Author's Note: Sorry for the delay in updating, but I got busy with moving, and I had a host of other ideas for other stories floating around in my head - they're still in there, but at least I've got them all noted down now, so that I can get to writing them...sometime. Enjoy the next installment of "The Longest Journey"!

Chapter Fourteen: Divine Wind

Geese frowned as Iori got up for the seventh time after being tossed to the ground courtesy of the Shinkuu Nage. Seeing that the two Orochi-possessed fighters had all but taken out everyone on the observation platform except for himself, Terry, Rugal, and Shampoo, Geese decided to delay Iori rather than take him on full-force. Chizuru was off to the side trying to tend to the wounded; the former crime lord snorted in disgust at the sight. The still-injured Women's Team had put up a decent struggle, especially with Shiranui Mai helping, but Kyo's attempts at using his Magatama to combat Iori's super-powered Magatama no Orochi had done about as much as a fly trying to stop a freight train. The Kusanagi heir had gone down after a pathetically short fight.

So, seeing that he was the only one on his side of the platform who was in any condition to fight, Geese had decided that just defending and distracting Iori from the injured would have a better chance of success than trying to take him on directly. He knew full well that there was very little chance he would be able to take out a Riot of Blood Iori by himself, despite having gotten stronger over the years.

Geese backed away as Iori clawed at him. Seizing the red-head's outstretched arm, Geese set himself up for another throw when he decided to try something else. Bringing Iori up and around, he slammed the Insane Orochi Warrior into the ground, discharging the ki he'd been gathering in his fist in a point-blank Raging Storm.

Iori screamed in rage as the dark ki poured into his body, warring with the Orochi power. He reached forward, raking his hands across Geese's arm, leaving bloody gashes behind. Green-tinted Orochi power exploded around the red-headed man, wiping out the Raging Storm as easily as a match dropped into a bucket of water. The concussive blast forced Geese to release his hold and blew him backward.

Iori got to his feet as the blonde watched with an incredulous expression. With a feral snarl, Iori lunged for Geese, who leapt into the air to release a Shippu-ken in return. What the crime lord didn't expect was for Iori to reach through the forming ki-blast and grabbing a hold of his leg to slam him into the ground. The air left Geese's lungs with the violent impact, but before he could reorient himself, Iori was upon him, tearing into his flesh with his hands in a bastardized version of the Ya Otome.

Pain exploded in Geese's chest as Iori clawed at his skin, blood spraying up from the violent assault. The blonde man blacked out from the pain as Iori's nails dug into his back, tearing out chunks of flesh. The last thing he heard before he lost consciousness was an angry, far-away shout that echoed through the air with its power: "Kaiser Wave!"

The brilliant wave of ki flared from the bottom of the arena, blasting into Iori with the force of a freight train.

"Who the hell are you?" Ranma could feel the danger in the aura of the blonde man who had introduced himself as Leopold Goenitz.

"I am a servant of the god Orochi. I am the Hakkeshu of Wind." Goenitz smirked.

"So you're behind all of this?"

"If you refer to the awakening of our god, then yes." Goenitz chuckled. "In fact, within the hour, Orochi will once again walk this world and cleanse it of those unworthy."

"Great, another one of you megalomaniac morons," Ranma muttered angrily. Out loud he said, "I'm getting really sick of people like you. Every time someone like you shows up, you make up excuses and pretend to want to do good, but all that happens is that people die. You're nothing but a bunch of power-hungry hypocrites!"

Ranma disappeared, re-appearing in front of the blonde man, his fist outstretched in a vicious punch that even Ryoga would have found hard to stand up from. Goenitz merely chuckled, stopping the punch with a single hand. The taller man raised his other hand to forestall any reply from the trio behind him as he returned his attention to Ranma.

"You are years from being able to take me on, boy," he said, closing his hand around Ranma's fist, crushing the bones and causing the pigtailed martial artist to hiss in pain.

"Only one person has the right to say that," Ranma growled as he reached up and twisting Goenitz's hand backwards in an Aikido grip, causing the blonde to release him. Glaring up at him, Ranma slid back into a defensive stance. "And she's dead because of people like you."

