A day later at sunrise, Namiko and a fully recovered Hanzo had reached Kaen village on their stolen carriage. Since the guards recognized him from before, he was allowed entry and he steered the stallions at a steady pace and they trotted to the royal palace. Upon arrival, they were escorted by two samurai to meet with the daimyo.
"It's been a while Hanzo-san, welcome back," said Kenzo, walking over to greet them.
"It's good to be back, Lord Kenzo…" Hanzo bowed his head. "May I ask for a favour?"
"Sure, but first who is the lovely miss next to you?"
"It's about that, she's my cousin and her name is Shizuka."
"Pleased to meet you Lord Kenzo," said Namiko.
"Pleased to meet you too Shizuka-san," said Kenzo with a smile. Hanzo-san never told us about any relatives… more so, she resembles the Water daimyo. He raised his hand and ordered his samurai, "Shall we have the room to ourselves?"
When it was only the three of them in the room, Hanzo introduced Namiko as the Water daimyo who is supposedly dead. He explained everything to Kenzo and also requested asylum in Fire region for Namiko and himself.
"Well Hanzo-san, that is quite the big ask," said Kenzo, holding his chin. "If I agreed to this I'd be risking the lives of my people from both Water and Shadow attack. I'm afraid I have to ask, what could be in it for my region?"
"I'm willing to do anything."
Hmm. Kenzo thought hard before saying, "Alright, if you can train our sorry excuse for samurai, I'll accept your request. However, Namiko-dono here will have to be Shizuka-san, a maidservant or the entire plan falls on its feet. Is that alright?"
Hanzo and Namiko nodded and accepted the daimyo's terms.
That afternoon, Natsumi's team arrived in the Earth country on horseback. She was armed with a crossbow and a tantō. The task force was made up of Kazuo, Mikoto, Takumi, Ayame and Kenji. Kazuo carried Raijin and Sūijin whilst Mikoto had Dōjin on her back. The swordsmen Ayame and Kenji had their katana and Takumi had his wrist gun and flintlock armed and holstered. Before they left, Tomoe had been against Takumi joining the team but he assured her that it was mainly a reconnaissance mission and he would not take part in the action.
On entry in the Ishigami district, a few keisatsu escorted the Lightning group to the police department where they met the Commissioner. Keisuke was shocked to hear what they told him and his suspicions were confirmed by the fact that his envoy had not returned from their meeting with the heishi.
"Let's look at this like shōgi," said Takumi. "What's the most important piece they could be after?"
"The King," said Keisuke.
"Affirmative, so we need to move royal family from the palace and evacuate everyone from the Soil into the Stone district."
"The Aristocrats won't allow that," said Keisuke with a sigh. "And the heishi already outnumber us by four times."
"In a situation like this you can always draft all the able bodied men as well," said Natsumi.
"Especially prisoners too! You can lessen some of their sentences," said Ayame.
As they planned for the war, they were interrupted by a sergeant who told them that the Water army was now in view from the outer wall. Suddenly, another sergeant walked in and informed them that a group of ten assassins led by Daisuke had infiltrated the Soil district.
"It's a two front attack!" said Keisuke, standing up. "Okay Sergeant Fujiwara, rally together with the other sergeants, all policemen are to take up positions near the outer wall. I'll be with you after I confirm the safety of the daimyo. Natsumi and your team, may you help us with the shadow assassins."
"Commissioner, the keisatsu need your leadership. As for the shadow assassins you can leave them to us. Takumi, Mikoto and Kazuo take the lead… ikuzo!" said Natsumi and with those words, they vanished.
Meanwhile, the Water army was still waiting several metres from the outer wall while the police officers gathered. A few keisatsu had already stationed themselves with matchlocks atop the towering barrier. The clear afternoon sky was also starting to become cloudy as sounds of thunder roared in the distance.
"General," said a concerned Lt. Yamada, "Our men are wondering when we're going to attack the Earth. They fear it might start to rain soon."
"Lieutenant…war is an art form," said Yuji. "Tell them to be patient. Wait…" He then faced the heishi, "Everyone listen up! Is it not better to have a victory where we lose as few of our men as possible or are you all just itching to go to the afterlife?"
The soldiers were silent.
"My men… patience is a virtue!" Yuji bellowed.
On the other side, Keisuke had instructed Kaito to aid in moving all the non-fighters from the Soil and into the Stone district. When he reached the outer wall, he met with the sergeants who then brought him up to speed on what was going on.
"So you're telling me that they haven't made a move yet?" he asked, and the sergeants nodded. What could they be waiting for? "Have all of our keisatsu gathered here?"
