"Did you… take out the ninjas outside, Raizen?" Miyame's voice was sharp, trembling with a mix of relief and adrenaline, after beheading the last of the immediate attackers.
Raizen nodded, calm as ever.
"I cleared them once I got out of the Tiannan Mine. But when I returned here, I ran into the Ueshi clan laying siege. When I saw their ninjas in the mine vein, I knew something was off. So I moved fast."
"That explains it." Miyame nodded, curiosity flickering in his eyes. "Wait… Raizen… you mean you actually completed the raid on the Tiannan Mine?"
"Yup. Ueshi Tokusei? Beheaded. Problem solved."
As Raizen recounted the events, the Amamiya ninjas surrounding him went silent. Some pinched themselves, thinking they'd woken from a fevered dream. The kid just beheaded Ueshi Tokusei—the family's strongest—and the rest of the Ueshi ninja fled the Tiannan Mine?
The awe in their eyes was unmistakable. Raizen's strength wasn't measured by age, but by deeds. He had proven himself far beyond any normal Genin—or even Chūnin—here. Miyame's voice broke the stunned silence:
"From now on… I'll call you Master Raizen!"
The words carried gratitude, respect, and the weight of survival. Had Raizen arrived on the side of Natsuke, none of them would have lived to see today. A ripple of cautious admiration spread through the Amamiya ninjas, and Raizen acknowledged it with a satisfied nod.
He raised an eyebrow, curious. "Right… what about Amamiya Jane and Natsuke?"
"Jane… badly wounded in the mine," Miyame replied. His face darkened at the mention of Natsuke.
"Natsuke… that beast betrayed the family. How could we end up in this mess if not for him?" Miyame's voice cracked, and a Chūnin stepped forward, anger burning in his eyes.
"What?!" Raizen's calm demeanor faltered for the first time. Hatred for Natsuke ran deep, but betrayal? That was a new level. The same Natsuke who once dreamt of becoming head of the patriarch had turned against his own clan.
Miyame sighed, recounting the disaster: after Raizen left for the Tiannan Mine, Natsuke gathered all Amamiya ninjas under the guise of a meeting. Unaware of the betrayal, everyone obeyed. Then, Natsuke struck—targeting Jane and Miyame. Jane was hit hard, Miyame injured, and chaos erupted.
The remaining family ninjas quickly realized something was wrong, but before they could recover, the Ueshi clan's forces surrounded the mine and attacked. Miyame had no choice but to fight a two-front battle—against both the traitor Natsuke and the Ueshi ninjas. Though Natsuke was eventually killed, the damage was severe. The Amamiya clan lost three Jōnin and were forced to retreat deeper into the Songshan Mine.
Yet, their resilience and tenacity held the line until Raizen arrived. With his intervention, the breakout finally began.