"Wait a minute!! Who are you?!" yelled Bloody Bat. "I thought you were all wiped out years ago!!"
The orange ninja stepped forward. They had the kanji for one on their back and the symbol of lightning on their headband.
"Streaking across the sky, bringing divine punishment. Thunder Ninja Kabuto One!"
The blue ninja was like a sheathed blade waiting to be unleashed, with a symbol of water and the kanji for two.
"Flowin' and ebbin', erodin' the enemy. Water Ninja Kabuto Two!"
The ninja in pink announced their presence in full flourish.
"Blooming with beauty, fragrantly overwhelming evil. Flower Ninja Kabuto Three!"
Bearing the kanji for four and the emblem of earth, the stalwart ninja wearing brown made their name known.
"Unmoving like a mountain, striking at the darkness like a rock. Earth Ninja Kabuto Four!"
With a gear painted on their headband and the kanji for five on their back, the golden ninja proclaimed, "Steeling my resolve, a blade cutting foes down. Metal Ninja Kabuto Five!"
Striking a showy pose and bearing a symbol of wind, the green ninja with the kanji for six howled like the wind.
"Blowing with speed, storming into danger. Wind Ninja Kabuto Six!"
As he watched the six ninjas roll call, Dacheng recalled Daichi calling him Kabuto Seven.
"Yun Dacheng!" Mr. Tendō said seriously, dropping the dog tags into Dacheng's hand. "Once you take a life, you can never go back. You have been chosen to become Fire Ninja Kabuto Seven! Do you accept this responsibility?"
"Alright!" Dacheng gave a big, firm nod.
He needed this power to help Ritsuko - nothing else.
Suddenly a message flashed before his eyes.
[Dual Fire affinity detected. The Kabuto Seven System is activated.]
…System? Dacheng briefly thought.
A flaming red aura formed and surrounded his body as the symbol of fire appeared on his forehead. A blue flame emerged from within the tags and entered his chest. Flames appeared on his body, and a cloud of red smoke covered him.
When the smoke cleared, Dacheng was wearing a red ninja costume with the kanji for seven written on his back and the symbol of fire engraved on a metal band on his forehead. Two pieces of metal snapped shut from the sides of his helmet, covering his mouth and nose, and a visor snapped over his eyes, completing his transformation. He pulled off a hood that had formed over his head, and another message appeared again.
[System assimilation process complete. The transformation process is complete.]
That day, seven white mufflers fluttered in the wind.