Welcome to the next chapter of DxD – The Last Amagiri, but before starting the story. Let's answer some reviews:

Rider126: I didn't base it off Miyamoto Musashi from Fate, both of them will be revealed soon.

look2019: Thanks.

Clarent excalibur: That sounds like a hilarious idea, besides who's going to talk back to the Chief God of the Shinto. Of course, the reveal of her actual identity would be a funny reaction, also how do you think that Issei would react if he finds out that a goddess is in his harem.

Reviewer Requiem: I have something similar in mind for their first encounter and interaction, as well as a special weapon for her to wield. She will be quite a fighter who will without give someone a lot like Kensei a run for his money.

Rebellion on Hagun Island I

During the final moments of his training with Sun Wukong, Kensei stood in front of Xuanzang Sanzang's home in his normal clothing, which consists of a black gakuran school uniform with his dress shirt unbuttoned and a blue-colored undershirt with the katana he received on his hip. Near him were Sun Wukong, Xuanzang, and Yu-Long who watched as he took on a stance found in Chinese martial art. In front of Kensei, there was another clone that the Monkey King created, which was substantially weaker compared to the original and was placed on the same level as Kensei. This time it wasn't about beating the clone, it was just pure practice.

After a second, the clone rushed at Kensei aiming a punch straight at his face but using a unique maneuver, the black-haired child avoided the strike appearing behind the clone. Seeing that caused the clone to make another attempt at striking the child, but each of the strikes was avoided as he maneuvered around each of the attacks without going on the offensive. This was another martial art Kensei learned the basics of known as Hakkesho, an internal one that focuses on free-flowing stances designed to maneuver around attacks.

Having avoided the last attack utilizing the same maneuver, the clone expected it and aimed his leg at the same time he moved causing him to land on his back. Taking the chance, the clone again attacked him using a sharp punch aimed at his abdomen.

"Hah."

Before the strike made contact with him, Kensei covered himself in a light aura wrapped around himself, which is the touki he used before. As soon as the strike made contact, the touki defended him against the strike lessening the damage that he could have taken. The moment that the clone stepped away from Kensei to gain distance, it held up its arm and blocked a sudden kick that he had aimed at it. The kick caused the clone to stagger with the black-haired child jumped to his feet, then spun himself around and struck the clone at the back of the head.

This was a third martial art named Hikaken, which is practiced alongside Hakkyokuken, which focuses on long-range explosive power generated from the acceleration force of the arms focusing on palm strikes. Before both it and Kensei could get into another close-range encounter, Sun Wukong clapped his hand signaling for the end of the practice match. As ordered, the clone and Kensei stopped, then bowed their heads to one another as a sign of respect as the clone vanished.

"That was an impressive sparring match, you've gotten a hang of the basic principles of the three martial arts that I taught you. For you to bring out their true worth, you will need to master them and build up your physical prowess as you grow up in the future. Though that doesn't change the fact that you are stronger compared to when you first arrived, if I'm correct, then you should be able to handle the normal gehenna guards."

"Yea, but I'm still nowhere near that bastard Hayashi."

Kensei pointed out as he scratched the back of his head letting out a slight sigh recalling the first time he tried to fight against Hayashi.

"You're right about that, based on what you said, that man seems to be a genuine veteran. And if I were to make a guess, then he could fight against high-class devils using just his trained skill even in his old age, but it's all about how you go about it. In a battle, anything can happen that could steer the fight into your favor."

Sun Wukong added.

"His talent almost alarming, for a normal person learning the just basics of three martial arts would take longer."

Yu-Long pointed out as he floated next to Kensei who glanced in the direction of the dragon.

"What you're saying I don't try my best?"

Kensei questioned as he placed both his hands behind his head.

"I'm not saying that it's just alarming. Especially, when I heard that you learned all your clan's technique in under three years."

"Look, I didn't learn everything that the Amagiri Clan had created."

"Huh?"

"I learned the basics and some secret techniques," Kensei replied. "The Amagiri Clan has created several techniques and spells is impossible even for me in just a couple of years. Some of the spells and techniques that the Amagiri Clan I did learn are complicated and it took me a while to memorize all of them."

Kensei explained as he turned in the direction of his teacher who was smoking his pipe and blew white smoke in the air before pointing out the obvious to him.

"Well, no matter what. Kensei you're training period with me is done and I think that you know what that means."

"Yep, time for me to go and kick some ass."

Kensei replied energetically as he punched the palm of his head with a wide smirk.

"Ha, I expected that answer from you," Xuanzang started letting out a slight laugh. "Though don't hesitate to come and visit sometime in the future…also, bring along your friends, I'd love to meet them."

"You can bet on that. I'd love to meet all of you again."

Hearing that happy and energetic response caused the three legends from the Journey of the West to smile endearingly.

"Well, I guess that we shouldn't waste time."

After hearing Sun Wukong's response caused Yu-Long to grow into his full-sized dragon form with both him and Kensei jumping on top of him. The jade dragon soon flew off into the direction of Japan once again at a far quicker pace than he had beforehand with Xuanzang looking off into the distance that they departed.

"Good luck, Kensei. If you end up succeeding in saving everyone from that place, there may end up being great troubles for you all in the future."

After saying those final words, Xuanzang continued to watch as the figure of the eastern dragon continued to turn smaller and smaller by the second.

Their trip arriving back to Japan, as well as one of the locations where the magic-circle leading into Hagun Island took at least a couple of minutes. The three of them found themselves looking at the location that the Yatagarasu had located and given to Amakuni informed him about. Yu-Long had stopped several feet into the air with a spell placed on him to appear invisible to others.

