Kuwahara understood this and so meant to fit them into his program in easy stages. "Since you are as yet untried, I will start you off with an attack on the karate school tonight. Leave your swords behind, as we want no killing at this stage. You are only to test your powers so you will have some idea of how they work. You are only to give the karate students a beating.

"Lest you attract attention in town, don't have your helmets on as you ride. Also, ride with your engines muffled until you assemble in front of the karate school. Then line up before the door, release the muffling devices and put on your helmets.

"When they know you are there, charge them. I'll ride behind Takeo. I want to watch you in action and also I mean to get their membership records, telling who their parents and sponsors are."

The seven young men assembled outside and started their engines. No sound came from the motorcycles and it was only the slight vibration and the needles on the RPM gauge which told them their machines were running. When they put their motorcycles into "cruise" they moved soundlessly down the back streets and alleys toward the karate school.

Each of the seven was filled with a combination of excitement and confusion. This would be their first battle since their world views had been turned upside down. But the revelations of the past few weeks made them eager to test their powers. They had to find out if it had all been a dream or a reality which could give their lives a meaning they had never wanted.

Saburo had planned to edit a magazine and simply perfect his writing talents toward better communication. His ambitions had been intellectual, not those of a warrior, no matter the cause. But here he was, riding the most powerful motorcycle ever built. He had a helmet which would turn him into a mighty warrior, making his fiercest opponents seem as naughty children. As he glanced around at his comrades, he feared for his intellectual career. But his natural aggressiveness and great curiosity made him look forward to a career of violent conflict, even as his scholastic urges protested.

Yasuo looked back at his helmet and patted it affectionately. How he longed to put it on. He was vain and always conscious of his appearance. He prided himself on his dress and personal grooming. He would be the most handsome and talented actor in Japan. But with the helmet, how fine and fearsome he would look in his black samurai armor. All his fantasies were staged in his mind and the cameras were on him as he boldly destroyed Japan's enemies.

Takeo marveled at the smooth handling of the silent machine he shared with the old priest. His thoughts were of its overall performance. He longed to engage its gears to full power. Perhaps a situation would arise tonight which would allow this. Then, with the helmet permitting him to see traffic one second into the future, he could meld with the machine. He would then be the machine and the best on the highway.

Hideki thought of the karate students. Of course their records would be there. They had no fear of discovery. Once he had gotten their records, he would know more about a segment of Japan's underworld than anyone. He could begin to build up a body of knowledge on them which would make him Japan's greatest detective. But Hideki wanted more. With the helmet, the motorcycle and his comrades, he could actually hunt down and destroy criminals instead of simply conducting investigations and filling out reports. The idea of being judge, jury and executioner appealed to Hideki.

Yoshi attempted to turn his motorcycle over. As the turn reached critical, the gyro stabilizer Takeo designed caused the brake plates in the front wheel shaft to gently clamp, preventing the imbalance. He marveled at the computerized features he had built into his vehicle.

A glance at the dials told him his speed, RPMs and fuel, as did other machines. But the laser beam reaching out added a factor for which there was no proper dial for measurement. But it would cause an automatic turn to avoid obstacles. With the motor engaged, the machine was not only proof against overturning, but it could not run into anything. A rider could even sleep while traveling if he did not fall off or the motorcycle did not drift to the road's edge. Yoshi would have to work on both problems.

Minoru would make millions on this motorcycle. Who could fail to want one? The half-American weapons dealer Yoshi had described could easily find markets for it in the United States. His share of Japanese sales alone, would give him an investment empire, making him the most influential stock broker in Japan.

Of course, there was this Yakuza business. An irritation. Fighting was not in his line. But he had always been quick to accept conflict as a part of life. And if conflict could eliminate criminals moving into the business world, his part would only insure a greater share of that business world for himself.

Tadashi rode just ahead of Takeo. He would rather have been in front for the newsreel cameras. He would look so grand, especially with his helmet and transformed into an armored samurai on a charger, that his political career would be assured. Not that his talent for oratory would not put him across, but this heroic image would make him irresistible to the voters.

