It was then, in the midst of the confusion that the kunoichi dropped her mask and struck, exactly as she was trained to do. Using the ability that was her birthright, she gathered her chi and with another turn of her hand against the earth, she sent a shockwave through the ground towards Hanzo. The impact from it sent him reeling backwards. Following through, in one smooth motion she rose from her kneeling position and launched herself at her target. A small hand trailed along the ground, gathering up a handful of earth and when she opened it again, wicked shards of crystal replaced the sand. They flew in a deadly arc and struck Munenori's yojimbo about the shoulders, forcing him to release the boy. He drew back, cursing in pain. She closed the distance, and, her concentration never wavering, she easily dodged the sword cut that was meant to disembowel her. Slipping past him, the girl whirled 'round and pressed her back against his. With a swift swipe of her leg, she swept his feet from in underneath him, and sent him crashing to the ground.

He struggled to rise, but the ground beneath him turned to quicksand and sucked him downward, encasing the lower half of his body in an unbreakable embrace. “What sorcery is this?” Hanzo yelled, watching the girl as she executed the rapid hand movements of the ninja that they used to summon their arcane powers. As she spun her hand in a circle, the earth holding the yojimbo spun as well; he found himself facing his master now, staring up at him helplessly from his earthen prison. She raised her hand and the earth obeyed, lifting the man up and out of the ground. With an exhalation she sent both flying through the air. Nodding with satisfaction, she heard the thud that came when he landed in a heap in front of his master.

“Utsuri!!!” Sanjiro squealed with joy as he looked up at his savior. Her back was to him and she had placed herself squarely between him and the soldiers. The timid bathhouse attendant who allowed herself to be the victim of boyish pranks was gone, and in her place stood a warrior. “No way! You’re amazing! How’d you do that?”

“Sanjiro-kun.” The softness of her voice was in stark contrast to the fierce expression on her face. “Go to your grandmother. Please tell Tsunade-sama I am sorry that I lied to her. Run, now!”

“Gogyo No Hoshi! Master, she must be of the Gogyo No Hoshi! We have made a mistake…we need more men.” Hanzo croaked from the ground. He was stunned, bleeding and disoriented from the attack. The crowd took up his words and whispered them around from one to another, scarcely believing what they were witnessing. Goygo No Hoshi… The Five Element Stars… Legendary ninja clans from deep in the mountains… Their techniques were secret beyond secret and had not been seen by living eyes for almost one hundred years.

Munenori muttered an oath and grabbed the hilt of his katana. “I knew it!” he yelled at her. “I knew you could fight!” As chaos erupted in the streets, with people both hastening to run away, and running forward to see the fight, he turned to his men. “Stand your ground! Even if she is one of the legendary ninja, she can die like the rest of us! Now get her!”

Through her feet, Utsuri felt the vibrations of the onrushing soldiers; her ears heard the cacophony of sounds from the street. But the girl was perfectly calm. Earth beneath me. Sky above me. Chi flowing through me like water. Strength of a forest in my limbs. Fire in my heart. Those were the first words that those of her clan heard when they were born and her father had spoken them to her every day, as he pounded into her the martial skills that she must learn. They centered her mind and prepared her to meet the challenge before her. Without hesitation, she leaped into the fray, her body moving in a complicated martial dance. Each strike of her heel on the ground caused a wall of stones from the street’s pavement to rise up which she threw with a wave of her hand at the oncoming men. None could stand against the barrage of the flying missiles that she hurled with pinpoint accuracy, despite her blindness. The voice of the earth told her where her enemies were.

Gritting his teeth, Munenori watched as one by one, his best men fell, incapacitated at the girl’s hands. Dead, ninja like her are all supposed to be dead. The Shogun’s grandfather feared their power and waged war on the clans and annihilated most of them. All five lines should have died out a generation ago. Even in the face of such powerful techniques, the General forced himself to keep his nerve and analyze her movements. Any step they take towards her she can sense and counteract. But, there may be another way to defeat her. If I can survive it…

“Impressive, little kunoichi!” The General raised his voice as his last soldier collapsed at her feet. “Doubtless you seek to run back to the feet of your traitorous Master, who I surmise is now Akechi's younger brother, but I cannot let you do that.” She whipped her head around and stared at him with her sightless eyes. “Not without facing me first. We shall both meet our destinies.” I must get her to come at me, for I will likely not survive if I attack her directly, he thought, trusting in his finely honed battle instincts.

