Battle 576

==Summary==
Saiga is seen in a mountainous area as two warriors approach him.  They report that their hideout was attack by the Kuremisago traditionalists but luckily the women and children were able to escape.  Saiga is surprised that the fighting is still going on despite both sides being constantly attacked.  The two warriors express their confidence that they will win in the end as they have Senzui (the strongest in the Kuremisago) and Saiga from the Fūrinji clan on their side, and they swear their lives to Saiga.  Suddenly Saiga kills the two warriors with a thrust through their throats as he states that he holds the men to their word.
On another Kuremisago hideout Saiga tells a female and male Kuremisago warrior about the deaths of the two warriors (Seidou and Koushin) and she expresses her surprise that such skilled fighters were killed.  She asks Saiga who was responsible and he assures her not to worry as she will join them soon.  Saiga kills the male warrior with a kick and pierces the female warrior with a thrust through her abdomen.  She is shocked and asks Saiga's reason for the betrayal and as their eyes meet she recognizes something from his eyes, just as Saiga deals her the finishing blow.
Saiga, Senzui, and Shizuha (carrying an infant Miu) receive a report that there is a traitor in their ranks, killing nine of their skilled fighters.  Shizuha asks for information on the traitor and, although sensing hesitation from the messenger, urges him to continue his report.  Eyewitnesses say that the traitor acted and looked like Saiga, and Shizuha dismisses it as a trap from the traditionalists.  Saiga wonders if he is being doubted because of his ties to One Shadow Nine Fists, but he affirms that they have no reason to attack other organizations and that he wants to use martials arts for the sake of peace.  The messenger expresses his thanks and trust to Saiga for helping them break away from their past but adds that there are those who believe Saiga was sent to conquer the Kuremisago.  Saiga relents and asks them not to trust him and he will act on his own to catch the traitor.
Senzui is seen walking into a large building and makes a report that he has killed nine members of the liberal faction.  He is commended by an elder for his cold-bloodedness in killing his comrades and is reminded to stick to his promise so that the traditionalists will reach a compromise with the liberal faction and end the fighting.  Another elder states that Senzui will be made one of the elders of the Kuremisago after the fighting but he says that he does not matter to him, as he only wishes the fighting to end with the least amount of casualties.  He is then ordered to carry out his goal to the end, and for that he needs to kill Shizuha and her child.
On a snowy field Shizuha and her fellow warriors are fighting off a group of traditionalist warriors.  Shizuha notices that their opponents are fighting better than normal and wonders who is leading them.  Shizuha's allies reports that they have sent her letter to her father-in-law and they urge her to leave them and take Miu to safety, living a peaceful life with Saiga as a family.  Shizuha declines and stands her ground, saying that she does not want her daughter to be someone who abandons her friends for the sake of her own happiness. 
The fighting ends and Shizuha is seen comforting one of her companions who is dying.  She hears a shout from enemy reinforcements and is forced to take Miu with her and dodge their gunfire.  She places Miu at the base of a tree and promises to protect Miu with her life as she charges towards her two pursuers.  She is able to dodge their bullets and attack but one fighter withstands her attack and aims a gun at point-blank range.  Shizuha is unable to dodge but she a large flurry of snow blows the fighter away and Saiga is seen to have saved her.  She happily approaches her husband for an embrace but it is seen that he had pierced through her with a thrust.  Her last thoughts call out to her husband and she reaches out to touch his face and it is revealed that "Saiga" was Senzui in disguise.  Senzui looks on silently and coldly as Shizuha falls to the ground.
The scene shifts to the Yami base where Saiga and Senzui land a simultaneous attack on each other.  Saiga charges towards Senzui with a barrage of punches, saying that he had trusted Senzui's judgment but he turned out to be Shizuha's killer.  Senzui acknowledges that he lied to Saiga about his wife's death as Saiga's attack tears through an entire wall of the Yami base, but Senzui is unharmed and has caught Saiga's fist in his hand. 
Senzui reminds Saiga that "a small sacrifice is needed for the greater good" and that it fell on Senzui to make that sacrifice as Saiga could not do it.  Tears well up on Saiga's eyes as he reminds Senzui of his betrayal: to him, Shizuha, and the Kuremisago, but Senzui dismisses him saying that his actions saved the Kuremisago and ended the killing.  Senzui proclaims that Yami will now let them experience true freedom, one you can only find within a fight.
An announcement says that there are two minutes left until the missiles launch and Niijima has found a computer to complete the virus upload.  Shigure tells him to hurry as they have been discovered by the enemy and she is seen fighting off a wave of enemy troops. 
Saiga refuses to accept Senzui's solution and declares that he will not allow someone like Senzui to control the world.  Saiga seeks to end their fight with his next attack and Senzui agrees to the challenge and the two masters unleash their ultimate techniques on a head-on attack.
==Characters==
*Saiga Fūrinji
*Shizuha Fūrinji
*Miu Fūrinji
*Senzui
*Haruo Niijima
*Shigure Kōsaka
==Battles==
*Saiga Fūrinji vs. Senzui (Ongoing)
*Kenichi Shirahama vs. Satomi Kajima (Ongoing)
*Shigure Kōsaka vs Yami Danzaiba Unit (Ongoing)
==Navigation==
Category:Chapters