Ken-san, this looks really bad.
What are you talking about?
This is the sacred tree!
Fool! You think the gods are going to give us our dinner?
I know what you mean, but...
Besides, we're really putting a lot of hard work into this.
The gods might even appreciate that.
The role of a god is to make us humans happy, right?
I see. I guess you're right.
If you don't have any more objections, then hurry up already.
Right.
Daybreak and Awakening
Listen well.
All in this world can be divided into two parts.
One is the physical,
the other is the soul.
The physical means the body.
My weakened body, your tiny body,
stray cats, wild boars,
they all have a single body.
The soul is without form, and on it is inscribed one's destiny.
The words inscribed there are written in the language of the gods,
so we cannot read them.
The gods wrote them?
Yes. You see, just as the gods made the world, they made us.
And even now, the future of this world is strung like a net across the heavens.
I'm all right.
Some people can see "heaven's net" if they look carefully enough.
Is there something in heaven's net about me too?
Yes, all people and animals have their destinies inscribed on heaven's net.
So everything is written on heaven's net!
That's wonderful.
Would you like it if you could read your destiny?
Yes!
Kuchiha...
My darling child,
in that case, I will tell you.
Grandfather?
Um...
You're kinda in the way.
Don't worry about it.
Mister, this really tastes good!
Doesn't it!
The secret is using plum vinegar as a finishing touch.
I see.
Come try this too!
Sure, just wait a moment.
What do you people think you're doing?
Looks like the Devil has turned up.
You'd better cook the food quickly before she ruins the flavor.
You people...
Come on! Will you two please stay out of the way?!
You were thinking that I'd spoil the food, weren't you?!
I've had enough.
Hey, those guys were Buddhist monks, right?
What are they doing in a Shinto shrine?
They've come here to train under the Princess.
This may look like a Shinto shrine at first,
but it's actually the headquarters for all Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines.
We don't really distinguish between them.
As demon exterminators, the only ones who can match us
are Sasaki's Onmyoudo Bureau in the shogunate.
Onmyoudo is a traditional Japanese esoteric cosmology.
Because the ayakashi have been unusually active lately,
an unending stream of people has come here to seek the Princess's help.
As a victim, you should recognize your own inexperience and start training yourself.
Do you see the Princess's magnificence now?
Magnificent, is she?
Didn't your Princess say that she was cursed?
The Buddha saves, but the gods punish.
If the Buddha can't lift the curse on her,
then perhaps the gods placed it on her.
My grandfather named me Kuchiha.
It means "to decay without bearing either flowers or fruits."
He hoped that my bloodline would end with me.
My parents died when I was very young, and I don't remember their faces.
The grandfather who raised me died when I was ten, and I have no other relatives.
Because my grandfather always kept my markings covered,
I was immediately showered with insults when I first went outside.
That was the first time I realized just how greatly this blood of mine was feared.
By the time I understood that, there was nobody left around me.
I persuaded myself that this cursed blood was nothing but a monster born from superstition and delusion.
But I really am a monster after all.
If a single drop of this blood can kill, it's no wonder I'm shunned.
But that's...
Toki?
I'm sorry.
If only there was something I could say to her.
I want to say something,
but I can't.
You idiot.
You're a man, aren't you? Stop weeping like that.
Is now the time for you to worry about other people?
I don't know what you did,
but if you stopped that dog with your power,
then this is no time for you to be careless.
What are you, anyway?
But...
I'm just an average, normal high school student.
There's no way
that sort of power could come from me.
Don't pull such a pathetic face.
No matter what anyone says about you,
you're weak and lame-ass and really pathetic.
You're a normal Toki.
After all, Kuchiha, you're so strong and cool, and you're really cute.
It seems spring is in full bloom.
I apologize for my manners.
It pains my heart to interrupt you two young things.
Well, maybe it's my duty as an adult to hinder Toki right now.
Just kidding!
I apologize for separating you two lovebirds,
but I'm going to borrow Rikugou-san for a little while.
The Princess has summoned him.
This way, please.
I hope the meal is to your liking.
Hey, quit moving.
Is it okay like this?
Why do we have to get changed anyway?
No complaints. It's to purify the area.
Your dirty clothes would hinder the ritual.
Ritual? What? Are you going to try some funny stuff again?
There's a ton of it I'd like to try.
But you guys can wait until next time.
The Princess will perform this ritual.
Finally, the Princess's long-awaited resurrection is at hand.
