It had been a few days since Kazuo and Mikoto completed their training. Summer rays graced the land with their warmth and the weather suggested it would rain soon. As they arrived in Kaminari, a familiar face welcomed them at the main entrance.
"I almost didn't recognize you both for a second." Haru sat at a wooden cabin behind a guard desk. He smiled, showing off the blue moustache he had been growing. "What's with all those muscles?"
They all chuckled.
"I see you've finally graduated… congratulations!" Mikoto noted the lightning kanji on Haru's armour.
"Congrats, bro!" said Kazuo with a grin. "I'm probably the last undergrad from our class now."
They laughed again.
"I graduated last year and I'm now a trainee ninja guard. Are you an item or something?"
"Huh?" asked Mikoto, moving away from Kazuo. Her face flushed. "What makes you say that?"
"How close you look... You must be f–"
Kazuo gestured at him to stop, but it was too late.
Haru had just dug his own grave. "Eh!" he gasped, seeing Mikoto clench a fist as she advanced.
In a flash, Kazuo jumped in between them.
"Get out of the way... Kazu-kun!" Mikoto halted before pummeling Kazuo's face in. "My issue isn't with you!" She puffed hot air through her nostrils.
Kazuo looked back at Haru, arms outstretched. "You better apologise to her, bro. Before we get a repeat of what happened four years ago!"
"I'm so sorry, Mrs. Inazu–I mean Miss Chiba," said Haru, his tone quaky. "I–it won't happen again..."
"Good," Mikoto exhaled, lowering her hand.
Kazuo cackled. "You almost pissed yourself."
"So, what did we miss?" asked Mikoto.
"Haku is training to be a doctor. Kenji and Ayame are Battalion Corps under Captain Natsumi. Oh, the Lord Sage and Shin have a daughter named Asami."
Mikoto's face lit up when she heard about Asuka's child. "Seems a lot happened while we were away..."
"By the way," Haru continued. "Takumi came back a week ago… with his wife and they're expecting."
Kazuo and Mikoto raised their eyebrows. "What?"
"Are they still around?" Mikoto asked.
"Yeah, I haven't seen them leave yet."
Mikoto and Kazuo thanked Haru before reporting to the ninja school. They raced using Jinsoku and she reached their destination first. The area felt different with newer faces all around. They entered the main building and walked through its corridors.
"You didn't have to let me win back there."
Kazuo scratched his head. "I didn't."
"Liar!"
They walked up a flight of stairs to the third floor. When they stood outside the Sage's office, Mikoto knocked. Seconds later, Asuka told them to enter.
Baby Asami had been playing with toys on the floor when Asuka picked her up. "Miko, Kazu... welcome home." She beckoned Mikoto and handed Asami to her. "You've both become stronger than me! At this rate..." she chuckled. "This seat might be on the line."
Mikoto and Kazuo laughed.
"She has your eyes, senpai..." said Mikoto, raising Asami in the air. "And Shin-san's hair! How cute!"
"His nose too... everyone says she looks like him."
Kazuo joined in. "We heard Taku is back, too."
"He and his wife rented an inn near the school." Asuka took Asami when the latter started crying. "There, there... that's your older sister–Miko." She wrote on a piece of paper and handed it to them.
Mikoto and Kazuo said goodbye to Asuka and Asami before leaving for the inn. When they arrived after a short walk, she knocked on the door. To their surprise, everything had turned out to be true.
Takumi could not believe his eyes. It had been three years since he last saw them. A lot had changed for him as well. He was taller with well-defined and lean musculature. His hair was shaved into a neat undercut and he had a moustache.
A pregnant woman with hair buns stood next to him. She wore silver visors to cover her eyes and an unfastened white jacket similar to his. They both had a square within a circle printed on their left breasts. The Artisan sigil for Grand Masters.
"Where are my manners?" said Takumi, fixing his sunglasses. "I'd like you to meet my wife, Tomoe. She insisted on coming to see where I grew up."
Tomoe bowed her head with a smile. "You must be Mikoto and Kazuo. I've heard so much about you..."
"I hope only pleasant tales." Mikoto chuckled and everyone joined her. "By the way, congratulations."
Kazuo joined in. "Congratulations to you both."
Takumi and Kazuo left the inn and went out to get drinks. On the way to the market, he reminisced with his old friend about their adventures across Nihon.
"So," said Kazuo, grinning. "How did you meet?"
Takumi chuckled. "We were a match made in the lab. She majored in Alchemy and I did Engineering. We first met during a combined lecture."
