Shogunate Pride

by Bluestar076

In the region of Caelum, miles away from the guild of Fairy Tail, there's a special guild made of samurais that is always ready to dive into new adventures to save their region from supernatural threats by clashing their weapons. This is their story, as a girl that controls both light and darkness joins them (SYOC Closed.)

21. Immortal Remnants

Shogunate Pride Chapter 19: Immortal Remnants

By Bluestar076

Hello everyone! Bluestar here with a new chapter! Surprisingly enough, I have nothing to say this time, apart from the fact that I'm in a good mood these days considering that I went on an important part with another story of mine and that I got to complete the first part of Fate/Grand Order! I hope to put all of this happiness into the stories and be as productive as possible! (Also, due to an unforeseen event, I won't go to London anymore ;-;, but it's OK. It was something important that prevented me).

As of today's chapter, after introducing the new antagonists and their ambitions, it's time to dive into action and see how this new conflict will turn out! I'm quite curious to see how this will turn out as I made interesting combinations and thought of some peculiar interactions! So, I hope that you're going to like them! A new set of journeys awaits the samurai so that we can get right into today's chapter! And as always, I hope you enjoy it!

Note: I do not own Fairy Tail. All rights and characters belong to Hiro Mashima, A-1 Pictures, and CloverWorks.

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Chapter 19: Immortal Remnants

Caelum – City of Elba – Guild of Shogunate Pride

The sun was shining up in the sky, brightening the building of Shogunate Pride, while most of the members were at the entrance, trying to communicate with their 'guests'.

After being captured, Araneus and Agelenidae, the two minions from the Crow Clan, were interrogated by the mages of the guild several times. But even in their situation, they refused to talk, trying to be faithful to the code of ninjas. But considering they were assigned a new important task, the samurais wouldn't have given up on knowing more about them. So, they tried new ways. While some proposed to be more direct and violent, others didn't want to exceed that much and tried to use alternative methods. Nobuhito in particular was the one interrogating, as it was one of his specialties.

After a few failed attempts, the two ninjas were on their knees with their hands tied up on their backs while the mage clad in red armor prepared what seemed to be a rock board. Araneus and Agelenidae were sweating heavily with their uniforms and had their masks removed. While Agelenidae was more of a buff man with a shining bald head, Araneus turned out to be a guy with quite a look, clear blue eyes, and golden hair.

The two minions of the Crow Clan glared at the mages while Nobuhito walked to stay in front of them.

"OK, this is your last chance to be cooperative. I'm usually one of the most pacifist ones here, but even I have some limits I don't want to break. So, I'll try to ask it for the last time." Nobuhito asked with a carefree smile before lowering himself to their heads. "What is your clan's purpose and where is your hideout?"

"HAH! You can go ahead as long as you want!" Agelenidae mocked him.

"Yeah! Even if you were to amputate a limb, we'll keep our secrets until our hearts stop beating!" Araneus added.

Fern looked at them with a skeptical face. "Man, these two sirs are still trying to act pompous…"

"I don't think we'll go that far if we continue like this…" Rere added.

"If they want to lose their arms or their legs, then I'll be happy to accommodate them." Revany already turned on the lightsaber to make them talk, but Dohko put an arm in front of her.

"Ha ha ha! No need to! Remember, Nobuhito is a man of many resources!" He spoke.

"Yeah! Knowing how he acts after all the missions we'd done together, I'd say he already has the right asset up on his sleeve." Henry added.

Hoshiko, on the other hand, looked at the two captured enemies and Nobuhito with a serious stare. She trusted Nobuhito for the task. She needed to know more about the enemies she had been waiting to face, especially now that she knew the others would have helped her.

Even Tsukuyomi looked quite particular. "I'm curious as well. I still don't know what to think of him, honestly, so he may surprise me as well." She commented. "Speaking of which, Nobu, why don't you use your magic with them? You could see what we're looking for through their mind." She then asked.

Upon hearing that, Araneus and Agelenidae started to sweat and tremble, fearing that Nobuhito could have gone for that one. But the boy seemed confident.

"I've wanted to use that as the very last resort if they kept on keeping their mouth shut. But knowing that, I don't think I'll have to use it." Nobuhito replied before making a convinced smile. "I think I have the right way to make them talk. And the best part is…that I won't be the one doing the big part."

"Uh?" Everyone asked, a bit confused.

As an answer, Nobuhito went behind the two minions and laid them on the rock board with a bit of violence before tying their necks to it. He then took a few needles attached to ropes to keep their eyes open.

"AGH!"

The samurai then turned around to the others. "Sena, Tammy, Iori!"

"Which one?" Both Iori and Yori asked.

"The one with an I," Nobuhito answered.

"What is it?" Iori asked.

"How about you three show them your little trick? I took the boombox for this!" Nobuhito then proposed.

Everyone, except Tsukuyomi, seemed to understand what he meant. The three concerned ones looked at each other. Sena and Tammy, in particular, exchanged a large grin.

"Oh oh oh! I guess it's that time!" Tammy commented.

"Yeah! Just what I needed! I was a bit off exercise, recently!" Sena added.

"Oh, I see. They intend to use that." Rokumon commented while Revany facepalmed.

"Dear lord…"

"What? What is it?" Tsukuyomi asked.

"You'll see soon," Rere whispered to her.

Araneus and Agelenidae, on the other hand, started to get terrified. If just a few minutes earlier, they were trying to stand up proudly, all that it took was one sentence to change their mood and give them pure fear. What did they mean by 'that'?

What increased the pressure was Sena glaring at them directly with a malicious smile. "It seems you ended up in the ninth circle of hell."

"W-What!?" Araneus exclaimed.

"Oh, don't worry! It will probably be fast." Tammy concluded before looking at Nobuhito. "Hit it!"

With that signal, Nobuhito nodded and turned on the boombox, which started to reproduce…a funky music.

(Vocal percussion coming on a whole 'notha level, coming from my mind!)

As the music started, the two ninjas started to stare at Sena, who started to move in a particular way while following the rhythm of the dance. It was bizarre, with a lot of pirouettes and gesticulations, that made it look like some sort of gangster dance.

(Vocal percussion coming on a whole 'notha level, coming from my mind!)

The other members looked with various expressions, while Araneus and Agelenidae started to look caught by the dance…in an extremely negative way. Something felt uncomfortable in being forced to watch that. And it only got worse.

(Aaaaaah! We're Golden Wind! Ko-no me amareri makare me-ra-re-ma-ro)

It only got worse for the two of them as Tammy shortly joined Sena in the dance, making the same movements as him, creating perfect synchrony. The two ninjas started to tremble.

(Aaaaaaah! We're Golden Wind! Ko-no me amareri makare me-ra-re-ma-ro)

Then, Iori looked at the group…before joining them and becoming the third element. For Araneus and Agelenidae…the strange feeling started to become utter torture.

Tsukuyomi was confused, but she didn't hide the fact that she was curious. "So, what am I looking at, exactly?" She asked.

Dohko made a small laugh. "We like to call it…The Torture Dance."

Right at that moment…Sena, Tammy, and Iori made a perfect synchro to pass on to the next phase of the dance. The two ninjas felt as if their brain was playing with…as their eyes started to turn red. But it wasn't for some magic.

(It's like a burning sunrise! (Ahi makareru makari punpun kete))

The three ninjas kept on going, assuming a more serious and devoted expression. The two ninjas now felt as if their brains were starting to smoke out, and the red in their eyes became more intense.

(It's like a burning sunset! (A, haramare reru pun pun kete))

Tammy started to chuckle a bit as she continued. Araneus and Agelenidae felt as if their brain were on the verge of blowing up. And their eyes started to bleed slowly.

(It's like a burning sunrise! (Ahi, makareru makari punpun kete!))

The three kept on going with their stoic expressions. But the two minions kept on feeling absolute horror and pain in their eyes. It wasn't because of any magic. It was just the effect of the dance mixed up with the song. Something so absurd, horrible, and indescribable you couldn't help but bleed from your eyes.

(It's like a burning sunset! (A, haramare reru pun pun kete!))

Tammy turned around to look at them. "You know, if you keep on playing dumb and don't want to spit out, there's still a good two minutes of the song to keep on moving! What do you say, eh, little spiders?" She asked with a threatening tone before keeping on moving.

But at that point…the two ninjas already surrendered.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! WHAT AM I LOOKING AT!? IT'S HORRIFYING!"

"OK! OK! WE'LL TALK! STOP IT! JUST MAKE IT STOP! PLEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASE!"

In an instant, the three samurais stopped and Nobuhito turned the boombox off before chuckling. "Magnificent work as always, guys!" He spoke.

"Great dance, Iori! Same goes for you two!" Ronin added.

The three youngsters of the guild high-five each other. "You all improved quite well!" Tammy commented.

"You do know I always have the rhythm in my blood!" Sena answered.

"Eh eh…well…gotta say, you quite surprised me," Tsukuyomi commented with a smile. "Surely not what I'd expect from a samurai."

"We like to be alternative to be flashier. And who knows! Maybe you'll use it one day too! It's a tradition of the guild." Hoshiko told her.

To that sentence, Tsukuyomi made a smile and grabbed both Rere and Cal by the arms. "Well, I have two friends to do that!"

Cal felt a bit embarrassed. "I-I mean…if it's gonna happen…"

"You do know I'm not good at dancing…" Rere added.

"ANF…ANF…ANF…" Araneus and Agelenidae were breathing heavily as blood was still dropping down from their eye sockets.

"O-OK, I think it was a bit too much for them…" Dohko commented before turning to Yukari. "Honey, can you take some cotton and a few tissues?"

"Sure thing!" In an instant, Yukari was back inside the guild.

5 minutes later

In a short time, Yukari came back and started to clean their eyes with medical treatment. They didn't untie them or remove the needles, though, since they still wanted their answers about their new enemies.

"So…it's finally time you talk, so let's ask with order. First off, what is that your clan is plotting?" Nobuhito asked.

As soon as the two captured minions could breathe and talk again, they reluctantly answered.

"T-The Crow Clan…moved by our leader, is trying to gather the bones of the great demon Jaquio, and use them to achieve immortality," Araneus said.

Tension started to rise between the members as they heard it.

"Great demon…Jaquio?" Domino asked.

"How curious…this is the first time I hear of it as well. And I've killed a lot of demons in my career!" Fern commented.

"Well, whatever it is, it's surely nothing good! Especially if someone like them wants to use its bones." Sena added.

Hoshiko, on the other hand, remembered something. "Now that I think of it…back when they destroyed my home, they did mention something about immortality."

All eyes were on her.

"Really?" Dohko asked, making the ninja nod.

"Their leader said that my clan would have been a part of their grand construction and mentioned eternal life as their goal," Hoshiko said, remembering the words piece by piece, unfortunately.

"You're going to be part of the search for immortality…and the beginning of a new era for ninjas. We're going to erase the concept of death. But to do so…some price is…necessary. To erase the concept of death, we must use death. This means…that even if we don't want to…we must resource to some sacrifice."

As she remembered it, Hoshiko's eyes started to get some nervous tics her face being a bit pained. But this time, she took a deep breath and calmed herself down. She couldn't afford to crumble again and make another scene.

"Hmm…this means that their goal is a long-term one they're trying to accomplish, and it's not that uncommon from other evil organizations…" Nobuhito pointed out.

Iku put her arms behind her head and looked around. "Honestly, I don't know what's so cool in living forever…I think it would get boring at a certain point." She commented.

Tsukuyomi looked at her as soon as she said it. In a way, she knew how that felt. Her biological father ended up getting immortality, but at the price of suffering that lasted for centuries. With that in mind, hearing that someone was trying to achieve that same status made her feel a bit uncomfortable.