"Hmm, based on what Yatagarasu, this the most used magic circle among the others placed around Japan. If his guess is correct, then someone should be arriving in at least five minutes."

"Are you prepared for this?"

"I've been preparing for this for the last month."

Kensei answered the question that Sun Wukong had asked without any nervousness in his voice.

"I know that, but don't forget that unlike you, those kids still have those bracelets on them and this Tora person can still control all of them."

"It'll be fine if I know Zane and everyone like I know that I do, then they should've probably already come up with some kind of plan. And since I don't have that bracelet on, then Taro and those bastards shouldn't be able to see me making a comeback."

"It seems that everyone hangs on whatever that plan seems to be."

Yu-Long this time pointed out that face with Sun Wukong agreeing what his opinion.

"Yep."

"You don't seem to be nervous at all, everything…all of your futures is riding on this plan succeeding."

"Yea, but for some reason, I can't feel nervous at all."

"Why's that?"

Sun Wukong inquired to his former student who remained standing on the head of Yu-Long staring at the magic-circle that rested in front of his eyes.

"My mom always told me that there are situations where you can either be afraid or nervous and at most times, it is when your life is in danger. But, even at those times, I never feel nervous at all for some reason…or that could just be due to there not being a situation that has ever scared me. But, the only time that I have felt the slightest bit scared, is when someone I care about is about to die."

Both Sun Wukong and Yu-Long had noted that the answer wasn't the words that would come out of a normal child's mouth. Soon enough, a magic-circle meant for teleportation was activated revealing a group of humans based on their auras. After noticing their presence, Kensei soon reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a talisman with writing on it, but before jumping he turned to face them with a confident smirk.

"I'm not afraid since there are two choices. Either success or Death," Kensei said as he held the talisman in his hands. "And since I don't plan on dying, then I might as well succeed."

That was the kind of logic that both Sun Wukong and Yu-Long would expect from a child.

"Well, I guess this is it for a while."

"Yea, thanks again for the training Sun-sensei," Kensei thanked before noticing that Yu-Long made what seemed to be almost like a childish look. "What are you going to miss me, Yu-Long?"

"O-Of course not, I could find better companions than a ten-year-old."

Even the comment that he made seemed almost childish, but Kensei just smirked and jumped off the dragon and he headed down several feet into the air.

After chanting a small spell, Kensei started to be covered in a mist-like cloak until becoming invisible from sight. It was a spell that could make him invisible, but it could still be possible to sense him, however, using senjutsu, it is possible for him to also hide his presence.

Upon speaking a small chant, a mist began to cover him until his figure vanished from sight. It was a spell that could make him invisible, but it could still be possible to sense him; however, through using senjutsu, Kensei can mask his presence from others. As soon as he landed on the ground and followed the three males to the magic-circle without his presence being known and soon vanished along with them to Hagun Island.

Despite them seeing him off as planned, Sun Wukong and Yu-Long remained in the air with a concerned look on the jade dragon's face.

"Well, old man since we don't have much going on. I wouldn't mind staying here for a moment."

Sun Wukong knew that the jade dragon was worried about Kensei due to the dangers that were in front of him; in fact, the monkey king himself felt confident in him, but he was also worried for him.

"I know, why don't we wait here and see what happens?"

Sun Wukong responded.

The three men arrived on Hagun Island without knowing that they were being followed by an invisible Kensei who looked around the area.

"Well, I'm back in this hellhole."

Kensei thought as he looked around the area noticing the same old rich and stuck-up people was the same as him when he left. He had wanted to look for a chance to slip away from the men following behind him for him to head back to his home with Claire and Alice. But, there was something that caught his attention.

"Hey, did you hear about that half-breed girl?"

"You mean that little brat who entered Gehenna a month ago?"

Kensei continued to follow them after hearing "half-breed girl", he knew there were other half-breeds here on the island, but he still followed them due to the gray-haired girl that entered his head. The time frame also matched his suspicion about it being her.

"They aren't talking about Claire, are they?"

He questioned himself, but to find a quicker answer, Kensei decided to run up ahead in the direction of the arena. Noticing that there were several buildings nearby, he started to scale them until reaching the top of the arena, which had an opened top. Kensei looked down at the middle of the arena and noticed that a person was standing in the middle of the arena holding what seemed to be a short sword in their hand. To get a better look at the person, he started to enhance his vision using his ki and got a clearer view of the person.

"Is that…?"

Kensei questioned as his mouth started to became gaped opened a bit.

The person was he was looking at was without a doubt Claire and noticed that she had cut her hair shorter who also seemed to have realized her sacred gear.

"She must have entered the Gehenna Tournament after thinking that I had died," Kensei realized as he sat down on the outer wall of the arena. He also noticed that her presence and demeanor were a lot different compared to before. "Claire changed this much in just a month."

Kensei sat there and noticed that Claire was doing alright in her match wielding that short sword against the large monster chasing after her, then when it was at a distance from her, she released different demonic attacks at it. It was a known fact that Kensei didn't want her to compete in the tournament, but become proud of how much she had grown in a month. There was nothing he wanted more than to continue to watch the match, but he didn't go and met up with the others.

Kensei continued to head in the direction of Residential Area A, which was the home that he shared with both Claire and Alice through jumping from building to building. Soon enough, he arrived in front of the gates leading into the series of small houses that could barely full three people and noticed that there were still several children his age or younger walking around. He continued to walk avoiding the people who would've run into him and he made it in front of their home.

