Tadakatsu Honda, the fierce warrior known as the Soul of the Tokugawa, wore his iconic deer-horned kabuto. His dark, Western-style cuirass was already dust-streaked from battle. He stood firm at the front line, his sharp gaze piercing the fog as he studied the fortress that seemed calm yet brimmed with hidden killing intent. Behind him stood two hundred elite Tokugawa soldiers, silent and solemn. Though few in number, they were all veterans of a hundred battles, their eyes holding only absolute trust in their lord and a hunger for combat.

 

The Demon Heihachi felt not the slightest trace of contempt. He knew well that within the walls stood Kujou Sara, famed for her lightning-like archery, and Ayaka, the talented eldest daughter of the Kamisato Clan with peerless swordsmanship, along with eight hundred of Inazuma’s finest samurai and ashigaru. To storm such a stronghold would be nothing less than throwing eggs against a rock.

 

Inside the encampment, Kujou Sara stood atop the highest watchtower, her sharp eyes sweeping over the sparse formation of the Tokugawa army below. Her posture was tall and straight, like a hawk soaring through the sky.

“Only two hundred men? Is Tadakatsu Honda overconfident, or does he have another scheme?” she murmured to Kamisato Ayaka beside her.

Ayaka was dressed in snow-white robes, her folding fan gently closed, her expression calm and cold.

“Lady Sara, we must not be careless. The title Lone Wolf of Mikawa is no empty rumor. The weaker they appear, the fiercer their hidden trap may be.”

She looked beyond the walls, where an uneasy undercurrent seemed to lurk within the thin enemy lines. The eight hundred Inazuma soldiers were already in position, bows drawn, blades unsheathed, waiting in grim silence, the air heavy with iron and blood.

 

The first probing attack began in the afternoon. Tokugawa soldiers surged toward the walls like a tide, yet they could not advance an inch under the dense arrow rain and precise musket fire of the Inazuma forces. Logs and stones crashed down, accompanied by shrill screams. The Tokugawa vanguard was forced to retreat, leaving dozens of bodies on the muddy ground. Tadakatsu’s expression was icy. He swung the Tonbokiri—one of the Three Great Spears of Japan—knocking aside several stray arrows, and roared for his troops to hold formation. He witnessed firsthand the tight, tough defense of the Inazuma army: Kujou Sara’s calm command, and Kamisato Ayaka’s agile figure appearing at the most critical points on the line, her sword Mistsplitter glinting coldly as she repelled multiple attempts to scale the walls.

 

The sun sank, painting the sky a ghastly blood-red. The mood in the Tokugawa main camp was heavy. The first battle had failed, and their inferior numbers were fully exposed. Tadakatsu stroked the cold shaft of the Tonbokiri, his brows deeply furrowed. A direct assault was hopeless. Were they truly to be stuck here, wasting troops beneath an impregnable fortress?

 

Just then, steady footsteps approached. The strategist Kanbei Kuroda, wearing a dark gray kasaya and holding a command fan, walked slowly to Tadakatsu’s side. His usually half-closed eyes now shone with the light of total understanding.

“Lord Heihachi, are you troubled by this turtle shell?”

Kanbei’s voice was slightly hoarse, yet it carried a calming power.

 

Tadakatsu snorted coldly.

“Kanbei, do you have some clever trick? Do you plan to sing their walls down with that Kuroda tune of yours?”

 

Kanbei smiled faintly and pointed his fan at the thick forest beside Kujou Encampment and its heavy wooden structure.

“Look. It has been dry for days. Although the sea wind is damp, the trees inside the forest and the building timber are completely parched. Kujou Encampment is built against the mountain, good for defense… but also good for fire to spread.”

He paused, lowering his voice.

“The southeast wind will blow tonight. It is a heaven-sent opportunity.”

 

A sharp light flashed in Tadakatsu’s eyes.

“Fire attack?”

 

“Exactly,” Kanbei nodded. “I have already ordered men to secretly gather large amounts of kindling and oil. They will sneak under the walls and around the forest edge after dark. When the fire ignites, the wind will fuel it into a blaze. They will either burn alive… or be forced to rush out of this furnace. And we will be waiting outside, rested and ready.”

 

Tadakatsu took a deep breath and slapped Kanbei heavily on the shoulder.

“Good! We will follow your plan! If we succeed, you shall have the highest merit!”

 

At midnight, the moon was hidden and the wind rose strong. Dozens of agile Tokugawa ninja moved like ghosts, carrying incendiary materials, slipping silently into position. Though the Inazuma sentries were alert, they failed to fully detect the threats in the dark.

 

Suddenly, a flaming arrow sliced through the night sky like a falling star, striking precisely into a corner stacked with dry wood and oil.

 

BOOM!

 

Flames erupted instantly, greedily devouring the dry timber. Almost at the same moment, multiple fires broke out together. The southeast wind roared in, sweeping sparks and fire toward the heart of the encampment and deep into the woods.

 

“Fire! The camp is on fire!”

“Put it out! Hurry!”

 

Inside Kujou Encampment, chaos erupted at once. Shouts of panic, cries, and the crackle of burning wood intertwined. Crimson flames shot into the sky, thick smoke billowing, blocking out the stars and moon. Inazuma soldiers trying to fight the fire were driven back by scorching heat and smoke; order collapsed swiftly in the face of sudden disaster.

