Kaku's knee hit the ground.
Blood seeped steadily from the blade lodged deep in his side.
Ichiha stood over him breathing heavily, chest rising sharply with every breath as sweat rolled down his face. His trembling fingers slowly slipped from the weapon's handle.
Kaku remained kneeling, head lowered.
Then, he smiled.
"Uncle…" Ichiha's voice shook violently. "I don't even know if you deserve to be called that anymore."
His breathing staggered.
"But this wound…"
A pause.
"…it's going to kill you."
HAHAHAHAHAHA.
Kaku's laughter echoed across the ruined battlefield.
Slow.
Deep.
Mocking.
"Still stupid as ever."
His hand shot upward instantly.
GRAB.
Ichiha's eyes widened.
Before he could react.
Kaku swung him overhead and slammed him violently into the ground.
BAAAANG!
The earth shattered beneath the impact.
"AAAAAH!"
Pain exploded through Ichiha's body as his back smashed against stone. He bounced slightly before rolling weakly onto his side.
The recoil from his earlier attack still lingered inside him.
Kaku slowly rose to his feet, grinning as his glowing eyes lowered toward the blade stuck in his side.
Without urgency, without pain, he grabbed the handle and pulled it free.
Blood poured down his body.
Then red mist swirled around the wound, the flesh closed instantly.
Perfectly healed.
"You really thought disrupting my magic with Divine Energy…" Kaku chuckled softly, "…then stabbing me with a tiny blade would work?"
The blade clattered aside.
Kaku walked slowly toward Ichiha.
"You actually believed weakening our energy sources would make me vulnerable enough to kill?"
He crouched before him.
"Small mind."
A grin spread wider across his face.
"Always thinking small."
Ichiha struggled to lift himself, barely conscious.
Kaku stared down at him silently for a moment.
"I had plans for you, Ichiha."
His smile faded slightly.
"But you betrayed me."
Then.
SMACK!
His fist crashed into Ichiha's face.
Ichiha's head snapped sideways violently.
Kaku grabbed him by the collar immediately.
SMACK!
Another punch followed instantly. Then another.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Blood sprayed across the shattered ground as Kaku's fists hammered through Ichiha's guard without mercy.
"You'll never compare to a perfect Vessel," Kaku growled coldly.
SMACK!
"If you stayed with me..."
SMACK!
"...I would've helped you through your slow death."
CRACK.
This blow peeled flesh from Ichiha's face.
The beating continued mercilessly, dozens of strikes.
Until Ichiha's face was barely recognizable.
One eye ruptured partially, his nose shattered, teeth scattered across the ground.
Blood streamed endlessly from torn skin.
Then finally, his body went limp.
Unconscious.
Kaku stood over him breathing heavily.
"…How unfortunate."
He stared down quietly.
"If humans possessed the power to kill Vessels…"
A faint sigh escaped him.
"…I would've killed you myself."
But his thoughts shifted immediately.
"If humans cannot kill a Vessel…"
"Then how am I supposed to kill Ozaki?"
"He's Earth's strongest Vessel."
The contradiction frustrated him.
But one thing remained absolute.
He could not disobey his Saviour's command.
SHING!
Ozaki appeared instantly.
His silver scythe cut through the air in one smooth motion.
SLASH!
Kaku leaned backward barely in time.
Several strands of hair drifted downward slowly.
Kaku blinked once.
Then smiled.
"Oh?" he chuckled. "You're starting before the twelve minutes end?"
Ozaki said nothing.
His calm eyes remained fixed on Kaku while he spun the scythe once beside him.
Behind them, Yamato walked toward Ichiha silently.
He knelt beside him carefully and lifted the broken body into his arms.
Blood stained everything.
His face, destroyed.
Yamato remained quiet for a few seconds before returning to the others.
"Lumei."
His voice lowered calmly.
"Use the stored-up magic."
Lumei looked toward him immediately.
"Wrap Ichiha inside Rujer's tampered Ink. Form a ball around him."
Chella frowned.
"How does that help?"
Yamato looked toward the cocoon-forming shadows.
"Rujer's acid property was neutralized by all of you during the fight."
He pointed calmly.
"But your Divine Energy signatures still remain inside it."
Realization struck instantly.
Sora nodded first.
"…So it heals him using our own Divine Energy."
"Exactly."
Lumei raised both hands slowly.
The dark mass rose from the earth like liquid shadow before gently wrapping around Ichiha's body.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Until a full cocoon formed around him.
Sora stood nearby silently, arms crossed while the wind pushed softly through her hair.
Chella knelt beside the cocoon, resting one hand gently against it.
Nobody spoke.
Then Yamato finally broke the silence.
"This time…"
His eyes stayed fixed ahead.
"…we can't just watch."
The group looked toward him.
"Master Ozaki is exhausted."
A pause.
"If he falls…"
His expression hardened.
"…we fight."
Nobody hesitated.
Nobody argued.
Only silent resolve answered him.
—
Far away, at Cloak High.
Regns had already dismissed every student from his Realm without warning.
Now, he sat alone inside his office. Hands clasped tightly, head lowered.
Eyes shut.
For the first time in years, concern crossed his face openly.
"Your aura…" he muttered quietly.
"…Ozaki…"
A long sigh escaped him.
"Why is it changing again…?"
His fingers tightened slightly.
"That day…"
Silence.
"…it started exactly like this."
The room trembled faintly.
Not from power.
From memory.
—
Back on the battlefield.
The wind roared violently across the broken land.
Loose stones floated slightly from the pressure saturating the air.
Ozaki and Kaku stood facing one another from a distance.
Neither moved immediately.
Ozaki lowered himself slightly, spinning his scythe behind his back smoothly.
A calm smile touched his face.
"Let's play," he said softly.
"In style."
Kaku smirked.
Dark ash-colored Ink crawled upward across his body, thickening around his arms and shoulders.
The muscles expanded unnaturally.
Dense.
Compressed.
Violent.
Then.
Something changed.
Ozaki's body loosened slightly, but his stance never broke.
His fingers rolled the scythe once behind his back, smooth and controlled.
Then, the pressure around him changed.
Not weaker.
Sharper.
Cleaner.
The silver aura surrounding his body faded slowly into the air like mist beneath morning sunlight.
Kaku's eyes narrowed.
"What?" he muttered.
Ozaki glanced at his own palm briefly.
A quiet smile touched his face.
"Guess Kowichi really refuses to fight anything connected to his creator."
He lifted the scythe again.
The wind shifted around him.
No divine pressure.
No overflowing Silver.
Just him, pure skill, pure body, pure instinct.
Ozaki looked up at Kaku.
Calm.
Almost disappointed.
"You know…" he said softly, "it's been a while since I fought like this."
He rolled his shoulder once.
"Without Kowichi."
Another step forward.
"Without Silver."
CRACK.
The ground beneath his foot shattered.
Not from his Divine Energy.
From force.
Ozaki's eyes sharpened.
"Let me remind myself…"
The scythe tilted toward Kaku.
"…why they called me the strongest."