His heart raced a bit as he reached his hand out to turn the nob, but before doing so, he reached his hand in his pocket and pulled out the key that he still carried around. Once he unlocked the door and entered the house with a half-smile on his face as the spell that made him invisible wore off. Kensei looked around the place and felt that the atmosphere almost felt homely. Of course, this could barely count as a home, but it was made into one where the three of them could live in.

Kensei could sense that there wasn't anyone in the house, so that meant that Alice would either be with Zane or Abigail. He laid down on the couch with his hands rested behind the back of his head.

"This couch is still as rough as always, but I've kinda missed it."

Meanwhile, outside leading towards his house, the usual group that consists of Alice herself, Zane, Hisui, and Rui who walked behind the three of them.

"So, what's the plan for today?"

Rui questioned.

"Well, if things go as planned, then we should be able to commence the plan in a week or so."

Zane replied.

"But, aren't there a lot of holes in this plan. I mean, it is based on one us going along with Claire to locate a single room where the single to these collars are located," Hisui pointed out. "Besides, if one of us steps into that so-called Paradise, then Taro will be able to tell that we're here."

Zane silently agreed with what Hisui had said, even if two of them were to enter the building where their bracelets are all being controlled. There was a chance that the operators would be able to tell their exact location.

"That means we'll need a distraction to make things a success."

"Huh? …That's weird."

The three of them heard those words leave Alice's mouth and turned in her direction, as she opened the door to hers and Claire's home without first using the key in her hands. It wasn't weird for those who were desperate to survive to deal with others and it wasn't rare for them to attempt to break into the homes of others, but the door didn't seem to be broken. Everyone one of them became hesitant about entering the house in fear of what they could find inside.

To protect the three of them, Zane had gone in first with a magic-circle starting to appear in his hands as a precaution.

"Alright, you know it's a crime to break into someone's house."

"That's true, but you can't break in if you have a key."

Hearing that familiar voice caused the four of them to rush into the house closing the door behind them just as a precaution and went towards the source. All of their mouths hung in shock as they noticed that the person who laid down on the couch was, in fact, Kensei.

"Also, no matter how much time has passed, I still live here."

Kensei said as he stood back up on the couch looking towards all of them was an endearing smile.

[KENSEIIIIIIIII!]

All four of them shouted ecstatically, but the first ones to jump at him were both Alice (albeit as best as she could) and Hisui with even slight tears on the corners of their eyes. Both of them wrapped their arms around him with Hisui rubbing her cheek affectionately against his as she let out a cheerful laugh.

"You're alive, you're alive!"

Alice shouted in a cheerful tone, which was almost surprising since she was always almost expressionless most of the time with tears trailing down her face. In response to that, Kensei wrapped his arms back around them with a smile on his face after being able to see them all again.

"Ah, Ken Ken has returned for me!"

Just like always, Hisui was affectionately saying things like that as her tail continued to move around in a manner of excitement. Even Rui was laughing in a manner fashion while wiping away the tears that formed at the corners of her eyes realizing that she hadn't lost one of her closest friends. Hisui soon stepped away from Kensei and let an almost knowing expression on her face, but before she could say anything, he spoke first.

"I'm glad that I can see you guys again after all this time," Kensei stated displaying how much he missed all of them. "It feels almost like a lifetime since then the last time we were all together."

"My my, I didn't expect Ken Ken to learn senjutsu. Ah, you must've wanted to feel closer to me~"

Hisui declared in a tone that sounded as if she were falling in love all over again, but hearing that statement from her caused all of them to stare at her in shock.

"What do you mean he learned senjutsu?"

Rui questioned her roommate/friend.

"Before Ken Ken's ki flowed like a normal person, but when someone learns senjutsu, it flows differently," Hisui explained. "Besides, I would've immediately sensed if it was Ken Ken inside of the house."

"Well, I wanted to surprise you all. So, I hide my ki as much as I could."

Kensei replied as he scratched the back of his head.

"I think that we all would've been surprised to see you again," Zane stated with a smile after seeing that his best friend was alive and well. "Well, you know what they say, the heroes always make a dramatic comeback."

"I'll explain everyone when Claire gets back."

"Of course, I plan on hearing everything in detail."

Both of them gave one another a wide smirk as the two of them performed their usual fist bump.

"Ah, Kensei about Claire."

Despite being happy that Kensei had returned to them, the mention of Claire caused a thought to enter her head. Alice was about to inform him about something she felt that he needed to know, but Kensei shook his head much to her surprise.

"It's fine, I saw her fighting in the tournament already."

"I'm sorry, I tried to convince her not to, but…."

Alice stared again in a saddened tone, but Kensei stopped her after patting the top of her head.

"It's fine, most of the time in the midst of a lost, there are several things that a person can do," Kensei stated with a smirk that seemed to be mocking himself. "I think we all kinda underestimated Claire a bit, but her sacred gear is a little more complicated than I thought."

"Ah, we were all surprised too."

Hisui noted as she glanced in the direction of Kensei smiling happily.

"A half-devil having a sacred gear that has an angel sealed within it. That kinda explained why she was reacting in such a manner before you left, the light from it started to react to the demonic power within in a more negative way causing her sudden illness."

Zane added in an interesting manner, which caused the others to silently agree with him.

"Ah, well I think that Claire is on her way," Hisui pointed out after noticing her presence using senjutsu. "Her fight finished a little bit after we decided to leave and come here."

"Ah, I see."

"Oh~ Are you getting nervous?"

"A little bit."