"Yeah. And to think that there are many other ways to do so! Less violent than that!" Rokumon then pointed out.

All heads were on him.

"What…do you mean, Rokumon?" Ren asked.

"Oh, it's simple! One day, an old lady sold me this bottle with an elixir of immortality at the sole price of 2000 Jewels!" The older samurai explained.

What followed was an awkward silence. Even the two captured ninjas stared at him.

"…And…do you think it worked?" Iori asked.

"Well, uh…I remember drinking the elixir which wasn't that different from an orange suit and then…she left off. I didn't feel anything change." Rokumon answered, feeling a bit confused.

It wasn't needed to add anything else.

"Yeah, she lied," Fern told him straight.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Rokumon cried out.

"Leaving that aside…" Revany spoke before turning around at the two bandits. "Considering their plot, I assume that those ninjas are about to start their search for the bones. And I should assume that you know their position, right?" She then asked.

"Y-Yes…" Agelenidae replied. "The bones are scattered throughout the various islands that compose the region of Caelum. One is on this island, in the wasteland of Tagibon. The second one is at the Seishin Mansion, on Ryujin island. The third one is at the top of Mount Yasahime, on Fujin Island, and the last one is at Roppongi City, on Suijin Island…"

"I see…all of them are notable places in all of Caelum…" Fern said as he wrote down everything the ninja said in a small notebook.

"Not only that but most of them are known to be places where people stay away from. I can imagine why…" Domino added.

"And why did you start targeting down important figures from the empire? What does that have to do with your clan's goal?" Cal then asked.

"Right, we need to know why Tekina tried to kill Judge Hachiman and all the others that were murdered before," Henry added.

"I-It was a way to weaken the empire. We were going to kill them one by one and then head for the Empress! As soon as our clan would have gotten the power for the bones, he would have marched to defeat the empress!" Araneus answered, still frightened.

"Ahi, another megalomaniac one, I see!" Nobuhito commented.

"So, my Clan was just another thing to step on…" Hoshiko thought while clenching her fist.

"So far, everything kinda makes sense, and we had gotten a lot of things in mind! And now…for the big elephant in the room! Where is your hideout?" Dohko then asked.

"W-We don't know…" Araneus simply replied, a bit ashamed.

Everyone looked at them with a skeptical face. Dohko, in particular, looked at Domino and the three young samurais, as a sign to proceed.

Nobuhito didn't hesitate and turned on the boombox.

(Vocal Percussion on a Whole 'notha level! Coming from my-)

"NO NO NO NO NO! WE DON'T KNOW, WE SWEAR!" Both ninjas shouted out, pleading with them to stop.

"Uh?" Everyone asked in unison, a bit confused while Nobuhito turned off the boombox.

"While it is true that we are part of the clan, we are mostly mercenaries who take off uncomfortable people on their behalf! And our boss gives us orders from outside the hideout, which we never got in! So…we're as blind as you in that regard!" Araneus explained.

"Really? Man…this can be troublesome, then…" Tsukuyomi commented.

Ren let out a resigned sigh. "And here I thought we could have gotten another flash operation…"

"With people like that? I highly doubt that, sir." Fern told him.

"W-We can only say this. Most of their strongest members are probably after the bones. And they won't stop at nothing to get them, even if they need to destroy everything on their trail…" Araneus added.

Hoshiko looked down in silence and then nodded. "Yeah…I can say it for sure. And don't worry…we'll keep it in mind." She said with a cold stare.

"S-So! Does that mean that we're free?" Agelenidae then asked, a bit hopeful.

"Well! You surely helped us understand a lot more about all of this!" Nobuhito told them with a carefree tone. The two ninjas were already growing large smiles. "Buuuuuuuuuuuut…" The smile turned into a feared expression. "This doesn't change the fact that you're still enemies who tried to kill Hoshie and Iku here. So, we called up people you can deal with in our place."

As Nobuhito said it, two imperial guards came closer and nodded to the mages before starting to take away the two ninjas.

"AH COME ON! THESE ARE JUST THE TWO WORST DAYS OF MY LIFE!" Agelenidae cried out.

"I TOLD YOU TAKING THIS JOB WAS A BAD IDEA!" Araneus scolded them. In less than a minute, the two of them were already far enough to not be seen anymore.

"Thanks anyways!" Tammy waved them goodbye, and the mages looked at each other with a more serious expression.

"Well, well, well. That's surely a lot more to expect. Let's head back inside." Dohko said.

Three minutes later, the seventeen mages were sitting on one of the tables, discussing what they heard.

"Well, fellow samurais…as you could see, we have a more delicate topic to deal with in our hands. Not that we would have expected anything less, considering the personal relation with one of us here." The Guild Master spoke, referring to Hoshiko.

"Yeah…I was sure that they were terrible but not like this…" Hoshiko commented.

"So, in summary, we're dealing with Ninjas that can use magic like us that thereafter some bones of…some sort of demon," Fern added.

"And if you know nothing, we still have zero information about this demon in particular," Yori told him.

"Could it be that it's one of those infamous Etherious demons?" Domino tried to guess.

"You mean the ones created by Zeref? I highly doubt that. As far as we know, he was the only one who knew how to create them through his books. And after both his and Mard Geer Tartaros's death, all of those recordings disappeared without a trace." Nobuhito answered.

"M-Man…I surely missed a lot about my father…" Tsukuyomi commented with a small drop of sweat coming down from her head. She did hear a bit about that from Erza, but not too much.

"Y-Yeah, indeed," Domino told her before thinking of something. "Now that I think of it…considering that you're his daughter…could it be that you're an Etherious too?" She then asked.

"DOMINO!" Everyone else yelled at her, finding that comment a bit inappropriate.

The young girl got embarrassed. "A-AH! RIGHT! S-Sorry, Tsuki…"

Tsukuyomi tried to comfort her with a small smile. "Eh eh! Don't worry! It's a natural thought! But I'm pretty much human coming from a mom!" She told her.

"Either way…I'm afraid that we're talking about something a bit…different. There are plenty of types of demons out there in Earth Land, after all." Rokumon then pointed out.

"Yeah…and as a Devil Slayer, I've studied all of them, and if I were to count them, I wouldn't stop anymore!" Rere commented.

"So, what about you then, Rere? Do you know about this Jaquio?" Ronin then asked.

Rere tried to think about it, but she ended up shaking her head with a resigned expression on her face. "No. Blank page. Sorry guys…"

"No hard feelings," Iori assured her.

"I think we talk about something quite ancient…maybe even more than Zeref…" Yori commented.

"We can ask our teacher at school?" Mami innocently asked. That left out a small laugh from everyone.

"No, no, don't worry, darlings," Yukari said to them.

And among that confusion and thoughts…it was Revany who remembered something. A faint…memory. "Hmmm…"

"Something up, Revan?" Ren asked, seeing her expression.

"I…I may have heard of that name before…" Revany spoke up, gathering all the attention.

"Really? From where?" Dohko asked. As an answer, the black-haired girl stood up.

"Give me a moment. I'll take a look at the library." With those words, Revany went to one of the doors of the main floor.

Another awkward silence followed.

"…Man I hate these tensed waitings…" Nobuhito commented.

"So…Mahjong?" Tammy asked. Sena looked at her with a skeptical face.

"Now, I don't think she'll take that long…"

"Though I would go for a play- AGH!" Ren was eager to the idea before Yori knocked him out with a karate chop.

"We wouldn't use money." He said.

Every guild had a library that could be used to get back on important notes or make some research, and Shogunate Pride surely wasn't an exception. The library was situated inside a door on the ground floor and led to a large room filled with shelves. Each one of the shelves had eight rows that were filled with tons of books of all types and genres, and several tables could have been used. Among the members of the guild, Revany was the one who used the library the most, due to her passion for a good book, and at that moment, she got to get there once again for duty. The room as a whole was quite dark, so the girl used a glowing crystal that she could make float to illuminate a bit and see where she was going.

The girl quickly walked between one shelf and another to find the book she remembered. And after a few moments, she reached the 'demonology' section. Due to the nature of the three mages as Devil Slayers in the guild, this was one of the busiest parts of the library. The Sith mage made a quick check to look at all the books in the section until he found one with a red cover. A guide to all of the demons in Caelum "There…I think I saw it in here…" After opening the book and browsing the pages, she slightly widened her eyes when she ended up finding a page with a drawing of a large creature that looked like a centipede. "…I remembered well."

With that, Revany quickly left the library to go back to the others with the book in her hands. "I found it."

Naturally, everyone was eager to know the answers. Revany didn't make them wait and sat down to show off the page of the demon.

"Eugh! It looks hideous!" Tammy commented.

"And he surely looks big…" Ren added.

Hoshiko looked at it with attention. Even though, she couldn't tell what type of creature it that. "How curious…this is the first time I see something like this…so the Crow Clan wants the bones of this…thing?" She asked."

"It seems so," Dohko replied before looking at Revany. "What does the book say?" He asked.

Revany looked down at the book and started to read. "Jaquio, also known as Guardia De Mieux. A powerful Demon Lord belonging to the legacy of Vigoor. A demon that had a complete mastership of the powers of both darkness and hellfire and could use a legion of over 3600 demons of his own. Much like the other descendants of Vigoor, he also sought to make the demons become the prevailing race on Earth Land and rule it by turning it into a unified realm of darkness."

"Nothing new then…" Rokumon commented. "It surprises me the fact that he may have had both mine and Tsukuyomi's elements." He added while looking at the girl.

"Yeah…though I do know that darkness is a common element between those demons…" Tsukuyomi said. "So…what about immortality?"

"I was just getting there," Revany replied. "Despite his grotesque appearance, he was a demon of great power and wisdom, So much that he created ancient spells of his own, and his genes could have brought immortality to anyone who would have gotten nutrition directly from him."

Naturally, everyone could realize the rest.

"So that's why they're searching for the bones…" Hoshiko spoke.

"Around X253, Jaquio started his crusade to take over the known world, by getting out from the depths of the underworld, using a lunar eclipse to create a pentagram gate to release himself and his legion of demons. He charged and brought disastrous damages to the region of Caelum. Many priests tried to push him back, but he turned out to be tremendously powerful for them. But then…the black ninja, Tsubasa Hinogami, and his wife, the priestess Shiobana, faced him and his legion, and with the use of the ninja's sword, infused with the blood of a dragon, and the powerful magic of the priestess, Jaquio and his demons were struck down for good. All that was left were the bones of the lord. Realizing that it would have been dangerous to put the bones together, as the demon's power was still present, the ninja, his bride, and the Caelum empire decided to take the bones and close them in well-guarded places, to which they reside this very day. No one knows what would happen if the power infused in those bones were used. But considering how terrifying the demon was, the effects would be disastrous, even bringing forth another terrible destruction." Revany continued before closing the book. "That's all about it…and it seems that we're indeed in a more serious problem than expected."

"Indeed. I did hear about demon lords in the past, and how terrifying they can be. But I never expected that we would have somehow dealt with them one day." Yori commented before looking at the group. "And I'm sure everyone here thinks of the same."

The others looked down, immersed in thoughts.

"Well yeah…at least, we can be glad that the demon is dead…" Domino commented.

Tsukuyomi looked down as she clenched her fists. "This seems more like some sort of deranged cult than just a regular ninja clan. And…this is going to be more serious than with Chimera Tribe…will…will I be able to step up?" She thought. While it was true that she indeed knew how working at a guild worked and what type of enemies she would face in the future, this seemed something with a higher risk than everything else. As a newbie…she surely started to feel a lot of pressure. But she also knew that this wasn't supposed to be the worst part to think about. She raised her head and looked at her guildmate, the one who ended up getting involved in all of this somehow. "Hoshiko…"

The ninja girl looked down as well with a serious expression. Now…she was aware of what strove those madmen to do what they caused. Even if they ended up looking for her, the questions she had ever since she started chasing them down one mission after another were starting to get an answer. "Demons…dark arts…immortality…this clan is crazier than I thought…" She thought before looking at her keys, the same ones her parents gave her during that fateful night.

