Sakura and the Yokai Vortex

The tension in the air was palpable. While Ren, Kiko, and Yumi fought against the nurikabe, Ayame chased Kaze through the forest. The shadows of the trees lengthened with the sunset, creating a sinister and oppressive atmosphere.
Kaze, with his tanuki agility, jumped from branch to branch, defying gravity and disappearing into the mist. Ayame, with her feline movements, followed closely behind him, determined to unmask him.
"Kaze!" Ayame shouted in a firm voice. "I know you're hiding something from us. Stop and tell the truth!"
Kaze stopped at the top of a tree, looking at Ayame with a mocking smile. "And what if I tell you you're right?" he replied arrogantly. "I have my own plans, and you are just pawns in my game."
Ayame felt a chill run down her spine. Kaze's words confirmed her suspicions. The tanuki had been manipulating them all along.
"What are you looking for?" Ayame asked in a cold voice. "Why have you brought us here?"
Kaze let out a laugh. "That's none of your business, little ninja," he replied with disdain. "But since you insist, I'll tell you that I'm looking for an ancestral power, a power that will make me the most powerful yokai in the Shadowlands."
Ayame understood then. Kaze had used them to reach the Kodama oracle, who possessed the knowledge to find that ancestral power. And now that he no longer needed them, he was willing to get rid of them.
"You are despicable!" Ayame shouted furiously. "You will pay for your betrayal."
Kaze shrugged. "I don't think so," he said with an evil smile. "I am much more powerful than you imagine."
At that moment, Kaze pulled out from his clothes the amulet that Aiko had given Ren when they were children. The amulet, which had been hidden in Ren's pocket, glowed with a warm light.
"The amulet!" Ayame exclaimed in surprise. "How...?"
Kaze smiled triumphantly. "Let's just say I have my tricks," he replied arrogantly. "This amulet is the key to awakening the ancestral power. And now, it's mine."
Ayame lunged at Kaze with her katanas drawn, but the tanuki was too fast. With an agile movement, he dodged the attack and disappeared among the trees.
Frustrated, Ayame returned to Ren, Kiko, and Yumi, who had managed to defeat the nurikabe. She told them what had happened, and the news of Kaze's betrayal left them shocked.
"It can't be!" Ren exclaimed in disbelief. "Kaze... has betrayed us."
Kiko, with tears in her eyes, nodded. "We trusted him," she said with a trembling voice. "And he has deceived us."
Yumi, despite her suspicions, also felt disappointed. "I can't believe he was so cynical," she said sadly.
Ren, filled with anger and frustration, punched the trunk of a tree with his fist. "I will find him," he said with determination. "And I will make him pay for this."
The group, with their spirits low, decided to continue their journey to the Kodama oracle. However, Kaze's betrayal had left a deep wound in their hearts, and distrust had settled among them.