Kensei answered honestly after hearing that question from Hisui who silently agreed with him considering all that has happened in the past month. He had heard all about what happened the last time that Claire had lost all the people closest to her before. After losing them, then coming here, she must've not been able to trust anybody up until the moment that all of them met.

"My, I didn't think that Ken Ken of all people would get nervous like this."

"Aren't you the person who can take on monsters daily?"

Kensei heard both Hisui and Rui teasing him about being nervous about seeing Claire again.

"Fighting against monsters is easier, so don't tease me about this."

Both Alice and Zane had silently laughed about the reaction that came from Kensei who stared at them with a look, a person would expect from a ten-year-old. Before either of them say another word….

Open.

All of them remained silent, as the door opened revealing the silhouette of Claire appeared in front of the door in a state of near exhaustion with her clothes also torn in different places.

"I'm sorry for being late," Claire started as her eyes closed. "But, I'll need to change clothes before…."

Claire stopped as she opened her eyes widened after seeing Kensei standing in front of her, causing the gray-haired girl to stop in her tracks. Her heart almost felt as if it were about to stop after seeing him before her with several different feelings being riled up within her.

She couldn't forget his face.

She couldn't forget his presence.

Was he standing in front of her?

No that's impossible.

"…is this some kind of trick?"

Claire spoke in a tone of disbelief as she stared at him.

No one could blame that question leaving her mouth, more so than any of them, her entire life has been nothing more than an entire roller coaster of loss and mourning. So, it wouldn't be surprising for Claire to still be in a state of disbelief. And so, no one in the room said a single room, as there was only one person who was able to prove that he was, in fact, the real deal.

Kensei began to approach the gray-haired girl who started to step back away from him with a hesitant and faltering look on her face.

"…stay back."

She stated in a weak tone with some demonic power starting to gather in her hands in a threatening manner, but he continued walking toward her. This scene reminded Claire about the first time she met Kensei, he was even walking toward her at the same pace. All of this caused a feeling of hope to bubble within all the negativity, which remained within her for the past month. Before she was able to react or say anything, Kensei wrapped both of his arms around her in a comforting manner.

"I'm sorry, I worried you even more than I had done before. But, I can't guarantee that I won't continue worrying you in the future," he said in a comforting manner that caused her iced-over heart to melt. "But, I can make one promise. No matter the opponent. No matter the condition. No matter what the fight entails. Even if it means that I have to fight against a god…I'll always be on your side."

Those were the same words that she had heard from him in the past and no one could have mimicked his tone, which granted her hope.

"A-A-Are you back?"

"Yea and I'll never abandon you or anyone else again."

Those were the last words that she needed as her face started to unfurl into a saddened one that seemed on the brink of utter tears. Until finally―

"N-NNNNNNNNNNNIIIIIIIIIII-SAAAAN!"

Like a dam that was beginning to break, her tears overflowed as she hugged Kensei back with strength, which he wouldn't have expected from the young girl. Claire continued to cry as she pushed her head into his shirt staining it with her tears as Kensei continued to pet her head in a comforting manner. Everyone let out a slight relief as the young girl was finally letting out all the emotions that she had bottled up.

"There there."

"Y-You're back, you came back…."

He couldn't say anything else and just allowed Claire to cry her eyes out.

"Ah, to be honest, I'm surprised."

Those were the first words that came out of Maria's mouth.

Once Maria, Layla, and Iris arrived, they were surprised to see that he was still alive, but they were most shocked to hear him explain what happened from him meeting Sun Wukong until this point. Of course, all the people who had become known as his friends/comrades were all surprised to the point of laughter. Meanwhile, Claire remains sitting next to him with her arms wrapped around his.

"To think that you could survive being beaten and shot with magic, transported to a location filled with dangerous monsters defenseless, and in the end, meet three of the most famous people mentioned in one of the well-known legends in the world even where Sis and I come from."

Layla had added after hearing most of it from them soon after their arrival.

"I've always been told that I'm too stubborn."

Kensei joked as he could feel that Claire had been hugging onto his arms as he rested his hand on top of Claire's.

"It's so unbelievable that it's almost hilarious."

Rui added right after her.

"But, that just means that Ken Ken is destined to become a hero."

Hisui pointed out lovingly, even reaching her arms out in his direction to hug him, but Claire intervened pulling him away from her. After everything had been settled after his return, the former relationship of Hisui and Claire had also returned to normal.

"Aw~ Come on, Claire I'm happy about him being back too. So, can't you just let it slide this once?"

"…."

Claire pouted and continued to hug onto his arms, while Kensei let out a slight laugh.

Aside from it being their usual routine with Claire keeping Kensei away from Hisui while hogging him for herself, there was another reason, why she had arms around him. It was as if, she desired his protection from someone and Kensei knew what the reason was, but wanted to remain casual like they were all before a little while longer. Alice sat nearby them with a faint smile on her face as she noticed their interaction has returned to normal.

"Ah, I've missed this."

Alice thought letting out a relieved sigh after noticing that their usual retinue had returned to normal.

Although it was nice for them all to return to their usual lives together, there was a more pressing matter that all of them needed to deal with.

"So, what do we plan on doing," Maria had questioned as she glanced at all the people who had gathered inside of the room. "Aside from the arrival of Kensei, we have far more people who could assist in this plan."

"Ah, you're right. If things had gone accordingly then we can enact the plan in less than a week, but…."

Zane began but stopped after recalling what Kensei had brought up what the old devils had said before being sent off of Hagun Island and it was the main reason for him being taken out.

