They arrived at a park, full of colorful animal sculptures. Michelle roared, "WHAT THE DEVIL KIND OF NONSENSE IS THIS?"

Yamabuki laughed, as she was on the stairway, "Anyone care to explain? Because this is perfect for Reginald's death~! HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA!"

Heather said, "I believe this is called Tiger Balm Garden."

Yamabuki lead the others to a perfect spot for their battle.
Tiger Balm Garden, a fantastical hillside park, built along Hong Kong's famous Tai Hang Road. With its surreal landscapes of sculptures and pagodas, it is a true Hong Kong oddity.

Yamabuki was in the middle of an open area in the garden, and then said, "A prediction if I may indulge in… You, Mr. Reginald Hadigan the 3rd… will die here… destroyed by the flames of your own hellfire."

Rook growls, as he prepared. Chazz asked, "Rook."

Rook said, "Step back, Mr. Princeton. This is not your fight."

They stared down, as Rook added, "In an open space like this, it'll be easy to use my abilities, at full force."

Episode XXIII – Chapter 3: Enter Yamabuki Suou – Ninja Chariot!
Rook's Ultimate Attack!

Rook held his cane sword high and was engulfed in a dark aura. Yamabuki swung her katana at him and shouted, "EN GARDE!"

She swung around, and they started to clash swords, like a fencing contest. Rook ducked a vertical swipe, and lands a huge diagonal strike. But she countered it, using a swift blade strike.

Yamabuki shouted, "Nothing? You want to press on, holding your strength? Suit yourself! I shall press the attack!"

She swiped and slashed her katana, in rapid-fire strikes and wings, "COME ON, COME ON, COME ON, COME ON, COME ON, COME ON, COME ON, COME ON, COME ON!"

Rook dodges out of the way, and swings back a barrage of flaming blade strikes. But Yamabuki deflected each shot, and slashes down an eagle statue. The carving shows Humming Rook's Spirit, etched and sculpted in stone.

"That goddamned bitch! She's just toying with us!" Michelle cried out, "She used Humming Magician's own powers to deflect back, making a statue out of it!"

Yamabuki smirked, "Look at that… Seeing that this place is odd, as it is, I dare say that your fiendish face lives right at home."

Rook's aura dimmed to black, as he closed his eyes. He held his sword up and whispered, "Octave Style…"

Yamabuki smiled, "Well, now you decide to use your attacks on me… Show me this Octave Style, but know that this will not be enough!"

Michelle called, "HEY! Hide behind something, already! Rook's about to blow his top!"

She dashed off, along with Peter, as Heather asked, "What does he mean?"

Chazz huffed, "No idea…"

He held his sword in straight and even vertical hold, as he roared, "EMBLEMATIC DARKNESS! BLACK TEMPEST MIST!"

He swung his cane sword in a vertical and downward strike, producing a shadowy ankh, aiming straight at her. She giggled, "Really? Is that the best you got? Even hellfire can be sliced into strips! WATCH AND SEE!"

She slashed the ankh, reducing it into pieces, sending it back to Rook. Rook drops to his knees, and collapses, still ablaze. Yamabuki laughed, "HA, HA! It's just as I predicted! Your hellfire will kill you, as I predicted, engulfing in your own inferno of your own making!"

Rook roared, as the flames shot out of him. Yamabuki yelled, "Good grief! One last gasp? Just die already!"

She slashed at Rook, decapitating him. She gasped, "That hit felt wrong! What is that?"

She was coated in Rook's flames and shouted, "WHAT? BUT I KILLED HIM! How can that guy hit me, after his wake of his own destruction?"

Michelle yelled, "It's not the Spirit Caller, you stupid idiot! It's a dummy!"

The flames faded, showing a statue's head. Rook explained, "Your eyes are blinded by the darkness of hellfire! The only REAL target that you decapitated was the statue that Ninja Garnet carved, earlier!"

She gasped, as he said, "Perhaps you didn't take my word, earlier. When you deflected my attack, I used it to melt the joints of your statue, and used it to move. The one defeated by their own powers …is YOU, YAMABUKI SUOU!"

He prepared his strike and called out, "NOW! Let's try this again! BLACK TEMPEST MIST!"

She gets blasted by Rook's Black Tempest Mist, dead-on, as she was screaming in pain. Rook smiled, "Challenging an agent of darkness is a tough challenge to battle. Give it another decade to train hard, and not gloat your prattle."

Yamabuki dropped down, badly hurt, as she moaned, "Damn it all… He's good…"

Michelle said, "Such power… I bet Yamabuki Suou's Stand melted away, after Rook's heinous assault!"

