About a month later Rōgan walked into the temple that had been built in the new fortress. Rōgan sat down and began to meditate. His body was completely peaceful. He didn’t move a muscle.
Jōdan walked in and saw Rōgan meditating. He walked up slowly to his friend and saw blue light coming from his body. A shape of a dragon had come out of the blue cloud and began to fly around Rōgan’s body. The dragon guarded Rōgan’s body with its body and went around Rōgan slowly. Its mouth was open and the scales were shown through the whole body. Jōdan sat down next to him and began to meditate. A black dragon came out of Jōdan’s body and protected his body. Its mouth was closed and it’s eyes as red as blood.
Rōgan opened his and saw Jōdan’s dragon floating around his body. Rōgan smiled and closed his eyes and meditated again. They both were in control of their body. Both of them were silent and still. Then a small rumble shook the ground.
Jōdan and Rōgan’s eyes opened slowly at the same time. Rōgan’s eyes were black as night, while Jōdan’s were bloody red. The both stood up and the dragons followed them out the temple where they saw smoke rising and people screaming.
“Go Ryujin help the town people to safety. Now!” Yelled Jōdan to the Ryujin, the dragon floating around him.
“You too Mushō!” Yelled Rōgan to Mushō and both dragon’s floated off.
Right when the dragon’s left twenty Kuro tora no ansatsu-sha landed in front of Rōgan and Jōdan. All twenty of them had their swords drawn and were hissing at Rōgan and Jōdan. Their eyes as dark as night and their armor as tough as rock. They kept making a snake sound. It was piercing and loud to Rōgan and Jōdan. They enemy ninja kept hissing at Rōgan and Jōdan taunting them to attack.
“Kasai sutairu:-Hi ryū.” Spoke Zakku.
The enemies burned away and Zakku was in the distance making an O up to his mouth. He warped to Rōgan and Jōdan and stopped in front of them. Rōgan patted Zakku on the head and Zakku warped back to the battlefield.
Rōgan and Jōdan warped to the fortress to project to villagers. They were bringing everyone into the fortress and the villagers were screaming. Jōdan was grabbing kids and bringing them into the fortress.
While Rōgan was defending everyone from the Kuro tora no ansatsu-sha. Rōgan spoke while the ansatsu-sha grew close, “Shi no tenohira - piasu kuroi ame.” Rōgan’s inner palm turned black and it began to glow. He put his right foot forward and his left back. His began to squat a little bit and looked at the ansatsu-sha. Rōgan breathed out deeply and his veins began to pop out. Blood was rushing to his palm and the dark glow began to grow more.
The ansatsu-sha began to back up holding their swords at guard mode. Their eyes were scared and frightened. A few of them dropped their swords and ran, but collapsed a second later. Their eyes were white as ghosts.
Zakku ran up at saw what was happening and his mouth dropped. The stance of Rōgan, was seen in a vision by his grandfather. His grandfather told him, “You will see a man, a leader of great respect. He was taught by a white man that learned Japanese and the way of the sword. You will follow them until you’re last breath. One day you will see him with his palm glowing dark. Find this man and do not fail me child.”
Zakku kept thinking and was looking at Rōgan’s palm of how dark it was turning. Rōgan’s palm began to stop glowing and the rest of Kuro tora no ichizoku no ansatsu-sha ran away. Rōgan began to sigh softly and look at the enemy running away. He fell to his knees and was weak.
Zakku ran to him and put Rōgan’s arm around his shoulder and lifted him. He began to walk him and Rōgan put his hand on Zakku’s head. He patted Zakku’s head and sighed more.
“Zakku bring me to the fortress I have to show you something.” Spoke Rōgan softly as Zakku walked on. Zakku walked Rōgan into the fortress. He looked at Rōgan and Rōgan pointed to the red book on the shelf behind his desk. The shelf was very small, but had a lot of books on it. Rōgan’s desk was very dusty and had a lot of knives on it. Zakku’s eyes went back to the small book shelf and grabbed the red book.
