As Ryuzen and his father's group ride out of the estate and head east toward the village in need of aid, the weather begins to change from blue clear skies and sunshine to all of sudden dark clouds and strong chilly winds begin to blow. It's as if the battle in the village was also beginning to battle in the heavens also and was just reflecting the conflict on the ground. As they continue to ride closer to the village the sounds of battle ring through the air, swords clanging, screams of pain and as the village came into sight Jinsai begins to move to the western side of the village toward a hill with several mounted samurai and dismounted soldiers standing in battle formation. At the top of the hill a samurai in splendid red crimson armor with Takeda banners near him Katsuyori Takeda, and he appeared to be observing the battle in the village below. In the center of the village Takeda samurai were engaged in battle against a large group of bandits, neither side seemed to really be giving any ground yet. From what Ryuzen could see as they made their way to Katsuyori position in looking at the village is there seems to be large storage buildings where rice was most likely stored. It seemed to Ryuzen the bandits were after the rice stores, and they were positioned on the eastern side of the village. Jinsai and his men finally reach near Katsuyori and they halt their horses and Jinsai immediately dismounts and walks toward Katsuyori and immediately bows in respect to the daimyo son and states, "I and my men have come as ordered my lord to aid you in your efforts against the enemy" Katsuyori responds, "I am glad you have arrived Jinsai, my father sends his thanks for the gift of muskets from the merchant he is still deciding on what to do with the merchant but that is another time to discuss later for now I have cavalry placed in the forest north of the village. You and your men will join them there and at my signal you will all ride behind the bandits and flank them from behind while we push in from the west" "I understand and obey my lord and will move now to the position as ordered" Jinsai then bowed again to Katsuyori and mounted his horse and signaled his men to follow and they rode down the hill in the direction of the forest but just out of sight of the village.

  Jinsai, Ryuzen and the rest of his men finally reach the edge of the forest and a mounted samurai also in red crimson armor greets them and he appears to be the commander of the unit and directs Jinsai and his men to the rear of the unit. They finally get into position behind the unit and Ryuzen estimates in his head there must be at least 150 mounted samurai in this forest. As they begin to wait in the forest a steady rain begins to pour down and the only sounds heard is the sounds of the village battle and horse making the odd noise but none of the samurai speak. Ryuzen could feel his stomach in knots at anticipation of the coming battle, this felt different for him compared to his fight with the two bandits and the dark warrior, both fights were fights of necessity and survival. This fight he knew what was expected of him and he was ready to begin to prove himself. In many ways he felt more pressure, but he was ready and he meditated on his breathing to lower his heartrate and breathing and listening to the rain drops hitting the leaves in the trees also calmed him as well.