"I'm glad you found someone like you."
"What about you and Miko?"
"What? There's nothing there... we're just friends."
"Those make for the best relationships."
"How so..." Kazuo raised an eyebrow.
"Tomoe and I were friends first. But enough about dating. Let me show you something interesting..." Takumi took out a pistol and handed it to Kazuo.
"This looks better than the ones keisatsu use."
"It's my spin on a design they use in the West. They call it a flintlock revolver. I also implemented the stuff Hanzo put in his notes. When I realised that sorcery and science are similar, everything became clear. Run your prana through it."
Kazuo did so and the cylinder rotated. "Woah!"
"This isn't just a better design, it's more efficient."
"I see that..." Kazuo returned the pistol.
Takumi spun the revolver with a finger and placed it in its holster. "The technology we're working on back in Tanso will revolutionise ninjutsu and medicine. I can't wait for you and Miko to see it."
"Show off," Kazuo teased with a chuckle. "I can sense you're stronger. I'm guessing Mushin at least."
Takumi raised a hand while holding the Chinmaya mudra with the other. Sparks of indigo light flickered on the free hand. "Fudoshin..."
Lightning conduction. Kazuo's eyes widened. "You reached that level using only notes! That's insane!"
"Thank you. It took some time to get it right."
"It shows... we should spar some time."
Takumi chuckled. "I'm nowhere near you guys."
As they laughed, their destination appeared. They entered Karin's restaurant, bought a few bottles of non-alcoholic saké and returned home.
☯
A week later in Miyazaki City, Hanzo hid in some bushes outside the palace walls. It had gotten dark and he wore his Earth keisatsu disguise with a mask. After all these years, they never changed the secret route. He looked up at the towering structure and studied the heishi (soldiers) in blue uniforms.
This place brings back memories...
I wonder if Lady Namiko still remembers me...
Footsteps sounded, and Hanzo left his hiding spot. As he was about to climb the palace wall, a patrolling guard noticed him. He used Jinsoku and knocked the man out before dragging him into the bushes.
Infiltrating this place while dressed like this will be a challenge. Hanzo used Jinsoku once more and leapt to the top of the wall. When he looked down, the palace yard was swarming with men and women in blue uniforms. He made the Agni mudra and took a quick breath.
Suddenly, all the lanterns that lit up the area died out. The heishi panicked and scurried around.
"Be on guard, it could've just been the wind."
Hanzo switched to the Chinmaya mudra and saw dim, white flames encircling the heishi. Latent Auras. He quietly made his descent, sneaking through guards with ease. As he entered the main building, one heishi ran through the corridor with a lantern.
"Intruder!" the man screamed and more than a dozen heishi appeared. They surrounded Hanzo with their swords and spears drawn. "You're a long way from home, officer. This is where you die..."
I tried not to shed any blood... Hanzo drew Zanken while holding the Vyana mudra and painted the walls red. Jinsoku Zanjutsu (Rapid Slash technique)...
The second group arrived at the scene with their muskets out. Hanzo dropped a smoke bomb and took cover in one room. When a white cloud exploded, the heishi immediately opened fire.
"Check the rooms! He couldn't have gone far!"
Hanzo saw the wooden door slide wide open.
"He's h–!"
Blood oozed from the heishi's mouth as he dropped with Zanken stuck in his throat. Hanzo dashed towards the corpse and plucked his katana. He swung the blade, splattering red drops on the floor. Suddenly, ten more heishi arrived. He counted their heads and made the Vyana mudra.
Suizanjutsu: Jukkire!
(Drunken slashing technique: Ten cuts)!
Hanzo zigzagged and sliced through the heishi. In seconds, ten corpses fell down. He slashed Zanken sideways and blood splattered off the blade before sheathing it. That's the last of them.
The commotion from the heishi had quieted, and only fearful servants raced around. He walked past the screaming commoners, a sea of dead heishi on the palace corridors and made his way upstairs.
When Hanzo reached the daimyo's chamber, she was in the embrace of another woman and they both looked terrified. The two ladies wore linen kimono robes and several clothes were on the floor and around their futon. Namiko was in her late twenties and she had fair skin, blue bangs and eyes to match. The other woman around her age had dark braids.
"Namiko Miyazaki," Hanzo spoke with a deeper voice. "By order of the Earth daimyo… I sentence you to death!"
