Keisuke brought Daisuke up to speed on his brother Daichi’s arrest. He also told him he was outnumbered because a group of armed keisatsu was making its way to the pace.

  While the officer tried to make the daimyo understand the gravity of the situation, Yamamoto and a team of twenty keisatsu arrived outside the pace and took up their positions. The task force comprised of the younger officers who shared the same views on anti-corruption as Keisuke and Yamamoto. They were armed with the exact same flintlock rifles and pistols the Hasegawa Syndicate had.

  “That must be them,” said Keisuke when they heard the shootout form outside. “You have nowhere else to go so it would be best for you surrender now whilst you can.”

  “Where did you people acquire firearms? Last time I checked, keisatsu were not allowed to carry one.”

  “I guess it’s safe to tell you now. We have had an undercover agent within your yakuza who has been supplying us with ammunition and we have been waiting for the opportune time to carry out this coup.”

  “Shit!” Daisuke said trying to think of a pn. “You won’t get away with this!”

  “We already have.” Keisuke grinned. “And if I were you, I would start talking now… Where is Kaito?”

  ?

  The task force was leveling the pying field as they fired shots at both the yakuza and the corrupt officers. The peppery smell of gunpowder filled the night air as spherical pellets flew from all angles and ricocheted on the concrete walls. The yakuza were becoming overwhelmed by the heavy artillery from the task force as this had been the least of their expectations.

  “How the fuck do these pigs have guns?” said a yakuza, yelling as he saw his friend’s head get blown to bits.

  “I don’t know man!” came a reply from another yakuza who had also taken cover from the lead projectiles. “Just keep firing at them… they’ll probably run out of pellets soon enough!”

  ?

  An armed yakuza rushed in to daimyo’s chamber to warn him of the shootout outside the pace. “Lord Daisuke! The pace is under atta–” He paused as he saw his daimyo held captive by officer Keisuke.

  There was a stalemate as everyone in the room stood perfectly still. Daisuke, his guard officer and a yakuza against Keisuke and the two Lightning boys: three on three. Takumi was closer to Keisuke and the daimyo whilst Kazuo stood in front of the guard. The yakuza stood near the door with his pistol cocked and ready to fire on command.

  Daisuke whispered to Keisuke, “If anything happens to me you will never see your brother again.” The daimyo had pyed his final move and, for an instant, the officer’s grip loosened.

  In order to see Kaito… I need him alive, Keisuke thought.

  That was all the time Daisuke needed to elbow Keisuke’s abdomen and free himself from the tight hold. “Shoot them! Shoot them down!!” He ordered the yakuza as he ran for the door.

  Keisuke jumped in front of Takumi and got shot on the chest. As Keisuke y on the floor motionless, Takumi picked his knifed and flung it in the air. The bde stabbed the yakuza’s neck before he could reload. When the yakuza dropped dead, Takumi rushed to tend to Keisuke’s wound.

  “D–Don’t…” Keisuke coughed. “You worry about me.” He unbuttoned his uniform to reveal a steel armour underneath that had saved him from death. “I came prepared, go help your friend.”

  A defenseless Kazuo cshed against the guard armed with two wooden batons. He took a severe beating after having lost much energy from the fight with Daichi. His arms were sore from blocking the heavy blows that came from every direction. As he fell on his back, the guard got on top of him and started thrashing his face.

  Takumi saw Kazuo getting overpowered and dashed for Keisuke’s knife. He plucked the bde from the yakuza’s neck and charged to help his comrade. As he shoved the bde into the guard’s back, the man knocked him out with a baton to his face. He plummeted and y unconscious on the floor.

  The barrage of blows to Kazuo’s body resumed and, at that moment, he too lost consciousness. “Finally passed out, you puny brat!” said the guard, raising a baton to finish him off.

  Suddenly, Mikoto and Kaito rushed into the room just before the guard could nd the final blow. Seeing her comrades down for the count was enough to rile her up. She leapt at the guard and connected an intense kick to the back of his head. The guard rolled over and stood where he had nded to face Mikoto.

