No one was willing to give up their Vision—or rather, their wish—to be embedded into that cold statue. So when faced with the Shogunate's arrest, all Vision holders chose to resist.
As Kazuha and the swordsman approached the shrine, they heard sounds of fighting inside. Climbing onto the outer wall, they saw a large contingent of Shogunate forces surrounding several wandering samurai in the center of the shrine.
Kazuha said urgently, "They can't hold out much longer. We need to help them."
Just as he was about to rush in and fight alongside the Vision holders, the swordsman grabbed his arm.
"With that many Shogunate soldiers, charging in now would be suicide," the swordsman said gravely.
Kazuha understood that, but he was agitated. "Then what do we do? Just watch them get captured? Have their Visions taken? Embedded into that cold statue?"
That was the only outcome once the Shogunate caught them. That was why Kazuha was so worked up.
The swordsman calmed him down and turned his gaze to a woman standing in the distance.
"If I'm not mistaken, that woman is the leader of this Shogunate force—Kujou Sara. To save those samurai, we must subdue her first."
Even from a distance, the swordsman could tell she was a true master. She was the Shogunate's greatest asset.
Kazuha followed his gaze and saw Kujou Sara. His heart sank. "She's here too."
The last time he had encountered her, if Ayato had not secretly intervened, Kazuha would have been captured. He knew her strength well. Even now, facing her arrows, he could barely dodge. Getting close to her was impossible.
The swordsman said seriously, "Kazuha, buy me five seconds. I'll subdue her."
Five seconds. For a true master, that was enough to decide victory or defeat.
Seeing the determination in his friend's eyes, Kazuha gritted his teeth. "If it means saving those samurai, I'll buy you five seconds. Even five minutes if I have to."
The next moment, following the swordsman's plan, Kazuha did not go to help the fighting samurai. Instead, he charged from the shrine wall directly at Kujou Sara.
Meanwhile, the swordsman quickly circled around to the other side of the shrine, getting behind Kujou Sara.
Just then, as Kazuha launched his attack, Kujou Sara saw him coming. Her expression flickered with surprise, but she was not afraid. She was pleased.
Her intelligence had said there were only three Vision holders hiding here. Now a fourth had appeared.
Without hesitation, she raised her bow and arrow toward Kazuha. Draw. Shoot. A fluid motion. She loosed two arrows in quick succession. Kazuha narrowly dodged them, but they tore his clothes. One nearly struck his body. It startled him.
She was worthy of being the heir of the Tengu clan, the Shogunate's strongest archer.
But then, unexpectedly, Kazuha was not driven back by the two arrows. He pressed his attack, swinging his blade toward Kujou Sara.
Kujou Sara finally frowned. "By the thousand-armed, hundred-eyed divine edict—Tengu Stormcall!"
Faced with Kazuha's relentless attack, she no longer held back. She unleashed her killing move.
But just as she focused all her attention on Kazuha, raising her hand to deliver the final blow, a sharp gust of wind appeared behind her. Her heart tightened.
Before she could counter, a cold blade was already at her throat.
Too fast. Taken completely off guard, in an instant the sword was at her neck. No time to resist.
Kujou Sara said coldly, "Who are you?"
As she was subdued, her mind raced, trying to identify her attacker. In all of Inazuma, aside from the Shogun herself, almost no one could approach her unnoticed from behind.
Behind her, the swordsman said calmly, "My name? I've forgotten it long ago. If you don't mind, you can call me Nameless. Or Swordsman. Or Friend. Oh, but we're not friends, so Swordsman will do."
At that moment, they were more like enemies.
The moment Kujou Sara was subdued, Kazuha, who had been driven back, rushed forward. Seeing his friend's blade at Kujou Sara's throat, he exclaimed excitedly, "Incredible! You subdued the Shogunate's strongest general so easily."
Kujou Sara was furious. "Subdued? What kind of skill is ambush?"
This was the first time since becoming a Shogunate general that she had tasted defeat. The feeling was hateful.
Hearing the sounds of fighting between the Shogunate forces and the samurai, Kazuha said urgently, "Kujou Sara, if you don't want to die, order the Shogunate forces to retreat immediately."
Kujou Sara did not panic. "Do you think I can be threatened?"
Seeing that threats were useless, Kazuha shouted loudly, "All Shogunate forces, retreat immediately, or I will kill Kujou Sara!"
His voice drew the attention of all the Shogunate soldiers. Only then did they realize that their commander had been captured. They stopped fighting, unsure what to do.
Kazuha shouted again, "If you don't want Kujou Sara to die, retreat now! Otherwise, I'll kill her!"
He drew his own blade and held it to Kujou Sara's throat. With one swing, this young Shogunate general, one of the Raiden Shogun's most important subordinates, would die.
Even now, the stubborn Kujou Sara gritted her teeth and did not give the order to retreat. But the Shogunate soldiers instinctively backed away, slowly retreating from the shrine.
The swordsman saw this and said seriously to Kazuha, "Take the wounded samurai and leave the shrine first. I'll watch her here."
Kazuha was reluctant. "I'll stay with you."
But the swordsman insisted. "Don't worry. Wait for me at the usual place. I'll come back."
Kazuha nodded seriously. "Alright. I'll wait for you to return."
With that, he led the wounded samurai away from the shrine.
For a time, the shrine was left with only the swordsman and Kujou Sara.