by MangaMoon

Vagabond - Musashi miamoto 3D panel

Remember… when Musashi faced seventy swordsmen from the Yoshioka school in the fields of Ichijoji? Picture men spread across uneven ground, blades drawn. Some advance; others wait for an opening. Musashi stands among them alone. A strike could come from any direction, so staying still means letting them surround him. The first clashes break their formation. He changes direction, making opponents obstruct one another. He cannot fight seventy blades at once. He closes on one man, strikes, then turns toward the next. Each movement buys him only seconds. Feet slip across the ground. Steel collides. One man falls, another takes his place. Musashi’s clothes grow heavy, his breathing roughens, and wounds accumulate. Eventually, his opponents throw mud toward his eyes and attack from different directions. A moment without sight could finish him. As the fight continues, every movement costs more. A severe leg wound makes stepping and balancing harder, yet there are still swords ahead. When it ends, bodies cover the field. Musashi remains alive among them. That is the weight of his victory: he has defeated an entire school, but badly damaged himself. His pursuit of becoming the strongest has cost seventy lives and his own health.

Material: Wooden