This story has been beta by Steven Bodner and TheReader2011. Enjoy!
Masters Battleground
The counterattack against Yami's forces was fierce as the numbers had changed even with Taiki, Danki, and Kagero heavily injured.
Marmaduke, upon receiving a blow to her chest armor from Sakaki, had to back up to recover. However, the sudden stop of momentum didn't stop her chest from swaying inside her plate armor, something that was keenly picked up by Kensei.
"I sense boobs swaying!" Kensei shouted shamelessly as he dove toward Marmaduke, who quickly tried to attack him.
Kensei, working through pervert power, dodged all her attacks before somehow managing to skillfully… strip her out of her chest armor, leaving her naked with only her corset and panties, and yet somehow still wearing armor on her limbs.
To make matters worse for Yami, the ships that Senzui ordered to bombard them were suddenly destroyed when a submarine containing Alexander Gaider and Diego Carlo surfaced, immediately allying with Ryozanpaku.
Though the submarine was destroyed, it had done its job while Alexander and Diego easily escaped from the explosion, landing on the port before wreaking havoc.
Within the compound, Niijima, Genson, and Koan kept running ahead.
"How are we going to stop them from shooting their missiles anyways?" asked Genson while pondering how Niijima could run as fast and far as they could without any real martial arts training. It seemed implausible, and yet here they were, with Niijima leading the way.
"With the virus I created, I can deploy it and wreck their missile systems," explained Niijima, pulling out a hard drive from within his shirt.
"I'm afraid I can't let you do that," voiced Senzui, causing them to stop in shock when they ran face-to-face into Senzui, who was currently hanging from the ceiling.
Genson and Koan had to pause as they saw Senzu (disguised as Saiga) before trying to attack him, only for him to easily dodge and throw them aside.
"Now then. Hand that virus over," ordered Senzui.
Niijima held up the hard drive, only for Senzui to call his bluff. Niijima began throwing out many random objects, but Senzui knew they were all fake. Yet despite the apparent fear, Senzui was impressed that an ordinary teenager hadn't broken down and passed him the real virus.
"You leave me no choice but to kill you then," announced Senzui as he flipped down to stab Niijima, only to be intercepted by Hongo.
"As I thought, I knew you would turn against us," stated Senzui.
Hongo merely glared as his communicator beeped, allowing Sho's speech to bleed through for the both of them to hear. Hongo gave a half smirk at Sho's decision.
"To think you would contaminate one of our brightest ones of the younger generation. Giving him to you was a mistake that should've been corrected earlier on," sighed Senzui.
Hongo ignored him as he touched his communicator.
"Kano Sho," said Hongo tonelessly.
"Yes, Master?" replied Sho nervously as he blocked a kick from one of the Kuremisago members. He was terrified of a lecture from his master.
"Continue following what your heart says. I'm proud of you," said Hongo before attacking Senzui.
Sho felt his heart lighten at that statement as he threw his attackers into the floor before laughing with glee, having received acknowledgment from his true master.
"C'mon, we have to get out of here," breathed Genson as he and Koan recovered, but before they could grab Niijima, a fist shot out, impacting the ground next to Niijima. Despite Hongo's attacks, Senzui still found ways to attack Niijima. Hongo could only do his best to divert his attacks away.
Hongo began to attack fiercely, using his special techniques to try to hit Senzui.
Shinchenengan-Ryuu Chouhyou Kanku
By use of Ki and speed, Hongo created afterimages of himself, surrounding Senzui.
Inyou, Kyokuha Juurin
With the afterimages created, Hongo combined the technique to attack Senzui from all sides. Any direct hit would deal lethal damage that could cripple if not kill.
Senzui, however, was barely phased before using his own Ki and speed to create duplicates.
Kyojitsu- Soutou no Yamikarashi (Lies or Truth: Double-Headed Crow of Darkness)
Now, Hongo had to rely on prediction and luck to hit Senzui. The two martial arts masters clashed in the air, the clones disappearing as they passed each other.
Senzui rolled on the floor, seemingly having lost the clash before recovering easily back onto his feet.
"It seems in this fight for pure luck, victory is mine," declared Senzui as Hongo felt Senzui's attack slam into his whole body.
Though Hongo managed to dodge and block the attacks aimed at his vitals, Senzui had hit a pressure point that froze him, unable to move.
"Though we have slight differences in opinions, I believe that sooner or later, you will be able to see it from my point of view, as well as your disciple. Now then, back to the important matter on hand. A small sacrifice for a great cause, one that will save many people," said Senzui as he approached Niijima, "I will at least make it painless."
Suddenly, Senzui sensed someone approaching him fast and quickly jumped back to dodge James Shiba's barrage of punches.