But what if he were injured, or even killed? Or what if the police should interfere and throw him in jail for assault? He ran these thoughts over in his mind as they neared the karate school. He did so want to become Japan's prime minister. But like the others, he was caught up in and committed to a course of action which so excited him that he was powerless to resist.

When they reached the school they lined up before the entrance. It was a cloudy and moonless night. The school was situated on the edge of town facing the sea. On both sides, for two blocks, were stores and shops, all closed for the weekend. Also, most of the neighborhood was occupied by retired persons, fast asleep and not likely to act with speed even if they were disturbed by anything they might hear.

The police station was several blocks away and staffed by only two patrolmen. Aside from the karate school, there was no one in town who might cause trouble. So the two officers were simply there for emergencies. Not expecting an emergency, one was fast asleep in a cell and the other dozed at the desk between writing unnecessary reports.

Kuwahara had planned well as he did not want any alarms from any area. Since he wanted the demonstration to impress only the karate students, he worked with Saburo in outlining the assault as if it were a real battle plan.

At Saburo's signal they put on their helmets, put the motorcycles in neutral and disengaged their mufflers. The thirty karate students inside were working out, sleeping or watching the late show on TV. Namoto and Hirada were in Tokyo. The students sensed something going on outside even though the sounds of the motorcycles were muted. But within moments of their arrival, the unmuffled engines gave off a roar which rocked the neighborhood. This was mixed with the neighing of horses and the sound of prancing hooves. The karate students rushed to the door and looked out in astonishment. What they saw first was seven helmeted, black uniformed motorcyclists, then the same number of fully armored, mounted samurai.

Then as one, the seven cut their engines, dismounted and charged the karate school. In the eyes of the seven, the amazed students appeared to move in slow motion as the cyclists pushed them back inside the school. Kuwahara followed and closed and bolted the door.
The old priest was not going to take the chance of being recognized. He wore an old floppy hat which hid his eyes. He also wore an old overcoat with its collar up, hiding most of his face and its bottom hanging to his shoe tops. He looked like nothing less than a crazy tramp.

Even though he could not have been recognized, even as an old man, he did not want to be noticed. So throughout the operation he scurried close to the walls and in and out of the rooms. He never looked directly at the karate students nor spoke above a tone heard by anyone else but whichever young man he was addressing.

As the assault began the karate school students had no lack of courage and resisted fiercely. But every blow was dodged or parried. Also, the sight of the seven attackers alternately changing from motorcyclists to ancient armored samurai was not only confusing, but terrifying.

Minoru and his comrades were also confused as the karate students swam and stumbled about, flailing so clumsily that they seemed drugged. Minoru dodged a feeble blow and then threw a wild punch at the face of one of the students. The blow could not have landed under normal circumstances. But in this case, Minoru's fist knocked the karate student across the room.

So Minoru, the least aggressive fighter of the seven, found himself frustrated at the ease with which he could hit, kick and even shove those trained bullies any way he chose. He had expected a battle and was beginning to feel these fellows were making sport of him.

Yasuo had no such feelings. He had always been lithe and fast and his natural arrogance had assured him his share of fights. He enjoyed his superiority and made the most of it. He caught sight of the student he had seen shoving the old priest to the ground and literally slapped him to sleep.

Then he plowed through a group of students to get to one who had snatched a rifle from a closet. He attracted the fellow's attention and as the student sluggishly aimed, Yasuo pushed the barrel up and grabbed the rifle. Then he flattened the karate student with the weapon before breaking it over an exercise machine.

Takeo first saw that Kuwahara was out of danger and then rushed into the brawl. He enjoyed knocking these taller simpletons around and put his whole heart into it. In all the fights he had had in port towns he had most enjoyed humbling those who believed they had some skill as fighters.

Ota had taught him that every man who had to fight was in a state of shock. In that state, he had to fall back on actual experience. The trick was to attack in a way the opponent could not foresee. Ota's favorite way was to let a foe strike, then grab his hand and pull him off balance. Then Ota would kick him senseless while still holding his hand, if he was only fighting one. Otherwise, he also went into the state of shock he talked of and simply broke as many bones as were handy.

