Michael and Ryu arrived in Crystal village the next day. The village was on fire! To make matters worse, it looked like they had walked into the middle of a terrible battle! Elements were flying everywhere and the Crystal ninja seemed to be engaged in a terrible battle with some other ninja wearing dark costumes.
"What happened here?!" Michael asked.
"Quick! Let's hurry to the Crystal temple" Ryu said.
As they rushed to the temple, a group of dark ninja jumped in their way.
"Out of the way!" Michael roared.
"Kill them!" one of the dark ninja ordered.
"Too easy" Michael said as he formed the basic seal. "Shark! Leviathan! Water element! Spiral of doom!!!" Michael roared as a huge burst of water carried the enemies away.
The brothers reached the temple. In it, they saw a warrior completely covered in armour. Spikes grew out of his shoulders. He had long flowing dark hair and looked quite young. He had a cold look in his eyes.
"See you later dragon fools!" the warrior said as he formed the basic ninjutsu seal. "Sixty shadows of Jinn!!!" the warrior roared replicating himself sixty times and thrashing the brothers. "That's my parting gift to you, dragon fools!" The warrior called as he vanished into thin air.
"We'll deal with him later, let's search for father" Michael said.
Ryu on the other hand was very enraged with the beating they had just received plus the fact that his clan had been attacked made him want to commit genocide.
"Now is not the time Ryu, we need to find father!" Michael said firmly.
The brothers walked to the dragon head and pushed it into the wall. The passage opened and they ran in. They found their father at the foot of the stairs, lying in a pool of blood.
"No! No! No!" Michael screamed.
"Father!" Ryu called, running to his father's side.
"It's too late. Lord Nemesis has the gem. All is lost" their father said.
"All is not lost, we found the Crystal Saint. We'll stop Nemesis" Ryu said.
"You found the Crystal Saint? That's why you are my sons. Here, take those suits, they are a symbol of our clan's honour. Around this world are many other saints, both human and dragon. Unite them and release the Dragon Zone. Stop Nemesis quickly. I may not have shown it many times but I've always been proud of you both" their father said as he breathed his last and died.
The boys tried their best to hold back tears.
Ryu brought the suits. There was a crimson vest and a blue one with matching trousers, made of thick leather and interwoven with protective armour. Each had a jacket to go with it and matching boots. Each had the symbol of the dragon on them. The boys wore them.
"You lived the path of a true ninja, sleep well father" Michael said. "Come on Ryu, the other saints await."
"Shouldn't we at least give father…a respectable burial?" Ryu asked worriedly.
"We can't now. We have been banished remember? We will bury him in our hearts and leave his body to our brothers. If you are not satisfied with that, I promise you that we will bring even greater honour to his name with our lives but for now, we are short on time. We need to hurry Ryu!" Michael said.
Ryu nodded with determination.
So the brothers left Crystal village behind them and continued their journey.
"When I woke up this morning, I didn't expect any of this to take place" Michael said.