Hi guys. As you may have guessed I have extended the prologue from its 4000 word count to 10,000 by adding the three Prologue chapters together. So to make things easier for me I thought I could try to write up an entire chapter for Day 1, 2, 3 and so on to shorten the story from 23+ chapters to just 10.

Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Ball Z or Senran Kagura

- Conton City, Recreation Plaza –

"Spruto! Spruto!" Son Goku yelled repetitively as he strode around the water feature in the centre of the plaza with his left hand on the side of his mouth to project his voice louder. He looked to his left where the numerous shops were dotting the outer ring of the plaza and then to the right toward the holographic statue portraying a hero tall and proud. He looked back and forth trying to find the Saiyan he was searching for.

Son Goku could use his Ki signature to track him down. Unfortunately Conton City was large and populated with Ki signatures all around the place, so finding Spruto proved to be like finding a needle in a haystack. There were too many Ki signatures in one place to lock onto just particular one.

Son Goku lowered his left hand and stood idle, looking stressed in the middle of the plaza. "Man, where is Spruto?" He murmured troublingly. "If I can't find him, Lord Beerus is going to kill me…" he added with a soft voice knowing what exactly would happen if he went back to Lord Beerus now without Spruto. Another tournament was about and they needed the strongest Time Patroller there to compete.

Back when the tournament between Universe 6 and 7 finished, Lord Zeno the God of all Universes visited the two Universes and expressed his excitement for the fighting back-and-forth action brought by the two Universes. Wanting to actually see a tournament happen before his eyes, he thought about holding a huge tournament between all 12 Universes at the same time. Son Goku shared the same mindset as Lord Zeno and agreed with the tournament he wanted to hold. The mere thought of fighting new opponents boiled his blood up even more.

And thus the tournament Lord Zeno wanted to see with his own eyes was now put into motion. To make things interesting, however, since the participating Universes had low mortal rates the losing ones would be instantly destroyed by Zeno himself. Only one Universe out of the 8 teams would stand victorious and earn the reward of survival while the other 7 teams perished into nothingness.

All but 4 Universes had little time to gather ten fighters to compete for their respective Universes. Each passing moment was more stressful than the last as the clock counted down to the tournament as well as the fate of eight Universes. Since Universe 7 has Conton City brim with strong Time Patrollers, they had more luck than the other universes in gathering fighters, which led Goku to explore Conton City for the hero of the Time Vault - twice.

Son Goku already had Gohan, Vegeta, Majin Buu and Piccolo on the team for Universe 7. The next member he was looking for was the third Saiyan who could enter Super Saiyan Blue. But the problem was, Goku had no idea where to find him.

"Spruto! Spruto!" He went back to his reconnaissance in the streets of Conton City for Spruto. He walked five more steps before he came to a stop again when someone spoke to him.

"Oh, are you looking for Spruto, Son Goku?" Goku turned his head to the left and noticed that an Arcosian looking like Frieza's first form but with darker colors stared at him. He stood in front of the clothing shop elevated by a small flight of stairs, so they stood at eye level. It appeared he was the one to call out to him. "If you're looking for him, the Supreme Kai of Time might know." He pointed in the direction behind Goku with a friendly smile. It was still bizarre seeing such a welcoming face on an Arcosian after the evil ones Goku met in the past. The only smiles they shot at him were dominant and mocking ones.

"Oh, thank you!" Goku waved gratifyingly at the Arcosian.

"No problem," the Arcosian nodded once with the same smile on his face and went back to his shopping. Goku turned towards the Time Nest, the location the Arcosian pointed to on top of a cliff just opposite of the recreation plaza and took off into the air. He flew a short distance from where he stood to the entrance to the Time Nest.

Son Goku landed down before the giant portal entrance and headed into it, phasing through from the large and busy Conton City to the quiet and peaceful Time Nest. The exterior of the Time Nest looked like it was inside a giant dome-like bird cage. The ground was floored with a large mass of short green grass separated by a stone path leading from the entrance to the Time Nest. The path split from the main path to lead to the Supreme Kai's house. It resembled King Kai's one, but it was bigger in diameter and futuristic, compared to his small stone walled one.

Goku scanned from his left to right looking for the new target, the Supreme Kai of Time. He stopped his head when he found her sitting on the bench outside her house. She was swinging her small legs in boredom, head aiming to the ground. Since Spruto took care of Mira and Towa for good, the Time Nest was been very silent. She poked her head up from her knees and could see a person that would stuck out like a sore thumb.

It was Son Goku standing by the portal entrance looking at her. She popped a big smile and kicked herself off the bench. She gave a wave moving in an arc-motion. "Hi Goku!" She yelled in her greet.

"Yo, Supreme Kai!" Goku shot back in the same mood as her. He proceeded to walk towards and came to a stop in front of her, keeping a five step distance between her and him. "Say, Supreme Kai. Have you seen Spruto, or know where he is?" Goku hoped hard the answer would be a yes. "I'm looking for him desperately." He added.

She giggled briefly in response, "After another spar, are we Goku?" She had her tease before she got to the answer. Her expression changed from playful to a concerned one. "Unfortunate I haven't. After we had that large feast for everyone in Conton City, Spruto sort of went…silent. I haven't heard anything of him since then." The news struck harder and now caused a larger problem for Goku. He hoped there would be some lead to track his buddy down, but it turns out he went silent without a word or mention to anyone. With Spruto nowhere to be found, finding an equal skilled replacement was going to be more challenging.

- Hyperbolic Time Chamber –

Sitting inside the only place in Universe 7 that promised a long interrupted silence in the vast emptiness of the endless realm was Spruto, butt on the white ground far from the main chamber with arms and legs folded. He sat in the area of the Hyperbolic Time Chamber with enhanced gravity and denser air, making his mediation all the more challenging. He had to keep a focused mind while he sat under the effects of gravity pulling him down and the dense air hard to breathe.

Spruto is a Saiyan with brown hazel eyes and a black hairstyle keeping true to the pure blood Saiyan heritage with a ponytail. It had sharp fringes at the front and the spiky ponytail was kept short reaching no further than his neck. For his attire he preferred something that was ceremonial and used as battle gear at the same time, so he wore the 4-Star costume. It was the dragon ball orange with black straps around the top part and as the ascents for the open skirt. The spandex was black and the boots he wore was the original colors of Goku's Turtle Hermit Gi. He preferred not to wear any gloves.