Takeo dodged a nunchaku and grabbed the wrist of the one using it. Then he spun him around and grasped his collar and belt and swung him up over his head. While he was doing this, he wondered if the helmet gave him greater strength. He also wondered if his strength was greater in those seconds when he was transformed into an ancient samurai.

He would have to work that out later, since he wanted to finish up and get out of there. He then hefted his squirming enemy and threw him forward against a half dozen karate students still standing.

The first thing Yoshi had done was to rip the phones out of the walls. He had a great fear of being jailed. There was nothing inside a Japanese prison which would substitute for his computers. Although a gentle and scholarly young man, he worked feverishly at putting as many of the students out of action as he could, as quickly as possible. His fear of jail made him so industrious he had to be cautioned by Tadashi, who thought Yoshi was bent on murder.

Tadashi had hung back at first, hesitating to get himself into a situation he could not talk his way out of. But his hesitation was not noticed and he quickly got into the action by smashing the face of one student and breaking the arm of another.

Then the worst thing that could have happened, happened to Tadashi. One of the students he had knocked unconscious by the wall woke up. Tadashi had his back to him and believed him too far gone to recover quickly. But the karate student was intelligent and skilled. He had laid quietly a few seconds until his head cleared and then arose and gave Tadashi a chop on the back of the neck during a period when he was not glowing.

Tadashi crumpled and his helmet came off. As his opponent closed in with vicious kicks to his head and torso, the glowing Minoru charged and flattened the attacker with a clenched fist to the side of his head.

Luckily, no one else seemed to have seen Tadashi lose his helmet. Also, the battle was just about over. Actually, the battle had lasted less than three minutes. There was no time for grandstanding as the commotion might attract the police before the mission was completed.

Saburo and Hideki had enjoyed bashing a few students but as soon as their path was cleared, they went looking for the membership records. As soon as Kuwahara got his fill of watching his young men batter his enemies, he joined Saburo and Hideki.

When the thirty karate students were lying unconscious or dazed, Saburo ordered them to be bound and gagged. After they had collected the black, brown and white belts of differing degrees, the young men rolled the students on their stomachs and tied their hands behind them. As an afterthought, they also bent their feet back to their knees and tied them to their hands.

As Kuwahara, Saburo and Hideki searched the building, the rest searched the trussed and fuming karate students. As they searched, they piled all wallets, identification papers, diaries, letters, keys and other personal effects into a suitcase.

When the body searches had been completed, they started with the living quarters. Drawers were pulled out and dumped, their contents quickly searched for any incriminating papers or documents, of which there were many.

As the old priest's crew searched the office desks and file cabinets they found hundreds of files. Some were on Namoto's trainees and prospects. But many concerned legitimate businesses the Yakuza had invested in. There were others they meant to take over and and many they planned to force into cooperating with Namoto.

As Kuwahara saw an end to the search, he told Saburo to round up the rest and leave the place quickly. With suitcases and bales of documents under their arms, the eight raiders left the karate school. The whole operation had taken only eight minutes and no one had been alerted.

Taking off their helmets and engaging the mufflers, the party rode silently to the other side of town to the old priest's home. When they entered, Kuwahara went into his kitchen to prepare tea while the others began to lay out the material they had gathered.

They worked far into the night sorting the material and were astonished at its volume and range. There were records of over two hundred past and present karate school students. Each file had the student's general profile but also the subjects he was studying and his progress.

One of the subjects besides karate was breaking and entering. The student was graded on insuring the coast was clear, the best tools and his reaction to various situations arising which might cause him to get caught.

After the grades were listed, the burglaries committed by the student were described in great detail. Time, place, loot, accomplices, if any, and whether or not anyone witnessed the crime.

The most interesting part of the burglary files was the criticisms by the coach. "Too noisy." "Fell off ladder." "Got in wrong car for getaway." "Beaten up before fleeing, etc." A postscript for the student with those criticisms was: "Five years for burglarizing police chief's home."

Most of the files for burglary were complementary. Also, most of the burglary training was for ninja assassinations. Several of the files revealed that the successful student had gone to the house to kill its occupant and did so.

Other files were on forgers, their training, successes and failures and what they were doing presently, if not still at the school. Several had been placed as bank tellers. There, they collected copies of documents and signatures of the wealthy and influential patrons of the bank.