  Kaito raced over to check if his brother was alright. Keisuke was still unable to sit up straight due to the pain from the impact he had received on his chest.

  “Hey little girl… If I were you, I would run along unless you want to end up like these two street rats over here.”

  “You’ll pay for what you did to my friends!” Mikoto’s face reddened as veins popped on her temples. She charged forward with an outstretched fist and the battle began. Her heavy punches and kicks gave her an advantage. She disarmed the guard with ease and kneed him on the gut. As the guard drew closer, she ducked before punching him on the face.

  There was a sharp crack and red drops trickled from the guard’s nostrils. Mikoto followed up the initial blow with an uppercut that sent him plummeting to the ground. She picked up his batons, got on top of him and avenged her friends.

  The wooden sticks were bloody when Keisuke pulled her away from the unconscious body. Her eyes were filled with rage that he had never seen before and he was convinced that she would have killed the man had he not intervened. The guard’s face was left unrecognizable as he y on the floor.

  Mikoto walked over to Kazuo in order to assess the magnitude of his injuries.

  “Will he be alright?” asked Takumi after regaining consciousness.

  “We need to rush him to a hospital now!”

  “The best hospital in the country is in this district. I promise you we will get him there,” said Keisuke.

  Yamamoto and two other keisatsu entered the daimyo’s chamber and announced that they had gotten the remaining yakuza and corrupt officers to surrender. They had all been arrested including the youngest of the Hasegawa brothers. However, Daisuke was nowhere to be seen as he had fled the district unnoticed.

  Keisuke and Yamamoto took Kazuo and the wounded guard to the hospital followed by Kaito and the Lightning team. The other officers came along because the guard was to be arrested as soon as he recovered. Keisuke ter found out that his task force had been reduced to twelve men during the siege.

  Doi Ishigami was reinstated as the daimyo after moving back into the pace where he was forcefully removed by the Hasegawa Syndicate. In his first act as daimyo, he honoured Keisuke and his task force as local heroes. Keisuke had informed the Lord that their coup would not have been a success had it not been for Kazuo and his friends. Hence, the honour was extended to the Lightning trio as well.

  ?

  Kazuo was discharged two days ter and had to wear a sling to hold his broken arm in pce. In fact, his face and body were covered with bandages for the cuts he had sustained during his showdown with Daichi.

  “How can I surely repay you for what you have done for us, Inazuma-dono? Fame? Riches? Or even one of daughters’ hand in marriage? You name it.” Doi pced a chubby hand on his huge pot belly. He could have been in his forties with a dark goatee and a chonmage hairstyle. He wore the dark green–Earth daimyo haori, bck kimono and a white hakama. Around his neck was a beaded rosary with the golden cross on his chest.

  “Well, my team and I were here for Dōjin. If you could give us the Earth bde that would be great.”

  “B–but that’s our nation’s treasure, given to us by the Legendary Sage himself as a peace offering.” The daimyo gnced at the newly promoted Sergeant Keisuke. “I will have to talk with my advisors on that.”

  After a great deal of convincing, mainly from Sergeant Keisuke who mentioned to Doi that Kazuo had been the only person to wield the sword ever since it was cast in stone several years ago. The daimyo had no choice but to allow the Lightning trio to take the bde.

  After retrieving the sword, the trio bid farewell to Keisuke and Kaito. They made their way to the farmer outside the Soil district to get their carriage and began their journey to Yamaguchi Port.

  ?

  Daisuke had just arrived on an isnd across the sea to the East. He was suddenly stopped by a group of Shadow ninjas when he reached the Kurai vilge coast.

  “Hold it right there.” One of them pced his katana on Daisuke’s neck. “State your business here.”

  “I mean you no harm…” Daisuke raised his hands and surrendered. “I would like to speak to the Shadow King, I have information on Kazuo Inazuma.”