Ryoga glared at Goenitz as well, before turning his attention to the three people accompanying him. Ryoga and Mousse had remained silent during the exchange, not entirely getting the situation as they had missed Ranma's conversation with Chizuru earlier.

"Hey Ryoga," Mousse flicked his wrists, catching a hatchet in each hand. "You want the girl, or the pretty-boy?" The myoptic amazon noted grimly that Krauser's attention was riveted on the youngest of their opponents. The fact that so strong a fighter was giving the young boy his undivided attention meant that the German knew the kid was dangerous. Their recent defeat at Chris's hands still fresh in their memory, both Ryoga and Mousse were prepared to let Krauser deal with him in favor of helping Ranma.

The German was fixating Chris with a penetrating glare that practically screamed a dare at the boy to try something and regret it.

"Don't you have somewhere to be, Mr. Krauser?" Christ smiled pleasantly, pointing up to the platform where those still standing were battling the Riot of Blood possessed Iori and Leona. A bright flash of light announced Geese's Raging Storm, only to wink out an instant later, to be replaced b an explosion of green and purple flame.

Krauser's eyes narrowed. The tall German turned, spreading his arms wordlessly. His body began to glow as he collected his ki around him. Joints could be heard popping and his muscles bulged as he fought to contain the energy within him. Everyone around him stopped, seven pairs of eyes turning towards him, staring in awe at the amount of sheer power he was gathering.

The German's eyes snapped open the instant he was ready to unleash his ultimate technique.

"Kaiser Wave!"

The glow surrounding him flared up, becoming too bright for the naked eye to see. The seven other people averted their eyes as the winds picked up, tearing at their clothing. Krauser brought his arms together with a thunderous roar, and the energy he'd gathered discharged in a single, titanic blast the size of his body. The wave of ki traversed the distance between them and the stairwell in a split second, exploding in a brilliant flash of light that left a gaping, thirty feet wide hole in the side of the cliff. Had any of them been able to see, they would have been able to spot sunlight shining through the hole from where the blast had punched through the mountain.

"Fight well, Saotome." With these parting words, Kraiser leapt upwards in a single bound, his massive body easily clearing the railing as he alighted himself on the platform above.

"So what's the deal, blondie?" Ranma turned his gaze back to Goenitz. Whatever was going on up there, he knew that with Krauser helping out, he wouldn't have to worry about it. Shampoo and Terry and Geese were there, too, after all.

"It's rather simple. I'll ask you if you are going to interfere with our plans. I'm not naïve enough to believe you'd actually join forces with us to revive Master Orochi, but if you swear on your life not to interfere, then you walk out of here, and we go our separate ways. You'll never hear from us again, and neither you, your friends, or your family will be harmed. Ever. Effectively, you'll have Master Orochi's protection for generations to come." Goenitz inclined his head. "After all, we're not barbarians. Master Orochi is not a bloodthirsty monster that seeks random, wanton destruction."

"And if I decide to tangle with you?" Ranma eyed the three flanking Goenitz cautiously.

"In that case, you'll have to be eliminated." Noticing the glance Ranma was sending Chris, Yashiro, and Shermie, he waved them off. "Don't worry about them. It'll be just you and me. And should you choose to battle me, you also have my oath that no harm will come to your family – unless they fight us."

"Yeah, right," Ryoga snorted. "Like that's going to happen."

Geonitz nailed the lost boy with a hard glare. "Don't impugn my honor, boy. If I give my word, I keep it."

"Why?" Ranma finally asked. "Why go through all this trouble? Does this Orochi really give you so much power that you're willing to kill so many people for it?"

"Resurrecting Master Orochi isn't about power – it never was." Goenitz rolled up the sleeve of his shirt, releaving a number tattooed there. "Fifty years ago, when I was a child, I lived in Germany. This is the number they gave me. Three-seven-five-two-six-one."

"You were-"

"In a concentration camp, yes. I am the only one of my family to survive the Holocaust. We were worked until we collapsed from exhaustion, and then forced to work some more. Until we couldn't stand anymore. Then, we were forced to watch those who could not be of any more use be dragged to the gas chambers and killed. We were forced to clean out the chambers, taking their bodies to be cremated. Then we had to bury their ashes." Goenitz rolled his sleeve back down. "Despite what you may think or may have heard, Orochi isn't evil. He's chaos impersonated, but he's far from evil. He brings justice."