"All except for the prison and Royal Guards, sir!" said Fujiwara.
"Okay, even with the able bodied we've recruited from the Soil, our numbers are still not enough," said Keisuke, pausing for a moment to think. "Sergeant Fujiwara, can you bring the prison guards and inmates willing to defend their country?"
"Yes, right away sir!" answered Fujiwara and with that he raced to Iwa prison.
"Right sergeants, is the canon ready?" asked Keisuke, staring at the canon that was positioned in front of the main gate from the inside. They confirmed that it was equipped and they had enough gunpowder as well. "Great! Let me go and check what's going on up there."
Natsumi's task force reached the Earth palace and it was secured with about twenty armed keisatsu. They were told that the assassins had not yet arrived.
"Where could they be?" asked Kazuo, having already drawn Raijin when they arrived. "Is there anyone guarding Doi?"
"It's the Lord daimyo to you outsider," said one of the keisatsu, "And of course he is, why do you think we can't handle the Shadow ninjas? We have guns and what do they have? Silly little swords?"
"Dude, don't you realize who that is?" another keisatsu asked the first, "Maybe you were off that day but that's the kid who defeated the Hasegawa syndicate and his team. I understand how you feel but he was recognized and awarded by the daimyo, so you better show some respect." He then faced the lightning team, "Kazuo Inazuma right, I hear your concern. A few of your members can go in and beef up the daimyo's security."
The group selected Takumi and Ayame for backup since they had promised Tomoe that he would not partake in any fighting. Natsumi then stationed herself on top of the palace roof and the rest of the team covered the sides.
In the meantime, Sergeant Fujiwara had just arrived in Iwa prison and his jaw dropped to the ground at what his eyes showed him. The yard was covered with dead guards and inmates. He readied his pistol and walked inside the concrete structure. He entered the building and saw even more corpses on the ground. He then tiptoed further in and stopped when he noticed a group of assassins near one of the cells. That's Daisuke! What's he doing there? Is he crying?
"You can come out from there, officer," said Daisuke, wiping his eyes and facing Fujiwara's direction. "We could hear you enter through the main door. Do you know I just killed my brothers and I feel nothing?"
Sergeant Fujiwara's arms and legs shook as he lit up the piece of string and readied to shoot. He breathed in deeply and then took aim as soon as he dropped the string match on the priming pan with some black power. BANG! One assassin dropped to the ground with a shot to the chest. Yeah that's right! Gotcha motherfucker!
Daisuke then signaled to the other nine ninjas and they charged towards the keisatsu.
"Oh well…" said Fujiwara as the assassins encircled him. He charged with a dagger and got stabbed around his gut and torso. Shit!
The ninjas removed their katana at the same time and then gutted his body.
Daisuke got up, stared at the ninja who had been shot and saw that the man was bleeding profusely, "Don't worry friend, I'll put you out of your misery." He pointed his index and middle fingers at the assassin's head.
Daisuke made the Prana mudra and small cylindrical shadow formed in front of his fingers.
Black Bullet.
He fired and the assassin's head was blown to smithereens. He then walked over to the other ninjas and said, "Let's go assassins, our work isn't yet done."
As soon as the Shadows left the prison, it started to rain. Outside the outer wall, Yuji told his men that the time to attack had arrived and the army charged towards the main gate.
"Officers, here they come!" said Keisuke, pointing at the enemy. "Shoot!"
The keisatsu stationed on top of wall started shooting and the heishi also returned fire with their muskets. When the soldiers reached the main entrance, they brought out a large tree trunk and started hitting the wooden gate repeatedly.
"Heishi! Their matchlocks will be useless soon!" said Yuji, raising a fist. "Don't falter! Charge!"
A few moments later, a heavy downpour rained from the sky and, just as Yuji had predicted, matchlocks and muskets were now useless. Other heishi were throwing grappling hooks and those few who reached the apex were pushed down by keisatsu.
The Commissioner ordered his men to forget the matchlocks and take up axes and swords. He then signaled to the sergeants by the canon and they shook their heads. Dammit! I have to do everything myself, he thought as he went down to the canon.
"That gate won't hold any longer so we need to build a tent around the canon…" Keisuke told his sergeants. Where's Fujiwara with the reinforcements?
With the help of a few local men who sought for the materials, the keisatsu put up a tent around the canon and covered it from the rain. Shortly afterwards, the gate was breached and a swarm of heishi flooded in like ants.
"Fire!" said Keisuke, raising his hand.
BANG!