Peter said, "That's one hell of a burn. I'm betting she's dead… or wishes she was. Knowing her endurance, she's done for."

Heather said, "If she is alive, she'll be flat on her back, for months. If your Stand is destroyed, it'll be major trauma. This goes for your Spirit Caller, too."

Rook placed his sword away and said, "Now then, Miss Nevins… Let us resume our trek to Egypt."

As they were leaving, Yamabuki's Stand exploded into pieces. They gasped, as they saw chrome parts fly off. Yamabuki flies upwards, as she was still lying down. Michelle cries out, "WHAT THE HELL? Her Stand exploded into pieces!"

Heather gasped, "How can she still be alive, if her Stand is destroyed? She's in midair, still lying down!"

Yamabuki clapped, "BRAVO~! WELL DONE~!"

Michelle is trembling, "That's impossible!"

Rook gasped, "It can't be…"

Heather shouted, "She doesn't look injured at all!"

Chazz barked, "Yeah, but… Why the hell is she floating in midair?"

Yamabuki smirked, "Look with your inner eye and seek the truth!"

Her ninja appeared in a transparent state, as Rook cried, "How can this be?"

She flipped upwards and regained her feet. She stated, as her Ninja has no chrome armor, "My ninja may have shed its armor, but it's still my Ninja Garnet!"

Rook gasped, "So… the pieces of Stand that flew… It was her armor?"

She said, "You really seemed abided by this. I should explain, before we continue the onslaught. Otherwise, it would be chivalrous. I'm sure you weren't expecting anything less.
Firstly, my Stand didn't self-destruct… It was its armor shedding off. But before it did, it absorbed the brunt of your flames. That's how I escaped harm. And bereft of armor, it has significantly more agility. Samurais wear armor to protect themselves, while ninjas are fast on their feet. I can tell, since I have the abilities of both. It can move faster than before, as you saw how I was able to get up in the air."

Rook said in amazement, "Illuminating. You're suggesting that it only took my Tempest Mist, dead-on, because the armor didn't allow it to dodge, is that it? But bereft of armor, it is far more vulnerable! It may have struck my attack, before. But if it were hit again, its destruction would be absolute!"

"Is that a fact… Such a shame that we'll never find out!"

"Never, huh? Then permit me, milady, to try it out."

Yamabuki bellowed, "But first, you must witness something that my Stand can use!"

Rook smirked, "Go ahead then."

Yamabuki held her hands tight and with her index fingers up, she whispered in tongue. She called out, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Ninja Garnet split into seven clones of itself. Michelle cried, "uh-! NO WAY! Did you see that? She now has six-, NO! Seven Stands, altogether!"

Heather cried, "That's impossible! There should only be ONE Stand, per user!"

Peter said, "They're afterimages… like my Phantoms."

Yamabuki laughed, "The big man is correct… Perfect images for my Ninja Garnet. Even using Shadow Clone Jutsu, it can split apart into more than twice the ninja it is. It's perfect for sneak attacks and avoiding heavy damage. Your sight, your hearing, your senses can't follow your movement!"

The afterimages attacked Rook, as Yamabuki called, "HOW DO YOU LIKE ITS SWORDSMANSHIP NOW, HUMMING ROOK!"

Rook prepares to fight back, using his sword. He deflected back each afterimage, as he called out, "Aeronaut Slash will not do good! SUFFER MY OCTAVE STYLE – MEDLEY BIND!"

He swung his sword, producing a huge beam of energy from this tip of his sword, and pushed back all seven of Yamabuki's afterimages. They retreated, as Yamabuki said, "Your efforts will be in vain, Reginald Hadigan! Did I not tell you that? NO! But you do now! You wasted your energy on those afterimages and spared the real threat!"

Rook charged at Yamabuki, and struck down onto each Ninja Garnet. "Striking at random? Spare me the sadness, Rookie…"

Heather said, "He's going to exhaust himself, at this rate."

Rook fired off his Black Tempest Mist, and it was sunk into the ground. Yamabuki called, "Have you learn nothing today? Your pitiful attacks wouldn't work on my Stand! NOW GIVE UP! COME ON, COME ON, COME ON, COME ON!"

The afterimages charged at Rook, and Rook easily deflected each jab. He was pushed back, as he said, "What precision… What great efficiency. It's plain to see that this girl is strong. Her abilities have been trained, and with great length!"

Yamabuki said, "I spent that last decade working on my abilities, even offered to train in certain villages, learning the art of Ninjutsu! I am NOT a ninja, but I am that damn good! Your next attack will be everything you got, for my next one will be your coup de grace!"

