Welcome to the Earth country

Tochiyama border had a number of men and women patrolling about in bottle green uniforms and armed with batons. The keisatsu (police) force offered tight security, scrutinizing each person who entered or left the region. A merchant found in possession of a flintlock pistol had been cuffed with chains and was being questioned by one of the men in green.

After the Lightning trio had their documents checked and stamped, they were allowed entry. As they drove through Tochiyama town, they passed through clusters of thatched houses made out of timber. Towards sunset, they approached Ishigami city–spotting its huge circular barrier that stretched far and wide.

Within the outer perimeter and closer to its centre was an inner square wall. At close proximity, they realized that the outer stone wall stood twice as tall as that of Kaminari village. Before going to the main entrance, they paid a peasant farmer who owned land nearby to look after their horse and carriage. They also left their swords and knives after the old man had warned against carrying weapons inside the walls.

Once at the main gate, the trio presented their passports for a second time.

One of the female keisatsu scanned through the trio's documents while they were subjected to a thorough body search. "You say you're here on vacation, huh?"

"Yes that's right, ma'am..." said Mikoto with a light grin.

"They're clear!" said another keisatsu after the search was complete.

The first officer forced a smile as she turned to the trio. "Enjoy your visit."

Kazuo and his comrades entered Ishigami city, taking time to admire the beautiful scenery. Trees and rock formations stood along the path one after the other in a perfect pattern as if placed there by hand. As for the architecture, the area was filled with timber structures with thatched roofs.

"Back when the Earth region was still divided into two main clans..." said Takumi after they had walked for some time in silence. "The Ishigami and the Tochiyama, which later became this city's Stone and the Soil districts. It is written that the first daimyo–Ishigami Iwao, once rallied both clans against the Water region over Yamaguchi port…"

Kazuo kept nodding whilst Mikoto rolled her eyes–already knowledgeable about it. "There's a market!" She pointed ahead, making sure to interrupt Takumi's lecture.

Kazuo rummaged through his satchel in search of money to buy some purple grapes from one of the merchants. Suddenly, a boy with brown curls pushed against him in a rush and dashed away with his bag. "Thief!" he said, taking to his feet with Mikoto and Takumi right behind.

The boy maneuvered through the busy streets with ease and ran circles around the Lightning trio hard on his tail. His advantage granted him a severe amount of confidence and after weaving and turning for a while, he thought he had lost them. As he squatted in an alley to check the contents of the bag, his luck ran out.

"Gotcha." Kazuo grinned as he placed his hand on the thief's shoulder. "Did you really think you could outrun three ninjas?"

At that moment, the thief dropped Kazuo's satchel and his legs started shaking. Kazuo was about to clobber the boy's head with a tight fist when Mikoto stopped the punch before it connected. He looked back at her and she shook her head. Mikoto gripped their captive by the arms as Kazuo confirmed the contents of the bag.

"You're lucky all my stuff is still here," said Kazuo, glaring at the boy.

"He can be of use to us..." said Mikoto.

Takumi fixed his glasses before turning to the thief. "What is your name?"

"K–Ka–Kaito…"

"Do you know how to get to the Stone district?" asked Takumi, recalling some scrolls he had read from the Inazuma shrine. "Where the Earth blade is situated?"

"Y–yes… the sword in the stone. But why should I tell you about it?"

Mikoto strengthened her grip and twisted Kaito's arms.

"Aaaah!" Kaito shrieked, "o–okay, okay… I'll tell you what I know."

"Good boy." Mikoto smiled.

"It's heavily guarded in Iwa prison," said Kaito, a sweat trickling down from his temple. "Only keisatsu and nobles can enter Ishigami district."

"Does the rule permit foreign nobles as well?" asked Takumi.

"Not exactly." Kaito checked around before clarifying. "I can't tell you why that is here. Can we go to my place?"

"Alright," said Kazuo, furrowing his eyebrows. "But don't try anything funny."

☯

The timber structure had a thatched roof like most of the houses in the Soil district. Inside what appeared to be a two-roomed house with minimal furniture, Kaito handed the trio a tatami and one futon. "My brother works in the Stone district. He is a cop there and might be able to get you inside but... it's very risky." He cleared his throat and faced Takumi. "To answer your question, no. The Hasegawa don't allow foreign nobles beyond the Stone walls. Unless you bribe them of course."

"Hasegawa?" said Takumi. "Who are they? Isn't Doi Ishigami the daimyo?"

"Lord Doi..." Kaito lowered his voice. "Is just a puppet. A yakuza gang led by Daichi Hasegawa runs this country behind the scenes."

"I see, this might be challenging..." said Takumi, scratching his head. "You mentioned something about your brother being able to get us into the Stone district?"

"Yeah," said Kaito. "You would have to be arrested."

The trio stared at him, wide-eyed at the suggestion.

However, Kaito was dead serious. "And no one has ever escaped from Iwa prison."

[

"Darn those Hasegawa!" A man in his mid-twenties, resembling Kaito grunted as he rushed inside the house just after sunset. He had the same brown hair as his younger brother but shorter and neatly combed. He wore an army green keisatsu uniform. "And our top brass too… how'd they allow that yakuza to go away so easily after mur–" He paused, welcomed by the three new faces. "Kai, who are these people? They don't look like they're from around here."

