After Keiichi’s declaration, Kagu-Tsuchi emitted his self-produced red flames of anger throughout his body, and dashed right towards Kento's parents with the sole intention of extracting blood and dragging their souls from their bodies. Fear obstructed by bravery, Katsuro and Miyuki accelerated their legs to face the curse of the Star of Izanagi and to put an end to the ancient evil once and for all. Kento precipitously counted his fingers to see Kagu-Tsuchi's defeat, even though no one could see the outcome.
"Give me your blood, you mortal Hattoris!"
Kagu-Tsuchi implemented his first strike with a well-timed fire sword assault. Determined not to take the risk, Katsuro and Miyuki both rapidly backed off, evading the attack.
But even though the blade didn't make contact with either of them, Miyuki and Katsuro eventually began to perceive the true meaning of Kento's warning as they felt the air being heated up by the unimaginably hot sword as it sliced through it.
Loading a projectile into her hand, Miyuki jerked the kunai in Kagu-Tsuchi's direction. She was hoping to catch a glimpse of her enemy's power, as a measure to be extra cautious.
The kunai barely got to Kagu-Tsuchi. His fiery cloak instantly heated up the kunai, and it was bounced off by Kagu-Tsuchi with a convenient swipe from his sword, which then sliced the iron projectile, partially liquefying it.
“Kento was right. His power is beyond our boundaries…. we might not be able to control it.”
"Miyuki, watch out!"
Little did she know what was coming. Kagu-Tsuchi immediately noticed Miyuki's thinking and went for an opening with his weapon. Glimpsingthe incoming strike, Katsuro promptly altered his course to protect his wife.
"Take this!"
Slash.
Kagu-Tsuchi's sword lacerated Katsuro's arm as he was in the process of pushing Miyuki away from the impact zone. Miyuki was flabbergasted by Kagu-Tsuchi's speed, and worries commenced to pump into her heart as she discerned the gash on her husband's arm.
"Katsuro, No!"
“It’s…fine. Don’t loose focus, Dear!”
Kagu-Tsuchi tried to proceed with another diagonal assault with the utilisation of his igneous weapon. Miyuki, noticing the painful situation of Katsuro, immediately volunteered to impede Kagu-Tsuchi's blow, this time with the assistance of a katana from a dead steel scarletshade.
Boosting all of her muscles, Miyuki quickly got hold of the katana. However, Kagu-Tsuchi was quick enough to reach her as she grabbed the katana. Left with no other options, Miyuki ducked as the blade whizzed above her hair. Taking advantage of the fraction that she had gotten, Miyuki used force to poke the katana into Kagu-Tsuchi's stomach.
Kagu-Tsuchi didn’t pay attention to her move, which constantly made her suspect the incandescant kami's abilities.
The blade to her surprise reached Kagu-Tsuchi's crusty brown skin. However, the blade didn't manage to penetrate deep through his skin, hardly making it into the fleshy area. Miyuki's surprise showed in her voice, that then allowed Kagu-Tsuchi to petrify his opponents even more.
"Ha ha ha! You mortals can never face me! I am….A KAMI!!"
At that moment, Kagu-Tsuchi unveiled his godly power with a sudden, powerful rift of heat through his stomach, which only took a proportion of a second to burn through the iron and into Miyuki's hands, producing extremely painful blisters on her burnt hands. She lost the clasp of the katana and fell back, while trying to suppress the damage. Katsuro, who had glimpsed the scene, promptly advanced to cover Miyuki from further attacks. Continuing his assault, Kagu-Tsuchi pulled the katana out of her stomach and hurled it in Miyuki's direction.
"Dear, watch out!"
Katsuro shook his katana to deflect the incoming projectile. And the outcome was in his favour, as the katana's path was sufficiently pushed to protect Miyuki. However, Katsuro shortly noticed how his katana had suffered major damage after his counter-attack. Katsuro's mind panicked, while beginning to flood with thoughts of regret, believing that he had chosen to do things the hard way.
"You will not escape my wrath, you mortals."
Identifying a good opening, Kagu-Tsuchi pumped his godly energy through his igneous body and pushed Katsuro and Miyuki. Kento's anxiousness burst out of his mouth as a yell, to alert his parents to escape Kagu-Tsuchi's molten hot blade.