"It's been a while, Furinji Saiga!" shouted Shiba, "I still owe you for what you did to my eye and leg! This time, I'm here to personally settle the debt with interest!"
"An underground boxer… What a pointless death," sighed Senzui before rushing forward to punch Shiba in the chest.
However, he was surprised to see Shiba jump back, dodging his punch.
'What are you planning?' thought Senzui, thinking his opponent would've rushed in to meet him, even though he knew he could easily kill Shiba.
It became clear when Shiba grabbed Niijima, Genson, and Koan before jumping upwards, aiming for the 20th floor.
"Hahaha, I said I'll settle the debt with interest! Screwing up your plans sounds like a nice start! It must've been expensive to do all this! Making this all fail might make your group fall into bankruptcy!" laughed Shiba as he continued jumping off each floor, ascending higher and higher, "I'll do anything as long as it hurts you! After all, what better way to hurt you than to crush your goal!"
Senzui blinked for a second before quickly giving chase. Perhaps his moment's hesitation was that he could barely believe how shameless Shiba was, not going for a straight-up fight.
Shiba kept running as soon as he hit the 20th floor, launching a few punches up into the ceiling to block the pathway.
"Pointless, this won't hold me," said Senzui as he almost made it to the 20th floor when a shadow suddenly attacked him.
Senzui's eyes widened as he realized that he had to fully focus on this new threat or risk death, and turned to block the attack. Attacks and counters could be seen flying everywhere.
Hongo managed to push himself away just in time to avoid some falling rocks before he felt a hand grab him, pulling him further away. Looking toward the source, he saw one of his other disciples, Seto, desperately pulling him to safety.
"As soon as we heard Sho-sama declare his intentions, we knew we couldn't just stay still. We knew that you would agree, so Hayami and I split to help out in any way we could. You had us stationed as guards to the supply depot, but we decided we could be more useful somewhere else. We apologize for going against orders, but we wanted to help!" exclaimed Seto quickly.
Hongo could only sigh as he let Seto pull him back, though in his heart, he was glad all his disciples learned well from his teachings.
The two figures that had clashed against each other landed, facing each other. Senzui's disguise had been torn to shreds, revealing his true face. His opponent's disguise had also been torn, revealing it to be Furinji Saiga.
"You came here pretty quickly… Saiga!" said Senzui.
"You've gotten stronger, Senzui," replied Saiga .
The two glared off at each other for a bit as their Ki began to flood out of their body.
"You should thank me," said Senzui.
"For what?" asked Saiga.
"For all the time I had to compensate for your weakness!" declared Senzui.
Ninjisu- Rengoku Suzaku no Mai
Garyuu- Genbubaku
The two men clashed against each other, punches and kicks being thrown and parried as the building around them was destroyed.
"I'm surprised that you're not with your daughter right now," said Senzui, "Aren't you afraid for her? The Kuremisago elders have decreed your daughter to be taken back for 're-education'. Or have you finally learned that a small sacrifice must be made for the bigger picture?"
"Neither," replied Saiga, "I entrusted Miu completely to the man who will protect her. As long as he's there, she will be safe."
"To have so much confidence in him… he must be special then," mused Senzui.
"He is," smirked Saiga as he launched a kick towards Senzui, "Now I can focus on getting vengeance for Shizuha!"
In the previous timeline, it was only thanks to Shigure managing to escape imprisonment that she was able to save Niijima when he was stuck alone trying to sneak into the main base. Now, however, he had Koan, Genson, and Shiba with him on this run.
"Attack!" roared Shiba as the trio dove forward, taking out the armored guards protecting the control room.
"Lower the fo–!" shouted one of the lead technicians, only to receive a neck chop from behind.
Before anyone could react, Shiba was already in the room, knocking all the technicians out, his fist only just pausing at the last one standing in the room.
"Wait! I'm not your enemy!" panicked Hayami, the person responsible for knocking out the lead technician, "Sho-sama chose to stand against this plan, as well as our master! I'm here to help!"
Niijima used his patented Niijima Eye-Ex to scan Hayami's body language before nodding, "Alright, help me get another keyboard and the extra into the lead tech's computer. Lower the fortified walls just in case."
Hayami nodded as he unplugged one of the keyboards, tossing it over to Niijima before slamming the button to lower the walls.
Niijima plugged the extra keyboard into the computer, cracking his fingers for a bit before installing his specially-made virus for this purpose. While Niijima had improved his physique, he was no fighter. So instead, he focused on improving what he could do besides gathering information and brainwash… *cough* *cough*, persuasion techniques, that being his hacking skills.
With a grand gesture, Niijima began to rapidly type on both keyboards, one hand for each keyboard.
