01x12 - Umbrella and Ink

[bunniefuu]

I'm impressed.

I think you're the first humans
to reach this place.

The first in a thousand years.

What? Who—

A human?

Definitely not. This is bad.

Whoops.

You don't have to run.

I don't intend to k*ll you... yet.

He's so strong.

When did he get there?

I understand why she fled.

He's clearly stronger than any
of the monsters we've faced so far.

L-Let go of her.

Sagirin...

Don't glare at me. I just want to talk.

Who are you?

A Tensen.

This is the peony spirit,
Jiujun Amoghavajra.

He's one of those...?

Hoko-san, you're alive?

Umbrella and Ink

That's not enough to k*ll him.

It'll simply accelerate his transformation,
turning him completely into a tree.

But...

It is a shame, but this is my fate.

I pray my soul is
at least invited into Horai.

Yeah, all that stuff about souls
and Jiujun Whatever is a lie.

What?

It's a convenient lie invented by our master
to maintain order on the island.

This island is a place
for conducting experiments on life.

You and all the others are simply
prototypes produced as part of experiments.

But...

And the humans who come
to this island are research materials.

These are Kyoshi. I made them using humans.

Made them... using humans?

Yes.

They were originally humans
who came to the island.

I love toying with humans,

so I always end up playing
with them like this.

Funny, right?

But this isn't how we typically use humans.

High-quality humans are turned into tan.

Tan... You mean the Elixir of Life?

Elixir of Life?

All the humans who come here
always say the same thing.

The Elixir of Eternal Life and Youth,

Ochimizu, Tokijiku-no-kagu-no-mi...

Sorry, but there's nothing like that here.

Tan is essential to us,

but if an ordinary human consumes it,
they turn into a tree.

Hoko and the flower people have sort of
achieved eternal life, but not eternal youth.

My associates are researching that,
but they're not done yet.

Either way, the item you're looking
for isn't on this island.

There's no Elixir?

Then what's going to happen to him?

He won't receive a pardon
without the Elixir.

Anyway, your journey has come to an end.

Now be good and come with me.

There are a bunch of things
I'd like to do with you.

Ninpo: Substitution.

That should be enough to k*ll any monster.

That just leaves his underlings?
But they seem out of it.

Let's get out of here while we can.

Sagirin.

What? Oh, right.

Thanks for helping me earlier,
even though I ran.

Are you shocked to learn about the Elixir?

I get it.

But our top priority is our survival.

As long as we're alive,
we'll manage somehow.

First, we need to make sure we stay alive.

Switch gears. It's time to run.

Right.

You too, Senta. Hurry.

Right.

Such a nice woman. You've got potential.

You were wrong about one thing, though.

The Kyoshi aren't my underlings.

They're my toys. Funny, right?

You dodged it. You've got a good eye.

Rather, you can see tao, can't you?

That's the first time
I've heard the word tao.

In my village, we called it qi.

But you haven't mastered its use.

Allow me to teach—

Wait.

If this will decide her life or death,
then you'll have to go through me first.

It's my job.

Tameshi-itto-ryu Rank 5
Yamada Asaemon
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hSenta

The other two seem
to have some aptitude for it,

but if that's all they're
capable of, then forget it.

Shinobi, I'll teach you to use tao.

If you've got the talent for it,
then I could show you bochu jutsu,

or turn you into high-quality tan.

You're already his favorite.

Shut up.

I can't believe Senta-dono drew his sword.

For a criminal, no less.

Does he perhaps have
special feelings for her?

I'm not interested in anyone
except the shinobi girl.

Get out of the way.

Sagirin!

Forget about her.

That was Distant Strike.

It's performed by gathering
and launching one's tao.

Since ordinary humans can't learn to use it,

you can forget that one.

You need to start with the basic—

Huh?

Stay out of my way, fat boy.

I told you, you have to go through me.

Besides—

He's right. You're in the way.

If nothing can k*ll him,
then I'm willing to try anything.