"…In the end, they didn't care. My clan…and my parents were just bystanders that they wanted to destroy to get more power…" She thought. Somehow…the dilemma that persecuted her for many years didn't seem that heavy enough.

Why did they do it? Why did they destroy his village and kill his parents? The answer ended up being simpler than expected…

Simple yet twisted pleasure.

But…somehow…knowing this…made her feel more motivated. And she raised her head.

"…Domino is right." She spoke.

Everyone looked at her.

"We can be lucky that what they're trying to do is just retrieve those bones. Because this means…that we now know how to answer…and that we can still take them down!" Hoshiko continued.

That sentence made Dohko smile and stand up. "I couldn't have said it better." He spoke. "It seems that you have fewer doubts than before now, eh?"

Hoshiko nodded. "Yes. I now have certainty. Those guys are just straight-up assholes. I don't need anything else to want to take them down that badly."

Iku laughed out at that comment. "That's what I wanted to hear, baby girl!" She exclaimed, making everyone else feel confused.

Tsukuyomi looked up at her. "So you… feel ok, now?" She asked.

As an answer, Hoshiko made one of her usual smirks. "You had any doubts? It's you who removed that before!" She answered before beating her hand with her fist. "Now I know for certain that I want to go there and kick their asses!"

Somehow…that was enough to make Tsukuyomi stand up. "Yes…I'll support you with that!" She exclaimed. Seeing how her guildmate seemed more motivated made her feel relaxed as well. After all…there was no time for doubt.

Even Henry seemed more relieved by seeing her like that. "She came back being the usual one…thank God…" He commented.

Even Cal seemed more motivated. "So…I guess we have everything we need to know, right?" He asked.

But then…Rere raised her hand, making everyone look at her.

"Yes, Rere?" Dohko asked.

"I…I hope I don't break the mood with this question but…I was wondering if there was a way to prevent them from using the bones if we managed to stop them…" The girl said.

An embarrassing silence followed…and everyone looked down with blue waves above their head.

"Man…we didn't thought of that…" Rokumon said.

"Hey! No need to worry! I can still break them to pieces with the club of my Oni form, right?" Sena asked.

"I-I don't think it will be that easy, sir," Fern told him with a drop of sweat near his head. "We're still talking about a Demon Lord, after all."

"Oh…" Sena felt a bit demoralized, and as a consequence, Rere as well.

"AH, DAMMIT! JUST AS I THOUGHT!" She cried out, due to everyone's disappointment.

"Hey, hey! No need to worry! It's a fair question!" Nobuhito told her. "I wouldn't surely leave them like that after it's all over as well!"

"Does the book say anything else, Revany?" Dohko then asked. But the black armored mage shook her head.

"Unfortunately, no. Everything I read in the book is everything that was written in." Revany replied.

That made everyone think. There surely had to be a way to dispatch them. They were just bones, but if the book was correct, it would have been dangerous to keep those bones.

It was then that Domino had an idea. "Ah! I know! How about we contact a church about it?" She proposed.

"You say so?" Iori asked.

The girl nodded. "Umu! As far as I would like to give more answers as a Devil Slayer, I, unfortunately, don't know much, and it seems that neither Fern nor Rere can. So, I was thinking…that since we talk about demonology, how about we ask a suggestion from someone who does know a little more about it?" She proposed.

Fern thought of it and found the idea…amenable. "Hmmm…yes. It could work. You have someone to propose?" He then asked.

"Now that I think of it, don't you come from a church or something?" Henry added.

To that question, Domino couldn't help but sigh. "As far as I would love to ask my caretaker, I'm afraid that Crocus's church doesn't have those many answers. This seems an advanced topic even for them." She answered. "But we do have someone else we can ask for! We did meet them some time ago after all!"

To that…Tsukuyomi felt surprised. "You mean…the White Church?" She asked.

"Ah? You want to aim that high?" Ren added.

Domino felt a bit embarrassed and scratched the back of her head. "W-Well, yes. I know that maybe I'm exceeding a bit since we talked about a high charge. But considering that it's about a greater fiend, their most hateful enemies, they would be more than pleased to help us! We're still a guild doing their duty!" She explained.

"Hmmmm. Yes, it could be an idea! Getting help or two never hurts. Besides, we could also brag about getting help directly from one of the Wizard Saints!" Dohko answered with a small smirk.

"I…don't think it will be Xander who'll answer," Yori told him with a skeptical face.

"Xander…" Tsukuyomi thought of back when he met the imposing leader of the White Church…and how he left her with a gentle smile. Even if some time passed…she still thought that something was missing. But she quickly shook her head. Much like with her doubt, it wasn't the right time to think about it. "So, we'll try to contact them?"

"Yes. We can send a letter to their main church and see if they answer." Dohko replied before turning to Yukari. "Do you think you can do it, honey?" He asked.

Yukari nodded with a determined smile. "Leave it to us! By the way…do you have a plan when it comes to the bones and stopping the clan?" She then asked.

"Pretty much, actually!" Dohko promptly replied. "Now that we know where those guys are directed, I can say that we can move in advance to precede them." He then turned to the others. "All right, guys…it's time for us to use our blades once again."

Everyone looked at him and nodded. Ready to depart.

"Unfortunately, this won't be an operation on a singular zone like what happened with Chimera Tribe. This new enemy is trying to seize all of Caelum to reach their goal, and to prevent that, we'll have to form smaller groups that will go to the destinations we heard at the same time." Dohko explained before smiling. "But knowing you all, I'm sure that there won't be problems in that regard. Am I right?" He asked.

"YES, MASTER!" All the other mages shouted in unison.

"Ah ah! That was what I wanted to hear! All right, listen up." Dohko then went on with it. "We'll split up in groups of four and go to the zones we heard from those two lesser ninjas. The goal will be to push back the forces of the Crow Clan and prevent them from retrieving the bones. Then, if possible, try to take the bones back here at the guild. We'll discuss what to do with them as soon as we get answers from the White Church. We had proof of what those people could do judging by what Hoshiko and the others saw from the last mission, and if those two were right, their leader would do anything to achieve immortality. So be ready to use whatever it takes to defeat them. Feel free to take them down, if you need to!"

"Don't worry. We'll be ready." Revany replied.

"As far as I don't like it, conflicts are inevitable. I'll answer with their same power." Yori added.

Even the others agreed.

"Very well! Then we can start with the formations! Listen carefully." Dohko continued. "Revany, Domino, Rere, and Tsukuyomi. You four will head to the Seishin mansion."

"Roger that," Revany replied.

"Ooooh! What an interesting group! Don't you think, girls?" Domino asked the others.

"Absolutely! I had a good time with all of you recently! And it's surely nice to be together again, Rere!" Tsukuyomi answered.

Surprisingly, Rere made a small smile. "Y-Yeah! It seems that we're a true group at this point." But she then made a more natural worried expression. "Although…do you think I'll piss off Revany one way or another? I'm a bit scared…"

"Naah! Revany can be quite sweet when she wants!" Domino stated. To that, Revany couldn't help but facepalm.

"Iku, Hoshiko, Henry, and Sena. You four will to the Tagibon Wasteland." Dohko continued.

"Awww, it seems we get to tag along a while longer, Hoshie!" Iku commented.

"Y-Yeah…" Hoshiko seemed a bit flustered about it, something the others could notice.

"…Are you ok?" Henry asked.

"Eh? Of course! C-Can't wait to work with you guys!" Hoshiko replied. "…Can you excuse me one moment?" With those words, she quickly ran to her room.

"…What's gotten to her now?" Revany asked.

"I think I have an idea…" Nobuhito whispered with a smile. And just as he thought…inside that room…

"W-What's this feeling!? Why am I feeling this excited? Oh my God, I can't control the heartbeats! Why am I feeling like this after hearing Henry joini-" Hoshiko left out this, but quickly slapped herself afterward. "NO! NO! Calm down, Hoshiko! It's something important!"

After taking a deep breath, she quickly came back to the others. "OK, we can continue."

Everyone looked at her confused but decided to ignore it.

"Uhm…" Sena tried to find a way to change the topic. "Yeah, glad to be with you guys! Eh eh…"

"Yeaaaah…right…next group!" Dohko then continued with the formations. "Yori, Iori, Cal, and Tammy. You'll go to Roppongi. Be careful out there! It's quite a hard city to stay in…"

Cal was surprised as he slightly widened his eyes. "Oh! A mission with Yori-shishou!" He commented.

"Guess that I'll get to see how far you have gone during all this time," Yori said.

That sentence made Cal do a little bow. "I'll make sure to not disappoint you."

"Don't worry about it. What matters is the sake of the quest." Yori told him before turning to the others. "The same goes for you, guys."

Naturally, Tammy already made a smug smile with her hands on her hips. "Oh, don't worry. With eyes such as these, nothing will be able to touch you!" She declared.

"While I would like to disagree…I, too think that we could be a great team," Iori commented. "Count me in."

"By the way, Iori…the city is located at Suijin Island, which means…" Ronin told him with a worried face.

Soon, the young samurai's face turned from an expression of serenity to anguish. "OH NO…"

"And finally! Rokumon,, Fern, Nobuhito and Ren! You four will go to Mount Yasahime." Dohko said.

Nobuhito whistled. "In the middle of authentic powerhouses, eh?"

"Yeah, I agree. We could be a great group. Although it will be hard to handle…" Fern commented.

"Now, now, don't be that tensed, Fern. It's not like we give troubles every day!" Ren told him. But the reaction he got was a skeptical face from his older guildmate.

"You of all people speak?"

"Ok, ok, let's stop before this escalates…" Rokumon concluded before looking at everyone. "Well…with this we should have all the groups. But what about you, Master?" He then fairly asked.

"I'll go around from town to town to help the shogunate defend the targets from the clan. They're also attempting to take over the region after all, and I'm sure that Akechi-senpai would surely appreciate adding help." Dohko explained.

"I see. A fair reasoning. Your magic could also help you move from area to area." Yori commented.

That phrase made Tsukuyomi curious. "Really? Now that I think of it…I still don't know what the Master can do…" She thought.

"So…I think this sums it all, correct?" Henry then asked.

"Hold up! Before we go, I would also like to do something." Hoshiko then said gathering everyone's attention.

"What is it?" Nobuhito asked.

As an answer, Hoshiko raised her keys and summoned her spirits. "Come forth, gates of the seasons! Yukiko, Sakura, Akane, Aki!" A small flash of light surrounded the hall, and the four cats' spirits appeared near their owner.

"You called us all, my lady? That's quite a new!" Akane commented with a large smirk.

"What is it?" Yukiko asked.

Hoshiko looked at everyone in answer. "Unlike other Celestial Spirits mages, my spirits can stay longer outside their keys and they can keep up at a long distance from me thanks to their attributes as spirits of ninjutsu. I want to make sure that I can face this clan with everything I can while I carry on the mission with you. Therefore...I'll have one of the spirits follow each one of the team!" She declared.

"Aaaah?" Everyone asked.

"Are you sure, my lady?" Aki asked worried.

"101% sure. I've been waiting for this occasion all my life…and I want to make sure that you're with me with everything you can alongside the others. You and this guild were the ones who raised me and I understood my situation. So I want the fullest cooperation from each one of you!" Hoshiko replied.

The four spirits understood her quickly as they nodded.