 

Kujou Sara rushed out of her quarters, only to be met with a hellish sea of fire. Her eyes bloodshot, she knew all was lost.

“Cowards! Using such underhanded methods!”

She gritted her teeth and made a quick decision.

“All forces, listen! Abandon the encampment! Break out through the west gate! We will not wait here to die!”

 

Kamisato Ayaka covered her mouth with her sleeve, coughing. Her white robes looked blood-stained in the firelight.

“Lady Sara, the enemy must have an ambush outside the gates!”

 

“I know!” Kujou Sara grabbed her hand. “But staying inside means certain death! Break out, and there is still a chance! Gather the men and follow me!”

 

The gate crashed down in flames. Disheveled and terrified Inazuma soldiers poured out like a flood breaking a dam. Stripped of their defenses, their formation shattered, many could not even hold their weapons properly.

 

Waiting for them, however, was the Tokugawa musket corps, already in formation.

 

“Take aim!”

“Fire!”

 

BANG BANG BANG!

 

Musket fire crackled like popping beans, white smoke filling the air. Lead bullets swept like a storm of death, cutting down the frontline Inazuma soldiers in an instant. Screams rose one after another; those hit fell like cut wheat. Chaos worsened. The breakout force slammed into an invisible wall of death.

 

At the height of the confusion, a thunderous roar shook the entire battlefield:

 

“Tadakatsu Honda of the Tokugawa is here! You rats, face your deaths!”

 

Tadakatsu Honda charged at the forefront, wielding the twelve-foot Tonbokiri, descending like a war god straight into the fleeing Inazuma ranks. Wherever he passed, sword-light flashed and spear-shadows danced, unleashing a storm of bloodshed. Swords and spears struck his armor, sparking faintly but barely scratching him. Each swing of the Tonbokiri sent blood flying, claiming multiple lives. He cut a bloody path through the disorganized enemy like a tiger among sheep, charging straight for the Kujou banner, still barely standing amid the chaos.

 

“Kujou Sara! Face me in single combat!”

Tadakatsu’s roar drowned out all battlefield noise.

 

Lit by fire, Kujou Sara pushed aside her guards, nocking an arrow, her eyes sharp as an eagle’s.

“Tadakatsu Honda! Do not be so arrogant!”

She knew that only by defeating this Tokugawa titan could she turn the tide and buy time for her troops to escape. Three arrows flew almost in a line, screaming through the air toward Tadakatsu’s face, throat, and chest!

 

Tadakatsu did not dodge or block. The Tonbokiri spun like a wheel, and with several crisp clangs, all three lightning-fast arrows were knocked away! His warhorse did not slow; in an instant he was before Kujou Sara.

 

Sara discarded her bow and drew her sword. The cold glint of the blade reflected her determined face. With a sharp cry she leaped into the air, slashing toward Tadakatsu with a ribbon of light. This strike concentrated her lifelong skill, faster than the eye could follow.

 

Yet Tadakatsu Honda’s combat experience was unmatched. Facing this fierce blow, he merely shifted slightly. The Tonbokiri struck like a venomous dragon, moving later but arriving first, piercing precisely into the one flaw in Sara’s stance—the moment her old strength faded and new strength had not yet come.

 

SPURT!

 

The spear tip slipped through a gap in her armor and sank deep into flesh. Kujou Sara’s body jolted violently, her sword strike dying away. She looked down in disbelief at the spear shaft piercing her body, blood streaming down the tassels.

 

“Ugh… lightning… eternity…”

She muttered faintly, the light in her eyes fading rapidly.

 

Tadakatsu Honda flicked his arm, flinging her body from his horse.

“Kujou Sara has been slain!”

His voice boomed like a bell, announcing the collapse of Inazuma’s spiritual pillar.

 

Nearby, Kamisato Ayaka, struggling to organize resistance, watched in heart-wrenching grief.

“Sara!” she cried, knowing all was lost. Protected by her loyal retainers who fought to the death, she glanced tearfully at where Sara had fallen, then activated Kamisato Art: Soha. Her figure flickered several times through fire and smoke, vanishing from the edge of the chaotic battlefield.

 

With their commander dead and Kamisato Ayaka in retreat, Inazuma resistance completely collapsed. Survivors either knelt to beg for mercy or fled in all directions, yet most were cut down without mercy by the Tokugawa forces. The battlefield gradually fell silent, leaving only the crackle of fire and the dying groans of the wounded.

 

Tadakatsu Honda reined in his horse amid the sea of corpses and blood, the tip of the Tonbokiri still dripping. He gazed at the victory forged by Kanbei Kuroda’s wit and his own martial prowess, slowly removing his fearsome deer-horned helmet to reveal a stern, slightly weary face.

 

“Clear the battlefield and tally the casualties,” he commanded in a deep voice. His eyes turned once more to the still-burning ruins of Kujou Encampment, and to the distant, deep interior of Inazuma. This victory was merely another stepping stone on the path of the Shogun’s conquest. And the campaigns of the Demon Heihachi were far from over. The air reeked of smoke and blood, proclaiming that the banner of the Tokugawa would continue to fly over this land.