Daimyo, still standing calmly with his massive sword resting on his shoulder, lifted one hand. His fingers moved fluidly, weaving through a series of intricate hand signs too fast for the untrained eye to follow.
Then—
He slammed his palm onto the cracked stone of the bridge.
"Summoning Jutsu – Kurokabe: The Black Wall."
A sharp shockwave exploded outward.
Before anyone could react—
A massive, invisible force surrounded the battlefield.
The air distorted, rippling like heat waves, and in an instant, a transparent, cubic barrier materialized around Daimyo, Kai, and Ryuji.
The light within it flickered unnaturally.
A perfect prison.
Ryuji blinked, staring at the barrier. He tilted his head.
"Oi… uh… what the hell is this?"
Kai remained still, his Yamigan pulsing faintly.
Daimyo chuckled. "Oh? Finally noticing, are we?"
Outside the barrier—
Jasper, mid-fight, drove his fist into a shinobi's jaw, sending him crashing onto the bridge. But as he turned, he saw it—
The massive, cube-shaped distortion in the air.
His breath hitched.
"What the hell is that?!"
Sienna, effortlessly snapping a shinobi's wrist and adjusting her gloves, analyzed the structure immediately.
"A forcefield. Likely created through a mixture of sealing jutsu and space-time manipulation."
Jasper, still breathing hard from the fight, ignored her completely.
"Kenshiro! What the hell is going on?!"
Kenshiro's body tensed.
His eyes—which had remained sharp and calculating throughout the battle—widened with something that no one had ever seen from him before.
Fear.
He didn't hesitate.
Two shinobi rushed him—he cut them down instantly.
His voice came out tight, strained.
"No… This can't be happening."
Aiko, standing nearby, sensed his shift in tone.
"Kenshiro-sensei…? What is that barrier?"
Serena, kicking a shinobi in the ribs, grinned.
"Yeah, mind explaining? 'Cause I don't like being left out."
Kenshiro exhaled sharply.
His next words sent a cold chill down everyone's spine.
"That barrier… Daimyo rarely ever uses it."
Jasper's breath caught in his throat.
Aiko's hands tightened around her kunai.
"Rarely?" Aiko asked, suddenly feeling uneasy.
Kenshiro clenched his fists.
"He only uses it when he wants to play with his opponents before crushing them completely."
A brief silence settled over them.
Then—
Jasper's face contorted in shock.
Aiko staggered back slightly, terrified.
Serena's confident grin vanished.
"Tch… You mean, he's planning to—"
Kenshiro's voice cut through the air.
"He won't kill them instantly. He'll break every bone in their body first."
Jasper's stomach dropped.
Aiko's eyes widened in pure horror.
Aiko screamed, her voice filled with urgency.
"KAI! FINISH HIM FAST! RYU, SHOW HIM WHO YOU ARE!"
Aiko's voice rang across the battlefield, loud, desperate.
She had forgotten where she was.
Her body turned toward the barrier—her focus completely on Kai and Ryuji.
That single moment of distraction—
Was almost her last.
A Yamigawa shinobi moved fast, blade drawn, lunging toward her exposed side.
His sword gleamed, inches from her throat.
Then—
A sharp snap.
A twist.
And a choked scream.
The shinobi's arm bent unnaturally, his wrist twisted behind his back at a painful angle.
Sienna stood behind him, her grip unrelenting.
Her silver eyes were cold, detached.
She leaned in, her voice low but sharp.
"Stay focused in battle, Aiko. One small mistake—"
She twisted harder.
The shinobi let out a strangled gasp.
"—and your life is over."
She let go.
The shinobi collapsed to the ground, clutching his broken arm.
Aiko staggered back, her breath shaky.
Sienna didn't look at her.
She simply adjusted her gloves.
"Pay attention next time."
Jasper, still staring at the barrier, barely processed what just happened.
His mind was locked onto one thing.
Kai and Ryuji—trapped inside Daimyo's death cage.
"Shit…" he muttered under his breath.
Serena, cracking her knuckles, exhaled sharply.
"We need to find a way to break that thing."
Kenshiro's gaze remained locked on Daimyo.
His hands tightened around his kunai.
"No."
Serena raised an eyebrow. "No?"
Kenshiro's jaw clenched.
"We don't interfere."
Aiko and Jasper snapped their heads toward him in disbelief.
"What?!" Aiko yelled.
"Are you INSANE?!" Jasper growled.
Kenshiro exhaled slowly.
"Kai and Ryuji need to handle this themselves."
Serena scoffed.
"Yeah, or die trying."
Kenshiro's eyes narrowed.
"If they can't survive this, then they were never ready to begin with."
A heavy silence fell over the group.
And inside the barrier—
Daimyo smiled.
"Shall we begin?"
Daimyo tilted his head slightly, observing Ryuji and Kai with a cold, detached amusement.
His fingers moved effortlessly, weaving through a single hand sign.
The invisible walls of the barrier expanded outward, stretching further across the bridge. The air inside the space warped, thickening with a crushing pressure that made it hard to breathe.
Daimyo's voice was low, almost playful.
"You're just kids. If I fight seriously, you'll die too fast. So, let's make this last."
His lips curled behind his mask.
"Show me what you can do."
Kai's crimson Yamigan pulsed, analyzing every twitch of Daimyo's muscles.
Ryuji cracked his knuckles, a confident smirk spreading across his face.
"Alright, old man! Let's dance!"
And then—
They attacked.
Ryuji launched forward first, moving fast.
His fists blurred, his footwork a mix of pure instinct and relentless aggression.
A quick jab to Daimyo's ribs. Missed.
A spinning kick aimed for his head. Evaded.
A palm thrust toward his chest. Blocked.
Daimyo's body moved like flowing water, sidestepping each strike with effortless ease.
Ryuji gritted his teeth, frustrated.
"Damn it! Stand still!"
Daimyo did the exact opposite.
He barely shifted his weight, grabbing Ryuji's extended wrist in a flash.
Then—
SLAM!
Ryuji's body hit the ground hard, dust kicking up from the impact.
But before Daimyo could press the attack—
Kai struck next.
Unlike Ryuji, Kai wasn't reckless.
His movements were sharp, calculated.
The moment Daimyo finished slamming Ryuji, Kai was already mid-air, twisting into a spinning kick.
Daimyo lifted his arm to block, but Kai had predicted that.
At the last second, he faked the kick—spinning his body and bringing his other foot crashing into Daimyo's exposed ribs.
THUD!
Daimyo's eyes narrowed slightly.
Not from pain.
But interest.
"Hoh… You're not bad."
Kai didn't hesitate. He landed, twisting his body to follow up with a kunai strike.
Daimyo caught the blade with his bare hand.
Kai's eyes widened—just before Daimyo's knee shot up into his stomach.
"Gah—!"
Kai's body lurched backward, his feet skidding across the ground.
Daimyo chuckled.
"Better than the other one, at least."
Ryuji, recovering from his slam, growled.
"I HEARD THAT!"
He charged again—
And the battle continued.