The shelf began to vibrate and move. It started spinning counter-clock wise. The books were all stationary and none of them plummeted to the ground. A small dark room began to appear. Rōgan pointed down there and Zakku started to walk again.
He walked down the small dark room. They kept going lower into the fortress. Zakku’s eyes were trying to see past the thick darkness. There wasn’t a dimmer of light in the hall. Nothing lighted the path.
Zakku’s only option was to trust his instinct to guide him through the darkness. After a short while Zakku saw a dimmer of light. It was small, but it was very vivid. It began to grow every time Zakku walked forward to it. It kept growing until Zakku finally made it to a huge room. There was knives, swords, staffs, kusari – gamas, nun-chucks, bow, arrows, and in the north side of the room was a suite that was black. It had white stripes on the sides that came down and up.
“This will be yours after your training is completed. You will wear it when you are done.” Spoke Rōgan softly as Zakku stared at it. Zakku walked up to the robe that had a hood to it. He rubbed the rough leather and moved down to the sleeves.
“What is this all for sensei?" Asked Zakku.
“It’s what we ninja wore when we were fighting back in the day.” Answered Rōgan in a tired voice.
Zakku stared at it and looked back at Rōgan whose eyes were dark and quiet. Zakku wondered who wore the same robe as he will soon. Zakku looked back at the suite in awe and could not swallow ever
since they came down stairs. For all the time he was there he didn’t know of this place.
“I shall close upstairs and we will not come out for two whole months. People will check on us
from time to time, but that is it. No one gets in for a while.” Spoke Rōgan calmly.
“So where do we begin?” Asked Zakku.
“Where do you want to start my gakusei?” Spoke Rōgan.“Did you just call me student? You usually call me dumb rabbit or Zakku, but gakusei.” Spoke Zakku.
“Yes, I did call you gakusei. You want me to call you oba kasan instead?” Asked Rōgan in a hushed way.
“Hm. I guess gakusei is better sensei.” Answered Zakku.
“Alright oba kasan, are you ready?” Asked Rōgan.
“Yes I am ready.” Howled Zakku.
The stone door closed and upstairs was darkened into a dark abyss. The air started disappearing in the room and Zakku was losing his breathe. It was getting harder and harder for him to breathe in air. After about two minutes in the room he was only breathing in dust now. He grabbed his throat trying to catch breath.
Rōgan looked at him and stood up and pulled a lever. The roof opened and sun beamed in and air flew into the room. Zakku breathed once more of a sweet air from outside. He sat down and looked up and there was a tree above them and they can see inside the tree’s hollow. It was very tall and dark, but life was flowing in it.
“When it is time to leave we will go out that way. There is an opening up there that we covered if someone tries to discover us down here. They have to really have a big battering ram to get through that hollow.
“But don’t worry about that just pay attention to the now. Not to the then. The then is long from sight for us. You are probably wondering who’s going to be doing the missions. I have assigned special missions for everyone around the area.” Said Rōgan softly.
Zakku got up and looked up at the light pouring into the cellar below. He was confused at this moment, but he couldn’t tell why. Rōgan just wasn’t making sense to him. It seemed as if Rōgan was paying much more attention to something else that was far off in the distance. Rōgan’s eyes were looking somewhere else. His mind was focusing in on a target or something.
There was a knock at the door and it startled Zakku, but not Rōgan. Rōgan must have sensed it from a mile away. There was quietness again in the room and Rōgan walked to the chamber door and knocked back. On the other side the person or thing knocked again back a beat.
Rōgan opened the door and he began to speak with someone that Zakku couldn’t see. Rōgan turned his head toward Zakku in quietness and then turned back to the darkened figure. Rōgan closed the chamber door once more and locked it shut. He put his head on the door and didn’t move. He then sighed and turned back around and looked at Zakku. Once more he didn’t say anything.