His eyes were closed shut with determination and absolute focus. What transpired in the fight between Spruto and Mira when the latter absorbed Towa and Tokitoki's egg left Spruto petrified. The increase of Mira's power and new form was more than Spruto could chew, but he stood bravely nonetheless. When Mira was about to go in for the kill, Goku dropped in saved Spruto's life thanks to Whis who teleported him to where Spruto and Mira were. Together Spruto and Goku defeated Mira. After knowing that it took two Saiyans to beat Mira, Spruto wanted to head away from Conton City for a while to train in case someone that powerful appears again.

Spruto ceased his meditation for a while as he remembered what happened back then in that fight. 'That victory against Mira may have been due to luck and the help of Goku, but I can't shake this feeling of discontent. Could it be because I was too weak? Or…could it be Goku interrupting my fights against Demigra and then with Mira?' Spruto thought of two reasons why he's feeling this dissatisfaction. Goku popped in the middle of the fight (like he does best), twice and wants to take the glory when Spruto does the fighting from the start. It was starting to become a regular scumbag move Goku is doing.

He shook his head twice, opening his eyes and standing back up onto his two feet. The gravity wasn't affecting him much so he was walking almost normally. "I think I need a glass of water to cool my head off a bit," he said to himself starting to walk back to the main chamber for a glass of water. He sighed as he rubbed the back of his head waving his ponytail up and down caused by his hand. "I think I need to put in some practical practice after this break." He further added to the memo to himself.

Around ten steps further he could sense something bad incoming. He stood still, now on high alert watching the space all around him with all his senses used. He swayed his eyes to the left and right, right to left keeping a close eye on what was coming.

Making a perfect circle around him scattered 20 small flashy yellow portals on the ground. They were big enough to bring in one person. From the portals on the ground, people rose up and they didn't look welcoming at all. They were all females, wearing black suits with black heels, stockings to their thighs and strangely enough, had black sheets over their head split by the sides so the ears and some of the cheek was visible. But what stood out more was the fact they held swords.

"Assassins?"

After the portals dispersed, the unknown females instantly crumbled to the ground on one knee, some completely fell to the ground. "Ugh!" They moaned in their fall. The gravity he stood in was just too much for them to handle. Spruto shed a sweat drop at this sight and couldn't help but giggle.

"Hehe, look what we have here. People trying to invade the Hyperbolic Time Chamber but they fall the instant they come in here." The assassins tried to stand back up, but the gravity would deny any and all attempts to walk sending them back to one knee or on the ground. "While you try to stand up again, would any of you like to tell me who sent you?"

No one answered.

"No answer, huh? Then I guess you should go back to where you came before I force you back." His warning to them went without the slightest of overlook. Knowing they can't fight under this gravity, they summoned the purple portals that they came in under them, and slid back down to where they came. When they were gone, Spruto sighed. "If it wasn't for this gravity I would have liked to tease them around a bit. Shame really," he the resumed his journey back to the main chamber for his drink.

But unknowingly to him, his head started to shine brighter than the sun reflecting against a window. A white glowing ball surrounded his head and it took him a bit to finally notice something was off. His head started to feel…blinding. From the corner of his eyes, the white blindness seeped from the corner of his vision

"What?" He turned his head around quickly in reaction thinking it was something behind him. But still the light kept slithering from the corner of his eyes and affected his vision. They grew brighter and spread more in front of him like it was devouring him whole. The light continued to consume his vision and soon all Spruto could see was plain white as the air around the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. Spruto's body was covered in the flash and soon the flash teleported someplace else, far away from Universe 7.

- Unknown Location -

It was a dark place in the woods of the forest as the only source of light came from a fire site flaring a mystic and purple flare. Standing in a line in front of this purple fire were four females with shadows lingering behind them created by the fire. One of the four was old and the other three aged from 16 to 18 years old. The three younger girls felt unsure if what the older one wanted to accomplish would actually work.

"Are you sure this will work, Master Sayuri?" The 17 year old female inquired turning her head to the old woman second in line to her right.

"Just have patience," the old one known as Sayuri replied reassuringly, using a giant wooden pipe with gold ends as standing support instead of a wooden cane Her mind and heart were set on seeing what she planned succeeded without fail. "If this person passed the test we sent them with flying colors, then they'll be summoned here."

"Master Sayuri, isn't it a bit selfish to force someone from their home and bring them here just to help with a festival?" The youngest of the three girls that were actually sisters commented.

"Shush! They're coming!" Sayuri notified the three girls as they all started to witness the purple flame blow with a gust of wind to the right and change its color from mystic purple to the Godly blue Spruto, Goku and Vegeta can use in their transformation. The blue fire shot a blue spiral smoke into the air for a moment, ending with a beam shooting up from the fire. It then went back to a peaceful flame.

Then in-between the four girls and the fire site appeared a white oval light which created a larger and brighter light source than the fire. The trees around the fire site were clear as day and the shadows behind the girls vanquished upon the glistering of the new light.

The sisters except Sayuri had to block their eyes with their arms and hands until the light faded away and returned darkness to the woods. The light retreated back to where the oval white light was and when the brightness was dimmed down enough that the three sisters can see again. When the three sisters lowered their arms and were bestowed the ability to see again, they were dumbstruck to see who was summoned.

Standing there was a male with a black ponytail and attire that made him look like a martial artist from head to toe. Everything about his appearance and attire seemed to hint that he was a warrior.

This new male took his time looking at his surroundings left right and centre, completely ignoring the four girls looking at him.

"Welcome, you must be the one to pass the test," Sayuri began her greeting to the male with an impressive smile on her face. "I'm impressed you managed to send the shinobi retreating in such a short time since I sent them."

After she finished, Spruto stopped his careless examination of the forest around him and swung his head instantly at the old grandma, giving her a disgraced expression. "So you were the one who sent those assassins after me?" He didn't sound too happy. The girls knew what was coming next. The "how dare you!" reply would come next.

