Chapter 21: The Last Crusade

"It's from my brother!" Sasuke exclaimed. Altron continued, "I bring good and tragic news to you all. The good news is that Master Yagami and his comrades are safe and sound." Bursting in tears of joy, Kaoru and Sakura were relieved to hear their loved ones were unhurt but all that changed for Sakura when Altron said, "But I'm afraid Master Yagami has been tired out from his recent battle and is in a critical status."

"No, no. It can't be…Hokage sensei!" Sakura screamed out in sorrow. Sasuke went over to comfort her.

"Don't worry Sakura, I'm sure my brother is out there healing his wounds." Now a decision had to be made to who should go and help the three fighters. Kaoru wiped her tears before telling the three Chuunins, "Go, your sensei needs you more. I'll be here to uphold the Dojo's honor." With that Altron guided the Chuunins to the temple. Walking through the rooms of the defeated opponents, Sasuke walked into the room where he saw the defeated Itachi, knowing it was Yagami who could be the only one to battle against him and kill him again. Reaching to the resting area they found Kenshin and Saito in good condition, and to see their sensei in a dire status. Sakura immediately ran to his aid and held him up to heal his wounds.

"Please let him okay, oh Yagami sensei please open up your eyes…" She called out to him as a drop of her tears dropped onto Yagami's closed eyelid, which prompted him to be awake. He was still exhausted due to the shortage of his Chakra that he can't even summon his dragons to restore his Chakra. Finally opening his eyes wide, he saw Sakura staring at him with a sad and worried expression. Struggling, he spoke, "Sa…Sakura? Is…that…you?"

"Rest now sensei, you don't have enough chakra." Naruto walked up to his sensei.

"Hokage sensei, I'll give you my chakra." Naruto bravely volunteered. Assuring the others that he still had the Kyuubi in him, his chakra supply was also umlimited as the young chuunin replenished Yagami's chakra and soon he was back in shape. Yagami thanked his student for saving his life as he stood with confidence. He took out his scroll and summoned Onikage out, whispered something to him before the bone dragon left the scene. As they walked down the straight path, it led them to a dark cave with two enormous gates. Slowly opening it, they were welcomed with a tall tower where the Shogun awaited them at the top. Making their way to the summit, a cage sprung up from the ground to trap the group except the Hokage. The Shogun slowly appeared from the shadows and revealed himself to be Yagami's and Saito's past rival; Shishio.

Flashback
The Shinsengumi went up to the Dojo where Kenshin, Kaoru and Yagami were and decided to seek for assistance. They showed a picture of an official that attempts to kill the present Shogun and wants Yagami to aid for them. Hajime Saito, promoted to the captain of the clan due to an illness that caused the previous leader to pass on, pleaded with the young ninja to assist in their mission in return for giving them money to renovate their Dojo. Yagami kindly accepted and assured to his friends that he knows what he's doing. That night, the Shinsengumi and Yagami hid in the darkness and waited for Shishio to appear. Upon vision of the target, the Shinsengumi lunged out to attack. Shishio drew his sword and disposed of the members. Saito fought gallantly one on one with him before Yagami came into the fray. Shishio left a deep wound on Saito's arm as Yagami continued to duel. Knowing that his swordskills were limited, he turned to his ninjutsus and fought alongside his Izayoi. The end was near when Shishio hit away the Izayoi from Yagami but he countered with 'Kiri Gakure no Jutsu' (Hidden Mist Technique), blinding off his opponent's vision. Picking up a dead Shinsengumi member, Yagami performed 'Kugutsu no Jutsu' (Puppet Technique) and used the dead 'puppet' as a diversion. Once Shishio disposed of the corpse, the mist began to clear and was stunned to see Yagami standing alongside ten dead Shinsengumi members, using 'Aka Higi: Hyakki no Soen' (Red Secret Technique: Performance Of A Hundred Puppets), Yagami controlled the dead bodies to defend himself with chakra strings attached to them. Seeing that Shishio defeated the 'puppets' with swift sword skills, Yagami activated his Makekyo Sharingan and timing his attack, he dodged past Shishio with 'Shunshin no Jutsu' (Body Flicker Technique) and burned him alive with his Amaterasu flame, consuming a large amount of his chakra. All ended as Yagami stood and watched the burning Shishio fled for his life with the dark flame engulfing his entire body…

"It's been years, and not even a simple hello from an old friend?" Shishio, all bandaged up around his body, asked with a smirk in his face. Yagami drew out his Izayoi to get ready. The Izayoi, a katana so powerful, that only a true warrior could wield it. Shishio had prepared himself with a few ninja skills. Hearing a drop of dew from the cave that came splashing down to the arena, the two duelist charged at each other and exchanged strikes with their sword skills. The three Chuunins had never seen Yagami performed such skillful swordsplay as Kenshin recounted their Hokage's past with him.

Flashback

Yagami stayed with Kenshin and Kaoru when he decided to learn some swordskills. Kenhin took him to meet his master, Hiko, where Kenshin was taught the skills of Battu-Jutsu and Hiten Misturugi Ryu. Upon meeting the famous swordsman, Yagami fet honored to meet up with a person with such high status. Hiko looked at him before spotting the Konoha headband.

"Oh, a ninja from Konohagakure! So you want to learn the art of Hiten Misturugi Ryu? The training is going to be tough, are you determined to go through all odds?" Yagami nodded in agreement. Days went by and Yagami endured the hardships Hiko had installed for him the past few days. 2 weeks later Yagami was finally accepted as a swordsman of the Hiten Misturugi Ryu. Hiko than handed Yagami a katana, which had a spiritual essence in it. Upon unsheathing it, Yagami's chakra felt like it fused with the blade.

"This is the Izayoi, an old priest gave it to me and said that one day I will meet a man with extra ordinary talent and martial arts. He also said that man would have never held or seen a katana before. Never did I know it turned out to be an exceptionally skilled ninja like you." Yagami wanted to hand the Izayoi back as he knew himself he was not very good in swordplay but Hiko demanded his student to keep it as a token of graduation. Yagami went on his knees to give his gratitude to his new sensei.

Back at the Dojo, Kaoru was met with another wave of Shinsengumi members and struggled to battle them by herself. Just as she was about to lose all hope, Onikage appeared. The sky suddenly turned dark, as Onikage had brought aid. He turned to Kaoru, who was already trembling with fear and spoke, "Master Yagami had issued orders to come and defend the Dojo." Summoning his hundred demons, they fought alongside Kaoru to defeat the vengeful Shinsengumi members.
At the cave tower, Yagami and Shishio fought desperately to lay the first strike. Just as the Hokage went for a forward thrust, Shishio dragged his blade across the floor to ignite a flame towards Yagami, barely missing him by inches. Activating the Sharingan, it was later revealed that Shishio's blade was covered with kerosene. Knowing his opponent wanted to play dirty tricks, Yagami went into a stance no one could ever imagine; the Migozuchi Haito Ryu. Saito stared in bewilderment to see the Hokage in that stance since he knew Yagami had never learnt the skill before. Than it all began to make sense; the time when Saito battled with him 4 years ago.