Chihiro Rokuhira & Hiyuki Kagari vs. Kyora Sazanami is a battle between Chihiro Rokuhira and Hiyuki Kagari against Kyora Sazanami.
After finally entering the Storehouse and retrieving Enten, Chihiro aims to kill Kyora and destroy the Rakuzaichi. Kyora, for his part, aims to do whatever it takes to defend the Rakuzaichi; even make use of one of the items he is about to sell. Hiyuki, presented with the opportunity to claim two Enchanted Blades for the Kamunabi, refuses to sit back and observe.
Prologue[]
Sometime before the auction, Chihiro and Shiba had discussed why the Hishaku would put Shinuchi up for auction. Shiba surmised it was likely to get the Kamunabi to bid for it in order to shift the status quo, given how the seal on Shinuchi's box would take even an extremely skilled sorcerer ten years to break.
In the present, Chihiro, Hakuri and Shiba entered the Naginojoen, Shiba amazed at Hakuri's dual powers. Hakuri asked if Chihiro left him to fight Soya because he knew Hakuri would awaken to his potential, and Chihiro admitted he also wanted not to make decisions for Hakuri so as to establish their position as equal allies. Cloud Gouger then cracked, its energy critically low, Shiba reassuring Shiba that they would soon enter the Storehouse and retrieve Enten.
Having an epiphany, Shiba asked if Hakuri could transport Kyora's items out of the Storehouse, but Hakuri replied he couldn't, as the two's spaces and registered items were different. Chihiro snapped open the lock on the door-containing building and the three entered only to find the door shattered; Kyora had foreseen their plan and used the emergency door to position Shiba to fight the Tou; despite Tenri's death, Chihiro's group had been weakened. Suddenly, Enji and Tamaki burst into the room, shocked to see the door destroyed but preparing to fight anyways.
Hakuri then abruptly called out to Shiba to teleport himself and Chihiro to the auction hall. Hakuri walked down the stairs summarily ignored by the audience. Kyora recognised Hakuri was attempting to interfere with his Storehouse, which Hakuri tested by depositing his registered pliers into Kyora's Storehouse. While admitting fault for not recognising Hakuri's talent, Kyora already viewed him as an enemy; their prior connection now being meaningless. Hakuri, while wanting to similarly abandon his connection to his father, had still wanted Kyora to praise him for a long time. Hakuri then begged Chihiro to kill his father and transported him into Kyora's Storehouse, to which Chihiro agreed.
Battle[]
Cloud Gouger's final attack
Kyora placed a projection of himself on stage to carry out auction proceedings while he himself entered his Storehouse, immediately spotting Chihiro and raising two pillars of earth around Enten's box to attack Chihiro. Chihiro internally asked Cloud Gouger to summon every last bit of its energy in one final Mei, blasting straight through the pillars and letting Chihiro drop down and retrieve Enten. Chihiro thanked Cloud Gouger as it disintegrated, and reflected on his inability to finish Soya and Tenri due to his own failings; him viewing them as Hakuri's family; before redoubling his need to kill Kyora; otherwise, he had no right to wield an Enchanted Blade.
Before sending him in, Hakuri had explained to Chihiro that once he had registered Chihiro, Enten had been registered as well due to having his spirit energy imbued within it. Chihiro refused to have Hakuri transport Enten to him directly, instead aiming to kill Kyora based on the realisation that Hakuri could simply take over Kyora's Storehouse once Kyora died. In the present, Chihiro activates Nishiki and prepares Kuro: Shred, a school of black fish surrounding him.
He noted even in this situation Kyora seemed calm, Kyora replying he could accept any result so long as he had defended the Rakuzaichi with his best. Chihiro snarked back that Kyora's best would've been believing in Hakuri rather than neglecting him, and Kyora brushed him off, not interested in arguing and preparing to fight.
Chihiro dashed through the school of Kuro, scattering them in all directions, as he aimed a slash at Kyora. Kyora quickly sent giant earth columns with blades embedded within them to force Chihiro upwards, before sending the prisoners and other merchandise to the edges of the floating island so as to create more room to battle; judging that using them as hostages was no longer an option due to needing them to have them be alive to sell. While earlier on his call with the Hishaku Kyora had stated he didn't have good odds against an Enchanted Blade, the Storehouse was his world to control, giving Kyora much greater confidence.
Hakuri transports Kyora's grenades
Kyora launched more and more pillars to slam at Chihiro, embedding grenades into one of them to pressure Chihiro even further. As some rolled into point-blank range, Chihiro rapidly bisected all of them, Enten still coated in Nishiki's spirit energy. Kyora was initially confused, but then saw Hakuri transport the now-registered-by-proxy grenades into the auction house, detonating amongst the various bidders.
Kyora still maintained his confidence, but then realised most of his prisoners were missing; Kyora quickly caught on that Chihiro had used the goldfish from his earlier Kuro: Shred to 'tag' many of the prisoners with his spirit energy, allowing Hakuri to transport them out. Kyora quickly used earth to cover up the remaining prisoners. On the outside, several people had begun to run away, but Kyora called them back, stating the auctioning of Shinuchi had been moved up and would be done at that very moment. Both Chihiro and Kyora prepared to end the other even faster.
