Junzo stood beside his brother, Tsuki, watching the flames consume the frontline camp. Tsuki, the lord of this land, had made the difficult decision to abandon the camp when the Niwais launched their assault and pirates infiltrated the river behind them. Staying had become too dangerous. Now, their priority was to prevent the Niwais' main force and the pirates from landing on their side of the river.
Junzo's immediate concern was the small Niwais force that had crossed the river from the east. He had already sent a unit to intercept them, though they were outnumbered by about thirty men, and their fighting strength was only half that of the Niwais.
"Brother, is there any news from Shikichi?" Tsuki asked.
"Someone should be arriving with a report any minute now," Junzo replied.
Tsuki hesitated before speaking again. "I heard you made Kanoru Shikichi's deputy captain. Can he handle it?"
Junzo nodded. "Kanoru was the first to spot the pirates. With only fourteen lower-ranked samurai, he managed to stall their advance until Negi and I arrived to stop them."
Tsuki considered this and said, "After the battle, I should reward him with some land."
Before Junzo could respond, they heard a voice calling their names. Turning, they saw Kaomisa approaching, her arm and upper left body wrapped in bandages.
Tsuki frowned. "Why are you here? You should be resting. Tomorrow, you'll have to fight again."
Kaomisa shook her head. "I was thinking about the man I fought today."
Junzo crossed his arms. "I heard he has mastered the power of lightning. It's not your fault that you couldn't defeat him."
Kaomisa and her brother had both opened the Seventh Gate, yet the man who had injured her had only opened the Sixth.
"I will defeat him in our next fight," she said firmly. "I was caught off guard when he used the power of lightning."
Tsuki's expression darkened. "To control both the power of wind and lightning... That makes him nearly as strong as you and me." He thought back—there had been no reports from their spies about such a warrior. "The Niwais must have been preparing for this invasion for more than a decade."
Junzo nodded in agreement, his thoughts turning inward. 'If I could comprehend the Fourth Stage of the power of wind, then our high-level strength would finally match the Niwais.'
He was a high-ranked samurai who had once opened Six Gates, but after turning thirty, his strength had begun to decline. Now, at forty-one, his normal strength was that of a Five-Gate warrior. The power of the wind could temporarily restore him to his peak, but only for a short time.
Their attention shifted back to Kaomisa as she spoke again. "I don't think he's a member of the Niwais."
Junzo and Tsuki turned to her in surprise. "What?"
Kaomisa met their gazes steadily. "Because during our entire fight, he never used the power of wind."
Tsuki narrowed his eyes. "Are you sure?"
Kaomisa's voice was firm. "Lord, do you think I would lie about this?"
Silence fell between them as Tsuki and Junzo sank into deep thought.
There were four great continents in the world. On their continent, the powers of Wind, Lightning, Light, and Darkness resided. If this warrior was not Niwais, then where had he come from?
Their people followed a specific path—first comprehending the power of Wind, then using it to grasp the power of Lightning, and finally progressing to the power of Light. Only after mastering three of the four elemental powers on their continent could they sense and absorb the world's essence energy.
Anyone who could absorb essence energy was known as a 'Master', and every Master was a 'Divine Samurai'. However, not all Divine Samurai were Masters. There were two ways to become a Master: following the three-power path or comprehending a single power to the level where one could absorb essence energy. Their people followed the three-power path, while the Niwais pursued the single-power path—though their focus was on Wind rather than Lightning.
The man who had injured Kaomisa using the power of Lightning could still be Niwais. Those who deeply comprehended Wind could eventually perceive and wield Lightning. But if that were the case, Kaomisa should have sensed Wind energy from him. If he had instead comprehended Lightning directly, then he either belonged to another family, or the Niwais had acquired a new inheritance.
After explaining his thoughts, he asked, "Which of these two possibilities seems more likely?"
Junzo was the first to respond. "Tsuki, those 500 samurai who suddenly appeared, destroyed the fort, and opened the passage for the Niwais—we assumed they had been hidden by the Niwais and prepared for this invasion. But now, I suspect they might be from another family entirely."
Kaomisa's eyes hardened. "Then let's capture that man tomorrow and interrogate him."
Tsuki replied, "I would like to, but we can't. Our higher-ranked samurai are outnumbered. We have four, while they have five. Junzo is already struggling to hold off their fifth higher-ranked samurai."
Junzo sighed. "Little Brother, I'm sorry. If I had reached the fourth stage of the Sword Wind Realm, we wouldn't be in this dilemma."
Kaomisa shook her head. "Sir Junzo, this isn't your fault. If you weren't a Mori, you would have retired from samurai duties by now and wouldn't even be involved in this war, but..."
Junzo cut her off. "But I *am* Mori Junzo."
Tsuki spoke firmly, "Brother, if you weren't here, our situation would be far worse. Besides, I brought something from the treasury that might help us break this deadlock."
Kaomisa's eyes narrowed. "What is it?"
Tsuki extended his hand. "Brother, give me your palm."
Junzo held out his palm, and Tsuki retrieved a red wooden box from his pocket, placing it in his brother's hand.
Junzo frowned. "What is this?"
Tsuki simply said, "Open it and see."
Junzo, heeding his little brother's words, opened the box to reveal ten blue, sparkling gems. The peculiar thing about them was the faint sound of wind emanating from within, and as he gazed upon them, he could feel the air around him subtly pick up.
Kaomisa whispered, "Wind Gems…" Then, turning to her lord, she asked, "Tsuki, why is this the first time I've heard about them?"
Tsuki replied, "I kept them hidden for an emergency like this." He then looked at his elder brother and said, "Elder Brother, among us, you are the closest to reaching the fourth stage of the Sword Wind Realm. I want you to use these ten Wind Gems to advance."
Junzo had known about the Wind Gems locked away in the family's inner treasury, but he had never requested them. He had wanted to reach the fourth stage through his own efforts. But now, with the enemy ahead and his family depending on him, he had no choice.
Accepting the responsibility, he simply said, "Thank you, Brother," before closing the box.
Before he could leave to use the gems, a samurai came running toward them and called out, "Lord! A report from the Eastern Hills!"
Tsuki took the scroll, unrolling it swiftly. Junzo and Kaomisa stepped beside him to read, their eyes scanning the words as the first rays of sunlight crested over the Eastern Hills behind them.