End of Igamono

Military action

It was the darkest hour of the night; the perfect time for ninja business. It was just such ninja business which drew the five Cardinal Generals of the Hashinara Clan to Iga. For some time, Fujibayashi Nagato had been working here to eliminate the remnants of the resistance group known as Igamono. With them out of the way, and Hattori Hanzō dead, there would be nothing standing in the way of Nagato becoming head Jōnin of the Iga Ninja.   Her first order of business promised to be a formal alliance with the Hashinara Clan. Therefore, it behooved the clan to lend their aid in this final confrontation. The Igamono, staunch traditional independents, would never allow the Iga Ninja to formally ally with a clan. They were a minority now, but enough families still backed them that they could prove a threat if left alone. One such family, led by Iganozeki Butsugai, had agreed to speak with Nagato tonight. Canny and with plenty of shinobi experience to draw upon, she expected a trap. Therefore, having five of the most powerful individuals in Japan at her back was a great reassurance.

Once they had all arrived at the Iganozeki Enclave, Nagato took care to explain all of the above to the Cardinal Generals. In particular, after a few tense introductions, Maxim had to be brought up to speed. He had not been present for the clan's previous encounters with Igamono. From there, the question seemed to be how to best proceed.   Ostensibly, they were here to talk. The fact that Iganozeki Butsugai remained at the other end of the gardens impatiently awaiting them to come to him was suspicious, however. It seemed that Nagato's caution was well-warranted. A deadly-enough ambush here could cripple the Fujibayashi campaign. Nagato's side did not enjoy the same luxury. Killing the head of the Iganozeki would accomplish little. Her goal was to determine what force, if any, was making Butsugai such a threat. It was the jōnin's opinion that he should not have been able to hinder her as much as he had on his own. There was more than likely a power in the shadows that she hoped to uncover.   As the most skilled observer in the group, Kagami was able to confirm some of Nagato's suspicions. A careful scan of the area, relayed through Aotsuki Tsukamoto, revealed several places where a cunning ninja might hide. Whether a broken branch, a suspicious mound of dirt, or a stream of bubbles in the otherwise placid water, any of these places could hide an ambush or nothing at all. Although the cherry trees were in full blossom, an anomaly for this time of year, their branches were high enough that the generals were offered a largely unobstructed view of the gardens separating them from Butsugai.   It was Nagato's opinion that they should send Tsukuda Katsuo. After all, the man was a Kyonshi of late, his soul lost on a previous adventure. They couldn't kill him in a way that mattered. The somber ninja himself seemed to have no objection to this argument. Katsuo kept his characteristic stoic silence with only a nod.   One of the Cardinal Generals, however, had a different idea. Scooping up a rock from the ground Ryūzaki Sanosuke took aim at the nearest suspicious spot. Up in a tree, the blossoms seemed ruffled, covering something. Before Nagato could voice a warning, Sanosuke had hurled the stone with considerable force at that very something. A startled yip came in response as the missile hit its mark.   Shaking off pink petals, emerging from the branches of the tree, was no enemy ninja, but rather Saburō Shōhei himself. Sanosuke immediately felt rotten. Shōhei was an admirable ninja and an adorable pupper; he didn't deserve such treatment, even by accident. The dog's black, soulful eyes met Sanosuke's, however, and he knew he was forgiven. There was no resentment there, merely the respect of one professional to another. With a nod and a wan, the inu-ninja returned to his hiding place.   By Nagato's explanation, Shōhei had been shadowing them for some time. To make use of his capable shinobi skills, she had put him in that tree as a lookout, but Nagato admitted that she likely should have made the others aware of that. There were no other allies hidden about, at least.   While this attempt hadn't worked, the reasoning behind Sanosuke's experiment was sound. Aotsuki took up the task next. Or, more specifically, Kagami. Calling on the power of the sun even in this darkest night, Aotsuki's Sheele conjured a number of flickering balls of light. Three of these sped off into the distance, striking three places which Kagami had previously found suspicious. The first one plopped into the pond without effect. The third collided with an empty spot of grass. Kagami's second shot, however, hit something.   From behind a small stone Jizo statue, a figure emerged to defend itself. It was wretched and thin, skin charred and tight around its bones. Mercifully, the majority of this newcomer's body was hidden behind a loud, voluminous garment and an oversized black shade. From the equipment at his belt, Sanosuke realized that this could be none other than a Kōga Ninja. Aotsuki realized it too, but his thoughts ran more along the line that no one else in Japan would dare to go out looking like that. The Kōga were known, after all, for their eccentric presentation.   