He breathed heavy in the thin mountain air. His hands were bruised and callused, his fingers trembling, barely able to grasp the sword in his hand. His body weak and shivering from hundreds of repeated swings, knee deep in the bone chilling snow. 

"Guess this is my limit", said the man. 

"Five years seem to just fly by", said the man as he gazed upon the cloudy sky. 

He slowly descended the mountain, heading in the direction of a nearby village. 

The Man walked through village. The smoke from the grills of the local street venders, danced through the air, spreading a tantalizing aroma. Children at play dashed through the streets, laughing and shouting at the top of their lungs. The man saw them and smiled, the children waved hello and the man waved back. The man entered a local bar and ordered a drink. A waitress approached the man to give him his drink. As she approached, the displeasure in her scarlett eyes was more than apparent. 

"You look like crap, Aku", said the waitress.

"Well swinging a sword for five years will do that to you. How have you been, Mere'', said Aku as he sipped his drink. 

"I've been worrying about you dropping dead on the frigid mountain", said Mere.

"Well worry no longer, I am here, and better than ever". said Aku as he carcked a massive smile. 

 "I take you've achieved those new heights of swordsmanship you were after?" Mere asked.

"I'm not sure. I'll have to test my skills on the best, and see where I stand", said Aku. 

"I guess that means your leaving again. If this is the last I'll see you for a while, why don't you come visit me tonight so I can say goodbye", Mere whispered in Aku's ear. 

As Mere returned to work, Aku snickerd and finished his drink. 

The next morning Aku set out on his journey. He went to town after town, village after village, temple after temple, challenging all those who called themselves strong. He voyaged to the western Fortal Temple and challenged its Grandmaster, Haku Taketa, earnig a victory. He trekked to the Kota River village and challeged its chieftain, Daida the Robust, and once again claimed victory. He even fell the Gotei Boar who ruled the Gotei Valley. After seven years of battling across the country, he had earned the nickname "Kaimatsu", meaning "Greatest in the Land" in Shinkenese. Aku revelled in his new prestege, but it came at a price. After reaching the top, there was no one left to fight, nor anyone willing to accept his challenge. Aku decided that if none in his land could best him, he would seek those beyond Shinken's borders. He voyaged across the sea to a land he had heard legends of since he was a child, "Werlgardon".    

Upon docking on foreign soil, Aku heard rumor of a "Zideon", means "giant" in Arturian, woman named Droga, who had conquered the region he had just landed in. Aku wasted no time hunting Droga down. After finding her castle, he snuck into her thrown room and demanded a dual. 

"So you've come all this way for a dual. You must really crave battle", said Droga.

"Fine. Defeat four of my soldiers at once and I'll give you your dual." said Droga dismissively.

"Is that all? Seems easy enough". said Aku. 

The battle lasted less than a minute. With just four swings, Aku dispatched the soldiers. 

"So then, are you ready to fight?". Aku asked.

Droga smiles as she rises off her throne, her great stature becoming ever more apparent once she rises to fer feet. Droga slowly walked over to one of the room's pillars, where a massive metal club is mounted. After picking up the club she turned to Aku said only a single word. 

"Come".

Aku lunges at Droga, the force of his feet cracking the floor. With all his might he swings at Droga's neck, his eyes filled the promise of victory. However, his revelry was soon brought to a screeching halt. His gloroius blade that had seen him through thousands of battles, had shattered against Droga's skin. Droga looked down at Aku with disapproving eyes, then with a single swift motion, hammers Aku into the floor with her club. The weight of Droga's attack sent Aku flying through the third and second floors. After seven years of success, he had finally tasted failure. 

After his defeat Aku was sentenced to ten years labor in the Oien prison mines. He spent the entirety of his first two years trying to escape. Unfortunately, Droga had sent one of her royal guards to personally ensure he served his sentence. 

"So what's your plan this time", said random prisoner.

"Im out of ideas. This guy keeps fucking up all my plans. If I had a sword I could problably take him out", said Aku.

"That guy is one of Droga's elite guard. I think they called them the 'Hyrians' or something like that", Delin explained.

"What does that mean, I'm only slighly fluent in Arturian, Delin", said Aku.

"That's cuz you never pay attention. It means 'beasts' or 'beast-like'", Delin explained. 

"Maybe its time to think outside the box", said Delin. 

"The hell does that mean?", Aku asked. 

"It means get creative", said Delin. 

For the next year Aku pondered a new way, not only to escape, but to defeat Droga. One day he came up with a solution, if neither his body nor his blade could withstand Droga's might, then he will use his "Rai", Shinkenese for "spirit", to reinforce them both. He began training immediately, day and night, he pushed his Rai further and further. Soon enough, his training began to bear fruit. He chose to celebrate his success with an epic escape. However, unlike his previous failures, he had managed to defeat his Hyrian guard. 

After hearing about her soldiers defeat Droga pursued with her men. It took no time at all for Droga to catch up to the fleeing prisoners. 

"You beat one of my Hyrians, that's not an easy feat. I hope that compliment will bring you piece in the afterlife", said Droga.

Aku pulls out a sword he had tucked under his cloak while fleeing. 

"So you managed get yourself a new sword. I liked the old one better", said Droga as she scoffs.

The battle between the two commenced. The soil was violent ripped away by their feet as they lunged at each other, the sound of their weapons clashing reverberated like thunder. Droga's men and the freed prisoners watched in awe as the two pushed each other back. 

"What kind of sword is that? Why can't I break it? No, it's him, he's doing something" Droga thinks to herself. 

"Fine then, let's end it", Droga mutters.

Droga rushed forward at incredible speed, and Aku followed suit. With one last blow, Droga smashed Aku in the face, taking his left eye. In that same instance, Aku thrusted his sword directly towards Droga's chest but was blocked by her forearm. Though he missed his mark, his strike severed the Zideon's forearm. Droga chose to retreat back to her castle, leaving Aku and the prisoners free  to escape.   

Five years have passed since his battle with Droga. Aku and the prisoners had established their own settlement in the "Seevr Highlands", near Werlgardon's northern coast. They named the village "Akuto" after the man who freed them. In a sheep field at the leftmost rear of the village Aku and Mere are seen playing with a young boy. Delin approached the three. The smile on Aku's face slowly faded.

"Mere, I'll be right back". said Aku.

"Don't be too long, we promised Tenko we'd take him to the hotsprings today". Mere replied.

Aku walked over to Delin.

"The first fleet is ready", said Delin.

"Good, I want atleast a hundred more ships battle ready in a years time. She's been quiet for a while, but I don't know how long that will last", said Aku.

"I hear the 'Droga Noxum' is ten times bigger than when we escaped. It's a legimate empire now". Delin said. 

"That's comforting", Aku replied, sarcastically.