The sun had begun to rise to its highest point, casting golden rays over the Iron Capital. The great hall stood calm after the storm of political tension. Lords and heirs retreated to their respective quarters to rest, to plan, or to conspire, before giving the final decision on Mifune's heavy words.
Until they return, Mifune remains in the great hall with his trusted samurai.
But Hinata Gin could feel it.
As she stepped out into one of the outer corridors with Kaito and Kuro by her side, something twisted in the breath of the world. The scent was unchanged. The air was clear. But to her, the intent of the world had darkened.
She froze. Her eyes remained closed, but the soul vision flared to life.
Black lines. Thin, creeping along the hearts and throats of the gathered. Lines of death, dozens—no, hundreds—appearing at once.
"Kaito," she whispered. "Something's coming. I need to prepare."
He turned to her, instantly alert. "What should I do?"
Hinata's fingers weaved through the space in front of her, manifesting three spiritual clones, each pulsing faintly with ethereal light before their images solidified and appeared identical to the original. Her breath was calm but tense.
"One goes with Kuro to Renga's quarters. One to Tenshō, disguised as a maid. The last stays here to warn Lord Mifune and my father. I'm going to need to meditate to use the breath of the world to reach the Silver Stage. Please protect my body."
The clone that remained beside her nodded once and faded behind a pillar. Hinata took Kaito's hand for a breath. "Whatever happens, thank you."
She sat and crossed her legs as Kaito drew his sword. He knew this was serious.
As Hinata concentrated on the natural world that enveloped existence itself, the white threads of natural energy that covered everything, she guided them towards her body and towards her soul, in a faster way than she had ever done before.
<<<< o >>>>
"Father," the clone said, approaching with a voice full of concern. "I must speak to you."
Takama narrowed his eyes. Hinata's clone dropped all pretense and whispered. "Something dark is about to begin, I think we are all in danger."
He turned to Mifune. "Prepare your men. Now."
Before either could act further, explosions erupted in the distance.
<<<< o >>>>
Hinata's second clone, bearing the guise of a maid, quietly moved through the outer ring of Tenshō's quarters. She paused as she observed the Takigakure ninjas already preparing defensive seals and traps, as if they expected battle.
One whispered, "Detonators at the north wall. Activate, on my mark."
The clone's eyes narrowed.
<<<< o >>>>
Kuro growled low as they approached the outer steps. Two shadows stood at the threshold: Deidara and Sasori, motionless and alert.
"Hello," Hinata said gently. "I felt your presence and couldn't help but come greet you. I hope Renga-sama isn't making your job too difficult."
Deidara and Sasori turned slowly.
She smiled, calm but observant. Her words floated like petals, but her meaning carried like steel.
"This is a private area," Sasori said, not moving.
"We're here to speak with Lord Renga," the clone answered, trying to convey its urgency.
"Then speak loudly," Deidara muttered. "He might hear."
Then, as if a signal had been triggered, screams shattered the calm. Flames burst in the direction of the noble plaza. One of the central towers collapsed in fire.
Hooded figures began to emerge from the opening, charging toward where Deidra and Sasori were talking with little Hinata and Kuro…
Deidara reacted quickly, sending two clay birds crashing into the incoming ones, detonating in a concentrated explosion that didn't do much damage to the structure.
"At least now you're a little careful with your surroundings," Sasori said as he began to attack all the attackers who passed through Deidara's controlled explosions with his puppet's tail.
Deidara, "Hey, what image would I have if all I left was destruction in my wake!"
Hinata watched alongside Kuro as the two Akatsuki members quickly and ruthlessly eliminated the attackers.
When a pair of them arrived through another hallway, Hinata put one of them to sleep with a well-placed genjutsu; the other quickly fell to Kuro's swift and shadowy attack.
"Hey, looks like the little girl and her dog have some tricks up their sleeves," Deidara said while laughing.
<<<< o >>>>
Kaito held the doorway, his blade drawn.
It started with a whisper. A strange, toxic gas slipped through the cracks—colorless, scentless. But Hinata's sense of crisis allowed him to perceive something strange when he felt his breathing slow. He covered his mouth with cloth and kicked open the window.
Figures emerged—robed in black, faces marked with the sigil of Jashin, some bleeding, some laughing, many carrying explosive tags and short blades. Behind them, civilians charged in madness, eyes wild, corrupted.
Some attackers were different—warped, pale-skinned warriors with rotting flesh, their movements unnatural, swift despite missing limbs. When one had his leg severed, he still leapt forward, shrieking hymns to Jashin.
Kaito stood firm. He fought not to win, but to buy her time.
He knocked one down with a cross cut across the chest.
Then he took out the second with a slash that sliced across his exposed neck.
