"Rat face? I’ll show you who the real rat is!"

Kanamori broke his steadiness by striking Kento's head by squeezing the manriki chain of his weapon to manipulate the kusarigama blade. Kento reacted by vertically up slashing his sword to clash the blade right in time to counter.

Clatter!

Both the blades deflected after the impact that took place and so did their holders. But Kanamori took advantage at the right moment to tag Kento's arm by encircling it with the chain of the heavy end. Kento was startled when Kanamori took control of his arm, but he didn't panic. Instead, he quickly readied himself to ideally counter-attack Kanamori's next moves to gain an advantage.

Kanamori's heart filled with fulfilment when he knew that he had snatched his victim. Filling his mind with an immense level of composure, Kanamori pulled the chain along with Kento, who attempted to stay idle even when being pulled into his death.

Kanamori hoisted his kusarigama sickle to accurately jab and implant the edge in Kento's skull, with the loving intent of watching a Hattori member die in front of his own eyes.

Kanamori yelled out.

"Go to hell. You piece of garbage!"

However, due to the overconfidence that had blunted the effectiveness of his battle skills, Kanamori was completely unaware of what was coming. While being dragged into death jabber, Kento's vigilant brain had sketched out a move that Kanamori wouldn't ever anticipate from a rookie teenager like Kento. After having closed the distance between him and Kanamori, Kento executed a knee kick right into Kanamori's gut before he could get a clear opening on him.

"Ahh!"

Kanamori was almost crippled after the kick he received and the shock caused him to retreat a few steps while keeping his rough hands placed on his stomach. Following the stomach-breaking kick, Kento vibrated Kanamori's head with a head butt and then progressed to utilise his katana tsuka and bashed the edge of the handle into Kanamori's forehead, driving him into an even more thunderstruck state.

Kanamori cried out with a considerably loud howl, which ultimately allowed Kento to discern the bruise that appeared on his foe's forehead as a reaction to the impact he had procured.

Kento aimed for another blow with his katana to impose even more tension on Kanamori after releasing himself from the ties that he had put on him. But luck was not in his favour. Right when he was about to unwrap the annoying chain from his left arm, the metal ball started to buzz again with the same rippling noise that signalled the arrival of another energy shockwave. Kento detected the buzz and tried to free himself while keeping his sight on the metal ball and Kanamori, who had been making an effort to recoup.

And then…

Zap.

The standard bolt of energy secreted out of the weight, trembling Kento's entire body when he was almost about to loosen from the iron chain of Kanamori's enchanted Kusarigama. Electrocuted from within, Kento's feet automatically took a few steps backwards while his vital organs strove to wither the unsteady state that had been caused by the shockwave. But Kento's stun effect was renewed after a few seconds as the metal ball elicited another consecutive bolt into Kento's body, electrocuting him from within. Kento's vision started to distort as the second shockwave was three times more powerful than the last one. He eventually started to lose his balance and the clutch on his weapon, along with the sense of sound and a sudden fatigue deleted all the last hopes of him to resist and fight back. He then collapsed onto the ground with his face turned upward, while desperately trying to rebuild his senses and his lost energy.

“Aww!! The last wave...it was way stronger than the last one. How did it get stronger all of a sudden??? I can't…..see….I don't...hear…too…..”

Fortunately for him, Kento's senses recovered moments after collapsing. Right when he was reawakened after the slight uproar that took place, his body jump-started the kidneys to pump adrenaline into his bloodstream when he saw Kanamori, standing in front of his feet, with his kusarigama lifted. He realised that it meant one thing.

Kanamori laughed when Kento's eyes opened slightly before he was about to enact his move.

"Hitting me in the forehead with a katana tsuka? You are getting onto my nerves, loser. Now let's see if you can dodge this."

And then the blade drifted right into Kento, making his existence unpredictable. But Kento's impulses didn't allow him to die. With the adrenaline that invigorated his blood, Kento immediately endeavoured to roll over and away to the left to avoid the kusarigama's course. Fortunately, he made it out at the very last second, although the blade scratched his upper right arm by opening up a cut that oozed out some blood along with a slight groan.

