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Sensei Kyuzo bowed and returned to his class.

‘Jack-kun, step up!’ he ordered.

Jack hurried to the centre of the Butokuden and waited as Sensei Kyuzo positioned a single cedar board between the two stable blocks. He then placed a second board on top of the first.

‘But –’ Jack protested.

Sensei Kyuzo cut him off with a withering look.

Jack groaned inwardly. Sensei Kyuzo had promised he would do everything in his power to ruin Jack’s chances of entering the Circle of Three. Now the sensei was setting him up to fail in front of Masamoto.

Jack could see that Yamato and Akiko were equally appalled by the unfairness, but they were in no position to say anything.

Jack’s only choice was to prove Sensei Kyuzo wrong.

During their training, Jack had come to understand that the tamashiwari technique required more than brute strength. It demanded total commitment, concentration and focus.

He had to strike through the wood, not at it.

The power came from his body, not the arm itself.

He needed to condense his ki, his spiritual energy, and transfer it through his fist into the object he was striking. And most crucial of all, he had to truly believe that he was capable of breaking the block.

Jack took all the anger, frustration and hate he had suffered at the hands of Sensei Kyuzo, Kazuki and his Scorpion Gang and channelled it into the wooden blocks. With an explosive force that even surprised Jack, he slammed his fist through the wood, screaming ‘KIAIIIII!’

With the sound of a gunshot, the two blocks shattered apart, the splinters flying through the air.

There was a moment of awed silence then the class erupted into applause.

Jack was euphoric. A rush of adrenaline pulsed through him as he experienced a sudden release of all his frustrations. For that brief moment, he was all-powerful.

As the clapping died down, one pair of hands kept applauding.

‘Very impressive,’ commended Masamoto, stepping forward. ‘You have been training your students well, Sensei Kyuzo. May I borrow Jack-kun for a moment?’

Sensei Kyuzo bowed in acknowledgement, but Jack noticed the burning frustration in the samurai’s eyes.

Masamoto beckoned Jack over and led him outside.

‘I haven’t had an opportunity to speak with you for a while,’ he began as they walked past the construction works of the Hall of the Hawk, where several carpenters were busy hammering down floorboards and putting up roof beams. Masamoto and Jack entered the sanctuary of the Southern Zen Garden to escape the noise.

‘How are you coping as a young samurai?’ enquired Masamoto.

Jack, still buzzing from the tamashiwari, replied, ‘Great, but the training’s been harder than I expected.’

Masamoto laughed. ‘The training is easy. It’s your expectations that are making it hard,’ he observed. ‘I must apologize for not being around much this year to guide you, but affairs of state have taken priority. I’m sure you understand.’

Jack nodded. He assumed Masamoto was referring to Kamakura’s anti-Christian campaign. There had been more reports of persecution in Edo, Kazuki ensuring Jack was made fully aware of each one. Jack now wondered how widespread the problem had become to require so much of his guardian’s time in serving daimyo Takatomi.

‘The good news is that we have dealt with the situation and you’ll be seeing far more of me for the rest of the year,’ Masamoto said, a smile spreading across the unscarred side of his face.

‘Has daimyo Kamakura been stopped?’ Jack blurted, unable to hide the relief in his voice.

‘Kamakura?’ queried Masamoto, the smile disappearing. ‘So you are aware of the issue?’

He looked hard at Jack, his stare as penetrating as steel blade. For a moment Jack wondered if he had spoken out of turn.

‘There’s no reason to concern yourself with such matters,’ continued his guardian, indicating for Jack to sit down next to him on the veranda that overlooked the Zen garden and a small stone water feature. ‘Still, to allay your fears I can tell you in strictest confidence that daimyo Takatomi has required my