"This is what we need," Empress Nazo spoke up. "A military leader that the people of Orient can rally to."

"That is for the heir to decide," Sengo said as everyone turned their gaze to Tatsuya.

Tatsuya said nothing but simply picked up his sword and drew it. He gazed at the flame dancing on the blade declaring with conviction:

"Then so be it."

The room erupted in cheers. But this quickly died down when a scout suddenly burst into the room.

"My lords," the scout said, trying to catch his breath. "An army of 85,000 Yurei forces are marching towards our base. They'll be here by nightfall."

The Onryo retainers started to chatter among themselves in a panic, discussing what to do. Tatsuya and Roka however, the chief strategists of the group, calmly walked over to the table where a large-scale map of Orient was placed on top. The two studied the map very carefully, taking note of important geographical locations.

"The base is surrounded by water so they wouldn't attack us directly," Roka pointed out. "They will instead look for a way to lure us ought."

"Still, they have a larger force," Tatsuya replied. "If they can't go for a frontal assault, they will try to cut off our supply lines and starve us out."

"So, facing them head on is out of the question then?" Roka asked. "What about deception?"

It was then Tatsuya noticed a narrow pass through a valley at the edge of the mainland. He pointed that to Roka.

"There," he said. "We can meet them there. Alert all the troops."

Roka nodded as she called the attention of the other Hunters as well as the troops. All eyes turned to Tatsuya who declared:

"Fear not. I have a plan."

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"That imbecile!" Akuto screamed as he flipped a table.

The Yako wasn't pleased. One of his commanders had slipped away with a large chunk of his army, hoping to take on the Onryo base when all the Hunters were present. Akuto knew that even with a massive force, there was no way that fool could possibly outsmart the enemy. This was a very costly move for the Yurei clan. Now he was stuck in a difficult position, trying to decide on his next move. Just then he received word that someone wished to see him. When Akuto asked who it was, the guest identified himself as the traitor that the Onryo forces have desperately been looking for.

"I appreciate you coming here," Akuto said haughtily. "But unless you have any brilliant ideas, we can save this chitchat for later."

"It's funny that you say that," the hooded traitor replied. "Because I have just the solution."

"Oh?" Akuto said, now interested. The hooded man handed him a scroll.

"This scroll contains vile spells rooted in necromancy," the hooded man explained. "Legend has it that it was written by a demon. It has the power to revive the dead into a vicious type of Yokai."

"And what kind of Yokai is that?" Akuto asked.

"A tengu," the hooded man replied.

Akuto laughed maniacally as he walked over what he considered to be his most valuable possession. It was the corpse of Sanada Higure.

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The Yurei commander sat in his camp, pondering his next move. He made a bold move to defy the orders of the Yako, who was now the leader of the clan. But can you blame him? The commander was uncertain if Akuto had the clan's best interests in mind. Surely, he wasn't the only retainer who was insulted when that fox asked the Jikan clan to attack the Shimazu territories. Does he not have faith on the Yurei officers? Were they not the strongest of the Yako clans? So, in response to this, the commander decided to mobilize his troops, 85,000 strong, to the Onryo base. He was not willing to let the Jikan have all the glory. But how could he take it? It was not going to be easy.

He thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a messenger entering his tent.

"My lord," said the messenger. "Several ronin seek an audience with you. They claim that they wish to defect."

"Is that so?" the commander replied, raising an eyebrow. "Let them in."

Three ronin wearing straw hats and light armor entered the camp. They bowed before the commander, who gave them the permission to speak.

"My lord," one of the ronin spoke. "The Onryo forces were taken by surprise by your sudden arrival and were unable to prepare."

"They are in a complete state of disarray," another added. "The Hunters have forced all of us to commit seppuku. We didn't want to lose our lives, so we escaped and defected."

"We only reluctantly joined the Onryo," added a third. "To ask us to commit ritual suicide was just too much. So, if you would have us, we have 8,000 troops ready to serve you. You simply need to give the word and we are yours."

The Yurei commander however was skeptical. It all seemed too easy. So, he asked the ronin.

"How do I know this is not a trick?"

"See for yourself my lord," the first ronin replied.

The ronin led the commander and a few of his riders to a valley nearby. When he saw that the valley had a narrow pass, he became skeptical. But his mind was put at ease when he saw the Onryo forces in the distance. They were 3,000 in number, all dressed in the ceremonial white kimono typical of ritual suicide. They carried no weapons, save for a single wakizashi each to perform the deed. Behind them was a large crate seemingly filled with gold coins to offer as a tribute. Among the Onryo forces lined up were the nine Hunters, including the new Empress Nazo and the newly appointed shogun Tatsuya.

Satisfied, the Yurei commander finally let his guard down. He followed the two of the ronin to meet up with the Onryo and witness the ceremony while the third ronin rode off to inform those willing to defect. Behind him was the massive army he brought along. It was an army meant to wipe out the rebel faction completely from the face of the earth.

It was already late in the evening. The Yurei army moved slowly, guided only by the two ronin who carried the torches along the pass. When they finally arrived to were the Onryo were, the commander dismounted from his horse and walked straight up to Tatsuya. He smirked as he asked him mockingly:

"Do you have any last words shogun?"

Tatsuya whispered something, but the commander didn't seem to catch it.

"What was that?" the commander asked. "Speak up!"

"I said," Tatsuya spoke, his eyes gleaming with that dangerous wolflike gaze. "Daisho."

Tatsuya threw away his white kimono, revealing his light armor underneath. The commander watched in horror as the Hunter drew his wakizashi and had it transform into two (a katana and a wakizashi), both blades roaring with fire. He tried to make a run for it, but Tatsuya sliced off his head in front of all his men. With their leader died seemingly in a flash, the Yurei forces started to panic. But this was only the tip of the iceberg.

"Kill them all!" Tatsuya roared.

In an instant, the 3,000 Onryo soldiers threw away their kimonos revealing that they all had light armor underneath. They began cutting a bloody path through the Yurei lines. They moved swiftly, focusing on killing as many enemies as they could without taking any heads as Tatsuya had instructed. One soldier even kicked open the crate, revealing that it didn't hold gold coins but the magical weapons that belonged to the other Hunters. He began tossing it to them, which the Hunters all caught. Now equipped with their signature weapons, they began dealing more damage.

If the Yurei forces thought the night could not get any worse, the 8,000 troops that were supposed to be defectors revealed that they were working for the Onryo all along. They were led by the blacksmith Sengo who earlier that snuck behind enemy lines to meet up the men he sent to the Shimazu territory. These men were the fake defectors. The Yurei forces were now sandwiched at a narrow pass between the vicious assault of the Onryo soldiers led by the Hunters and the fake defectors who were now attacking them from all sides. In all that chaos, that force of 85,000 was crushed and routed.

If the Yako thought that they could defeat the rebels by sheer military might, they were in for a rude awakening. This new shogun had just won his first major victory. When the smoke cleared on that night and Tatsuya's forces stood victorious, all of Orient knew that one thing was certain.

Lord Taira has returned.