time, if he left now, he’d be caught and do just that. He was trapped by circumstances. As agreed with Soke, it would be best to wait until the samurai gave up their search.
In the meantime, he’d have to be very wary of Momochi. Without doubt, that ninja would sacrifice him at the first opportunity.
20
SIXTEEN SECRET FISTS
Jack grimaced in agony. Miyuki had him on his knees, pain paralysing him. All she was holding was his thumb – and she was compressing it into an excruciating lock. To add insult to injury, the young ninja was standing on his toes.
‘That’s how you do the technique, samurai,’ she said, releasing him.
Over the past two weeks, Jack had not only continued practising evasion and escape tactics, but had been introduced to the ninja’s version of taijutsu. Initially surprised at how different the unarmed combat training was from that of the Niten Ichi Ryū, he now appreciated the effectiveness of their style and found it appealing. The aim behind their taijutsu wasn’t necessarily to kill, but to fight their way through to a means of escape. And while the samurai rigorously drilled their moves to perfection, the ninja rarely practised a technique more than five times in any session.
‘A rigid system is open to attack,’ the Grandmaster had explained in their first taijutsu lesson. ‘Any formal structure has weakness inherent within it. That’s the flaw in the samurai’s fighting art. Take the foundations from the house and it collapses.’
Soke had demonstrated this on Jack, asking for a classic samurai attack. Neatly evading his cross-punch, Soke had stepped on Jack’s lead foot, then knocked the back of his knee to take away his balance. Jack was so distracted by this that, before he could retaliate, Soke had him in a painful armlock and was sweeping him to the ground.
‘There’s no right or wrong way in ninjutsu,’ the Grandmaster had gone on to say. ‘It only has to work. Each attack you’ll encounter is unique in terms of distance and timing, so each response should be unique in its own way. Learn the basic principles, then apply them with a flexible mind.’
Every taijutsu lesson so far had been a painful experience. But none more so than today when Soke had partnered him with Miyuki to run through the most crippling locking techniques.
Jack stood up, massaging his throbbing thumb. The morning sun was now filtering through the trees into the glade, but the lesson was far from over. The other students