For Nagato, that was all the rational she needed. The Kōga were her ninja clan's ancient enemy. That they were here spoke much to the lengths the Igamono were willing to pursue in order to stop the Hashinara. Now, it was a battle. With her characteristic fleetness, Nagato was across the water and behind the blackened ninja. His shield, some kind of psychic phenomenon, had been able to easily deflect Kagami's light sphere. It was nearly useless, however, against an attack so quick and unseen. Nagato's sickles cut the man's right arm off. Then, when he raised a hand no longer had to defend himself, she took the left arm as well. Before he could so much as speak, the wretched ninja was dead and armless on the ground.   He had not come alone. From across the gardens, a few other ninja emerged from their hiding places. The first, a silver-garbed raptor wasted no time in identifying Kagami as a threat. With speed and precision, the giant shuriken he threw threatened to cut his helpless target in twain. Fortunately, Aotsuki was there. He interposed himself, deflecting the missile with his shield and such finesse that only the barest cut landed upon Kagami's cheek. Even then, he would not let her bleed. By supernatural transference, the wound opened on the side of Aotsuki's face instead.   Meanwhile, a heavy-fisted ninja who appeared to be made of rock under his bronze armor, was rushing at Nagato. His companions had been silent, but this loudmouthed stone lion let loose with a stream of insults and complaints as he swung at the foe who'd cut down his ally. The blows from his fists were hard and fast. His left hook caught Nagato a glancing blow, but was enough to spin her into his right swing. This crashed into the jōnin's head, sending her collapsed to a ground next to her previous prey. She was breathing, and not seriously wounded, but clearly unconscious from the brutal swing.   The two new Kōga seemed to have chosen their prey, but one more was yet to arrive. Emerging from the pond like a stone revealed at low tide, this man was a giant. His golden skin rippled over six muscular arms, and a mask of the same color covered six shining eyes on his face. Ungarbed except for the hakama at his waist, this titanic mutant shouted for someone brave enough to join him in battle.   Maxim knew it was going to be him. How could it not? He prepared to engage the giant.   Fubuki knew it wouldn't be her*. How could it be? Rather than engage with any big six-armed galoots, she* instead magically transported across the garden and arrived right in front of Butsugai. Although the answer seemed obvious, Fubuki did give the Iganozeki man a chance to surrender. His answer was that he'd rather die. Fubuki could make that happen.   First, in what seemed an abundance of caution, she* dropped the Jorōgumo's Stump before moving a short distance away. To everyone looking on, it seemed that the strange oni hadn't moved at all. It was the last mistake of Iganozeki Butsugai's life. From behind, Susuki Masamune carved into his upper shoulder. The void crystals within the black blade shone and crackled as little motes of emptiness appeared within the wound. When the cut reached his chest, Butsugai imploded. A red mist cleared to reveal a pile of limbs and gore on the ground that once might have been a ninja while his two guards watched on in abject horror.   Nagato's warning held true. Killing Butsugai was far from the end of this fight. Indeed, Fubuki was immediately grateful for her* caution before. When a ninja, clearly a skilled assassin, appeared from the pond and cut a crimson line through the air, it was the Jorōgumo's Stump which took the blow. The blood-spattered kunoichi looked at the rent stump on the ground in front of her like it'd personally offended her. By the time she caught up to events and made as if to escape, it was too late. Fubuki waved a hand and conjured several chains of pure light. It might have been a perfect dodge on the kunoichi's part, had she not stumbled on the very same piece of wood she'd just carved from the stump. She went down, wrapped so tightly in the chains that she had no hope of moving or escaping without help. Then, Fubuki merely vanished amidst the chaos she'd* created.   Ignoring that flurry of confusion on the other side of the gardens, Tsukuda Katsuo went to the side of his fallen master like a good Chūnin. His dead face showed not the merest flicker of concern as he stood toe to toe with the stone-skinned ninja which had felled her. For his part, the Kōga looked just as confident. He boasted that no puny ninja weapons could get through his armor and do any damage. It was quite a surprise for him, then, when Katsuo struck at the armor itself. Tsukuda's ki-infused blade slammed into the other ninja's arm seemingly without effect. Then, with a horrific cracking sound, the Kōga's stony fists crumbled away, leaving only a set of spindly and mangled fingers in their wake. His scream could be heard all throughout the garden.   