"W-Well…you're the leader, after all," Sakura said.

"And you can surely count on us! I'll make sure to kick their asses!" Akane added.

Hoshiko looked at Yukiko since she was her main spirit. "What do you say?" The ninja girl added.

"…Can I go with your group?" The cat spirit asked with teary eyes. "I can't stand the idea of staying away from you…"

Everyone looked at her with a skeptical face.

"Talk about being a literal pet…" Ren commented.

"This reminds me of all those times she scratched me in the face…" Henry added.

"Uuuuh…Ok?" Hoshiko replied before getting instantly hugged by Yukiko.

"AH, MY LADY PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME!"

After that small scene was finished, everyone was lined up in front of the Master, who looked at all of them with a large grin.

"As you could probably guess, we'll depart right now. The Crow Clan has probably already started to move to get those bones, so we must be found ready to intercept them and stop them. This will be a battle to take seriously. Not only for the threat level we are going to face but because it's something important to one of us here. A long-time-awaited vengeance for a terrible act that had been left unpunished for too long. Let's make sure they'll pay for what they have done, and let's show them what it means to mess with a samurai!" Dohko gave a small speech that was greeted with charge and enthusiasm, as everyone raised their hands with a fist.

"YES, MASTER!"

The Guild Master was satisfied, but he then remembered something in particular that made him grin. "Oh, by the way, Hoshiko…"

"What is it?" The ninja girl asked.

"It's thanks to Revany that we found out more about Jaquio. Don't you think she deserves something?" Dohko asked.

Hoshiko started to feel uncomfortable as she looked at Revany. "…Oh…" Everyone else looked at the two of them, some of them were holding themselves for laughing.

The two girls looked at each other with the ninja started to have a vein on her head.

"…Well? I'm waiting." Revany told her.

Hoshiko gritted her teeth…but she knew she couldn't have escaped it. For once…she owed her something. So, she went on with it. But just for that one moment. "…T-T…"

"Go on." Revany insisted.

"…Thank you…Revany." The other girl could finally say it. Even if she cringed a lot on the inside.

As an answer, the other samurai simply nodded. "You're welcome." Some of the others were about to blow at any moment (especially Domino), but they did their best to hold themselves.

"With this said…let's get ready!" Dohko finally concluded, with everyone nodding and going as fast as they could.

Everyone did their best to be prepared as soon as possible. Some were getting the best equipment, others were polishing their swords and there was even Henry who was getting Icarus to help them.

Hoshiko, on the other hand, was preparing her uniform and all of her ninja weapons to get ready in the best way possible. Once she had everything set, she looked at herself in the mirror and stared at her reflection in silence for a few minutes.

Somehow…she felt her heart dizzy and thought back to the nightmare she had.

All these years…and finally she was having her moment. While Iku and the others were calming her down…a small spark of doubt was still In there.

Would have she been able to face them? Would have se been able to finally close this chapter of her life and move on?

She remembered the dream and how she opened that strange door that led to the nightmare. This made her turn around and look at the door of her room.

Even if the sensation wasn't naturally the same…she imagined that door as the pink one…with a large pit of darkness on the other side.

This time, she would have opened the door and tried to stand up against that nightmare. What would have changed?

Would have she come out of it alive?

As she thought about all of this, she was called back to reality when someone knocked on the door. "Ah! Uhm…come in!"

When the door was opened, the girl could see that it was Tsukuyomi. "It's me, Hoshiko!"

"Oh! What is it, Tsuki?" The ninja girl asked.

Tsukuyomi came closer. "I…just wanted to see if you were really ok."

"Really?" Hoshiko asked.

Tsukuyomi was a bit embarrassed but nodded. "I mean…after seeing what happened yesterday, I was a bit concerned and feared that you may have ended up in something very bad. I'm a bit relieved that you were able to calm down thanks to Iku but…I wanted to have one last confirmation, that's all."

Hoshiko was honestly surprised by that question as she grew a smile. "Is that so? I didn't think you were that apprehensive, Tsuki! Sure, it hasn't been a long time since you entered but still!"

"Some of the others know this part of me. But it's more like…without going into details yet…I know how it feels to have lost everything and be in front of the cause of your pain." Tsukuyomi explained. "It's partly the main reason I joined the guild, so hearing that someone else went through the same thing as I did hit me particularly. So...I wanted to see if you felt better." Her embarrassment grew further as she continued. It was hard to express her like that without getting into details. "It's just that I want you to know that you can count on me, that's it!"

Hoshiko didn't know what to say in front of such sincerity. Even if she didn't know her properly yet…she could tell that this girl had been through something terrible and that she was talking with her heart right now. This made her smile and gently stroke Tsukuyomi's head.

The other girl was caught off by surprise by that. "Ah! Hoshiko?"

"Man! Who knew you were such a softie? I honestly don't know what to say after knowing that a kohai cares that much about my mental sanity, ah ah!" Hoshiko said. "But…I can see where you want to go, and…did you solve your trauma?" She then asked.

"Well…kinda…" Tsukuyomi replied while looking elsewhere with her cheeks red.

"Then I'll make sure to solve mine. It's something I owe to you, the others, and my family. I'll make it through." Hoshiko said. "Thanks, Tsuki. It's great to know that you were concerned."

At that point, the girl with the kimono started to have shiny eyes. "H-Hoshiko, you'll make me cry!" She then quickly shook her head. "But…I'm glad to hear that. I'd better get ready quick!" She then went towards the exit. "See you later!"

"Yes! Let's take them down in a flashy way!" Hoshiko exclaimed. With that, the black-haired girl took off and left the room. The ninja stood still for a few seconds and then…

"AW! SHE WAS THAT WORRIED FOR ME! THIS IS SO CUTE AND WHOLESOME! KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" She then slapped herself to calm down. "NO! Focus! Man, it's hard to control it…" She commented. "Still…can't say that I'm not glad for this. I've ended up in the right place…" In the end…she had everything ready…and was ready to depart with the rest of the guild.

"…The time has come. I'm coming, Crow Clan." She spoke with a cold expression.

Soon enough, all the members of Shogunate Pride were ready, and after one last salute, everyone departed in the four formed groups and went for their destination.

Another battle was about to start. Someone would have said that it was a classic matchup, but with magic…all types of outcomes would have been possible.

Especially considering the seriousness and the violence of their enemies.

---

Caelum – Suijin Island – City of Roppongi

Of all the four archipelago regions of Ishgar, Caelum was the one with the most islands, counting a total of seven islands, each and one of them with a large variety of places and cities to be explored, making the region a favorite one for tourists and holidays. Within the various islands, there were three of them that stood close to each other, to the point that they almost looked like a mouse head.

Among them, the small island that could be seen as the right ear was called Suijin Island. The name came from the fact that around that small land, the waters were more impervious, especially during storms.

Despite its reduced size, the island had a good amount of land, cities, and villages. Some of them were even known as frequented areas by tourists (if they were able to pass through the dangerous water, that was).

Among the various populated areas of that small island, the one that stood out the most was Roppongi, a city with about two hundred thousand inhabitants. A town that was renowned for its fancy lights, buildings of superior taste when it came to appearance, and most importantly, games of all types between arcades and table games. In short, it was an area where playing and entertainment were the main priority and where you wanted to take a certain amount of money between tickets and gambling.

Naturally, all these types of activities brought up interest in organized crime, as various underground organizations were already battling each other over the control of such activities from below. And one of them had already started to move and take out their rivals for a specific object.

"GAH!" A gangster leader with a big belly, black mustaches, short black hair with a receding hairline wearing a few golden necklaces, was pushed against a wall with violence. He looked up at his aggressors with his mouth soaked in blood with a frustrated expression on his face. "Y-You bastards…I should have realized that you were troubled from the very beginning!" He commented.

The man who attacked him looked at him from above with a disgusted expression, while several ninjas clad in black armor were behind him.

This individual seemed around his middle age with black eyes and hair, wearing a completely white outfit consisting of a suit, buttoned shirt, white trousers, and white elegant shoes. He also had a pair of sunglasses in his eyes.

"Oh really? And do you think something would have changed? Come on, Baji, you do know well what we are capable of. You're feeling it right now on your skin."

Daisaku – Benefactor and hitman of the Crow Clan

After mocking him, Daisaku grabbed Baji by the neck and brought him to eye level. "As you know, I'm a kind and permissive man, and I treat fellow mobs with the respect they deserve. So, I'm in the mood to tell you that there's a way for you to get out of this. And I know that you are aware of most of the stuff that passes through this town between one owner and another. All that I need to know…is where is the bone."

"Would you cut it out already!?" Baji countered. "What type of bullshit are you talking about!? I know nothing about a goddamn bone!"

"You'd better be careful about what you're talking about." Another voice said from behind them. When they turned around, they could see two more important people belonging to the Crow Clan.

One was none other than Kigami, the vice-leader himself. The other was what seemed to be a man in his thirties with black crested hair, small black eyes, and a dental appliance on his mouth. His outfit consisted of the black ninja armor of his clan.

Daigo – Assassin of the Crow Clan

"Through our networks, we heard that there was a bone of a certain value that is held between the various mobs that live here in this town. And it's something we have the hurry to take. Daisaku here told us that you may know something. So you should spit it out what you know."

"And ya betta' not mess with us! Or we could wipe yo' ass in less than a minute!" Daigo added, showing a New York-like accent in his voice.

"Oh please!" Baji didn't seem to change their opinion even under those circumstances. "Do you think I would take seriously some ridiculous people that dress up like clowns!? You act all cool but you're nothing better than the usual pickpockets that live here! Just wait until my men find out what you did to me!"

"Oh, you mean the men we just took down?" Kigami jokingly asked. He turned around to give the ninjas the order to show off several heads of dead people.

At that sight, Baji turned pale, as Daisaku tightened the grip on his neck, with the arm that turned into a scaled one, similar to that of a lizard. "AGH!"

"I think you don't know where you're standing right now. We're a bit more than a joke like you think, and we are very proud of our jobs, aiming to put them at the next level. We give respect if we get respect. And we give mercy if someone deserves it. So, if you don't want me to turn your brain into a new type of milkshake, you'd better spit it out. You know something, admit it!"

"Oh oh oh! Daisaku's pissed off, right now! I wouldn't be in his place!" Daigo commented with a small laugh.

"Which shall it be then, Baji?" Kigami asked.

Baji turned pale as he saw that Daisaku was ready to attack at any moment. Those heads were the thing that finally convinced him. Those weren't just mobs, and he would have been killed from one moment to another. And he couldn't risk that. So, it didn't take long for him to finally break.

"WAIT!"

Daisaku stopped himself to hear him and so did the other ninjas.

Finally, Baji could breathe. "Anf…anf…Koichi Miyamura."

"Hm?" Kigaru asked.

"He's the one with the bone. I've heard it through eavesdropping. He's among the youngest gangsters in here, so you should recognize him. It's him that you should chase, not me!" The beaten-up man confessed.

Daisaku turned to Kigami to get the confirmation.

The vice-leader of the clan simply nodded and as such…the other mob left the grip and Baji simply fell.

"Agh!"

"Well, as you can see, it was all easy and plain! I knew you didn't have a rotten brain, Baji. So, you're free to go." Daisaku told him with a kind tone.

After a few more heavy breaths, Baji didn't hesitate and started to run as fast as he could. He was annoyed and offended by what just happened, but all he cared about for now was just to escape.

But after only a few meters away, another ninja jumped in front of him, scaring him. "AH!"

After he landed, the ninja stood up and looked down at the fugitive gangster with a devious glare. This man had one red glowing eye and the other covered in an eye patch, brunette hair collected in a short-length ruffled ponytail, and was wearing the same combat uniform as the others of his clan: black uniform, red scarf, black fingerless armored gauntlets, black sandals, and tabi socks.

