I can't see anything, but...
I can sense it. The little guy's in trouble.
I was able to sense her tao then...
because my blood blurred my vision in one eye.
Because I couldn't see, I relied on my senses.
I gouged out one. The other's blurry.
Well... I can't see a thing.
But I can sense it clearly now.
You really are an incredible woman.
You have my thanks.
This is starting to get interesting!
Hell's Paradise
A faint flower was blooming unnoticed by anyone
Not a burning red, but flickering serenely in red
I've been pausing for a long time dragging my past at my feet
If I break free from this ambivalence,
will I be able to bloom by its side?
The future is slipping away between my fingers
What mistake did I make to pay this price?
Always hurting myself
and hesitant even to a small joy
I want to stop now
The flower just bloomed in dignity
and that was all I needed to be happy
I just wanted to protect this one flower
Wishing to be strong, I
picked up the vulnerability I had once cast away
Can't break free from the ambivalence
In ambivalence, I become myself
Like rooting strongly into the soil
like swaying ephemerally to the wind
I'm slowly loosening myself to bloom
Hell's Paradise
Chrysanthemum and Peach
In a world without war, conquering it with a sword is a pipe dream.
But that didn't stop me.
I sought to become the fastest, sharpest, and strongest swordsman.
I wanted only one thing.
To cut down every powerful warrior...
and live forever by carving my name into history.
How are you so strong, old man?
You're skinnier and slower than me, so how?
Tetsunosuke, you're too greedy.
You want to be everything because you're young.
Thicker, harder, hotter, faster.
You've lost focus.
Not everything a person eats becomes part of them.
Eat too much, and it'll pass right through you.
It's fine while you're young, but cut back once you get older.
Cast off everything you can and look closely at what's left.
You'll find everything within that.
Don't go wider. Go deeper.
Flip it on its side, and it's the same.
I never get what you're saying.
Sakataya Rice
Back then, I didn't understand my master's words.
You bastard!
You'll pay for this!
Are you okay?
So I traveled around the country.
But I understand now.
The more you accumulate, the harder it becomes to see yourself.
The less you have...
the better you can see.
You've made me even stronger.
Wow!
But...
that won't kill me!
Then I'll spend my whole life!
An eternity!
Forever and ever!
Cutting you again and again!
How romantic!
He's determined.
But if this becomes a battle of attrition...
we'll lose.
Even if he can see her tao, he can't kill her without the hindering effect.
Wood
Fire
Earth
Metal
Water
Tao Fa's attribute is wood.
My metal attribute could kill her,
but I can't use tao well enough to be effective.
If we wait too long, Gantetsusai will die of blood loss.
What should we do?
Restoration is a flow that supports yours.
Hindrance is one that halts it.
What are you doing? Move, Little-emon!
Is this what you're into?
Hindrance kills Tensen because it prevents their tanden from regenerating!
In other words,
as long as I'm touching her tanden immediately after it's destroyed,
the effect is the same!
Cut her, Tamiya Gantetsusai!
What?
Naturally, you must cut as close as possible without cutting me.
It would be child's play for an Asaemon.
Is it too difficult for you, Blade Dragon?
I'll do it!
Honestly, it's nearly impossible to be precise with these eyes.
At this rate, I'll cut the little guy, too.
Cast off everything you can and look closely at what's left.
You'll find everything within that.
Wow.
There you go, Little-emon. Child's play.
Ju Fa...
Without hindrance, this never ends.
But we don't have time for this.
I'll have to use that.
Don't do it, Brother.
Let's kill them together.
You're right.
Did you really think you'd survive turning against us?
You fools don't consider consequences.
Consequences?
No matter the riff-raff ahead or behind me,
I just crush whoever gets in my way.
I count on him to stand at my side.
That's all I need.
You may be livestock, but I can agree with that.
Two is enough.
Ju Fa, help me!
I'm sorry, Tao Fa.
I got heated and left you by yourself.
You and I belong together.
We'll crush them together.
Hell's Paradise
Ju Fa and Tao Fa, you are two as one.
We're all family,
but you're special.
I more or less understood.
Nobody else fears the Soshin or doshi.
They take their studies seriously, too.
But Tao Fa fears the Soshin, and I don't really like studying.
Nobody really cares if one of us gets hurt,
probably because they don't die.
But I don't like seeing Tao Fa get hurt at all.
That's probably because you have someone you care about.
We feel our own pain, but we can only imagine the pain of another.
And you imagine it because you care about them.
Imagination is the source of anxiety and kindness.
It's just harder to notice with bodies like ours.
Ju Fa, we're all playing over here.
Tao Fa.
Shall we go?
We have plenty of time.
We can take our time studying together.
The first change was Rien.
They are Hoko. Prototype Tensen.
They were sent to live outside the castle.
Use them to replenish your lost tao.
Replenish?
You will begin your proper training now.
It's the reason you were created.
Ran will study doin.
Mu Dan will study shuten.
Gui Fa will study shuitsu.
Zhu Jin will study taisoku.
And...
Ju Fa and Tao Fa will study bochu jutsu.
This is the reason I raised you together.
I know this is sudden, but it can't be helped.
You'll focus on your studies and teach each other.
The kindness disappeared from Rien.
