Yamanaka-do
Miyoshi Construction
Iwayama-ya
Hey, Minato. Look, look!
Yes?
They're preparing for a festival!
Hojo Festival held once every three years
So tomorrow is the Hojo festival, held once every three years.
It's an event people started as a ceremony to offer gratitude
for the mountain's blessings.
The mountain's blessings.
And this mountain means...
Me, of course.
However, not many remember the origin of this festival nowadays.
Is that so?
Ooh, crêpes!
And those are chocolate-covered bananas.
There's cotton candy and petite castella too!
I'll come back here tomorrow to get them!
Utsugi, you need to calm down.
Good grief.
Oh, hello, young man.
Oh!
Hello! Is Echigo-ya running a stall as well?
Of course.
I'll be offering a mountain of special buns, a favorite of the holy dog.
Wow. I'm sure the holy dog will be very happy.
I'm called the mountain god!
Grandpa, let's go home and continue preparing for tomorrow.
Sure. I'm happy to train you thoroughly.
I'll become a full-fledged confectioner in no time, so you can rest assured!
Hey now. Maybe in ten years or so.
But the sake buns the other day came out well, right?
I hadn't seen the grandson in a while, but he's become dependable.
The future of Echigo-ya is bright.
Yakitori / Beef Tongue / Chocolate Bananas / Shooting Game
God and Yokai Curry
There are a lot of people who are working hard to make
the festival for Yamagami happen.
It's admirable.
I applaud their effort.
Wow! You're too bright, Yamagami.
Please turn it down!
So it is thanks to the people in town that Yamagami can thrive like this.
Yamagami, which Japanese sweets should we buy?
If there's something you'd like, feel free to tell me.
You're the star of the festival tomorrow.
I see.
Then I shall take you up on your kind offer.
Kusunoki's Garden of Gods
The Grudge of Evil Spirits Defiles the Festival
Nice! Go, go!
Treasure Trove of Toys
Good luck, both of you!
We're not gonna lose, all right?
That's the spirit!
Go for it!
You've got this!
Spinning tops. That takes me back.
That's a toy for New Year's Day.
Yes. But at this store, it seems you can play it year-round.
Gosh, I lost again!
I win!
Congrats!
Let's play video games at my place!
Sounds good! Let's go!
I'm going to beat you next time!
Let's go!
Yamagami, you want to play?
Of course. Shall we?
I haven't touched it in years, so let's see...
Wrap it around like this, and...
Here!
Amazing, Minato!
That's pretty neat.
It's nothing.
Yamagami, how are you doing?
Yamagami?!
I-It's a piece of cake.
That's cheating.
How are you going to throw that?
Just like this.
Practice makes perfect.
Yamagami, you can do it!
Treasure Trove of Toys
You piece of...!
Why do I have to wrap this every single time?
I see it!
It doesn't work because of the shape of my top!
I don't think that's the case.
Then the problem is this, the ring!
What?!
Being cramped like this isn't my style.
You're so competitive.
Yamagami, you use too much force.
This time, try it like you're placing it on the ring.
Here. Go forth.
Oh!
You did it, Yamagami!
Well, not too shabby.
Now we can battle.
Yes.
We will now begin the one-game match of spinning tops.
The top that pushes the other top out of bounds,
or stays spinning longer, wins.
I won't hold back one bit.
I'm ready.
Ready... begin!
Go, go!
Yamagami, Minato, good luck!
All right! Here goes!
There!
Aren't you going to strike back?
No need.
I'm a mountain god.
The shortcut to victory is to be immobile, like a mountain.
Oh yeah? Then...
Yamagami holds his ground!
Neither yields! A great match!
I'm rooting for both of you!
That's game! Yamagami wins!
I lost.
Amazing, Yamagami!
What an intense duel!
What's wrong, Harima?
Nothing.
What is it?
Please take a look.
This is the third one.
Are you kidding me?
Those exorcists are nowhere to be found. And...
What exactly was that vortex of impurity that spewed out evil spirits?
Wasn't that gigantic thing also the work of the exorcists?
Are you saying Ansho is manipulating that thing to create evil spirits?
How should I know?
We'll have to catch them and make them tell us.
But how?
Everyone!
Horikawa!
You disappeared without saying anything to me!
I was worried...
Not that. You're making more work for me!
What is it?
There was an anonymous tip about witnessing men
that seemed to be the exorcists.
Anonymous?
How reliable is this information?
I'm not sure, but the location is a vacant house up ahead.
Okay, let's check it out.
Since we're done with shopping, should we head home?
Aye.
That man...
Minato?
Maybe my eyes deceived me.
Minato!
What's the matter?
Oh, that man looked exactly like the guest
I met at my parents' hot spring inn when I was a child.
You know, the guy who saw that my handwriting had the elimination power.
But he wouldn't just happen to be here, right?
Hm. That man is most likely a wandering exorcist.
He might have sensed something here and came to this town.
Sensed what?
Big trouble!
It's dangerous!
Was that...?
They're wind spirits.
They seem to be warning us of danger.
Right.
They're telling us that something wicked we've been sensing is on the rise.
You did mention that before.
What is it?
Hey!
Fujin, Raijin!
What's going on?
We've got a problem, so we came to tell you.
A problem?