Azumuku – Assassin of the Crow Clan

"Nay, nay, nay…this is not the proper behavior I would expect from a fellow gangster such as you, Baji," Azumuku spoke.

"What do you mean!? I told you where the bone was and we're done! Why should I still liste-" Baji was about to protest, but the ninja cut him down.

"We both know that's not the full story."

"W-What do you mean?" Baji asked.

"You see, apart from my ninpo, I was also gifted with psychic powers by the ethernano…which give me the possibility to read through one's heart and mind. And I can say that I'm not very happy with what you had in mind." Azumuku explained.

Baji started to sweat but tried to act it cool. "Listen, I don't know what are you talking about, all that I know is that I gave you the information, and just like your pal back there said, I'm fre-" Once again, he was cut down.

"You were planning to recruit more men and get back on us, am I right?" The ninja asked.

"A-AH! WHAT? I-I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT! Are you high or something!?" Baji fell into pure terror as he tried to justify himself. But it was already too late.

"Ahi, Ahi, Ahi…it's true that pride is the original sin of mankind. You just couldn't stand the fact that one beat you and tried to clean off that annoying stain of your career." Azumuku spoke before lowering his head to him. "But I'm sure the others already told you. We do not like to be messed around with."

Baji started to stand back. "No, please! I'll give you anything you want! It was all a bad misunderstanding!" He pleaded out, but Azumuku was already licking his lips.

"Oh, don't worry! Your punishment won't take that long." As he said this, the ninja started to move his hands in ninjutsu gestures, and by doing so, a large sarcophagus made out of clay appeared behind the mob man.

"W-What is this!?" Baji exclaimed.

"Your ticket for the Sanzu River, nothing more." As Azumuku said this, the sarcophagus opened, revealing what seemed to be a mouth full of steel spikes that swallowed Baji.

"AAAAA-"

SPLAT!

The mob man's cry was cut out by the sound of steel stabbing through the flesh…and a few seconds later, a small puddle of blood was already getting bigger under the sarcophagus.

Satisfied with the work, Azumuku snapped his finger and made his creation disappear before joining back to the others, who looked at the scene as a whole.

"Man, who knew he was such a dog?" Daisaku commented. "But this is the life of a gangster, after all. You need to make sure to be respected at all costs."

"Maaan! After hearing that, I would have loved to turn that low-life man into a pancake! It would have tasted terrible, but it would have been worthy!" Daigo added.

"Oh, please, dear Daigo. Do you think that after hearing what his mind had to say I would have missed this occasion? My creations are always hungry after all." Azumuku answered. "Aaah…I don't know what I would do for this wonderful clay of mine"

"Gee…sometimes he's creepy…" Kigami thought before making a satisfied grin. "In any case, we now know who to ring the bell to. Daisaku, do you know who this Koichi is?" He then asked.

"Yes. He doesn't have that much power around this town. Someone who should be easy to get rid of. The only bad part is that I don't have a specific idea of where he lives." Daisaku answered. "Even if it doesn't seem like, one of gangsters is a large world with tons of names everyone would wish so badly to take down or to marry. You're lucky that you have a smuggler like me to back you up. But after all…no one gives me satisfaction such as you."

At that, Kigami made a small grin. "Finding someone is surely the last of our problems. We're ninjas after all." He said, with the lesser ninjas standing at attention. "Seeking from the shadows is what we can do better."

"That's right. All we'll have to do is explore every angle of this town, to which we already possess some parts thanks to Daisaku here, and find that boy." Azumuku added.

"And while we're at it, we could take advantage and find something new to make us money!" Daigo exclaimed.

"AH AH! Now you're talking my language. It's always a good thing to make sure that no one stands in your way. Such is the violent law of society." Daisaku commented.

And then…as they were ready to depart, Azumuku felt something that made him turn around. "Hm?"

"What is it, Azumuku?" Daigo asked.

The other ninja looked carefully over the horizon…as his psychic powers started to resonate. "I feel…a disturbance…" He made a few steps forward to get closer, and it was …that he had a clearer sight that made him widen his eyes. "Hm! I see…"

"Bad news?" Daisaku asked.

"We have company. Four people and a strange being are heading for this town. I sense strong magical energy coming from each one of them." Azumuku explained.

Naturally, this made everyone get more serious.

"Oh, great, legal mages that had come to bother us!?" Daisaku commented, annoyed. But Kigami may had a clearer thought of who could have been.

"A legal mage couldn't normally come here for us. But…Araneus and Agelnidae never returned which means…" That thought made him go toward the only plausible answer he said to everyone.

"It seems that they already had started moving. The guild of samurais, that is."

"DA SAM MOO RAIS?" Daigo exclaimed.

"You mean the same ones that have that fugitive from the Star Clan among their ranks!? They really want to answer back!? Goddammit, this makes me just pissed! We can't have them mess up everything!" Daisaku exclaimed, getting annoyed.

But unlike the others, Kigami seemed rather chill. "Guys, do not lose your temper already. Have you forgotten what Lord Yoshimatsu said? It won't matter whether a guild will try to fight. It is us who have the upper hand and the stronger magic."

"Right..." Azumuku already felt more confident with a sinister grin.

"All we have to do is simply to answer if they consider trying to take on us. I'm sure it may be a matter of a few minutes." The vice leader continued. "Or at least, I hope so. The two mercenaries I sent were good."

"Yeah! And to prove that, I'll send my army to deal with them! They won't be able to do SHIT!" Daigo exclaimed, getting pumped up. "I wonder how they'll react upon getting stoned!"

Even Daisaku made a large smirk. "Since we're at it, I'll join in with some heavy artillery! In a business such as this, We don't need anyone to interfere."

Kigami was pleased with the reactions. "See how you're already proposing yourself? Then we know how to proceed." He said before his glasses glowed a bit. "Let's make sure that our quest for immortality is one less step away."

"YES!" Everyone shouted in unison. Shortly after that, most of the ninjas turned into crows and started to fly away, scattering throughout the town while releasing a cry of misfortune…and several feathers were left on the ground.

…Though Daisaku remained there since he couldn't turn into a crow.

"Ah, DAMMIT! I know I should have practiced Ninjutsu already!" With some resignation, He started to run to keep up with the others.

The search was on.

---

Suijin Island – Near Roppongi's docking area

The sun was still high, and the waters around the small island were still calm and clear, giving the perfect chance to try going in there through the sea. When something important is at stake, it's always better to take the best opportunities when there are some.

This was what the small group of Yori, Iori, Cal, Tammy, and Aki thought. As soon as they split up from the others, they quickly went toward the city port to rent a small ship and reach Roppongi, taking advantage of the time and the fact that the waters still weren't impervious.

It took them a good twenty minutes before seeing a sign of a shore. But as Cal stood near the prow of the ship…he could finally see it. A piece of land that kept getting bigger as they were getting closer.

"Ah! Yori-shishou! We're close!" Cal warned his teacher, who came closer to look as well.

"That's good to know. It didn't take that long, just as I remembered. This could give us time to track down the bone before they do." The older mage commented.

Tammy on the other hand was standing at the sides of the ship, using her eye magic to have a complete view of the various zones of the city. And what she saw was just what she expected to see. "Hmm, many people are already walking around! Though there are people that I don't like at all…judging by the outfit…" She said to the others.

Cal turned at her. "Roppongi is known for hosting several gangsters, right? So, it's clear that there are several shady people…"

"I'm not talking about them…" Tammy replied. "I've recognized the same uniform those two ninjas wore."

This made Yori and Cal slightly widen their eyes. "You mean…?" Yori asked.

Tammy nodded. "They're already here…" And she could already see them from her eyes.

Several ninjas were already there, either jumping from one building to another or moving in the alleys while being hidden from the eyes of commoners. Each one of them seemed deeply immersed in their movements, implying only one thing.

They were searching.

That sight made the young blondie gulp. "They really are a step ahead…"

"They've probably gone to the city as soon as they found out about the location of the bone…what are they doing, Tammy?" Yori then asked.

"Well…they only seem to move around at the moment. I don't see them holding anything in particular…and God knows if they have a hidden headquarters or something in here…" Tammy replied.

"What shall we do about it?" Cal asked.

Despite the danger, Yori maintained his pacific expression as he looked at the approaching island. "If they're moving around, this means that they probably don't have the bone yet. Which means that there's still time for us to prevent their plundering. At this point, it's better if we speed up with this ship." He spoke. "Even if Henry and the others faced a few of them the other night, we still don't know the full capabilities of this clan, so we must find ourselves ready in front of them…"

"Yeah…speeding up would be the best here…" A groaning voice said from the bottom of the ship.

When the three mages turned around, they could see the familiar scene of Iori lying down on the ship's floor, struggling up with terrible nausea, and Ronin beside him trying to hold him tight.

"Of all the means of transport, ships are just the worst...they always take the longer time!" Iori commented before holding himself from puking up.

"A-Ah come on, Iori! They said that we're getting closer!" Ronin said.

"I HOPE SO!" Iori exclaimed.

"Gee, Iori! Still suffering from motion sickness?" Tammy asked.

"Didn't you take Yukari's pills for that?" Cal added, referring to a special treatment that Yukari took specifically for the young samurai as the official medical advisor of the guild.

"I DID! THAT'S THE WORST PART!" Iori replied before starting to roll around to hold himself.

"Aaaah! Please don't leave me!" Ronin tried his best to stay behind him, but it was a hard task.

The other three samurais simply looked at him with a bit of pity.

"Gee…I wouldn't want to be in his shoes…" Tammy commented.

"Everyone has their weaknesses, that's true…but sometimes I'm surprised to see one specific weakness being that strong," Yori commented before looking up at the drawbar. "Aki, do you think you can get faster? We're getting close!"

The one guiding the ship was none other than Aki. While the celestial spirit wasn't surely an experienced sailor, he found himself comfy with taking the spot as the 'captain'. "Yeah, I've heard you, but I'm doing my best to have a decent pace! It's not like it's that easy to move this thing!"

"Man, If they had bigger ones, we could have taken a motorboat…" Cal commented.

"Are you sure that's all you can do? We don't want to disappoint the others and I don't think you want to make Hoshiko annoyed." Tammy said while looking at the cat with a bit of a skeptical face.

Almost naturally, Aki's face turned all red. "W-WHA! Oh, come on! There's no way in hell I would make my lady disappointed! The other cats would laugh at me! It's already hard to be the only male!" He exclaimed before starting to sweat. "Dammit…now you really made me want to find a better way…but I don't know if I can do much…"

The situation remained the same, with Aki not thinking of something useful and the ship going at the same pace. But it was then that he realized that he had a solution since the beginning.

His own hands…on the drawbar.

"…Wait up…" An idea started to float in his mind, and he didn't waste time to test it out. He held the drawbar again, but this time, he infused a bit of his electrical magic in it.

Just with that, the drawbar became lighter in his hands, and the electricity started to pass through the ship, reinforcing the gears on the inside while not being dangerous for the others.

And thanks to that, Aki made a large smile and started to push forward, with the ship getting faster as a result.

"It's working!" Cal exclaimed, surprised.

"YAHOOO!" Tammy added.

"THIS IS GETTING WORSE!" Iori shouted.

Aki found himself in the position of making a small smirk. "I forgot that all means of traveling love a little voltage!" He commented. "Alright, with this, we should be able to halve the time we need to reach Roppongi!"

Everyone's stress lowered a bit after this idea, and they were ready to officially start the mission. But just as they proceeded with a ship…Tammy looked up and noticed something…strange.

"Uhm…guys?"