Rook smirked, "Impressive, my dear. What chivalry you got. You've honored and inspired me, but I'll give it my best shot. But I must give warning of my next attack."

Yamabuki asked, "Really?"

Rook said, "My Black Tempest Mist comes in varieties, you see. It's an energy flame made of an ankh, but it need not remain complete. I can divide it into pieces, as I deemed fit."

He boomed in a darkish aura and called, "AND NOW, YOU SHALL SEE WHY YOU WILL DEAL MY FINISHING HIT! OCTAVE STYLE ULTIMATE – TEMPEST OVERTURE!"

He shot out a huge barrage of ankhs, and hollered out, "TRY AND DODGE THEM ALL! MY ORCHESTRA OF HELLFIRE!"

Yamabuki cried, "GLADLY!"

Her ninja clones surrounded herself, as Michelle cried, "DAMN! She's thought of everything!"

Heather said, "She's well surrounded!"

Yamabuki yelled, as the clones destroyed each ankh, "NAÏVE, NAÏVE, NAÏVE! SO VERY NAÏVE! I'LL DODGE THEM ALL AND GIVE IT ONTO YOU!"

She boomed, as the ninjas were about to strike, "STRIKE IT! AND HURL IT BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!"

The ninja clones slammed the last ankh, but…
KABOOM!
A huge flame pillar erupts, and slams onto Yamabuki, from under her feet. She yelled, "WHAT?"

SLAM!
The flames produced an ankh, in giant size, and blasted her into flames. Yamabuki stumbled down onto the ground, mildly singed and burning. Her Ninjas disappeared. Rook said, as he approached the hole of where Yamabuki was standing.

"That's the hole that was dug by the flames, earlier!" Michelle realized, "Of course! It's clear to me! The first attack he made was a setup, and nothing more! Then he used a tunnel to slam her with Black Tempest Mist!"

Rook said, "Like I said, it can be divided into many pieces as I called for!"

He held up a dagger, as Yamabuki was faced down, badly beaten. She groaned, "I lost… How can… this be…"

He tossed the dagger down and said, "Burning is one painful way to end one's life… If you are a ninja, take the knife and use it, while you can."

He walked away, turning his back from her. Yamabuki held the dagger and was about to strike back. But she couldn't. She hesitated, as she moaned, "I can't… My conceit was my undoing… I couldn't picture his dark powers against my Ninjutsu… A slow death amidst the flames is an honorable death that I deserve, sir… I challenged you to this duel, and you were the victor. I will not sully it with hara-kiri. It would be cowardly… to end it, myself."

Rook smirked, as he was turned away, "A wise decision…"

He snapped his fingers, as the flames died out. Yamabuki remained unconscious and lifeless on the ground. Rook said to her, as he approached her, "Even in your final moments, you conducted yourself into chivalry… How easy it would've been, if you've thrown that knife in my back. Even for a woman like you who work for a devil like MIO… you carried yourself with honor. Your death would be a waste…"

He examined Yamabuki's hair and said, "What's this? Something's convulsing and glimmering in her hair."

She brushed into her hair and found an orange Lust Core. Rook nodded, "I knew it… She has been in the path of darkness… CHAZZ!"

Chazz nodded, "Right."

Chazz easily pulled out the Lust Core, producing tentacles from within the gem. Michelle turned away and shouted in disgust, "YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH! TENTACLES? NO ONE EVER TOLD ABOUT THAT! THAT IS SO DISGUSTING! CHAZZ, GET RID OF THAT DAMNED THING!"

Chazz roared, as his Ojama Star gripped the Lust Core in its hands, "QUIT YOUR BITCHING, OLD HAG!"

Michelle cradled Yamabuki, as Chazz held the Lust Core high, soaking the sunlight, and reducing it into dust.

"There, now that the sharp lad removed that deadly bud into you, we can be friends, now!" Michelle giggled, "Yamabuki, is it? You and I are buddies, now~! GET IT~!"

She laughed hysterically, as Chazz groaned, "Hey, Heather… Don't ever make stupid puns like that, ever…"

Heather nodded, "Well, only for battle… But that flesh bud… I don't get it."

They traversed away, leaving Yamabuki behind, remaining unconscious from the pain. She was left in Tiger Balm Garden, all alone.

The next day, they arrived at the pier in Hong Kong, as Michelle explained, "The Speedwagon Foundation chartered a boat for us, yesterday. With any luck, it's near the harbor, as we speak."

