Endo let out a battle cry from the depths of his lungs before rushing at his opponent. He hadn't seen much of his skill but the fact that he wielded such an impressive weapon and blocked his previous attack while still attempting to fool him suggested that he wasn't an opponent to fool around with. Not to mention the fact that he managed to kill an Allied Ninja without raising much noise at all.
Endo's sword crashed into the old man's sword of pure lightning that ignited just in time to block the rushing strikes of the samurai apprentice. Shitaka's murderer took it on the defensive as even with a single blade Endo's swordsmanship was aggressive and tended to dictate the pace in most engagements that the young man found himself in. Still, there was something suspicious in how this killer just backed up, keeping up with Endo's steps forward with matching pacing backwards. His sword moved with a controlled pace, it was just where it needed to be to defend himself, and even though he didn't rush it – neither did he tag Endo. Not even once.
"What's the matter, murderer?" Endo growled as his sword sunk to the ground alongside his entire upper body while he panted, struggling to raise it back up. "Here I thought you looked so eager to kill…"
"I must admit, your swordsmanship is impressive. Who was your master?" the old man wondered, retracting his lightning sword back to its ancient-looking hilt again and moving his hand inside of his kimono to remove a scroll and open it right in front of Endo. As Shitaka's murderer unveiled the scroll, it popped, releasing a cloud of smoke and revealing a crossed, scissor-like construction.
If only Endo had a bit more energy left, he could have rushed at this bastard right as he was switching his active weapon. Damn it. Why did he even need to do that in the first place? Endo didn't notice any faults in the weapon, it didn't look like igniting it and wielding it tired out this man at all. If anything, it was Endo who was tiring himself out, swinging at impeccable and well-timed blocks.
"Gozen of the Four God Swords," Endo replied. He hated the idea of humoring this man but he hated the thought of getting impaled or his head chopped off because he's short of breath and can't offer anything but his very best when their swords once again collide.
"I see, how is the old grouch these days?" the old man wondered.
"You mean you've met him!? Who the hell are you!?" Endo's eyes went blank, realizing that his greatest advantage might have been less and less notable if this man had ever trained with his old master.
"Boy, I've met everyone that's anyone in this world at one point or another. Fought most of them too. For Gozen's own sake, or maybe my own, he was not my contract when we crossed swords…" the old samurai pointed and opened up his inter-connected scissor sword in preparation to attack Endo. The apprentice samurai lowered his sword, pointing its tip at the ground as he reached over his sword-wielding wrist with the other hand to achieve the perfect balance for his swordsmanship technique.
"Oh… That pose. Don't tell me you've mastered Gozen's training? That would make you the first and only one. To be perfectly frank, his God Sword: Kagutsuchi would fold even me…" for the first time there was emotion in the voice of Shitaka's murderer. Whether it was fear or some strange spinoff of respect, it was impossible to say at the time.
"Why don't you come and find out?" Endo taunted his opponent. He might have revealed his hand. It was as if this old man saw right through him and just speaking up about this topic revealed the truth to him – Endo had flunked all attempts at learning Kagutsuchi. This time it was Endo feeling worried.
The moss-colored kimono that the old man donned flapped in the wind as he took off. His exotic scissor sword seemed deadly even if a master swordsman wasn't holding it. When opened, the range of the sword's clipping reach seemed ungodly. Endo's heart remained still as he closed his eyes. Seeing the oncoming death reaching out to him with her cold, sharp claws only distracted him and he needed a calm mind for his technique. Once Endo's eyes shot open once more, the core of the open scissors was already coming in on his throat.
"The Way of the Naked Blade: Punishment Cut!" Endo swiped his hand upward, his sword still in hand. A silver-like blur blinded both swordsmen as a crispy clean clang filled their ears. Endo's opponent stood before him wide open – the Punishment Cut had separated his scissor blade into two vastly inferior swords that felt now more like lumps of sharpened steel with rings to hold them with by the hilt instead of a testament of masterful craftsmanship.
"The Way of the Naked Blade: Judgment Cut!" Endo slammed his raised hand back down, his opponent, looking mortified, crossed his parted blades and blocked his strike, letting go of his swords and stumbling back as if, somehow, he had known that his blades didn't have what it took to withstand blocking this resolute cutting technique.
"I see…" Shitaka's murderer muttered as he stumbled back and felt his aching sides. "You may not have mastered Kagutsuchi, but you have improvised something of your own to resemble it. This Judgment Cut of yours seems just like Kagutsuchi, just without the burning soul of forceful will to dominate and absolutely destroy your opponent that is needed to execute the God Sword technique. You're like a little wyvern, blowing hot air because you've grown up in a dragon's nest and seen fire being blown a thousand times."
"Fucking asshole, talk some shit more, I'll kill you with this hot air!" Endo sneered at his opponent, pointing the tip of his blade right at him.