"Justice?" Ranma asked incredulously.

Geonitz nodded. "Yes. Eradicating evil, righting wrongs, and even…bringing those unjustly slain back to life." He could see Ranma's eyes widen in surprise at the prospect. "Yes," he continued after spotting a glimmer of hope in the pigtailed martial artist's eyes, "Master Orochi is aware of what happened between Amaterasu and her daughter."

"Ranma- " Ryoga warned.

"He can bring them back?" Ranma asked, ignoring the lost boy's warning.

"He will bring them back. Orochi is the chaos that kept the gods in check, that forced them to always change. What happens without that chaos, the stagnation that results – you've seen what happens." Goenitz raised his fist. "This feeling of superiority of the likes of Amaterasu is not going to survive the rejuvenation that Master Orochi is going to bring."

Ryoga frowned. The lost boy wasn't liking the direction the conversation was going. While Ranma had gotten over the deaths of Cologne and "Ukyo he knew his pigtailed friend well enough that, deep down, Ranma still carried a measure of guilt over their deaths. Ryoga also knew that Ranma held a deeply rooted anger against the majority of the gods and goddesses. Given the events that had caused the deaths of their friends, Ryoga had no doubt that Ranma would move Heaven and Earth to bring them back.

A glance at Mousse revealed that the amazon could see it, as well. Both of them knew that Ranma would jump at the chance, any chance, to bring the back, even if it meant selling his soul to the devil.

"Ranma, listen to me." Ryoga placed his hand on the Saotome youth's shoulder. "Don't listen to him. He's trying to bait you."

"I know." Shrugging off Ryoga's hand, Ranma sighed. "It sounds great, but tell me, how many people are going to die when you succeed? How many people have you already killed?"

"None."

That wasn't exactly the answer that Ranma had expected. "What?" The pigtailed martial artist and his two friends blinked in surprise. Despite their surprise, Ranma could tell from the taller man's aura and tone that he was telling what he perceived to be the truth.

Goenitz chuckled at their incredulous expressions. "Don't look so shocked. I already told you Orochi wasn't evil. He hates meaningless death as much as you do. That doesn't mean he cannot rid the world of evil."

"Don't tell me," Mousse snorted, "you're going to hold a corny speech that will convince all evil in the world to lie down and shrivel away. You don't really expect us to believe you can convince every evil-doer in the world to change his ways by talking him out of it, do you?" The amazon adjusted his glasses as he finished.

"Talk will have but a small part in it," Goenitz countered. "It is true, there are people that cannot be reasoned with. However, there are those that can see reason, as well. That is my belief. A belief without which, I might add, we would not be standing here, having this conversation."

"So, how exactly do you plan to deal with those that don't agree with what you're doing?" Ryoga asked. "I mean, just the fact that you're willing to fight us if we oppose you kind of tells me that you're not all pacifist."

Goenitz smirked. "We would do battle, that is true. But killing would always be a very last resort. Others have seen the truth of my words freely. Others were convinced after they were defeated in battle, yet all of my opponents still live. A man named Sagat and a Yoga master named Dhalsim in India. A bouncer called Dudley in America. Numerous fighters here in Japan. They're all still alive. Master Orochi has his ways of teaching people the folly of their misguided ways. Without killing them." His glance wandered to Ranma, and as their two sets of blue eyes met, his expression softened somewhat at the barely shourded pain in the pigtailed boy's eyes. The expression lasted only a split second, before he schooled his features back into neutrality.

Ranma remained silent for a few long moments. "Why? What's the price?" Blue eyes hardened as they stared up at Goenitz. "And don't give me this crap about righting wrongs. That's all a bunch of bull, and you know it. There's always an ulterior motive, an ultimate price. What is it?"

"You are right, of course," Goenitz sighed. "There is a price to pay. After all, the Shingi Trioca paid a heavy price when they sealed Master Orochi, as well. Tell me, do you know how Orochi was sealed?"

"Yeah. The Yata, Kusanagi, and Yasakani tricked him into drinking eight barrels of wine as a sacrifice and then basically beat him down while he was drunk." Ryoga and Mousse, not having heard this explanation before, blinked in surprise.

