The forest didn't move.
No wind.
No birds.
Shinsuke knelt in the dirt, his body split, blood soaking into the pale earth beneath him. The light that once answered his call remained silent—cold, distant, gone.
Itsuki stood before him, sword lowered, presence heavy enough to bend the air.
"You're not from the Five Great Nations… are you?" Shinsuke asked again, voice unsteady now—not from fear, but from certainty.
Itsuki did not deny it.
"You're right," Itsuki replied calmly. "I'm not from the Five Great Nations."
He turned the sword slightly, the metal catching pale light as it reflected through the trees.
"I'm a foreigner."
Shinsuke let out a dry, incredulous laugh.
"A foreigner… meddling in the affairs of the Five Great Nations?" His grip tightened despite the weakness in his body. "You have no ties to them. No allegiance. No reason to interfere."
Itsuki stepped closer.
"That," he said flatly, "is none of your business."
He raised his sword.
The pressure sharpened—clean, absolute—enough to make Shinsuke's instincts scream.
"You won't live long enough to understand it anyway."
Itsuki sheathed his sword, already turning away.
Shinsuke lay back against the forest floor.
His vision blurring as the canopy above fractured into shadows and light.
So this is it…
A memory surfaced—clearer than the forest around him.
Akagiri stood before him then, posture straight, eyes steady. There was no arrogance in his gaze—only conviction.
"I want to create a place," Akagiri said, voice calm yet firm, "an empire built on freedom and peace. A place where people can live as they wish."
Shinsuke laughed softly.
"Isn't that a little ambitious, Akagiri?"
"Even if it is," Akaguri replied, placing a hand on Shinsuke's shoulder, "I'll make it real. You and I—we know what it means to be bound. To suffer without choice."
His grip tightened slightly.
Shinsuke ran a hand through his hair. "There's no peace without paying the price of loss—I know that much."
"That's why I need your help, Shinsuke."
Shinsuke smiled at the memory.
"…Sure thing," he had said back then. "I'll stand by your side."
The present crashed back in.
"Not yet…"
Shinsuke's breath came ragged, uneven.
"…I haven't lost yet."
Itsuki had already turned away—but he stopped.
He glanced back, eyes narrowing slightly.
"You're still breathing."
Shinsuke's sword trembled.
Then sank into him.
Metal dissolved into light, merging with flesh as his body began to glow violently. Cracks of radiance spread across his skin—unstable, chaotic.
Itsuki's eyes widened—just a fraction.
"…You're fusing with it," he muttered.
"But how…?"
Then it hit him as he remembered his encounter with the Shadows.
"I see—the blade has a mind of its own."
Steel whispered as he drew his sword.
Shinsuke forced himself upright, legs shaking as he stood.
"If I can't win," Shinsuke said hoarsely, light spilling from his mouth with every breath, "then I'll take you all down with me."
The ground beneath him began to fracture.
"This explosion will erase everything," he continued, a broken smile forming. "Even if I die… it'll all end here."
Sorry, my friend.
Shinsuke thought as pain clenched his chest.
I broke my promise. But I won't leave this unfinished. If I don't take him down here… he'll become a disaster.
Shinsuke's fingers twitched.
"…Akagiri," he whispered.
Then the light swallowed his voice.
The light swelled.
The forest ruptured.
Light erupted.
The earth screamed as pressure swelled beyond control—
Elsewhere, at the main road.
Defeated Raiders lay scattered across the road—some unconscious, others groaning, weapons discarded. Dust hung thick in the air, settling slowly as the tremor faded.
Rizo exhaled hard, steadying himself. "We got the Raiders down. Squadron Six has secured all areas."
" That's … good," Ina breathed slowly.
"Those who can still move—aid the fallen. Now!."
A ripple of motion. Ninjas melted into the shadows, dragging the injured to safety. Samurais fell in behind them, swords sheathed, helping hands steady and deliberate. Only one voice broke the silence:
"Understood," murmured a young ninja, already pulling a comrade from the dirt.
Ina didn't speak again. She didn't need to. The squad moved as one.
Then—
The shockwave reached the main road—and the ground buckled violently.
Rizo staggered, boots scraping against fractured stone as the ground heaved beneath him. Ina nearly lost her footing, grabbing his arm as the tremor rolled through them like a living thing.
"What's happening?!" Ina shouted, eyes darting toward the distant treeline where light briefly flared and vanished.
Ina's fingers clenched around the hilt at her side.
…Itsuki.
Far from the battlefield, the village felt it too.
Screams tore through the streets.
Houses groaned as walls cracked and roof tiles slid free, shattering against the stone roads. People poured out into the open, some fell as the earth convulsed beneath them.