The kusarigama was impeded by the wooden platform after it had damaged Kento's limb. It sank to a considerable depth thanks to the force that Kanamori had put on the weapon. Without anything to defend himself, Kento excitedly attempted to recover his katana while Kanamori strove to recover his weapon out of the rotten wood.

Kanamori caught sight of Kento's endeavouring, but couldn't prepare for another melee attack with his stuck kusarigama. Instead, he telepathically transmitted his signal to his iron slave and the white energy stone to emit another wave of shocking energy into Kento. And when Kento nearly turned around to deliver his assault to Kanamori, the stone released one more of its slightly devastating electrocuting energy beams into Kento. Kento succumbed, falling into an incapacitated state, forcing him to fall to his knees. Though the energy beams were sufficient to finally materialise more lightning-shaped burns in Kento's limbs, the shock wasn't great enough to fully paralyse and immobilise Kento's movement. Whilst being on his knees, Kento's vigilant mind finally broke into an assumption about the truth behind the shockwaves and caused him to analyse for the few seconds he received before Kanamori reacted again…

“Range...Is that what impacts the strength of these energy bolts? “

Kento's time to ponder didn't last long as his ears faintly caught the slight clattering of metal chains, bringing him to formulate himself for the upcoming attack.

"Why won't you die?"

Kanamori advanced into Kento with the bloodlustic intention of getting a head stab with his kusarigama.

"No."

Kento reacted. He kick-started his legs while turning around to rush towards the incoming Kanamori. After retaining enough momentum in the few seconds that he could economise, Kento slid past Kanamori through his legs over the decayed planks of the pier platform. He adjusted his legs to decelerate right when he overtook Kanamori. Upon completing his comedown, Kento turned around towards his overconfident opponent and thrust his katana into Kanamori's chest, without fully impaling the blade through his body.

"Ah!!!"

Kanamori was incapacitated by Kento's penetration and his still state lasted for a few seconds. But he laughed even after being dreadfully stabbed by Kento, forcefully sinking him into a pool of perplexity. His lines terrorised him even further to forcefully block him inside an imaginary room where he started to figure out the mystery behind the endurance of Kanamori.

He responded, with a grim chuckle.

"Is that all you got, Kento?"

Kento could only rest for a few seconds before another shockwave elected to appear at the very last instant to bring revenge upon Kento.

Kento had it enough. After being exposed to numerous energy beams, he couldn't overcome the discomfort generated by the vigour of the Diamond of Finality. The previous wave of energy’s impact had left his body flickering with a paralyzed state that seemingly deformed his transmission of energy, causing him to gradually lose his stamina over time. Kento's arms then got covered up with even more of the lightning-like burns that even Kanamori hadn’t anticipated.

Kento's impulses forced him to retreat after the delivery of the white bolt along with his blood-stained katana, releasing Kanamori with an open wound in his stomach. However, he hardened his mind to endure the pain to quickly finish off Kento, while in the hope of treating himself adequately after the defeat.

Kento's left hand was covering his head while being twirled inside from the effects of the shockwave. His instincts were completely blunt for a few moments until they were awakened abruptly when Kanamori utilised the metal ball of the kusarigama to strike Kento in his head. At once, Kanamori assumed that Kento's conical hat would deflect the attack. And the hat actually did end up absorbing a very minuscule amount of the damage. And the rest of the impact caused Kento's hat to puncture, and open up Kento's upper forehead with a puncture in it. Kento's condition turned even worse as the small puncture created by the spikes of the metal ball began to drain his lifeblood through his face while being sent into an even more devastating state of tremor due to the extreme concussion power of Kanamori's kusarigama.

Kanamori started to laugh out of great satisfaction and joy infected with pure evil. Like a hyena who's trying to play with and rip its prey apart after surrounding it, he started enjoying himself watching the struggling Kento. It was only a matter of time before Kanamori decided to wipe out all Kento's last hopes of confronting him. He started to rotate his metal ball in the air while observing the unrelenting condition of Kento, and in a flash, he sent his kusarigama chain to entangle Kento's katana with it. Unfortunately, it wasn't even sufficiently close enough to overpower Kanamori's attack. His head was still spinning from the inside and the pain was blunting his battle senses, giving Kanamori all the tactical advantage he could earn.

