Four days after they had been saved by Rani, Kazuo and Mikoto had fully recovered from their physical wounds, save for the mental scars that left them traumatized. They discovered that Saki had led them straight to an ambush by Rina, who they also learnt was Rani's daughter. On their way back home, the lightning duo had more questions than answers and they were both silent for most of the journey.
Mikoto tried to ask about what had happened when she passed out but Kazuo remained silent. He was both angry and sad for being unable to do anything.
When they reached Kaminari village, Asuka noticed the state they were in psychologically and realized that something had gone wrong during the mission. She gave them time to heal before they could tell her what exactly had transpired.
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It was a sunny afternoon without a cloud in sight. The sounds of seagulls in the sky filled Yamaguchi Port as ships arrived and others set their sails to depart. Hanzo had been busy chilling and sipping on some saké from a hyōtan when he sensed an ominous presence nearby. His heart skipped a beat and began to gallop when he saw a silhouette appearing slowly from the shadow of a cherry tree.
"Hello Darkness." Hanzo got up and hovered his hand over Zanken's hilt.
"My old friend, oh and there's no need for any of that," said Kagami, revealing himself from the shadow. "Tell me Nakamura, do you still have ties to that country?" He pointed beyond the shore.
"Not anymore… If I did, I would still be General there." Hanzo lowered his guard and let go of Zanken's hilt. "What brings you to this place, Lord Kagami?"
"Straight to business, I see. I would expect nothing less from my Silver General." Kagami paused for a bit, taking in the atmosphere around him and added, "I have a mission for you in the Water country, but first, I must commend you for how well the boy has progressed."
"I was only doing a favour for Kazuro-sensei."
"I would understand your resentment of me killing him since he killed my beloved Hiko. Nonetheless, after all these years, I have never sensed any hatred from you. Is it not your wish to avenge his death?"
"Not at all… Lord Kagami." A hint of perspiration formed on his temple.
"On the subject of death, we've lost two pieces to our cause. First it was Hashimoto, now Kagero… both struck by the Lightning, it appears. What say you on this, Nakamura?"
"They were the weakest in the organization. Both men–their methods were…"
"Crude?"
"Yes."
"For order to be attained… chaos is a necessity, is it not?"
Kagami gazed deep into Hanzo's soul and the latter stared right back at the abyss. Hanzo's will was immovable and there was no malice or fear in his mind.
"Interesting, I notice you have also become enlightened." Kagami grinned slightly. "How much time do you require to awaken the boy? And also, to teach him that technique?"
It took me six years to reach Senshin and another three to fully master Kōsoku (Light speed). Hanzo gave the questions much thought before saying, "I'll need three years."
"Understood," said Kagami in agreement. "Three years from now, you are to assassinate the Water daimyo under the guise of an Earth keisatsu. The two countries have a long-standing feud and this incident might be the catalyst we need." I shall also be able to assess whether Kazuro's 'prophecy' when he was on death's door is to be believed. "And finally, before the Water country rains on the Earth, notify your boy that the Shadows will also be on the battlefield."
Hanzo's indifference wavered and his face showed a slight concern when he heard what the mission in his former country entailed. He reverted to his usual demeanor.
"Is there a problem, Nakamura? I sense a bit of hesitation."
"No… not at all, Lord Kagami."
"Remember, your ancestors were brought here to be enslaved, gaijin (foreigners)–that's what they called us." He paused and reflected on his past whilst Hanzo listened. "My mother and I were subject to it. The worst of it."
"I will carry out the mission, Lord Kagami."
"Very well then, I shall take my leave."
After the shadow master vanished, Hanzo froze for some seconds. He snapped himself back to reality and started planning. As soon as he finished pondering, he wrote a letter to Kazuo requesting that they urgently meet in Kaen village. When he had sent the letter via a raven, he packed a few of his things and departed. Hanzo did everything so hurriedly that along the way he realized he had forgotten his saké gourd.
A week later, when Hanzo arrived in Kaen village, the daimyo Kenzo and two Lightning ninjas warmly received him. Kazuo told him that Mikoto had insisted on coming as well. "Hmm I see…no worries, she can join us too." He turned to her, "I must warn you though Mikoto-chan… this time the training will be ten times worse than before."
