Chapter 227: The Last Chapter, The End!

Chapter 227: The Last Chapter, The End!

I checked the screen of my device, tapping out quick messages to coordinate my units across the docks. I made sure to text my God Squad members working in pairs to watch their Cat and Mouse Apps to know of my location, to not be startled of my covert movements.

I slid the device back into my vest, adjusting my gear as I surveyed the layout of the shipping containers. Don't want a 50 caliber volley shot at me, even I would be in deep shit if I had to survive for more than the one minute of Chi reserve. After that, I would be Swiss cheese.

The cold wind blew off the harbor as the designated time approached. The official duel between Hanzo Kato and Hinata Kyusho will take place in-front of warehouse number 7 at 1 am to determine what Family gets the right to run one of the three Yakuza family spots. This position was once held by the well known Kyusho Yakuza family, but fled after Hanzo eliminated the previous family Master.

I kept to the shadows, watching the distant headlights cut through the midnight fog. Why am I involved in all of this? Because the Kyusho are my vassals now, and indirectly, I will have control of 1/4 of Japan Empires might, counting the Japan military as a Yakuza group in strength.

My soft shoes muffled faintly against the concrete as I slipped between the blind angles of the security grid. With around two hours to go until things happen, I spend most of my time going around and locating the blind spots my God Squad cannot confirm and do my rounds to target my marks. I cannot kill them all too soon or the Kato family will know something is wrong...

Headlights cut through the thick mist as the vehicles arrived right on schedule. With a group of 10 Masters from both sides guarding the perimeter of the fight location, two limos had come from opposing locations, as the dueling rules dictate.

The heavy doors remained shut for a moment as the engines idled. Before anyone from the two cars left, a third party came out of the wide open warehouse dressed in a military outfit. He is in his late forties  and seems serious. He is wearing a cloth uniform cap with Japan's logo on it. He nodded to both cars.

The door of the first vehicle clicked open against the quiet night air. From the Kyusho car, Danzo, Inu, and Hinata stepped out. She is wearing her combat kimono of blue with flowers, the one she wore when dueling me back in the day.

Across the asphalt lot, the second set of doors swung open to reveal the opposition. From the other car came out three individuals. The fifties looking Hanzo, and his two grandchildren. Hanzo is wearing his Ninja outfit but does not have his face covered, showing his greying hair. On his lower back is his famed Ninjato, one of the Seven Legendary Swords of Japan.

The younger generation stepped up behind the old master, their expressions arrogant under the security lights. His Grandchildren the current heads of the Kato Yakuza family, are present, to witness this duel of the right to rule. The man was wearing a tie-less black suit with his body tattoos visible on his neck and wrist, while his sister was wearing a shoulderless kimono, showing her dragon tattoo on her shoulders and back of the neck.

The officer stood firmly between the two factions, unrolling a formal scroll under the spotlight. The military man said to both sides. "I am General Tanaka, and with the Emperor's blessing and prudence, I am here to witness the official challenge in a life and death duel for the right to rule."

This man is family with that sumo student I trained with back in university, Matsuda Tanaka.

He gestured to the open space between the vehicles with a crisp motion of his hand. "May both participants come to the center, for the rules. I believe you're Hinata Kyusho, and you are Hanzo Kato, correct?"

"I am." Hinata stepped forward onto the marked line, her hand resting firmly against her sheath.

"I am." Hanzo stepped out right opposite her, his fingers curling slightly over his legendary hilt.

"Good, now you shall listen to the Emperor's decree..." General Tanaka adjusted his posture, his expression hardening as he faced the two grandmasters.

The metal frames glinted as he prepared the paperwork. The General put on his gold-rimmed glasses, then began reading official documents explaining what they could and could not do during the duel.

Up on the dark roof line, two figures lay flat against the gravel surface. On top of the number 10 warehouse, a Yakuza sniper was laying with his spotter at his side. The two are in charge of shooting the Father of Hinata during the duel, because as long as the two duelists and the referee are not harmed, then killing and fighting with anyone else does not break rules.

The spotter adjusted his binoculars, calculating the trajectory over the open courtyard. And when a family member dies during a fight, it is often enough to make them rage and make mistakes.

The shooter held his breath, his finger resting lightly on the cold trigger guard. While the sniper was aiming, his spotting partner said quietly. "The wind is shifting and now coming from the North West at 12 miles per hour. So readjust and wait for the hand signal from the Young Lady."