Niijima Hacking 2x Speed~!
Through some unexplainable phenomenon, Niijima was able to hack into a system twice as fast with two keyboards instead of one.
Disciple Battleground
Berserker was in his element, his natural talent showing as he pummeled through his opponents. Sho wasn't one to be outshined as he dealt with several Kuremisago ninjas at once. Ever since he heard those words of praise from Hongo, he became even more motivated.
"Bastard!" shouted a Kuremisago ninja as Sho ducked under a punch, tackling his opponent's waist.
The ninja tried to elbow Sho, only for Sho to disrupt his balance with a swift back kick to the heel. The ninja felt his feet leaving the ground, being held up only by Sho. Sho quickly kneed the man in the stomach, followed by a punch that forcefully flipped the man upside-down. He then grabbed the ninja by the waist while still standing on the ground, and then piledrived him into the ground.
"Nice!" shouted Rachel as she kicked Shera, who just managed to block her kick, though it sent her reeling back.
Hyogo clicked his tongue, noticing the tides shifting. Glancing over at one of the Expert Class ninjas, who nodded back, the two switched places, with the ninja attacking Kenichi.
"The situation has changed. I'll take command from here. No objections, right?" said Hyogo.
The other armed disciples of Yomi nodded their heads before gathering together into a formation. The others noticed a change in the air as they looked over to see the Armed Division ready for action, with Hyogo in the middle, acting as the commander.
"Be careful! They are more accustomed to group combat than we are," warned Chikage, "They will follow through with any orders given."
"A typical formation, putting the heavily armored in front while the ranged are in the back, but it's not an easy formation to break through!" said Natsu.
Berserker decided to test this theory out, charging forward toward them. He soon found himself besieged by attacks that could kill him. Berserker managed to dodge them all while catching an arrow to the face with his bare teeth while halting Hyogo's blade to the chest with a blade catch.
Berserker quickly flipped himself away, dodging the other attacks before landing back with the others.
"That's actually pretty tough," admitted Berserker as he spat the arrow out of his mouth.
"It's hunting time," grinned Hyogo.
The situation became grimmer when four Yomi masters walked out from the jungle. Chin Sougaku, a crescent moon spade master, and Ortal Sin, a Jamadkhar Katar master, had come out, along with two Kuremisago masters.
"To think you lot haven't captured the next holy maiden," sneered a Kuremisago master, one that was clearly aligned with the traditionalist during the civil war, "And not surprisingly, the defect decided to betray his roots. We'll have to take care of both problems at once."
The two blitzed forward, one intending to kidnap Miu while the other intended to kill Sho while both were distracted by others. Before they reached their targets, though, both were suddenly tackled by two blurs.
Hakubi and the Bearman tackled the two, carrying them away with their tackle, far away from the disciples.
"Now, now, I can't let you just kidnap and kill a child like that," chided Hakubi as the two separated from each other.
The other Kuremisago ninja was looking at the Bearman, squinting at him for a bit before his eyes widened in anger.
"You're a Kur–" began the ninja, only for the Bearman to start wailing at him even faster, silencing him for the while.
Though two of the Kuremisago masters had been pushed away, there were still two left there. Chin Sougaku quickly blitzed through, digging holes behind each disciple, declaring them to be graves for them all.
Still, even with this declaration that sent chills up their spines, Shinpaku and the Unarmed Division of Yomi didn't falter.
"Then let us help you," voiced Ryuto, suddenly appearing beside the Armed Division, using Seikuuken to suddenly knock them out of formation.
"Rimi is here!" shouted Rimi as she sped in and kicked a few of them away.
Kenichi, who had been pushed back by Satomi and the others, found some breathing room when the Capoeira team attacked the ones trying to stalk behind Kenichi.
"Yo, here to help!" grinned Shinobi as he and Aisha both kicked the same opponent, "Lucas is a little miffed that the Stanley twins are on our side now, but that's that."
"Get back into formation!" warned Hyogo as they tried to regroup against the increasing numbers.
Ryuto quickly glanced around the area before having Berserker, Natsu, and Renka accompany him to fight Chin Sougaku while Ukita, Kisara, Freya, and Takeda were ordered to fight Ortal Sin. The rest were to sweep up and take out the others, to which everyone agreed.
Another battlefield
Jennifer Gray was worried about the other locations where she knew the fights were at, but she had a job to do; leading a team of special forces to attack. Their goal was to also draw out as many soldiers from the base to allow Niijima to sneak in unhindered as possible.
Besides, the army was the Zanshin Taisha-ryu, accompanying them to take out the Yami soldiers, which was a good thing. Currently, the grandmaster of the Zanshin Taisha-ryu was fighting against another Master Class of Yami.