Surprisingly…

"Why didn't you send stronger assassins after me?!" Spruto complained unexpectedly. The four were not expecting that answer. They thought he would be pissed, seething with furious rage because they sent shinobi to end his life, but he was more concerned about the fact they were weak ones. "But that explanation can come later. Where am I and whoa are you?" He folded his arms in his attempts to interrogate.

"Don't speak to Master Sayuri like that!" The 17 year old girl defended. She was ready to defend her with a fight as well, but the female known as Sayuri held her hand to her right ordering the young girl to desist her hostilities. The girl noticed her order to stand down and she did without question taking a step back and calming down.

"You must have a lot of questions to have answered," the grandma took four steps forward against the hard dirt ground. "I'll only tell you why you are here. Any other questions will have to wait."

Sayuri is 81 years old and stood – or hunched her back – for her height of 5'. Her clothing was based on traditional Japanese clothing with white socks and Eastern-style sandals. She has a dark green outfit that reached from under her bust to close to the ground. She had a white shinobi top that was sown together at the centre with a zigzag pattern. On her arms she has a pale yellow long sleeved top with black and white sleeves. Around her neck was a red scarf with a white pearl necklace on it. In her mouth she had a blow pipe and resting on her forehead were black sunglasses.

(AN: I really suck at describing things so if you want her appearance look her up on Google Images or the Senran Kagura fandom wiki page).

"As you already know by now my name is Sayuri and these are the Mikagura sisters, youngest to oldest: Kafuru, Hanabi and Renka." As their names were called out each one nodded once to pinpoint which one they were. All of the three sisters wore a miko with a short red skirt. It was the garb of a shrine maiden in Japan.

Kafuru was the youngest at the age of 16 and stood at 4'11. She is a young girl with fair skin and large, dark grey eyes normally depicted squinting or slanted. She wears her long, wheat-colored hair in low pigtails each held with a white bow. Hanabi was the second youngest at the age of 17 and was a bit talker than Kafuru at 5'4. Her open and cheerful-looking eyes were teal and her hair was short with a light orange color. The oldest was Renka at 5'6 tall. She has brown hair in a twin-tails with a cowlick in the shape of a lightning bolt. Her eyes were brown as well but they were a darker tone than her hair.

"I sent assassins out to test anyone they first come across. This test was to see if their target was powerful enough to help train a batch of young and inexperienced shinobi girls arriving her shortly. If all the shinobi assassins were beaten, it would mean their victor succeeded in passing the test and I could summon them here. Which brings us to this very moment." Sayuri finished explained clearly.

"So if you summoned me here, then you can summon me back," Spruto shot back near instantly.

"Hohoho~ I don't think you're in the situation to be bartering with me, young lad. Only I can summon you back to where you came and I ain't going to send you back. Not until you finish helping the young shinobi."

Spruto didn't flinch at all. If this old hag wasn't going to send him back, he was going to go back using his own accord. "Don't worry. I have my own way getting out." He smirked closing his eyes.

"Oh?" Sayuri was interested in seeing this method he was trying.

Spruto tried to concentrate hard to find any high Ki signatures he could lock onto and use Instant Transmission to get away from this prison. The sisters laughed assuming he was trying to either close his eyes and open them again to find himself teleported out, or to try and knock himself out of a dream he was in.

Numerous attempts at trying to locate a high power level failed. There was nothing out there that came close to the power level of Goku, Vegeta or Lord Beerus. He was stuck in…wherever he was.

He reopened his eyes with the look of trouble in his eyes. If Instant Transmission failed then the only way he as going to go back is to do as the old lady says and help train the shinobi.

"Grr, fine," he caved in making Sayuri smile. "I'll help you train these shinobi. If it's the only way I can get back."

"Then it's agreed-"

"Please wait, Master Sayuri," Renka stepped forth in protest. She walked up to Sayuri's right side and looked down at her. "How can we tell this man is powerful enough to train shinobi? We can't even sense a power from him."

Now it was Spruto's turn to be intrigued.

Sayuri moved her eyes to the right towards Renka with a slight movement of your head. "That is true we can't sense anything from him. So what are you saying, Renka?"

Renka clenched her fist close to her face pumping up her adrenaline, "Judge him when his fists fly with mine!"

"Are you saying you want a fight with him? I guess that is a good idea. It'll be opportune to see if he is worthy of training the shinobi girls If he isn't then he can stay here and be trained instead." She turned her head back to the front. "Are you prepared to fight…?"

"Spruto, and I'm more than ready to fight," Spruto started with introducing himself before he agreed to the fight without a second thought. The the thrill of fighting someone new, just like what Goku desires all the time, boiled his blood hotter and hotter.

This girl…

She has no idea what kind of Godly warrior she's about to deal with.

- Dark Zone -

In an alternate dimension to the one Sayuri, the Mikagura sisters and Spruto were in, the skies redder than blood and clouds darker than the shadows that lurked around the light watched over this dark world belonging to demons. All around the vast dead landscape was ruins of old and the bodies of the dead brought back from the human world to be feasted on by the demons, or as the shinobi call them, the Yōma.

In the darkest part of the realm where light was not able to shine, pure evil and red feral eyes shot open after a long slumber.

"This power…" a slow and malicious voice was echoed throughout the world. Yōma stopped what they were doing and looked to the sky listening to the voice with unstoppable attention. "I have not sensed such," he gave a long pause just awakening up a few moments ago from a very long slumber. "A grand power to be feasted upon… Whoever possesses this immense power…shall be the greatest meal I have ever been bestowed."

"Go… Capture this prey so I may fully awaken once more and set worlds ablaze." A few of the Yōma acknowledged their orders and left immediately upon their new orders.

- Forest –

Standing in front of each other with eyes locked onto each other was the two fighters about to brawl it out and let their fists do the talking for them. Renka and Spruto stood at the ready to begin the fight while the three spectators, Sayuri and the two other Mikagura sisters stood on the sidelines. The two sisters smiled in joy with the feeling that their older sister Renka is going to win the fight, but Sayuri felt something was amiss here. This boy, Spruto, forced skilled shinobi to retreat. So how could a human possessing no shinobi powers beat them in a quick amount of time? It was puzzling.

