The next day, they woke up with a determination to get better… to become stronger.
They ate, then made their way to Takeda Dojo.
Despite the damage left behind from Peter’s duel with Musashi, the dojo was still in surprisingly good condition. A few scuffed floors, some cracks here and there… but it stood firm.
In the corner, Takeda swept quietly, tidying up what remained.
He noticed them immediately and gave a small wave before approaching.
“Thank you for coming once again. Welcome,” Takeda said with a bow.
Musashi bowed back.
“Thank you so much!”
Then he turned to Peter… a diabolical gleam in his eyes.
Peter recoiled slightly.
“Come with me, boy. Your training starts now!” he exclaimed.
“Ahh… okay,” Peter replied nervously.
Dreko walked slowly through the dojo, his eyes scanning the space as he paced.
“Yes… this will do,” he muttered.
He stopped, then looked directly at Rowlo and Jaylia, a faint sneer forming.
“I’m going to show you the hell Solomon put us through.”
At the same time, in a separate village…
The “ninja” Lesonian approached an isolated shack, hidden deep within the countryside.
From the outside, it looked like any other small Japanese home.
Inside… it was something else entirely.
Screens flickered. Foreign devices hummed quietly. Comms equipment lined the walls. Technology far beyond this era.
Shira stepped in and sat down in front of a screen.
“Shira reporting in… Hello, it’s Shira on Earth,” she said into the device.
Kzzt… kzzt…
Static crackled before a voice finally came through.
“Operative Shira. Status update.”
“There’s been an interesting development,” she said, her tone sharpening slightly. “Time travelers have appeared here in Japan.”
Kzzt… kzzt…
“Continue mission, operative. Eliminate interlopers on sight. Treason has everything under control.”
Shira’s eyes narrowed.
“…Affirmative. However, their current whereabouts are unknown.”
There was a brief silence.
“Then find them.”
The voice returned, colder this time.
“Track them down and eliminate them. The mission comes first.”
Shira hesitated for the smallest moment…
“…Affirmative.”
Back at the dojo…
Peter swung a practice blade, and immediately lost his footing, crashing to the ground.
Nearby, Rowlo and Jaylia stood on one foot, holding their breath, struggling to maintain balance.
They both collapsed.
Dreko paced slowly around them.
“Balance. Control. That is the most important thing,” he said calmly. “Get up. You can do better.”
They stood again.
Rowlo wobbled… then fell once more, hitting the ground with a frustrated groan.
“I feel like a joke!” he snapped. “Why are we doing this? We should be learning how to actually fight!”
Jaylia, still balancing, exhaled softly.
“I think it’s… kind of soothing.”
Dreko didn’t stop pacing.
“Fighting isn’t about who hits the hardest, Rowlo. Now try again.”
Across the dojo, Peter charged forward again.
He swung.
Missed.
Swung again.
Missed.
Musashi didn’t move.
Not once.
“Strength without control is useless,” Musashi said calmly.
Peter lunged again.
“Speed without purpose is meaningless.”
Peter gritted his teeth, trying again… and again… but he couldn’t even touch him.
Musashi sighed.
“That is enough for today.”
Dreko stopped as well.
“We’re done.”
Peter lowered his blade, breathing heavily, frustration written all over his face.
“I’m getting it…” he muttered. “I swear I am… I just..."
He stopped.
“…I just need more time.”
Day in and day out, they returned to the dojo.
Slowly… they improved.
Rowlo found his balance, his movements becoming smoother, more controlled. Jaylia followed closely behind, her form steady and precise.
Peter had changed the most.
His movements were no longer wild. No longer reckless.
Controlled. Focused.
Two practice blades now rested in his hands.
Still, he lunged at Musashi, and missed.
“Not good enough!” Musashi said, stepping aside with ease. “You are still thinking too much. Too much energy. Too much power.”
Across the dojo, Dreko had begun pairing Rowlo and Jaylia against each other. They sparred. Fell. Got up. Tried again.
Some days, the groups switched for variety.
Days turned into weeks… and weeks into months.
They weren’t great, but they were no longer weak.