Kanamori's chain wrapping move caught up to Kento's upper blade. Kento's senses warned him about the pulling as he started to feel Kanamori's force trying to snatch away his iron comrade. Fortune appeared out of nowhere to help Kento and his instincts were force-started to resist Kanamori's forces as Kento's grip on the katana increased dramatically. However, it wasn't enough to fully fend off all the force invested by Kanamori, and in the end, Kanamori's powerful plucking snatched Kento's iron friend away from him and onto the wooden platform of Kanamori's battle zone, leaving Kento outnumbered, disarmed and devastated.

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Kanamori's laughs of terror were only increasing in intensity with each second. This time, however, he could foresee the fate of Kento that would end up leaving him dead with the attacks of the kusarigama. Kento stared at Kanamori and looked regretfully at his sword which was lying on the floor with Yamazaki's naginata. Kento could only see his future as a blurry line with no possible way of defending himself from the energy-inducing kusarigama. He started to recollect all the memories of him and his parents. And they started to reverberate when he could prophesy the outcome of the current situation. He saw his friends, siblings and all of his closest friends in his last few thoughts. But there was another thing that influenced him deeply. Whilst being comforted by recollecting all his memories, there was one thing that gave birth to all his hopes of living. Something colourful and wide spreading its amazing strength into the environment. Kento glanced his eyes upon the mysterious object and his anguished mentality identified the object as the Star of Izanagi.

He started to see everything. He began to believe how the star saved his dying parents seventeen years ago, which in turn saved him from turning into a dead clump of cells. And at the same time, how its existence leads him and his friends to sign up for a dangerous mission. He started to recall how he chose to go on even after being refused by the higher-ups and how his colleagues also chose to not leave his side behind during that difficult moment.

“What? What am I doing? I risked my friends' lives to get here. I lost blood...to come to this moment. And yet, I didn’t consider thinking too much about one thing. Why am I doing all this? Only because of one thing...Because of my parents. They are dying. And my friends all put their lives on the line just for me. And after making it this far, is it really…the time for me to give up? My siblings…Kyuzo and Hinako. My friends. Kumiko…Yamazaki…Nakamura…Isoko. Ever since we all became a family, They chose to walk by my side...in almost every situation. We were always there for each other to share everyone’s victories and lessen the burden of the sorrow we encountered. And this was no different. And even after getting severely injured, we managed to recover seven fragments. If that’s the case...should I give up on my mission and die while forcefully killing my friends along with it? No…never…I simply can’t let their sacrifices go to waste. For their sake. I must complete the mission! I promised Nakamura that I’d come back with the whole gem. No matter what happens to me...I will defeat this abuser...even if it costs me my hands. Yes...I will do it...and I will rescue my friends. YES...I WILL.”

Kento's brain cells were fully provoked. He gradually opened his eyes, and he could still see his overpowered opponent anticipating the unpleasant beauty of Kento's body after he had died. After glimpsing Kento's complexion which gradually pumped up with greatness and bravery, Michinobu Kanamori opened his mouth to give away his final phrases to Kento Hattori.

"Hattori Kento kun, I must say. You might be a great fighter…though you are a pathetic character to us Kōgas. The Council and the Shogunate might have done an excellent job in selecting seven teenage brats to reform the Teen Ninjas once again when it fell to its knees seventy years ago. But...I am afraid to say that Iga will lose their young hopes very soon. With another strike to your body with my kusarigama, your heart will permanently cease to beat, which will lead to the death of your useless comrades and your two siblings. When the Teen Ninjas fail to retrieve the Star of Izanagi, two of the most trusted associates of the so-called Tokugawa Ietsugu will pass away, leading to the irreversible discontinuation of a main branch of the Hattori family. Without your iron katana, you are now outnumbered and outgunned. One way or another, you will fall and your Hattori blood will wet the dirty soil, and the Kōga clan will take this as an important step to rise from its ashes, and finally catch up to the league that we require to fulfil our thirst for vengeance."