“Sensei?” Asked Zakku.
“Yes.” Replied Rōgan quietly.
“Is everything alright with you?”
“No, not entirely good at all. It seems odd that he would know.”
“Who Sensei? Who would know what?”
“Teirā my right hand General.”
“Ok what about Teirā. What would he know Sensei?”
“The password to get into this room. There are only three people that know the password to this place. That’s me, Jōdan, and Taigā hanshu.”
“What! How does Taigā hanshu know about the password to here? He is our sworn enemy of Burakkutaigā no ichizoku. Master did you tell him the password to here?”
“No he used to live here a long time ago. He was our friend then he betrayed us, but the question is how Teirā know the password to here.”
Back outside Teirā was walking away from the tunnel and his armor was glistening in the sun which gave it more of a reddish crimson shine, and the fur that came from the geddy Ookami swayed with the wind. The robe was combined with a dark meticulous cape that was made from the skin of his defeated enemies. This all gave him an eerie yet powerful look. He had crescent that showed his ranking on his chest. To top it all off he had a hood that stretched over his eyes and made his face darkened.
He kept walking away from the tunnel and headed back to his home in a quiet fashion. While kids looked on in fear. Women stopped and bowed to the man, while men saluted to Teirā. Teirā kept walking on standing up more tall and staring down anyone who gave him a dishonorable look in his presence.
People heard of his bloodthirsty tales. Of how he ribbed beast apart and how he threw people off of mountains because he felt like it. One story was he put a soldier on the back of his horse’s leg and dragged him for miles until the soldier was flung off a cliff. He had killed many people in battles. He is dark and mysterious, he is vicious, and he is completely deadly.
Teirā got on his horse and headed for the gates of the town. He rode off out of the town and into the shadows without another sound. Two hooded figures joined him behind him and rode off. The city guards watched as Teirā rode off into the night followed by the two hooded figures.
Soon after a while Teirā slowed down and the hooded figures slowed down by him. The men looked at Teirā with a bound. Teirā sitting on his horse not provoked in any way. The hooded men removed their hoods. One was bald and the other had thick dark brown hair.
The bald one spoke, “Why did you free us Teirā? We have been locked up for treason, but you got us out. Why is this?”
Teirā ejected his little blade underneath his sleeve. He touched the tip of it and put it back in his sleeve. He looked at the criminals and spoke, “I got you out because I think it’s time we put an end to this little kiddy clan. It’s getting very old there. Rōgan needs to let someone else take his place. It will be that Zakku kid, but I want that power. That village will become one of the greatest villages around the country. That why I need yawl’s help. You two have defeated lots of the Burakkutaigā no ichizoku ninja. Now it’s time to become their allies. The Byakuren no ichizoku clan will fall to the Burakkutaigā no ichizoku clan.” Teirā pointed to the bald man, “You Nikku! You killed thousands of people in a blink of an eye.” He looked at the other man, “Rojja you can disappear to any part of a 1,000 yard ratio.”
Teirā pushed his horse on forward and Rojja and Nikku followed on behind. They rode for miles to the Burakkutaigā no ichizoku village. When they made it to the village they guided their horses to a resting stop and got off and headed on in the village. Teirā was in front of Rojja and Nikku. Nikku was on the right and looked to the right while Rojja was looking around the village.
The people looked at Rojja and Nikku. They all glared at them and other was frightened at this. Some of the younger men were yelling at them saying “you wretched people that shouldn’t live,” but Rojja and Nikku kept walking on. They got to a great temple that was really tall and wide.
They walked in and found a bunch of tiles that were really decorated with many fancy designs. They walked into a room that had many chairs by a table. Teirā pointed to the two seats that were on the other side next to each other. Rojja and Nikku walked to it and sat down.