“As you wish.” The girl’s stance changed from a high one to a low one and she stepped forward, as Munenori moved backwards into a defensive stance. She struck the ground with her heel and the earth buckled and heaved outwards. Expecting this, the canny samurai leaped into the air, avoiding the shockwave. While airborne, he drew his sword, alighting in time to meet stone with steel, as he answered her flurry of missiles with a flurry of sword cuts. Utsuri cocked her head as she listened to the rain of pebbles striking the ground; it was the evidence of the failure of her attack. The General was a swordsman without equal. Such a feat was nothing to him.

“You must do better than that, little kunoichi. You cannot hope to defeat me with long range attacks.” It is now or never, the samurai thought, narrowing his eyes and waiting, heart hammering in his throat. He calmly returned his sword to its sheath, and grasped the hilt with his right hand and placed his left hand on the sheath. He stepped forward, bending his right knee and placing his weight onto his right foot. From his prone position, Hanzo rolled over with a groan, to observe his master.

The yojimbo’s eyes widened. That stance! He is insane to try that technique against her!

“Battojutsu.” The General felt his gut tighten at the girl’s words. Damn, but the wench had uncanny senses! “I can feel your movements, General Munenori, and I know that you take the stance of battojutsu.” Ninja were wise to all of the techniques of combat that samurai used, which was why the warriors hated and feared them. Utsuri knew that he hoped to increase the speed of his sword draw by pressing the edge of the blade against the inside of the scabbard. A skilled warrior could increase the speed of his swing by two to three times, and strike the killing blow before an opponent had time to react. But it was a dangerous gambit, for, despite its power, if the technique failed, it was certain death for the warrior for its execution left him without a defense.

That is why he goads me so to attack him. He thinks he will have the advantage in a contest of speed, but he has miscalculated. Cutting the stones has dulled his blade. Its edge is now rough and will drag against the inside of the sheath and reduce the speed. Though I have been slowed by the treacherous blow that his man struck me from behind, I think I have a chance at dodging his blade, and then he will be at my mercy. She bent down and gathered a handful of sand. Rising again, she held up her fist, and from in between her fingers emerged sharp knives of crystal. Those born into her clan had the ability to bend the earth and all natural elements within it into any form at will. It was the gift of Ametasuru to her ancestors.

Taking a deep breath, the girl launched herself at the samurai. The crowd stood transfixed, as the man drew his blade and it flashed out in a deadly arc. Utsuri heard the whisper from the blade’s movement, and she pulled her head back and up to dodge. She felt a kiss of air as the metal whistled past, decapitating one of the lotus flowers in her hair, but missing her. She knew then that his body was completely open and defenseless, save for his armor. She struck and at the same instant that her crystal blades raked across her enemy’s chest, the great dragon of agony suddenly rose up and consumed her.

Its bite tore a scream from her, as pain unlike anything she had ever experienced before exploded in her belly and sent her crashing to the ground in a heap. Warmth bubbled up deep inside her and with a shudder, she coughed up a river of red. “The sheath,” the girl mumbled. As she felt her senses fading away, she realized what the General had done. “He used his sword, and his sheath…” She battled against oblivion for a few more moments, before it claimed her and she collapsed, senseless, as lotus petals drifted down around her.

Only then, did Munenori rise to his feet, sword in one hand, and scabbard in the other; his breastplate was in shreds and blood was running down his chest. Though the girl had dodged the blade of his sword, he had followed through with the sheath, which he had grabbed with his left hand, striking a solid hit to her body. But, in doing so, he had not escaped the dragon of agony either. “Master!” He turned at the sound of Hanzo’s voice. “Master, that was incredible! Are you hurt?”

“I am fine, I think,” he replied, gritting his teeth. He was pleased that his voice sounded steady although he felt anything but in control.

“Is she dead?” Hanzo staggered to his feet and went to his master’s side, steadying the older man. He looked warily at the crumpled form of the girl. Ninja were well known for their tricks and simulating unconsciousness was easy for them. He would have felt much safer if someone would go and cut off her head!

“I should hope not, Hanzo. For we need her alive for the moment. I surmise that she knows where the remains of the traitors are, and we must find them and stamp out the last fires of rebellion. If you can, gather up the survivors that can walk, and get help for those that cannot. We will take the little kunoichi back with us and convince her to tell us what we want to know by any means necessary.”