Kento took a deep breath. He fearlessly closed his eyes upon Kanamori, agitating him from within. Kento prepared his entire body, while Kanamori cried out to deliver his final killing attack.

"How dare you look at me like that? You should die now!"

And that was the last phrase. Immediately after finishing his sentence, Kanamori launched a downward vertical slash targeting Kento's head, expecting a fountain of blood to pour over Kento's fresh corpse. But…

Kanamori was startled…

Because Kento had clasped the blade to block its pathway with his bare hands while allowing the blade to freely cut through his skin and wet the kusarigama scythe with ease.

Kanamori chuckled.

"Oh, so you think that you can hold on to my kusarigama? Well…"

Seeing Kento holding on to his blade while pouring blood, Kanamori tried to pull the kusarigama back into his possession. But Kento didn't allow it to arise and continued clasping onto the blade to impede his villain from acquiring his weapon back. But the holding also came with a painful sacrifice. Kento's gloves were damaged, allowing the sharp edge to creep into his skin. A flow of blood soon ensued to drip through his hands. But Kento endured all the physical and mental pain that occurred, just for the sake of his family and friends. But he too minded not to squeeze too hard with his fingers.

Kanamori's mental level grew more and more uneasy each second and he didn't attempt to pull back the blade as Kento had already commenced to take over it by himself. With no options remaining, Kanamori's heart began to persuade him to strike Kento with another energy beam, which would immediately bring him down.

Kento foresaw this. His mind commenced to play the humming noise of the kusarigama when the weapon was about to ooze a bolt out of its metal ball. After being exposed to multiple shockwaves, Kento was almost drained out and physically injured, and one more shockwave into his body could get him close to a painful death. So Kento had to go for an opening if he really wished to stay alive.

After being reminded about the ranged weapon he had received a while back, Kento's mind illuminated with a plan. With the humming noise getting louder every millisecond, Kento knew that he had to act fast. And so he did something that even a Kōga Jounin wouldn't expect.

While painfully sacrificing his hands to wield the kusarigama blade, Kento gradually directed all his energy into his lower body. And when Kanamori tried to drag the kusarigama back, Kento executed his opening, starting with a kick to Kanamori's leg which had been jabbed by Yamazaki before. Kanamori never expected his opponent to land a kick while staying two feet away after terribly being harmed by the energy beams. The kick to his leg temporarily paralyzed it, partly disassembling Kanamori's balance and morale, giving Kento the time to respond.

As Kanamori was struggling to move, Kento finally got the opportunity to drift his palms away from the blade and onto the part where the chain was attached to the blade, already resulting in a massive reduction of the pain he had suffered, although the bleeding was still present. After delivering the kick, Kento knew that Kanamori would release the Diamond's power soon enough, so he acted fast.

After hamstringing Kanamori, Kento tightly held the Kusarigama blade while sending his hand into his shinobi pouch. Grabbing one of the bo-shurikens he received from Yamazaki, Kento rapidly hurled it into his opponent's stomach, pressurizing him even further.

Kanamori groaned out while his life essence started to drain from his body. That was when Kento realised, that the tables had finally turned against his opponent.

“Time to end this.”

Kento’s blood felt energetic. His damaged senses finally picked up with the pace of his mind to turn hyperactive. His heartbeat sprang. His breathing rose as well. His pupils dilated and his eyes simultaneously drifted into Kanamori, who smirked while responding in the most vicious way that he could up with his mind.

"REMEMBER RAT FACE, THERE ARE NO RULES."

That's all he said. And it was only a matter of time before Kento would hear the noise he never wished would appear again.

Buzz.

His eyes glanced into the heavy end and Kento was driven into an anxious state when he caught sight of the ball lightning-like structure that had materialised around the weight. Kento was alerted. He frequently reminded himself of the fact that another bolt would conceivably kill him. He chose to prevail to help his dying friends and his parents over putting his life into a Kōga's collection.

Kento tightly gripped the kusarigama scythe when the buzzing started reverberating. With a snap of a finger, he utilised his last bit of energy to lift the blade, while Kanamori kept on glancing at the metal ball to spectate how Kento would die from the shockwave. But his underestimation began to take its toll when he saw Kento's battle stance and froze. At the same time, the buzzing grew louder and louder, with the bolts rapidly transmitting from the metal ball.