In Renka's mind all it could think about is how easy it was going to be to defeat this male who possessed no power. Meanwhile on the other side of the table Spruto was thinking which trick he should use to toy around with Renka. So many options and yet no choice.

''Should act like I'm the weaker one at the start and give her a little confidence boost before I break it…? Or should I reveal my true power and make her quiver. Trying to fight like a normal human would be a good choice, as she says I have no power so I may as well act like a normal human. When the timing is right, I'll use a little power up to overcome her.'

Sayuri swung up her right hand up in the air, "Shinobi Barrier," she chanted.

The surroundings around the five people changed from the fire site in the middle of the forest to a long district that reached 500 metres from top to bottom. It was one of those red light districts used by adults when night struck. All along both sides were numerous shops varying from clothing stores, bars and to a strip club at the far end.

Sayuri, Kafuru or Hanabi were nowhere in sight.

Spruto lost his cockiness when he was stunned at what just happened. He looked all around the shops and wondered how they moved them from the forest to the street.

"What happened?" He asked looking at Renka in front of him.

"Eh? You haven't heard of a Shinobi Barrier?" Renka exclaimed blinking her eyes twice. Spruto shook his head twice in quiet response. "Looks like this will be an easy fight," she smirked. "A Shinobi Barrier is manifested by the mental stability of a shinobi to create a battle space ensnaring anyone with power inside it. In the human world it's mainly used to enter another realm temporarily to prevent civilian involvement, allowing the dueling shinobi to fight without hurting innocent people."

"But if there were no humans near that forest, why couldn't we have fought there?" Spruto asked.

"Because in here you get to go all out and destroy anything you want without dealing any real damage." She replied in a tone that would seem like she answered a question to a very stupid question. "Sprout!" Renka pointed her finger out as far as she could at Spruto. "Enough stalling! Let's get this roaring PARTAY started!" She yelled energetically getting into a simple fighting stance. It almost sounded like she was trying to sound hyped up.

"For calling me Sprout, I'm going to enjoy this." Spruto started to run at a human's pace toward Renka. He pulled back his right fist, "Hhhaaa~!" He threw it forward toward her face once again at a human pace. Renka easily moved to her left with swift movement getting out of the way.

She had the expression of dominance on upon her face. From that punch she judged Spruto wasn't going to be much of a match for her. She did have superior speed and power to a regular person.

In her two hands she summoned two bachi, one in each hand. "This'll hurt," she warned grinningly waking Spruto's stomach with the side of the right bachi. Spruto acted to bend over from the hit to the gut and left himself vulnerable on purpose. Renka brought up her bachis and started to drum his back like it was a drum numerous times. After a barrage of hits to Spruto's back, she brought them up together and slammed them down hard on his back.

Spruto was "sent" to the ground and laid fat on his stomach.

"Ugghhh…" Spruto moaned trying to get back onto his fours slowly in fake pain.

"Is this all you got?" Renka complained completely let down. She walked from his right side to in front of him so his head was before her feet. "Just stay down. It's clearly my win."

"Not…yet," Spruto managed to get back onto his hands and knees. He stood up a little easier and continued to act like he was in pain, hunching his back with his head aimed down. His eyes were unable to be seen from the shadows that hid them. "I…have to keep on fighting…"

"Why?! You've obviously lost this fight."

"No…" At that moment he decided to desist his short-lived toying with her and actually show her who's stronger. Spruto stood up straight and he didn't look in the slightest of discomfort. He was back to normal and this time he was the one to shine down a grin to her. "The toying has just begun," he giggled.

Renka blinked twice.

She repeated his words in her mind a few times and she was taken aback. "You what?!" She felt a mixture of emotions at the same time including insult, shock and confusion. "You were just toying with me?! Tsk, that pisses me off!" She roared in anger being taken for a fool as she frowned in disgust.

Spruto quickly flicked her forehead with his middle finger which sent her flying back over the ground. She glided down to the ground and took a few bumps on the brick floor. She recovered from the fall and slide standing back up excited. She completely forgot her rage for being treated as a toy as soon as she found a strong opponent. In a sense she was like Goku as well, hunting strong opponents to fight.

A content smile appeared on her face, "You're strong." She complimented in her mutter to him. "Let's see if you can handle this." From in-between her breasts she launched out a ninja scroll. She caught it and held it tight raising her hand in the air. "Shinobi Transformation!" The scroll shined like a beacon and for some reason her clothes were ripped off so she stood in her birthday suit. Then from her feet to her head she was dressed with clothing that popped into existence. It looked like she was some sort of magical girl cosplayer.

She now wore a brown-red long-sleeved top with a matching mini-skirt and boots, knee-high socks with golden bows and a double-tail cape.

"Let's see if you can keep up now," she grinned taking a fighting stance with her bachi. Spruto grinned back and just stood there with his arms by his sides casually.

Before they could brawl it out, Renka blinked and widened her eyes sensing something bad was coming their way. This sudden change of attitude puzzled Spruto.

"This energy…" she muttered with fear. She quickly turned around with alarm as she witnessed three purple portal appear in front of her in a line from the ground. They looked like magic circles used by a mage, but these magic circles radiated a powerful demonic energy. This got Spruto's attention as well.

At this point he might as well consider their fight cancelled for the moment.

From the magic portals rose three different demons, two of which nearly the same. One of them was a Red Oni with long light blue hair and the other a Blue Oni with a blond ponytail ending at her buttocks. Both of them had half a kabuki mask with a ling horn on their face. The red one had a yellow half-kabuki mask covering her right side and the blue one with a white one on the left side.

The middle one was a lamia, a monster with the lower body of a snake and the upper half of a female. This lamia had dark green scales and a bellow underbelly. On her hair pink needles were coming out aiming backwards like crystals. She had tanned skin with a white bandaged bra, white short hair and a bandaged blindfold over her eyes. Instead of human arms she had snake arms, hissing as they flap their tongues up and down in the presence of a prey.

"What are these things?" Spruto asked the speechless Renka walking up to her side. He stopped on her right and looked at her, staring at the frozen expression she had. "Hello?" When Renka didn't make a movement he had to slap the back of her head hard to get her back into reality.

"Y-Yōma…"

"Yōma?"