  Meanwhile, Katsuyori on his horse observes the battle in the village and finally most of the bandits were finally engaged in battle in the center of the village, he knew now was time to call the cavalry forward. He looks at a warrior monk near him and orders him to blow the conch shell to begin the attack. The sound of the conch shell rings through the forest, and the cavalry commander signals the unit to move forward toward the east of the village. The cavalry begins with a steady gallop to the eastern side of the village, and once they are behind the bandit's position, they begin a fast hard charge toward them. At same time, Katsuyori has ordered his men in the village to give ground and to act like they are beginning to break ranks. The bandits begin to believe they are winning and are pushing forward toward the rice stores, but their single objective has narrowed their vision and made them blind to their surroundings. Greed and hunger have blinded them thought Katsuyori. Then without warning the Takeda cavalry crash into the rear ranks of the bandits and the screams of men being trampled and stabbed by spears fills the air, some bandits turn around to fight the new threat. One particular bandit is getting ready to turn around with his spear and Ryuzen with his katana instantly cuts his neck and he falls instantly to the ground. As he rides past the fallen bandit another bandit another bandit attempts to spear Ryuzen horse but misses and Ryuzen manages to slash him on the head deeply and the bandit instantly crumbles to the ground. Jinsai equally is having success but is then speared in the belly near Ryuzen as his horse came to a stop by three bandits, he managed to kill two of them but the third while he was engaging the other two managed to spear him. He felt the pain instantly and swung his katana at the bandit and managed to slash his throat, but the damage was done and he fell backward off his horse into the mud with the spear still lodged into him and yet he was still alive but gravely wounded. Ryuzen is still moving forward with the rest of the cavalry pushing them back into the center of the village and at same time Katsuyori has ordered his men to stop giving ground and have started pushing the bandits back also. By now the bandits know they are in a trap, and their resistance is finally starting to harden. Even though it is hopeless and the bandits are surrounded on every side they are resolved to fight to the end. To them death was preferable to slow painful execution or starvation. Ryuzen having just defeated two bandits is finally knocked off his horse by a large muscular bandit at least 5-foot 10 inches and is wielding a naginata that swung at his chest plate, but the leather chest plate absorbed most of the blow and he managed to survive but the wind in his lungs were knocked out of him. As he lay on his back, he sees the naginata coming at his face as if in slow motion and he knows he will die, he grasps his katana Kurokane and the naginata and the rain drops around him and everyone else freezes and he sees the naginata and rain drops move in reverse giving him a few precious seconds to move and catch his breath. When time resumes to the large bandits surprise his naginata hits the mud and Ryuzen who managed to roll over on to the right of the bandit and his weapon because of his time marker swings his katana at the large bandit's legs and instantly severs both of his legs and he falls down screaming in pain and as Ryuzen rose from the ground he mercifully cuts his head off with one swipe. By this point in the battle the bandits were being pushed from both sides into an ever-smaller circular line in the center of the village. Ryuzen and the rest of his fellow samurai presses forward. Ryuzen managed to defeat a further two opponents. At this point whether by luck or Ryuzen managing to control fate he is confronted by the bandit chief in full samurai armor in various colors and sizes which appeared to Ryuzen that they were most likely looted pieces of armor. He appeared to be in his thirties and with a full scraggly beard and a broken nose that healed wrong with small squinty eyes and broad shoulders but still a formidable opponent. He was at least 5 feet 7 inches tall and not much bigger than Ryuzen height. Almost immediately as he saw Ryuzen he tried to strike the top of Ryuzen head, but he managed block the strike and Ryuzen immediately kicked his opponent in the ribs on the left side and to give Ryuzen space. At this point Katsuyori is on his horse from the hill and can see the duel happening and is impressed by this youth's ability to fight the bandit chief. The bandit chief either out of anger or frustration swung his katana high at Ryuzen head again but this time Ryuzen was quicker and came at the bandit with a quick slice into the bandit's midsection and the bandit stops after Ryuzen had passed with his strike and drops his sword and blood begins pouring out and he falls forward to the ground. Then Ryuzen decapitates the dead samurai head cleanly off and claims it. At this point in the battle, it was nearly over and when the remaining few bandits still alive see their leader fall, they immediately drop their weapons and surrender. Then almost all once the Takeda samurai shout in victory over the bandit's defeat. At this point Jinsai had been helped up by his men and had his wound attended too and was able to observe his adopted sons duel and he has never been so proud of his son's deeds today and despite receiving such a serious wound he is still able to mount his horse and ride himself to the priests to help him treat his wound. After tallying the heads and presenting them to Katsuyori the total heads taken for the day was 175 bandits to the loss of 38 Takeda samurai. Ryuzen claimed 6 heads which included the bandit chief's head and Jinsai despite being wounded claimed 3 heads. Katsuyori proclaimed based on his performance at this battle would now be a full-fledged samurai serving the Takeda clan. Jinsai along with Ryuzen were rewarded and additional 900 koku of rice worth of land bringing their total land worth to 1000 koku of rice income which is a substantial gain from Jinsai 100 koku income. In addition, a unit of 50 Takeda cavalry were now assigned to Jinsai estate whose purpose was to assist Jinsai and Ryuzen in patrolling the southern borders of Kai.

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  In the aftermath of the battle and after all the accolades and they are home resting and recovering from the battle, Ryuzen is in his room cleaning Kurokane when Isabell enters and immediately runs to him and gives him a big hug around his neck. This catches Ryuzen off guard and he carefully puts his sword back in the scabbard and sets his sword down. He immediately blushes but he does not recoil from her and even though they have barely known each other less than a week, yet he feels a bond and closeness to her that he has not felt with anyone else. She has a shared understanding of the fates and the conversations they have had has really helped in understanding his power. Finally, the hug is broken, and she sits across from him and she finally speaks, "I am glad you are back and unharmed. I saw your father being carried in and I feared the worse for you. I must ask did you have to use your power" Ryuzen replied, "Yes I did use it once during the fight, a large bandit almost decapitated my head, I was able to freeze time and move away from the blow and strike him down. It was almost as if the time marker knew my desire to live and instantly obliged before I could react. I felt guilty for stopping fate, but I realized it was him or me and I should have already been dead because of Melanios and if I am to stop him, I will need to get comfortable with using it in battle." "You have a mission and whoever you face you must realize your purpose to overcome Melanios, and it is not dishonorable to rewind time and fate to adjust it to your will to survive. We will not know the full consequences of your actions until later and the fact he was a bandit you may have saved many lives by defeating him with your power" Ryuzen nodded in agreement and said,"I am glad to have you by my side to guide me through this time" Isabell then reached in kissed him softly on his cheek and arose and left the room. Ryuzen blushed even more and put his hand to his cheek and smiled slightly. Then he picked Kurokane up and placed it on the sword rack with Yamiuchi and Kageboshi. He then lays back down on his sleeping mat and instantly falls asleep.

  Back at Uichi castle a couple weeks later, Melanios is in his private chambers sitting in a chair near a nightstand reading a scroll and a servant comes into his chambers and hands him a letter and leaves. Melanios reads the letter and then immediately throws his chair against the wall, and it breaks into several pieces. He then growls and says in his mind, " Can't that incompetent Imagawa brat do something right. All he had to do was destroy the Takeda rice stores and it would begin to weaken the Takeda. Instead, the bandits were annihilated and that brat became the hero in the battle. It's time for a change in strategy and to introduce my other disciple in this area to begin the destruction of the Takeda" He then hits his fist against the wall and leaves his chambers vowing he will hurt that boy soon.