"M-mom!" a child cried, stumbling as the ground shook.
She dropped instantly, pulling him into her arms as dust rained down around them.
"It's okay," she whispered, voice trembling. "I've got you. I've got you…"
But her eyes were lifted skyward—
To the rising light beyond the trees.
Light that didn't belong.
Some screamed.
Some prayed.
The Village Head shook as he looked up.
"They promised nothing will happen to us", his face in disbelief, hands folded together.
Some could only stare as the light grew brighter—too bright—washing over the sky like the beginning of an ending.
The earth screamed beneath them.
The world went white.
Not light—not heat— but absence.
Sound collapsed first. Then color. Then thought.
Itsuki felt the pressure before the explosion reached him—a violent distortion in the air that screamed of collapse rather than force.
So this is his answer.
He moved.
The forest vanished in a roar of blinding radiance as the ground detonated upward, trees disintegrating into ash and fragments of glowing earth. The shockwave tore through the graveyard like a god's breath, flattening stone, snapping roots, ripping the air itself apart.
From the heart of it—
Nothing should have survived.
Rin screamed.
"Shinju—!"
The shockwave hurled Shinju's unconscious body from the ground.
She threw herself over Shinju's body instinctively, arms wrapping around him as the light swallowed the world. Heat crashed down like an ocean, ripping breath from her lungs, burning through thought and fear alike.
She shut her eyes.
And waited for it to end.
It didn't.
The pressure vanished.
Not faded—stopped.
Rin's eyes snapped open.
They were standing inside a dome of fractured light—frozen mid-expansion, cracks spiderwebbing through it like glass held on the verge of shattering.
At its center—
Itsuki stood.
One knee pressed into the earth. Sword embedded deep into the ground. His coat whipped violently, yet the space around him was unnaturally still.
The explosion screamed, forming a barrier— and went nowhere.
Rin couldn't breathe.
"…What—" her voice failed.
Itsuki exhaled slowly.
The light collapsed inward turning into glimmery dust.
Silence fell like a guillotine.
Ash drifted down.
The forest was gone.
Where trees once stood, only scorched earth remained—melted stone, glowing cracks, and a single crater stretching outward for hundreds of meters.
And at its center—
Shinsuke lay motionless.
No light. No regeneration. No breath.
Itsuki straightened.
"…Self-destruction through forced fusion," he muttered. "Reckless."
He turned his gaze toward the body.
"And pointless."
The forest was gone.
Not burned—
erased.
Only a few trees lingered in the distance, so far apart they barely felt like a forest at all.
Ash drifted through the air like falling snow, settling over a crater that stretched farther than sight should allow. Melted stone cooled in jagged veins, still glowing faintly, as though the earth itself remembered the violence forced upon it.
Itsuki sword rested once more in its sheath. His coat was torn at the edges, dusted with ash, fluttering weakly in the lingering heat. He looked untouched—yet the ground beneath his feet was cracked and warped, strained by the force he had restrained.
Behind him, Rin knelt beside Shinju, her hands trembling as she held him.
"…It's finally over," she whispered.
Relief struck her all at once. Her shoulders shook as she bowed her head, breath unsteady.
Itsuki didn't answer.
His gaze remained fixed on the edge of the crater—on how far the destruction had spread.
Too far.
Back at the Main Road.
The shaking finally ceased.
Ina straightened slowly, breath shallow, eyes wide as the suffocating pressure drained from the air.
"…It ended," she said quietly.
Raizo nodded once, his fists still clenched, blood staining his hands.
"Your hands are bleeding—you should get it treated," Ina said.
"No need to worry… it's not my blood." Raizo replied, a faint smirk tugging at his lips.
"Oh…" Ina blinked, caught off guard, unsure how to respond.
The horizon was wrong.
Where trees should have stood, there was only smoke—an open scar carved into the land.
"…He went all out," Raizo muttered.
Ina swallowed.
"No," she said softly.
"That was restraint."
Village.
Silence fell like a held breath.
Dust settled.
People lifted their heads cautiously, unsure if it was safe to move.
A child loosened his grip on his mother's clothes.
"…Mom?" he asked. "Is it over?"
She didn't answer at once.
Her eyes were fixed on the forest—on the distant void where light had once swallowed the sky.
Then she pulled him close.
"…Yes," she said softly. "It's over."
Around them, people began to rise.
Some cried.
Some laughed hysterically.
Some collapsed to their knees, overwhelmed by the simple fact that they were still alive.
No one knew who had stopped it.
Only that someone had.
Elsewhere — The Safe House
Silence had returned.
