"This is weird, to be honest. How can there be a Kōga ninja in the Ōtsu pier?"

Yamazaki wanted to untie all the scepticism inside his mind to fully visualise his next opponent. Correction, their next opponent.

Kumiko replied.

"Never underestimate the Kōgas, Yamazaki. And try to remember the fact that even though the Lake is within the boundaries of the Shogunate’s control, The government officials have been unable to uphold the law over the other side of the lake, which is dominated by the Kōga’s presence. The boat routes to other prefectures are usually dropped around the northern part where it doesn't meet the areas of Shiga where the Kogās prevail. So this might be a good place for them to slip into Kyoto and ultimately break into Iga."

"Okay okay! I don't wanna be educated by your long and boring knowledge dumps once again!" Yamazaki replied apologetically after being scorched by Kumiko's knowledge. But Kento quickly changed the topic which helped Yamazaki recover from the roasting, though Kento had no intention of such kind.

"Guys listen up. We have moved for almost half an hour right now and have covered a long distance to reach here."

And Kento's arm directed their gazes towards the lakeside jetties seen from a considerably long distance. As the team was currently sitting idle in a hilly area, their eyesight could catch the beauty of the landscape along with the happenings of the lakeside town. Hinako seemingly enjoyed looking at the lush mountain landscapes and spectating the flocks of Red-crowned Japanese cranes enjoying the pleasure of the spring season and flying over the wetlands that lay close to Lake Biwa.

Talking about some facts regarding Biwa Lake, this lake was a paradise for many aquatic creatures. And the fact that this lake held an abundant fish population, provided the Shiga prefecture and a lot of the surrounding towns and cities of the Kansai region a massive supply of fish. But when the Kōgas took control of the southern half of the Shiga prefecture and named it the Kōga province, they tried to spread their control over into this pre-historical lake by attempting to cut the aquatic food supplies off a significant amount and ban all water transportation methods from sailing, followed by trying to prohibit fishermen from fishing. The Shogunate quickly tried to act upon it and later they could recover the lost control of the lake yet some Kōga influence still affected the surroundings of the lake, some of which caused so many casualties that affected innocent people in favour of the hate that they have for Igas and the Shogunate.

After hours of travelling, the Teen Ninjas ended up in the coastal market area of the Ōtsu lakeside town, the capital city of the Shiga prefecture. The entire town was crowded with salesmen and buyers who kept their voices up and enhanced the effects of the crowdedness. It was surprising for the Teen Ninjas to find a mob that big in a suburban area like this one. After taking a bit of time to explore the surroundings, the reason behind the town being so crowded became very obvious to them, after recognizing the overcrowded fish market that sat in front of the ferry pier of the Otsū port.

Kento kept his hopes up as his entire team struggled greatly to reach this point. He was very close to completing his first advanced mission as a teen ninja. And was one step away from reviving his dying parents. Due to these reasons, Kento was extremely determined. More than he has ever been for a mission. He was serious in tracking down the holder of the Diamond of Finality.

“This is it guys. Let’s split up. Let everyone know if you find anything. Beware! DO NOT TRY TO ENGAGE THE ENEMIES ALONE!”

Kento and the others had spread out to explore the area to figure out what was going on.

“This place is really crowded…I need to be careful.”

As he entered and wandered through, his mind was overwhelmed with information. The distinct smell of the freshwater fish, the buzzing shouts of fishermen calling out to pull nearby customers, the crackling sounds of bonfire grills and the aroma of the air blowing over the lake; all were just a few examples of what Kento’s senses picked as he walked through each stall and pier.

“I don’t think we’ll be going anywhere trying to chase the objective blindly. Let me check the map first.”

After falling back into a corner, Kento opened his map once more. When it was opened, Kento's eyes began tracing the white dot which was a dramatic representation of the diamond. His eyes caught sight of the pearl white dot. After a few seconds, his pal decided to join Kento to find the exact location of the star, after confirming that the diamond's presence was somewhere around there.

"No doubt. This is the place. This is where the Diamond of Finality is."

"It might be Kento. But how are we supposed to find a palm-sized jewel inside a lakeside town like this one?"

“Ahhh!!!”

Kento almost spat out the response, but it didn't make it to Yamazaki's ears as both of them were suddenly distracted by a girl's scream, which drove Kento into a completely anxious state after it had reached Kento's alert ears as the yell was that of a very familiar voice.

"What was that?" Yamazaki made a rapid response as he too found the scream to be familiar.

Kento tried to reply but his eyes changed their course to spectate the unexpected situation that had popped out. Soon after the scream spread through the entire town, the people began to set their eyes upon the direction of the cry.

Soon after the cry emerged, Hinako ran towards Kento with a panicked look, alarming Kento and Yamazaki about the happenings.

