Volcano Girls: A storm begins to build... [Episode 16610]

Tatewaki knew from his ninja reports where the Saotme house lay, he also vaguely remembered being told that Ranma's mother had moved back there after staying at the Tendo Dojo for a while. Standing up Kunou Tatewaki decided on his course and raised his hand to the heavens:
"I, Kunou Tatewaki, am henceforth the Blue Thunder of Divine Fury, wielding the lighting of the Gods to return true harmony and order to Japan. On my honor, on my life, I swear I shall see all who stand against me crushed so that my land shall once more be the mighty Empire that it is meant to be!"

As the echoes of his oath died down around him and the play of lightning he had unleashed petered out, the Blue Thunder set forth on his holy quest to restore Japan. And his first step would be to recover the true Kunou blade from the thieving Saotome's. En route, the Blue Thunder indulged in some public ranting and generalised property damage... nothing that would surprise those who knew him, but enough to attract both police and, a bit later, news reporters as his rampage continued.

It was as the Blue Thunder was nearing his destination that a police car and TV news van found him more-or-less at the same time. The news crew got to film the out-matched police officers valiantly attempting to do their duty, and being swatted by the Blue Thunder, negilently blasted into smoking, unconscious and half dead piles. Noting the presence of the news crew, the Blue Thunder's ego rose to the fore and he stood before them and commanded them to film him live and listen to his plea for divine order.

"For I am the Blue Thunder, gifted by the gods with the lightnings of heaven, so that I might smite the guilty, the foolish and any who stand in the path of Japan's true greatness. I shall bring doom and justice to the corrupt fools who made a moral wasteland of Japan, who have prostituted themselves, and through their posts, our once proud nation to the whims and fashions of the arrogant gaijin. They are a cancer that eats at the true soul of Japan. But no more I say!! NO MORE!! I come weilding the justice of heaven to purge the land and return things to how they should be. I come to shatter these corrupt, these cowardly, these cringing politicians! I shall put them in their place, lower than that of the foulest burakumin, I shall show them the price of their selfish pride, their wanton greed. As soon as the great treachery of the foul sorceror is undone, I, the Blue Thunder, shall deliver Japan unto a new age!"

As the Blue Thunder struck a (he thought) inspiring pose, the shrieking of sirens announced the arrival of yet more police. Turning to face them, the Blue Thunder once more unleashed his power, providing the news crew with spectacular live footage of a police disaster. This battle done and yet more sirens wailing in the distance, the Blue Thunder leapt to the rooftops, the expenditure of power was begining to tell, and he needed to save himself to confront the foulness that was the Saotomes.

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As the Blue Thunder continued on to face the Saotomes, the effects of his public rant and display of powers began to be felt as others viewed the news with varying reactions.

In his lair, the crime-lord Kinnosuke Kashaoh frowned and turned to his enforcer, Daremo:
"This could be bad for business... we should -ground- this Blue Thunder if the chance arises."

Asuka Saginomiya watched the TV in disbelief, then she started laughing:
"Truly all Kunou's are insane... still this must greatly vex and shame Kodachi the Black Rose, so I think that Ittan-Momen shall lend the Blue Thunder some discreet assistance. The longer this lasts, the greater the disgrace of all Kunou's."

The sorceresses mind pondered what the news was telling her. To her it seemed like an opportunity worth taking, from Gosunkugi's fragmented memories, she knew that the Blue Thunder could be easily manipulated, and despite all she had seen, the sorceress from the past did not truly understand the world she was now in. To be the Queen of a mighty shogun, to be the power behind the throne of a warrior king... that was a prize worth a few risks. And in her past that sorceress had seen bold warriors carve realms out by force of personality and the power of their sword-arm, and with her skill added to the Blue Thunder's power, surely this realm of merchants and bean-counters would fall. That left only one question in the Sorceresses mind:
"Should I be Empress Hikaru, or should I use my other name... hmm... and I suppose I had better let him know that he has my support."

In a dingy warehouse a wild-eyed fanatic turned to the others with him and pointed at the TV:
"A sign from Kami himself! A warrior weilding the lightning of heaven! Spread the word brothers, the new shogun of Japan has arisen and we will be his greatest samurai!"

A cold-eyed man with an expressionless face and total japanese poise sat before a TV in a business suit and pondered what he saw:
"An interesting development. He may be of use to the project... if he lives."

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At the Saotome residence Nodoka and Genma had stepped out into the street along with many of their neighbours, drawn by the unusual activity and sirens in the area. They were idly watching the disruptions and wondering what was going on and what they should do when the Blue Thunder arrived. A bolt of lightning smashed into the ground at their feet and the blast threw them both aside. Nodoka bounced off a wall and lay still, the katana in her hand clattering to the ground. Genma was a different story, the anything-goes master managed to roll with enough of the blast to be able to stand and take a defensive stance as the Blue Thunder landed before him.

The Blue Thunder idly raised a hand and sent a bolt of electricity arcing towards the older man, only to be stunned as Genma seemed to fade around it and delivered a series of stinging blows. As had Ranma before him, Genma discovered that hitting the Blue Thunder bare handed was not the best of moves, and before he could recover the enraged Kunou lashed out from the prone position Genma had forced him into with a blast that Genma couldn't dodge. The bolt threw Genma across the street where he lay still. Staggering to his feet and feeling the pain from Genma's attack, the Blue Thunder managed to totter over to where the Saotome sword lay and picked it up from the ground, brandishing it towards the heavens, he let out a yell:
"I have recovered what is rightfully mine. Let the guilty tremble."

At his feet Nodoka stirred and looked at him:
"Fool", she weakly stated, "only those of the blood used to forge that blade can wield it safely. It will turn on and destroy any others, and never will it harm one of the blood."

The Blue Thunder tossed his head in disdain:
"I know the truth you thief and, no doubt, harlot. I care not what lies the foul sorceror has fed you. I have reclaimed the honor and light of the clan Kunou. It shall lead Japan to a new age. Know that your plots and schemes have failed when faced with the insight and skill of the Blue Thunder. Now... I have a nation to save from itself."

With those words the Blue Thunder turned his mind to other things and events began to gather momentum.