- Forest -

"What's taking them so long?" Kafuru folded her arms impatiently. Knowing her sister's skill she would have won right about now. But something seems to be taking them. Maybe they're talking, or what if they're equally matched? Who knows?

"Now, you can't rush a duel between-" Sayuri stopped instantly in a worried gasp.

Sayuri's silence was very noticeable for the two sisters beside the old hag. Hanabi the second oldest of the trio stared confusingly toward Sayuri who's turn it was to freeze with panic.

"Master Sayuri?" Hanabi spoke.

"We need to get them out of there!" Sayuri held her hands out with a yell and tried to dispel the Shinobi Barrier with all her might, but for some unknown reason she couldn't. It was impossible. Only the barrier's creator could dispel the barrier and if she made the barrier, how and what is preventing her from doing dispelling it?!

"Master Sayuri!"

"Those two are in danger!"

"WHAT?!" Both sisters exclaimed in sudden shock.

- Shinobi Barrier –

Back with Renka and Spruto they were facing the three demons. The tension and stress levels in Renka were increasing beyond limits. They stood before three Yōma, feared demons that can only be defeated by the strongest and skilled of shinobi.

For now anyway.

"They don't look tough," Spruto expressed his sheer disappointment in how strong they look. "But I can feel it. Their cold malice," he took a step forward ready to take these three on. In them he remembered the evil presence that tainted Demigra and Mira.

Renka heard his footstep forward against the ground and turned her head to her right to see Spruto one step ahead of her. He showed the stature and attitude that he wants to fight these demons.

"Are you suicidal?! You can't fight them all at once!" Renka warned hastily.

"Girl," he started to walk a bit further toward the awaiting demons. "You have no idea what kind of world I come from." He added facing down the Yōma. He leaned down and using his feet to accelerate forward, he vanished and reappeared in front of the lamia and connected a right punch to her left cheek, sending her away with a hard blow down the long street.

"…" Renka had watched that and she was flabbergasted.

The two Oni turned to face the enemy in the centre of them both and lifted their spiked clubs up to take a quick and powerful swing. But Spruto was too fast for them as he spread his arms out the sides with open palms.

"Haa!" He shot Kiai at them both and launched them through the buildings on both sides crashing through the shops and out into the alleyways behind them. With the Oni temporarily out of the way he turned his attention back to the lamia that landed at the end of the street. She got back up and began to rapidly slither on the ground back to Spruto, continuously hissing with hate.

Spruto pulled his open right hand back and then shot it forward, sending a light blue Ki blast wave towards the lamia. The two closed in on each other rapidly and disallowed the lamia any time to react to the attack in time and was shortly enveloped in the blast, being evaporated into little specs.

Then from both sides the two Oni came out with their clubs ready to swing. With fast speed, the blue one on the right approached from the ground while the red one struck from the air sending her club downwards. Moving his eyes from left to right Spruto easily saw them both.

The Blue Oni stuck first, swinging her club left to right across her body. The Saiyan saw her movements and held the side of her club where the spikes didn't come out with his right hand. He pushed the club the other way and caused the Blue Oni to spin the other way uncontrollably.

Meanwhile with the Red Oni, he held his left palm towards her chest and got another Kiai, sending her into the sky. Spruto pursued her in the air teleporting where she was heading and when she got close.

POW

Spruto double axe hammered her head down and sent her diving into the same building she crashed through.

Crash!

She tore a hole in the roof creating dust around where she landed on the first floor. She stood back up and looked through the hole she was sent through and saw a light blue ball coming towards her. It was a Ki blast.

KA-BOOM!

The building exploded and so did the Red Oni. All that was left now is to deal with the Blue Oni. The blue demon stopped spinning around and managed to control herself again. She closed her eyes and shook her head viciously several times to knock the dizziness out of her.

When she knew she knocked off her dizziness, she opened her eyes again to see the cold staring Spruto standing before her, building in rubble and smoke behind him. She flinched with teeth clenched and bearing. She was the first one to express an emotion and it was terror. To fight a human that easily wiped out two strong demons in the span of one minute. She needed to retreat.

However Spruto grabbed her by the neck and lifted her off the floor. She struggled as she kept her eyes down on the human. She watched him hold out his left hand to her chest.

"Be gone," he shot a Ki blast wave that enveloped her and any part of the buildings or walls in its way. The Blue Oni faced the same death as the lamia: vaporized into little particles. The Oni squealed loudly at first, but the yell softened more as more pieces were disintegrated.

The city shook with tremor due to the exerted power used to wipe out the last of the three Yōma. Soon after her death, the beam dispersed slowly and showed the result of the blast. Everything in its way, including the ground, was gone. The ground now had a crater and the buildings and walls had a hole through them, cracks everywhere around them as proof of the destruction.

Renka could not believe her eyes right now. She just watched three, THREE Yōma die in a short amount of time. Just one of those demons would be enough to be a challenge for a skilled Yōma.

She was beyond speechless.

Spruto calmed down and gazed his head toward Renka. She just stood there looking at him and at the destruction around her like a statue with a rotating head, shedding sweat drops from her head with her wide open eyes. She probably was in shock from seeing such abilities for the first time.

"I guess Sayuri isn't the only one that needs to do some explaining."

- Forest -

Spruto and Renka appeared back in the forest in the comforting presence of Sayuri, Hanabi and Kafuru. The two sisters ran up to Renka back in her white and red miko dress as fast as they would with tears in their eyes.

"Renka!"

Spruto turned his head their way and gave a small and content smile.

They embraced their sister in a tight group hug glad to see that Renka was back and safe with no injuries other than the bruise on her forehead from the finger flick. Sayuri took a deep inhale and exhale relieved the two are alright. Now that the two were back, it was time Renka and Spruto debriefed her on what happened inside the Shinobi Barrier.

"Renka, Spruto," she got the attention of the called out two. The Mikagura sisters ceased their group hug and turned to Sayuri. "Tell me what happened in there when the three Yōma appeared." Her voice was authoritative in the upmost demand. "More importantly, how did get out from the attack unscathed? Well, nearly unscathed," she pointed out the bruise on Renka's forehead as the girl rubbed the bruise.