Renji moved through the chamber, stepping over fallen Rankers (B-tier), their bodies crunching beneath his waraji. The air was thick with blood and dust.
"…Th-third… Commander…"
The voice was faint. Broken.
Renji stopped.
His gaze shifted toward the wall.
His comrade slumped there, his body drenched in blood, barely conscious. His chest rose unevenly, each breath sounding like it might be his last.
"…Am I going to make it?" he choked out, blood slipping past his lips.
Renji watched him for a moment.
Then he walked over.
Slow. Unhurried.
He crouched down in front of him slowly.
"Don't worry," Renji said quietly.
A small, calm smile formed on his face.
"It's alright," Renji said softly.
A small smile touched his lips.
"I'll save you."
A pause.
"From suffering."
Relief flooded the man's expression.
"…Th-thank you… sir…"
Renji's hand moved.
A swift, precise motion across the man's throat.
A wet sound cut through the silence—
Blood splashed against the wall behind him.
The man's eyes widened—then went still.
Silence returned.
Renji rose to his feet as if nothing had happened.
"…Looks like it's already over," he murmured.
And without another glance, he walked away, leaving the body behind.
Shinsuke's body lay still.
Itsuki stood over him for a moment then turned away.
A few minutes later…
Reinforcements arrived cautiously.
Shinki approached and bowed.
"Captain Itsuki. All Raiders have been subdued. The wounded are being treated."
Two samurai carefully lifted Shinju, who lay unconscious beside Rin.
"Take him to the medic first," Shinki said with urgency.
As they turned to leave, Itsuki raised a hand.
"Shinki, Tashi…" he said calmly. "I need two large boxes. And a chain."
Shinki paused, his brows tightening slightly as he tried to process it.
"Two boxes… and a chain?"
Itsuki let out a quiet breath.
"Don't repeat what I said. Just go get it."
"Right."
They bowed, then moved immediately.
Itsuki's gaze lingered… calculating.
Ina spotted Shinju being carried away and rushed toward Rin, while Shinju was checked in a tent.
"What happened?" she asked.
Rin explained as best she could—what she'd seen, what little she understood.
Ina glanced around. "Where's Itsuki?"
"He told us to go ahead," Rin replied. "He said he'd join us once he was finished with something."
Ina frowned slightly.
Ina glanced at Rin, worry written all over her face as she stared in Shinju direction.
Ina stepped closer and gently placed a hand on Rin's shoulder.
"Hey…" she said softly, her voice calm but steady. "Don't worry about Shinju. Nothing bad is going to happen to him."
Rin hesitated, her eyes trembling.
Ina gave a small, reassuring smile. "He's a fighter. You know that better than anyone. He'll recover… and come back even stronger."
For a moment, Rin just looked at her—then slowly nodded, the tension in her shoulders easing.
"…Thank you," she whispered.
Ina's smile lingered.
Shinju laid inside a dim medical tent under observation, surrounded by medical staff. GenchI and his female assistant stood nearby, studying Shinju condition carefully.
Shinju suddenly twitched, as if struck by intense pain.
Genchi frowned. "At this stage, we don't know if he will survive. His physical condition is critical."
Everything depended on what happened next. It was uncertain whether he would make it.
The cold came quickly.
Not sharp. Not painful.
Just… empty.
Shinju's eyes slowly opened.
White fog stretched endlessly around him. No sky. No ground. Just silence… thick enough to feel.
His breath came out shallow.
"…Where am I…?"
His voice echoed—faint, lost.
"…Am I… dead…?"
No answer.
Then—
A figure.
Far ahead.
"…Father… is that you?"
Shinju ran.
"Master, wait!!"
But the distance didn't change.
No matter how fast he moved—
The figure stayed out of reach.
"…No…!"
He lunged—
And the figure vanished.
"…What…?"
Silence swallowed everything again.
Then—
A hand touched his shoulder.
Shinju froze.
He turned.
No one.
"…Who's there…?"
A voice echoed.
Cold. Sharp.
"You really are pathetic… aren't you?"
Shinju's eyes widened.
"…What…?"
He turned—
And froze.
Standing before him…
Was himself.
Same face.
Same body.
But those eyes—
Cold.
Disgusted.
"…Pathetic," the other Shinju said.
"…Shut up…"
"Weak. Always waiting for someone to save you."
Each word cut deep.
"You haven't changed."
"I said shut up!" Shinju snapped.
"You forgot," the reflection said, stepping closer.
"Why we fight. What we lost. The promise we made…"
Shinju's breath shook.
"…just to end like this?"
"…That's really pathetic."
"…It's not my fault!" Shinju shouted.