In the auction hall, the various bidders forgot their panic as their excitement reignited. The female Kamunabi bidder was shocked to see their continued enthusiasm, and her colleague noted the auctioning of an Enchanted Blade was a special occasion. He reckoned the auction might get cut short, considering he had recognised the Kyora on stage was a projection and the fact that Hiyuki hadn't reported in about Chihiro yet, thinking Kyora was currently occupied in battle.
Within the Storehouse, Chihiro demanded why he would not even grieve his sons' deaths, criticising him for daring to call himself a father. Kyora removed his suit jacket and replied rather than a father, he was the head of the Sazanami Clan, whose duty was to protect the Rakuzaichi above all else. The ground suddenly vanished beneath Chihiro, earth spikes impaling his previous location; but Chihiro had already dashed off, Nishiki still active as he dodged Kyora's attacks. Kyora decided to use grenades again, recognising Hakuri's injured state due to his continuous use of his sorcery and believing Hakuri to be too impaired to transport them again.
Chihiro gathered the remaining goldfish from their positions near the walled-off prisoners and used Kuro: Shred, the array of slashes crashing upon a wall that Kyora raised from the earth. Chihiro threw Enten at Kyora, who quickly summoned a saber and parried, knocking Enten into the air, before summoning grenades near Chihiro and detonating them in a massive explosion. Suddenly suspecting something, Kyora turned and noticed Chihiro right behind him; Hakuri having transported him within the Storehouse. Kyora immediately decapitated him, but the Chihiro he cut was a projection; the real one reared in from above, landing a devastating slash on Kyora's chest.
Chihiro slashes through Kyora
As Kyora recalled a young Hakuri declaring he would one day surpass him (and Kyora's own praise directed towards Hakuri following the statement), he screamed in pain and summoned earth to cover himself beneath the ground. While knowing his wound was fatal, Kyora summoned Shinuchi's box next to him, planning to use it to defend the Rakuzaichi. In the auction hall, the male Kamunabi bidder speculated that Shinuchi's additional sealing compared to the other blades might be due to a way to bypass its Lifelong Contract; in other words, there might be a way for people who were not the wielder to use the blade's techniques.
Abruptly, the screen displaying images Kyora was projecting changed to display a view of the Storehouse's interior, the various auction-goers anticipating a demonstration of Shinuchi's power. To ensure Kyora was dead, Chihiro sent a Kuro down into the earth where Kyora was, successfully hitting him. Chihiro is horrified as he stares into a hole in the earth, seeing Shinuchi's box opened.
Elsewhere, Yura reminisced on how he had devoted all his time and energy into breaking the seal, cracking it in three years. His fedora-wearing subordinate wondered why he gave Shinuchi to Kyora to use, and another colleague questioned whether Kyora would even use it in the first place. Yura replied Kyora would do everything in his power to protect the Rakuzaichi; including using Shinuchi if necessary. In addition, he revealed he was aware of the risk present in wielding Shinuchi, as its original wielder was still alive and thus could interfere with their attempts to use the blade; hence his decision to have Kyora test how the master swordsman would react to Shinuchi being removed from its box.
Kyora wielding Magatsumi, a butterfly of spirit energy behind him
Within the Storehouse, Kyora stood holding Shinuchi, facing Chihiro, seemingly unfazed despite his fatal wounds. A droplet of liquid fell from the end of the sheath closest to Shinuchi's hilt. Within his pillar-room, the blade's wielder called out Shinuchi's true name, Magatsumi, activating it. The droplet fell and rapidly covered a small circular area under Kyora's feet, flowers emerging from the ground. A butterfly of spirit energy materialised and flew into Kyora's hand, before a massive butterfly of Kyora's now-amplified spirit energy emerged behind Kyora.
Kyora noted while he couldn't draw the sword from its sheath, even the small amount of the blade's power he could access was truly remarkable. Kyora then dashed forward and Chihiro hastily blocked his slash, noting Magatsumi's sheath could cut like a blade. As Hakuri worried, Hiyuki walked down the stairs behind him, asking about the situation.
Kyora kicked Chihiro away from him as he noticed a foreign presence in his mind, deducing it to be either the blade itself or its wielder. While his physical state had recovered from its near-death state, Kyora's mental state began deteriorating rapidly, the abnormal conditions reflected upon the Storehouse as it began fragmenting. Regaining his composure, Kyora's projection announced he would be demonstrating Shinuchi's power through killing Chihiro and claiming Enten, sparking the audience's interest. Kyora locked Chihiro in place using Spider before launching Dragonfly towards him, but as Chihiro prepared to counter with Aka, Hiyuki suddenly appeared and destroyed the ground the advancing flower field was encroaching upon.