"…for whatever reason, those old devils are targeting Claire and could plan on taking her at any moment today."

Rui had said what everyone else was thinking in their heads but didn't say anything out loud.

"Things started to get more complicated than we expected, if Kensei hadn't returned, then we wouldn't have even known that they would be taking Claire. And we are even still in the middle of getting everything prepared to sneak into that building where the signal is being transmitted and now things are in utter disarray."

Everyone listened as Zane continued to complain about their current situation and every one of them shared a similar opinion as him.

"But, is everything that bad?"

"Kinda, I mean aside from the fact that they're planning on taking Claire. And Claire's was the most pivotal to the plan in getting rid of the signal."

Zane answered Rui who stood nearby them with his arms crossed.

No one in the room said a single word as thoughts began to run wild in their collective minds in an attempt to find a solution to this problem.

"Did you say that you needed a distraction?"

Kensei questioned causing everyone to direct their eyes towards him.

"Yea, why?"

"Don't forget, I'm the only one who's not being tracked anymore and those bastards think that I'm dead."

Kensei answered Zane, the latter who could already guess what he was thinking and Claire realized what he was thinking, which caused her to tighten her grip on his arm.

"…you're planning on doing something reckless again aren't you?"

Claire questioned causing Kensei to nod his head in agreement.

"I was already planning on doing this before arriving here," he declared as he looked towards all the people in the room. "I plan to fight that bastard Hayashi again, as well as mowing down those Gehenna Guard bastards."

It wasn't an answer that all of them were expecting, but neither of them was that surprised aside from one of the newer allies that they had made.

"Are you insane," Layla questioned him. "I know that you aren't a slouch in a battle and that you could even give our sis a hard time, but are you thinking about going against what's essentially an entire army alone?"

Since Kensei had vanished, there was little to no interaction between them, so it wouldn't be surprising if she had that opinion about him.

"That's the long and short of it."

Kensei gave out a bland response as if he didn't get the dangers of the situation at hand, but before Layla could say another word about it.

"I share the same opinion," Zane stated as he crossed his arms much to everyone's surprise. "It's insane to fight against essentially an entire army armed with magic and artillery against a single kid armed with a sword without a single plan in mind instead of charging in head-on. That could be classified as a suicide mission."

"Of course, it's insane and…."

"That's what I would say if it were someone else."

That response alone had caused Layla's expression to fall into complete shock as the color also seemed to drain from her face. Alice and the others aside from Maria and Iris, on the other hand, started to laugh a bit as soon as those words left out of his mouth. Maria just continued to look at what could happen next.

"A-Are you serious?"

"I've known Kensei for a short while, but I've grown to view him as being one of my closest friends. He's assisted me in coming up with a plan in escaping and didn't think that I was being optimistic like everyone else who heard that I was planning an escape attempt. And if I were to laugh at him planning on fighting despite the odds against him, then how could I call him my friend?"

Zane had replied as he looked at them with a smile on his face.

"I know that this plan sounds insane, but…."

"…we…don't have a choice…."

Kensei and the others noticed a low-toned voice in the room, while both Maria and Layla looked surprised after "that" person decided to speak up. As soon as their eyes locked onto the source, Iris, she became surprised and jumped behind Maria after letting out a shrill screech.

"…Iris?"

Layla questioned surprised after hearing the normally quiet girl speak up.

"Go on. Speak your opinion."

Maria urged feeling interested that the young girl had decided to speak up in front of people aside from her and Layla.

"…hmmm. I mean…none of us has that many choices in the manner…." Iris stated as she stuck her head out from behind Maria. "I…if Claire is taken, then…the plan will be ruined…since her inherent power as a devil is needed…to get rid of the signal. A-And…Sis did say that it isn't nice to mock a person's resolve…Sister Layla…."

This was the first time that either of them ever heard Iris speak, even for Layla, it took a long time for Iris to warm up to her. And so, it was surprising for the white-haired girl to open up to them despite never doing so in the past month and hiding from their gazes. Despite being surprised about her speak up suddenly, she warmed couldn't help but happy about that.

"Iris must have started to view them all as her friends. Before she was too afraid to show herself in front of them," Maria thought as she smiled. "I made the right choice in becoming their allies."

"…."

Layla couldn't say anything else about the idea of both Kensei and Zane, but she couldn't help but still feel some anxiety about it. Looking at all that has occurred in a short period, Maria stood up and started to walk in the direction of both young boys with both her arms crossed.

"Hmm, I would be lying if I didn't think that this idea sounds insane and unorthodox. I don't need to be a strategist to know that there are a lot of things that could go wrong if just one person…a kid, in fact, goes against an armed force alone. And though, I don't look down on someone's determination, I can still speak out when I believe that it is a suicidal attempt," Maria spoke up in a serious tone before smiling a bit. "But, this is the first time that I've felt this much hope since coming here that felt this genuine. And since someone close to death was able to survive and encounter two legends, I'll offer up as much assistance as possible."

Both Kensei and Zane would feel the weight behind her words as if they came from a natural-born leader or adult, not from a child their age. Seeing Maria standing in front of him like this caused something to pop out in his head after hearing about what she has done for him in his absence.

"Maria," he got her attention, then surprised her by bowing his head. "I wanted to thank you for looking out for Clare and training her. I was a bit surprised to see how much she was able to handle herself in a month. She seemed like a different after I saw her fighting against that monster."

"I don't consider myself a competent teacher, I just said what my…teacher had done for me. All of it was due to her effort in training, not me. Besides, if I hadn't assisted the person close to the one I owed a debt to, then I'll end up feeling ashamed for the rest of my life."

