Mount Koryu's existence was, by the natural laws of this world, a paradoxical location.
While one would rightfully spot how cliche it was within its formation, with numerous biomes fitting with the various Genryu's elemental affinities, the real issue wasn't the aptly divided area to fit within a game-like scenario. But the one flaw which I was quite sure didn't make much sense with nature itself: something inside it caused issues when it comes to using Chakra.
Normal Chakra at that, thus rendering most of my abilities to fight quite void. I could use Sage Mode, but that could amount to so much before I have to switch out of it. My Sharingan couldn't keep up as it was turned off automatically by the area's disturbance. Likewise, my sword was still able to harness its inner potential, but controlling it once released would quickly turn into trouble for me. And this is why, after a rant about it to Muramasa for not telling me much about it, I found it difficult to wrestle against a few clay clones employed by the cultists that had ambushed us at the entrance of the mountain.
Those were not problems. Their fighting capacity was abysmal, and while their numerous presence made for a concerning detail, I still moved through them with ease. Sword in hand and experience plus training providing me with the right set of actions to go through to secure us a successful defense.
I moved fast, my feet burning as no chakra could really give them the speed I needed and so I was forced to tap into my stamina to keep up. I wasn't going as quickly as I wanted or as I normally would, but it was enough to keep up with these cretins. Bathing the land red and shredding through the ranks seemed to be enough to break their morale even faster. No, that wasn't where things started to go down quite terribly.
It was a couple of minutes after that initial battle, with a single entity manifesting and creating the most issues. The priest was back and, from the looks of it, he had been juicing himself up with some Ootsutsuki-made BS boost. His body looked barely human, crooked and twisted as one arm stood mightier than the other with so much muscle and chakra channeling within the limb, while the other had shifted into a claw-like hand. Likewise, his legs were now fanged and his face twisted as three horns originated from his forehead.
It wasn't just a change in appearance. I could perceive something about his own body's energy output was abnormal as he produced so much chakra that he could ignore the natural disturbance within the area. So much chakra... and yet I could tell it wasn't a condition he could keep up for too long. His body was straining even with how effortlessly he got through us. He first rushed at me, its pace absurd as he managed to quickly put me on the defensive.
He couldn't do much to avoid some damage, with Hebikiri-maru delivering enough elemental retaliation to cause Ashihei to falter. He wasn't ready to give up, not when desperation mounted in his mind and he turned his attention elsewhere. It was absurd how quickly he paced- no, flew for the task. He struck Muramasa, a punch that shredded into his stomach and caused blood to spill in a horrid display where he disabled the old man with a deadly blow.
I shifted fast, the shock faltering faster than for Nashiro, with my blade burning with dark energy and ready to cut through the faux Ootsutsuki. A foolish expectation, but one that wasn't provided without some thinking. I reached for my pouch, unleashing a few senbons that managed to swiftly stab onto the muscled arm, forcing the priest to pull away from Muramasa with a pained look on his face.
A glance towards me, and then his clawed hand was aimed at me. I felt a pull, my eyes widened as I saw Hebikiri-maru yanked out of my hand while something tugged at my chest and yeeted me closer to the priest. The blade was caught by the monstrous entity's overgrown hand, while the claw put me in a firm position, tightening around my neck and forcing me to struggle against it.
"It doesn't matter, Shimura," Ashihei hummed rabidly, "Your death will not happen. Not yet. The master- he seeks you. I will make sure to serve you to him once I am done with this job- After all, I doubt you will want to have his death on your conscience too, young lady."
"R-Run- don't list- gh," I paused as the choking intensified. "Don't listen to him, he- his master- he needs me."
"Maybe," The priest hummed. "But mistakes can happen."
His grip strengthened at that, and I could tell he would do it. His desperation made him less lucid and understanding of the ramification this could lead to. I needed to break free fast and take Nashiro out of here- bringing her here to begin with proved to be a terrible idea. I thought this place was meant to be protected against this scum!
And the opportunity came right as I thought of this last detail about the guy- he was focusing on the 'now', giving it simple thoughts without being able to see any other complicated factors. Which meant he was a feasible target for Genjutsu. I needed to hit him hard and I had an instant of action.
I activated my Sharingan, staring straight against the murderous gaze of the priest as I sent him a nice and painful illusion. One moment his arm was fine, the next one he saw it explode in a terrifying display of gore. That got him, the claw unconsciously releasing me as he backed off in shock.
I took a moment to switch to Sage Mode, Natural Energy released from one of the scrolls I had on me and my focus on it was peak due to how little chakra I had to handle at the time. It was the boost that made me work at close to better pace to my normal stance, but it was just enough to do two more things: first, I used Wind Release: Vacuum Great Sphere to create a pressurized wind shot which tore onto the weaker limb, thus distracting Ashihei a bit longer, and then, as a conclusive act for a confrontation I couldn't survive, I used Earth Release: Hiding Like a Mole.