Others were schooled in smuggling. some specialized in studying sources for drugs and other contraband and the best locations for landing the merchandise. Others specialized in selling the contraband in Japan. Most who were into smuggling were placed as customs officers. These signed up for civil service examinations early on and got jobs as soon as there was an opening. Their main purpose was to spot big-time smugglers at airports and shipping lines. Instead of confiscating their contraband, the student smugglers would pretend not to see the contraband or to be very forgiving. Then they would note their names and addresses and either blackmail them, demand the merchandise or recruit them into Namoto's faction of the Yakuza.

Over thirty of the files concerned Namoto's men who had joined the police departments of Japan's major cities years earlier. They had risen in the ranks and each was now in an official position. They acted as Namoto's eyes and ears. They fed him information on what investigations were going on concerning his activities. They also watched out for intelligent amateurs in criminality to recruit for his school.

Arson for insurance and malice was also a subject taught at the karate school. The students were given a thorough training in starting ruinous fires. Not only were they taught the combustibility of most substances but what substances should be used to start what kind of fire. They were even taught arson by electronics so they could be long gone when the fire started.

Yasuo commented on the details of the various students' crimes in training and wondered why they were written down. Hideki answered that the examination papers could forever after be a method of keeping the student in line.

Aside from the graded examination papers, the booty contained the family backgrounds of all those associated with the school. Among their fathers were men high in the government, business and even law enforcement. In many cases the students were third and fourth generation members of Yakuza families.

It was apparent from the vast amount of material that Namoto was building a criminal organization which could dominate Japan. There was no facet of Japanese life that Namoto had not studied with the purpose of taking it over. The way he was working his operation, without exceptional measures, he would indeed take over Japan.

Hideki was overjoyed. He laughed and chortled as he went through the papers. He even did a handspring and kicked the wall. He was beside himself and Saburo thought of restraining him. Kuwahara just smiled and poured tea.

"This is a whole career for a detective," shouted Hideki. "It's a dozen careers. We have here the means of identifying and prosecuting every major criminal in Japan. Imagine a crime-free country. Oh, little fish, yes. But the big boys. Those who make crime profitable; we've got them. We've got them all! We can put them under surveillance and then pick them off one by one as each commits his next crime."

Minoru then spoke up. "We must turn this material over to the police. They can make good use of it."

"No!" screamed Hideki. "The police couldn't properly handle all this." He threw his body across the pile of papers and swept the surrounding files under his chest. "Don't you idiots realize that the police are a part of the system that let's Namoto's people infiltrate their own ranks? They are hamstrung by their own laws. Besides, by the time a handful were brought to trial the majority of Namoto's plants would get them off.

"This isn't just a matter of a few infiltrators in the police, customs and a few government departments. Each has polluted who knows how many pillars of their communities with bribes and blackmail. No! We must keep this to ourselves and use it as our program progresses."

"Hideki is right," said the old priest. "We can expect little cooperation from the police. They are tied down by orthodox laws,easily circumvented by the corrupt. And, as Hideki says, too many reputable citizens at high levels are corrupted. We must use this material ourselves."

"But why was all this material at the karate school?" asked Tadashi. "I can see the membership records being there, but all this concerning so many who have nothing to do with martial arts doesn't make sense."

"Oh, but it does, my boy," said Kuwahara. "What better place to store it than with young men who are wholly dependent on Namoto for their future careers? Any student examining it would realize he would be killed if Namoto knew. He would fight any curiosity.

"Also, Namoto would not have stored such records where older, more experienced criminals had access to them, as they could use them to their own purposes. But they were safe with the students. They are hoodlums, yes, but petty and not likely to warrant a raid and search by the police. But they would also guard the records against Namoto's competitors. So we are the only ones who would have raided them."

When the information was organized, their targets were designated. Each individual, family or group was filed into categories of crime, corporate business and politics. The information linked thousands of members, collaborators and dupes of Japan's underworld.

The material was boxed and put into the trunk of Hideki's car. It was decided that he was best able to further classify it. He also had a detective's interest in guarding it with his life.