At some point, a few red lanterns had floated out above the battlefield. Perhaps it had been when the six-armed Kōga shouted his challenge. They cast everything around them in an eerie red light, but actually made things easier to see in the moonlit night, and so went largely unnoticed by the Hashinara. They had bigger things on their plates at the moment, anyway. Maxim, for example, was about to tussle with the golden giant.   As he moved up into the central part of the garden with Evaine at his side, Maxim answered the six-armed ninja's challenge. He thought that he'd have more time to prepare himself and his squire, but the giant rushed at him immediately. With six arms outstretched, he grabbed Maxim and managed to get four of them around his armor, largely immobilizing him. The other two arms rained down blows, but even those powerful impacts couldn't pierce Maxim's compromised defenses. It was the armor. That much was obvious. The six-armed ninja roared for his opponent to strip and fight him like a man. It was an odd request, and one that Maxim had no intention of fulfilling even if he could.   Things had escalated very quickly from the moment Kagami flushed out the first Kōga Ninja. Silver General Ryūzaki Sanosuke figured that he'd already wasted too much time with events moving how they were. It was time for him to act. Moving like the comet from which he took inspiration, Sanosuke charged across the water to join the fight between Katsuo and the stone-skinned Kōga. The former had already moved out of the way, leaving Sanosuke's target in a near-perfect position. Perfect it would have been if not for Evaine's presence between them and the big ninja on the ground grappling Maxim.   Sanosuke had to make his calculations quick, but he managed to shout a warning for Evaine to duck as he kicked the bronze-armored ninja right in the side. Even with all his legendary strength behind it, Sanosuke's strike did not seem to harm his target. The ninja did, however, fly through the air at speed. So forewarned, Evaine managed to duck and deflect the incoming human projectile off her own blade. This sent him spinning straight at the six-armed ninja on the ground. Those six eyes were apparently not just for show, however. The golden-skinned man had seen it coming. Twisting inhumanly, one of six arms came up and slapped the stone ninja out of his trajectory and into the sky. With an almost musical sound and a cut-off scream, he flew quickly out of sight and was not to be seen again.   That wasn't the outcome Sanosuke had been hoping for, but it'd at least neutralized one of their opponents. He was already on the move again before the poor stone lion was out of view. This time, his target was the two Igamono grunts surrounding a tied-up beauty on the ground. They'd been trying to break her chains, but either their weapons or their strength wasn't up to the task of sundering Fubuki's sorcery. Regardless, they would not have another chance. Sanosuke landed near the leftmost ninja and spun, slamming the back of his hand into the surprised man's head. With a wet, ripping sound, the head severed from his shoulders and flew away into the night. Before he could finish his horrified gasp, the same thing happened to the right ninja, Sanosuke's right fist finishing the job. The two guards' bodies dropped lifelessly to the ground in unison.   The kunoichi tied up on the ground was spared, much to her own dismay. The Silver General seemed to have plans for her.   Only seconds had passed since their fight began, but Maxim's situation was going from bad to worse. He hadn't even had a chance to struggle before one of his foe's six arms reached out and tore the shield out of his grasp. Then, two more wrapped around his body. Maxim was now well and truly immobilized. Soon after, the headbutting started. Unable to defend himself and running out of time to do so, Maxim took a few serious wounds to the head even through his normal defenses. He didn't want to admit it, but a few more of those attacks and he'd be done for. He didn't want to admit it, so Maxim didn't. With a trickle of blood seeping out of his cracked lips, Maxim mocked his attacker for not even having the strength to finish him off. It was a bullish display of brute toughness, but it seemed to work. Maxim's six-armed aggressor roared in anger and frustration, obviously dismayed that even such measures hadn't dispatched his opponent.   Meanwhile, Sanosuke was trying a similar tactic with his prisoner. He didn't have to say much with the two headless Igamono at his sides to drive the message home. All he wanted was her surrender. The kunoichi beneath him lowered her eyes, frightened but not broken. In fact, she seemed to be waiting for something...   