Silence.
"…Not your fault?" the reflection laughed faintly.
"I am you."
It stepped closer.
"Your anger. Your weakness. Your fear."
Shinju couldn't move.
"Every failure… that was me."
A pause.
"You say you'll change."
"…I will…"
"But you don't."
The words landed heavy.
"You're not strong."
Shinju's fists trembled.
"…I'm trying… but they're too strong…"
"Then become strong!" the reflection snapped.
Shinju looked up.
"Get stronger," the other Shinju said, standing right before him.
"Become someone…even you don't recognize."
Its voice lowered.
"Become so strong… your very existence terrifies them."
Shinju's breath caught.
"Become the end… of your enemies."
Silence.
Then—
Shinju clenched his fists.
"…I will."
"I'll get stronger."
He stared into the fog.
"…I'm not done yet…"
Rin's face flashed in his mind.
Her smile.
The promise he made.
"…I still have things to do…"
The reflection watched him.
Silent.
"Then leave," it said.
"Prove it."
The fog began to tremble.
Shinju stepped back.
"…Next time…"
He looked straight at himself.
"…I won't be this weak."
For the first time—
The reflection smiled.
"I'll be watching… Dark Samurai."
It faded.
CRACK.
Light tore through the fog.
Shinju's eyes snapped open.
"—GHK—!"
Air rushed into his lungs.
Voices flooded in.
"You're awake!"
"Shinju—stay with us!"
His lips moved slightly.
"…I'll get stronger…"
Barely a whisper.
Later, Shinju stirred.
The medic urged him back down. "You need rest."
But Shinju pushed himself upright anyway and stepped outside the tent—just as Ina and Rin rushed toward him.
"You shouldn't be moving—"
"HEY!"
Itsuki's voice cut through the camp, loud enough to turn heads.
He stood a short distance away, one hand raised casually, the other tucked into his coat.
Everyone looked.
"Shinki and Tashi approached behind him, struggling beneath the weight of two massive wooden boxes. Heavy chains clanked with every step.
They stopped in front of Itsuki and lowered the boxes with effort, bowing deeply.
Before anyone could speak, Ina stepped forward and knocked Itsuki lightly on the head.
"That's for disappearing," she said.
He crossed his arms.
"Is that how you treat your captain?"
"Keep talking and I'll knock you again,"Ina raised her voice.
Itsuki barely reacted.
Then his eyes shifted to Shinju.
"You heal fast," he said casually, "how are you feeling?"
"I'm fine,"Shinju responded.
"That's good to hear," Itsuki replied. "But collapsing mid-fight means you haven't fully recovered."
"That's not the case," a voice answered.
Raizo stepped forward behind Shinju.
"He was training in the middle of the night instead of resting."
Shinju turned sharply, as he gazed at Raizo.
"I see," Itsuki said, rubbing his chin.
"And worse—using that technique."
"…Technique?" Itsuki asked bluntly.
Shinju glanced at Raizo.
Raizo continued, "I don't know much about it, but it's… a technique with a cost."
"That sounds dangerous," Renji said.
He spoke from behind Rin, causing her to startle and stumble into Shinju's arms.
Renji's expression shifted slightly. "Apologies. Didn't mean to startle you."
Rin smiled faintly. "No harm done."
"Where have you been?" Ina asked Renji.
"Dealing with intruders in the Sefe house," Renji replied. " It seems they were after some important files."
Itsuki stretched.
"Alright. We should prepare to leave."
He turned to walk away.
"Wait," Ina said. "Aren't you going to say something to Shinju?"
Itsuki paused, then glanced back.
"Nothing I'll say will change his mind," he said calmly. "Isn't that right, Shinju?"
Ina opened her mouth, then sighed.
Itsuki patted her shoulder
"We're already behind schedule. We leave immediately."
Shinju finally spoke, his expression tightening slightly.
"There's something I've been wanting to ask you, Itsuki."
Itsuki's gaze shifted to him.
"…What is it?"
"You're not from the Five Great Nations… are you?" Shinju asked, his voice flat.
"He's not."
The voice didn't come from Itsuki.
It came from one of the boxes.
Everyone froze.
"…Is it just me," Ina said slowly, her brows knitting together, "or did that box just talk?"
"I forgot," Itsuki said casually.
Silence.
"In case some of you don't know," Itsuki continued, a faint smile forming, "this is our friend. And he'll be helping us."
The lid creaked open slowly.
Then—
A head shot out.
Eyes sharp, lips curled into a familiar smirk.
Shinju's expression hardened instantly.
"Hello, Shinju," Shinsuke said.
Chapter 10 —ENDS.