"What is it?" Cal asked.

As an answer, Tammy pointed up at the sky with a confused expression. "Do crows live near the sea?"

The other mages and Aki were confused as they looked up as well. And it was then that they saw it.

Several crows were circling the ship, croaking and leaving down their feathers.

"This…seems a bit unusual…and I don't think a forest is burning around here…" Cal commented. But it didn't take too long for him and his teacher Yori to realize what was going on. "Wait a second!"

"What!? What happened!?" Tammy asked.

Yori looked at the scene with a tense expression as he prepared his weapon. "They've reached us!"

Cal did the same, while Aki and Tammy were shocked. "What!?"

"The enemy!?" Ronin added. Iori tried to look up despite his sickness.

And just as they suspected…the crows looked back at the ship with sharp eyes before diving down against it.

"AH! Here they come!" Tammy exclaimed before quickly grabbing his bow and trying to shoot a few arrows against them.

Surprisingly, the crows were fast enough to move around to dodge those normal arrows and go down, but instead of directly attacking the samurais, they landed directly on the ship and turned back into humans. In less than a minute, the ship was full of ninjas that were armed to the teeth glaring at the few mages and the celestial spirit.

"Lord Azumuku was right, then! They're on our steps!" One of them said.

"Nothing too troublesome. We can take them down right here even before they can get closer to the city!" Another ninja added.

"Tch…is it fate that every enemy we face is that cocky?" Aki asked, starting to get annoyed.

"Don't lower your guard. We need to answer everything." Yori warned the others, as they got ready as well.

"You said it correctly. When facing a ninja, you'll never know what hit you. Let's get them!" A third ninja exclaimed.

Despite the order, instead of throwing themselves at attack, the various ninjas started to make some of their gestures, generating several rocks that floated above them.

"What the!?" Tammy exclaimed.

"This must be…ninpo!" Yori pointed out. All the ninjas lowered their hands and used their magic to throw a large rain of rocks at them.

"They're coming up!" Ronin exclaimed worried while he tried to protect Iori, who looked at the scene, starting to think about something.

To prevent the others from getting hurt, Cal took a step forward and prepared to counterattack with his blade. "Applied Magic: Water!" By raising his sword, the boy used his magic to generate a large torrent of water that destroyed all of the rocks and then threw himself at the enemy with no hesitation. "Applied Magic: Acceleration!" He then went to attack the enemies with the increased speed of his sword, but to his surprise, the ninjas he aimed at were fast enough to roll around and dodge his attacks. "What-?" Cal didn't quit and started to follow them with his blade.

Even the others didn't waste any time and engaged in combat as well. Tammy went far from the ninjas so that she could have a proper aim at the ninjas, who were after her.

"Ngh!" Tammy quickly turned around and shot several arrows that were deflected easily by the ninjas' swords. As an answer, the enemies used their ninpo to generate several shurikens made out of rock that all went down against Tammy.

"AH!" The girl widened her eyes and started to move around as fast as she could to dodge the attacks, although one of them grazed her in the face, making her slightly bleed. "Dammit, what's with enemies throwing stuff at me!?" She complained before starting to climb to the mast. "There!" She prepared her bow in no time. "I should have the perfect aim!"

"Foolish child! Straight-up arrows won't work with those who can see anything!" One ninja told her. But Tammy answered with a smirk.

"Who said I would have used only the arrows?"

"What!?" The ninjas exclaimed as they continued to chase her, not knowing that they were already in her scope.

"Target Hunt!" Tammy shot several arrows infused with magic that all attacked the ninjas, striking them down.

"AGH!"

"Your confidence won't last forever!" Another ninja exclaimed before performing a spiral jump that made him reach the top of the mast. As soon as he was at the same height as Tammy, he prepared the ninjato sword to cut her in half. At the same time, Tammy raised her bow and aimed right at his head.

And just as the sword grazed the tip of her hair…

"The Sniper!"

Tammy's arrow went straight for the ninja's head, making him fall. "NGAH!"

Despite taking him down, the young girl paled a bit. "Man, that was close!" She commented. She then shook her head and tried to take a look at the situation from above.

Most of the ninjas that attacked the ship were fighting with the others, but a major problem was rising: more crows from the city were approaching the ship and were ready to assault them.

"Oh, So, that's how it is? Fine! Have a taste of counter-anticipation!" The girl declared before taking back the bow. "Eye Magic Tracker!" After taking permanent aim at all the crows that were departing from the island, Tammy started to shoot at them with extreme precision. While some of them were able to dodge the attacks and notice the girl attacking from afar, others started to fall, not expecting it.

For some reason, whenever two crows fell, a dog came out of a bush, holding the two birds with a happy face…but, whatever!

"HYAAAAA!" Back at the ship's bridge, several ninjas started to surround Yori and attacked him with their swords, moving around him like fast spears.

Yori was able to keep up with them and throw several blows as an answer, but this didn't mean that he came out of it unscathed, and several cuts were already forming in his body. "Ngh…"

"You may be big, but physical strength isn't the only thing that matters! Let's finish him!" One of the ninjas exclaimed with the others agreeing. As if they were a team of jackals, the ninjas ran against him at the same time, but Yori was already making a small grin.

"Of all people, you tell that to me?" He replied. In an instant, he stood still with his feet and prepared his sword. As soon as the ninjas were in front of him, Yori unleashed a blast of full magic from the blade, concentrating all the damage they gave to him.

"Furukaunta-Revenge!" In the blink of an eye, several ninjas could be seen flying away from the ship.

"GAAAAH!"

Other ninjas were bewildered by such power, while Yori assumed a battle stance. "Who's next?"

"This seems stronger than the others!" A ninja said.

"Then we'll have to resource to superior arts!" Another one replied. With everyone else agreeing, the ninjas made a few more ninja gestures to gather ninpo and generate more rocks.

Yori was already to receive other blows to throw back, but he was surprised to see instead that the rocks all mashed up together to form a few golems of the same height as Yori. "What?"

"Get him!" The ninjas ordered the golems, which started to move and throw violent punches at him.

Yori accepted the challenge and answered back with fists of the same strength, releasing even small shockwaves between one impact and another. "This brings me back to when I was in my training. I used to hit rocks just like this!" He thought.

The small clash continued for a bit until the golems pushed Yori away with double punches. "Ngh! They don't want to let me go, eh?" He commented before preparing his sword.

The golems were running towards him with heavy steps, and at that moment, it was Yori who passed through their bodies of stone by piercing them with a straight attack with the sword.

"Furukaunta-Spear!"

The holes made the golems crumble down, and Yori even managed to reach the ninjas who summoned them, making them fall.

"GAH!"

Once he was done, Yori already turned around and prepared himself for the other ones. "It's not something we cannot take on, but they surely can be dangerous…"

Back at Cal, the young mage started to get confused at the fact that his enemies seemed to dodge those attacks that easily. "Kh!" He tried with a horizontal cut, but the ninjas moved backward in time. "Dammit…after seeing Hoshiko many times I knew that ninjas were agile, but not at this point!"

At that moment, the ninjas started to throw several kunai at him to the point that they looked like a rain of them.

Seeing how the situation was getting serious, Cal decided to leave rationality behind for a moment and assumed his cold expression, focusing only on the enemy. This made him open rise his sword and deliver a perfect sequence of sword attacks that deflected all the kunai. At the last moment, the mage saw a kunai go straight for his face. This made him quickly raise his arm to defend himself. The kunai got stabbed in the arm, but nothing to be seriously worried about. Or at least that was what Cal thought until he saw a lit fuse in the kunai that made him widen his eyes. "Ah!"

In less than five seconds, a small explosion seemed to blow the boy up, and the ninjas thought that he was gone too. But soon after, they could see with horror Cal jumping away from the smoke with just a few burns on his body.

"What!? How did he survive!?" A ninja exclaimed.

"We must have underestimated his temperance! But what is that!?" Another one added, noticing that Cal was having a few pen knives of his own, which started to get electrified. "Dammit! Get ready!" The ninjas prepared himself to answer, but Cal already had them in his scope.

"Applied Magic Combo: Lightning + Lock On." With surprising speed, the samurai threw his knives at the ninjas, who didn't make it in time to deflect them and got stabbed in various parts of their bodies. But it wasn't just like that. As soon as the small blades were stabbed into the ninjas' bodies, a burst of electricity passed all over them, electrifying them. "GAAAAAAAAAAAH!" While starting to smoke, the ninjas fell on the floor, and Cal landed on his hands and feet.

The boy then raised his head and saw other ninjas who were getting ready to assault him despite having a clear pressure rising. Cal's expression didn't change. At that moment, like it happened in the past, his mind was solely focused on one thing. Taking them down.

He slowly raised his sword and held it to his right, as he prepared the next spell. "Applied Magic: Extend." With that, the blade extended its length by a few more meters.

The ninjas went a bit pale after seeing this, but they, either way, jumped and tried a collective dive attack to take him down. But all that Cal needed was to make one movement with the sword to strike them down with the extended blade. All the enemies got large cuts as they fell to the sea with eyes wide open.

Cal could have a moment to breathe as he put the sword back to normal. "I have to thank Rere for giving me tips with the knives…but it seems that the troubles aren't over…" He spoke as he looked at the upcoming crows, even if some of them were taken down by Tammy.

In the meantime, even Aki was doing his best to keep up with the enemies. Fighting without her owner was the first unexpected experience, but as a celestial spirit, he needed to remember that he could have still done his job properly thanks to his skill. Unlike the others, he seemed to be more proficient in dodging and answering the attacks of his enemies, due to him being a ninja as well. "WREAAAAH!" This gave him the perfect chance to slam down his lightning gauntlet on the floor and release a violent electric shockwave that electrified all the ninjas around him.

"That cat isn't normal! Could it be that he's related to that star ninja?" One of the ninjas asked.

"It may be possible! Which means that with this…we don't have to hold ourselves…" Another one replied. With that, they started to make ninja gestures that made them generate several weapons with rocks. Despite the material, all of them were functioning.

"Oh great! You're telling me that I got favoritisms just because I'm a ninja? You really are screwed up!" Aki commented before starting to electrify his whole body.

"Favoritisms or not, you'll go down to our arts like the others! Take this!" One of the ninjas aimed at him with a crossbow that started to shoot heavy rock arrows, forcing Aki to move around the ship to dodge them.

"Dammit! If they destroy the drawbar, we won't be able to move anymore!" With this in mind, Aki stood still with his foot on the border of the ship and pushed himself against the ninja with the crossbow, making him crash against the ship and fall to the ocean with a heavy electrical punch. "HMM!"

"AGH!"

The dangers weren't done as another ninja with a stone-wrecking ball already started to move it around in an attempt to smash the cat spirit. Aki landed on all of his four limbs and then ran forward against the enemy, who kept on rushing with the wrecking ball. Aki showed swift agility as he moved forward while another ninja tried to stop him with several shurikens of stone. "HAAAH!" Aki surrounded his body with electricity to dispatch the shuriken and reduce them to pieces. He then saw the wrecking ball in front of him, ready to crush him, so he raised his fist and unleashed an electrical blow that clashed against the ball, releasing a small impact.

Needless to say, the wrecking ball ended up destroyed in a thousand pieces, leaving the ninja exposed. Aki didn't lose time and rushed against the enemy to throw him away with a violent fist.

"GH!"

"Eh eh! Your arts don't seem as superior as you thi- GAH!" Aki was about to comment on his enemies until he got attacked by a spear that pushed him out of the ship.

"Got it!" The ninja who hit him exclaimed. But just as he thought he got rid of him, he could see a large ball of fluff jumping out of the water and landing on his ship. Aki ended up with his clothes soaked and his fur wet. He slowly raised his head, showing that he had a deadly furious stare and glowing eyes.