Ninpo: Slime String.

My ninjutsu allows me to metabolize
the medicines I swallow and secrete them.

And this is soluble snake poison.

Ninpo: Nectar Prison.

And then...

Ninpo: Grim Garrote.

Your abilities are an
application of tao, aren't they?

Metabolizing poisons
alone makes you superhuman.

But you're not using it very specifically.

You should learn to manipulate it better.

If we can create the right opportunity,
we can look for a way to b*at him.

I see.

Sure.

Shall we try it right now?

Senta, you're in the way.

So are you, Yuzuriha-san.

Tao is a feeling.

By wearing it like clothing,
you can sense it coming from any direction.

Unless you master it, you're merely human.

You're no match for us.

Welcome to Horai.

How can we b*at this monster?

Hoko-san, do the Tensen have any weaknesses?

He's a god.

If this is divine punishment,
then I will accept it.

I understand how you feel,
but at this rate, we'll all be k*lled.

You won't get to see Mei-san again.

It can be anything. Any hint will do.

That substitution you used earlier
was an application of tao as well.

Not only that, but the same type I use.

Interesting.

You can learn something resembling
our Hojutsu through your own training.

Well, it's time to k*ll the fat boy.

Whoops.

You recovered quickly.

But you can't do anything.

You have an ordinary amount of tao.

Our opponent can read our
movements and intentions.

Yes, but not an intentionless path.

Now cut open his tanden.

The legends say tao comes from our tanden,

travels through the body,
and returns to the tanden once more.

If you sever his tanden...

Sorry, but there's nothing you can do.

First of all, you don't have enough tao.

No matter where you cut me,
I'll just regenerate.

In fact, including the shinobi girl,

there isn't a human here who's
mastered tao enough to k*ll me.

I realized something
after getting close to you.

You're the same, after all.

What?

He can read my movements.

What was that?

The size of one's tao
is controlled by one's mind.

Is she the type that
instantaneously manifests hers?

But that's not what's important.

This woman... Could it be...?

Yuzuriha-san.

I know. That wound...

It's not regenerating.

I detected a unique aura
when I approached him.

If that's tao, then I know how to cut it.

Sometimes Gabimaru produces the same aura.

So did Rokurota, the Giant of Bizen.

Did those two use tao?

It's just a guess.

Greater than a certain amount of tao
is required to injure our enemy.

Sagirin can temporarily increase
her tao using breathing techniques.

But that's not all.

Why can't the Tensen regenerate?

I'll handle this.

Such an unusual type of tao.

Not only that, but it's poison to me.

Marvelous.

I wonder what kind of tan you'll produce.

Or will you k*ll me?

Wait, Sagiri-san.

Our enemy is powerful.

The three of us should work together.

Hojutsu: Earth Yin Night Pilgrim.

He vanished.

He didn't vanish.

He diminished his tao as much
as possible so we couldn't detect him.

It works the same way as my substitution.

Cut him now.

My mind must be both still and active.

Kyoshi, k*ll the shinobi woman.

Thanks, Senta.

We're working together, remember?

Nice teamwork. Thanks, Senta.

You're welcome.

I can read your swordsmanship,

and the moment's delay makes
your att*cks easy to dodge.

The way I'm breathing is exhausting.

I can't do it for long.

Your teamwork isn't bad.

Now's my chance.

You underestimate me.

He flew.

Hojutsu: Earth Yang Sky Pilgrim.

By manipulating the tao in the atmosphere,

one can even stand in the air.

Though to those who don't
understand how it works...

I must seem like a god.

This is another application of tao.

Senjutsu: Tin Splinter.

This is beyond our abilities.

Senta-dono!

My vision is becoming blurry.

That breathing technique consumes
something other than my stamina.

I can't keep going.

Don't give up yet, Sagirin.

I think this is a sign our
enemy's getting anxious.

She's been making sure
to dodge all your att*cks specifically.

Tao probably has matchups,
and yours is her weakness.