Suddenly, they all felt something oppressive fill the air around them, and looked to the source to see a giant transparent figure that looked like Kushinada rising up from the island. Realizing that was where Ryozanpaku and the others were, Jennifer ordered the troops to charge toward that battlefield.
Masters battleground
Kushinada-ryu Sen-Nen-Naga (Kushinada 1000 Year Throw)
Kushinada slammed her palm into the ground, her silhouette following her every motion. Countless hands sprung out from the ground from her action, and Ryozanpaku and the others could tell that if they were caught, they would be thrown to death.
Shinto Gourenzan
The Armed Division of Yami began to meld with their respective weapon, becoming one with it. The process was almost complete until Shigure stepped in, her Ki flaring up into the air.
Kousaka-ryu…. Saishu Ougi…Souten Kyourenzan
Suddenly, the Armed Division felt something else intervene… as if somebody else was becoming one with their weapon.
"It can't be!" gasped Rin, "Did that old man Hachirobee actually manage to complete that technique? She's managed to transcend past Shinto Gourenzan and make her opponent's weapon a part of her own essence as well!"
Still, the fact that Kushinada's technique was still active made it dangerous for them all.
Seidou Goitsu
And add the fact that Ogata was using the technique as a final ploy meant it was time for the finale.
"We'll back up the weapons mistress," declared Agaard as he, Cyril, and Sogetsu suddenly took the vanguard position.
"The only way to break their formation is by putting together the power of your Katsujinken and infinity."
"Don't count us out yet!" shouted Daiki as he waived his staff, with Kagero behind him, both using Shinto Gourenzan.
Though hesitant about allowing their allies to become essentially meat-shields for them to break through, Sakaki, Akisame, Kensei, and Apachai nodded their heads together as they prepared themselves.
Shigure and the others charged forward while the members of the Eight Executioner Blades struggled to fight against Shigure's Souten Kyourenzan before attacking back.
With the added numbers as well as Shigure partially sealing away Yami's ability to fuse with their weapons, Sakaki and the others were able to make their way right towards Kushinada, who's eyes began to glow with Ki as she prepared to receive them, with Seitaro behind her, fully fused with his weapon as he managed to break through Shigure's infusement.
The resulting clash could be felt for miles.
Shinogidachi
Satomi was starting to spam his signature powerful move, hoping to get a hit on Kenichi, who was dodging and parrying them all away. Kenichi couldn't counterattack as he was also busy dodging two more Expert Class opponents, who were trying hard to catch Kenichi to let Satomi finish him off.
Still, it was getting harder to dodge with every attack. Satomi was filled with Dou Ki that would shut down his body systems if he landed a clean hit.
'Just need a chance,' thought Kenichi, his eyes glancing over to Miu with worry.
The Kuremisago were very vested in capturing Miu, more so than the last timeline, probably due to her 'overwhelming talent'.
Shinogidachi
Satomi threw a kick, to which Kenichi managed to grab and toss him away, though not before feeling his arms grow slightly numb. His concern was more towards Satomi though, who began to cough blood from using Shinogidachi so many times.
"That's not a move you should be using so often," warned Kenichi as he parried a punch and a kick from his two other opponents, "You'll shorten your life, like abusing Seidou Goitsu."
"Do you even have the luxury to worry about your enemy?" coughed Satomi as he stripped his shirt and armor off, deciding to put everything into his offense and mobility, "I live for the sake of martial arts, just as my fellow brothers and sisters do! I even created a final technique that is so dangerous that both my masters forbade me from using it, but I'm willing to put my life on the line by using it to end this!"
Kenichi immediately knew he was going to use Kai Shinogidachi, his mind racing on what to do. He could repel him like he did before, but the two experts aiding him were a problem. His mind flashed back to when he allowed Satomi a clean shoulder tackle to the chest, manipulating the Ki inside him and allowing it to pour through his body as a conduit while redirecting to the wall behind him, leaving him relatively unharmed before he countered him with Ryusui Mubyoushi.
'Wait, that's it!' thought Kenichi as he began to plan out his attack. He blocked a knife strike, guiding it away from him while elbowing his other attacker, pushing both of them behind him.
Kai Shinogidachi
Satomi finished charging up for his signature move and was now moving forward, seeing an opening for his attack. With a roar, he shoulder-tackled Kenichi's chest with everything he had, hoping to stop his heart.
Kenichi was sent flying back as everyone watched the tackle hit dead on.
"Kenichi!" shouted Miu and others in worry.
"Got…cha?" blinked Satomi as he saw Kenichi flying back, which was normal. What caught his eye was the two expert-level Kuremisago ninjas also flying back with Kenichi.