Kento made his final move count. Kanamori was petrified about the outcome. And in the blink of an eye, Kento enforced his move and drove the blade into Kanamori's head while the heavy end conducted the energy to Kento's end. Kento courageously replied, while delivering the final blow.

"This is for my friends…and for Kumiko!!!"

Kanamori yelled out of petrification and begging.

"No...no…. Stop! Nooooooooooo!!!!"

Plurrk.

Zap.

The move ended with Kento receiving a devastating dreadful electrocution by the shockwave. His body's balance began to halt, and paralysis took over his body. His courage and bravery didn't allow him to bear the torture and, in a few seconds, he collapsed onto the floor with his senses shut off, and embraced the blood-wetted floor with his friends.

A few minutes passed. And Kento's impulses were functioning with great difficulty. Things start to slowly materialise into Kento’s blurry view. With one final thought that he had failed his family and his friends, he blacked out into a sea of hopelessness. The battle was won. Kanamori Michinobu lay seven feet away motionless. His own weapon, the deadly Kusarigama sticking out of his head shone reflecting blinding lights towards Kento’s eyes. Though Kento had emerged victorious from the fight, the repercussions were not simple. Kumiko, Kento’s friend whom Michinobu Kanamori poisoned, had fallen unconscious. Kento’s head was dizzy and he scrambled to his feet from the rubble. Yamazaki, Hinako and Kyuzo, all lay motionless on the floor. The shockwave sent by the spiked ball attached to the manriki had cracked the ground beneath them. Yamazaki's clothes had suffered a few discoloured spots and his hair was singed by the lightning that came after the strike. Kento willed himself to his feet by pushing himself from his arms and all he felt was pain, like never before. The excruciating pain flamed quickly through his entire body; he knew that he was hurt, badly from the lightning. He didn’t want to look at the wound. Kento’s mother who was a physician serving at the royal medical wing of the palace, constantly dealt with burn wounds. He heard his mother say to a patient one day that if the wound was too fatal and beyond the healing hands of a healer, he would not feel any pain, because that meant that the nerves near that area had been burned. Thankfully, pain was the only thing that Kento could feel overtaking every inch of his body, mercilessly, relentlessly.

Fighting the pain, with every last bit of strength that kept him from falling apart, Kento crawled through the rubble, groaning with pain near the corpse of Michinobu Kanamori. He screamed out the names of his friends, who didn’t reply to his cries. Kento grabbed the end of his sword and used it as a staff to get up. Bruises and blood tattooed his skin caked with dust. He looked over the wound on the right side of his shoulder. The cloth covering his shoulder was burnt and ragged, exposing raw skin. He looked down at his foe, an elite Kōga, almost untouchable and invincible, betrayed by his weapon that lay on the ground infested with flies. The steel ball at the end of the manriki was now cracked open from the final blow. The ball which was crackling with white and blue rays of energy, now lay in a very subtle off-white colour. Kento, his hands trembling feebly, picked up the metal and peeked into it. Then he saw the diamond. The white stone shone indifferently, spewing outbursts of energy. Kento felt the instability of the diamond.

“That’s…so much energy spewing out of the diamond.”

The quicker this is finished the better, Kento told himself. He took a deep breath, and with precision, he put his hand inside the sphere, the diamond immediately detached itself from the clutches of the Kusarigama. The diamond leapt onto the fingertips of Kento’s almost as if it wanted to get away from that Kōga as soon as it could. Kento slowly took it out and the white light radiated. With just one clear look at the diamond Kento suddenly felt as if his entire body felt numb. His vision was dazed. He fell onto his knees, beside Kumiko. Kento’s body collapsed onto the ground. This was not the end of the mission he had in mind. And with his body gone senseless, there was hardly anything he could do. Kento tried to scream out the pain but the only thing he could muster was a feeble croak.

Footsteps.

With a final glance, his ever-decreasing sense of sight saw the woman who asked for their help, now just a few steps away from him.