Location: Kobe Port, Western Japan
Time: 11:00 PM
Soldiers dragged their boots down the wooden ramps of the transport ships.
CREAAAK.
Most of the men leaned heavily on wooden crutches.
Dirty bandages covered their missing arms and legs.
Dark, thick cursed energy leaked directly off their bodies and pooled in the dirt alleyways.
Two Zenin auxiliary managers knelt on the wet cobblestone street.
They pressed their palms together and dropped a pitch-black Curtain over the entire warehouse district.
FWOOSH.
Inside the barrier, five men from the Zenin Kukuru unit dug their boots into the dirt.
They fought an Akuma (grade 1 curse).
The curse was built entirely out of rusted iron plating and broken military bayonets.
CLANK. CLANK.
Two Kukuru sorcerers threw thick steel chains around the curse's arms.
They pulled backward with all their physical strength.
"...Pull it tight!" the older soldier yelled.
He wrapped the steel chain around his own waist for leverage.
The iron curse shrieked and thrashed its head.
SCREEEEE.
Two other men rushed forward holding heavy metal polearms.
They wedged the polearms against the curse's metallic knees to pin it against the brick wall.
"...It is too heavy," a younger soldier grunted.
He spat a wad of blood into the dirt.
"...My arms are giving out."
Footsteps clicked against the cobblestone.
TAP. TAP.
Zenin Koji walked into the alley holding a large broadsword wrapped in white cloth.
He was a Grade 1 sorcerer from the Hei unit.
"...You guys are doing fine," Koji said tiredly.
He rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand.
"...Just hold the legs steady for two more seconds."
The younger soldier gritted his teeth and pushed harder against the polearm.
Koji pulled the white cloth off his broadsword.
He channeled his cursed energy directly into the steel edge.
He walked right up to the pinned curse.
SWISH.
Koji swung the heavy blade sideways.
CLANG.
The cursed tool cleanly decapitated the iron monster.
The headless body instantly crumbled into a pile of gray ash.
The five Kukuru soldiers dropped their weapons and collapsed onto their knees.
THUD.
HUFF-PUFF.
HUFF-PUFF.
They gasped for air in the cold night.
Koji stabbed his broadsword into the dirt.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a silver watch.
CLICK.
He checked the time.
"...Three straight days of this," Koji muttered.
He looked past the fading ash.
Another black puddle of negative energy was already bubbling violently near the medical tents.
BLUB. BLUB.
Koji closed his watch and shoved it back into his pocket.
'We are going to run out of energy before they stop manifesting.'
He grabbed the hilt of his broadsword and pulled it out of the dirt.
"Yamashi... Go back to the clan and tell them the situation. We need more people."
"... Yes." One of the Kukuru sorcerers answered.
--<>--
Location: Kyoto Electric Railway, Outskirts
Time: 11:30 PM
Sparks exploded from the overhead electrical wires.
BZZZT.
A multi-legged curse crawled aggressively over the metal train tracks.
Thick black smoke poured out of the metal pipes on its back.
Four Gojo clan retainers stood in a wide square around the tracks.
They held their hands out and maintained a rigid, glowing geometric box.
The Curtain trapped the mechanical curse entirely inside.
The curse slammed its heavy head against the barrier wall.
BOOM.
The transparent box flickered violently.
One of the retainers fell to his knees.
Blood dripped steadily from his nose and chin.
"...Elder Masato," the retainer gasped.
He clutched his chest with his left hand.
"...My stomach feels like it is tearing."
Gojo Masato stood casually outside the glowing box.
He wore a clean, expensive silk kimono.
"...Spit the blood out and keep your palms flat," Masato ordered calmly.
Masato pulled a stack of paper talismans from his sleeve.
He slid the papers precisely between his fingers.
"...The rural civilians are terrified of the trains," Masato said.
He stepped closer to the edge of the barrier.
"...That fear makes the curse stronger."
Masato raised his right hand.
He channeled his innate technique and snapped his fingers.
SNAP.
Invisible wires of cursed energy manifested inside the barrier.
The wires sliced cleanly through the curse's mechanical joints.
KIEEEEK.
The curse shrieked and collapsed onto the gravel tracks.
Masato pushed his cursed energy into the talismans.
FWOOSH.
The papers ignited into blue fire and transformed into four spectral falcons.
"...Finish it," Masato commanded.
The falcons dove directly through the barrier wall.
They tore the immobilized curse to shreds with their talons.
CRUNCH.
The curse dissolved completely into the air.
The four retainers immediately dropped their hands.
The geometric box vanished.