"Dad mom, look out!"
Katsuro was alarmed. Realising that his wife wouldn't be able to help him as much as she could have, Katsuro stimulated his status and countered Kagu-Tsuchi's sword attack after being left with no other alternatives.
As Katsuro’s expression was grasped by Kagu-Tsuchi, his levels of infuriation spiked, bestowing a spurt of heat as his flames continued to grow.
Angered, Kagu-Tsuchi diverted all of his energy to break through Katsuro's sword. Katsuro, with the assistance of his strong will, chose not to give up and held on to the block. But eventually, he began perceiving how his trustworthy katana was losing its endurance due to the colossal strength of Kagu-Tsuchi.
"Is that all you got, Kagu-Tsuchi?"
Kagu-Tsuchi's temper went rogue. His rage augmented, and his body exploded into fire that carried the hate of millions of years. The destructive reaction generated a scream inside Kagu-Tsuchi's mouth that painfully vibrated the eardrums of humans. Simultaneously, a rift of energy was secreted from his body, which instantly repelled Katsuro from his defensive position. He ostensibly tried to recover his senses. But Kagu-Tsuchi went on a rampage by striking Katsuro with his sword which had gotten twice as strong. Determined not to fail, Katsuro held his katana in the hope of protecting himself from Kagu-Tsuchi's ravaging resentment.
Clang!
Kento’s mouth erupted into a gasp when the swords clashed. Sparks flew, and Katsuro's sword fell from its grace when it was brutally separated into pieces by Kagu-Tsuchi's fiery katana. The broken fragment was buried in the blood-wetted soil as if it was overthrown just like a soldier on the battlefield.
Katsuro was overwhelmed and devastated. Without any weapon to defend himself, he panicked trying to defend himself from Kagu-Tsuchi's next move. His anticipation skills were preparing for an ultimate betrayal as Kagu-Tsuchi prepared to enforce his next attack to take down Katsuro.
“What do I do? What do I do?”
"Father! Watch out! He's coming!"
Kento's outcry couldn't reach Katsuro's ears in time. As Kento yelled to alert his father, Kagu-Tsuchi crept up to Katsuro. Aligning his eye with Katsuro's eye, Kagu-Tsuchi illuminated his eye with a blinding orange gleam, which automatically diverted Katsuro's shocked eyesight. And in a milli-second, Kagu-Tsuchi unpacked a sentence which carried horror that was powerful enough to set the Teen Ninjas on a period of mental anguish.
"You asked for it, Hattori Katsuro!"
The exact moment when the sentence escaped from his mouth, his gleaming eye flashed a beam of bright, yellow concentrated light into Katsuro's right eye. The light beam was so powerful that it almost immediately penetrated his eye, instantly opening up a huge flow of blood that started seeping through his face. Katsuro was pushed away from Kagu-Tsuchi as he screamed with growling pain, covering his eye with his arm to obstruct the bleeding.
Miyuki was frightened and shocked with devastation circulating through her entire body. Comprehending that her husband required her assistance, Miyuki rushed up to Kagu-Tsuchi, while convincing herself to sacrifice her life to protect Katsuro. Kento however couldn't see his revived parents being beaten to death by a wrathful god whose power levels were outside the boundaries of the world.
Targeting Miyuki as his next victim, Kagu-Tsuchi prepared himself to strike her as she came to attack. He beheld her as a stupid huntress as she has been rushing without her weapon, which was realistically impossible for her to hold thanks to Kagu-Tsuchi's fire attack.
“Come...Come...feel my anger...give me your essence of life.”
Miyuki continued to close the distance between Kagu-Tsuchi and her. Kagu-Tsuchi eagerly lingered for her to reach his kill space. But, his cocksure state of mind flashed with surprise and amazement, when Miyuki snapped her injured fingers while crying,
"Blinding speed."
Then she completely disappeared from his sight. Kagu-Tsuchi was mystified by Miyuki's power and spent the next few seconds trying to detect her presence.
