2 years before Ryu's birth...
The White Crow Rebellion, led by Jisei Kurogane, was way larger and more powerful than it is today. The Rebellion started in the South of Japan, aiming to overthrow the Emperor using the power of Stones. Despite the countless efforts of the Imperial Army, it was no match to the power of Jisei and his strength. The Emperor was threatened and fled the capital, Edo, leaving all the people in the city to hopefully slow down Jisei's destruction. As the last ditch effort for the safety of the Emperor, all available Stone-users and Aura Fighters were stationed at the temporary capital way farther up North, Sendai. The people of Edo were defenseless, no soldier there could ever ever hope to even match the power of Jisei's army.
The North was already full of refugees from the South, especially Sendai. The Emperor promised Edo safety, though that did not stop some doubts from lingering among the people. The Emperor knew that if no one strong was left to defend Edo, people would revolt as well and flee the city. Thus, the Emperor appointed Eiji Yamamoto, the owner of the Hero-Stone, Musashi. The Emperor was fully willing to let the people of Edo be meatshields, which disgusted Eiji, but he accepted anyway, knowing the Emperor's authority.
...
In the evening, Jisei's army decided to encamp on a large grass plain three miles away from the city walls of Edo. Jisei was lazing around in his tent until Maru entered and spoke, "Jisei, it's time for us to survey Edo." Jisei nodded and smirked, "Go there first, I'll follow." Maru nodded and left the tent. Jisei stretched his arms and stood up quickly, "Alright, let's get this over with." He left his tent and followed Maru.
...
Everything was going according to Jisei's plan, the surrounding cities and provinces were already falling to his rule, alongside his most trusted brothers, Maru and Kibo, the three of them conquered half of Japan. Jisei's conquest of the north would have continued if only Edo had not been in the way. Jisei set his eyes on the walls of the city, as he called out for Maru, "Brother, prepare the others for a meeting later." Maru nodded and left for the camp. Jisei looked at Edo and smirked, determined to continue his conquest. Jisei's army consisted of 50,000 foot soldiers, half of which were full of experience and skill. Not only that, Jisei, Kibo, and Maru had powerful stones. All of these contributed to Jisei and his army's continued victory.
During these times, Japan was one of the last countries to have stones, making it currently one of the weakest in the world. Using their power and Japan's weak state, Jisei managed to conquer half of Japan, and now, Edo's the new target.
Jisei nodded to himself and returned to his tent, "Edo would be just like the others... Just another stepping stone for my rule over Japan."
Jisei returned to his tent and was greeted by Kibo, sitting down on his chair. Such disrespect would normally be punishable but Jisei just shrugged and pushed him off his chair, "Off my chair, bastard." Kibo whined, "Owie..." They both laughed afterward.
Kibo rested his chin on his hand on the floor and asked, "So, when are you gonna attack Edo?" Jisei pondered, though he already decided way earlier. He responded, "When the dusk settles over, we prepare for the assault." He added, "Once the night fully creeps in, that's when we march to the city. The first arrows shall be the bell that rings the start of this battle." Kibo chuckled, "You're quite romantic for war, Brother." Jisei laughed as well.
They both sat there, chatting with each other until Maru entered the tent, "Brothers, we must prepare the soldiers." Kibo and Jisei sighed and replied in unison, "Later." Maru's brows furrowed in mild annoyance, "Take this seriously, you two." Jisei shrugged, "Take a break, Maru, you've been the one working the most out of us three." Maru was about to add more, "If you won't, I will-" His words were cut off and followed with a sigh, his face softened, "Seriously, you guys are a bunch of jackasses." He chuckled and joined their chat as well.
The Three Brothers of War, Jisei, Kibo, and Maru.
...
...
The dusk was creeping in, and Jisei commanded his generals to take formation a mile outside the city walls. Jisei ordered the cannons to be lined up and prepared to be fired. In the flat plains, 1,000 cannons were lined up 200 meters outside the city walls. In front of the cannons were thousands upon thousands of foot soldiers, all lined up and geared for battle. Alongside were ladders used to scale the walls.
...
20,000 archers lined up in rows and columns, all their bows raised, aiming at the city's walls. Maru walked around and stopped beside one soldier at the end of the row. The archers flinched a bit, but they're getting used to it. The arrowheads were lit up with an intimidating flame, illuminating the already dark night.
Jisei yelled, just enough for his soldiers to hear, "Once the arrows are fired, charge!" The soldiers cheered. Jisei smirked in satisfaction.
Far away, they spotted some soldiers on the city's walls, noticed the flaming arrows, and scrambled down and rang the city's bell. Jisei chuckled, "Those fools, alerting the people won't do much at all." He fiendishly laughed.
The archers were tense, as seen on their faces.
"Hold it," Jisei commanded. He looked at one soldier and held his arm out, "Give me your bow." The soldier instantly obeyed gave him his bow and kneeled. Jisei aimed high, "Let me shoot first." He commanded. The soldiers exclaim in unison, "Yes, sir."
The soldiers were incredibly nervous, but Jisei's face was the total opposite. If he let go of the string of the bow, a slaughter would happen. To control whether something horrible would happen or not greatly excited him. His face was grinning widely the whole time. Seeing the contrast of emotions between Jisei and the archers ticked something in Maru's mind, but he shrugged it off anyway.
...
The first arrow was fired.
The beginning of endless bloodshed, "The Seige of Edo."