I don't want to use the Hoko.
I can't help imagining how they feel.
Neither do I, Tao Fa.
It's not much, but let's use fruit to replenish our tao.
Thank you.
I'm glad I was paired with you, Ju Fa.
Several years later, Mei vanished from the castle.
I didn't know why.
But significantly, nobody seemed to care.
Our training became more intense,
and our sense of reality became even more distorted.
It's okay. I'm here.
I must protect Tao Fa's smile.
A hundred years passed, and the animals we brought from the mainland died out.
Our training continued.
A hundred more years passed, and the Hoko village fell into ruin.
Our training continued.
How long are we going to keep doing this?
Soon the Hoko will be gone, and we'll run out of crops.
What are Rien and the grandmaster thinking?
They must have a plan.
We can bring in sources of tao from the outside.
The outside? You mean humans?
Obviously.
If you don't like that, eventually we'll run out of tao and die.
We're not truly immortal.
Besides, I doubt we'll achieve perfect immortality
no matter how much we train.
You mean our training and Tao Fa's suffering was pointless?
How can they smile?
Have they truly lost their minds?
Have they grown accustomed to the endless training and lost their minds?
Or is it me?
Are Tao Fa and I the crazy ones?
I must protect Tao Fa's smile.
What is that, Tao Fa?
Chum. It's for attracting humans from the outside.
In the grandmaster's homeland, they send flowers with invitations.
Isn't that perfect?
If we do it enough times,
some humans who find it strange might come to investigate.
The kaijin won't attack it if we launch it through the sluice gate.
The ocean currents will carry it to Wakoku.
I don't want to use the Hoko.
I can't help imagining how they feel.
Tao Fa, are you okay with this?
Totally.
Is that weird?
No, of course not.
Humans are like the Hoko. Less than livestock.
They're ours to use.
We're not crazy.
It's this world that's crazy.
Everything besides us is crazy.
Livestock, livestock.
That's their Kishikai transformation?
They combined.
Feathers—no, wings?
Either way, it can't be easy for them to move indoors.
We can't do anything like this!
What did you say?
Brother!
I'm amazed it can fly with those wings.
I agree. Structurally, it should be impossible.
Twisted and unnatural, yet somehow seductive.
Their appearance is like love itself.
You're struggling after your betrayal, Big Brother.
After that monster, you're next, old man.
I'm not letting you beat me to it.
Wait!
You're bleeding too much. Let me tend your wounds.
We don't have time for that.
If I kill that monster, my name will go down in history.
But you'll die!
I'm okay with that.
Gantetsusai! Hey!
Are those fluffy spores causing this?
Ow!
Take cover. Touching the spores is dangerous.
This is bad.
They keep falling.
Brother!
I know, but don't stop me now.
Okay.
As long as I maintain my sense of self, I can control this power.
As I thought, my metal tao is effective against Tao Fa's wood.
Wood
Fire
Earth
Metal
Water
If I can destroy her tanden, she'll die.
But...
Brother!
They're both enormous and quick.
And most of all, they've got two tanden.
Where'd all your bluster go, Big Brother?
Shut up.
Brother! Brother, Brother, Brother!
Okay, okay. Calm down, all of you.
No single one of us can kill that monster.
We may not like it, but we have to work together.
Work with him? You're joking.
I don't want you anyway. You're injured.
You're one rude brat.
Your brother's indebted to me for teaching him, you know.
He's not a brat! And I don't owe you anything!
You heard him.
Do I need to punish both of you?
Shut up, idiot.
Our current enemy is that monster.
If you want to kill each other, do it after.
If you hold me back, I'll kill you.
Right back at you.
All right. Let's do this.
I'm still treating your wounds.
I'm amazed you stuck around this guy.
You're the one who told me to wait for you.
Now, then.
Let's go kill a monster.
On the other side, even today
Someone is unraveling, yet they still stand
A stab to the chest, this loneliness
Points and lines, breaking off and vanishing
My shattered mask
It's more than I can bear
But I must keep on living
Tomorrow awaits to greet me
It's endless
And so fragile
Is it better to believe hearts don't exist at all?
Radiant and soft
Was the hand
I squeezed back on that day
How much farther until we reach that Horai place the doshi thing mentioned?
Roughly eight ri. We'll be there before tomorrow.
What?!
Is this not a bit reckless?
They say shinobi can run 40 ri in a day,
but we're samurai. Without horses...
Then we'll use the horse whistle.
Horse whistle?
Wait. You're not serious, are you?
Of course I am.
The doshi told us how to use it during the interrogation.
You've completely lost your mind. Don't—
Shugen-sama, the genin searching the area have returned.
They recovered what we believe are the personal effects of the expeditioners.
Could you take a look at them?
Tenza... Genji...
It can't be...
Brother... Brother Genji!
Judging by the state of the bodies, some were killed by criminals.
We have no time to waste.
We must travel to Horai as quickly as possible and find our companions.
I will kill the sages and the criminals.
In that case, Shugen-sama...
This is the cave.
Please use the horse whistle.
What's that whistle for?
Don't you remember?
It's for controlling monsters.
The monsters live inside that cave.
You can't be serious.
I'm deadly serious.
Like I said...
Shugen's lost his mind.
I'm on my way.