They walked to the pier, as they found a huge white houseboat. Michelle nodded, "There it is~!"

They stopped, as a woman appeared in a green ninja outfit, with huge sleeves, and a white loincloth. Her back has different types of giant paintbrushes.

Michelle gasped, "YOU AGAIN?"

Rook said, "You came back, unscathed. So, what brings you here, Yamabuki Suou?

It was Yamabuki, as she was dressed in her ninja outfit. She said, as she stared down, "I never thanked you properly for freeing me of MIO's mind control."

Rook said, "Young Chazz here was the one who removed your Lust Core."

Chazz huffed, "Keep your thanks…"

Rook said, "It appears your fine manners are wasted amongst the likes of us."

Yamabuki gasps, and smiled, "As you wish. I have no desire to come off of it, heavy handed. But… I'm not quite finished here…"

She approached Michelle and asked, "My issue is with the android, over here!"

Michelle asked, "Android?"

Yamabuki said, "Miss Nevins, might I ask you a bizarre question, if you would?"

"A bizarre question? And why the devil did you say I am an android?"

"I shall ask, personally. Those eyes. They are hazel colored, and they have lenses like a camera; your left eye, perchance. I noticed that, at the restaurant, yesterday, while we were eating it, and notice some weird humming noises. Tell me, that left eye… Is it hostile?"

"Eh? What do you mean? My left eye is hostile? You weren't kidding about the bizarre part! What do plan on me, and the gynoid that is me?"

Yamabuki boomed, as she announced, "I'm looking for the woman that attacked my village… and killed my friend."

The Gang gasped, as Yamabuki continued, "I don't know her face, but she is a robot. But she does have hostile eyes of an android… And you are close to it, because you have the eyes of a fembot."

Michelle was puzzled, but nodded as she was convinced. She reached her for face and dug into her left eye. She gently pulled it out and said, "Here. This is my left eye. Yes, it's a gynoid's eye, but it's more of a prosthetic. I lost the real one, five years ago, in a mission gone awry."

Yamabuki bowed and said, "I apologize for the rudeness. Forgive me for questioning you."

Michelle replaced her eye back in, as she asked, "So, tell me… if it's not too painful to talk about it, I want to know what happened."

She walked to the edge of the dock and said, "It's been three years now… My friend and a classmate of hers were walking back from gathering berries for dinner, back in a quiet ninja village in Japan. Before you ask, I am actually a ninja from that village. My friend and her classmate were ninjas, too. They were walking down the country road, and all the while, on a rainy day, a strange woman stood her back to them, on the side of the road. What was odd that the mysterious stranger was dry, with a strange barrier, protecting her from the torrent of the rain, like she has an invisible shell. Suddenly, her friend's chest was cut open, like it was cut by the wind. She dropped to the wet ground, in a fountain of blood. My friend was all alone…"

In the rain, a girl with long black hair was terrified, seeing her friend, with her chest cleaved open, covered in blood. The mysterious woman clasped onto her neck and hissed with demonic red eyes.

Yamabuki growled, "She stole her innocence… and then she killed her… That was all the woman wanted… Her friend, badly hurt, escaped for her life, that very day, to tell the Village Chief what she saw. She even told me, and I was devastated. A best friend in my ninja village was slain by a mysterious woman… She didn't get a look of the tormentor's face, but her face was covered in shadows, showing hostile red eyes, demonic like the demons of Hell. Her skin was a pale white and coated in an alabaster shade, similar to a completely white mountain lion.
No one believed the poor girl's testimony about that woman, but I was the one who believed her. I sensed her, and even contacted her, through the dead. I kept this secret. She told me that she has red eyes… and when her limit was up, before she left me, and learned of what she was. She told me she was a gynoid with a red gem on her cleavage."

Michelle nodded, "She's a Jewel Woman, all right! I'm sure of it!"

Yamabuki boomed, "I SWORE AN OATH!"

She posed, as she called out, "I promise my friend's soul that I would avenge her! TO HUNT DOWN THE KILLER, AND MAKE HER PAY WITH HER LIFE! I will use my Ninjutsu at her, out of RIGHTEOUS VENGEANCE!"

She pointed to the sky and called out, "Then, one year ago, my journeys led me to MIO."

Yamabuki was walking through the stairway down, hearing a noise. A man in just his black karate pants was examining the gem he had been given. It was Steven Nevins, who sided with MIO, recently. At the time, MIO was in her slumber, before she would begin her next evil plan. Mr. Nevins was with a gray and silver hawk, perched on his shoulder. He then turned to Yamabuki, with a brimmed shade of crimson in his hands. It was his ESP Perk, a psychic power that is given by those pure of heart. Yamabuki gasped, witnessing his form. He nodded, and showed Yamabuki a crystal ball. It showed the figure of her friend's killer. Yamabuki asked, "Sir! Please… Tell me, who is she? Does she have a name? I wish to find her and-."