Wait, that voice… It can't be. "Is that you? Han–"
Hanzo appeared in front of Namiko and placed his hand over her mouth. Before the ladies could react, he stabbed the other woman through her heart and she held on to the blade as blood gushed around her wound. She recognised me? He thought before whispering. "Do you wish to live, Lady Namiko?"
Tears streamed down Namiko's cheeks as she nodded vigorously. Just as Hanzo removed his hand from her mouth, she gave him a quick slap before grabbing her companion who lay dead. "What have you done, Hanzo?" she looked at him, her face red with rage. She then turned to the other woman and sobbed. "Shizuka! No, no, no! Please wake up!"
"I'm sorry, but she's gone," said Hanzo, trying to console her. "The only way you can live is if there's a body that remains. They sent me here because of my former ties to Mizu and if I don't carry out this mission, everyone dies. So I ask you this once more, Lady Namiko, do you wish to live?"
"Shizuka didn't deserve any of this…" Namiko slapped him once again. "I… want… to live," she said between sobs. "I want to live..."
"Right then, follow my lead. But first, we'll need to switch your clothes and make it seem like you're dead." He removed Zanken from the corpse, swung it aside and sheathed it with a single hand.
As Namiko had changed into Shizuka's servant clothes, Hanzo took out his hyōtan. He poured the saké all over the corpse and threw a candle on the futon. As the body burned, he grabbed Namiko and faced the open window. "Hold on tight."
Hanzo leapt out of the window and landed on some bushes. He got up with Namiko safely in his arms and used the secret route to escape the palace. After several minutes of running in the moonlit night, they finally reached his boat and set a course toward the Fire Region.
The former Water General had been rowing for dear life when he noticed lanterns flickering in the distance behind them. Two navies, each with ten men, were right on their tail and increasing their speed. He could not hope to outmaneuver those huge battleships at sea.
"Soldiers! Ready your bows!" said the Major. "Fire!"
They shot several lit arrows from crossbows. When the heishi discovered the small boat's location, they fired again in rapid succession. Luckily for Hanzo, he avoided the first wave, but when he saw the second barrage of arrows soaring in their direction, he instructed Namiko to curl up and hide. He then drew Zanken and readied to defend himself.
I guess I have no choice but to use that. Hanzo brandished his katana in the air. "I'll just need a few minutes to prepare…" He saw the arrows drawing closer and closer, "Jukkire!" He sliced most of the projectiles but got shot in his left arm. "Argh…" he grunted as he plucked the arrow out.
"Are you alright?"
"Yes, my Lady… just stay right there." I should end this before the poison spreads. He sliced off a bit of the skin that the arrow had stabbed. He tore into his haori jacket, took the small cloth and tied it around his arm. "That should do for a while..."
Hanzo made the Udana mudra with his right hand that held Zanken. He took five deep breaths and sparks of white light formed at his feet. Kōsoku!
The heishi readied themselves to fire for the third time and stopped when they saw a figure enveloped in a violet aura racing on the water at high speed.
Hanzo ran so fast that he parted the sea as though a wave had hit behind his path. In under ten seconds, he landed on one ship.
"Fools, what are you all staring at?" said the Major. "Shoot him d–"
Heishi stood speechless as their Major's severed head soared in the air, leaving a trail of red drops. The corpse fell to the ground on its knees and a stream of blood gushed from its neck.
Before the heishi could react, Hanzo attacked.
Hyaku-giri (One hundred cuts)!
Hanzo zigzagged through the wooden floorboards, slaying nine heishi. He quickly jumped to the second ship and cut down the remaining ten heishi. Once all his enemies were dead, he exhaled deeply and released Senshin. His heart pounded as he dropped to his knees.
He took in a few more breaths. When he regained a bit of his strength, he used fire amplification with a lantern and set the two ships ablaze. Unable to use Kōsoku, he made the Vyana mudra and ran towards his boat with Jinsoku. That was a close call...
Namiko helped row the boat to Yamaguchi Port.
"At this rate, taking the sea route would be suicidal." Hanzo paused, viewing the burning battleships. "I doubt I can fight another fleet with this hand. Instead, we'll seek asylum in Kaen. But first, I need to see an old friend in Shiga for this wound."
When they reached the mainland, Hanzo commandeered an unguarded carriage with two stallions. Once they had a means of transport, they raced for the Grass Region. Along the way, he started shivering. He fell on the seat and Namiko had to take over the steering. The poison was kicking in.
"Lady Namiko… the person we're looking for… is a woman named Rani." He slowed his breathing as he handed her a scroll. "If we reach Shiga and I'm not awake... please send this message to Kaminari."