Before they could give him an answer, Shin immediately brought them inside fearing that they would be spotted by Shadow ninjas. He headed towards the door and advised them to lock behind him and not to go anywhere. While the trio wondered where he had gone, Shin returned with Hideo and Asuka.
After the brief greetings, the S-class trio bombarded the younger trio with several questions. What were they doing there? Why were they back? And how did they get in?
"I–I can't believe it's r–really you," Mikoto stammered in astonishment, ignoring all the questions they were being asked. "Asuka-san!"
"You must be Mikoto-chan," Asuka said and the young kunoichi blushed at the thought of her inspiration knowing about her. "Old man Taka-sensei told me about you."
Takumi brought the S-class trio up to speed about where they had been for the last six months and the type of training they had received under the tutelage of their sensei.
"So, are you guys going to let us go or not?" Kazuo interrupted with a small vein showing on his temple. "We've told you that we're here to destroy the Shadows and their leader."
"Now, now purple brat… don't be hasty," answered Shin who had also gotten pissed by Kazuo's tone. "Just because you say you've gone through intense training doesn't mean you're ready to fight against the Shadow ninjas. After the Lord Sage, we were the strongest three and we couldn't defeat them. What makes you think you're special, huh?"
Hideo also added, "I'm afraid I have to agree with–"
Kazuo drew out Raijin and swung at Shin, luckily Asuka was paying attention and she stepped in to stop the chokutō. Kazuo and the senior kunoichi had moved so fast that the others only caught up after it had transpired. The sound of Asuka's knuckle dusters blocking Kazuo's sword filled the room for a few moments before it went dead silent. The look on Shin's face was the definition of terrified.
"Kazuo," everyone was still shocked when they heard Asuka break the silence. "Do you intend on killing one of your comrades with that Mushin level attack?"
She knows bujutsu too? Kazuo thought.
"Yes," Asuka said, as though she had read his mind. "I am familiar with Budō Seishin and I am at Mushin. But if you hope to fight against Kagero and his son, you'll have to be faster than that."
Kazuo grinned.
"No way!"
Kazuo followed up the first kata with a second one but faster by tenfold and stopped the blade tip before it could touch Asuka's neck. "Yes…I'm at Fudoshin."
Hideo and Shin saw Kazuo in a new light and the latter swore to himself to never call him purple brat again. Mikoto was underwhelmed by seeing her peer outmaneuver the great kunoichi she admired dearly. The ever-indifferent Takumi just stood on the side and observed everything as it took place.
"Okay Kazuo, if you think you're ready to face the Shadows then how about a hand-to-hand duel? Let's see how strong you really are," said Asuka.
"Sure," said Kazuo, sheathing his chokutō and placing his fists in front of his face. "I'm ready when you are."
Jujutsu is Asuka-san's specialty. I know we trained for six months but can Kazu-kun match her strength? Mikoto thought.
The showdown began immediately and the spectators had to clear room for the combatants. Kazuo relied heavily on his speed to dodge most of Asuka's deadly blows. He failed to land an attack on his opponent, she was left unfazed the few times that he did manage to connect a punch or a kick. With each blow he dodged, he realized what Hanzo had meant when he talked about mastery of Budō Seishin being fully achieved with several years of fighting experience.
To those watching from the sidelines, in the few moments when they could keep up with the fighters' speed; it was as though Asuka was the true embodiment of mind without mind. It was as if she read his moves before he made them. Kazuo too noticed that her body moved on its own while he had to think of what he was going to do next.
"You're thinking too much," Asuka laughed as she gestured at Kazuo to come at her.
Kazuo rushed in with clenched fists as he saw an opening after dodging a kick from his opponent. His fist felt like he had hit a rock when he connected a punch on Asuka's back.
"Oooww!" Kazuo yelled out loud, holding on to his throbbing hand.
Asuka chuckled as she revealed a Prithvi mudra, "Those tekkō (knuckle dusters) aren't the only thing I can amplify my earth affinity on."
Wait, Hanzo-sensei did that too with his Zanken! Kazuo confirmed this with the Chinmaya mudra and his Ajna chakra. She was indeed conducting her dominant element as he observed a crimson aura around her body. The fight resumed and he also used the Prithvi mudra to imbue prana on to his fists. As he tried not to think too much about his next attack, he became fully present in the moment. The Inazuma lad began to match most of the kunoichi's attacks blow for blow and for a while, it seemed as though the match had become a draw.
This kid is amazing, just by seeing my earth–body amplification once he has already grasped it. "We could have gone on forever but time is not on our side. I think you are ready, if you agree to follow our lead that is," said Asuka, after stopping the duel.
When everyone agreed with regards to the coup, Hideo and Takumi drew up a plan for them to follow. The fewer the people knew about the plan and the urgency in which it was enacted would mean that their chances of success were greatly increased.
As the discussions began, Asuka took Kazuo to the next room told him about her fight together with Kazutaka against Kagero and Kagemaru. She explained to the young lad that the king would use any means necessary to win so they should be wary of him the most. Furthermore, she gently relayed what Kagero had said so it would not come as a shock to him in the event that it was brought up during the fight.
"M–Mom…no," muttered Kazuo as an image of his mother helpless clouded his mind. He could not help but allow the salty downpour to rain down from his tear ducts and on to his cheeks.
Seeing how much pain Kazuo was in, Asuka gave Kazuo a hug and consoled him. "I'm sorry Kazuo." After a brief pause she asked, "Do you still want to do this?"
"Yes!" Kazuo's face was red with wrath. "More than anything, I am going to kill Kagero."
Before the crack of dawn, the six Lightning ninjas set out for the ninja school using the heavy snowfall and darkness for cover. Because of the freezing cold outside, they knew that the village streets would be mostly empty. When they reached their destination, they easily took out four foot ninjas who had been patrolling the premises. The team went to the school block where they were met by two assassins in the first floor. Shin and Mikoto offered to stay behind and fight whilst the rest of the team proceeded on ahead.
When the four Lightning ninjas reached the second floor it seemed desolate at first, however, they were ambushed by a group of six assassins. An all-out battle ensued. Asuka and Hideo took out one assassin each with their underlings Kazuo and Takumi respectively backing them. A few moments later, two more shadow assassins drew their last breaths and two remained.
"Asuka-san…you two can go on ahead," said Hideo. "We have got this covered."
"Right!"
Asuka and Kazuo dashed to the third floor and were welcomed by Kagero and Kagemaru along the corridor with their backs to them. Kagero wore his kasa and the white Lightning Sage haori that had once belonged to Kazutaka. Kagemaru wore the Lightning village armour and wielded Kajin with one hand.
"We finally meet, at last," Kagero turned around to face his guests. White bandages covered his torso and he had burn scars on his face. "Murasaki-kun (Purple boy)."