The first time I saw it...
Oh!
Is this...?
It was when I was five.
Grandpa! Grandpa!
Look, look!
Warashi-san gave me this four-leaf clover!
You became friends with Warashi-san.
Yeah!
Warashi-san says it's in return for the snacks.
What?
Warashi-san was a yokai who'd lived in the house even before Grandpa was born.
Let's eat together.
Warashi-san.
Kusunoki's Garden of Gods
The Key to Unlocking the Power is in the Memories
Hippity! Hoppity!
Hippity, hoppity, hop!
Warashi-san, try it like I just did.
Okay!
Hippity. Hoppity.
Hippity, hoppity, hop!
Good job!
Really?!
Warashi-san, I have something nice for you.
What is it?
Grandpa could see lots of yokai that I couldn't see.
Huh?
Hey, Nue! If you're causing trouble, I'll shoo you off!
Good grief.
Hm?
Warashi-san, this monaka wafer is really big, so let's split it.
Thank you.
Oh, Minato. He's getting used to acting like a big brother.
I'm home!
This voice...
I knew it was you, Hihi!
Hey, Hihi! Give back my hat!
Thank y—
Grandpa!
Grandpa, listen!
Hihi is being mean to me!
They're awfully bored, you see.
So that one's toying with you to have fun.
What?! That doesn't make it okay to be mean to me!
Whether you can get along with him is up to you.
The Next Day
Okay.
Hihi!
Give! Back! My! Hat!
Promise me you won't play tricks on me anymore.
Then I'll give you this castella.
Castella
You like castella, don't you?
I saw you take some from the house altar.
Give me my hat back first.
Or you're not getting this.
Whoa!
Jeez.
Ever since then, Hihi and I became great friends.
Memorial Lantern
Eventually, Grandpa passed away.
And one day, when I was in the fifth grade in elementary school...
Man, it's so hot.
Ranmaru, saying it's hot only makes it worse.
But it is hot, I can't help it!
Then let's think about stuff that'll cool us down.
Like what?
Ice
My snack for today is shaved ice.
I'm jealous!
Just kidding! I have ice cream at home!
Wow.
Ugh! It doesn't help us cool down at all!
Listen well, Minato.
When you encounter yokai outside, run before they notice you.
Not all yokai are friendly, all right?
R-Ranmaru, let's get going, now!
What's the matter all of a sudden?
Sh-Shaved ice!
Yeah, I want to have my shaved ice right now.
So let's go! Run!
Are you kidding me? It's too hot to run.
Come on, it's not that far!
This is bad! Let's go home!
Boys.
If you keep playing under the scorching sun, you'll suffer from heatstroke.
R-Right.
It disappeared?
By the way, I heard that there's a hot spring town around here.
A nice, quaint hot spring town.
Did you book a room for tonight yet?
No.
Oh, then you might be out of luck.
Is that so?
Usually the rooms are fully booked around here.
At this time of the year?
It's pretty popular year-round.
Every inn here is cozy and awesome!
I see. I'd love a chance to enjoy that.
I'll visit your place and ask if anything's available.
What? How did you know my home is an inn?
Let's go.
The mysterious gentleman ended up staying at Kusunoki's Inn, run by my parents.
There was a sudden cancellation on that day,
and luckily a room happened to open up.
For some reason, the yokai acted restless and
stayed away from the room this gentleman stayed in.
Kusunoki's Inn
Jeez, homework is such a bother.
Hm?
Whoa!
Pressure
Changing classroom
Very nice.
Your handwriting is easy to read.
What? Th-Thank you.
It's like your pure and honest heart is within these letters.
My heart?
Yes. Make sure to treasure your gift.
I will!
I took what he told me to heart, and the name plates came out really well.
Kusunoki's Inn
Now that I think about it,
he must have known that my handwriting had the elimination power.
He was most likely what we call a traveling exorcist.
Exorcist?
Unlike onmyoji, they're regular folks.
But he must have had significant power.
I see. That's why the yokai stayed away from him.
Indeed.
On another note, how's your training to master the power to seal things?
Oh, I forgot.
I was practicing sealing the elimination power into a talisman.
In your memories, there was a hint for it.
What?
That exorcist... He saw what's at the core of your power.
It's like your pure and honest heart is within these letters.
I think I get it.
Yamagami said the image was important, right?
Heart
Imagining that I'm sealing my heart into this talisman...
That's good.
Really?
You finally succeeded.
Yes!
Hey, Tsubaki and Fujino!
What's the situation?
Perfect timing, dear brother.
We've done all we can with our weapons and spiritual powers.
Give us the Jade One's talismans.
Very well.
Dispel
Use these.
Thank you.
Master Saiga!
Give us talismans too!
Please!
Hey now, that's a lot.
We've been saved.
Yes, indeed.
Thank you, Jade One.
These girls in your family...
After this is done, I'm going on a trip!
They're pretty, but not exactly quiet and reserved.
I'll take a long bath and binge watch movies.
Make sure to hydrate, okay?
Before that, we must wipe out the evil spirits.
Saiga, the talismans?
I have one more left.
Then go!
Yes!
Master Saiga!
You're going to meet the Jade One?
I wonder what he's like?
It's a man, right? Is he good looking?