'Were they grabbing his arms to prevent him from blocking my attack?' thought Satomi.
He hadn't expected his tackle to actually land directly on Kenichi's chest, and thought Kenichi would've tried to defend himself with his arms guarding his chest.
The three of them landed as everyone watched with halted breaths, half expecting Kenichi to collapse.
Suddenly, Kenichi coughed as he spat out some blood, causing worry among his friends and allies. Satomi, however, was confused.
'Did my attack fail somehow and not hit? I know I felt the impact, and the Ki from my attack definitely penetrated throughout his body, which should've caused a whole body shut down and much more damage.
The answer was revealed when the two Kuremisago ninjas behind Kenichi suddenly spewed out blood from their mouths before collapsing onto the floor like puppets who had their strings cut.
"What!?" exclaimed everyone in shock.
"What just happened?" questioned Sho as he had one of his opponents in a headlock, punching his face as he stared at the scene. He didn't stop until his opponenet stopped moving.
"What mastery…" said a mesmerized voice, forcing everyone to turn to the source of it to see it was Ortal Sin who said it, "The attack from the eyepatch kid was impressive, but how it was countered was even more impressive. The boy allowed himself to be hit on purpose."
"What? That's ridiculous, why would he do that?" shouted Hyogo as he tried to stab Thor, only for Siegfried to intercept and counter-spin, forcing him to block.
"He had confidence," nodded Chin Sougaku, "He allowed the attack to pierce throughout his body, using his body as a conduit, manipulated the Ki from the attack from the chest to his hands and foot. From there, his palms slammed into the stomach of two behind him, the Ki from the eyepatch's attack spilling into them. The rest was then diverted into the ground when he stomped his foot onto the ground."
Satomi looked down to see a footprint buried into the ground, the source coming for Kenichi before he had been sent flying back.
"He probably didn't do it perfectly as he still take some damage, but to take such an attack and use it against his enemies is formidable," admitted Ortal Sin, "Not even I can do that, let alone quite a few others."
"That's freaking manly!" shouted Tsuji as he punched Sigmaringen in the face, barely avoiding a scythe to his eye, though it did nick some skin and cause some bleeding, but it was very shallow.
Satomi cursed, thinking through his actions. They had known that Kenichi was at the level of Ki no Shouka, but they hadn't expected such mastery. Even Grandmaster Classes wouldn't have been able to do what Kenichi just did so easily.
Then again, Kenichi was one of the few people who could brag about creating his own specialized Ki instead of using Sei or Dou Ki.
'He's already hurt. There's no way he can keep diverting my Ki like that,' thought Satomi as he prepared another Kai Shinogidachi.
He could feel his body shrieking in pain, but he didn't care. Everything, including his own life, was for the sake of progressing martial arts.
"Stop. If you try that again, you'll cause irreparable damage to your body, possibly even die," warned Kenichi.
"Hehe, having time to worry about your opponent must be nice," coughed Satomi "But I've prepared for death from the very beginning! Even if I die here, this technique will be engraved by everyone who has witnessed it! And lastly, inside you, Shirahama Kenichi!"
With that statement, Satomi charged.
"Death is food for martial arts!" roared Satomi as he used Kai Shinogidachi. However, this time, instead of going for a shoulder tackle once more, he poured everything into multiple punches, all aiming for Kenichi. If even one hit, it could potentially stop Kenichi, leaving him open for the killshot.
Kenichi's eyes glowed with Ki as he raised his hands up once more. Whether it was the past or future, Kenichi was confident in one thing. He was a Katsujinken through and through, no matter what!
Ryuusui Zenkuken
Kenichi parried the punches, guiding them away while sapping away the Ki infused in each attack. Satomi abused his Ki meridians, forcing them to produce more Ki for his attacks at the point of crippling himself.
'Just one hit! Just one!' shouted Satomi in his mind as he attacked, feeling his eye leaking blood. Suddenly, he felt all his energy leave him as his meridians seemed to finally give way.
'Seems like... this is how it ends,' thought Satomi as he felt his Ki flow halt abruptly, his body slowly shutting down, 'Let my death further martial arts!'
He could see his two bodyguards, Hatsuki and Natsuki, shouting his name, but he couldn't hear them now. His vision was slowly dimming… until he noticed Kenichi preparing some sort of big move.
'Why?' thought Satomi, 'He doesn't have to do anything anymore. Is he doing this to rub it in?... No it doesn't seem to be like his character to do so,' thought Satomi before he realized something.
The Ki that had been parried was being held in Kenichi's hand, and he was doing something about it.
Before he could even react, Kenichi attacked, his eyes glowing with Ki.