They were fighters.
That day, Peter struck Musashi.
A clean hit.
Musashi paused… then let out a hearty laugh.
“You people learn fast, huh?”
A proud look crossed his face.
“No student of the Niten Ichi-Ryū has learned as quickly as you, Peter.”
Peter dropped to his knees, grinning.
“Hell yeah!” he shouted, pumping his fists.
Dreko walked over, gesturing toward Rowlo and Jaylia as they sparred.
“They are immortals,” he said calmly. “They can learn at rates far beyond what is normal.”
Musashi watched them for a moment.
“…I suppose.”
Dreko’s gaze sharpened slightly.
“Only in real combat… under real pressure… will they truly improve.”
A faint smile formed.
“Perhaps they’ll surpass us both.”
More time passed, and they continued to grow stronger.
But then… the news came.
The dojo doors burst open.
A woman stumbled inside, her body trembling. Dark, vein-like patterns crept across her skin, spreading up her arms and neck. Her breathing was uneven, strained.
The blight.
It had begun to consume her.
“Master Takeda… we must flee…” she gasped. “They say even Edo… is no longer safe…”
She coughed, a dark residue staining her lips... and collapsed.
Takeda rushed to her side.
Rowlo and the others stood frozen, stunned by the sudden shift.
Takeda’s hands trembled as he looked at her… then slowly turned toward them.
Tears streamed down his face.
“Surely…” his voice broke slightly, “you people can stop this madness…”
Rowlo stepped forward and knelt beside the woman.
His fists clenched.
Tears welled in his eyes.
He looked at Peter. Jaylia. The others.
“…Don’t you think we’ve been here long enough?” he said quietly. “We have to stop these people… and we need to find our way home.”
Jaylia nodded.
Peter followed.
Musashi stepped forward, his expression darkening as he looked at the woman.
“Look at her…” he muttered. “Even her body has begun to fail.”
He paused, thinking.
“If Edo falls… Japan falls with it.”
His eyes sharpened.
“We go to Edo. At once.”
Dreko folded his arms.
“It’s a trap,” he said calmly. “That Lesonian is escalating things… trying to draw us out.”
He exhaled slowly.
“Japan will not fall. It cannot.”
They all looked at him, confused.
“Time Rangers,” Dreko continued. “They maintain the timeline. Prevent paradoxes.”
Peter frowned.
“…Time cops?”
“…Something like that.”
Rowlo’s expression hardened.
Jaylia noticed immediately.
“What’s wrong, Rowlo?”
He clenched his fists.
“So what?” he snapped. “These people just die while we wait for some ‘timeline protection’ to kick in?”
His voice rose.
“How many more starve? How many more die before they decide it matters?”
Silence filled the room.
Rowlo looked up.
“I say we go to Edo.”
Musashi let out a loud laugh.
“Yes!” he exclaimed. “Now we see if your training has paid off, grasshoppers!”
Peter walked over to his weapons.
He picked up Koryu and Kairo, fastening them at his side.
Musashi watched him… then smiled.
“You are a samurai now!”
Peter turned, more serious than usual.
“…Guess we’re going to Edo.”
Meanwhile, in Edo…
Shira stood atop the royal palace, looking down over the city. Her scarf flowed in the wind.
Below, the purple blight had spread across the streets. Entire sections of the city were affected. People moved slowly… coughing… collapsing…
There were too many to count.
Shira crouched slightly and took out a communication device.
“This should push them out of hiding… but sir, don’t you think we’re going too far?”
Kzzt… kzzt…
“Treason wants them dead. That is all that matters, agent.”
Shira’s eyes narrowed.
“Yeah… but if the Time Rangers get involved, our entire mission is compromised. Then what’s the point?”
“Just follow orders, Shira. Everything—”
Shira cut in.
“…is under control, right?”
She let out a quiet breath.
“Yeah. I know. I trust Treason… I just wonder sometimes.”
Kzzt… kzzt…
“Prepare for the interlopers.”
The voice grew colder.
“Prepare for execution.”
Shira sighed softly.
“…Yes, sir.”