“Where is she...I must be honest. This woman really has some strength in her pocket. Reminds me of that woman.“
And he then chose to blink, which was a terrible misstep that he had committed that allowed Miyuki to materialise a few steps behind Kagu-Tsuchi. She then crept up towards Kagu-Tsuchi and launched her attack while Keiichi, who had been watching the battle immediately yelped when he spotted Miyuki creeping up towards Kagu-Tsuchi.
"Lord Kagu-Tsuchi, she is right behind you!"
However, his scream didn't prevail to benefit the fire kami as Miyuki's backkick had already rippled and nudged Kagu-Tsuchi into a nearby tree by the time the warning had reached his ears.
“Gotcha.”
"Ahh!"
It was the first time in thousands of years that Kagu-Tsuchi had been pushed onto the ground by a human warrior, and it was truly the first strike from the Hattori duo which had made a significant impact on their enemy.
Although Miyuki had successfully managed to push Kagu-Tsuchi from his arrogance, she too had suffered major side effects from that attack. When her foot made contact with Kagu-Tsuchi's lava like body for just a nook of a time, the extreme heat had partially liquefied her sandals, while building a minor burning sensation on her foot. Immediately after she had delivered the kick, Miyuki rapidly shook her leg to drop off her molten sandal, to prevent any further injuries.
“How dare you!”
Kagu-Tsuchi’s sentence showed comprehension of the awareness of the Igas, along with the vigilance of Miyuki. His eyesight immediately evaluated the condition of Miyuki. Rage enhanced by Miyuki's assault, increased his power enabling him to rush up towards her. following the same tactic that Miyuki had utilised, Kagu-Tsuchi drastically increased his speed and dashed towards Miyuki with the only yearn to stab his hot blade through Miyuki's chest.
"Mom! No!"
While painfully listening to her son's screams, Miyuki clasped the scorching, godly blade with her injured hands, while putting all of her life essence into acting against Kagu-Tsuchi's jabbing forces.
Miyuki's level of pain was immeasurable. But despite all the tortures that she was being put through, she strived to tolerate everything to not hurt the fragile feelings of her children. Kento's constant yells towards his parents constantly softened the hearts of Kumiko and Yamazaki.
But our heroine's power levels eventually reached its limits. When Kagu-Tsuchi pushed the sword with almighty strength, it slid right through Miyuki's hands and stabbed her chest.
Hinako and Kyuzo, who had been spectating the battle, had begun weeping when their eyes caught the brutal sight of Katsuro's eye being obliterated. But, when they painfully witnessed their mother being stabbed by a molten hot sword, their weeping evolved into sobbing cries that carried the hard, unbearable mental and physical pain. Kento too began seeping tears of deep grief when his eyes saw blood oozing out of his mother's mouth.
"Mom, NO!!" Kento screamed with intolerable agony roaring inside his body. Kumiko's face was drenched with tears.
“Whaa…how is it possible? I thought…the Star of Izanagi…would have…protected Miyuki-san and Katsuro-san?”
“HAHA!” Sensei Keiichi spoke in a piercing voice, unveiling the piercing, malevolent nature of his character, sending a chill through Kumiko’s spine.
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“Well…young lady. Didn’t that sagacious sensei of yours tell you anything? Worry not, Kumiko-chan. You see…the Star of Izanagi might have been useful to counter the effects of the poison of perpetuity. But…”
“Wh..what do you mean? BAKEMONO!”
“Kento…let those tears run through your scrapes. And get ready to comfort your silly brother and sister because you are not ready to listen to what I am about to say.”
Kumiko continued with the yell insisting.
“WHAT IS IT THAT YOU ARE TRYING TO HIDE, KEIICHI?”
“That the Star of Izanagi’s abilities…fall short…under the influence of a god’s abilities.”
That sentence marked the emotional setback for the Hattori siblings. Kento was flabbergasted beyond belief, his entire body was soon dominated by a shiver that he had never experienced before. Hinako’s weeps abruptly grew into loud yells of grief, with hot tears melting through her soft cheeks, accompanied by her stuttery breathing. Kyuzo too had watery eyes just like Kento. But their natural instincts didn’t allow them to release the emotions ravaging inside their minds. Both of them desperately attempted to squeeze their eyelids to block the flow of tears, but their attempts were soon rendered futile when they continued to hear her mother’s painful cries.
Kagu-Tsuchi opened up his dangerous voice once again.
