“Hatamoto-san. I hope you do not take offense to what I am about to say. However, I believe that you and your father have an inherent misconception about strength. Strength is not determined by how one wields his sword. Rather, strength is the ability to stand up against what seems to be an immense challenge. I know that the Boar clan has historically been plagued with conflict had wars, but wars are not fought with swords. Wars are fought with the mind.” Ryuu said as he then let a few seconds of silence to allow his words to settle in before he continued.

 “You come to me to help you learn how to fight? I must confess that I have yet to see a battle with my own eyes. Yes, I have been in some spars and faced a few challenges in regards to conflict. However, I believe that the greatest challenge that any leader can face is the challenge to prevent wars from starting. Contrary to what people think, there are no winners in a war, only degrees of losers. In fact, the only person who can claim to have won a war is the one who has lost the least. Therefore, a victory in preventing a war is much sweeter than a victory in winning a battle because you have prevented unnecessary suffering and loss.”

Ryuunosuke took a second to clear his throat, and then continued with his little speech. “Therefore, Hatamoto-san. I believe that you are stronger than you think that you are. Please, have some faith in yourself. Otherwise, how do you expect your people to have faith in you?” He then changed the topic and said “I thank you for your gifts, but I do not believe that I can teach you much. Rather you must discover for yourself what strength is and go forth from there. I can provide you shelter here if you desire. However, I must warn that there may be moments where I, the leader of the Wolf Clan, may come into a conflict of interest with the Boar clan. Therefore, if you are able to respect my desires to help my people, then I welcome you.”