He realized what that might have been a moment before it happened. The silver ninja, almost forgotten but now floating high in the starlit sky, had thrown his shuriken at his supposed comrade on the ground. Sanosuke stepped in front of the deadly projectile. Bringing his mighty hands together at just the right time, he managed to stop the spinning disc before it could reach its target. The thing clattered to the ground in front of him, steaming from friction. That had not been, however, the only shuriken thrown. The other one spun hovering in the air above all their heads. It seemed to be acting independently from its wielder now. Worse, it appeared to be gathering speed.   That worried Fubuki, who was watching from the nearby treeline. It might have worried Sanosuke more, but he was defending from yet another assault on his prisoner. This was a limb, almost a tentacle, formed entirely of water from the nearby pond. It was obviously magical in nature and boasted a frightening dexterity as it slithered through the air and tried to wrap around the kunoichi. The Silver General wasn't about to let that happen, but he was forced to unleash his true power in order to prevent it. With a solid strike, he drove his fist into the watery appendage with such force that its entire form was splattered messily across the ground. It did not immediately reform, so the threat had passed. That didn't seem like a ninja technique. Indeed, Sanosuke thought he had a pretty good idea of whom had attempted it. "That Damn Fox" came to mind.   Back by the entrance, Aotsuki hadn't been idle. At least, not by choice. When Sanosuke had rushed off in such a hurry, he'd seen Fujibayashi Nagato's body thrown into the air with power and precision. Such precision that she seemed to be tumbling straight into his arms. With his ally Maxim in such straits, he didn't have time to catch her, but at the same time he couldn't just let her thud into the ground. Tsurugi ended up being a good compromise. Sensing her Emperor's predicament, she stepped in and easily caught the falling woman. With Nagato safely lowered to the ground near Hashinara Yoshitakatomo, Aotsuki grabbed his three companions and rushed forward to Maxim's side.   Tsurugi had abandoned her humanoid form on the way. When he arrived, it was Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi which gleamed brightly in Aotsuki's right hand. The power of the sun filled its blade, blazing with glorious light as Aotsuki drove it into the six-armed ninja's open back. He was careful to avoid striking Saburō Shōhei, who had almost dispatched the foe on his own, but the strike was true nevertheless. When the legendary blade lifted, all six of the golden ninja's arms had gone slack. All capacity for violence had been driven from his mind, but perhaps not all sense of a shinobi's duty. To accomplish that, lying heavily on Maxim's chest seemed to be the best route at the moment. Unfortunately for him, Maxim still had plenty of capacity for violence, and he was in a bad mood.   Even after the shuriken, Sanosuke's prisoner still seemed to be waiting for something. He caught her looking every once in a while to the eastern woods. Another threat? Sanosuke was occupied keeping the kunoichi safe from her apparent allies, so he relayed that information to Yoshitakatomo instead. The Princess-Daimyō was just about ready to unleash her* own torrent of spells, and added this to the queue. First, she* would fuse with The Jabberwock tattooed across her* back. Then, with its eyes...   Except the spell sputtered and fizzled as soon as it left Yoshitakatomo's fingers. The light of the lanterns overhead seemed brighter now, more oppressive. Under their hellish red glow, magic was all but negated. No, not negated, Yoshitakatomo found, but much harder to cast. This would not do. Fortunately, one of the five lanterns had already been extinguished. What had managed that? Ah yes, one of Kagami's light spheres.   In the spirit of experimentation, Yoshitakatomo scrapped her* previous plans. Instead, she* turned and expelled a beam of pure magical darkness at the closest lantern. Its flame was engulfed by the shadows and extinguished. With a quick shuffle to the left, the Daimyō removed herself* from the next closest lantern's light. There, magic seemed to flow normally once again. She* relayed orders to destroy the rest of the lanterns as quickly as possible. They were proving more of a threat than expected.   If anyone had been watching, they might have seen a black-bladed katana whip out from the nearby shrubbery and cut the silver ninja out of the air. He tumbled into the pool below and did not move again. For that success, however, Fubuki was also met with a failure. There was a lantern hovering right over Sanosuke and his captive. Its red light quickly dissolved away the kunoichi's bonds as it intensified. The prisoner, so released, sought to scramble away, but Sanosuke was ready. He grabbed her arm and easily pulled her into a tight grip. Whatever her skills, it seemed that neither defense nor strength were high among them, and she was powerless to escape. As he held her, the Silver General heard something whispered on the kunoichi's breath. Something about shooting someone down. He looked to the east.   