Maria replied with a wave of her hand.

"Also…I want to add one more thing."

Maria added as she pointed her first towards Kensei mirroring what he and Zane did almost all the time.

"If you're planning on acting as the main distraction for this little plan to succeed," she started before glancing in the direction of Claire. "Don't die and leave her alone again. And this doesn't just come from a comrade, but an older sister figure for the girls standing behind me. For those who lose someone or something precious to them or never had a person to depend on

"If you're planning on acting as the distraction until this little plan succeeds," she started before glancing in the direction of Claire. "Then don't die and leave her alone again. And this doesn't come from just a comrade, but an older sister figure for the girls standing behind me. For those who lose someone important to them or never had a single person to rely on…we act like that person. So for people like me and you, dying on them isn't an option."

Kensei understood the words that had come out of her mouth and realize the trauma that Claire experienced, as a result of his supposed death. If it weren't for all the people in the room being with her at the time, then it could have been possible that she couldn't endure being here alone. Hearing both her words and emotion being them caused a smile to appear on his face.

"I got it, but I never planned on dying anyway."

Kensei replied as he balled up his fist and made contact with her.

"I never thought that I'd be doing this with anyone aside from Kensei," Zane chuckled. "But, no matter what I'll still be on your side as a friend and comrade."

Zane balled up his first and made contact with both Kensei's and Maria's linked fists.

Seeing this caused Hisui to become energized as she stood in front of the three with one of her hands held up cheerfully and a wide grin on her face.

"I believe in Ken Ken more than anyone," Hisui declared causing a sour expression to form on Claire's face. "And I know that this plan is going to succeed in the end no matter what. …but, I also believe if all of our work together as a team, then it'll make things a lot easier for us to succeed in this."

Hisui said that last part with a sincere smirk on her face.

"Of course, I'll support Kensei anyway I can."

"…I guess that I'm used to Nii-san insane things that leave me worried about him. But, I'll support him."

"Me too."

Both Alice, Claire, and Rui are also placed in their hands on top of the four of theirs.

"If Sis believes in you, then I guess I will too."

"…hmm."

Both Layla and Iris also added their hands to the pile.

All of them knew prior that there wouldn't be a miracle or divine intervention that would end up saving all of them in the end, which was why all of them needed to work together to gain their long-awaited freedom. All of them came from different factions, locations, and lineages, but their desire to regain their lives had brought them all together.

"Well, now that we have a plan in mind. I think that it's time that all of you met up with my "source"."

Upon hearing Zane's declaration, all of them directed their attention towards him. Despite all of them meeting at different times, all of them were curious about the true identity of this "source" that Zane had mentioned all of the time. Even Kensei who was considered his closest friend was never informed about his "source".

Meanwhile, inside of the office belonging to Taro, he remained sitting behind his desk with both his legs place on his wooden desk and both his hands behind his head.

"Ah, to think that I'll be making such a grand deal just by trading that half-breed girl. I don't know what her mother had done, but it must have been severe."

Taro said to himself as he glanced at the ceiling of his office.

No matter how many times he looked at it, Taro could never get enough at looking at his extravagant office with a look of great glee. Not in his old life as an unaware human, could he have ever afforded anything like this. There wasn't even a single moment where he thought about his family who he had put in serious bankruptcy, but Taro has heard that a number of them had committed suicide.

"Eh, who cares about all that."

Taro said in a callous manner showing no shred of empathy for what he had done to his family.

BEEP BEEP BEEP

A sound came from the device on his desk causing him to glance towards it and pressed a button.

"What is it?"

"Taro-dono your guests would like you to join them in the VIP room."

A female assistant replied on the other end of the line.

"Ah, that sounds like a good idea. I've been stuck in this office all day without anything to do," Taro replied as he stretched his arms. "Inform them that I'll be there in a moment."

"Yes, Taro-dono."

Taro pressed the button again, then he stood up from his seat with both his arms stretched out and a loud yawn escaping from his mouth.

"Well, time to go and join my partners."

Taro started to exit his office room in the direction of the VIP room where the old devils were waiting for him.

Inside of the arena where the Gehenna Tournament was being held, while people were sitting in the stands watching the fights. There were special booths where Taro's "special guests" such as benefactors to the success of Hagun Island were allowed to watch the matches in true comfort. In one of these booths, there were a group of old devils sitting there in the comfortable chairs and being served by maidservants.

"Ah, I'm glad that things are being a success."

"What a wonderful business. We get to trade some brats with talent and groom them into strong servants for the rating game participants and there aren't any questions as to where they came from. I was almost worried when that brat Ajuka suggested the evil pieces, but who would've thought that we could've stirred up such a profit by using reincarnated devils in the rating games?"

Several of the old devils shared the same opinion as reincarnated devils or low-ranked devils were just used for their potential by most and never receive the proper education unless they recognized for that talent. That was a tradition to most in the Underworld.

"But, who would've thought that woman would have had a daughter with that exorcist."

Another one of them brought up as if annoyed by that fact.

"We don't yet know whether or not she knows about what her mother had become involved in, but we can't take a single chance if she ends up coming into contact with Diehauser of all people."

That was what the old devils were most worried about as Diehauser wasn't someone who could be dealt with.

"There's nothing to worry about because once she leaves this island. The little winch will be dealt with and that will be the end of it."

Each of them had come to a merciless agreement as they planned on taking Claire's life as soon as she left from Hagun Island. Before either of the old devils could say another word, the door opened revealing Taro walk inside of the VIP room where the old devils waited for him.