"Miyuki, your inferior status is totally incompatible to rival my status as a Kami. You are just about to face your pathetic demise…"
Kagu-Tsuchi’s murderous instincts kicked in, and he then sought to poke the sword even further. But his semi-alert ears suddenly heard a buzzing noise, which kept on getting louder and louder each millisecond. Covered with curiosity, Kagu-Tsuchi turned his attention in the direction of the sound. And to his ultimate surprise, his eyes were baffled by the rushing form of Katsuro, with his damaged eye oozing blood. His purple amulet was gleaming in a brilliant purple. But what made Kagu-Tsuchi's anxiousness elevate higher than ever, was Katsuro's fist. It was encircled and enveloped with what seemed to appear as bolts of electricity.
Katsuro then yelled hard with his eminent Warrior tone.
"How dare you call my wife inferior and pathetic? I don't care if you are a…GOD!!!"
As his courageous shout ended, Katsuro lifted his shielded fist and landed a devastating lightning punch on Kagu-Tsuchi's right cheek, before he could drag his sword back and counter the assault. Katsuro's dominating punch left the arrogant fire god on the ground after being pummelled into a nearby rock. Keiichi was flabbergasted by this spectacular scene, with his eyes widened even more.
Katsuro was unimaginably exhausted after the attack. Whilst his tiredness was being intensified by his inconceivable pain from a damaged eye, he promptly grabbed Miyuki before she fell on the bloody earth after being released from Kagu-Tsuchi's affairs. Kagu-Tsuchi's sword was still embedded in her body and the foreign materials of the blade were reacting with her skin that had formed cracks and cramps that looked a lot similar to the nodules that made up Kagu-Tsuchi's complexion.
Katsuro knew perfectly well that pulling out the sword would leave the damaged blood vessels open, which would ultimately put Miyuki's life in danger as the internal trauma would result in a slow, painful death. But the way that the otherworldly blade reacted to Miyuki’s body produced nodules that were horrifyingly peculiar, disgusting and painful, which resulted in Miyuki asking her husband to remove the blade as soon as possible.
Katsuro was out of options. With one of his eyes completely blacked out, and his wife being one step closer to death, the only thing his remaining eye could see was defeat. His mindset was gradually provoked to move to his only option of keeping Kento and the rest of the Teen Ninjas alive after watching the damage that they had suffered.
While Miyuki held on to her husband, Katsuro slowly implanted Kagu-Tsuchi's sword into the ground. Keiichi, who caught the sensation of the injured Hattori elders, began moving towards them, with his hand wrapped around his loaded katana tsuka.
With much difficulty, Katsuro opened up his mouth, while squeezing Miyuki tight into his arms.
"Keiichi, hold it."
"What do you expect me to do, Katsuro? You are just a few steps away from your demise."
"My demise…Miyuki's demise, is that what you really want? Is that why…...you did all this? Is that why you made my children suffer all this pain? Is that why you made other people go through so much pain as well?"
Keiichi patiently waited for a few seconds, before replying with the phrase that agitated Kento.
"Yes...it’s as simple as that."
"Keiichi, Then I only have to make one request. If you and Kagu-Tsuchi want our lives so badly, then you may have them. But please, leave Kento and his friends alone."
"What are you trying to say, Sergeant Katsuro?"
"All I want is…to spare my children, and the lives of the other Teen Ninjas…in exchange for our fragile lives."
After listening to his father's decision, Kento was thrust from his seated position. Seeing how Kyuzo and Hinako were weeping, Kento's eyes were melted by a few tears, as he asked his parents’ reasons in an emotional tone.
"Father, you can't do this! Please, no no no! We all risked our lives to save you! And now...you are gonna accept defeat…"
Kento's will wasn't strong enough to finish his sentence, as his flow of words were blocked by the tears that threatened to choke him. Miyuki attempted to speak to her son. But was unfortunately interrupted by Keiichi, who replied with a voice that carried enjoyment and greed at the same time.
"Oh really? Well, what a nice offer, Katsuro! I must say, you really have got to know about my needs...But...I must decline."
Kagu-Tsuchi, who had just recovered from the lightning punch, inquired his disciple for the reason behind his conclusion.