It was only at that moment that the ninja that attacked him saw Aki's cat ears and realized his mistake (though he was certain of having drowned him). "Oh no…"

"You…dared…TO THROW ME INTO THE WATER!? I'LL KILL YOU!" Angry like never before, Aki threw himself against the ninja with all the electricity he could gather, leaving the enemy to his poor fate.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

As the small brawl continued, the enemy forces were starting to lower, and it seemed that the road was finally going to be clear again. But Tammy could see with horror that another stork of crows was approaching them. This sight made her sweat a bit. "Ah, crap! Even with my Phoebus Myriad, these seem too much for me!"

Even Ronin could see the approaching crows from there. "Ah! They won't end like this!" He exclaimed.

At that moment, Iori saw the imminent danger and tried to stand up despite the sickness. "W-Wait, Ronin…I have an idea…bring me to them…you should be able to do it with your wings."

The exceed turned at his friend. "Are you sure about it!?"

"Y-Yes! At least I'll try to make myself useful even with all this suffering! I'll take them down in one blow!" the young mage insisted.

Ronin thought for a few moments before going with his plan, but as he had known Iori for many years, he wanted to trust him. Besides, his motion sickness could have gone if he stood in mid-air. "All right!" Confident enough, Ronin grew out his wings, grabbed Iori by the collar of his hakama, and started to fly as high as possible to reach the ninjas turned into crows. "NGHHHH!"

The young Dragon Slayer could finally feel himself free of his sickness and started to breathe with ease. "Finally…" He then raised his head and aimed at the approaching crows. "They've really prepared themselves to get rid of any nuisance. I never expected to face that many of them at the very beginning. But no matter…" A stormy wind already started to fill his swords. "This wind should be enough to take them out. Toss me, Ronin!"

"You got it, Iori!" After hearing the order, Ronin swiveled a bit and threw Iori, who went at full speed against the ninjas with his swords at the ready.

"Gale Dragon's…Air Blast Blade." Iori went ahead with a double slash infused with violent air power that blasted all the crows as if they were engulfed inside a tornado.

"GAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

"Thanks, Iori and Ronin!" Tammy thanked them from the mast.

In less than a second, both the mages and the people who could see the ship from the town could see what seemed to be tons of birds falling in the sea as if seeing them fly en-masse wasn't bizarre enough. Iori could then land on the ship with his feet in a perfect pose…only to crawl down in agony once again due to the sickness. "Uuuuugh…"

Even so, the ship seemed finally empty from enemies.

As soon as everything went calm, Yori looked around at anyone. "Are you all right?" He asked.

"Yeah…I think that's all of them…for now." Cal replied.

Aki, on the other hand, was shaking his body to get rid of the water. "This is terrible…"

"Anf…they weren't unbeatable, but they did show some skill…these are different from average low-class servants…" Iori added.

"Which means that this served as an appetizer to what we're going to face…now I can see how they destroyed Hoshiko's village." Yori commented.

And then…right at that moment…Tammy called them out.

"Uhm…Guys?" She asked with what seemed a worried expression.

Everyone looked up at her, who remained in the mast.

Even if the danger seemed over, Tammy kept the eye magic active to see what was happening in the city. And when she turned around, she saw something very unpleasant.

She could see several cannons put together on one of the shores of the city ready to be activated. It was a matter of seconds before they would have fired.

"What is it?" Cal asked.

"I think we should jump off the ship! NOW!" Tammy exclaimed.

"What!? What do you mean!?" Aki asked, starting to get agitated.

"YOU'LL SEE SOON! JUMP!" Tammy insisted.

Seeing how serious she was, the others started to get worried and threw themselves off the boat.

"I JUST GOT OUT OF THE WATER!" Aki complained while jumping down. Ronin did his best to throw Iori off the ship and follow him.

And just as the girl predicted…only a few seconds after they jumped off…

"Let's see if you can answer to this! FIRE!" Back in the city, Daisaku ordered his minions to shoot with the cannons, which released heavy fireballs with speed and power.

Several booms could be heard and seen from the city, as the ship crumbled down in a series of explosions that left only a large pile of smoke.

"Oh, God!"

"What happened!?"

"Who shot at that ship!?"

"Should we call the authorities?"

A chatter started to rise from the citizens, and Daigo could hear them. "Daisaku, ya dingus! You got attention!" He exclaimed.

As an answer, the mob man simply snorted. "Nothing to be worried of." He commented.

"What's important is that we took them down for good. Right, boss?" One of the ninjas asked.

"…We can't say it for sure." Daisaku then spoke, confusing the other ninjas. "They're mages after all. If they're like the famous ones, it will take more than gunpowder to kill them."

He looked deeply at the pile of smoke a few meters away from the city. "…A part of you will split throughout the town, while another one will go toward the ship. Check if they survived."

"YES!" As ordered, the ninjas disappeared in less than a second, leaving their boss alone. As he kept on looking, Daisaku took a cigarette and turned it on.

"If you're still alive…I hope this gave you a taste of what we can do, 'Shogunate Pride'. Try to keep up on bothering us and we'll give you a worse treatment." He said as he smirked with his sunglasses shining.

---

The small group of mages was able to jump off the ship just a few moments before it was bombarded. Unfortunately, this meant that they had to do the rest of the road on water. Luckily, apart from Aki and Ronin due to their nature, everyone was able to swim properly and were able to reach the shore. Under Yori's recommendation, they reached the city from one of the sides to make sure that other possible ninjas wouldn't have found them already if they went straight from the main shore.

That made them end up on a shore with several cliffs but with no people around, which meant that they could have taken some time to regain air.

Ronin and Aki dried off together from the water as they were extremely annoyed. "This is why I hate going with ships! There's always something that lets you end like this!" Aki exclaimed.

"I couldn't have said it better!" Ronin agreed.

Tammy, on the other hand, took off her shoes and socks to dry them off. "What's important is that we were able to get in here…still! Talk about violence! Cannons? Really? I thought ninjas were all about being silent killers!"

After hearing her, Yori looked up at the city. The first buildings made of marble could already be seen. "I think this will be more than facing just ninjas. They've prepared themselves well to make sure to get the bones." He spoke.

Iori stood up, feeling already better despite the swimming, and came closer to his friends. "So, how do we move? I have a feeling that they won't stop after that bombing…" He asked.

"Yeah…I wouldn't be surprised if they already started to chase us." Cal added.

Yori calmly tried to make a big picture of the situation before coming up with the most plausible answer. "We're helped by the fact that they don't know what they look like, so we should be able to move almost freely in the town. At this point, the things to do reduce only to one."

As he said it, everyone looked at him.

"The search begins. Let's make sure to search the bone before they do."

"So, it starts, eh?" Cal asked.

"Let's make my lady happy…" Aki added.

"Tammy, make sure to use your eye magic constantly to update us on possible enemy movements. And Cal…..do your best to not get lost." Yori replied.

While the archer girl nodded, Cal made a small sigh. "I'll try my best…I'm still working on it."

"Don't worry, I'm not criticizing you. Just...be careful." Yori told him. "Ok…with this said…I think we can go."

And just as he said, the small group of samurais could finally trace the shore and reach the city for real. As soon as they got in, they could already see themselves in the middle of a large crowd that went in every direction, with tons of lights, buildings, stalls, advertising signs, game rooms, and much more.

"Wow…and here I thought the Akihabara was a big marketing place," Iori commented.

"Not gonna lie, I'm a bit tempted to do something here around these places…but I can't spend that much…" Tammy commented.

"And we cannot let ourselves be distracted. Do you see something, Tammy?" Yori then asked.

Tammy quickly used the eye magic. "Hmmmm…I don't see any ninjas getting closer. But I do spot some shady people…they're moving around and ask each other questions…" She replied.

"If what we said earlier is correct…is there the possibility that they're associated with the clan?" Cal asked.

"I think we should keep a low profile because of this. Let's try and walk like regular people…" Aki proposed.

"All right…it may slow down things a bit, but if it helps…" Yori agreed. With that settled, the small group started to walk, trying to blend up with the crow.

They could already see that some of the citizens were focused on looking at the fading pile of smoke in the ocean.

"Welp…I'd say that we did gather attention in a way." Ronin commented.

"As long as they don't know nothing, we should be fine…" Iori said.

Cal, on the other hand, was looking around. A part of him was surprised to see himself still with the others. "Hmmm…this place seems huge though, nothing compared to the places I'm used to…where could we start to find something as a bone in a place like-" He interrupted himself when he laid his eyes on something particular.

"Hm? What is it, Cal?" Tammy asked. When she turned around, she could see it as well, with the others following shortly.

In front of them, stood a small, yet comfy bathhouse.

Naturally, Ronin and Aki widened their eyes as they slowly turned to the others. "Y-You don't want to go in there, right?" The celestial spirit asked.

"Well, we do need to get rid of all the salt, right?" Tammy answered.

"And we need to clean the clothes," Yori added.

"W-We have the sun for tha-" Ronin tried to justify another way out, but Ronin was already dragging him inside.

"We're going in."

"NO PLEASE! NOT AGAIN!" Ronin cried out.

Yori and Cal, on the other hand, were dragging Aki inside. "I CAN'T GET WET THRICE IN A DAY! AAAAAH!"

20 minutes later…

After a refreshing shower and a small bottle of milk, everyone was ready to go, while the two cats felt themselves slowly losing their souls.

"I'm hearing the king of the Celestial Spirits calling upon me already…" Aki grievously commented…

"Y-You know…I could get used to it…" Ronin added.

Tammy was in a completely different mood as she stretched herself. "Aaaah! There's nothing better than a good hot shower! Now we can start for real!"

"Let's go then," Iori concluded.

As they expected, the search turned out to be long. It was difficult to know about something regarding a bone. The small groups searched around places, went inside playrooms, and even asked something at the local people or on some occasions, gangsters. In this last part, they were forced to go in a little fight to make them talk. But even with that, most of the answers were negative.

That is…until one particular encounter with some of these gangsters.

It started as usual. The small group tried to ask a few questions, but the shady men didn't want them to get too much closer and instead, try to assault them to see if they had something precious. But all that it took was for Iori to face them. Needless to say, in less than three minutes, all the gangsters were down.

"A-A-AH! W-What's wrong with this kid!? How can he be this strong!?" The leader asked.

"I can understand if you don't want to cooperate. But at this point, you should surrender. As legal mages, there's nothing that can prevent us from arresting you." Iori said with a calm yet menacing tone.

The leader got scared. "AH! No no! P-Please! We understand! We give up! We'll even change if you want!" He exclaimed.

"Good to know. But are you sure you don't know anything about a bone?" Tammy asked.

"We really don't! Do you have any idea of how many valuable things there are in this town?" The leader continued. But then, one of his men came closer.

"W-Wait, leader…didn't we hear something about it from Koichi Miyamura?"

"What? Oh, right! I almost forgot about it!" The boss exclaimed.

"Who is this guy?" Yori asked.

"T-There's this little boss called Koichi Miyamura that holds little properties here and there inside this town. He always exclaims something like 'I would continue even if I were to sell my bone'! So, I'm sure this is the guy you should be searching for!" The leader explained.

After hearing that, the small group made some skeptical faces. "…Does…does he really say it like that?" Cal asked.

"I-I know how you feel, but it's the truth." The leader said.

"…Leaving this aside, where can we find this guy?" Yori then asked.

"Unfortunately, we don't know where his location exactly is…but we can say for sure that he's in the city. He hardly leaves the city." The man answered.

"And do you know what this guy looks like?" Cal then asked.