"Have I kept you awaiting my friends?"

"Of course not, Taro-dono."

"So who's about to fight right now?"

The old devils greeted him, while another one questioned the upcoming match for the Gehenna Tournament.

"Ah, this is a true treat. There was another kid among residential area b with a sacred gear that has just activated a couple of days prior."

Taro announced as he took a seat on the chair next to them after one of the maidservants poured him a glass of red wine from his imported collection. He soon held the wineglass in his hand with a smug look on his face as he looked down at the arena as the match was about to start. In the crowds, people were preparing to listen to the arbiter of the match.

[Welcome back out loyal patrons! I, Alexei Sternberg, everyone's favorite arbiter will now announce the arrival of a new addition into the Gehenna Tournament!]

His announcement caused thundering cheers to echo across the arena as the gates where the fighters were all supposed to arrive through. Though the crowd started to become silent as no one began to come out through the gates, which confused them.

"What's going on?"

"Where's the fighter?"

"What happened?"

Several questions started to arise in the stands soon causing a commotion among them, as within the VIP room, where Taro was, old devils were wondering the same thing.

"Did something happen, Taro-dono?"

"I don't know."

Taro reached into his pocket and pulled out a communication device, then spoke to the gehenna guards with the next combatant.

"Hey, what's going on in there?"

Taro's tone was almost aggravated for the first time as he spoke with a calm almost cocky tone most of the time.

[…we…uh…have a…situation….]

Taro and the old devils could hear that there seemed to a fight occurring on the radio.

"Is our recent addition fighting back?"

[…no, he left a while ago…it's…that…aaahhhh!]

At the same time as that call, the radio was cut and a large explosion occurred in the tunnel causing a thick cloud of smoke catching the attention of the entire crowd. Coming out from the smoke were the bodies belonging to the two gehenna guard who was knocked out with injuries on their bodies.

"None of you have any idea how long I've been waiting to do that."

A sudden voice belonging to a child made it to the ears of the crowd, but if it were at a normal volume then there was no way that all of them could've heard it. Taro and even the old devils recognized that voice, the latter due to watching their previous matches and others due to believing he had died. Walking out of the smoke holding one of the guard's speakers, which amplifies their voice.

"…now way in hell."

Taro's tone was low, but his anger could be felt in his words.

Standing in the middle of the arena was Kensei Amagiri, the child he thought had died a month ago and ended a potential threat to his ambition. He thought that had died last month.

"Taro-dono what is going on?"

"That's what I'd like to know," Taro gritted his teeth and turned towards one of the old devils he thought killed the ten-year-old. "You all told me that he died."

Though he tried to maintain his composure, there was obvious anger and rage in his voice, which resulted in one of the old devils letting out an annoyed sigh in return.

"Watch your tone, Taro-dono."

"Don't overstep your bounds."

Two of the old devils talked back to him in a superior tone causing a vein to appear on his head due to just how much he had been gritting his teeth and tightened his fist.

"But," another old devil stared as Kensei continued to walk until reaching the middle of the arena. "That kid was, in fact, half dead after the beating from last year and should have died. We sent him to a location farther from the Shinto Faction, which was brimming with dangerous youkai who should've eaten him the moment that he had arrived there. And by all accounts, he should've died without resistance."

"Well, how's that working out," Taro had questioned as he turned towards them. "You had him sent off the island. Did you ever consider what could've happened if he surprised?!"

"Yo, Taro. I know you're up there with those old bastards."

Kensei had directed his attention towards the exact VIP room where both Taro and the old devils were, however, it surprised Taro since there was the magic that made them invisible from the outside imbued into each of the rooms. He directed his attention to the middle of the arena where Kensei had been standing and held the speaker built in his device and started to speak.

"Well, this is surprising. And here I thought that you had died a month ago," Taro declared. "You're a far tougher brat than I had originally given you credit for. Now, why did you come back here? Did you forget that…?"

"Well, I thought that I'd come back and drag both you and your partners from your pedestals."

Kensei interrupted as he held his arm up revealing that the gehenna bracelet on his arm wasn't there anymore.

"Was this was you were referring to," he questioned without noticing the scrunched-up face belonging to Taro. "I don't have to worry about you pulling anything with this thing out of the way."

[I don't know what you plan on doing, but you should've remained in Japan or wherever you came from. How do you think you are? Is this just a familial thing, barging into my business and trying to ruin everything that I worked so hard to build up?! Didn't you learn the lesson after I had your mother killed?! You're standing against an entire military force that makes the ones in the human world look like a bunch of children wielding water pistols! I can have any of the several brats on this island killed with a single command! So, why don't you just be a good boy and have another bracelet placed on you and behave?!]

Kensei could hear the anger behind his voice bordering on a child throwing a tantrum after having one of his toys taken away from him, which caused the actual ten-year-old to give a slight smirk. Around the crowd, there were some people if not all of them who were looking at what was occurring with interest. All of which were also all being recorded and podcast across Hagun Island.

"Alright, Zane's advice is started to work out. If I can get the attention of everyone on the island, then it'll make a big difference in giving them all the time they need," Kensei smirked before turning towards Taro who remained hidden from sight. "Come on, I know that that usual playful and brilliant Taro is starting to lose his cool. But, since your little match was ended why don't we have another."

[What're you talking about?]

"I planned on coming back here to crush this entire operation starting with the gehenna guard including that blind bastard, Hayashi," Kensei declared. "So, why don't we make this a little battle royal with your whatever number of the gehenna guard you want against me?"