The retainers collapsed onto the gravel.
They panted heavily in the dirt.
Masato lowered his hand and let out a long breath.
A thick stream of dark blood suddenly dripped from his own nose.
SPLAT.
The blood hit the pristine collar of his kimono.
Masato wiped his upper lip with the back of his hand.
He stared at the red stain on his skin.
He had chained high-level techniques for three days straight.
Without a Six Eyes user alive to balance the world, the physical drain was destroying his internal organs.
'I need a break.'
Masato wiped his hand on his pants and looked down the long, empty train tracks.
--<>--
Location: Eastern Woods, Kamo Estate Perimeter
Time: 01:15 AM
A twisted cursed spirit shaped like a massive wild boar lay dead in the dirt.
Black ash slowly peeled off its dissolving body.
Kenji sat heavily on a nearby tree stump.
He pulled a dirty white bandage tight around a bleeding scrape on his forearm.
"...Man, my knees are completely locking up," Kenji grumbled quietly.
He picked up his heavy wooden spear and rested it across his lap.
"...Three double shifts in a row is going to kill me before the curses do."
Sadao stood a few feet away.
He tore a piece of dried meat in half with his teeth.
CHOMP.
"...You always complain when it gets cold, Kenji," Sadao mumbled while chewing.
Sadao swallowed the food and wiped his mouth.
"...Just push through it," Sadao added. "...I promised Ren I would buy him some new training sandals tomorrow."
Hiro stood near the edge of the clearing.
The young branch member held a small iron lantern up to light the dark trees.
Noboru walked silently past them.
He pulled a blank paper talisman from his dark cloak.
He pressed a spark of cursed energy into the paper and slapped it against a thick pine tree.
TAP.
Noboru tied an invisible thread of cursed energy to the paper.
"...The taxes never go down, Hiro," Noboru said bluntly.
He turned around to face the younger man.
"...We just kill the strays, collect our rations, and try to live past thirty," Noboru grunted.
Kenji let out a dry, tired laugh.
"...Thirty is a miracle in this family," Kenji agreed. "...Most of the perimeter members end up in a box at twenty-five."
Hiro shivered in the freezing wind.
"...Come on, do not say things like that out loud," Hiro muttered nervously.
Noboru adjusted the heavy collar of his cloak.
He took a step forward to check the next tree line.
A sharp, violent pain suddenly pierced Noboru's left shoulder.
BZZT. BZZT. BZZT.
Three distinct Raijin threads snapped at the exact same time.
Noboru froze in his tracks.
'Something huge just crossed the line.'
He ripped his short blade out of its wooden sheath.
"...Weapons up!" Noboru screamed.
Two massive figures stepped out of the pitch-black treeline.
They did not look like standard forest animal curses.
One was a bloated, pale humanoid covered in dozens of weeping human eyes.
Thick black liquid dripped steadily from its chin.
SQUELCH.
The second curse was a hunched, multi-armed monstrosity.
Rusted artillery shrapnel and jagged metal plating covered its entire body.
CLANK. GRIND.
The sheer pressure of their cursed energy suffocated the clearing.
Hiro dropped his lantern into the dirt.
CRASH.
The glass shattered, and the spilled oil caught fire immediately.
"..Th... This intensity...Akuma (grade 1 curse)?!" Kenji yelled in pure panic.
Kenji jumped off the stump and coated the tip of his wooden spear in blue cursed energy.
"...Don't let them split us up!" Sadao shouted.
Sadao rushed forward and slammed both of his hands flat against the freezing dirt.
"...Stone Grip!" Sadao roared.
He dumped every drop of his cursed energy into the ground beneath the bloated curse.
CRUNCH.
The dirt instantly hardened into solid, thick rock around the curse's pale legs.
It locked the monster perfectly in place.
"...Now, Kenji!" Sadao yelled.
Kenji lunged forward with everything he had.
He thrust his glowing wooden spear directly toward the center cluster of weeping eyes on the curse's face.
SWISH.
The curse didn't even try to dodge.
It simply let the spear hit its face.
CRACK.
The dense wooden shaft shattered completely upon impact.
Kenji stumbled forward from the broken momentum.
The bloated curse casually lifted its right leg.
SMASH.
It broke Sadao's solid rock trap effortlessly.
The curse reached out with a blindingly fast, pale hand and grabbed Kenji by his throat.
It lifted him entirely off the ground.
Kenji kicked his legs wildly and grabbed at the curse's thick wrist.
The curse grabbed Kenji's left arm with its other hand.
RIP.
It tore Kenji's arm completely out of its socket.
