Inside the outer wall, the number of heishi had been halved whilst the keisatsu were reduced to their forties. The eighty-four able bodied men from the Soil district were now thirty-three. Both sides had been fighting for several minutes when the rainfall reduced its intensity. The battle between Keisuke and Yuji was also nearing its end. The Water General was now using a single spear and had taken the defensive. Keisuke was also fatigued but he kept charging without rest until he saw an opening and struck Yuji's head with his axe.
"That's for Yamamoto." Keisuke kicked Yuji's corpse to remove his axe. "Rot in h–"
Before the Commissioner could savour his victory, Lt. Yamada's spear pierced through his torso from the back. Keisuke dropped to the ground and fell next to Yuji. Both sides went into an even worse killing frenzy after they had now lost their commanders.
"Don't stop fighting! The General would've wanted us to continue until we had the daimyo's head!" said Lt. Yamada.
Back in the palace, Daisuke held his bleeding wound and saw Kazuo darting past him in a flash and going to his friend. Takumi had received a fatal shot to the chest and was lying dead on a pool of his blood.
"Takumi! No!" said Kazuo, tears rolling down his eyes as he held his friend in his arms. It can't be…you can't go out like this!
I didn't think he could heat his bullet with fire conduction. If I hadn't activated Senshin beforehand and dodged it, I'd be a goner, thought Daisuke, holding his wound. Argh! This hurts like hell and I can't even use my left hand now. "Hey Kazuo, could you be a dear and tell me where you guys are hiding Doi?"
"WOULD YOU JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP?" said Kazuo with a deep voice that startled Daisuke. His pupils went behind his eyelids and veins popped from his temples. Then suddenly, a violet aura burst out and shrouded him.
No way, that colour… that's the Crown chakra. Don't tell me he's attained enlightenment, thought Daisuke, trying to raise his left hand to shoot. Dammit! He switched to his right and took aim.
Black Bullets!
Kazuo blocked a few shadow bullets and zigzagged through the rest at an alarming speed. He charged towards Daisuke, holding on to an awakened Raijin with both hands and kept attacking the shadow master's right side.
This speed! It's definitely Senshin and he's making it damn near impossible to shoot, thought Daisuke, dodging all the lightning attacks. And it also seems the veils have been undone, so I can now use that.
A shadow materialized around the shadow master's arm and he used it to block Kazuo's attack. When Daisuke touched Kazuo's hand, everything halted and they were transported into the latter's subconscious plane. Shadow Projection: Dreamscape!
☯
Meanwhile in the Soil district, the rain had ceased and the heishi had taken the offensive. They overwhelmed the remaining keisatsu and a few Soil men into retreating to the inner wall. Victory cries echoed as the Water army gave chase and advanced towards the Stone district.
"They're retreating!" said Lt. Yamada. "Onward soldiers, to the inner wall!"
When all hope seemed lost for the Earth men, three ninjas suddenly appeared and stood on top of the inner Stone fort. Mikoto, Natsumi and Kenji who all looked like they had been through the most, arrived just in time to help even the numbers.
"Now this is more like it!" Kenji brandished Ken's katana. He jumped off the wall, landed on top of a heishi and drove his sword through his head. "Normal human beings and not what we were just fighting."
Mikoto, who was wielding Dōjin also took a leap and landed on the ground with the blade shoved halfway into the earth. As the heishi charged towards her, she made a prithvi mudra. "Dōjin: Jishin (Dōjin: Earthquake)!"
The earth around Mikoto's opponents ruptured and she used their disorientation to cut them down. The kunoichi detached the two blades and took another jump towards more soldiers. She then swept through a dozen heishi and butchered them with the axe blade and cleaver.
I've got to learn how to do that, thought Natsumi, admiring Mikoto's moves. She then lit four arrows and took aim from atop the wall. Drop dead! She fired and two more heishi were down for the count.
Lt. Yamada saw their army's numbers dwindling but kept urging the soldiers to fight. At that point a normal General would have surrendered after noting the shear difference their skill. He believed that the Water army was still at the advantage because they had more men. Alas, since the Lightning ninjas stepped into the scene, heishi began dropping like flies.
That must be their leader, thought Natsumi, readying to fire another arrow from her vantage point. "Well, if you want to kill a snake, you have to strike the head," she said before shooting her arrow. The projectile soared through the air and impaled Yamada's head. The force of the steel arrow swiftly dragged the lieutenant and he landed on the ground with a loud thud. "Water soldiers!" She stood up and shouted loud enough for all to hear. "Your commander is dead! So surrender now if you don't want to end up like him!"
The leaderless heishi stared at other and realized that their numbers were now less than those of the keisatsu and their aid. That was reason enough for them to drop their weapons to the ground and then raise their hands after accepting the brutal defeat. They were now prisoners of a war that had not been theirs to begin with. A misunderstood war that could've been settled through peaceful talks. Cheers from the Earth police and Soil men filled the air as the Water soldiers were bound with chains. Once the prisoners were tied, Natsumi's task force returned to the palace to check on their friends.
☯
When Daisuke and Kazuo were teleported to the latter's shadow plane, Daisuke was shocked by what he encountered. Instead of using Kazuo's hidden secrets and trauma to torment him, it was the Hasegawa man who was bound with dark chains.