"Welcome home," said Kaito with a light chuckle before turning his new friends. "Guys, this is my brother Keisuke." He made the introductions and brought the policeman up to speed about the trio's mission. "You can get them into Iwa, right?"

"Absolutely not!" Keisuke's face turned scarlet. "Do you know how treasonous that is? I could lose my job for it… Or worse!"

"But Kei, you always tell me about those corrupt officers in the department who cover up far worse crimes by the Hasegawa Syndicate."

"All that is nothing compared to breaking into Iwa and stealing the national treasure," said Keisuke, his tone becoming harsher. "In any case, even if I were to help you with this crazy idea." He looked at the trio. "How would you remove the sword from the stone? No one has ever been able to since the Legendary Sage left it there."

"I can do it," said Kazuo with a great degree of confidence.

"Kazuo right, and what makes you think so?"

"Kazuro was my great grandfather. I know I can do it."

"Even so, my answer is still no. I can't send you kids to your deaths." Keisuke stood up and went to prepare dinner in the kitchen. After dinner, he retired off to his room.

[

Later the next morning after Keisuke left, Takumi shouted. "I found it!"

"What?" Mikoto yawned, walking into the lounge. She saw Kaito and Kazuo waking up next to Takumi seated on a futon. "W–Wait," she said, looking at Takumi's baggy eyes. "Did you even sleep last night?"

"I know how we can get out of this in one piece."

Mikoto, Kazuo and Kaito's faces lit up as they awaited to hear the genius plan.

"We'll break into the Stone district at midnight. First, we'll need to take care of the gate guards–Mikoto and Kazuo that's where you come in. Once inside, Kazuo will turn himself in and be escorted to the prison while we head to the Hasegawa warehouse." Takumi paused to catch his breath before turning to Kaito. "Do you have anything we can use to create an explosion?"

"You mean like... black powder?"

"Affirmative." Takumi fixed his shades. "Do you know where we can find some?"

"The Hasegawa have lots in the main warehouse. They use it for their flintlocks."

"Perfect, we will just need a lighter," said Takumi and Kaito rushed to get Keisuke's. "Since it will be swarming with enemies, might you have any weapons we can use?"

"We've got knives in the kitchen."

"Those will do. After we detonate their warehouse, the yakuza and keisatsu will rush to the explosion, giving Kazuo time to escape with the Earth blade. And once he does that, he will meet up with us back outside the Stone district's main gate." Takumi looked at them still processing his idea. "Understood?"

Kaito nodded with glee.

Mikoto, however, shrugged. "What do we do about the yakuza? They've got guns."

"We have the cover of the dark, plus Kaito who knows the ins and outs of the city."

Mikoto later agreed, although still doubtful.

☯

While Keisuke was fast asleep, the four-man team sneaked out at midnight–armed with knives and determination. They hurried through the dark, moonlit streets and reached the inner wall.

Two keisatsu carrying lanterns guarded the Stone district's main entrance. One sat outside the closed wooden gate and the other patrolled atop the wall.

Takumi picked up a smooth pebble and glanced at the overhead keisatsu. He paused, gauging the position of the guard's head and tossed it.

 As the stone soared, it knocked the keisatsu's head and he plummeted off the wall. Startled by a loud thud, the sitting guard got up and started checking his vicinity.

"Don't move." Mikoto stood behind the guard and he came to a sudden halt. With a sharp knife to his back, she rummaged his pockets and took a bundle of keys. "Here," she said, hurling them to Takumi who proceeded to the gate.

While Mikoto had turned away, the man spun with a wooden baton. Seeing him in her peripheral, she reacted fast and ducked. She disarmed and knocked him out using his stick. "Hard of hearing, huh?"

"Everything alright?" said Kazuo, walking towards her.

"Yeah..." said Mikoto, shoving a piece of cloth into the guard's mouth.

They sat the guard on his chair and bound him to it. Afterwards, they walked towards the main entrance where Takumi and Kaito had just found the correct key.

As the gate creaked open, the team tiptoed inside with their knives out. No one was in sight, save for a keisatsu lying on the ground. Overhead paper lanterns lit up the paved Stone streets–brightening the inner district as though it was in the evening. Most nearby buildings had clay roofs and were constructed with brick and mortar.

"Coast is clear," said Mikoto, sheathing the knife on her waist.

Takumi knelt down and placed a finger on the keisatsu's neck. He'll be up soon. "Here's your ticket into Iwa prison," he said, turning to Kazuo before they left him.

Kazuo remained with the guard until he woke a few minutes later.

"Owww..." The man rubbed his temple with a groan. "Uh?" he said with a startled look at the boy carrying a knife. He quickly checked his waist and sighed.

"We took your baton so... don't try anything funny," said Kazuo, pointing the knife at him. "Take me to Iwa prison."

"Al–Alright..." he said, shaking as he got up.

Kazuo walked hands behind his back as the man led the way through the streets.

Every structure was similar those near the main entrance–increasing in size and luxuriousness as they proceeded further. It was not long before one of the brightest places appeared. A gate made out of three tall rocks stood in the path outside an even taller perimeter fence. Engraved on the top stone were the words: Iwa Prison.