But that monster...

That's right. It's a monster, not a god.

Which means it can be k*lled.

I'll stop her from moving, so you k*ll her.

You're rather optimistic.

This is normal.

I don't intend to die here.

Seriously, no way.

This is pointless.

Yuzuriha!

You're not dodging it? You'll die.

Get down here, you wannabe god.

I'll k*ll everyone
who interferes with my life.

I'd even k*ll a real god.

Sagirin, now.

Got it.

Such an obnoxious woman.

Impressive work, Yuzuriha-san.

Now you can't move,
regardless of your regeneration.

Do you intend to be cut down with me?

Aim for a hair's breadth, Sagiri-san!

You can count on me.

He's not moving.

Like we thought,
that must've been his weakness.

It was a gamble.

But the two of us won.

What about me?

Hoko-san, your transformation...

I still seem to be all right.

Good.

I can't believe there are
six more of these monsters.

Tao, the mysterious power.

It's even farther beyond human
understanding than Hoko-san described.

What is this strange exhaustion?

Did we really defeat a Tensen so easily?

The biggest problem is
that the Elixir doesn't exist.

What should we do now?

We'll just have to figure something out.

If it doesn't exist, then it doesn't exist.

We'll have to come up with another way.

Aw, man. My skin is so dry.

Hey, this is all gold.

This much should make up
for the lack of Elixir, right?

Shall we rest a little?

What a weird face. Is this a nose?

Yes.

Yuzuriha-san is so tenacious.

Senta-dono, you seem
to have special feelings for her.

What? Oh, no, I... um...

I suppose I envy how free she is.

It's a foreign concept to me.

What do you mean?

When I was young,
I wanted to become an artist.

But in my family, boys study
under the Yamada family.

I wasn't allowed to defy that tradition.

I actually didn't like the Yamada
family or being a sword tester.

I hated k*lling people.

I spent a lot of time trying
to rationalize k*lling people.

It's the reason I became so
knowledgeable about religions.

Ironically, I was praised for being
a diligent student, and my rank kept rising.

Eventually, I gave up
and closed off my heart.

I began simply fulfilling my duties.

You don't actually care about
this job or your clan, do you?

Actually, I—

You can try to hide it,
but I can tell, you raccoon dog.

Since meeting her,

I've been confounded numerous times by her cold,

cruel behavior, and the way she seems
to see right through everything.

But for some reason,

as someone who's been lying to himself,
the way she only lies to others...

She seems so amazingly free.

I'm so jealous, it hurts.

I must've fallen for her ninjutsu.

I can hardly call myself an
Asaemon when I admire a criminal.

Not at all.

I kind of...

It's really only a little,
but I kind of understand how you feel.

Why don't we look for a way to
save everyone who came to the island?

Sagiri-san...

Yes.

I can sense tao now, but I don't
feel like I've mastered its use.

We can't ask them about
the Elixir if you k*ll them.

Though, judging by that conversation,
she probably knows something.

It would be cruel
to make her show us the way,

considering what those
monsters wanted to do to her.

But you followed me, didn't you?

If you have some purpose or request,
then tell me what it is.

I'd like to thank you
for saving me twice now.

Sagi's records said...

This man is not heartless after all.

But his humanity only becomes apparent
when it comes to a particular person.

In all other scenarios, he is heartless.

But this is rather different
from her records.

How will this soft side affect his job?

Hey.

What is...

Hey.

Have there always been this many flowers?

Yuzuriha!

The fate of an imprudent,
cruel, and sinful k*ller.

What I thought was common sense
was blown away by a powerful wind.

I can't get any closer.

I don't need to be any closer

as long as I can keep watching by her side.

Huh? Am I allowed to draw right now?

I feel like I was in the
middle of doing something else.

Well, whatever. I'll draw another one.

Whatever... One... more...

k*ll me? k*ll me.

Yuzuriha, what should we do?

We have to fight this
monster again right now?

There's no way.