Goenitz merely laughed, catching the martial artists by surprise. "You didn't really believe that, did you?" The blonde man snorted in contempt. His laughter died abruptly when he realized that they had.

"Think about it," Goenitz explained. "Orochi is a chaos god whose natural form is that of a sixty-meter tall dragon serpent. How much wine do you think it would take to get him intoxicated enough that three – admittedly powerful, but ultimately still human – fighters could beat him to the point where his life force was low enough to allow them to banish him? Why do you think the Kusanagi are so deathly afraid of the tainted Magatama no Orochi?"

Ranma frowned. Listening to Chizuru's explanation, he had indeed come across the same inconsistencies, but he had dismissed them in the face of an imminent danger to his family and friends. Now that Goenitz had brought this up, coupled with the fact that the man hadn't been lying when he said that his crusade to resurrect Orochi had not caused any deaths, cast a number of doubts on Chizuru's supposed motives.

"You're right, it doesn't make sense," the pigtailed young man finally admitted.

"Also," Goenitz spat, "Orochi doesn't take, and never took, sacrifices. Do you want to know the true story? Without waiting for a reply, he continued. "Orochi used to be a much revered deity of change. Chaos, as well, but in a good sense. The Yata, from whom the Kagura line is descended, were devoted priests of Orochi, at least until they realized that, in addition to their spiritual power, they also had come to hold immense political influence because of their positions."

"They got greedy."

Goenitz nodded at Mousse. "Correct. They had been granted a strong affinity to spiritual energy by Orochi in gratitude for their services, but they knew that even if their entire family combined their powers, they would not be able to match Orochi. Now enter the Kusanagi. They were one of the ruling families at the time, and hated the fact that they were loosing their hold on the people to an intangible entity. The Kusanagi were feared, because of their bloodline power of the magatama, which they claimed had been a blessing of the gods. Naturally, the Kusanagi and Yata tried to wipe each other out, but Orochi intervened every time, stopping a potential civil war that would have turned the Japan of the Warring States era into a desolate wasteland."

"So, how do the Yagami fit in?" Ryoga asked. The three of them had almost completely tuned out the battle overhead, barely taking notice of the fact that Krauser's presence had quickly put Iori and Leona on the defensive.

"The Yasakani – the original clan of the Yagami," Goenitz clarified, "were a minor family that loosely followed the teachings of Orochi. They were neither well-known nor deeply involved in politics. The Yata and Kusanagi figured they were the perfect scapegoat. After decades of fighting each other, the two clans had come to an agreement: if they wiped out Orochi, then control of the people would be theirs. It was a nearly foolproof plan; all they had to do was get rid of Orochi by banishing him, and the Yata could continue to act "in his name," as it were, while the Kusanagi would share their political power. Or they could finally have fought it out, after all this time."

Ranma growled as he realized where this was leading. "It's a good plan. Get rid of the real thing without anyone noticing and present some kinda fake puppet to the public."

"Indeed," Goenitz acknowledged the young Saotome heir. "All they had to do was trick Orochi into a position where he would be weak enough to be trapped. The Yasakani were perfect for that plan. They kidnapped a number of girls from the Yasakani homes, and placed them as a "blood offering" to Orochi, knowing that the Yasakani would find out. When the Yasakani warriors arrived, the blood of the women had already been spilled, and Orochi had been drawn by the blood magic and violation of nature. The Yata used blood magic, empowered by the dead Yasakani women, to hold him, their magic amplified a hundred times by the spilled blood. They managed to convince the Yasakani that Orochi was responsible, and they needed to fight his evil. Combining their powers, they managed to seal away Orochi."

Ranma, Ryoga, and Mousse were silent for a few long moments.

"How do we know you're telling the truth?" Ryoga finally asked, but the lost boy startled when Ranma shook his head.