Phoenix Eye to the upper chest. Leopard Paw to the lower chest. Crane Beak to the shoulder. Elbow Strike to solar plexus. Palm strike to stomach. Punch to the face. Two-finger strike to the neck. Ridge hand strike to the thigh. And finally.
Ryuusui Muubyoshi.
Kenichi's last attack on the center of Satomie's body sent him flying back.
'What… is this?' gasped Satomie as his senses suddenly became sharper once more. The Ki flow that had been interrupted was suddenly flowing again in his body, his meridians no longer cracking under pressure. Instead, the shock from the attacks seemed to force them to relax. In short, while Kenichi had beaten him up, he had also healed his Ki flow that had been damaged by his own move, with his own Ki no less.
'This is… Katsujinken!?' thought Satomi as he collapsed to the ground, unable to fight anymore, but still alive.
Annihilation
That was the only word that could be used for what Kenichi had just done to counter Satomi. The attacks came swiftly and brutally, with most of them barely able to see what Kenichi had done. But they could see Satomi was still alive, based on the fact his chest was still rising and falling.
"He's tired! We can kill him!" shouted a Kuremisago ninja as he saw Kenichi exhale, taking deep breaths as if to control his breathing.
"Whoa, can't let you do that now," grinned Shinobi as he, the Capoeria team, and the Santoryuu suddenly surrounded Kenichi, protecting him from being attacked easily.
The masters subtly tried to change targets, as they viewed Kenichi as a threat, but their opponents wouldn't let them go so easily.
Chin was having trouble due to the overwhelming speed and firepower from his opponents, along with moves not regularly seen, such as Seidou Goitsu from Ryuuto and Berserker's unique and irregular attack tempo. Ortal was also being pushed back, but rather by his opponents' ability to chain their attacks together, inadvertently performing the Infinity combo Ryozanpaku's master was able to do, thanks to the fact they were all very close friends who sparred together.
"It's my turn then!" grinned Miu as she managed to shake off the bola that had wrapped around her leg.
Hatsuki and Natsuki eyes widened as they felt Miu's Ki skyrocket once more before rushing in, hoping to take her out. The expert kunoichi beside them also made the same judgment, rushing from behind Miu.
Furinji Chigiguruma
Miu crouched before suddenly turning and diving right into the kunoichi, surprising her before realizing that Miu was also a Furinji, meaning it shouldn't be a surprise for her to learn the same techniques as Satomi.
Still, the momentary surprise was enough for Miu to land a hit on her, halting her movements long enough for Miu to suddenly strike with Supreme Silat, disabling her opponent's ability to use her arms.
Hatsuki and Natsuki caught up and tried to attack Miu from behind, only to feel their legs suddenly disobey their order and force them to jump helplessly up into the air. They soon realized it was Kushinada-Ryu.
The two crashed into the kunoichi, leaving them in a tangled mess, but Miu wasn't done yet. She began to bombard them with kicks and punches, knocking them until they were dizzy before flipping into the air.
Furinji Kou Suzaku Yoku
Miu slammed her foot down into the trio, sending them flying after her attack smashed through them all, sending them unconscious.
Hyo's eye twitched as he saw their group was losing, and tried to steer his group towards Kenichi, but they couldn't push through Yomi's Armed Division and the other members of the Shinpaku Alliance.
'Hopefully, they captured the other group,' thought Hyo, thinking about Niijima and the others.
"And… done!" grinned Niijma as he finished scrambling the missile's guidance system as well as the launch protocol.
"Then we're good to go?" asked Ryu, only for Niijima to shake his head.
"Not yet, gotta make sure the manual override won't screw us over," replied Niijima.
"There's a manual override?" gaped Koan.
"How did you know about that?" asked Hayami.
"It's the most logical decision," replied Niijima as he began writing up a new program, "Shiba! We need you to punch and destroy a few things!"
"Don't order me around, alien!" shouted Shiba.
"So you don't want to destroy precious military technology belonging to Yami, more importantly, led by Senzui?" asked Niijima.
"I didn't say that," coughed Shiba lightly before destroying everything Niijima was pointing to.
FOUR! THREE!
Mayu slammed two attacks into Miahi, who tried to swipe her arm off with her scythe, only for Mayu to kick the handle away from her, though leaving her unable to continue her attack and open. However, Tsutomu was still there.
TWO! ONE! Kazoe Nukite
Tsutomu finished the combo, shredding through all of Mihai's protective clothing.
"Fuck you!" coughed Mihai as he tried to attack Tsutomu, only to leave himself open for Mayu.
Tenchi Mushin Ryuu Mogaridachi
Mayu slammed a barrage of heavy palm strikes that stunned Mihai for a second before he screamed out curse words.