"The last time one of your people brought me here I almost died," said Kazuo, watching his shadow personification holding on to Daisuke. "When I finally stopped running away and accepted what happened, I realized that my shadow and I wanted the same thing…"
No way! No fricking way… he's at one with his shadow! I have to undo Dreamscape.
A black katana materialized at the shadow's hand and it walked towards Daisuke. Kazuo's shadow raised the sword about to attack and the dark plane faded to white. They were back in the real world.
Daisuke trembled as he saw the Lightning ninja enveloped by a violet aura. Sparks of purple light formed around Kazuo as he raised Raijin and a loud crack of thunder filled the air.
Raijin: Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi (Raijin: Heavenly Sword of Gathering Clouds).
The Shadow master fired his bullets but Kazuo saw the projectiles moving at a snail's pace and he dodged them with ease. Seeing the futility of his attacks, Daisuke summed up the last of his strength and ran away in the opposite direction.
"RAKURAI!" said Kazuo, lowering his katana.
A streak of light fell from the dark clouds and the room became a blinding white. A charred figure of Daisuke froze for second before it dropped to the ground.
☯
Meanwhile in Kurai village, Kagami saw one of the shadow bullets Daisuke had left him with dissipate. "Your death will not be in vain, Hasegawa..." he said, walking over to a cradle and picked up a baby with jet black hair. "Isn't that so, my little Light? The real game has just begun. We shall show Murasaki what true despair is…"
☯
When Natsumi's team arrived at the scene of the lightning strike, Daisuke and Kazuo were lying on the floor. The task force saw their fallen comrades and could not help but cry for them. Natsumi and Kenji shared a connection to Ayame similar to Mikoto and Kazuo with Takumi. No words could describe the pain they felt at that moment.
"Kazu-kun! Kazu-kun!" said Mikoto, rushing over to Kazuo's body. He's not breathing! She started resuscitating him. "The fighting is all over now…you can come back…" After several compressions, she blew into his mouth. "Because I–" she sniffled, "I love you."
There was nothing. Until after a few seconds, Mikoto felt a faint heartbeat. Kazuo exhaled lightly and she beamed with joy because she had faith he would live.
"Argh, w–what's this about love I'm hearing…" Kazuo let out a light chuckle. When he got a bit of his strength back he said, "I'm sorry… I didn't arrive here in time to save them."
"It's not your fault Inazuma," said Kenji, wiping off the tears. "I know our comrades gave it their all until the very end. From here on out, they'll live on through our memories."
"True," said Natsumi, and they all drew closer and embraced. "So while we're still here it's… until we meet again, hopefully in the next life."
Afterwards Natsumi confirmed Daisuke's death and then liaised with a few senior police officers that were guarding the royal family in the building that was once owned by the Hasegawa syndicate. The daimyo, his three daughters and the keisatsu could not thank her team enough for their aid during. Doi offered his condolences and gave the task force one of his fastest carriages for their return trip. The Earth country may have won the war that day but everyone had lost something. All the men who lost their lives on the frontlines were declared as heroes and their families were remunerated by the daimyo. As for the heishi prisoners, they were tried and charged for their war crimes. More than anything, the loss of Keisuke hit hard for everyone in the country especially Kaito, who got inspired by his elder brother to join the police force. Doi had also lost someone who had become a close friend of his, so he held a grand funeral for the late Commissioner. Keisuke was also buried in the Stone district which was unheard of for a person born in the Soil and all the police came to pay their last respects.
Three days after the war, Natsumi's team reached their home and they relayed all that had occurred to Asuka, who was greatly pained by the loss of Takumi and Ayame. The Suzuki family thanked the Sage for bringing their daughter's body and arranged her funeral. They cremated Ayame as it had been her wish and also custom in the Lightning region and every ninja attended to send her off. The late kunoichi received a badge of bravery from the Sage and was declared a heroine.
The shock of Takumi's passing hit Tomoe the most which made her go into labour prematurely. She had refused to give birth in Kaminari village which put her body in even more stress that made the ninja doctors resort to sedating her. As soon as she could walk again, Tomoe asked to return to her home where she wanted Takumi to be buried. The Sage granted Tomoe's wish and together with Kazuo and Mikoto, they accompanied the Artisan and her baby to their homeland. Whilst she was away, Asuka left Natsumi in charge of the village as its regent leader.
When they got off their ferry at the harbour of Tetsu city; Asuka, Mikoto and Kazuo were in awe of the steam locomotives that made moving from one place to another so much easier than the transport they were used to. Artisan architecture comprised of mostly brick and steel structures than the traditional wooden buildings. The Lightning trio were also introduced to the other two Grandmasters in Tanso–the capital city and, a day later, they laid Takumi to rest. The small function was attended by those closest to the late Grandmaster and the last person to say a speech about him was one of his most dear friends.
"At first we didn't get along that well… but during the short time that we got to know each other, I learnt a lot from you… so thank you for that." Kazuo sniffled as he held back tears from his eyes. "I know you didn't believe in any of this stuff and I'm still on the fence with it too. But, if ever there's a place out there, beyond the light at the end of the tunnel. I know that you'd be watching over us. So I say rest in peace, brother… until we meet again."