Teirā went and stood next to the farthest chair to the right. A few minutes later a bunch of men came out in robes and sat down and looked Rojja and Nikku. That was one chair in the middle of the men that was taller than the others and a tall man walked in with a crown on his head and sat in the chair. It was Taigā hanshu the leader of the Burakkutaigā no ichizoku. He sat down in the chair and looked at Rojja and Nikku. Then he licked his lips and spoke.
“So you two are Rojja and Nikku.” Said Taigā hanshu.
“Yes!” Spoke Rojja and Nikku quickly.
“Who is Rojja?” Asked Taigā hanshu.
Rojja stood up and responded to Taigā hanshu question, “I am sir.”
Taigā hanshu scratched his nose and looked at Nikku, “So you must be Nikku?”
“Yes I am.” Responded Nikku.
“So Rojja your new name is Ro and Nikku your new name is Nik. Alright you understand? You two will be my agents. There are two boys at Byakuren no ichizoku named…” He looked at Teirā.
Teirā spoke and said, “Zakku and Jeirin.”
“Yes thank you Teirā and if you take too long again I...” Taigā hanshu pulled out and knife and threw at one of the guards standing on the side. “Much better. So yes Ro and Nik I want you to bring these two boys to me. Don’t fail me.”
Ro and Nik stood up and left the room. Ro looked down and the guard who had a knife in his neck and blood was stilling coming out from his neck and the guard was trying to stop the blood. Ro stomped on the knife it went all the way through the guard’s neck and he stopped gargling and moving. Ro shook his head and Nik followed behind him.
The year 2055, about a year later at Byakuren no ichizoku village Jeirin is sleeping in the tower while Jōdan was keeping watch. It was about early morning and the sun was a bit up. Jōdan kept going in and out of sleep. He tried to stay awake, but could not. He was then woken up by a shuriken stuck in the post right by his face.
He then looked around and saw six more flying right for him. He put a shield around the tower and started ringing the bell to worn the town. The town woke up with roars of ninja running out the temple toward the front of the town where they saw two figures sprinting into the town with a bunch of samurai behind them.
The Byakuren no ichizoku ninja were in a line and made room for Rōgan at the front. Then on the Burakkutaigā no ichizoku side two of the figures came out in a red robe uniform. The tallest one stepped forward and he pulled out a scroll.
“By order of Taigā hanshu you will hand over Zakku and Jeirin. If you do not we will destroy your town. If you threaten this message then we will have a duel out on the field tomorrow at high noon.” He rolled the scroll back up and left with the group of samurai.
Rōgan turned to the half crowd that was villagers and trained ninja that looked at Rōgan. They all wondered what he was going to say. Rōgan nodded and looked up a Jōdan that was in the tower with Jeirin who was panting.
They both came down to Rōgan who was thinking very hard. Jōdan looked at Rōgan and spoke, “Jeirin is ready, but is Zakku.”
Rōgan looked around and then looked back and Jōdan and then the villagers. He then spit and said, “Yes he is, but I don’t if he can control it very well. It is up to Zakku if he wants to stand and fight.” He looked around and sniffed the air and closed his eyes. Then opened them and blew out the air.
Zakku came out from the back of the villagers. He looked at Rōgan and his eyes turned red and looked like dragon eyes. His fingers glowed a burning red. He then spoke, “I am ready if they want to me so badly to die.” Rōgan grinned evilly and nodded.
The next morning the two messengers in red were waiting with the samurai in lines. Four hooded figures came out of the trees on the other side. There was Rōgan and Jōdan in the middle with two masked figures on both sides of them.
The two messenger that were dressed in red stepped forward and one of them spoke out, “Do you accept the message or not.”
Rōgan spoke out, “We do not accept the message, but we will take the duel.” The messengers looked at each other and no one went to the center of the field. One of the messengers spoke again, “Then come Rōgan and Jōdan. Come face us out in the field of honor.”
Jodan then spoke up, “Oh no you will not be versing us. Rojja and Nikku you two will be versing Zakku and Jeirin.” Both the boys removed the mask and showed their faces to messengers.