Tăietură de Sânge de Lună (Moon Blood slash)
Mihai slashed upwards, leaving a crescent-like moon from his slash, only for the two of them to dodge it barely, with Mayu's hair being nicked while Tsutomu's glasses were slashed in half. However, the two continue forward.
Tenchi Mushin Ryuu Jyuji Kuhiki
A double knife hand struck Mihai's neck from both sides, with Mayu from the left and Tsutomu from the right, was enough to finally knock Mihai unconscious.
"Whew, that was hard," sighed Tsutomu as he tried to grab Mihai's scythe with his right hand, only to find Mihai still gripping it tightly even when unconscious.
"Let go, bastard!" growled Mayu as she stomped Mihai's arm viciously until a crack could be heard, meaning she had just broken a bone.
"Mayu! There was no need to be that harsh," reprimanded Tsutomu as he managed to heft the scythe away from Mihai as a result. The main reason they were taking the scythe was to disarm Mihai and give it back to Shigure, who had been hunting down her father's blades.
"But honey… Look what he did to you!" cried Mayu tearfully as she turned around to Tsutomu.
Tsutomu was bleeding from all the attacks Mihai used, as was Mayu, but the biggest thing that could be seen was… Tsutomu's left arm had been cut off from the bicep down.
"Honestly, the fact that you and Kairi are still alive is all that matters," sighed Tsutomu as he glanced down at his missing arm, having used his sleeve as a makeshift tourniquet to stem the bleeding, "Compared to what we learned what happened in the last timeline, if this is the price to pay for being able to be with you and Kairi, I'm more than willing to pay it."
"Sir, you're arm," said Spartacus as he lifted Tsutomu's separated limb, wrapped in some cloth his fellow brothers and sisters managed to rip off their opponents and clean, "We're looking for some plastic bags and ice to see if we can preserve it. The cut was rather clean, so there's a good chance you can re-attach it."
"With Akisame, I'm not too worried, but if he can't, then it's not too much trouble," shrugged Tsutomu, "I'll just have to get used to having one arm. I can still lift Kairi up with it."
"Honey, how are you so calm?" Mayu half-shrieked.
"Honestly? Probably the shock and adrenaline," shrugged Tsutomu, "I'm sure I'll start panicking after all this is over. But first, we should head over to Haruno to see if he needs any help."
Before they could do anything, both masters' instincts suddenly began to blare at them, warning them of the danger.
"Dodge!" they shouted, with Mayu grabbing the girls and jumping away, Tsutomu tossing the scythe and grabbing Alec while Spartacus grabbed Oenamaus.
Instantly, the hallway they were in exploded into pieces as Senzui and Saiga's fight broke through the building, their momentum carrying them past them all.
"What was that!?" shivered Iris.
"Two martial arts who stand near the peak of all," said Mayu as she gently calmed Iris and Crixus, "Come, we should go. They seem distracted by each other now."
"We'll carry the scythe," motioned Spartacus as he and Oenamaus managed to heft the scythe up, which hadn't fallen too far away by luck.
"Let's go," nodded Tsutomu, picking up his severed arm as they all left.
Disciple Battlefield, Ukita, Takeda, Freya vs. Ortal Sin.
Ortal Sin took a step back, taking in the situation. He had not expected such heavy resistance against four Disciple Class fighters… though at this point, with their rate of growth, they could be considered in the Expect Class. Especially Kisara, as she grew exponentially in a fight.
"Impressive," noted Ortal Sin, "To think you could last this long. But this ends now!"
The jamadhar user began to attack viciously at them all. Kisara, Takeda, and Freya bore the brunt of the attack, but Ukita wasn't a threat that Ortal could just ignore either. Especially with the gloves they were wearing that was able to actually block his stabs.
Ukita managed to step into his space, hooking his arm under Ortal's leg while the other grabbed his neck. Ortal tried to stab Ukita, but Takeda and Freya's attack stopped him from being able to.
Arashi Nyagurumi
Ukita lifted Ortal, turning and slamming Ortal into the ground. Right on impact, Kisara came diving down with a double foot stomp to the face while Ukita turned and slammed a back body slam to Ortal's chest.
Ortal felt the air being pressed out of his chest but stuck in his throat from the attacks before gathering himself and managing to push the two off, slicing as he spun to regain control of the situation.
Ukita and Kisara managed to back away in time, though Kisara's shirt was shredded in the middle, revealing she was wearing chainmail…. and no bra, but in a life-and-death situation, it was ignored.