Blood sprayed violently across the burning oil.
"AGHHH!" Kenji shrieked.
The curse dropped him into the dirt and crushed his skull with a heavy foot.
SPLAT.
"...Kenji!" Sadao screamed.
Sadao stumbled backward and tried to pull a secondary knife from his belt.
The shrapnel curse vanished from the edge of the trees.
It reappeared directly in front of Hiro.
Hiro stood completely paralyzed by fear.
SHING.
The curse drove three rusted metal arms directly through Hiro's chest and stomach.
It lifted the young man high into the air.
Hiro didn't even have time to scream before the curse tore his torso in opposite directions.
Noboru stood alone in the center of the clearing.
He watched his entire squad get slaughtered in less than ten seconds.
His hands shook violently.
He looked down at his short iron blade.
'I can't even scratch them.'
Both Grade 1 curses slowly turned toward him.
Noboru dropped his blade into the dirt.
He reached into his cloak and pulled out his final paper talisman.
He thought about Hanzo sleeping on his tatami mat back at the estate.
"...Live a long time, Hanzo," Noboru whispered quietly. "Mikasa, I'm going to see you now..."
Noboru forced one hundred percent of his remaining cursed energy into the paper.
He threw it straight up into the air.
SNAP.
A massive, blinding pillar of yellow lightning shot up into the night sky.
The shrapnel curse lunged forward and swung its heavy metal arms.
BAAAM.
The rusted blades smashed into Noboru's chest.
He flew backward and crashed hard against a thick pine tree.
His vision went completely black.
--<>--
Location: Eastern Woods, Clearing
Time: 01:25 AM
CLACK. CLACK.
Heavy steps hit the dirt.
THUD.
Juzo dropped from the high tree canopy directly into the burning clearing.
The Grade 1 instructor held a thick, solid oak bokken in his right hand.
He looked at the torn bodies of the branch patrol squad.
"SHIEEEEK!"
The bloated curse shrieked and charged at him.
Juzo pulled a suffocating amount of blue cursed energy from his gut.
He coated the oak weapon in a dense, razor-sharp layer of energy.
SWISH. SWISH. SWISH.
The shrapnel curse attacked first, swinging a barrage of rusted blades at Juzo's head.
SWOOSH.
Juzo ducked smoothly under the metal arms.
He pivoted on his heel and drove the tip of the oak bokken straight through the curse's thick iron plating.
CLANG.
Juzo detonated his cursed energy entirely inside the monster's hollow chest.
BOOM.
The shrapnel curse blew apart into hundreds of rusted pieces.
"KRAAAHHN"
The bloated curse lunged from the side, opening its massive jaws to bite Juzo in half.
Juzo casually stepped to the left.
He reached out and grabbed the curse directly by its pale face.
He blasted a concentrated, point-blank wave of cursed energy straight through its skull.
FWOOSH.
The monster's head evaporated completely.
The headless body collapsed into the dirt and dissolved into black ash.
Juzo stood in the quiet clearing.
He rested his wooden bokken on his shoulder.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out his wooden pipe and a match.
STRIKE.
He lit the pipe and took a slow drag.
PUFF.
He blew a cloud of gray smoke over the dead branch members.
"...Bring the carts," Juzo said to the auxiliary members waiting in the trees above. "...We have four dead clan members."
Location: Hanzo's Bedroom, Branch Quarters
Time: 06:30 AM
Hanzo sat cross-legged on the bare floorboards.
He picked up his charcoal pencil.
He looked at the open leather notebook resting on his knees.
The pages were covered in Hindi script.
He traced his finger over his notes about binding vows.
'I need a loophole.'
He remembered the anime shows from his past life.
He thought about the similar of vows and restrictions of nen from Hunter x Hunter.
He thought about Sukuna establishing fast conditions.
'I don't have any innate technique so a binding vow like revealing ones hand doesn't work. Maybe overtime can also be done but looking at my cursed energy reserves.. nevermind.'
He needed an instantaneous physical trade-off.
'If I completely drop all cursed energy from my vital organs right before an impact...'
He scribbled the math onto the paper.
'I can funnel more than a hundred percent of my output directly into a single attack for a split second.'
The risk was immense.
If a curse struck his unprotected body during that exact millisecond, he would risk for a serious injury or even die on the spot.
He would need intense, precise physical training to survive using it.
'No it's too risky...'
STOMP. STOMP.
"Hmm? Father?"
Heavy footsteps stopped outside his room.
SHHHHK.
The paper door slid open.
Kamo Genzaburo stepped into the room.
The branch leader held a broken, bloodstained wooden identification tag in his left hand.