The messengers removed their masks. Then Rojja talked, “its Ro and Nik now. How did you know it was us?”
“Simple you two were broken out a year ago by Teirā. You’re also wondering how we know it was him. Well simple about a year ago Teirā came up to me in a secret place where there is a password too. Only a few people know the password, but Teirā didn’t know the password which came to the conclusion of where two deserters disappeared from their cells a year ago. We knew this day was coming, but didn’t know who was coming.” Spoke Rōgan.
“Well Taigā hanshu got something in store for you, but we will make this quick and simple with these two kids.” Chuckled Ro.
Zakku stepped forward with Jeirin and on the other side Ro stepped forward with Nik. The wind whistled softly and tiny leaves blew around slowly. The air was cool and soft. Everything was quiet besides all of the warriors heavy breathing.
“I’ll take Nik down right now. You take Ro.” Spoke Jeirin. Jeirin stepped forward and spoke, “I challenge Nik to a fight.” Nik stepped forward spitting into the ground.
“Fine you will die today on this grass.” Nik pulled out his katana and stepped into the center of the field. Jeirin stepped closer into the center and pulled out his katana also and looked at Nik.
Nik disappeared and Jeirin startled at what just happened looked around and Nik appeared behind him and Jeirin didn’t even turn and put his sword behind him and blocked Nik’s attack. Nik then kicked Jeirin in the back and Jeirin rolled and got back up.
Nik disappeared again and Jeirin then disappeared also. Then five yards away a clang sound echoed in the distance. Then twenty yards away another, then another, and then twenty more sounds echoed. Then it was silent again then a yell and scream. Nik appeared with two cuts on his face and on his arm. Then Jeirin appeared thirty yards away holding his stomach.
Jōdan stepped forward with his eyes wide as a flowering blooming. His mouth was closed and he kept looking at Jeirin bleeding from the back and stomach. He saw Jeirin spit blood and try to get back in his stance, but couldn’t. Jōdan whispered to himself to Jeirin, “Don’t give up!”
Jeirin got in his stance and Nik disappeared and darted right toward Jeirin. Jeirin hesitated then he shuddered and blood began to pour out his mouth. His eyes wide and his breathe was short and heavy.
Nik appeared again with his sword all the way in Jeirin’s stomach. Nik twisted the sword quickly in Jeirin stomach to tear his intestines. Nik pulled out his sword from Jeirin’s stomach and Jeirin fell to the grassy ground. Jeirin’s eyes kept opening and closing slowly.
Nik put his sword tip right at Jeirin heart and lifted up. Jeirin’s eyes were trained onto the tip of the katana. Jeirin then looked at Nik’s face and saw his eyes squinting then Jeirin coughed more blood out and kept watching the blade rise.
Nik yelled out, “This is the…” he stopped and blood began to come out his neck and his head fell off his body and onto the ground. His body fell backwards and Jeirin sat there half dead and half alive on the ground. He tried to look up, but couldn’t then saw Zakku pulling back his sword.
Zakku squatted next to him and smiled to Jeirin. Zakku then rubbed his head and looked down at Jeirin’s guts coming out of his body and he saw his stomach trying to get air, but it was no use. Jeirin gave a bloody smile to Zakku and looked up at the clouds.
“What a nice day to die on. Don’t you think Zakku?” Spoke Jeirin trying to breathe as much words as he could.
“Hm I don’t know. Maybe I guess. How does it feel?” Asked Zakku.
“Heavy and pretty hushed.” Jeirin had breathed his last and his eyes stayed open, mouth closed, and his chest stopped beating. Zakku put his right hand over Jeirin’s eyes and closed them. He sighed and stood up and looked at Ro than came onto the battle field.
“Such a tiny, simple, and pitiful shame. A little waste of a child. He had nothing more in his life that would help him live. His life was just more than a waste. Nothing can change that he was just a waste of space.” Spoke Ro pulling out his sword.
