In the next instant, a shockwave erupted. Every attack shattered. The ground quaked violently. Houses, fences—obliterated. Cries of agony pierced the rain. The five attackers were hurled meters back, smashing into trees, collapsing helplessly.
Aiden sheathed his sword.
Step by step, he advanced. His footsteps, crisp on leaves and earth, felt as though he was treading directly on Reina's heart. Fear stole her breath; she clutched the trees behind her, trying to rise, only to collapse again.
"Even the Lord's Demon-Armored Form doesn't wield such power… Could this be the Raiden Shogun's swordsmanship?" Reina whispered, disbelieving. Aiden's style was otherworldly, impossible to evade.
"No. The Source-Flow technique… I've only grasped a fraction. This is merely something I learned naturally, trying to strike swallows—nothing extraordinary," Aiden said as he approached her.
Reina wiped the blood from her lips, a skeptical, "Yeah, right," on her face.
Still, she couldn't deny it—he had style. Even injured, he exuded that calm confidence confirming her suspicion: Lady Reina was right; it was safe to press in Inazuma.
"I underestimated you. You must be one of Narukami's chosen, yes? But so what? Without the Raiden Shogun's order, you wouldn't dare harm us." Reina's arrogance returned, raising her chin.
Aiden snorted. In her shocked expression, he delivered a swift kick to her rear.
"You—"
"You what? Can't handle the Raiden Shogun? And you think I can't handle you?"
Reina tumbled, rolling across the mud, her thighs smudged and exposed, utterly humiliated.
For the first time, the danger dawned on her. A single thought echoed through her mind: The intel… was false.
"Behave."
Aiden ignored her, delivering a swift kick to each opponent, binding them magically.
Yet…
Even as Reina's face darkened, she caught the serious resolve on Aiden's face, glanced toward Matsuzaka and Inaba in the distance, and couldn't help but feel a flicker of grim satisfaction.
Siblings clashing, blood spilled, Inazuma's cursed fate! Even if he defeated her, how could he confront the Raiden Shogun's tacit approval of the Eye Hunt and the Seclusion Decree? He could do nothing!
---
Elsewhere, the rain-drenched battlefield echoed with the crisp clash of blades. Sparks danced between Matsuzaka and Inaba Kusanagi as the two retreated and countered, complicated emotions etched on their faces. Only last month, they had been drinking together in the Uwanoya during the ceasefire. Now, they fought for life and death.
"How can you betray the Raiden Shogun, Lord Kusanagi? Even if something's wrong, you should report it—there's still time to turn back!"
"Fool! Cling to your empty ideals, and drown in Inazuma's blood and hatred!"
As they struck toward each other's vital points, Matsuzaka subtly shifted—he could not bring himself to harm his friend.
In the storm-laden sky, a flash of lightning tore the darkness.
Aiden, wielding Sword Technique: Source-Flow, struck the blades aside with surgical precision. The two daisho fell from the warriors' hands.
All combatants froze. Before them walked a figure bathed in lightning, radiating authority and mastery, evoking the Raiden Shogun herself.
Past anguish, confusion, and doubt faded. Even the ronin turned sea bandits and the samurai of the Tenryo Commission kneeled, shouting, "Eternal Order, Narukami forever!"
Aiden—of Inazuma, Part One: "The Cage of Fate, I Shall Sever!"
---
Seeing the kneeling warriors, Aiden paused, slightly surprised at the smoothness of events. He had only aimed to end the tragedies, yet now he hesitated to explain his identity.
The Narukami Shrine was prestigious, but he could hardly admit he was just the gatekeeper of Mount Yingxiang. A name must carry weight.
Source-Flow had worked flawlessly. Stepping forward, he declared, "Narukami's warriors should not fight each other. But that does not absolve wrongdoing. Matsuzaka… after defecting from the Tenryo Commission, what have you done? Speak the truth—I will investigate personally."
Tears welled in Matsuzaka's eyes. Kneeling, he recounted everything.
During the battle on Yashiori Island, the deity's power was unsealed, scattering the shogunate army. Matsuzaka's team discovered the corpse of their superior, a loyalist of Kujo Takayuki, and through letters learned that Kujo had been manipulating the war, deliberately delaying attacks to eliminate rivals.
At first skeptical, Matsuzaka's squad confirmed the truth through other loyalists. Enraged, they defected—but caused no innocent deaths. Their alliance with the Fatui was under the promise that hostages would remain unharmed.
"So, if the Fatui had wanted bloodshed, what could I have done? Just excuses to hide one's evil," Matsuzaka said, handing the letters to Aiden with a bitter smile.
"Oh? I thought vengeance drove you."
"I am motivated by vengeance, but that is no excuse for crime. Civilian harm desecrates Narukami's honor," he admitted calmly. His teammates agreed.
This level of righteousness, their devotion to the gods… far beyond Aiden's expectations. Even the Fatui accepted it as natural. He now understood the unique governance of a theocratic state.
At that moment, Inaba Kusanagi asked, "But the frontline commander is Lady Sara. If Kujo Takayuki manipulated the war, could she…"
Aiden understood the implication: even Kujo Sara, the admired daughter, may have been forced into complicity.
"No, she likely did not know. After all, she's only the adopted daughter of the Kujo house. Her authority in the shogunate is limited," Matsuzaka explained.
"But I still can't comprehend… Kujo Takayuki, so devout, yet…"
"His devotion is empty rhetoric. He deceives the sovereign, manipulates war, exploits the people. Unworthy of faith," Aiden interrupted.
The Kujo Takayuki everyone revered for his loyalty to Musou Isshin now jeopardized Inazuma's interests. His so-called fanaticism? A crutch, a final fallback. Anyone who bought his lies deserved nothing but ruin.
"Kujo Takayuki… I'll handle it. But execution? These letters alone won't suffice." Aiden paced thoughtfully. "Matsuzaka, take your squad and Inaba back to the shogunate, face your punishment. Remember to compensate Tsukishiro Tomomi's family."
With power like Kujo Takayuki's, a few letters could not bring him down. When he finally falls, the consequences will extend far beyond ink and paper.
Matsuzaka froze. "What? I accept punishment, but if we return to the shogunate, we can't touch Kujo Takayuki?"
---
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