"Master Sayuri…" Renka stopped rubbing her forehead and was hesitant to tell what happened a moment ago. "The Yōma we fought were only weak and small ones. Nothing too dangerous or lethal to deal with," Renka explained but for some reason Sayuri had a feeling she was lying. That there was a lot more to what happened...

Well, she decided to play along with it for the time being and remain on guard in the near future.

"I see. And seeing as you both beat these weak Yōma together, I take it you judged him well and approve of him as a trainer?"

Renka nodded once. "Yes, Master Sayuri."

"Then a welcome is required. Welcome to the festival, Teacher Spruto."

"Thank you," Spruto thanked normally. He stared at Renka with his eyes only and gave her a small smile, as if he was indebted to her. She smiled in return with the same smile.

- Flashback, A Few Minutes Ago –

Things calmed down after the Yōma attack and Renka returned to normal instead of shedding sweat in her amazement or terror.

"You want me to keep it a secret?" Renka asked tilting her head to the side at what Spruto asked of her.

"That would be much appreciated. I would rather have the patience to reveal my power to those who I can trust. As you know Sayuri is withholding information from me and I would like to do the same to her. I will reveal everything when she does. A fair trade, right?"

"That's understandable. You just met us not too long ago… By the way, when you said "You have no idea what kind of world I come from". Where do you come from exactly?"

"Information for information, remember?"

"Hmm. I was hoping to have that one clarified, but nonetheless…" She nodded twice, "Okay then, I'll keep it a secret between us. But on one condition," she pointed her finger straight at Spruto with a stubborn glare. "You personally have to train me! I want to become strong as you and someday….someday to fight on par with you!"

Spruto just wanted to bust out into laughter.

Hearing Renka's absurd declaration was one of those things that were hard not laugh at. It was logical that she wanted to learn how to use Ki and what not, but fight on par with him, at a Gods' level?

She might as well ask to be the next God of Destruction.

"Hmph, I guess taking in an apprentice would be a fun experience." He folded his arms and gave her a serious stare, "But I cannot guarantee that this will be easy training, nor actually grant you the same power as me. Are you sure you want to go through with this?"

"Hell yeah I am!" She roared resolutely moving her pointed out arm toward her chest and gripped her fist in a tight ball. "Man I am so looking forward to this!"

'For a cute girl, she sure is hell-bent on fighting all the time.' Spruto mentally spoke to himself. 'If she's this hungry for battle then maybe staying here won't be much of a prison.'

- Flashback End –

"Before we head off to greet the shinobi girls you'll be training, Spruto." Sayuri got the confused attention of the Saiyan standing alone not too far from the Mikagura sisters. "We need to do something before we go and summon the shinobi here."

"I take it you want to steal another world of a fighter to help train these shinobi?" Spruto didn't sound too happy about what Sayuri had in mind.

"Your guess is way off the mark, lad," Sayuri denied. "I don't need to tell you that it's night and that we need to sleep. When tomorrow comes, we'll be giving some shinobi a proper send off."

"Send off?"

Kafuru started to explain on Sayuri's behalf. "We summon shinobi that have burdening ties to the living world like regret or something they need to accomplish. We, the Mikagura sisters send them off properly to the afterlife so they can rest in peace. It would be obsolete to let them live with something weighting them down."

"Well, I guess that does make sense."

"I'm glad we got that out of the way. For tonight you'll be bunking with the Mikagura sisters in their village so they can keep their eyes on you."

"EH?!" All three young girls and Spruto orchestrated at the same time in their surprise.

"Oh shush. It'll be nice to have a man to get to know, right?" She spoke in a way like she set purposefully up this chance for the girls to get to know Spruto and potentially earn him as a boyfriend.

Maybe this can be a good thing after all. This way Renka can have a private chat with Spruto and exchange information about this festival and world for information about him.

"You have no idea what kind of world I come from."

That sentence Spruto said before he killed the Yōma was begging to be asked and answered. No matter what, Renka was going to find out.

- 9:21pm, Mt Orochi Village –

The Mikagura sisters led the newcomer to their village deep in the forest, so deep it was considered as a secret village. Surrounding the village were bamboo trees, tall as the buildings and thin as a tea cup. From the entrance of the village was a stone path that went straight to the other side of the fenced off village. On the right side were two paddies yet to fully grow crops in sticky mud. While on the left was the residential area. Spruto counted at least five big, wooden and wide buildings with large straw roofs.

Each one had at least three entry points on the sides and on the faces were windows. Seeing as how they were positioned it seemed like there were four floors that got smaller as it ascended. The second floor had three windows, the second with two and the last with one window.

Three houses dotted the front facing the paddies. The first and third one faced on their sides and the middle one with an end facing out. The other two were behind the front ones going around the fence line,

"So this is your village?" Spruto rhetorically asked looking all around the empty village. Although it was night time he could see semi-clearly with the lights shining out from the houses onto the road and show some of the paddies.

"Duh!" Kafuru replied rolling her eyes. "If this wasn't our village then we wouldn't have led you here."

"Um, Kafuru…I don't think you should be talking to a guest like that," Hanabi interjected.

Kafuru shrugged her shoulders uncaringly, "Don't blame me. He was the one who didn't have common sense."

"Hey, hey Kafuru, enough is enough. It's late and we need to head to bed before our parents kill us for being late." Renka, being the most mature out of the three warned. She walked on ahead first to encourage her two younger sisters to do the same, which they did without a fuss. Spruto followed behind them.

It wasn't a long walk before they reached the first house to their left that was on its side facing the paddies on the opposite side. They approached the middle set Shoji doors and Renka slid the door from the right to left.

The loud door alerted the mother kneeling by the table in the centre of the room to their presence.

"We're home." Renka spoke with slight fear in her tone.

"Renka! What took you three so long to get back?!" The mother in a dark blue kimono replied without hesitation. "I thought you were only going to-"

She stopped.

Why?

Coming from around the corner of the exterior wall appeared a young male that stood taller than Renka, the tallest out of the three sisters. He stood out like a sore thumb.

"Who is he?" The mother inquired curiously and displeasingly. It was one of the village's rules to keep their residents from interacting from outsiders, a rule that the three girls disobeyed.

"His name is Sprout or whatever. Master Sayuri told us to allow him to sleep here for the night before the Millennium Kagura Festival begins."