Zakku’s body began to blood red. Both his eyes changed into dragon eyes and they were dark red. His hair grew longer and the air grew intensely hot. Everything around Zakku’s body was changing.
Jōdan eyes opened even more when Zakku was changing like into a half demon half human. Jōdan saw claws come out of Zakku’s fingers. Then a little shadow formation of a red tail was behind Zakku’s rear. He now looked like a little dragon infant, but his human form was still there.
Jōdan looked at Rōgan and asked, “What did you teach him this past year?”
Rōgan folded his arms and replied, “I taught him something that no one has learned for ten years. That is what I have been teaching him. All I know is instilled into him. There is just one big problem.”
“What’s that?” Asked Jōdan.
“That when he gets angry he can’t control who he attacks.” Replied Rōgan.
“So basically he is a half dragon about to go on a rampage.”
“Yes, but he knows how to slow it down.”
“How? What does he do?”
“There are different kinds of ways to slow it down. Each person that uses it slows it down differently. As for me I think of my parents.”
“What does Zakku think of?
“Well during the training one day he came out of his meditation sweating and was quiet. I asked him what was wrong, but no answer. He just pointed to a cloud that was floating in the sky that had the sun behind it. So basically I’m guessing he thinks about life.”
Jōdan looked back at Zakku on the field looking at Ro that was not hesitating at all. Then Ro began to have lighting strike around his body. His arm began to transform into a weird kind of lighting hand. A blue lighting-ish shadow formed around Ro and his eye turned into a very dark blue color.
Ro then spoke to Zakku, “You’re not the only one who knows this power. I am more powerful than you and Rōgan combined.”
Zakku then put his hands on the ground and looked like a fox waiting to strike. Ro laughed really loud and shook his head and spoke once more, “That trick won’t work on me. The crouching lion strike has been used many times and I know it.”
Zakku then spoke and sounded like a demonic person, but his real voice was behind it, “Then let’s sees you handle against ten of them.” Then another ten Zakku’s appeared all just like the original they were all in crouching lion strike stance.
Ro backed up and drew up his sword that begun to have lighting spin around the whole sword. Ro was ready for any attack to come at him. If it was from the air he could strike it, if it came from the sides he had it, and his last special was if they came from the ground he would use lightning to kill it.
Zakku’s clones began to race toward Ro and they were moving at tops speeds. The grass began to turn into a dark line because of the intense heat when Zakku ran over it. Two of the clones lunged at Ro, but Ro countered and cut off both of their bodies into two. Then another one of Zakku’s clones had its head cut off. The rest of them were struck by lightning and none of them moved.
Then both Zakku and Ro disappeared and sound of swords hitting together were sounded in the distance, then up close, and then far away again. Both of them reappeared again and both were tired and some of their bodies were cut.
They both disappeared again and the sounds of sword hitting again were much faster and quicker. They were all over the place. Rōgan’s eyes could still see them, but Jōdan was losing them really quickly. They both reappeared again both still in perfect condition.
Then Ro’s hand began to glow and he held his hand up and shot out little daggers of light out of his hand at Zakku. Zakku dodged and then did a kick that shot out a fire line that was thirty feet long. Ro dodged it quickly and clean by jumping up and landing back on the ground.
They both disappeared again and sounds of flame hit lightning sounded. Then the sound of swords hitting together were echoing in the trees. Then the sound of swords, movement, flame, and lightning stopped. All they heard now was heavy breathing, and then Zakku appeared.
His right side of his cheek was chipped a little bit. His leg was extremely bloody and he was leaning over on his sword. Ro appeared now and didn’t have a scratch on him. Ro cleaned his sword on the ground and looked down at the head on Nik. Ro shook his head and kicked it aside.
Zakku sprinted toward Ro and Ro disappeared and reappeared in an instant and had his sword stuck into Zakku’s stomach. Zakku then changed back to his original form and spat out blood from his mouth.