"Why won't you agree, Keiichi?"
After listening to his newly assigned master's question, Keiichi slowly dragged his sword out, and vigorously pointed it towards Katsuro.
"I shall never leave this place until I witness the total annihilation of the Hattori bloodline."
Kagu-Tsuchi instantly stood himself up and shouted.
"That's what I'd expect out of you, Keiichi. I will kill these Hattoris and show my old man what Kagu-Tsuchi really is!"
Being entangled with hopelessness, Katsuro asked Miyuki, who had been choking since the removal of the fiery blade.
"Dear, what am I supposed to do? What am I supposed to do in this situation?"
Miyuki's bloody mouth gave birth to a reply with unbelievable distress.
"I will be the bait, Katsuro. You go and escort my kids away from this arena."
"No, it's not going to happen. I am not going to let you die alone. Besides, I am not ready in the slightest to let this curse remain in this land. I simply can’t let our family's legacy end in such a horrific manner. But...what am I supposed to do? What am I supposed to do?"
"There is still a way, Katsuro."
Miyuki's response to Katsuro first sent him into a perplexity.
"What's that, Miyuki?"
She tried to answer, but her fatal condition was fading out her voice. But even then, she managed to convey the message of what she intended to do.
"It's 'that' way, dear."
After hearing her reply, Katsuro was transported into his past. Or more correctly, he was teleported to a plane where all of his past rememberings were replayed in his mind. He eventually started to recollect all of the nightmares that he gained after Takigawa's assault. Attempting to visualise the grand ritual that took place seventeen years ago, where the lives of him and his wife were bound to the star to be safeguarded. The ritual, done by Katsuro’s senior Nomiya and his clan members and their sayings…all of these slowly materialised into Katsuro’s vision. Endeavouring to catch a glimpse of everything that occurred that day, Katsuro scanned every single juncture of his memories, until he finally discovered the one thing that Miyuki was trying to refer to.
“I remember it now…After the ritual was done., Nomiya-sama and his assistants made us Hattoris aware of something important; The Izanagi's will…I am starting to remember what was really inside it…oh, I am starting to feel it. There was this one thing that we all couldn't understand. That cryptic sentence that Nomiya said during the final moments before his departure…"If the balance was harmed by a Leech, then thou shall…I didn’t try to pay too much attention to it back then…But…Now I get it...he was referring to Kagu-Tsuchi as the leech. Well, if that's what he was trying to imply, then the only way to end his curse is to…"
After a long period of silence, Katsuro replied.
"Dear, let me do this."
While knowing that her death was getting closer, Miyuki grabbed hold of her husband's hand and embraced his warmth. Her eyes started to drip tears of grief and pain. She then replied.
"No dear...I want to come…...with you."
Katsuro was emotionally moved by his wife's reply, which showcased her immeasurable love for him. Preparing for his final moments, Katsuro turned his head to fix his eyes upon his children. His mind began flooding with all of his memories with Kento, Kyuzo and Hinako, which opened up the way for many emotions to flow into his mind. His mind was then illuminated by that one memory that changed the legacy of his eldest son. The day that Kento rescued Kumiko from her father's evil stepwife, Tanuichi.
He gradually turned upon his wife's face. Holding her hand tight, Katsuro produced a manly cry, while commencing to shed tears with his remaining eye, along with the wounds in his other hollow, which imitated the same procedure with blood. He embraced her tight, understanding the terrible fate of having to lose.
A wave of emotions overtook Kento and the rest of the gang. Kento couldn't withstand seeing his father cry, he quickly realised the degree of grief, which emitted a torrent of tears from his eyes along with his siblings and his friends. His siblings stayed speechless, whilst being battered by thousands of emotions.
When Katsuro loosened his grip on Miyuki, she slowly replied. Her reply softened Katsuro's heart, giving him a sense of love to move forward.
"Darling, let's end this."
"Am I the only one who can't withstand this emotional drama? This is enough. I am gonna end this right here and right now!"
“Shut the hell up, YOU LEECH OF A SON.”
Kagu-Tsuchi's rage had gotten beyond Katsuro's anticipations. Being annoyed by Katsuro's emotions, Kagu-Tsuchi began rushing upon the Hattori elders with the sole purpose of ending their lives.