Hiyuki, Kyora and Chihiro prepare to resume their fight
The two briefly conversed, Chihiro learning that Hakuri had registered her (Hiyuki being surprised by Hakuri's more assertive attitude) and Hiyuki wondering if Shinuchi's abilities were what was keeping Kyora alive, before the two prepared to face off against Kyora. Chihiro activated Aka: Flame Bone, the technique briefly surprising Hiyuki, and sent a flaming slash at Kyora. Kyora blocked but was soon confronted with Hiyuki from behind, forcing him to parry once again. Kyora then used Centipede to blast the two away from him, his projection beginning the bidding as the three prepared to resume their fight.
Tafuku and the bidding team members watched anxiously from the auction hall, and were abruptly surprised as Kyora's projections vanished, the elder bidding team member suspecting Shinuchi to be involved in the disappearance. Within the Storehouse, Chihiro and Hiyuki rushed Kyora as the Storehouse began crumbling even faster, but the three were suddenly sent outside the Storehouse into the auction hall, Kyora using a quick Centipede to blast Hiyuki and Chihiro away from the stage.
Kyora knelt down, screaming in pain as Magatsumi began exuding a black liquid, causing small plants to grow out of Kyora's skin. The black liquid expanded across the stage as a flower field grew around its edges and auction-goers who came in contact with it had plants abruptly grow from inside them, killing them from the inside out. Shiba, who had just arrived, was horrified at the sight of Shinuchi being used. Hiyuki planned to rush ahead but Hakuri stopped her, as killing Kyora in his current state would destroy the Storehouse entirely. Chihiro then piped up, asking Hakuri to transport him into the Storehouse so he could tag each prisoner with spirit energy, allowing Hakuri to transport them out.
Chihiro entered the Storehouse and began tagging the prisoners, Hakuri counting 36 in total. Shiba was doubtful of the plan, as he believed Kyora's will would soon erode and the Storehouse would be destroyed. At the same time, many auction-goers including the Kamunabi bidding team began fleeing the building. On stage, Kyora briefly remembered the dying words of his wife, criticising the Rakuzaichi for brainwashing him out of being a better person, though at the time he was indifferent. Confused as to why he was remembering his wife's words, Kyora's mind brought up an image of him, his wife, Soya, Hakuri and Tenri in a normal family setting.
Kyora then shattered the thought, his father Sora's words entrusting the Rakuzaichi to him resonating in his mind, and he stood up as the flower field evaporated, shouting that he would ensure the Rakuzaichi proceeded no matter what, his devotion shocking a watching Shiba. Kyora ordered for the auction-goers to kill the intruders, and Hiyuki fended off any trying to approach Hakuri. As Kyora's physical state worsened further and further, Chihiro tagged every one of the prisoners, and Hakuri transported them all outside, plus Chihiro onto the stage, Hakuri coughing out blood at the effort.
Kyora's death
Chihiro faced a once-again kneeling Kyora, who told Chihiro that he was right, and that the reason he had failed was because he was the only one who failed to fulfill his duty; as a father. Still retaining his sense of self and refusing to give up his mind, Kyora set down Magatsumi and died.
Aftermath[]
The auction-goers saw Kyora was dead and that Shinuchi was free to be taken, and rushed the stage, but Shiba teleported onto it with Hakuri and grabbed Chihiro, Chihiro quickly aiming to grab Magatsumi before the three disappeared. In the meantime, Hiyuki had been laying waste to the building, which began collapsing. As Shiba landed outside, he noticed Chihiro was not present; Tafuku had transported him into his battle dimension, and Hiyuki apologetically prepared to take Shinuchi from him.
Sometime later, Shiba and Hakuri noticed the building fully collapsing and Chihiro, Tafuku and Hiyuki walking out. Shiba noticed Hiyuki was holding a fully bandaged Shinuchi, but Chihiro assured him that they had made a deal regarding what was to happen next. Chihiro sat on the ground and asked Hakuri what he would do. Hakuri responded that Shiba had convinced Enji and Tamaki to take care of the remnants of the family, though he was reluctant to return as he would be considered an enemy. While originally hesitant on what to do, upon seeing Yuu reunite with his sister Hakuri was reminded of the hope he had helped preserve in the world and thought back to his talks with the icy-skinned woman, and Hakuri ultimately asked to keep fighting with Chihiro.
The end of the Rakuzaichi
For over two centuries, the Rakuzaichi had assigned values to peoples' lives in a hivemind of villainy; now, after all that time, the auction was finally over.
Previously, Chihiro told Hiyuki that after seeing the horrifying nature of Shinuchi's power he couldn't let it be on the loose, and was willing to have it be sealed by the Kamunabi, but was wary of the risks, as the Hishaku had planned around the Kamunabi obtaining Shinuchi. Hiyuki acknowledged his point but maintained that they would be able to reseal Shinuchi and stop the Hishaku. Chihiro then stated their goals were the same, and so he offered to join the Kamunabi; this way, the Kamunabi would be able to keep tabs on Enten and Chihiro would be able to continue actively opposing the Hishaku.