I took for the underground moments before the bastard had the chance to pull me back into a much tighter and deadly grasp through his bulkier limb, while also rushing under him and reaching Nashiro. The girl had the chance to just let out a 'eep' before I pulled her down and carried back to the forest, right away from where the chakra disturbance started. It was a painful decision- but I was in a bad spot, and I couldn't carry Muramasa either. I doubted Ashihei would have done anything with him, and, in a way, I would soon be proven right about this thought.
Still, one thing at the time. Once I was sure we were in a more advantageous area, I pulled myself and Nashiro out of the ground. She gasped for air, unaccustomed to the technique, but not letting go of me as she sobbed hard on my chest.
"Grandpa! W-We need to get back there and-"
"I am working on it, Nashiro!" I replied, my own unease overlapping any sense of moderation about it.
She didn't seem to mind the loud rebuttal as we were both running on high emotions and the next step to take was to protect her before approaching the situation once more, but I didn't stop to really look into her reaction as I had a lot to do with this situation. I provided her with a Flying God seal which would allow me to shift her back to my position if she was taken, and I also gave her a kunai to stab the bastard if he got any close to her and tried to still do something about it. The seals worked within the chakra-disruption area, so I could now deal with the bastard with the proper tool to kill him- Fuuinjutsu.
I had a few tricks under my sleeve, but as we returned to where we left Ashihei, we noticed he was no longer there. He took my sword with him, which was not... good. That thing had several Genryu's souls, and the sheer crap that would cause in the ensuing plans of his was enough to leave me with a scowl. That was until we arrived at Muramasa.
The man was still hanging on life, the wound covered by his big hands, but as I started to study the wound for a diagnosis and then a proper patch up, I paused before something I didn't expect to find. An obstacle that was beyond any expectation: something that was purposely rejecting my own chakra.
I was confused at first, but then I realized the issue was not something Ashihei did on purpose- but rather something caused by the drops of blood that fell off his wound and onto Muramasa's. It was meant to reject me- whatever Isshiki gave the creepy priest was meant to prevent me from eventually studying the minion's body. And right now... I couldn't do anything with my chakra. I struggled to even get the Medical diagnosis jutsu going, and I rushed for some medical herbs to try and lessen the damage but-
"No."
Muramasa's right hand moved from the wound and stopped me from going through that.
"I am... a goner. I am not getting up from this."
"G-Grandpa, you can-"
"No," Muramasa mumbled, the palm leaving my wrist and reaching for Nashiro's left cheek. "No I can't. I am sorry but... this is where I have to say goodbye."
The dam shattered as tears erupted from the dragon girl, she sobbed loudly, begging at him, at me, at the world and the gods listening to this. Nothing could be done, I was stumped by the absurdity of what happened in less than an hour. I was... frustrated by it as I was reminded of something: bullshit was real and this world, in its own fashion, was cruel to those that planned things through.
"T-The... The sword. The box has... a sword."
I frowned, turning my attention to the tall box that the man had been carrying. I did notice it some time and inquired about it, like Nashiro had done a bit before I tried my luck with that question. Muramasa said and slowly opened it. A big sword, a tall straight-ended nodachi. I felt the irony struck me like a full-speed truck- that's Monohoshizao, the weapon the original Sasaki Kojiro was known to use with predilection.
A blade that, in my hand, meant little at the moment. It looked like a beautiful piece of hard work. His last work. I bowed my head, and saw him smile while life drained away from him. Soon it was just Nashiro's quiet sobbing filling the world as I numbly studied the blade and the power it held.
It was unusual- it was no Hebikiri-maru, but its potential without major additions was quite... absurd. It was much stronger of the base sword for Hebikiri-maru and... could easily surpass it with a single element that Muramasa left for me to discover through a single query within the box itself:
'What is my purpose in this world?'
The sword's first thought was given manifestation in the real world.
I heard footsteps, turning my head to see two familiar individuals approaching. I would have been frustrated by this development, but right now I saw this as an opportunity I couldn't say no about.
"I wish to help, Kojiro," Musashi muttered, her tone sounding as serious as this situation dictates.
The boy beside her had one of the most furious and yet determined looks possible, trying his best to hold his own tears at the sight of Nashiro crying over Muramasa's dead body. Both had seen the scene, both had been thrown off by it, but... they were also compelled by what this scene dictated as a reaction.
"You wouldn't gain anything-"
"Beyond giving justice to the one that caused this. That monster- he is a threat to the Land of Samurai. I know about... the dragons."
"And?"
She smiled. "And I am not backing down from this challenge."
Refusal wasn't possible. Not when I couldn't do it on my own. At this point it was a matter of more people giving us a higher chance of success and...
"Fine. But don't stand in my way too much."
She scoffed, yet smiled nonetheless at the acceptance.
The path up ahead was going to end in an uphill brawl, but I could at least rely on someone covering for me as we advanced towards the end of this grand adventure.