☯
The two districts were alarmed by the ear piercing canon fire. Everyone started panicking inside their homes. The war had begun! Even Daisuke's group who had just reached the palace heard it as though they were near the outer wall. He instructed the assassins to be on high alert as he sensed two strong opponents.
At that moment, Kazuo and Mikoto signaled to each other from their hiding spots and confirmed the ominous presence they had just felt. The duo drew their swords and rest of the force readied themselves. The keisatsu guards, however, used the cover of the palace roof to ready their matchlock rifles and pistols.
☯
Back in the Soil district, the Water army had been dealt a sizeable blow by the canon. Before the sergeants could reload it and fire another round, the heishi charged in with their spears and swords. Keisuke, who had the fastest reload time in the department, took advantage of the tent's cover to drop the numbers of heishi. His sergeants also helped him out before they resorted to using axes and swords when the enemy got too close. The fighting continued for several minutes until the General and the Commissioner stood face to face with two short spears and an axe respectively.
"So you must be the man who killed Yamamoto," said Keisuke, taking up a fighting stance. "You'll pay for what you did!"
"I'm guessing you're the Commissioner who leads his people to their deaths," said Yuji, spinning his spears on each hand. "I'll enjoy sending you to the afterlife!"
With that brief exchange, the battled between the two leaders began.
Back at the palace, Daisuke's team was still waiting for his go when he instructed one assassin to charge. As soon as the shadow kunoichi jumped in view, she took out four police guards with her shuriken and before she could unsheathe her katana she was shot down by Natsumi's arrow.
"She took out four of them, and there's at least a single archer," said Daisuke, after taking a peak. The Earth doesn't use any bows now, do they? "Everyone, hurdle up… we're going to use that…"
The eight assassins drew closer to Daisuke and each of them made contact with him. He made a praying gesture–the Anjali mudra and took a deep breath before he exhaled.
Shadow Encompassing: Black Veils!
Daisuke's shadow materialized into a fluid and covered the eight bodies around him from head to toe. "Go!" he ordered them.
The armoured Shadows charged towards the palace door and the sixteen guards fired at them. Nothing! The black armour was impervious to their pellets and even Natsumi's arrows were useless. Before the keisatsu could reload their matchlocks, they were taken out by shuriken and kunai. In that moment, Natsumi's task force had no choice but to join in. They came out from their hiding spots and took on the defensive and soon observed that each armoured assassin was stronger than Kagero and they all moved as though they were of one mind. As soon as the battle began, each of the four Lightning ninjas had their hands full up against two Shadows. Daisuke then took advantage of that commotion to sneak inside the palace.
No, that presence from before, thought Kazuo before facing Mikoto. Daisuke!
"He's inside!" they both said and then activated Fudoshin and Mushin.
Kazuo and Mikoto then awakened Raijin and Dōjin respectively. The former struck down both of his opponents whilst the kunoichi still could not cut through the black armour with Dōjin's blade. "Miko, if you conduct an element above earth and water, you can cut through their armour!"
Mikoto dropped the Earth blade and switched to a shorter tantō which she used to conduct air. She slit her opponents' throats and then moved over to the other Shadows.
"I'm sure you can take care of this now, I've gotta go inside!" said Kazuo.
"Right!" said Mikoto.
Meanwhile Daisuke was now a few metres from his destination after killing all the guards along the way. The only people that stood in front of him and his target were Ayame and Takumi.
"Well if it isn't the Artisan," Daisuke said with a smile, "You still owe me a rematch at shōgi, Takumi."
"Daisuke!" Takumi saw Ayame rushing towards the shadow master. "No! Don't!"
"You want to die that badly, kunoichi?" said Daisuke and then fired a shadow bullet.
The black projectile flew rapidly and shot through the kunoichi's eye, leaving behind a gaping hole. She dropped to the ground and died on the spot with a pool of blood underneath.
He moved so fast, bujutsu huh? Thought Daisuke. "Come out now, wherever you're hiding Takumi!" He walked around and opened each of the doors. "What level are you? You know you can't outrun a Senshin, right?"
He's now a projector…this just got even worse. I really got dealt a bad hand, Takumi thought, as he made an Agni mudra with one hand whilst the other held his pistol. There's something I've been meaning to try out…so let's see who the quicker shot is.
Once he heard Daisuke approaching, Takumi took aim and when the door was swung open, they both fired. Bang! BANG!
Kazuo heard the two shots along the palace corridors and arrived at the scene a few moments later. He saw a wounded Daisuke who had been shot on his left shoulder, exiting the daimyo's room.
"You're too late Kazuo… your friends are already dead."