"I mean no disrespect, young man, you are, absolutely, an exceptional swordsman. You even managed to break my Kuchiwari, a sword that did in your superior." The old man was quick to excuse himself for what seemed like trash talk before.
"So, you did kill Shitaka then? With that sword, no less…" Endo grit his teeth, preparing to attack the disarmed opponent of his with all of his remaining will to slay him on the spot.
"It's a bad habit to lower one's guard. I took a shape that I felt would feel like it posed no threat to your superior, just like I took one with you. Though, it seems, the presence of his body in the proximity prevented you from looking down on me. Rest assured, you'd have followed his fate otherwise," the old swordsman said.
"So that's your game then, huh!?" Endo yelled out, from the bottom of his lungs, charging at his opponent. A gruesome string reeling sound filled the air as the assassin yoinked the two fallen parts of his Kuchiwari sword back into his hands and swung them in defense against Endo's relentless offensive. "You gave those two goons some fancy toys, hoping they'd do your dirty work but they fucked up and now you've got to stretch those old muscles of yours?"
Endo's swings were ruthless, his eyes blanked out and it seemed like for a moment he tapped into the berserk madness that enveloped him whenever he lost consciousness but was still very much alive in battle. It was this ferocity, this unmatched killing potential and warrior's heart that drew Gozen to adopt the boy as his student though it was, ultimately, his lack of ability to surpass that primal rage and convert it into talent that led to the frustrated boy abandoning his master after flunking his training once more.
When sight and sound mind returned to him, Endo stood before his fallen opponent with his split Kuchiwari blades now cracked and ruined beyond use. The sword of the young man pointed right at the face of the fallen veteran though his expression seemed impossible to make out due to the straw hat that he wore and how it obstructed his weathered face.
"The Way of the Naked Blade: Punishment Cut!" Endo yelled out, raising his sword up and splitting the hat off of the old man's head, preparing for his Judgment Cut to split the old man's head as it landed from up above and crashed into it.
A loud pop distracted him from enacting his rightful act of vengeance as smoke filled the area and where laid a seemingly helpless, old samurai, an armored fiend rolled out and took it to his feet. A fearsome presence that wore stalwart plating head to toe and masked himself with featureless, skull-shaped mast the lower section of which had a torn bandana tied up to it that rustled in the wind as the cold mask lacking any humanity to it stared right at Endo. Through this armored façade, it was impossible to tell if this man was angry, vengeful, excited, or glad. Almost as if emotions weren't something that this fiend was capable of. As if it was not a man that donned this suit of armor but a spirit that merely made the armor come alive and act upon the physical plane.
"So, is this your real look then?" Endo coughed up from the lifting cloud of smoke as he gazed upon his true enemy revealed to him.
"I wish I had the imagination to come up with something this elaborate on the fly. Yes, I did use the Transformation Jutsu to fool both your superior and you, young man. I didn't want to show this to you but it seems like I will not be deviating from my initial plan after all – you get to live until the day that I come for you all." The killer, now in his true form, said.
"Endo!" voices came from the distance. Subtle taps of sandals meeting wood or dirt followed them as the rest of the Stars gathered in the forest opening in support of one of their own in his hour of need as his armored opponent kept his featureless mask pointed in his direction without acknowledging the arrival of reinforcements.
"Shitaka-senpai!" Shige-H screamed out, rushing to her decapitated superior and the captain of their mission group. Her instinctual charge to help her fallen comrade stopped halfway when she realized that this man was beyond help already, having died immediately after decapitation and being already gone.
"Did this guy kill Shitaka-senpai?" Damisan wanted to point at the killer but lacked the limbs to do so. He used chakra jets inside his one remaining leg to dash here like a human missile. It was tough saying exactly just how useful he would be right now because of his impaired state.
"Yeah, he tricked Shitaka to lower his guard and then clipped his head off from behind like a coward!" Endo pointed the tip of his sword at the armored manslayer.
"N-No way…" Shige-H covered her mouth as her voice whimpered looking at the body of their captain that didn't as much as twitch any longer.
"It is odd hearing such accusations as if they're a bad thing, especially coming from a squad of ninja…" the assassin spoke in a shallow and husky tone. His voice did indeed match the voice that Endo heard from the old samurai earlier though it was as if the killer had dropped the impersonating tone and spoke seriously now. "Though, yes, I did kill your superior. I didn't intend on killing you lot just yet, it would have been much better killing all of you alongside Nakotsumi Mana once she recovers but… Your appearance here once again shuffles the cards for me."
"What's your involvement in this plot? Do you work for Hanada Katsuo? Ijiki? You've made trouble for both of them so it doesn't make much sense…" Skaven grunted, grabbing hold of his right eye as he struggled with a headache trying to piece this whole picture together.