"I thought as much when I asked to come along, sensei. So I'm ready for anything!" Mikoto stated with great resolve. "I don't want to go through what happened in the Shiga district again. This time around, I'll make sure that I don't stay behind."
"Alright then… I will break this training into three parts," said Hanzo. "The first year will be a more rigorous version of what we already did at Yamaguchi. The second year, we'll be focusing on secondary and tertiary elemental conduction. Finally, the third year will be enlightenment, whereby you'll fight against me using Senshin. By the end, you should both have mastered Fudoshin and possibly even grasped a bit of Senshin."
The duo beamed with joy.
"I hope you've packed your things because we're going to Mt. Fuji."
As the three of them walked to Mt. Fuji, the students observed their teacher's hands shake faintly at random intervals. They had also not seen him with his gourd since he arrived.
"Hanzo-sensei, are you okay?" asked a concerned Mikoto. "Your hands are shaking."
"Oh, this?" Hanzo chuckled, looking at his hands. "Don't you worry about me Mikoto-chan, I'm alright," he said, assuring her. I do hope Kazuro-sensei was right about this boy. I have three years to train him to reach Senshin and learn Kōsoku. What puzzles me is, if Kagami fears the prophecy being true, why not kill the boy now? What exactly does he want with him?
The first week of the training on Mt. Fuji was so intense that the lightning duo almost gave up. Their lungs had not yet been used to the high altitude and low levels of oxygen, so they easily got fatigued during the high-speed ascent. Hanzo's sobriety also lasted that first week until he ran to the daimyo and begged for some saké. With his thirst quenched, the sensei appeared to be in a more jovial spirit and his hands also ceased from shaking.
As weeks flew by, Kazuo and Mikoto got more accustomed to the harsh conditions atop the mountain. The time they took to climb and also descend had reduced a great deal. Seasons changed and weeks turned into months. Soon enough, the first year ended and the lightning duo had now improved their lung capacities to a point that they could make the ascent without getting exhausted. To add on to that achievement, Mikoto had also attained Mushin whilst Kazuo had mastered Fudoshin.
"Time to begin our second year of training. Before we start, a secondary element is a combination of two elements and with a tertiary element, it is three or more elements. Kazuo has a head start with lightning, which combines fire and light. Lightning conduction involves using the Chinmaya mudra to conduct light whilst Manipura is open–effectively rotating two chakras simultaneously."
The duo held on to every word Hanzo said.
"Are there any other examples?" asked Mikoto. "For example, what do projectors use?"
"There are two special techniques that were created by a blind rōnin. The first one, a shukuchijutsu (spatial compression technique) called Jinsoku, uses the Vyana mudra to conduct air and ether. It imitates Kazuro-sensei's Kōsoku that uses the Udana mudra to conduct air, ether and earth whilst rotating Ajna."
"Insane! That means rotating four chakras at once!" asked Mikoto.
"Indeed, and moving on to the rōnin's second technique called Hankei kakuchō. He used the Apana mudra to increase his sensory radius by conducting ether and earth."
Hanzo paused and took a sip from his hyōtan.
"To then answer your second question, in its basic form, projection makes use of the shadow element. The first person to project a visible shadow was Kageyama Kentaro by rotating all seven chakras in an anticlockwise direction. Physical strength is required to learn the first six. In order to master shadow projection, one needs to have a resilient mind that is free from the ego."
Since both students' dosha was Vata, it took them half a year to grasp Jinsoku. That technique would prepare Kazuo to learn its truer form, Kōsoku. For the remaining six months and also the final year, Hanzo sparred against them whilst using Senshin. His speed was godly and unlike anything the duo had ever seen before. They were unable to land a single attack on him when he was on his enlightened level. He told them he could only use Kōsoku twice a day and also maintain Senshin for a mere five minutes before his prana needed replenishment. He further explained that exceeding those limits would mean death.
During the evenings, the trio practiced meditation to balance their chakras and also fortify their minds. When the last six months of the second year ended, Kazuo and Mikoto had gotten better at trying to fight against Hanzo's Senshin. For the final year, Mikoto focused on mastering Mushin and Jinsoku. Kazuo learnt how to open Sahasrara so that he could use Senshin. For both students, the third year was the most challenging of all, and it felt as though it was worse than the first two combined. In order to gain more time for training, Kazuo and Hanzo also used the shadow plane. Throughout the years, Hanzo noticed his students grow not only stronger but also closer together.