Kento began questioning his sister after Kyuzo reached them from the other side.

"Hinako, tell me! What just happened?"

"ONII-CHAN! THIS IS TERRIBLE! Some black-masked dudes with samurai armour took Kumiko away when I turned around to check on the other stalls. She tried her best to loosen the knots that were put on her, but they slammed her hard when she started doing that! That's when she started screaming!"

"No way! Black masked samurais? Wait? Could they be?"

And in a glimpse, Kento's face turned to Yamazaki. Kento rapidly asked Hinako for more details but was denied again by the panicking screams of the people that arose from the background, which highlighted the growth of the incident.

"What is going on?"

And in a flash, Kento's ears sensed a few incoming projectiles. Pulling out his katana a few seconds before the shurikens had reached him, Kento manipulated his weapon accordingly to abolish the weapon throws. The deflected ranged weapons landed on many unexpected locations and when people initially set their sights upon the wood-hugging shurikens after listening to their thudding noises, their panicking rose to an increased level, making them rush to evacuate the town to escape from the crossfire.

Kento continued to act fast to save his comrade.

"Hinako, where did they take her?"

She directed her arm and invited her team to follow her.

"Follow me! This way!"

Holding the katana tight inside his palms, Kento and his friends followed Hinako and reached the ferry pier on the northern side of the Ōtsu lakeside town. By the time the Teen Ninjas reached the ferry pier, all the owners and the drivers who sailed the ferries as a daily routine had already engaged in the safety measure of abandoning their daily jobs for the sake of their lives. Kento was obsessed with the panicking of the people around the area. But luckily, a woman decided to stop by them as she managed to identify them as soldiers. The lady spat out all the information rapidly, assisting Kento and his team in visualizing a clear image of their opponent.

"You guys from the military?"

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Kento jumped into the conversation, followed by Hinako.

"Yeah…we are. Please…Can you please explain what is going on?"

"It’s horrible! Those black-masked assassins with the samurai armour plating snatched a girl with blue hair."

"What did they do to her?"

The lady replied with an even more problematic tone.

"They are going to abuse her at the ferry pier! I saw some of those masked samurais carrying weapons, chains and ropes. It is quite evident that they are going to harm her. All the merchants and the sailors tried their best to rescue her, but they couldn't even lay a single scratch on them. They manifested the power of their weapons to strike everyone with fear and terror. And then in a while, they ordered us out of this area before they'd slit our throats! Oh please! Help that girl!"

"We will. Lady, please get out of here as soon as possible. We will handle this."

It only took a fraction of a second for the lady to vanish from the restricted region, while Kento and the others rushed themselves to reach the ferry pier.

When the squad stepped closer and closer to the jetty, louder and louder the cries of Kumiko swelled. Her screams stimulated the others to draw their weapons out, preparing them for any immediate combat.

And in just a few seconds, they ended up at the ferry pier of the ghost town. The entire place was decimated, with many goods and items scattered all over the place, with a few patches of blood beautifying the texture of the jetty ironically.

But they weren’t sufficient to distract Kento's eyes from the only thing that he was focused on.

It was the Suspects at the edge of the pier. Though Kento could hear Kumiko's yelping, his eyes didn't properly catch sight of her, for the armoured abductors were encircled around her, tensioning all the Teen Ninjas from within.

Kento's patience quickly reached its limit, and abruptly, Kento screamed out her name, initially causing the dark-armoured soldiers to set their sights on the teen ninjas while unintentionally revealing the blue-haired girl tied to a wooden pillar, with blood seeping out of the left corner of her mouth.

"Kumiko!"

Kento's yell slowly lifted Kumiko's face. When her eyes gazed upon the eyes of Kento and her comrades, she screamed back in response to Kento's exclamation.

"Kento...Ah!" (Kumiko coughed bad)

"How dare you? Bastard!"

Kento was blinded by rage when the tallest one of the six masked bandits requested one of his minions to slam his fist into Kumiko's stomach, generating more blood from her mouth while her coughs grew even more severe.

The same tall person said.

"Kill him."

And in just a few seconds, Hinako screamed in an alarming voice that jump-started Kento's instincts in a tenth of a second.

"Look out!"

Activating his arms, Kento delivered a horizontal strike with his iron pal while turning around to counter the sai blow from the masked guy who appeared from behind. His sword strike gave a slicing dent into the sai man's thighs, damping his clothing with red blood. Following his katana slash, Yamazaki finished off the semi-paralyzed fighter with a horse kick right into his throat, which crushed it and sent him flying into the air for a few seconds. When the body touched down, the black mask fell off the dead combatant's face, revealing the identity.

With one quick look into his face, Kento could conclude that the dead person was actually a shinobi from Kōga, which was given away by the distinct tattoo he had on his face.