From the forest, a brilliant bolt of white fire tore through the air. At the same time, a similar beam shot out from the nearby lantern. They converged on one particular point: where Fubuki floated amongst the foliage. When both streaks of fire hit the Black Blade, they seemed to react with each other and exploded. Everyone in the garden saw that flare of light that carved everything in white for the briefest moment. Thanks to her* semi-hidden location, however, few got to see Fubuki's charred form tumble limply into the pond below. She* was still alive, but even her* supernaturally-enhanced body was ravaged by the blast. Anyone less-augmented likely would have been incinerated instantly. As it was, Fubuki's innate regenerative factor promised that she* would not die. Not from this attack, at least.   Everyone else was realizing just how much of a threat those lanterns really were. Katsuo tossed a ki-infused dart through the air and punctured one, leaving just two more. Fortunately, Aotsuki had managed to talk the now-compulsively-peaceful six-armed ninja into backing off, so Maxim was free. He wanted to tear his sword into that foe who had made such a show of him, but quelled the urge. Instead, Maxim grabbed Evaine and rushed to the nearest lantern. He tossed his sheele up with controlled strength. Once Evaine was about twenty feet from the ground, she arrived face-to-paper with the floating fire. Her gleaming white blade cut it, but seemingly without effect. The lantern flowed like fire around her strike and reformed. Evaine landed and looked on with the same dismayed expression as her master. Then, the hidden properties of her unique weapon came to light. A growing darkness burst forth from the lantern's heart and engulfed it, turning the flames black. It flared for the last time, then fell dark.   That left only the lantern hovering over Sanosuke and his prisoner. He could hear her cursing whoever was in the woods now. Apparently this kunoichi's ally had shot the next person, but that could only mean that Sanosuke was next. He was confident in his defenses, but even so, that had been an impressive attack that struck his begrudged ally.   Meanwhile, the last of the ninja showed himself. It was far too late now, and the spell he'd been building was lost to the lantern as it died. This newcomer couldn't show a dismayed expression through the straw mask covering his face, but Maxim could sense it in his body language. The rest of the battle certainly hadn't gone his way, but perhaps this foolish latecomer could serve to release some of Maxim's pent-up frustrations.   A bit further off, Sanosuke was pondering what to do with his captive. She wouldn't respond to any of his questions at this point. In fact, the kunoichi was treating him less as a captor, and more like a set of restraints she could wish away with mumbled curses. After seeming to realize that Sanosuke wasn't planning on hurting her, the fear, too, had fled from her eyes.   Unfortunately, Sanosuke did not have the luxury of time. The lantern up above was sure to be a problem if he left it for too long. Keeping the kunoichi held fast in his arms, the Silver General walked up the side of the temple until the hovering red light was within reach. It wasn't as easy as it should have been, with the neglected surface of the shrine's walls offering an unsteady surface and the prisoner doing all she could to act as a dead weight, but he managed it. With one swipe of Aretí, Sanosuke dispersed the lantern, scattering it to the wind.   ...Except that it reformed itself a moment later. Sanosuke frowned. This time, when his blade cut through the air, it left a crackling line of electricity in its wake. Even so, the lantern reformed. This method obviously wasn't working, so Sanosuke dropped the golden sword at his feet and reached for the lantern instead. His hand passed straight through where it should have been. There was a slight warmth there, but even with a thin layer of ki wrapped around his fingers, Sanosuke couldn't get a grip.   A quick question to his allies filled in the blanks. Kagami's light had popped a few lanterns, and Evaine's mystical blade had done the same. It seemed these things wouldn't be reacting to any physical attacks, regardless of their elemental nature. In that case, there wasn't much he could do about them. Instead, Sanosuke chose to seek out their origin. His captive had given him hints that there might be something in the treeline east of their position.   Almost faster than the eye could trace, Sanosuke left the shrine island and bounded into the woods. Any normal human might have been killed by the sudden acceleration, so it was a good thing that his prisoner seemed to be made of stronger stuff. She looked more annoyed now than anything, as though forced to wait an unpleasant situation out. Looking around him then, Sanosuke realized that he was looking for a ninja in a sea of hiding places. Unsurprisingly, he didn't spot anyone.   