Whack

"Ouch!" Kafuru rubbed the top of her head with both hands when it was chopped disciplinarily by the male who was going to introduce himself.

"My name is actually Spruto. Sayuri summoned me here to help train shinobi."

The mother swapped her displeasing mood for a smile of welcome. "It's against the village's rules to allow anyone in the village to interact with an outsider…" Spruto felt a chill of unwelcome. "But if Master Sayuri knows you, this can be an exception."

"Phew," the three sisters muttered relieved. They got away with this one rule break.

The mother stood up as the four came into the house, closing the door behind them. The mother walked four steps towards the four by the door, "My name is Sukey. I am the mother of Renka, Kafuru and Hanabi, the girls who should be in bed now." She said the last part with a threatening tone, making the three girls shiver. "You're alright to stay the night here, Spruto."

"Thank you. I hope my presence won't be imposing on your village's rule or your own comfort."

"You don't be so modest," the mother giggled. "And it's fine for you to stay the night."

"Mother and Spruto are getting along so easily," Hanabi's head dropped a sweat drop as she said under her breath dazzled.

"Girls…what did I just say?" The mother closed her eyes and changed her tone back to threatening speaking to her daughters. The trio was frightened with yelps once more as they rushed upstairs as fast as they could. They didn't want to be warned again.

Spruto kept his head looking to the right where the girls rushed up the stairs. "I don't even want to imagine what you did to those girls to get that frightened reaction."

- 1:15am, Outside Village –

"Come on. Where's a Ki signal?!" Spruto said to himself impatiently as he stood alone in the Mt. Orochi Training Area. To the North of the village led a path that brought anyone down a short hill and into an area that was walled off by cliffs four times the height of an average human. Flowing down the hill at the end was a waterfall that poured water into a lake and flowed to the right through a caged-off tunnel in the cliff.

Since Spruto had the privacy and more time to sense a Ki signature here, he could try to go back home again. He pushed his two fingers against his forehead and focused harder and more desperate to detect a powerful power level. Any signature from another Universe would suffice.

All he wanted is to get out of this prison and go back to the Time Patrol.

Minutes past since he started, and yet no possible signature could be sensed. It was true. The only way to head home is to see this shinobi training through to the end.

"Damn it," Spruto dropped his fingers from his forehead, seeing that trying to get out of this world was confirmed to be pointless. "Stuck in a world I know nothing about, forced to do an old woman's bidding and kept in the dark about any information about this world. And what the heck is this Millennium Kagura Festival anyway?" Being kept in the dark about everything was a pain in the ass to experience. "If no one is going to explain where I am, I might as well scout out the area myself."

Before he could take to the skies for surveillance, he heard a voice call out to him.

"Are you sure you should be out this late, young lad?" The voice rang. It sounded old and cheeky, similar to the voice he heard while talking to Sayuri. Spruto turned his head to the right. Standing on a levitating wood smoke pipe was Sayuri. She stood balanced on the angled wood pipe, making her look like she had one foot on a chair with her left arm resting on the elevated knee.

"Hmm," Spruto groaned irritatingly in response. "What do you want now, Sayuri?"

Sayuri jumped off her levitating wood pipe and stood normally using the wood pipe she flew on as a walking cane. She shook her right fist at Spruto, "Talk to an elder like that again and I'll shove this long pipe up you know where." She responded with somewhat of a threatening tone.

But the threat wasn't going to work on someone much more powerful than her.

"You can try, but I would advise against it," he shot back. "Does this encounter have any meaning or are we just going to have some pointless chatter?"

"You're a rowdy one, aren't you?"

Spruto fully turned to Sayuri with his fists clenched in anger, "Do you expect me to be happy about being forcefully taken from my home, my lifestyle just to help someone I just met a few hours ago train shinobi for no reason at all? This is the good part: You're not telling me anything about this world. You even haven't even told me about those Yōma or whatever they are and why they attacked me and Renka. So until I know everything, and I mean EVERYTHING about this world to the smallest detail, I will remain pissed off."

"Don't get your nickers in a twist," Sayuri shut her eyes for a brief moment taking in a deep breath. "Good news then. That is why I came here to see you if you were still awake by chance. I wanted to discuss what truly happened in that Shinobi Barrier. Believing that you two beat three weak Yōma is hard. And if it'll make you feel more at ease, I'll exchange information from my side. Any questions, no answers held back."

"Finally. That would be appreciated." Spruto was starting to calm down but still had some anger left in him. It was about time she opened the door to all these mysteries plaguing Spruto's mind. "You can start by explaining what these Yōma are and why they came after us. Their presences were drenched with malice when they arrived."

"Under shinobi law I cannot tell you about them, but since you encountered a few this time is an exception. The Yōma are powerful demons that occupy a realm known the "Dark Zone", led by a massive world eating Demon King. Yōma are separated into four classes: small, medium, giant and general. The smaller ones are the weakest while the giant ones are bigger than a two-story building, and the ten generals are created by a bad fellow called Dōgen, by using the blood of some of the shinobi you'll meet soon."

"Right…and who is this Demon King?"

"His name is Shin, a massive Demon that can literally destroy large continents by himself. He is also the source of all these Yōma. They will continue to exist until Shin is defeated by a shinobi who is titled the rank of "Kagura", the highest title any shinobi can obtain. Hence why tomorrow will be the start of the "Kagura Millennium Festival" to declare who will win and achieve the title."

"And I'm guessing this is where I come in to train these shinobi to fight the Yōma?"

"Exactly," she nodded once. "I've done my part of the deal. Now it's your turn. What truly happened in the Shinobi Barrier?" Sayuri asked with interest as her curiosity was about to be proven right or wrong.

"Renka and I were interrupted by two Oni, one red the other blue, and a snake-woman hybrid. I was the one to blast them into all oblivion. They weren't much of a fight." Sayuri blinked twice finding this out. There are only a few more Shinobi except herself that could tango with Yōma easily and come out victorious. Maybe Spruto is more powerful than she originally thought. "And when I get my hands on Shin he won't stand a chance against me."