Freya shouted as she thrust her staff forward like a spear, forcing Ortal to cross his blades to block. He intended to block it before using his strength to overpower her attack and push through her space and gut her. However, just as he felt the impact of the staff, Takeda punched the back end of Freya's staff.
Kugatchi Ryuu Gokui Ougi: Rai Eikyo (Lightning Impact)
The sudden additional force from Takeda's punch caused Ortal to miscalculate how much strength was put into that thrust, and was pushed back, unable to counterattack. Not only that, but he heard a distinct crack coming from his blades. Looking down, he saw cracks forming on his blade and frowned with worry.
He didn't have time to think about it more as the four rushed at him once more.
"I'll start with the weak one first!" shouted Ortal as he managed to finally push Kisara, Takeda, and Freya away with one jamadhar, using his other to cleave down Ukita's head.
Ortal saw Ukita raising his hands up and sneered, thinking he was trying to intercept his arm. An ultimately futile effort, as he knew he could overpower his attempt, as he was pouring his whole weight and strength in this cleave.
He, however, misunderstood Ukita's aim and purpose, as well as the durability of his gloves made by Shigure.
Ukita instead grabbed the jamadhar blade with both hands, his fingers curling up completely. Thankfully, the gloves extended past the proximal interphalangeal joint, otherwise his fingers would've been cut off.
Ukita was promptly shoved into the ground, his back screaming in pain. However, he had completed his goal. The Jamadhar was halted just before his head, his hands having stopped it from moving.
"Impressive, but that won't stop me!" roared Ortal as he raised his other hand to stab Ukita's gut, knowing the boy below him couldn't possibly use his hands to block the other jamadhar.
He was correct in the regard that Ukita couldn't block it with his hands. However, he still underestimated Ukita when he used his legs, wrapping them around his arm to stop him from gutting him. The blade managed to cut flesh, but luckily not too deeply to hit organs.
Ortal roared in anger, lifting Ukita up before swinging him down to his knee, intending to break his spine.
'Now!' thought Ukita as he let go of both arms, hooking his arm around Otal's neck.
Ortal was forced to go down with Ukita, his body bending forward as he attempted a spine-breaker fall. Ukita took this chance to slither around Ortal's body and latch onto his arm, using his whole weight to dislocate it.
Ortal hissed in pain as he managed to get Ukita off with a stab that Ukita dodged after quickly letting go before quickly popping his shoulder joint back into place. Regardless, he was slower now, and his opponents took full advantage of that.
Kisara flipped into the air before launching a kick to Ortal's face. Ortal tried to counter with a dual stab, only to find his arms stunned into place by Freya, who had ducked under Kisara and dismantled her staff into two sticks, each one jabbing his biceps hard enough to stop him enough for Kisara's kick to go through.
Ortal twisted his head, trying to neutralize as much damage as he could as Kisara's kick landed before lashing out his left arm.
Freya merely lifted her stick up a bit, allowing Kisara to use one foot to land on it before pushing off it, allowing her to escape. At the same time, the jamadhar impacted onto the stick. Using her opponent's force and adding her own momentum, Freya spun with it before the same stick that Ortal had hit crashed into his chin from her uppercut slash, forcing him to reel up.
Ortal's eyes opened just in time to see Takeda was already in the air and tried to attack with his right arm towards the waist, only to miss as Takeda had jumped in a way so his lower body lagged behind his upper a little.
Takeda performed a superman punch to Ortal's face, causing him to flinch once more, only to feel someone grabbing onto his arm. Unable to resist, Ukita roared as he spun and swung Ortal into a tree.
'There seems to be a pattern. Next up should be the kicking girl!' thought Ortal as he shook his head to clear his vision, the adrenaline allowing him to ignore the pain on his back as he stabbed forward.
Only to guess wrong as Freya swung her reconnected staff down like a sword. The staff connected with the jamadhar… and the jamadhar snapped in half from the damages it had occurred earlier.
Ortal could only stare for a second before a punch and kick from Takeda and Kisara respectively landed on his face. His vision blurred from the concussion as the two began to land pinpoint shots on his body, causing him immense pain. Kisara had learned from Christopher a few tips about accurate kicks, and Kisara was putting them to good use.
Finally, Ukita grabbed Ortal's left arm and jumped into the air, spinning while doing so, before slamming Ortal on his back as they landed.
Ortal could barely even move, let alone fight now, and so as his consciousness began to fade, he took a good look at his opponents.
"Disciples… I see now… You lot will certainly become masters of your field," coughed Ortal as he began to fade, "It was a good fight."
With those final words, he fainted, causing the four of them to let out a sigh of relief.
Alright next chapter will be the finale! What will happen!
Also might consider writing a one shot with a HSDK and Street Fighter crossover for the last battle lol.