Mr. Nevins responded, "You seek vengeance, Yamabuki Suou… This is a vision from YOUR heart, not mine. The woman you seek… The pain you hide… My power only makes it visible."

Yamabuki steps back in shock, and cannot move or speak. He turned to her and said, "Tragedy gnaws away at your soul. I need no glass to see that… not even these Power Cores. The image on this globe is what pains you, is it not? How about we work out deal, Suou? I, too, am under my master's entrance. Work with me, and your suffering will be nothing more than a thing of the past… Be the agent of my army, and I will gladly find the woman that attacked your village… Kunoichi Suou… Be the ninja that hunts down my master's enemies, young ninja, and I will find this woman that haunts you so!"

His Power Core shot out lasers, as Yamabuki screamed, as a thorn impaled into her chest.

Heather turned away in sadness, "Steven… NO…"

Yamabuki concluded her story, "After that, I was commanded by MIO to kill all five of you. Never once did I question my orders."

Rook said, "Even if she didn't have a Lust Core inside her, MIO is a master of manipulating human being to carry out her bidding."

Heather said, "True… But…"

Peter said, "But if Mr. Nevins knew of Yamabuki's friend's killer, we can assume that he's resisting MIO's charm, and is actually enlisted the villain in whatever plans she has afoot."

Yamabuki offered, "If that is true, I must join you on your trek to Egypt! By going after MIO, I will find the one that took my friend's life!"

She smiled, as Heather nodded, "If you knew my husband, I can't object."

Rook smiled, "I have no objections either, my dear."

Peter nodded, "Hm."

Michelle smiled, "Even if we say NO, she is bound to follow us, anyway!"

Rook said, as he approached her, "Now then, Miss Yamabuki Suou, since your Stand is now a Spirit, I believe that we shall give you a brand new name, since you're joining us."

Yamabuki giggled, "OH, BOY! Tarot cards~! I hope it's Star Platinum~!"

Rook held the tarot cards up and said, "No redraws. Pick from the deck, and no peeking."

Yamabuki drew her card, and was disgusted, "Eh?"

Rook said, "Take it or leave it… Otherwise, we'll change our mind."

Yamabuki smirked, as she drew the Chariot card, "Oh, well… Better than nothing~!"

Joining Team Nevins:
Yamabuki Suou – Ninja Chariot (Spirit Caller/Stand) – Abilities: Ninjutsu, Artistic Powers, and Precise Strikes

Yamabuki saluted, "Call me Bookie, damn it! The pleasure is all mine~!"

Chazz sighed, "Gimme a break…"

Two high school girls appeared and called to Chazz, "Excuse me, sir~!"

One girl in brown hair smiled, "Can you take a picture of us?"

She thought, "He's so hot!"

Another girl in black hair, done in pigtails, smiled, "Oh, yes~! OH! OH! Take it from the ocean behind us!"

Chazz seethed, as he was annoyed. He roared at them, "SHUT UP! I HAVE NO TIME FOR THIS! GO BUG SOMEONE ELSE!"

Yamabuki, back to her casual clothing, called out, "Easy there, friend. You don't have to blow them off."

She giggled to the ladies, "Let me take it for you~! I hope you don't mind."

The girls agreed, as Yamabuki offered to take their pictures. She snapped a full-body shot, followed by the legs, and the breasts, and the faces. She smiled and cheered, "PERFECTO! Tres Bien! You are a work of beauty, ladies!"

As she was chatting, Rook asked, "Whoa… I was going to ask for her panties, but she's a bigger pervert than me… uh, I'm implying I am NOT a pervert."

Peter huffed, "Keep telling yourself that."

Rook replied, "This is nothing like the Yamabuki from moments ago."

Heather said, "It's like she can change emotions, on a dime."

Michelle said, "More like she's got two brains, and the one downstairs is suddenly calling the shots…"

All Chazz could say was, after seeing Yamabuki's playful side…
"Oh, give me a break…"

Episode XXIII – End

With that, six members join Team Nevins! Yamabuki is onboard, now siding with our heroes to stop MIO and Mr. Nevins. But… What awaits them in Egypt, provided that they get there?
And what of Team A-Fist? What are THEY doing, right now?
Be sure to tune in to the next chapter!

To be continued…