Kento and the others advanced with their weapons loaded. The team held a semi-circular formation and kept a watchful eye on the surroundings while maintaining an uninterrupted view of his opponents.

Four out of the remaining six Kōga ninjas progressed while two made sure that their captured bait stayed safe. The taller one of the two stood in the middle and began to chuckle. Kento felt angry. Really, really angry. So much to the point that he screamed at the tall combatant with desperation in his voice, inquiring for information.

"Who are you? What are you doing here, You Kōga bastard!"

The tall man began talking with a rough, deep voice, which wasn't the one that Kento was expecting.

"Marvellous, Hattori Kento! You easily took down one of my bodyguards in just two blows. And this nitwit with the green outfit, your kick was truly outrageous."

Kento slammed his foot into the wooden panel.

"What did you do to my friend? What did she do to you?"

"Awww, seems like you are a little too mad, aren’t you Kento? Well to tell you the truth, nothing much really." He replied. "I just wanted her to be my love. But she didn't. So I did the next logical thing that a man would do to conquer that beauty and that amazing hair; By force. I tried to take her away but she didn't let me. So I gave her some beatings to make her obey me."

"Bastard! Kumiko has nothing to do with you!"

"Oh really?"

And the man snapped his fingers. Kento's eyes locked on to the other Kōga who was sitting beside Kumiko. His mind began to erupt with unease when the Kōga shinobi punctured her upper chest with a considerably thick needle. Kento's ears couldn't withstand the pain that was evident from the scream Kumiko gave. He tried to rush and scramble in to rescue his close friend. But Yamazaki and Kyuzo grabbed his arm tight and insisted that he stay.

Hinako yelled at the tall Kōga.

"You moron! What did you just do to her!"

"Nothing much, you know. I just ordered my bodyguard to inject some well-made Kōga poison into your Kumiko."

Kento was enraged when his ears caught those words, he slammed the wooden board he was standing on with a kick.

Taking advantage of Kento's enraged state, the Kōga Ninja started speaking up.

"But don't you worry, O descendant of Hattori Hanzo...The poison I injected wasn't the poison of perpetuity. I can assure you…She can still be rescued."

Putting his hand into his cloak, the tall ninja tried to pull something from his clothing. And in a few seconds, a small jar appeared from his robe.

Then he continued.

"Remember, your friend over there can still be saved with this. This is the antidote for the poison. As my mind is currently saying right now, Kento…and all you teen brats. You all have two options. The first one. Defeat. You lose to me and my bodyguards, and your friends will die along with five members of the Hattori Clan while we celebrate the ending of this pathetic bloodline to our hearts’ content back in Kōga. The second one. Accepting defeat. You just don't need to fight an elite ninja like me. You can just flawlessly accept defeat, and I will release your friend from this poison. But...there is a small catch. Your parents will have to pay with their lives as a price."

Kento's anger only grew further and further. He bravely directed his katana towards the leader's head and shouted.

"And I, Hattori Kento will not choose any of them! I am telling you right now! I will kill you! And I will save Kumiko and my parents!"

His sentence led to a laugh full of mirth among the Kōga ninjas. They looked at each other in mockery. In a flash, they unloaded their weapons along with their masks, revealing their scarry faces to the Teen Ninjas. The one who stabbed Kumiko's upper chest also advanced and drew his ninjatō out.

He restarted his speech with a cruel chuckle.

"Ha ha! Did you guys just hear that? What a silly joke! Rescuing a poisoned friend and his parents from us Kōgas? Beware, kids. I am an elite ninja. I won't go easy on you. And my bodyguards won’t either." (While taunting with the antidote) "Remember, you will need this to keep her alive."

And in a flash, he launched a shuriken at Kumiko. It shed through the ropes that kept her tied to the wood, releasing and collapsing her almost-paralysed body onto the floor. She started to slowly choke as she tried to breathe with much difficulty. Her blood escaped from her mouth. Kumiko was unable to speak out her pain, yet she could see the silhouettes of her companions standing in front of her. In a few seconds after collapsing, her eyes closed. Kento was maddened.

"Kumiko no!!!"

Both Yamazaki and Kento yelled out her name as they both couldn't withstand her suffering. Enraged by the actions, Yamazaki unloaded his naginata and posed himself. He was followed by Hinako and Kyuzo who did the same.

Kento shouted.

"We are ready to accept your challenge, Kōga ninjas!"

Satisfied by the words of the Teen Ninjas, the boss ninja finally revealed his name, while ordering his guards to advance and battle the young ninjas.

"I, Michinobu Kanamori of the Kōga province, challenge you to face my bodyguards and me."

Kento slowly spoke to his downed friend, with a tone of promise.

"Kumiko, please hold on! I will come and rescue you. It is a promise!"