But the third was faster than the others and trained, he was able to stick a knife in his side before Kaito gave him a shovel that slammed him against the wall with force, leaving him unconscious.
The fourth was one who came running down the hallway with eyes full of madness. An explosive tag on his chest. The thought of Hinata putting her life in his hands forced Kaito to rush forward to meet this enemy and try to protect her from the blast. Using what little air he could bring, he channeled his fog breath to try to hit and retreat before the blast reached him. The maneuver was successful, but bone fragments impacted on him in various places, but she was safe.
A fifth, larger and faster than all the others, clearly trained, wielded a curved sword covered in black sludge that hissed against his armor. Kaito screamed, but didn't fall.
Behind him, Hinata with her eyes closed, still as a mountain, began to sweat from the effort of what she was doing, a mystery in his eyes, but he did not doubt that it was something important.
A couple of young men arrived, fast retreating toward the corridor, thinking it was safe from the conflict because no one was coming from this way. They found Kaito defending this place alone, and a young woman further back, motionless... their hearts couldn't help but escape the conflict any further, and they bravely drew their swords, ready to help.
<<<< o >>>>
The odorless paralytic poison, invisible to normal eyes, affected them all equally; only the most capable, like Mifune, were able to notice the difference before it was too late.
The samurai felt their bodies harden, their breaths straining against them. However, they had to persevere and overcome this obstacle. They had to defend this attack on their sovereign land.
Young people, the future of this land, came to this council with their parents, confident in their safety. Some fell paralyzed, others watched helplessly as their limbs failed to respond to the terrible paralytic agent in the air.
The doors of the great hall exploded, shards of wood hurling themselves at several of the samurai. In the distance, numerous attackers could be seen running carelessly to confront whatever was in their path, some of them carrying the famous explosive tags that the ninja use. The unfortunate ones who crossed paths with these people died alongside them without being able to defend themselves, in great flashes of light and thunderous noise, while those who survived by preparation or luck, would be out of the rest of the conflict.
Among them, prominent figures could be seen, their eyes marked by madness and a desire for destruction. On their foreheads and on their clothes, the symbol of the Jashin cult.
Takama ignited his flaming breath style, cutting through the assassins like a storm. Beside him, Mifune moved like mist and death, his Breath of the Mists technique scattering limbs with surgical calm.
From within the attacking crowd, one emerged—a massive ronin with glowing symbols carved into his body. A berserker. Takama clashed with him directly. Fire, meeting blade. The ronin bled black but laughed, swinging his greatsword with inhuman strength.
Takama redirected the blow and knew in that instant that his opponent is a sword master, combined with his superhuman strength and impossible physique... if he wanted to survive he would have to give it his all.
Hinata's clone, behind her father, began to use various Genjutsu to disorient enemies and level the battlefield, one where the samurai lost access to one of their greatest advantages... their breaths.
Enemies that Hinata paid special attention to were those carrying explosive tags, causing them to fall unconscious or run out of the complex.
Samurai loyal to the Mifune side, many of whom had trained in the Silver World, fought like men possessed by divine fury. The newcomers faltered, but the veterans held. The spirit realm had shaped them well.
<<<< o >>>>
Meanwhile, Hinata's clone, disguised as a maid, watched incredulously as the ninjas and samurai on Tensho's side eliminated the attackers with extreme efficiency. She couldn't help but notice that their explosive tags detonated before they could get anywhere to do any real damage, and all the ninjas seemed to move as if the paralytic poison that reached the entire complex with inexplicable efficiency didn't affect them.
<<<< o >>>>
In that moment, Hinata's body shuddered, having completed the first cycle of the breath of the world, silver threads dancing across her skin. Her eyes opened up to reveal a pair of silver lanterns, before they went out in a silver mist… but her soul opened. The battlefield heard her breath. And in that instant, her body lost its weight, her soul took on a brilliant, crystalline form. The world was no longer made of flesh and blood, but of pure intent.
In front of her, two young samurai were wounded and barely struggling to stay conscious while trying to avoid bleeding out from their wounds.
Beyond them, she saw numerous fallen bodies and a mess of explosions and blood... and on top of a pile of fallen bodies was Kaito, held by his iron will, surrounded by black threads that wouldn't take hold of him due to his impossible desire to protect.
In front of a cultist who seemed dead in life, everything about him marked death, and even the white lines of the world didn't touch him, and yet he moved.
Kaito coughed blood, one leg trembling. His vision blurred. Still, he stood between Hinata and death. The cultist before him, flesh half-rotted, raised a jagged weapon in silent ecstasy. But Kaito would not yield. With a roar that defied agony, he drove his blade upward, even as the enemy's edge sank into his shoulder.
He smiled. "She's… worth dying for."