Young Kohaku was very excited to go to the Bushido temple. He had waited for a long, long time for that day. He got dressed quickly and went out in the sunshine. The cool breeze blowing through his wavy hair looked beautiful. A young girl was watching Kohaku from behind a tree. Her name was Rei-Rin.

Just then, the blue sky became sheathed by a blanket of dark clouds. Lightning began to flash through the dark sky. A pair of red eyes flashed in the darkness. It was Joku, the dragon. He had been terrorizing the village of Hashimoto for 500 years. Legends say that he had been sealed for millions of years by a young samurai, Fuji and after he woke up, his rein of terror began. He lived in the forest of Kojoh near Hashimoto.

Nobody except woodcutters dared to enter the forest and most of them became Joku’s dinner. The same Joku had come to Kohaku. But he did not even attack Kohaku but chose to strike the tree Rei-Rin was standing behind. Kohaku heard the scream of Rei-Rin and grabbed a sword which was hanging in their house. He attacked Joku but he vanished in thin air. All Kohaku was left with was a fallen tree, a large crater in his house’s backyard and the worst of all, Rei-Rin’s lifeless body.

He picked it up and wept all night. He decided to take what he wanted, revenge. But he understood that he would not even be able to scratch Joku’s body. So he went to the Bushido Temple leaving a note that he would only return when Joku would be sealed or finished. The guards would not let him in until he showed his skill in combat but Kohaku did not have that much time to waste, so he simply bribed them and entered. The sempai’s were training hard in the dojo and after seeing them, Kohaku’s inner strength was awakened. He talked to the master of the temple, Yamamoto.

He was the best swordsman in the whole of Hashimoto. Nobody could match him in fighting. Yamamoto was amazed by Kohaku’s enthusiasm and decided to train him directly under his own command. So began Kohaku’s training. He was a given a series of tough tasks to complete which involved combat, agility and intelligence. In two years, he had mastered the way of the warrior and was awarded the armour of the samurai. He was taught how to make a katana and other weaponry.

He was ready to fight Joku and slay him. But when Yamamoto heard that Kohaku wanted to slay Joku, he said that he would not be able to resist Joku’s flame until he wore an enchanted amulet. Yamamoto gave him an amulet which was already enchanted. He also gave Kohaku a flame shield to block the spray of the fire. Kohaku was all set to slay the dragon. He set off with a horse which was given to him by Yamamoto. By dusk, he had reached the forest of Kojoh. The forest set a dark, gloomy shade over the area and it was easy to get lost as all the trees looked the same. It was nightfall by the time he reached a cave.

The cave was unusual. It was warm and cozy inside unlike the rest of the places. There was also a fire burning brightly in the cave. He cooked some beef he had brought with him and ate it. He fell asleep after that. He was woken up in the middle of the night after hearing a mild thumping near the cave. The thumping got louder and louder as it got nearer. He saw a pair of red eyes flashing brightly in the darkness. By the time Kohaku had realized that it was Joku, Joku had already entered his cave. Kohaku jumped up and drew his sword.

Joku did not wait for Kohaku to pick up the shield and gave out a ribbon of brightly colored, orange flame. Luckily, Kohaku’s amulet protected him and he slashed at Joku’s belly. The belly was as hard as iron and it did not even get a scratch from the slash. Joku tried to bite Kohaku but missed him because of the great speed of Kohaku. Then Kohaku began to hack at Joku creating oozing wounds all over the dragon’s body.

When Joku understood that he could not win no matter whatever he tried, he told Kohaku that if he spared him, he could grant Kohaku a wish. Kohaku agreed and asked Joku to leave the planet Earth forever. Joku accepted it and left Earth. From that day on, nobody had ever seen Joku again and the people of the world could live in peace.