Then Kuwahara put Takeo in charge of selling the contents of the caves, not only to Morrell, but to various buyers of the many categories of treasure. There were even thousands of cases of liquors, such as brandy, whiskey, sake and beer, commanding high prices from connoisseurs.

The proceeds were to set up the young men in lifestyles whereby they would be highly visible as active men of wealth and prestige. Thus, they could rub elbows with the rich and the influential. In this way, they would also come in contact with the corrupt ones who preyed upon those in high society and used them against the best interests of the nation.

"Saburo," said Kuwahara, "since your study is journalism, you will establish a magazine catering to, and flattering, the rich and famous. Yasuo, since your studies are poetry, art and drama, you will co-edit the publication to make it attractive in the field of motion pictures and other areas of the entertainment world.

"Hideki, since your interest is in criminology, you will establish a detective agency. You will hire the finest minds in crime detection. You should even lure into your pay high police officials, especially those who are corrupt or know the corrupt.

"Yoshi, since your main love is computers, you will buy into a computer company and set up computerized files on all information collected on everyone in professional crime, anti-social manipulation and those used by them. You can start with the material we took from the karate school and cooperate with Hideki.

"Tadashi, as a student of law and political science, you will set up an electioneering corporation, monitoring politics. You will observe and compute all political manipulation which circumvents our laws. You will identify those of the criminal element working to put power into the hands of corrupt politicians acting against our nation's interests.

"Minoru, as your area is finance, you will join a small stock exchange and build it up by promoting stocks in your comrades' businesses as they establish them. this will not only bring in money from legitimate investors, but will snare criminals disposing of their ill-gotten gains.

"In this way, you will know and be in a position to combat every move by our enemies. But knowing is not enough to wage our kind of war. You must put yourselves in positions where you will be in open conflict with our enemies. Therefore, you must be as bait for those who prey on our society.

"You must drive the most expensive and fastest cars. You must dine at the most expensive restaurants and nightclubs. You must wear only the finest clothes and go with only the most beautiful women and rent or own the most luxurious apartments or homes. You must give the impression of being carefree, wealthy playboys. You must struggle to enjoy life.

"Then, when you are contacted by or alerted to, our enemies, you are to revert to your true selves as the spirits of Japan and fight them. You will fight them on every battlefield of our society, using your natural as well as spiritual powers. It is for Japan.

"Now you must go to your homes, settle your affairs, drop out of the university and adopt new identities. You will be well supplied with the money you need to begin your new careers.

"You must also devote at least four hours of each day studying the martial arts. After all, you will not always have your helmets, swords and motorcycles at hand. There may be times when you may be confronted by those you will have to defend yourselves against.

"At this point, those at the karate school do not know you or that you had anything to do with the attack. But Namoto, our bitterest enemy, will find out that we were responsible. He is a cunning and calculating man. In a few weeks he will have put enough evidence together to come to me. I was not wearing my robes and you were unrecognizable. But he will know I was behind the raid and try to force me to divulge the extent of our intelligence as to his operation.

"When I sense his coming, I will summon you by sounding the bell I took from our island shrine. You will hear it in your minds. When you hear the bell, you must come immediately with your helmets and swords, for this will be a battle to the death."

"But, Master," said Saburo, "will we be here in time to save you? After all, we live in Tokyo. Can't you move near us?"

"My boy," replied the old priest, "my place is here. If I cease to be the town character and remove myself to Tokyo, Namoto would soon know the link between us and I'm sure he has access to your names the police took when you fought the karate students in my defense. But if I stay here and you drop out of sight, no connection will be made. Your names will never come up. But if they suspect my hand in this and you are summoned to my aid, they will be caught off guard."

"Master," wailed Yasuo, "what if we don't reach you in time? What will we do without you? If they should destroy you, we would be lost."

"Yasuo," replied Kuwahara, soothingly, "Heaven alone will decide my fate. If my body is destroyed, my spirit will live on. After you have laid this shell by those of my comrades, you will still hear the bell when danger threatens your group. Then you will assemble at a headquarters decided on by Saburo, who I appoint as your senior."

The young men sorrowfully agreed to follow his wishes. Before leaving to put his plans into effect, they bowed and wished him well. Each expressed the hope that their enemies would never make the connection and so not harm him.
 

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