A portal to a bizarre abandoned kami realm appeared.
It's enormous, and evil spirits are pouring out of it.
Evil spirits?
Is that possible?
We've never heard of it before.
And it moves around. It's totally unpredictable.
The wicked power Yamagami is feeling...
That must be it.
I knew it!
Deep inside that abandoned kami realm, there lies an extraordinary power.
Got another exorcising job?
Yeah. The evil spirits are just pouring out.
We've got to thank that vortex.
We're raking it in!
And I'm not done just yet.
Oh yeah?
You seem to be rolling in dough.
Where are you going?
C-Crap!
This is where you stop.
Resist us, and you'll learn the hard way.
Okay, why don't you spill the beans?
You're the ones who removed the charms posted around town, aren't you?
What exactly is that vortex that produces the evil spirits?
We did remove the charms.
But we know nothing about that vortex!
Stop lying!
It's true!
Then why did you run?
When I first found it, I thought it could be useful.
Evil spirits?! Bro, what do we do?!
This will come in handy.
What?
Leave it alone, and there'll be more evil spirits in town.
And we can make a killing with all the exorcising jobs.
I see!
To flood the town with evil spirits,
we removed every charm that stood in our way.
That's all!
What?! Don't play dumb!
That vortex must be your doing too!
How are you controlling it?
Seriously, we don't know!
Controlling that thing?! No way!
You've got to believe us!
Maybe these two really are clueless?
What?
Then what is that vortex?
What's this sound?!
You take care of them!
H-Hey!
Harima!
Kusunoki's Garden of Gods
It's coming.
Is that...?
Minato.
Minato Kusunoki!
Mr. Harima!
Are you okay?
Yes. But there... The abandoned kami realm.
Abandoned kami realm?
It's a kami realm abandoned by the god that created it.
But I've never seen something so big, not to mention producing evil spirits.
Hey, what's wrong? Are you okay?!
The miasma is spreading.
Now everyone's in danger.
I see it.
There's a giant evil spirit inside it.
Mr. Harima!
There's a powerful evil spirit inside it!
What?
It's an evil spirit who holds unjust resentment
of the faith in their god being betrayed.
Step back, all of you.
I-Incredible!
The abandoned kami realm disappeared!
Did you do it?
Don't let your guard down.
There is still a horde of evil spirits.
There are too many of them!
Minato!
You guys!
This is incredibly strong impurity.
My eyes hurt!
I can't keep them open!
My body's losing strength.
I'm going to purify it now!
Dispel
With this...
Here they come!
Minato, you need more elimination power.
I'm going to need my regular brush pen!
Mr. Harima! I'll retreat for now and come back with much stronger charms!
Okay, thank you!
Is that...?
Are you serious?
Now!
Don't you dare run away!
Those bastards.
Mr. Katsuragi! Mr. Seishiro!
Right now, we have to deal with that.
Damn it. We've got to go!
Pull yourself together!
Are you guys okay?
I'm ashamed.
I'm sorry, Minato.
Yamagami, I'm going to make charms.
Aye.
I won't let them cancel tomorrow's festival.
Birdy?
The abandoned kami realm?
I thought Yamagami purified that earlier?!
The portal to it has moved.
You didn't exorcise it?
Right. There's still an evil spirit inside it.
At this rate, the animals on the mountain will be...
Why is that evil spirit at Hojo Mountain?
It became an evil spirit because its faith in kami was betrayed.
It must be taking out that rage on me.
What? But that's not your fault!
The birds!
And koi over here.
The animals of the mountain?
They came here to remove impurity.
Yamagami, your body!
I-It hurts.
Everyone! Why? Is it because the mountain is being defiled?
Right. But that's not all.
The source of my power is the people's respect for the mountain.
When it's cut off due to impurity, I cannot maintain this form.
I have to exorcise the evil spirit now, or else,
Yamagami and the others will be...
Mr. Saiga.
I'm counting on you guys!
Here you go!
There's no end to them.
Horikawa. Don't leave my side, you got that?
I-Idiot! Don't get distracted!
Jeez, you're totally dead weight!
Dispel
They're done.
How cheeky.
The portal to the kami realm has moved to the town again.
I'll go rescue the people in town.
There's a festival tomorrow, after all.
I'll take care of the impurity on the mountain.
And you need not worry about them.
I can look after them.
Okay. I'll try and handle it on my side.
When I get back, let's eat Echigo-ya's special buns together.
Yes. I'm counting on you.
Hm?
That's... jade light.
Classroom Change
Pressure
That boy from back then.
We need you now.
Dear brother!
Let us give you a hand!
Are you ready?
We'll unite our power to get through this!
Yes, until the Jade One gets here!
There isn't an end to this, no matter how many we take down!
Let's take care of this quickly and enjoy the festival.
Festival? Let go of distractions!
Nice going, ladies.
There are too many of them!
We can't hold on like this.
What do we do?
Oh no!
Yamagami!
Yamagami! Don't push yourself!
Y-Yamagami!
Translation: Tomoko Takedani Sater Timing: Andy Ellis
Editing and Typesetting: Ashley Barboza Quality Control: Salem Alabanza
Episode 12, "Kusunoki's Garden of Gods."
Next Time
Kusunoki's Garden of Gods