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‘You’re right. Their duel lasted a day and a night without rest. Eventually a town official had to step in and stop the fight. They’d wrecked two tea houses and several market stalls in the process!’

Jack smiled at the idea. Sensei Yamada, his Zen master, had once told him Masamoto had been a fierce and independent samurai in his youth. He could just imagine the carnage these two warriors had wrought.

‘Their epic duel led to a mutual respect and it was deemed a draw,’ Taro explained, as Masamoto and Sensei Hosokawa stopped their fighting in the Hō-oh-no-ma and retreated to a safe distance. ‘Sensei Hosokawa eventually persuaded Masamoto-sama to teach him the Two Heavens and they became allies, founding the Niten Ichi Ryū together.’

Sheathing their swords, the two samurai bowed to one another. A servant entered through a side door bearing a pot of sencha and two china cups. Sharing the green tea, the two samurai laughed at a private joke and toasted one another. ‘Kampai!’

‘Sensei Hosokawa is possibly the only samurai who can match Masamoto-sama’s skill with the sword,’ whispered Taro, as if it was blasphemy to suggest such a thing. ‘But, for honour’s sake, they have yet to finish the duel.’

‘Everything you’ve learned so far at the Niten Ichi Ryū was merely preparation for the Two Heavens,’ declared Masamoto to the eight students gathered before him.

Jack was in full agreement. He felt like a novice again. Standing in the Two Heavens upper fighting stance, a wooden katana borne high in his right hand and a shorter wooden wakizashi at waist-level in his left, he struggled to keep control of his swords as he attempted the cuts Masamoto had shown them.

He struck down at the bokken held aloft by his training partner, Sachiko. A girl from two years above with a reputation for being lightning fast with the samurai sword, she had a sharp angular face and dark hair pulled back and secured with a red ornamental hashi stick.

Jack switched stance and cut down, using the wakizashi. He repeated the strikes, each time attempting to get faster and more accurate. However, the coordination required made his efforts appear clumsy and awkward. He was used to holding one sword in both hands, but the weight of two made his arms ache and his grip weak.

‘You may ask why two swords are better than one, when all other samurai schools teach single sword techniques,’ Masamoto lectured as he studied his students’ form. ‘Admittedly, there are situations when one sword has its advantage, but if your life is on the line, you need all your weapons to be of service. For a samurai warrior to be defeated with a sword still sheathed is a disgrace.’

After several more attempts, Jack swapped with Sachiko to hold the bokken aloft while she practised her double cuts. Already a year into her Two Heavens training, Sachiko was more fluid with her movements and struck the bokken with greater force, each hit jarring Jack’s arm painfully in its socket.

There were only six other students privileged enough to be taught the technique. Immediately to his right were Akiko and Kazuki who, like Jack, had conquered the Circle of Three challenges and therefore earned the right to be taught the Two Heavens early. Jack was reassured by his own progress when he saw that Kazuki was also finding the exercise tough. The next two students, Ichiro and Osamu, were more advanced. Like Sachiko, they’d been selected from the years above for their exceptional fighting skills. Having already had some training with two swords, they were striking at one another rapidly. At the end was a girl called Mizuki, whose sword partner was Taro. They attacked one another’s bokken with practised ease, not even breaking into a sweat.

Masamoto called a halt to the practice. ‘Take up your fighting stances.’

He then went round correcting everyone’s posture.

‘Put strength into the nape of your neck, Sachiko-chan.’

He pushed down on Jack’s shoulders. ‘Keep your back straight. Don’t stick out your rear.’

Masamoto looked Kazuki up and down. ‘Good. A very solid stance. Everyone here needs to be