Kalari burned .
Black smoke coiled into the moonlit sky as villagers cried in silence. In the midst of charred homes and broken souls, a single man strode toward the heart of the village—toward the final battle. His boots crushed bone and ash alike.
Ishikawa.
His long sword, Kurayami (暗闇, "Darkness"), was sheathed at his back, and in his left hand hung the broken short blade, Kurasa (暗裂, "Dark Rend"). He walked through blood and fire like a ghost of vengeance.
Before the old storehouse, the doors creaked open.
Out stepped a monster.
Sabu, the Hodotai (補刀隊, "Blade Commander") of Kajin-ryu, draped in wolf pelts and wielding a massive cleaver-like nodachi. His eyes glinted with a sick grin.
"So, you're the one who's been making a mess of my men..." Sabu cracked his neck. "Thought I'd find a wolf. Instead, I see a tired mutt."
Ishikawa stopped. His gaze didn't flinch. "You're the disease that rots this land. Time to cure it."
Sabu smirked. "Then come, Ronin. Let me show you the Shikkiri Hodotai (執切 補刀隊)—the Final Execution of the Blade Commander."
He roared, chakra-like energy flaring crimson around him. The ground cracked beneath his feet. Villagers watching from the shadows screamed and ran.
But Ishikawa stood calm.
He drew Kurayami—a deep black slash of steel—and Kurasa, chipped and scarred, pulsing faintly red.
Then he whispered:
"Shikkiri: Ōkami no Kiba"
(執切:狼の牙 — Final Cut: Fang of the Wolf)
The battle began.
Sabu lunged, cleaving through the air. Ishikawa rolled aside, sparks erupting as steel met stone. Kurasa came up—clink!—parrying just enough to keep his throat intact. Kurayami followed, a streak of black light slicing Sabu's shoulder.
Sabu laughed, blood spilling. "Not bad. But try this—!"
He slammed his fist into the ground.
"Kazan Kōgeki!" (火山攻撃 — Volcanic Assault)
The earth buckled and exploded. Lava-like chakra burst from below, engulfing Ishikawa in fire and smoke.
Riku, watching from the distance, screamed. "ISHIKAWA!"
But the smoke cleared—and the ronin still stood. His cloak burned. One eye bleeding. But his grip on the swords never wavered.
Ishikawa dashed forward.
"Shikkiri: Yoru no Tatsumaki!"
(執切:夜の竜巻 — Final Cut: Night Tornado)
He spun—Kurayami slashing wide, Kurasa striking close. Sabu blocked one, but the other carved deep into his thigh. He roared in pain.
They clashed again.
Blades screamed, sparks burst like fireworks. Each strike was a dance of death. Sabu's brute strength smashed walls, shattered the ground, but Ishikawa's precision cut through it like a scalpel.
Still, Sabu grinned. "You're fast. But I'm stronger!"
He leapt into the air, muscles pulsing with rage.
"Enjin Gōka!" (炎陣 業火 — Flame Circle: Infernal Fire!)
A circle of fire erupted around them, sealing off escape. Ishikawa now fought in a furnace of hell.
He staggered, vision blurred.
Sabu stepped forward, nodachi raised. "Die."
But then—
Kurasa pulsed.
A voice—his master's voice—echoed in Ishikawa's mind.
"The broken blade is still a fang. Use it when the night falls deepest."
He raised both blades, blood trickling from his mouth.
"Shikkiri: Mezame no Kurayami."
(執切:目覚めの暗闇 — Final Cut: Awakening of the Darkness)
A shadow burst from him. Not chakra—something darker. Kurayami glowed black-red. Kurasa vibrated violently. The flames parted.
Ishikawa moved like lightning.
Sabu gasped.
Slash!
His right arm flew off.
He howled—but Ishikawa didn't stop.
Kurasa plunged into Sabu's gut. Kurayami slashed his chest open like paper.
"You took Riku's father. You took their hope."
"Die like the pig you are."
With a roar, Ishikawa leapt, crossed both swords—
"Shikkiri: Zettai Metsubō."
(執切:絶対滅亡 — Final Cut: Absolute Annihilation)
He brought the blades down, crossing them through Sabu's skull. Blood burst like geysers. Sabu twitched… then collapsed. A heap of meat and regret.
Silence.
Villagers peeked out.
They saw their tyrant dead. Tears fell. Cries echoed. Children clung to mothers.
They were free.
Riku dropped to his knees. "We're... alive."
The villagers began to surround Ishikawa, murmuring thanks, awe in their eyes.
But Ishikawa only stared at them. Cold. Distant.
"You scum people... will never change," he muttered.
The crowd went still.
"I killed for you. I bled for you. But you're the same ones who murdered your own hero for comfort."
He turned. Cloak torn, blades dripping. His back to them.
"I'm not your savior."
He walked away.
Riku ran after him. "Ishikawa—wait!"
But the ronin didn't stop.
Behind him, Riku stopped at a small grave—his sister Raika's.
He fell to his knees.
"Raika... it's over. They're safe. I... I forgive them. Not for them. But for you."
Tears fell silently as the wind blew gently over the hill.
Meanwhile, in the north—
The moon was crimson. A lone tree stood in the misty plain.
Ishikawa stood before it, eyes narrowed.
From the shadows stepped Toshizu Arai, Vice-Captain of Tsu. His smile was cruel. Behind him—bound and unconscious—Asaki and Yumi.
"So you finally came, Ronin."
Ishikawa's eyes sharpened. "You took them."
Toshizu drew his twin sabers. "I did. And I'm not here to kill you."
"Then why?"
"I want to see if you're worthy." He gestured to the mountains behind.
"Fight my Captain—Fiend of Nakajima. Survive, and you may see your girls again."
Ishikawa drew Kurayami and Kurasa.
"I'll fight you first."
Toshizu grinned.
"Good."
They clashed—metal against metal under a blood-red moon.
And the storm had only just begun.
And judgement begin now
To Be Continued