Jack was amazed at the skill with which Yori wielded his shakujō. Apparently Sensei Yamada had been teaching his friend a great deal more than Zen philosophy and meditation. As the bandit thrust for Yori’s gut, Yori drove his staff directly at the sword’s tip. He hooked the blade through one of his shakujō’s iron rings, then wrenched it upwards. The steel blade snapped in two.

Stunned at the loss of his weapon, the bandit was taken by surprise when the end of the shakujō whipped round and struck him in the jaw. The blow dropped him in a heap. A group of farmers, emboldened by Yori’s spirited defence, charged forward and the bandit disappeared beneath a forest of spears. Offering the dead man a quick blessing, Yori hurried back to tend to Hayato.

His mind now clear, Jack recalled Miyuki’s plight. Looking to the barricade, he saw Sayomi with her naginata poised to cut straight through the exhausted ninja.

‘Miyuki!’ Jack cried in despair, too far away to prevent her death.

Then he spotted a familiar glint of steel flash through the air. Sayomi flinched as the shuriken Jack had given Miyuki embedded itself in her upper chest. But Sayomi’s armour prevented the throwing star from penetrating deeply. She recovered quickly from the attack and swung the naginata’s blade down on to Miyuki.

Jack was unable to tear his eyes away, however much it tortured him to witness Miyuki’s murder.

At the last second, Yuudai rose from the hay bales and caught the naginata’s wooden shaft, halting the blade in mid-swing a fraction from Miyuki’s head. He yanked the weapon from Sayomi’s grasp and snapped it in half. Seizing her with his great hands, Yuudai then lifted the bandit off her feet and over his head.

Sayomi flailed helplessly in his grip. With a tremendous shout, Yuudai tossed the woman into the air. She flew through the flames of the moat to crash into the top of the barricade. As she tumbled over the other side, her long black hair became entangled in the spikes. Sayomi ended up swinging high above the sharpened bamboo stakes that were planted at the foot of the barricade. Her screams echoed up the valley as her hair ripped from her head and she dropped to the ground.

Yuudai, the arrow still embedded in his chest, turned to Miyuki. Grimacing against the pain of his wound, he offered his hand to help her to her feet. Seeing Miyuki rise, Jack realized the young samurai were far from defeated by Akuma’s men.

‘Rally the other units,’ said Jack to Saburo. ‘Order them to corner the remaining bandits using their spear drills. It’s time we brought Akuma’s reign of terror to an end, once and for all.’