"Just because beating three Yōma doesn't mean you can go off and kill Shin with the same effort." Spruto felt that she was mocking which she thought was boldness, but in fact it was the truth. "Listen, I ain't sending you to the Dark Zone to fight Shin, ever. It's not your destiny to fight him, it's the shinobis'." She turned around and hopped back on her levitating wood pipe. "But you might enjoy yourself with a fellow martial artist that took on Shin once but failed. You can fight her to your heart's content instead. She seems to be the same as you – eager for a fight. I'll see you in the morning." She flew away on her mode of transport. But it wasn't too soon before Spruto teleported in front of her and made her come to an abrupt stop, now looking into the face of the frowning and disrespected Saiyan standing in thin air.

Spruto wasn't going to let this belittling get away.

"As I said to Renka back in the barrier before I slaughtered the Yōma, "You have no idea what kind of world I come from". Trust me; this Demon King won't be able to hold a candle to my absolute and overwhelming power. Just get me to where Shin is and I can kill him."

"..." Sayuri fell silent. Her legs started to wobble uncontrollably. She wanted to think that what he said was just to make him seem strong, but some part of her was telling her he is speaking the truth. "What I said stands still. It's not your destiny to fight Shin. Now goodnight!" She flew around Spruto quickly and left the area shaken.

- The Next Day, Fire Site -

Morning arose as the day had come. The day that Spruto could witness a "sending" as Sayuri calls it. The Saiyan was somewhat curious to see what it was like to send someone dead with regrets off into the restful afterlife.

Spruto stood to the side and eagerly watched the fours' movements. At the present time the four stood in a line and were in the same spot as they took last night when they greeted the Saiyan. From left to right were Renka, Sayuri, Hanabi and then Kafuru.

Sayuri with her black glasses worn instead of resting them on her forehead spun her head to the right and looked at the awaiting Saiyan. "Are you ready to behold the "sending"?" Spruto gestured his right hand forward signaling his readiness. It was a "go ahead" hand gesture. "Very well. Let us commence the sending."

To start off, the four females gently clapped their hands together and began to focus, warmed up by the lit fire before them. Sayuri then spouted some mumbo-jumbo like a cultist worshipping a deity.

'I'm missing my time training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber just to hear some old woman sputter nonsense? It's getting close to impossible not to blow up this forsaken prison.'

Sayuri finished her nonsense and she along with the other Mikagura sisters brought down their arms, witnessing the orange fire become purple in an aggressive flare. Then, around the fire pit purple fires were started. They burnt for a brief moment turning into ghostly females in white robes.

Sayuri walked over one of these female shinobi with eyes devoid of emotion, like she was being mind-controlled. She placed her hand on the cheek of the ghost caringly. "I hope for you to lead a happy life in another place, era, and time…" The ghost closed her eye now possessing some emotion and began to float high into the air. The ghost glowed bright yellow and then faded away, letting particles disperse from the body and disappearing.

The first shinobi was successfully sent off into the afterlife, free from all attachments from this world to live eternally in peace.

'That was it?! THAT is a sending?' Spruto thought to himself displeased.

Sayuri continued for the next several minutes to send off the other nine female shinobi ghosts one at a time into the afterlife. When all were gone, it was now the time to perform another sending. But instead of sending a dead shinobi with regrets to the afterlife, Sayuri was going to send someone from the dead to the real world.

Sayuri stepped in front of the fire pit again and clapped her hands together, beginning more muttering speaking the language of a cultist.

"What is she doing now?" Spruto asked getting really tired of hearing the words that make no sense. He got no answer as Sayuri continued the ritual. A few seconds later another purple flame was created to the right of the fire site. Just like the same as summoning the shinobi ghosts, a white and blue coffin decorated with a golden trim around the coffin and on the door appeared. "A coffin?"

Sayuri's mutter kept on going and then suddenly the doors to the coffin pulled out separately and revealed what was inside to the Mikagura sisters. The coffin was on its side so Spruto had no idea what was inside for the moment from his angle. Resting against a comfortable padding around the interior made up of light purple flowers was a beautiful 18 year old girl holding her arms crossed on her body. She was dressed in a dark blue gothic lolita costume with black frills around the skirt. Placed to the right on her long black hair was a bow accessory, colored in a dark blue – the same as her outfit – with a yellow trim and button in the middle.

The girl in the coffin awakened, opening her lovely beautiful eyes. Emotionlessly, she floated out of the coffin and into the open and in the eyesight of Spruto. He looked above her head to see something resembling to his world. She had a halo.

"A halo?!" He muttered to himself surprisingly blinking twice. If she had a halo it was probable, though little, that she knew the Otherworld.

The female landed on the ground emotionlessly as the coffin she came out of disappeared. Sayuri's mumbling stopped and she turned her head to the new girl with a smile.

"Welcome back to the living, Ryōki." Sayuri greeted. The Mikagura sisters humphed happy and shined their smiles on her in their own way of greeting.

"Sayuri," Ryōki sounded sweet greeting back the old lady.

"I'm sorry for bringing you back to the realm of the living, my dear." Sayuri apologized familiarly. "The festival is drawing near and I would like your help training the shinobi along with the new mentor with us."

"New mentor?" Ryōki tilted her head innocently. Sayuri nodded her head up once and moved her eyes around Ryōki as a gesture that the other mentor was standing to her left. Ryōki turned her head from right to left and spotted a male in martial arts clothing staring at her. "Hello there," she sweetly began walking over to Spruto. She stopped before him and bowed respectfully with her hands in front of her skirt. "My name is Ryōki. It's nice to meet you," she stopped bowing to give him a smile.

Somehow when Spruto gazed upon her gentle face and her soothing words entered his ears, Spruto couldn't feel any sign of a temper left in him. It was like all of his agitation was drained out when her words acted as a remedy for anger management.

He returned a smile, rubbing the back of his head. "My name is Spruto. It's nice to meet you too."

Sayuri was witnessing Spruto's mood change before and after Ryōki started to talk to him. She grew a scandalous smile, "Look what she's done. It's like she tamed a raging beast with her voice alone. Heh, I think those two are going to get along just fine." She said to herself. "Now, how about we get the Kagura Millennium Festival started?"

"Yeah!" The Mikagura sisters roared at the same time pumping their fists in the air excitedly. The next eight days of this festival were going to be memorable.