"Okay, adjusting my scope to negative-one." The sniper dialed the turret on his optics, keeping his focus locked down the sight.

The shadow behind them moved faster than the wind itself. The last thing the spotter saw was a black piano wire garrote slide over his head, and a pinch on his neck.

A sudden heavy impact broke the quiet rhythm of the sniper's breathing. Thud! As the sniper was spooked hearing the heavy thud beside him, he looked away from his scope to see the wide open eyes of the now headless spotter, then his own vision went black.

The warehouses concrete roof soaked up the sudden rush of warmth as the struggle ended instantly. His body lay motionless in a pool of blood from his and his companions' form, with a thin black throwing knife left in the top of his skull, half way impaled.

Across the compound, another hidden team watched the center of the yard from a different angle. Over on the roof of warehouse number 2, another sniper nest was also taking aim at the back of Inu's head.

The extra security showed how cautious the Kato clan truly was tonight. Unlike that last group, this one consisted of two pairs, knowing Masters are tricky to assassinate, so twice the group is necessary for this job.

The primary spotter adjusted his alignment, whispering the updated telemetry to both shooters simultaneously. One of the spotters gave similar orders to the two snipers. "The wind is shifting and now coming from the North West at 12 miles per hour. Readjust and wait for the two Grandmasters to trade blades, then kill her at will..."

The shooters adjusted their positions slightly, but a strange sweet aroma suddenly drifted across the concrete tiles. While the two snipers readjusted, the secondary spotter sniffed the air and asked. "It smells like burning flowers, do you guys smell it? Where is it... Ah? I am feeling numb..."

The heavy metal of the rifles hit the roof with a dull sequence of impacts. Clink Clunk Clunk Thud! By the time the last spotter ended her words, she heard and saw her partners let their rifles and telescope fall out of their hands, and they lay there, as she also hit the rooftop losing all feeling in her body. Realizing the smell was a paralytic toxin, only seeing a black shadow cover her sight, and then nothing...

Out on the dark water, the rhythmic lapping of the waves hid the presence of a backup crew. Down the pier, a wooden fishing ship is anchored with a good view of the warehouse number 7 as the fight between the two Grandmasters has just begun.

The scopes were aligned perfectly with the figures standing under the warehouse lights. Three snipers of Master level skill are on their bellies on thick blankets trying to get good targets from the Kyusho family or their 5 Masters.

The older woman paced the wooden deck behind them, her face tight with absolute impatience. A woman is standing behind them. She is wearing a female kunoichi outfit, and seems to be in her late fifties and she said. "Seems my husband has begun the fight... Why have the two sniper squads not started the mission? My Granddaughter has already given the hand signs twice?!"

The lead marksman squinted through his lens, spotting a strange anomaly moving along the shoreline. One of the snipers, unsure, said to get her attention, but something retarded happened as his words ended. "Mistress Kato, I see a black shadow running down the pier, and-"

An absolute flash of light obliterated the front of the vessel before the sentence could finish. WHOOSH BOOM... Boom-Crack! A whistling sound and an explosion that ripped the sniper to shreds, followed by a sonic boom from an object like a cannonball breaking the sound barrier was heard after the sniper vanished in wooden and bloody debris.

The impact tore through the old hull, tilting the deck violently into the dark current. WHOOSH BOOM... Boom-Crack! Then the whole boat shook as a massive hole was ripped into the side, letting in water to slowly sink the boat.

The destruction continued down the shoreline with terrifying accuracy. WHOOSH BOOM... Boom-Crack! Lady Kato then saw in the distance, her Granddaughter had been blown to a bloody pulp just like her sniper in front of her eyes. her heart sank seeing her precious baby die in one nasty death.

Wood shrapnel flew like daggers across the remaining section of the deck. WHOOSH BOOM... Boom-Crack! She then heard the sound of the reaper once again, as her second sniper vanished in a spray of wood shrapnel, forcing her to cover her eyes.

The inevitable trajectory of the heavy rounds left no room for error. WHOOSH BOOM... Boom-Crack! And even with her arm covering her face, she knew what happened to her last sniper, as she from muscle memory, leaped behind the ship to escape certain death...

The shockwaves rolled across the asphalt lot, disrupting the formal structure of the duel.

Back in-front of warehouse number 7, the clash between Grandmasters was intense as Hinata did not underestimate her opponent, knowing he uses poison and tricks, despite the rules forbidding them.