Kento was deeply agitated by the reaction of the fire god. He excitedly asked his father for a reply, while continuing to sob and drench his eyes with tears.
"Father, mother, what are you going to do?"
Picking up a katana from the ground, Katsuro replied in a brave voice.
"I am gonna end this…. once and for all."
"No, father...please don't do this!"
Though he was emotionally attached to Kento, he couldn't let his son's request change his destiny.
"Kento, I am sorry."
That's all he said, before advancing to face the agitated form of Kagu-Tsuchi with his wife. Kento was enclosed with an uncertainty that kept him concerned about his parents.
And then the battle resumed. Kagu-Tsuchi was rushing towards the Hattoris with his newly forged fire sword. Katsuro and Miyuki both held on to their spots, with swords in their hands. Even though Miyuki was suffering from major injuries, she tried to endure that pain, all because of one human spirit that brightened her life.
“Wait...let him get closer.”
Although Kagu-Tsuchi had clarified that Katsuro was playing passively, he didn't choose to proceed carefully. His immeasurable level of anger and greed were thirsting to behold the demise of Katsuro and Miyuki.
Katsuro kept on waiting until Kagu-Tsuchi had caught up with the fire sword that had been impaled deep into the ground. He signalled his wife to proceed, as soon as the fire god stepped near the impalement.
"Let's go."
The reaction was instantaneous. Miyuki and Katsuro both began closing their distance to face the fire god for the one last intriguing moment.
"Oh, aren't you scared of challenging me?"
"No."
Zap.
After Katsuro had finished his sentence, he snapped his fingers once, which gave birth to a devastating bolt of lightning that directly struck Kagu-Tsuchi. Kagu-Tsuchi's vision pulsated and was stunned in a flash, giving both of them a good chance to strike back.
Not fearing the pain, Katsuro followed his wife's strategy and kicked Kagu-Tsuchi in his gut, before attempting to vault over him with the assistance of his newly picked-up katana. Miyuki too then followed the same step but had to suffer even more pain before doing that.
After successfully evading Kagu-Tsuchi, they both gained some distance, before Kagu-Tsuchi could regain his senses.
Suddenly, Miyuki's coughs evolved more violently. Blood was dripping through her lips, gaining the attention of Katsuro. He quickly assisted her, but she instead grabbed her husband's hands and spoke her final words.
"Darling, Please...I want to tell you one last thing."
"What is it?"
She then squeezed his hands.
"Thank you…for everything. Thank you for making me the mother of these brave children."
Katsuro was struck again with a wave of emotions. His eyes trickled one last surge of tears before he conveyed his last sentence.
"Dear…I will always love you."
Their emotions didn't last long as Kagu-Tsuchi awakened from his stunned status, overwhelmed by rage.
"How dare you strike me again with your damn lightning power? This ends NOW!!!"
He then turned around to surge towards the Hattoris to finish them.
This is it.
Miyuki and Katsuro glimpsed each other's faces one last time, before running towards Kagu-Tsuchi to face their demise.
Hinako and Kyuzo were struck hard with emotions and they kept on screaming their eyes drenched with tears. Kento too helplessly watched his parents rush up towards Kagu-Tsuchi without their weapons.
“What are they gonna do? What are they gonna do???”
"This ends now!"
Upon reaching Katsuro and Miyuki, Kagu-Tsuchi hoisted his sword with a rapid speed and vertically struck with the sole hope of promptly slaying them.
Miyuki and Katsuro both courageously grabbed each other's hands, and lifted along the pathing of Kagu-Tsuchi's sword strike. But there was something peculiar, which caught Kento's vigilant eye.
“Wait...what's that thing...that's inside their hands?”
Kento's state of mind quickly evolved into an explosion of surprise and terror, when his entire team's realisation and Kagu-Tsuchi's scream occurred at the exact time.
"Oh NO!! DON'T DO THIS!"
Kagu-Tsuchi's ravaged scream was overwhelmed by Katsuro's and Miyuki's last phrase, which strengthened the fear of the fire god.
"IF THE BALANCE WAS HARMED BY A LEECH, THEN THOU SHALT PUT A GLORIOUS END TO MY STAR."