"He's quite young for a gangster, you should recognize him almost immediately, and has the habit of going around with a furred jacket…" One of the men replied.

"I see…" The samurai commented before turning to the others. "Well, at least we have a place or rather, a person, to start with."

"You're free to go. Behave better next time, or we'll get you back! We know where you live, now!" Tammy then said to the gangsters, who went instantly pale and nodded repeatedly before running away.

With that said the search resumed, now with something more specific in mind to look at first. But even with indications, in a town with over two hundred thousand inhabitants, the quest would have been a bit longer.

"Birds Eye View!" At a certain point, Tammy used one of the techniques of her Eye magic to have a complete view of the city as a whole. And even if she saw the remaining forces of the Crow Clan that were scouting the area, it was still a hard feat to find this Koichi. After a few minutes, the girl started to have a nauseous expression and stopped the spell. "Eugh! I hate using this spell! It's like looking from the eyes of an airship!"

"Did you find anything though?" Aki asked.

This question made the girl take a resigned sigh. "No…or at least, not yet. It's already hard to use this magic in a battlefield, let alone use it in a whole town." She answered. "I could see a good amount of those ninjas though…"

Aki started to get worried. "We should hurry up. Ninjas are experts in finding people. I'm sure that those of the Crow Clan are no different."

It was then that Yori turned around and saw something that made him come up with an idea. "At this point…we should try more ways."

"What do you mean, Yori-shishou?" Cal asked.

To answer, Yori pointed at the building they were standing in front of with his index finger: A games area with three floors.

"Oooooh!" Everyone said.

"If we can't find him on the outside, we might as well start to check on the inside." Yori pointed out.

"True…if we limit ourselves to public places, we might as well find something," Iori commented.

"Just make sure to not get distracted too much. I know as well that this place is interesting, but remember the mission." Yori added. "Any questions?"

Everyone shook their heads.

"Then let's go." The older samurai concluded.

Without anything much to add, the small group of samurais entered the building, and they were immediately greeted with neon lights and synth-wave music that gave a flashy ambiance.

The ground floor was already full of games and small stalls of every type between pinballs, arcades, basketballs, and much more.

"Woah…talk about entertainment at its fullest…" Cal commented.

"Not gonna lie…if we weren't on a mission, I would have taken some time to play something…" Iori added.

"We should get back here one day! Maybe when the waters aren't that wild!" Ronin proposed.

"Yeah, it does look cool! I've already used the magic to see all floors, and luckily, they don't seem big enough." Tammy then said while eating something.

Everyone already looked at her.

"…What's that?" Aki asked.

"Oh, this? They're choco-bananas! A specialty of our region! They have a stall in here and I took the chance!" Tammy explained.

"Didn't we say that we shouldn't get distracted!?" Cal asked her.

"Come ooon! I don't think those ninjas take the bone if I turn around just to get something to eat! Here, I've taken five more!" The girl answered before lending them to her friends.

Still a bit confused, the others took the bananas and had a bite…finding them of their pleasure.

"Oh…they're…really good…" Yori commented.

"They melt in your mouth for their sweetness!" Ronin added.

"Yeah, I like them…" Iori said.

"Who knew that something sweet could be even sweeter?" Cal added.

The reactions made Tammy have a small laugh. "Fufufu! See? I always have the right answer! I think we can go now!"

The others nodded and the search moved on a smaller scale. The small group started to look at everyone inside the building. It was a bit hard to see them properly due to the neon lights that left out a lot of dark and blue lights. But either way, they kept on looking…and taking a chance to look at the exposed games as well.

This brought them to the second floor when there seemed to be fewer people.

"You know…this made me realize something," Aki commented while looking around.

"What is it?" Cal asked.

That question made the Celestial Spirit assume an uncomfortable expression. "I think we're lucky that Ren didn't end up here…"

Shortly after hearing that, Cal assumed the same expression. "Y-Yeah…we're very lucky."

"OK, we didn't get any luck on the first floor. But if those gangsters were sincere, we just need to search more. Who knows, maybe we'll find him in just a few minutes, we can't ever kno-" Yori was about to give another advice when he stopped himself after seeing something that gathered his attention with quite the enthusiasm, to the point that he had glitters in his eyes. "OOOOH!"

"Y-Yori-shishou?" Cal asked. That expression was quite unusual for someone like him.

"What did he see?" Iori added.

Yori, on the other hand, quickly ran to see closer the thing that excited him.

A track of toy cars that could be moved with a distant remote and played with. Somehow…the older samurai looked at the track with precise attention and awe. It was almost like seeing a kid who saw a flashy toy in the showcase of a store.

"Amazing…they're even the first ever model…" Yori commented.

"Uhm…Yori? What's the deal? They're just machines…" Aki asked.

Yori quickly turned around. "Just machines? Do you have any idea what these are!?"

Everyone could get only more confused. "…N-no?"

"These are the SCAN-2-GO! The most refined and advanced distantly remoted toy cars of them all! They're a flagship with tons of collectors! These in particular are extremely rare! I didn't even know they had a track!" Yori explained.

"O…K?" Iori asked.

Yori kept on looking with awe at the track, gathering the attention of other people. "Ooooh…this is a more unique than rare occasion…I get the chance to use them…" He then raised. "I just need someone that can play with me…I can't do the track by myself."

"Yori-shishou! Didn't you say that we couldn't get distracted-" Cal tried to call him back to reality but he was cut down almost immediately.

"I didn't say we couldn't make a small exception. Besides, it's not like those ninjas can appear just because I'm enjoying this beauty!" Yori insisted.

Cal was left bewildered. "H-He became a completely different person!"

"W-Well…passion can turn people into something else…" Tammy commented.

Yori looked around. "Someone? Caring for a little race?" He asked. And then…

"I'll do it!" A voice suddenly replied.

The small group turned around to see what seemed to be a seventeen-year-old boy with brown spiky hair and brown eyes wearing a grey furred jacket, silver jeans, and white sneakers, who looked at them with a small smirk.

The samurai mages, apart from Yori, widened their eyes after seeing him.

"Iori! Is that him?" Ronin asked with a low voice.

"Wait…let's not jump to conclusions…" his Dragon Slayer friend replied.

"I was playing a few other games in the back when I couldn't help but hear the voice of someone who knows his deal. I like you, big one." The boy said. "Therefore, 'll be the one who's gonna accept your challenge, from fan to fan!"

"I see…I sense a sense of passion as big as mine. Then come here! We shall see which one is more passionate with our wheels!" Yori answered. The two looked at each other with stares of challenge…while the rest of the people looked at them with…confusion.

"Are they talking like that for SCAN-2-GO?"

"I found 5 of them discounted at Magica Tabernae…" These were some of the comments that arose.

The other mages could just look at the scene without saying anything. They didn't even feel shame. They just…didn't know what to say about how surreal the scene looked

In just a few seconds, Yori and the boy were standing close to each other to get out of their cars.

"Ah, Auron? A nice choice of speed!" Yori commented.

"You're not that bad either on picking up Bucephalus. It has a good stamina. But get ready to eat my dust!" The boy countered.

A small traffic light served as a counter in the track, and once the green light was turned on…

Vrrrrrrrrrrrrr…

Yori and the boy used the remote to make the toy machines go at 'full speed'. The two plastic vehicles started to make rounds after rounds in a short time, but the two of them seemed to be at the same level, while Cal and the others simply…looked.

"Gotta say…they do have some quality. I can see why kids love them." Iori commented.

"Do you think Madoka and the others would love them?" Tammy asked.

"S-Somehow, they got into the topic as well…" Cal thought.

Yori and the boy got more intense as the race went on.

"Not bad at all! But I think this is the end!" The boy said before pressing a button with the written 'TURBO'. By pressing it, his machine started to get faster.

"Ah!" Yori dramatically gasped.

"Ah ah! Auron is the perfect vehicle to use the turbo with! You don't stand a chance!" The boy exclaimed.

Yori started to sweat. "That's right. They're a terrible combination. But you forget one thing about Bucephalus, a trait that only he has." He then said with a small grin.

"AH! W-WHAT!?" The boy exclaimed.

"I-It's almost like looking at us fighting…" Aki commented.

At that moment, Yori pressed the turbo as well, but unlike the boy, he mashed the button repeatedly. His toy car stopped, but it emitted a sound that reminded an accumulation of something.

"Bucephalus's strength consists in gathering enough energy and then…DASH!" After a few seconds of pressing the button, Yori moved the vehicle, which went at an incredible speed even for the other toy car.

"OH NO!" The boy shouted.

"H-He even knew that secret…" Iori commented with a sweat of drop near his head.

"He's not just a fan. He's a hardcore one…" Tammy added.

"I'm starting to think that I know only a part of Yori-shishou's persona…" Cal said.

Bucephalus was unstoppable, to the point that it ended up the rest of its rounds in just a few seconds, leaving Auron behind.

"N-No way…" The boy was left demoralized while Yori exulted as he took his car and even made a pose.

"YES! In the end, Bucephalus's mighty Aries Charge remains unbeatable!" He exclaimed.

"W-Well…at least it was short…and he's happy now," Aki commented.

But the boy didn't seem satisfied. "That's not fair! I was caught off guard! I demand a rematch!" He exclaimed.

"A good racer must acknowledge defeat, young one. Don't forget it." Yori told him.

Upon hearing that, the others were even more confused. "H-He's back to his usual self!?" He thought.

"Oh, really? We'll see about that! Now that I know the trick, I bet I could take you down! Even If I had to sell the bone I have as a treasure!" The boy insisted.

…

The deal was done.

The suspicions were correct, as all samurais looked at him deeply.

The boy blinked his eyes confused. "What? What's with the stares?" He asked.

"Oh, nothing in particular. Just that this temporary distraction coincidentally brought us to the people we were looking for." Yori replied.

"W-What do you mean?" The boy asked. The answer was collective.

"Nice to meet you, Koichi Miyamura!"

It didn't take too long for the boy to realize what he had said. He silently looked elsewhere with a dumb face and then…

"Uh oh…"

---

And we're finally done! Gotta be honest, writing this chapter felt a bit weird, mostly because this included what was left of the previous chapter, which turned out to be longer than expected, so I had to see what to put between that and the new part of the story. It also took a while since a small writer's block struck me, but I'm glad that I was able to get out of it and finally bring this chapter to a conclusion!

Apart from seeing what the Clan's true purpose is about, We also saw another small preview of what their forces can do, since in the next chapter we'll see them properly in action, and I can't help but feel curious to see how they'll turn out, especially considering that these enemies are a mix between what I came up with and the ideas of zetsunaflames (Hoshiko's creator), so I thank them ahead! Samurai VS Ninja is a classic matchup, and putting it in a Fairy Tail context can bring up something very interesting! As you can see, we'll start with a few smaller groups, but everyone will still get their moment to shine. It may go a bit off the themes of the original series, but I really want to make sure that everyone gets their spots and has some cool scenes, and I personally liked the idea of a collective group! And yes, I also took the chance to make some goofy moments. Despite assuming darker moods sometimes, this is still a half-comedy, after all, and I want to make sure to give out a laugh once in a while!

But of course, as always, I leave the last opinion to you! Did you like the chapter? What do you think of the newer members of the Crow Clan we have seen? How will the samurais handle this bizarre situation? Let me know by sending a review! Your opinion is important!

While there had been a few stalls here and there, I would say we started on a good foot as we're already at 5 chapters in total I've written for this year! And there's still plenty of time to look up! Next, I'll work on Digimon Adventure 04 to keep up with the promise I made to myself, but I'll do my best to get back here ASAP, as things will get more intense!

I once again thank you for reading this chapter and I'll see you either in the next one or the next chapter of another story of mine! From Bluestar here, Arrivederci!