….

….

….

There was a long pause as that request reached the ears of all the people and a lot of them stared at Kensei as if he were insane. Soon enough, laughter started to roar across the entire arena much louder than their clapping in their prior cheering to all of them had done in the past.

"Hahahaha! Is this kid insane?!"

"He plans on taking on the entire gehenna guard himself!"

"Don't get cocky just because you come from a clan of freaks!"

"You're still a brat in the end!"

"This isn't a match, this is a…."

Doooon! Dooooon! Doooooon!

[Uwaaaaaah!]

Instead of cheering, the entire crowd let out a scream of shock as the barriers in front of them resounded as soon as an explosion of fire, wind, and lightning had come into contact with them. It had come from Kensei who held a total of three talismans in his hands. In response to their screams, Kensei sent them all a glare that sent a severe chill down their spines.

"If I wanted the opinion of the audience, then I would've asked," even his voice was cold-causing even those who weren't humans to feel a chill. "And don't think that a barrier will be able to protect either of you. It won't take me a couple of minutes to get through, but I don't want to waste any time doing that. So, why don't all of you just sit there, be quiet, and watch the show?"

….

No one in the crowd spoke another word in the presence of this child as he redirected his attention towards Taro, who at the press of a single button removed the magic cloaking on the VIP room glass. Kensei looked toward the expression on Taro's face and noticed that it was scrunched up, but it seemed as if he were trying to control the anger welling up inside of himself.

[Fine, have it your way.] Taro spoke in a tone that displayed callousness before using the device in his hands to contact the gehenna guard. [All gehenna guards available and stationed around Paradise come into the arena using the emergency teleportation magic-circles to deal a minor inconvenience.]

There was another moment of pause before several magic-circles started to appear around him and seemed to number into the higher double digits. Due to the sheer size and diameter of the arena, their numbers didn't even fill most of it at all. All of them were still well-equipped in the usual special-made white and black armored combat suits armed with either various guns or swords. Each of them turned their attention toward Kensei who remained in the middle of all of them.

"Huh?"

"Wasn't this the brat who died?"

"I was certain that he died last month."

"Tsk, so this brat survived."

Several gehenna guards started to talk among one another loud enough for Kensei to hear them and he knew that the two gehenna guards talking were the ones from last month.

[This has just turned into an amazing surprise! Our wonderful host, Taro has announced a surprising event to our illustrious crowd with the gehenna guard taking on the challenge of our young challenger! How will this all end?! Will the gehenna guard be victorious and decided this young fighter?! Or will a miracle occur and assist the child in claiming victory against them all! Everyone place your bets!]

As soon as that announcement came from Alexei, the crowd started going wild with both cheering and clapping, which seemed almost like thunder crashing. Kensei ignored them and instead turned his attention towards the gehenna guard who surrounded him. The first among them to step forward were the two gehenna guards that had tried to kill him a month prior, the magic-user held his hand up forming a magic circle in front of him.

"Look, why don't we get this over with? You're just embarrassing yourself."

"Didn't you learn your lesson?"

After that question left out the mouth of the aggressive gehenna guard who had his weapon pointed at him, while the magic-user released a fireball towards him.

"I did learn something over the past month."

Kensei spoke at a volume low enough for them not to hear him as the fireball continued to sail towards him, but a moment before it could make contact, he vanished from sight causing great shock in the gehenna guard. Before either of them could react, he appeared in front of the magic-user with his fist balled up and pulled back. Then in a single sharp motion, launched a strong punch in his stomach causing his body to be lifted into the air as bile escape from his mouth.

"You son of a…."

After realizing what happened, the gehenna guard pointed his gun at him and was prepared to fire, but stopped as Kensei unsheathed his katana and sliced it apart in a fluid motion thus breaking it. He later propelled himself into the air and performed a downward kick on top of his head causing the gehenna guard to be knocked out in a single attack. Seeing that two of their own caused a serious expression to appear on their face as their weapons and/or magic were being prepped.

"Here's what I learned," Kensei added as he turned towards them. "Without real proper training, even if you have strong equipment, it doesn't make you either strong or skilled…just hired thugs. And I'm here to broadcast that to everyone on Hagun Island."

Upon hearing that declaration from Kensei, the gehenna guards in front of him started to grit their teeth in anger and annoyance after being told that by a child of people.

Meanwhile, elsewhere on Hagun Island, the others apart of their plan had started to do their part for them to ensure that everything goes as planned. Aside from Kensei, all eight other kids had started to run around to do their part in this plan.

[Mission Start!]

That was the single thought that resounded in each of their heads as they steeled themselves for whatever could happen next before them.

"Let's get started!"

Kensei declared as he pointed his katana at the gehenna guard.

A/N: And there goes the twelfth chapter of DxD – The Last Amagiri, Kensei's training with Sun Wukong is over and he learned the basics of three Chinese martial arts from him, which he will further expand on in the future. He returns to Hagun Island to find out the situation with Claire and the others, then later has a heartfelt reunion with all of them with Claire being the most shocked/happy about it. It later goes to them making their final preparations for their final struggle for freedom. And in the end, Kensei made his return to the arena, but this time challenging the gehenna guard to a fight. This is the final battle that all of you have been waiting for and it will be a long one.

So, until next time.

Kensei's Harem: Alice, Claire, Hisui, Kunou, Yasaka, Lu Lingqi, Mirana, Sarah, Minako, Koneko, Kuroka, Ravel, Amaterasu, Brynhildr.