Cut him some slack.
Our dear brother has no understanding of what makes a man handsome.
Kusunoki's Garden of Gods
Yes! It's open!
This pressure...
Is this from multiple kami?
Oh.
Are you all right?
I'm fine.
About the talismans I asked you for...
What's that?
Are the spirit animals raging out of anger?!
Huh? No, that's just...
Please don't worry about it.
Not batting an eye at the raging spirit animals.
That's Minato Kusunoki for you.
Here are the talismans.
I actually received a new power the other day.
Using that, I sealed the elimination power into the talismans.
I see.
The power won't leak out, so its effect should last longer.
Understood. I'm grateful.
You seem tired.
There's been an outbreak of evil spirits lately.
We're coming in.
Oh, Fujin and Raijin.
It's been a while.
By the way, this man seems quite exhausted.
Seriously, I feel bad for him.
Oh, I know!
Why don't I give him an electric shock?
Oh, Mr. Harima. Raijin wants to give you an electric shock.
What?
Are you ready?
Order up!
Mr. Harima?!
Huh?
Was it too strong?
Mr. Harima? Mr. Harima!
I hope Mr. Harima's doing well.
Do not worry. The rest is up to him.
Right.
More importantly...
I'm looking forward to the new sakura mochi from Echizen-tei.
You're right. Let's get home quickly.
Yamagami, doesn't it feel strange around here?
It's like the air feels heavy.
An abandoned kami realm?!
Whoa!
Ouch!
What's the matter with me?
I was distracted by the thought of sakura mochi.
This is the kami realm of a god that's fallen, right?
Correct.
Created by someone who's not that strong.
And where is that kami?
Who knows?
How do we get out?
Tear open the space with your power of wind.
Let me try.
What's the matter?
If we get out of here, what will happen to the kami who created this?
Let it stay abandoned, and impurity will amplify.
Eventually, it will start to affect its surroundings.
Can't leave it alone, can you?
You're too nice to say no.
Maybe.
But that's very much like you.
Smirk.
Let's find that kami.
Hm? Is that...?
Is this the kami?
Originally, a sword.
The god of swords, you mean?
No, man-made objects are not natural dwellings for divine spirits.
This is a divine spirit channeled into a sword by humans.
My chest feels tight.
Is it angry?
It seems that way.
So, what do you want to do? Eliminate it?
This kami is angry because it wasn't respected, right?
What made you say that?
Look how it's rusty all over.
If it was cherished and worshipped, it wouldn't look like this.
Aye.
I don't want to eliminate it.
I'm going to try and purify it with the new talisman.
The impurity is incredible!
Very good.
The normal talisman would have lost its effectiveness already.
The power to seal things was helpful.
Indeed.
You can leave the rest to me.
I've never looked after another kami before, so who knows what will happen.
What? That doesn't make me feel assured.
Where's the kami?!
I rescued it.
Everything's fine.
I'm glad.
This space will disappear.
What?!
Hurry now. Use the power of wind.
Okay!
I'm counting on you, Number Five!
All right, good job.
Hey now, are you full already?
Jeez! What's taking Ichijo and Horikawa so long?
Are you okay?
Horikawa! You're too slow to rescue me, slowpoke!
These days, you're adorab—
No, I meant...
I mean... Y-You gained weight, so that's why you were slow to get here!
You're dragging me down more than before.
The sound of a bell?!
The sound of a bell
Works like a charm.
We're running out of spiritual power!
And we're out of talismans!
We're so close...
What do we do?
Everyone, calm down.
Master Saiga!
Dear brother!
Here are new talismans.
You exorcised so much with it, and yet the power's still there?
Dispel
They're new talismans with the elimination power sealed in.
That's the Jade One for you!
Nice going!
My gosh, I wish I could meet him.
Jade light?!
Could it be him?
Minato Kusunoki.
I-It's too bright!
I-I can't see! My eyes!
I-I can't see the man himself!
Jade One, you have our gratitude.
We ended up in a strange spot.
Wait, is that... Mr. Harima?
Wow, surrounded by beautiful women.
Does he have his own harem?
They must be his relatives.
Some are screaming and writhing.
To them, what you have in your hand must be blindingly bright.
Oh!
Let's go.
O-Okay.
That hat...
No, he can't be.
Is that Minato Kusunoki?
Who knew he'd be this powerful?
Oops.
You really love that hat of yours.
Yeah, this is my old man's trademark.
If I remember correctly, your father is...
An exorcist.
Is that...
Ansho?
What are they doing here?
What do you think, Yamagami?
An exquisite texture and flavor that's different from Echigo-ya!
That's good.
Oh! Finally, back to your normal self!
Aye. Hm?
Huh?
What's this?
The divine spirit that was in the sword.
You brought it home.
I have put it in a vessel.
So I can make it my minion.
I see.
But it's not moving.
Low on energy?
It says it wants to rest.
It should recover soon enough.
Okay.
Oh, I know.
There.
Please get better soon.
Translation: Tomoko Takedani Sater Timing: Andy Ellis
Editing and Typesetting: Ashley Barboza Quality Control: Salem Alabanza
Episode 8, "Ancient Connection with the Neighboring Mountain."
Next Time
Ancient Connection with the Neighboring Mountain