"Neither. As I've said, I've got no problem letting you take the sample of Ayushi cells and getting it to Konoha's Sorceress. In fact, I'd very much like it if you did just that. I only killed Hanada Katsuo's men because they got in the way. I'd have killed Ijiki's men too but… They posed an interesting idea for me. A way to scope your potential and gain intelligence on your exact fighting styles and abilities. All invaluable information for an assassin looking to snuff you out once the time is right." The man answered. It felt as if though he only spoke to the Allied Ninja recruits because he himself was trying to decide what was to be done with them at this point. Whether he should jump the gun and kill them now or just flee and leave his plan as is.
"Then… Who are you working for? You're an assassin, right? Who hired you?" Shige-H hissed at Shitaka's murderer.
"Even if someone had hired me, I wouldn't tell you. That being said because the situation is so unique… I guess you could say I've hired myself to kill you lot," there was a hint of a chuckle in the assassin's speech, some semblance of hilarity and irony present in his voice.
"So, you've got nothing to do with either Hanada Katsuo or Ijiki then?" Skaven asked.
"No. My only goal this time was to obtain intelligence on your abilities. That information will be useful once I eventually move in for the kill," the killer nodded. He cracked the knuckles of his armored gauntlets. "Though, I suppose, it can't be helped now – I'll have to finish you guys off right now. In any case, I've got all the intelligence I need though I'd have liked some more time to prepare."
The Stars braced for upcoming combat before a sharp howl drowned out all the noise around them and a bright, blazing flash parted the tree line around them. Grey blitzed and blurs filled the battlefield while one of them lit up with flames again.
"Fire Style: Halo Dance!" a voice came from one of the unidentified interlopers as their blade parted a collection of blazing crescent-shaped projectiles that slammed right at the killer and sent him to an awkward stagger. Without saying a word, the assassin raised his hand up and cracked something in his hand. Within mere moments the battlefield became swallowed in purple mist. Something fast and rough grabbed hold of each Stars member and pulled them out of the flooding poison dew.
Once the interlopers stopped moving it became possible to once again tell their features. They were a handful of men and women donning black, baggy bodysuits and grey armor as well as blank masks with animal features dyed with various colorful patterns though their eyes remained inhuman and blank – sunken in black.
"The ANBU!" Skaven grit his teeth, fully expecting trouble.
"The Konoha's Black Ops?" Shige-H turned to the Nara surprised.
"I believe you have what you came here for…" one of the ANBU members pointed to the tube containing the tissue sample in little Tomi's hands. "You can return and save the Sorceress's life now."
"Wh-What? You're not going to arrest us or take the sample back to the village?" Skaven shook his head, looking absolutely baffled.
"Let's just say that Nakotsumi Mana has friends in some very deep layers of the village's shadows. They're very interested in seeing her recover to full strength and suffer no further similar incidents." The ANBU member nodded as the squad of Black Ops scattered, leaving the Allied Ninja to fend for themselves. Or, at least it so seemed from the first sight. Who knew where they were exactly and what they were doing. Given how much they already knew about the mission of the Allied Ninja – it made it difficult to not think that they were not under constant surveillance somewhere deep within the shadows of the forest already.
"Those weren't ANBU… They were something else, something with the gall to impersonate ANBU but also someone with the knowledge of classified information matching if not surpassing ANBU," Skaven muttered, still terrified more of this encounter with the Black Ops rather than meeting the killer that masterminded most of their troubles in the Fire Country so far. One whose true motives and business with the Stars remained unknown still.
"My head hurts…" Tomi whined out. "I'm tired… Can we do what the scary birdman said and go home already?"
"I suppose we've got no other choice. We're not authorized to handle bodies. We'll need a Shinigami and possibly a Sin Eater to take care of Shitaka-senpai so we'll need to send Konoha a letter from the nearest aviary station. Other than that, it's for the best if we return to the HQ with this sample and save Mana," Shige-H looked at the sample that the exhausted young kunoichi still clutched to herself.
"Humph… A bunch of chickens the lot of you. Can't even be bothered to take care of our own, huh?" Endo looked away. There was no fooling anyone – he was rattled by this loss even if he wasn't all that close to the deceased and he had spent most of the time together bad-mouthing him.
"Given what we've heard from that man, he clearly has an interest in killing us all, Mana included. Or, rather, Mana might be the primary target. If that is indeed the case, it might be that he had sealed a trap into Shitaka-senpai's body. It's for the best if specialists handle that business, I agree with Shige-H there," Skaven nodded.
"Hmm… Do you think that maybe the same people that hired Ion ended up also hiring this guy?" Damisan wondered.
"It is possible though those guys had no business with us where this guy clearly has a beef with us too," Endo said. "I have a feeling that things are exactly as he said them to be – he's in to get us because of his own reasons."
Needless to say, the trip back to the Allied Ninja HQ was filled with solemn silence and a feeling of unspoken dread in the atmosphere as this journey had managed to raise more questions about a whole lot of things rather than concluding the chapter of the people interested in seeing Mana die and people secretly working to preserve her life and the clandestine wars those two interest groups waged behind the curtains.