"No, Ryoga, even if he's lying, he's got a good point. Several, in fact. Points that Kagura-san failed to elaborate on. Considering that he hasn't attacked us yet means one of two things – either he's an arrogant ass who's stupid enough to think he can take us on without big trouble," Goenitz bristled at that, "or he's telling the truth about a few things. And some things," Ranma noted with an almost sad smile, "they actually make sense now, like the blood feud between the Kusanagi and Yagami. Let me guess, the Yagami found out what they had been tricked into, and as soon as the Kusanagi knew they knew, they tried to wipe them out. The Yagami found a way to at least partially break through the seal, and made their pact with Orochi."

"Essentially," Goenitz confirmed.

"God, I can't believe I was so stupid!" Ranma hissed. "I let her pull the wool over my eyes with her "the world in in danger from an evil god" spiel!"

"You mentioned a sacrifice was necessary to bring Orochi back," Mousse brought the conversation back on track. "You can't believe we'd just stand there and let you sacrifice anyone!"

Goenitz held up a hand to placate the myopic amazon. "That blood sacrifice was taken care of by the Yasakani. You see, when the Yasakani managed to break through the Yata's seal, they did more than just make a pact for Orochi to lend them his power. Do you know why the Yagami bloodline is called cursed?"

Ranma shook his head.

"The Yasakani offered themselves as the blood sacrifice to free Orochi to atone for their part in sealing him away," Goenitz explained. "Orochi wouldn't let them, so they reached a compromise. For the next few generations, the Yasakani would be under a curse that would cause them to lead short and very violent lives, which usually resulted in the violent deaths of the male family members. That curse essentially shortened the life of any male Yasakani, causing the blood magic to slowly accumulate until such a time that Orochi could be freed."

"Ryu Tsui Ame!" Shampoo fired another ki-blast at the Riot of Blood-possessed Leona. The Orochi-blooded soldier ignored the condensed energy blast and proceeded to advance on her, causing the lavender-haired young woman to hiss in frustration. So far Leona had proven resilient to anything they had thrown at her, which, in the case of Shampoo's and Terry's more powerful techniques, had included a rather impressive amount of power.

Shampoo eyed the situation down in the arena during the split-second break Terry's intervening Power Wave bought her, and was surprised to note that no fight had broken out yet. That was all the time she had before having to backflip away from Leona's charge. The older woman's Riot of Blood-enhanced strength easily punched a large hole into the rock of the cliff they were standing on, forcing Shampoo to shield herself from flying shrapnel. A piece of debris passed through her guard, trailing a long, bloody cut across her jaw.

The young amazon wiped away the blood angrily, before leaping forward in an elbow-strike that drove Leona back several feet. Still extended in mid-leap, Shampoo inverted her body to plant both of her feet in the older woman's gut. Her eyes widened in surprise when clawed hands took hold of her legs and she was brutally slammed into the ground.

Shampoo's vision swam from the force of the impact, and she was glad to feel her opponent releasing her in favor of facing Terry's charge with his trademark Burn Knuckle. Groaning as her sore muscles and bruises protested the movement, Shampoo forced her body to stand as she caught her breath. Terry could hold his own for the moment, she decided, and she couldn't help but admire the elder Bogard's stamina and skill as he slugged it out with Leona.

Leona. Shampoo had no idea what was going on. One minute she was talking to Terry about the fight between Ranma and Krauser, the next the blue-haired woman of the Ikari team had gone into a berserker rage that she had overheard Terry call the Riot of Blood. That had been all the time for thought she had before she had had to fight for her life.

Much to her chargrin, however, it appeared that whatever state Leona wsa in amplified her physical strength to ridiculous levels, and even if her skills were non-existent, the inhuman endurance more than made up for it. Shampoo had sparred with and fought against tough opponents before; Ranma was tought and Ryoga almost impossible to hurt, but the ease with which Leona now seemed to shrug off her most powerful ki-blasts and ignore debilitating injuries frightened the Amazon. Even Saffron had paused and felt the pain of his injuries before regenerating them, but Leona just flat out ignored them.

The fact that Iori appeared to be in the same state filtered through her mind, but she ruthlessly shoved it aside. Now was not the time to get distracted from the fight. Shampoo was about to rejoin the battle when a massive build-up of ki froze her in her place. Leona and Terry likewise paused, searching for the source, and Shampoo's eyes widened to impossible proportions when an insanely powerful ki-blast, one that dwarfed even the most powerful ones Ranma and Ryoga had thrown at Jusendo years ago, tore past her, annihilating a hige chink of rock where it impacted the side of the ravine. Krauser's massive body followed sa the German leapt up in a single bound.