Ro kicked Zakku off his sword. Jōdan hesitated and stepped forward a step, but Rōgan stopped him. Rogan then spoke, “This is his fight. It will be a burden if we step in.” Jōdan looked back at Zakku that was on the ground half dead just like Jeirin.
Ro walked back to Zakku and raised his sword above his head and thrust down with his sword straight for Zakku’s heart. Ro then opened his eyes and saw Zakku had stopped his sword with his hands by two inches. Ro then try to take the sword from Zakku’s hands, but it wasn’t going anywhere. Zakku then kicked Ro away from him and tossed the sword aside.
Zakku sat up and got back into the crouching lion stance. He was changing color or anything was still normal. Zakku picked up his sword from the ground. Ro then got back up and spoke, “It won’t work Zakku. I cut you on your stomach where the source of your power comes.”
Zakku wasn’t listening his sword then began to grow red and dark. Only one of Zakku’s eyes changed color this time. His sword was completely red now. It looked as if it had a billion souls in it being cut one by one and the whole steal part of the sword was blood. Zakku closed his eyes and Ro hesitated for a moment and his life flashed before his eyes.
Ro looked up and saw that Zakku was gone, and he turned around to see that Zakku drawing back his sword. Ro turned back forward and blood began to pour out of his mouth and he blinked a couple of times and wobbled. His body began to make small triangle shapes, then changed into to a diamond, and finally ended into a bunch of small stars. Each one of these shapes began to fall off Ro’s body and onto the ground. He tried so speak, but the blood made him choke on his own words.
Zakku clamped back his sword back into his holster on his right side and spoke softly, “Jinsokuna 500 ken no sutoraiki: swift 500 sword strike.” The wind blew softly and Zakku looked up at the Burakkutaigā no ichizoku samurai. Both of Zakku’s eyes glowed again and he pulled out his sword one more time.
The Burakkutaigā no ichizoku samurai began to back up. Zakku stepped forward and then Rōgan appeared in front of him with his hand in front of Zakku. Zakku put his sword back in his sheath and his eyes went back to normal. Rōgan stepped forward and looked at all of the samurai.
“Turn back to your village now you worthless dogs. If you ever threaten us again it will be all your heads no just your messengers,” screamed Rōgan at the cowardly samurai.
The samurai ran back towards their villages. They were like little kids that had been pushed down by a bully and ran to tattle. They were no samurai they were servants and slaves put into samurai suits. Rōgan thought to himself for a moment and he looked at Jōdan that was sitting next to Jeirin’s dead body. Rōgan then looked at Zakku who was still staring at the fleeing samurai.
“Zakku?” Asked Rōgan in a questioning manner.
“Yes sensei.” Responded Zakku in a hushed voice.
“Get our clans mate and kill those cowards. Don’t leave one alive. Make sure they are all dead.”
“Yes sensei!” Zakku ran back to the village and a minute later Rōgan looked back up and saw dozens of his best ninja flying over his head toward the fleeing samurai. Rōgan walked back to the village with Jōdan who was caring Jeirin in his arms.
About ten minutes later Zakku came back with all the ninja that had gone. All of them were intact and had the enemy’s blood on their robes and face. Zakku walked up to Rōgan at the front gate and bowed to him. The rest of the ninja did the same and headed back to their homes. Zakku walked to Jōdan who was bringing Jeirin to the memorial tower in the fortress.
Zakku helped Jōdan carry Jeirin to the fortress. Rōgan followed behind and put his hood over his head. Rōgan looked above his head and clouds came in really fast. They were extremely dark and it was very hot outside now. Rōgan knew there was raining coming in fast. When they got to the fortress it began to pour like it was a hurricane.
Jōdan laid Jeirin on the table and grabbed the oil and wood and spread it around his body. Zakku lit the torch and handed it to Jōdan who took it and placed it on the fire. The fire quickly ignited and began to burn Jeirin’s body. They ash and smoke went up and out of the top of the fortress.