Back in the enclave, that spinning shuriken left by the silver Kōga was just finishing its buildup. With no warning and its wielder dead in the pond, it shot through the air straight at Kagami. Aotsuki barely managed to interpose himself and the missile glanced off his shield before carving itself into the ground not far away. Yata no Kagami was safe, which left her able to spot a blaze of fire as it lit out of the underbrush near Sanosuke and shot towards him.   The Silver General might not be able to track where the attack was coming from, but he'd been prepared for it. Keeping his uncooperative captive safe in his arms was more difficult than just protecting himself, however. By turning his body, he managed to catch the bolt of flame on his shoulder, dispersing it harmlessly. In a moment, he had covered the distance to where Kagami directed that it'd come from, but Sanosuke found nothing there. In truth, it was not entirely nothing. There was a mat of pressed-down grass here that spoke to someone accumulating a lot of ki at once. Combined with the scorch marks on the trees nearby, Sanosuke could guess that he was hunting someone capable of teleporting. With a ninja's stealth and the ability to launch powerful attacks at range, that would make for a difficult opponent indeed. There weren't any clues to where his quarry might have gone, so Sanosuke called on an expert.   On the other side of the gardens, Maxim was mopping up the last of the remaining combatants. Or, more accurately, he was allowing his squire to do so. The glowing blade wielded by Evaine the White cut through the straw Kōga's shields as though cutting paper. His own body provided just as much resistance, soon reduced to a darkly-burning husk on the ground under her assault. It was not a noble death, but a fitting one for such that had sought to ambush them.   Elsewhere, the sudden flurry of chaotic action in the enclave seemed to be dying down. Ōgon no Hakuhen remained the only of the ninja to survive, and he was under an oath of peace enforced by Kusanagi no Tsurugi. Fubuki, too, was rejoining the party. The previous attack had been devastating, but the Black Blade could recover from all but the deadliest blows. This was in evidence as she* arose from the water, carried up on its roiling surface, and made her* way to where Aotsuki and Yoshitakatomo now waited.   The day had been all but won, yet the Hashinara were no closer to discovering who was behind this revived Igamono resistance. The golden man with six arms was nearly on friendly terms with Aotsuki at this point, borne by the Golden Boy's Silver Tongue, but he would not betray his ninja honor and reveal his employer. As Saburō Shōhei departed to aid Sanosuke and Yoshitakatomo saw to the recovery of Fubuki and Nagato, a compromise began to build. They would engage in a different kind of battle, since violence was off the table. Hakuhen agreed to reveal his employer if he lost, under the agreement that Nagato would be gifted to him as a captive if he won.   That wasn't exactly something Aotsuki could offer. He didn't have the right to put Fujibayashi Nagato's freedom in the betting pot. His own freedom, however, was well within his power. After a moment's consideration, Hakuhen agreed. As he was the one to suggest a contest, he would also allow Aotsuki to choose the field. Caught momentarily on the spot, Aotsuki pondered. The first thing that came to his mind was, indeed, the only real option: Question Hunter. They would battle for supremacy in the field of trivia and riddles.   Kagami helpfully explained the rules while Tama somehow produced enough well-formed rocks to set up a functioning game board. Their golden counterpart caught on quickly. He understood the game and would accept it, but there was one problem remaining. If Aotsuki and Kagami were to play on one team, Hakuhen required an ally to even the odds. Who better to stand by his side than the other manliest combatant here? Hakuhen called to Maxim, inviting him over. Before the knight fully realized what was happening, he was calling the golden man "brother" and getting ready to fight by his side for a rousing game of Question Hunter.   In Shōhei's absence, Tsurugi was nominated to be referee. She took the duty seriously and vowed not to show any material favor toward her own allies. As a symbol of power and order in the Empire, her word seemed strong enough to convince Hakuhen. The others who still remained gathered close around to watch. Question Hunter had begun.   What followed was a flurry of trivia questions ranging from the country's Daimyō to its heroes and secrets of magic, even to foreign powers and the mysteries of the Dreamlands. Aotsuki and Kagami had a poor start. He failed his first few questions and was even ambushed by a Leviathan when he sought not but a Raptor. Meanwhile, Hakuhen and Maxim made a quite good team and were receiving questions which seemed to favor them. Indeed, although his allegiances lay with the Hashinara, Maxim seemed to be giving this his all. He had sworn to his "brother" that he would not hold back, and he indeed did not. All the while, Yoshitakatomo provided colorful commentary on each of the more esoteric questions as they arose. Truly the Princess-Daimyō's wealth of knowledge was something to behold.   