Shampoo stood in awe as Krauser began to lay into Iori. The red-hbeaded man had been blsated off of Geese and even his Riot of Blood enhanced constitution seemed to take a few moments to recover from the blow. The force required for that feat alone wsa incredible, if Iori's state was at all comparable to Leona's, Shampoo thought. Add to that the fact that the ki-blsat had been fired with enough precision to hit Iori dead-on, but leave Geese completely unharmed, made the young Amazon wonder just how powerful the German really was.

And this is the person that challenged Ranma? Shampoo asked herself incredulously. For one of the few times in her life, she was scared. Scared of the utterly overwhelming power this man wielded, yet at the same time, she felt the burning desire to fight him, as well, and she envied her pigtailed friend for the chance.

"Power Dunk!" Apparently, Terry had made full use of their distraction and launched himself high into the air, coming down with his battle-aura blazing around him like a fiery orange flame.

The ki-charged hammerblow floored Leona, and before she could get back to her feet, Shampoo had shaken herself out of her stupor and lunged at the soldier. Dedicing that her great-grandmother would forgive her for using one of the more dangerous techniques from the Joketzusoku archives, Shampoo jabbed three fingers into Leona's back. The Orochi-possessed woman bucked, tossing Shampoo off to the side like a ragdoll as she stood.

The Amazon could only stare in horror as the shiatsu points failed to work. Is she some kind of inhuman monster?

Leona roared in anger, then took a step forward, and another. She stood in front of Shampoo, eyes filled with bloodlust staring down at her. Leona reached back to strike, and Shampoo raised her arms to defend herself when Leona's hair suddenly returned to its natural blue color and the crazed look in her milky-white eyes turned to one of confusion as their color shifted to green.

The she collapsed, causing Shampoo to heave a sigh of relief.

"What the heck just happened?" Terry asked as he made his way over to her. The blonde man offered her a hand, which Shampoo was all too glad to take.

"Secret Amazon shiatsu technique," she explained as he pulled her to her feet. "It completely blocks the ki pathways through the body. Very dangerous."

"Very effective," Terry added as he checked on Leona's prone form. "Why didn't you use it before?"

"It blocks all ki pathways." Shampoo allowed the words a few moments to sink in. When she saw comprehension dawn on the elder Bogard's face, she nodded. "Right. If a person looses all of their ki pathways, they die. Instantly."

"So…why didn't she?" Terry suppressed a shudder. The fight with Leona had been getting desperate, but he wsan't sure he would have taken that kind of drastic measures…yet.

Shampoo allowed herself a small smile. "She's still alive because the ki running through her body wasn't her own. Usually, blockage in ki paths can be broken if you can focus enough ki into them, which is why shiatsu blocking muscles never last long on a skilled ki-user. The pressure point blocks all the ki pathways at the same time – the victim's body responds by trying to defend itself by directing all of its ki to break through, which usually ends up with them burning through all of their ki, causing them to die."

"But?" Terry blinked in confusion.

"But it wasn't her ki. She was using some kind of other ki that flooded her body, which is probably what caused to go into this…"

"Riot of Blood," Terry provided.

"Right, this Riot of Blood. This other ki burned itself out, but after the pressure point wore off a few seconds later, her own ki continued to keep her body going."

Terry couldn't help but grin. "You've thought this through, haven't you."

"Well…yes." Shampoo's grin easily matched his own.

The two allowed themselves a moment to rest, but by the time they reached the other end of the platform, Krauser had Iori backed against the wall. The German was bleeding from multiple gashes all over his body, but he seemed to not even notice as Iori's hands gouged even more wounds into his skin. When the Orochi-possessed man lunged at him in a desperate attempt to get past Krauser, the blonde man reached out and grabbed a hold of Iori's arms, easily holding him in place.

Both of their forms began to glow as Krauser gathered his ki around him.

"Kaiser Wave!" The massive buildup of ki discharged into Iori, causing the red-headed man to scream in agony before slumping unconscious in Krauser's grip.

Then the arena below them exploded with light.