Dacheng had said he would help, but first, he had to check if the Devil Storm Clan had brought Ritsuko back to that place. He went back to the entrance of the secret passage. However, some Genin were guarding it! Seriously, though, how many Genin did they have anyway?!
Do I dare?! Dacheng thought. Heck, no!
Wandering nearby, he ended up at a bustling busy street corner near a scramble crossing.
Our young wanderer found himself confused by all the unfamiliar sounds, sights, and smells of Tokyo, Japan.
He felt a little overwhelmed by pretty much everything - again.
He calmed down and decided to go about everything one at a time. Observing everything, slowly and carefully, until he heard something strange.
It may have sounded like just the random striking of metal against metal to anyone, but to Dacheng, who had once read about the old method of communication known as Morse code, it was a signal!
Though he questioned who would be using it, he decided to look for the source of that signal anyway. He followed it to a cell tower in a quieter part of Tokyo. There, he saw another young man methodically banging a screwdriver against the tower's hollow metal wall.
"Excuse me, sir!" Dacheng asked. "Are you the one signaling me?!"
"Oh, you must be Yun Dacheng!" the young man replied. "Master Tendō told me about you! The name's Goyama Nejirō!"
Nejirō looked older than Keitarō by at least four years and was around the age of a senior high school student.
He was wearing denim overalls covered in black stains. Patched onto his lopsidedly laced baseball cap was an auto mechanic store's logo, and round-framed glasses reflected sunlight from under the cap's brim.
"If you're looking for him, my fellow student Daichi's over there!" he said, pointing in a different direction.
"Oh, OK! Thanks!" Dacheng said.
"No problem!" Nejirō gave him a thumbs up.
***
"I hope Daichi doesn't scare him too much," Nejirō said to himself as he watched their new candidate walk off.
"Eh." He shrugged. "I'm sure he'll be fine."
***
Dacheng walked in the direction Nejirō had pointed and found himself in an alley near an apartment complex.
He was a little confused, but suddenly a hand rose out of a hole in the ground. The hand beckoned him towards itself. Dacheng obliged, walking over. Suddenly, behind it, another one appeared, grabbed him, and went back down, dragging him with it!
**Crash! Oof! **
Dacheng landed on his buttocks and winced. He got up quickly, and while rubbing his backside angrily, he yelled at the man who had done it to him.
"What on earth was that for?!"
"Relax, relax," the man replied, putting his hands up, "I'm a friend! I'm Shirakawa Daichi, a student of Mr. Tendō! Earth techniques are my specialty."
Dacheng squinted at the man who called himself Daichi. Dacheng recognized him as the gym bro from back when he was sightseeing with his parents.
Dacheng got a closer look at him. He could say he was short and stocky in his frame and build. If it weren't for the out-of-place-looking cowboy hat, Dacheng would have thought he was a judo practitioner or a sumo wrestler. He looked a little fat and gave off senior high-schooler vibes, placing him around Nejirō's age, if not a year or two older.
"So, you're Kabuto Number Seven?" Daichi said in a joking tone.
"Hmm? No, I'm not. What's that?" Dacheng asked.
"It's nothing!" Daichi quickly said. "Also, I dragged you down here because the Devil Storm Clan is watching us!"
"What?!"
"I found out that they took Ritsuko to a place near Tokyo Tower- an abandoned wharf!"
Dacheng was shocked.
This situation was a lot like his dream!
Meanwhile, the General of the Devil Storm Clan, together with Dark Lily and Bloody Bat, waited at an abandoned wharf near Tokyo Tower. The setting sun painted parts of the sky an ominous blood-red.
The man they were waiting for, the Minister of Defense himself, Anzen Mamoru, appeared, flanked on both sides by one of their Genin.
Minister Anzen was aged, experienced, and decorated. He got straight to the point with authority tempered by fear. And yet the bags under his eyes revealed he had had a sleepless night.
"I did as you wanted." He said in a tone that did not betray the fear in his heart. "Only you and I know about this deal. Now please give me back my Ritsuko!"
His daughter was pushed forward from behind the General, her hands and body tied up with rope.
"I trust you have the weapons and ammunition we requested," said the General.
"Yes." The Minister fished a keycard out of his pocket. "This is the keycard to the biggest armory in Japan. Take it, and please return my daughter to me!"
Bloody Bat took it and confirmed its authenticity. He then offered it to the General.
"... Dark Lily." said the General.
Dark Lily suddenly appeared at her master's call.
"Yes?"
"Give the girl... a little souvenir!"
"With pleasure." Dark Lily's whip was out in an instant.
"Why are you doing this?!" Minister Anzen shouted. "I've given you what you demanded!!"
"Foolish," said the General. "Did you think we would let her live? She's an eyewitness to our existence! And in that matter, so are you! Bloody Bat, get rid of them both!"
Dacheng had reached the abandoned lot and arrived just in time to see these events unfold. He took a short rest and then jumped out to rescue Ritsuko.
"Stop right there," he shouted. "I, Yun Dacheng, won't let you cruel, evil ninjas do whatever you want! Unworthy generals like you will not take over Japan as long as I live. And even if I stand alone against you and your kind, I will fight to the bitter and bloody end!!"
"Why, you little-" the General began, angered by Dacheng's audacity.
"Leave this outsider to me, General Gale!" Bloody Bat said, stepping forward.
"Very well," said the General as he suddenly vanished into thin air, his voice trailing behind. "Go and fight, Bloody Bat!"
Dark Lily disappeared with him but spoke to Dacheng in a way only he heard.
"I like you, kid. Don't die too soon!~"
The wind carried her sickeningly sweet-sounding voice into Dacheng's ears, and he almost puked right then and there.
"Alright, Genin!" yelled Bloody Bat. "You heard the General! Kill the outsiders!!"
The Genin charged forward while Bloody Bat jumped away, waiting to finish Dacheng and the others once the Genin had hurt them enough.
Dacheng managed to untie Ritsuko from the ropes, but the Genin surrounded them. Dacheng gave a great shout. Taking out one of the Genin with a sucker punch, he took their ninjatō and made wild slashes to deter and injure the enemy ninjas. He fought hard, taking out some of the Genin and even throwing the ninjatō to take one of them down. The Minister, taking advantage of the Genins' moment of distraction, burst out of their grasp and instinctively went toward Dacheng.
However, Dacheng, Ritsuko, and Minister Anzen were slowly being forced into a corner by the onslaught of ninjas. Bloody Bat hadn't even tried to start attacking them, meaning he was waiting to deal the final blow.
"Go on," Bloody Bat yelled, "Get them!"
One of the Genin cut across Dacheng's wrist. He grunted. Tightly gripping his wrist to stop the bleeding, Dacheng slammed his body into another Genin, knocking them out.
"Can't lose here…!"
Unfortunately, though he tried as hard as he could, Dacheng and the father-and-daughter duo were slowly being cornered.
But then suddenly, when Dacheng was about to collapse from exhaustion, Mr. Tendō appeared.
"Mr. Tendō?!" Dacheng asked between pants, shocked. "What are you doing here, sir?"
"Yun Dacheng! Stand up and fight with a pure heart! Unseal your soul!" Mr. Tendō suddenly yelled with an aura of authority.
He took out a red pair of dog tags tied to a string. One of the tags bore the symbol of fire.
"And Dacheng, look behind you." Mr. Tendō continued. "You will not fight alone!"
A giant mass of smoke appeared, and six ninjas wearing color-coded outfits jumped out, striking a pose. They wore orange, blue, pink, brown, gold, and green - the same colors as the ninja in his dream!!