Inside a dilapidated village.
Gabimaru was locked in a fierce battle with Mu Dan of the Tensen.
Although the two were not alone at the scene, the speed and power erupting from their clash were beyond anyone else's ability to intervene.
In terms of raw combat prowess, Mu Dan was actually no match for Gabimaru.
As the strongest rogue ninja, Gabimaru's strength could be said to be the absolute top among all the convicts.
Not only did he possess a vast arsenal of lethal ninjutsu, but he had also mastered Hibashira, allowing him to cloak his attacks in scorching flames.
"Ninja Art: Fire Pillar!"
Facing the lightning-fast Mu Dan, Gabimaru opted against heavy, slow-activating ninjutsu, instead infusing Hibashira directly into his physical strikes.
His thoroughly honed techniques and body were his ultimate killing tools; every gesture and motion was a lethal weapon.
In just a single pass, Mu Dan looked down at his right shoulder, which Gabimaru had blown apart in an instant. Sparks of fire lingered on the wound, instantly bursting into a roaring inferno that engulfed him.
Yet Gabimaru knew this would not be enough to kill him.
He had already done something similar moments ago, only for the opponent to play dead and launch a sneaky counterattack.
"Hoko-san! Please help us! How can we defeat a Tensen?!"
Sagiri, watching anxiously from the sidelines, called out to Hoko, who was shielding Mei behind him.
The battlefield between Gabimaru and the Tensen was entirely out of their league.
The only one capable of stepping in, Yuzuriha, maintained an unconcerned stance, looking ready to cut and run at any moment.
"..."
Hoko remained silent, but Sagiri could sense his inner turmoil.
"It's obvious the Tensen is here for Mei, too! Are you really going to stand by and watch him take Mei away?!"
Sagiri's words caused Mei to shrink behind Hoko in fear.
A flicker of life returned to Hoko's hollow eye sockets.
"The legend... Tao originates in the Tanden, flows through the entire body, and returns to the Tanden. If you sever the Tanden, then surely..."
Hoko did not hide his words; not only Gabimaru heard him, but Mu Dan did as well.
However, Mu Dan made no move to stop him. After extinguishing the flames on his body and regenerating his physical frame, he casually spread his hands out.
"Though I doubt you people can pull it off. Even if this ninja boy is strong, he has no idea how to use Tao at all."
Gabimaru said nothing to that, merely casting a glance back at Sagiri.
"Sagiri, help me."
"Right!"
Without anyone noticing when it began, a mutual understanding had formed between the criminal and the executioner, forging a partnership on this island that was hostile to all.
"Calling for backup? But can she even keep up with our speed? Besides..."
Mu Dan glanced at Sagiri: "Her Tao is far too weak. It's nowhere near enough to harm me."
Gabimaru didn't bother responding. He stomped down, cratering the ground, and charged straight at Mu Dan.
Sagiri stepped onto the battlefield where the two were clashing.
Having coordinated with Gabimaru once before, she felt increasingly adept at it.
Taking a deep breath, Sagiri raised the blade in her hands.
She made no effort to chase the two figures constantly flashing across the field, because Sagiri trusted him—just like during their fight against that giant convict.
Gabimaru would deliver the opening right to her.
One to draw attention, one to deliver the decapitating blow—this was their unspoken synergy.
Mu Dan, who had been wearing a casual, easygoing smile, suddenly lost the grin on his face.
In his eyes, the Tao surrounding Sagiri had suddenly flared up.
This was a phenomenon he had never seen before.
That single moment of surprise caused his concentration to lapse for a split second.
And that split second was seized by the strongest ninja who had emerged victorious through countless life-and-death struggles and rivers of blood.
"Ninja Art: Scratching Blade!"
Moving at high speed, Gabimaru instantly drew the cloth strip from his waist. The soft fabric turned as sharp as a steel blade in his hands, transforming into a lethal weapon.
In a single pass, he sheared away Mu Dan's upper torso entirely.
If the Tanden needed to be destroyed, then he only needed to retain the portion that held the Tanden.
Gabimaru's logic was dead simple.
After kicking the opponent's upper body away, Gabimaru kicked the remaining lower half straight toward Sagiri.
Watching the half-body flying toward her, Sagiri took a deep breath.
Harmonizing stillness and motion within her heart...
As if tempered a thousand times over, Sagiri swung her blade down toward the location of the Tanden.
However, right before the half-body reached Sagiri, it suddenly altered its trajectory, ascending straight into midair.
"It's flying!"
Up in the air, Mu Dan rapidly regenerated his body.
"Fangshi, Bogue, Kugi."
Mu Dan raised two fingers in a hand seal: "By manipulating the Tao in the atmosphere, I can create footholds in midair."
"Though to the uninitiated, I suppose it really does look like divine power."
As he spoke, Mu Dan's appearance shifted from a manly male to an ethereal female.
The strong muscles dissolved entirely, replaced by a slender waist and delicate arms.
His precision in manipulating Tao also increased dramatically.
Yang (male) excels at close combat and broad physical movements, while Yin (female) excels at precise manipulation of Tao. As a Tensen possessing dual-gender forms, this was how he empowered himself by switching sexes.
"This, too, is an application of Tao."
Mu Dan formed a seal in midair: "Spiritual Art: Tin Thorns."
Countless invisible strikes forged from Tao coalesced in the sky, launching an indiscriminate barrage at everyone below.
Not only Sagiri and Gabimaru, but even Senta, Yuzuriha, Hoko, and Mei—who were previously just watching—were caught within the splash zone.
The group scrambled to dodge the dense bombardment.
Gabimaru launched multiple long-range attacks attempting to shoot Mu Dan down, but his strikes were knocked out of the sky by the invisible barrage without exception.
"Hahaha!"
Mu Dan laughed hysterically from above, keeping up the indiscriminate bombing.
Perhaps due to the thunderous explosions, or perhaps because everyone was running for their lives, no one noticed:
In the distance, a massive roaring sound was rapidly drawing closer.
"It's useless! The sky is a realm where you humans cannot tread—Agh!"
Mu Dan was laughing midair, only for his words to be cut short by an out-of-nowhere impact.
"Yahoo!"
To everyone's absolute shock, an unlicensed rogue driver piloting a dugout canoe hurtled through the air, crashing right into Mu Dan.
The tremendous impact shattered Mu Dan's body on contact.
They could see it crystal clear: that mystery canoe had launched out of the forest. The village was situated right at the foot of a forest cliff.
The canoe had burst out of the trees, flying horizontally straight into Mu Dan—who happened to be hovering at the exact same height as the cliff top—and smashed right into him without losing an inch of altitude.
"Ah... I hit someone."
Amid the silence of their utter bewilderment, the group heard a deadpan voice speak up.