Slowly, the tide began to turn. By the end of their battle of wits, Maxim was poised to win with the slaughter of a final Leviathan. His unfamiliarity with Japanese culture crippled him at the key moment, however, as he was not able to identify the Tale of the Bamboo Cutter as being the inspiration behind Kaguya's techniques. Aotsuki had won, even if by a measly few points. Indeed, Maxim and his partner had put up a fine fight. A close competition from the very beginning, even if Maxim had suffered far more as the subject of Tsurugi's narrative than her Emperor. Bald, kneecapped, and shirtless though his game avatar might have been, he had still been a formidable foe.   As the final round ended, Sanosuke returned in time to catch that Aotsuki had won. The Silver General had not apparently been successful in catching their last ninja, but by his captive's own account, that one was unlikely to start another fight without backup. He looked tired, now, and gave the kunoichi over to Nagato, who stood ready nearby. The jōnin seemed to recognize this captive as Tomo Sukesada and expressed some surprise that she'd been working with the Igamono.   That would be a question for the near future, as right now an exchange was happening between Aotsuki and Hakuhen. True to his word, the golden ninja was ready to give up the name of his employer. It was none other than Hōjō Ujiyasu, fecund Daimyō of the Hōjō Clan. He had been funding the Igamono resistance for some time, apparently in a bid to prevent the Iga from allying themselves with the Hashinara. As a ruler with access to his own personal ninja clan in the Kōga, it seemed that Ujiyasu did not want to afford his rivals the same privlege.   That, then, was what they had come for. With their Kōga allies scattered and their benefactor known, the Igamono were all but finished. There only remained the matter of Hakuhen himself. He could not return to his clan, as only death at the hands of the jōnin leaders awaited him for his betrayal. At Aotsuki's suggestion, the golden ninja entertained the idea of joining Maxim instead. They had proven powerful allies in the battle of Question Hunter, after all. Maxim himself was visibly not thrilled at the idea. Perhaps he still hadn't forgotten the infuriating powerlessness he'd experienced at the ninja's hands. Still, he did not outright refuse, and Hakuhen took that as an invitation. He would join The Wolfpack.   After that, there was little left to do except tie up loose ends. Nagato was willing to take Tomo Sukesada into custody, but she was Ryūzaki Sanosuke's prisoner, so it was for him to decide her fate. In truth, by that kind of logic, it should have been Fubuki making the decision. The Black Blade remained silent except to warn Nagato that her* chains would not last forever. Sanosuke decided to take advantage of the offer and move Sukesada to his lands for questioning. On Nagato's recommendation, he would hold her in one of the less-populated castles. Apparently this kunoichi was famous for slaughtering two hundred soldiers in their sleep, and so any revenge she had opportunity to take would likely not be subtle.   Hakuhen would return to Ago with Maxim. Before they left, however, he wished to dole out one last piece of loot: five Majin no Tama. As the Kōka's leader, he was entrusted with them, but would not have much further use for the items. A type of poison, these little bisected balls were apparently potent enough to halt a body's heartbeat and breath for a time, as well as dampening a ki aura. A ninja could act as though dead, giving none of the tells associated with living beings as they hid. Too long without the antidote, however, and the user truly would be dead. Maxim had already wandered away to grab some souls and a shuriken embedded in the ground. He clearly wasn't interested, so Hakuhen palmed the spheres to Yoshitakatomo instead. They had the taste of necromancy about them, but not in such concrete measures as she* was familiar with. Certainly objects of curiosity. Unfortunately, Hakuhen was not able to give any information about their creation. He, too, was clueless when it came to how they were made.   Meanwhile, Fubuki considered the soul of Iganozeki Butsugai still in her* hand. With Nagato and Hakuhen's combined explanation, it seemed that there would be no need to interrogate him. She* released the ball, which floated off into the night, free at last.   Finally, they came to the final ninja, that one which had escaped even the Silver General's chase. Taking the red lanterns as a clue, Nagato suggested in passing to Sanosuke that she might know who that was. Someone named "Tateoka." Famous for her red lanterns, this mystery kunoichi did not like working alone, and so likely would not be back. Perhaps because of his growing exhaustion or perhaps from a lack of interest in prey which had escaped, the Silver General did not ask any further questions. The matter was left there and the party went their separate ways once more.