The air vibrated with the heavy thuds of the distant heavy artillery. Boom Boom Boom Boom...! As a series of distant explosions confused both combatants only briefly, but then...

The sonic boom shattered the glass of the vehicle parked right behind the Kato leaders. WHOOSH BOOM... Boom-Crack! The Granddaughter of Hanzo had her upper body blown into bloody chunks spraying the limo behind her, then the bulletproof glass too was pierced through, showing how powerful the sniper, no cannonball was?!

The young heir fell to his knees in the fresh pooling crimson, his voice breaking into a frenzied wail. Sprayed with his sister's blood, and dazed from the ringing in his ear, from being close to the sonic boom created by the ammunition, he screamed... "Nooo- sister Nana!"

He threw himself over the remaining body, completely losing his mind as the blood soaked his suit. As he fell at her lower torso, holding what was left of his sister.

The distraction was fatal for the old master in the center of the ring. Hanzo had lost focus for a pivotal moment, and Hinata's Katana found a perch inside his heart. Even his undershirt armor provided no protection from a Grandmaster's killing strike.

The old man looked out across the dark harbor, his strength evaporating as the steel remained embedded in his chest. Hanzo, seeing the ship in the distance, only felt his heart break, not even the feeling of the Katana in it was as bad as knowing his wife and beloved Granddaughter died in the plot he planned on using on the Kyusho...

The master fell back onto the stained concrete, his grip slipping from his weapon completely. Hanzo Kato lost his life then.

The blade cleared the wound with a sharp metallic sound as the victor stepped back toward the referee. With Hinata pulling out her sword and flicking the blood off, the General who was surprised at the sudden assault of heavy cannons in the distance, only said. "Hinata Kyusho is the winner, and in three months, the Kyusho Clan may take over the assets of the Kato Clan."

He turned his stern gaze toward the weeping heir who was still kneeling in the ruins of his family. "Ichigo Kato, as the only living member alive here, you must collect your family's personal effects and leave everything to the Empire, as the losers. Now I shall leave, good evening."

The remaining cars started up their engines, clearing the area as the rain began to mix with the smoke. Then all sides began to leave, all but Ichigo, who was surrounded by his 5 Masters all with crestfallen and grief filled expressions. The bodies of their family are a grim reminder of the loss. Then tragedy struck the Kato clan one last time after the Kyusho had already left...

The heavy thunder of the long-range rifles opened up from the dark warehouse roofs once more. Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang...! An orchestra of music performed with the M107 .50 Caliber Long Range Sniper Rifle, played, as all five Masters protecting Ichigo, were brutally dismembered into chunks as the lone man alive was covered with all semblance of body parts.

The absolute carnage left the young man standing completely frozen under the red rain. Even some unknown matter ended up in his mouth, ears, nose, and eyes. He stood there waiting for death, and it never came.

The silence returned to the pier, leaving only the sound of dripping water against the metal hulls. After 2 minutes of not dying, Ichigo just ran off in a random direction, leaving the bodies, car, and everything. His only thought was to run, cry, and wake up from this unthinkable nightmare...

The water rippled near the concrete base as a lone figure pulled herself onto the slick surface. Two minutes later, from the waters edge, a soaked female Ninja climbed up to the bloody scene in-front of warehouse number 7, with a defeated expression of losing everything, Lady Kato knelt at her husband's dead body. She closed his sad eyes, and sheathed his Legendary sword. She prayed and spoke an oath...

The night air carried her low whisper as she gripped the handle of the legendary blade. "I promise, this blood debt will never end, and I will with my last breath, take revenge for all of you."

A thin metallic line flashed under the distant halogen light right behind her neck. At that moment, the shadows themselves seemed to move, as a black wire briefly made its way into her vision, then a pinch on her neck. The last thing she heard from behind her was...

[No, this is the last chapter... The End...]

The wire cut deep and clean, silencing the vow permanently. Then that was the end, for her...

I stood over the bodies, lifting the ancient weapon from the concrete to inspect the craftsmanship. After I picked up Hanzo's Legendary Ninjato, I said to no one. "Fuck, who knew throwing knives infused with Chi would cause such a goddamn mess?!"

I shook my head, thinking back to the instructions I had received before the mission. "Ling'er needs to teach me better. She only chuckled when she told me how to do that... I am going back and going to put her over my knee to both punish and reward her, damn..."

I turned my back on the ruins of warehouse number 7, disappearing into the dark layout of the docks. Then no one was left, but the dark black shadows of the night...