Hanzo set his notebook down and bowed his head. He didn't notice the bloodstained object on the man's hand.
"...Good morning, Branch Leader," Hanzo said.
Genzaburo looked down at the six-year-old boy.
The older man rubbed the deep wrinkles on his forehead.
"...Your father is dead, Hanzo," Genzaburo said quietly.
Hanzo froze entirely.
"..."
"..."
His breathing stopped.
"...An Akuma (Grade 1 cursed spirit) caught his patrol unit in the eastern woods," Genzaburo explained.
Genzaburo tossed the bloody wooden tag onto the tatami mat.
CLACK.
"...His entire four-man squad is gone."
Hanzo stared at the piece of wood.
His mind went completely blank.
He just felt a sickening, hollow drop in his stomach.
Genzaburo crossed his arms over his chest.
"...The clan rules cut his combat rations immediately," Genzaburo stated.
The older man looked at the boy's empty, paralyzed face.
SIGH.
Genzaburo let out a slow, tired breath.
He was a grandfather himself.
"...Since you can use cursed energy, you are an asset to the clan... You have to move to the communal barracks," Genzaburo continued softly. "...You will wash the patrol uniforms in the laundry courtyard to earn your meals while also training to become a cursed sorcerer..."
Hanzo gave a slow, absent-minded nod.
"..."
"...Okay," Hanzo whispered.
Genzaburo uncrossed his arms.
"...Take three days, kid," Genzaburo instructed.
He pointed at the wooden walls of the room.
"...Stay in this house and attend the burial," Genzaburo finished. "...Pack your things and report to the courtyard on Monday."
Genzaburo turned around and walked out into the hallway.
CLICK.
Hanzo sat alone in the quiet room.
He stared at his father's wooden name tag.
--<>--
Location: Branch Family Graveyard
Time: 02:15 PM
Cold rain fell from the gray sky.
DRIZZLE.
The branch graveyard was completely packed with people.
Dozens of fresh holes sat open in the wet dirt.
This incident killed twenty branch members in a single night.
Widows knelt in the mud and sobbed.
Hanzo stood in front of a jagged stone marker.
He wore a plain black kimono.
He held a small wooden bucket of water in his right hand.
SQUELCH. SQUELCH.
Footsteps stopped right beside him in the mud.
Hanzo slowly turned his head.
Kenta stood there wearing a dark hakama.
Rain dripped heavily from the nine-year-old boy's chin.
Kenta looked at the fresh dirt covering Noboru's grave.
"...My uncle is in the second row," Kenta said quietly.
Hanzo looked past Kenta's shoulder.
Ren and Jin stood near a different grave across the yard.
Ren wiped snot from his nose and cried into his mother's sleeve.
"..." Hanzo didn't reply.
His situation is completely hollow.
Kenta reached out and rested his hand on Hanzo's shoulder.
"...My mother is still alive to cook for me," Kenta said.
He looked directly at Hanzo's face.
"...You are entirely alone now. You can visit us and join for meals."
Hanzo looked down at his own wooden sandals.
"..." Hanzo.
Kenta squeezed Hanzo's shoulder firmly.
"... Don't worry Hanzo..." Kenta told him.
Kenta wiped rainwater from his own eyes.
"...We will make sure the other children do not mess with you..."
Hanzo looked up at the older boy.
"...Thank you," Hanzo whispered.
Kenta gave a short, stiff nod.
He turned around and walked back through the mud toward his own surviving family.
--<>--
Location: Branch Family Graveyard
Time: 06:00 PM
The families slowly left the dirt yard.
Hanzo stayed behind.
The rain fell harder and soaked his black clothes entirely.
He picked up the wooden ladle from his bucket.
He poured the water over his father's stone marker.
SPLASH.
Hanzo stared at the wet rock.
"...First my grandma," Hanzo whispered to himself.
He gripped the wooden handle tightly.
"...Then my mother."
He closed his eyes.
He felt the cold rain hitting his cheeks.
"...Then me."
He opened his eyes and looked at Noboru's carved name.
"...And now you."
Hanzo dropped the ladle into the mud. While small tears forming in his eyes.
CLACK.
He clenched his small fists.
His fingernails dug deeply into his blistered palms.
He thought about dying his last life and how his loved ones dies.
He thought about his father in this life, Noburo died by the cursed spirits.
"People are such fragile beings..."
It did not matter if someone was a civilian or a sorcerer.
Death broke the human body effortlessly.
He felt a deep, overwhelming sorrow twist in his chest.
"..."
"..."
"... I will live on."
---<>---