Hail to our Princess!
Hail!
O great, irreplaceable, intelligent gods of the Sakanami Shrine...
You see,
long ago the Princess exterminated a snake demon,
but it was a vicious thing,
and it tried to take the Princess to the grave along with it.
Just as if I were shedding my skin over and over,
I am cursed to shrivel up and die each and every day.
Even though I do not actually die, without switching bodies like this, my soul cannot survive.
Switching bodies?
Then should I demonstrate the real thing to you?
This rite requires two bodies and a soul.
This humanoid shape and this withered lump are the bodies.
This is the shape of the Princess's soul,
the shape of her heart and spirit.
Normally, the body and the soul cannot be separated,
because without a body, the spirit cannot survive.
But occasionally, there are people who can transfer their souls to different bodies.
There are currently four who possess this special skill.
One is Teiten, the god who made this world.
God, eh.
Another is Bonten. It seems you have already met him.
Another is Kokuten. As of now, his identity is said to be unknown.
And the name and fate of Gyouten have been granted to the Princess.
What do you mean, granted to her?
Teiten grants a human his life.
That is a thing called "destiny," which is inscribed delicately on the soul.
If Teiten grants people life, and those people control the world,
it is as if all creation is in the palm of Teiten's hand.
But things like that are boring, are they?
Help me.
Please, help me.
What do you want?
What happened?
A guest. How many has that been today?
Humans are chipping away at the bark.
They have no pity for the one who waits for death.
Please, help.
What is that thing?
Hey, isn't that the sacred tree?
Hey, wait! I need more details—
Hey! Damn!
If a spirit is that weak, then it's not safe to separate it from its body.
Where are you going?
You should know that already.
Aren't you going to wait for Bonten's instructions?
I have no intention of being his servant.
You think I should take my sweet time like him?
Nothing good will come of just waiting.
We'll be killed off one by one.
Who will protect them if we don't make a move?
However much you might struggle against it,
if it is written in heaven's net, then it cannot be changed.
Heaven's net is the blueprint for existence.
The net depicts the destiny of this world.
The Four Gods alone can decipher heaven's net.
But the only one who can spin heaven's net anew is Teiten himself,
and one other.
The Blank Page.
Rikugou-dono, this world knows nothing of you.
And so Teiten has not given you a destiny.
You alone in this world have no predestined future.
You are like a white page that has yet to be written on.
You are the sole existence that holds infinite possibilities in your future.
Hence, Blank Page, you hold a power on par with the gods of this world.
Maybe I told you this too suddenly.
I greet you again. I am Ginshu.
I am pleased to meet you both, gentlemen.
Shall I explain it to you again?
Well, rather than that...
You're a man?
That's what I'm more curious about.
Were you even listening to what the Princess was saying?
It's all right, Tsuruume.
That's easy to understand.
Here.
I saw it.
I didn't see anything.
If a woman takes the job, then she dresses as a man,
and if a man does, then he dresses as a woman. That's the custom.
As for me, I'm not really one or the other.
For a long time, priestesses have been treated as asexual, as they are tools of the gods.
But that is all the more convenient and straightforward for me.
Which did you start off as?
I will leave that to your imagination.
It seems that the preparations for the meal are done, so let us continue after we have eaten.
Right! Let's go!
It's a feast!
It's irresistible.
From this side, we have tofu with miso paste, fish cake tofu,
spinach with mashed tofu and common tofu,
spiral tofu, and tofu congee.
This is iced tofu, glazed with brown sugar syrup.
It's a tofu-themed banquet.
There's no meat...
Man, I'm stuffed.
Rikugou-dono,
did you understand what I told you earlier?
Now I have a rather selfish request to make of you.
Please hear me out.
Would you lend us your future possibilities and your power?
Heaven's net is absolute,
and those who do not abide by it, meet with harsh fates and wish they could be saved.
Rikugou-dono, they need your help.
Um...
It seems I have moved too quickly.
Let us save the rest of this conversation for another day.
It is late in the day,
so rooms will be prepared for you.
Please spend the night here.
You are safe within the temple building, so please rest easy.
Shinshu will be pleased too.
Be quiet!
Didn't I tell you that once I'm asleep, I'll pull out every one of your feathers if you wake me up?
It hurts! Ow!
But Bon, this is no time to talk like that.
Tsuyukusa has gone off on his own.
So what?
I'm going back to sleep.
This is not a situation to sleep through.
I'm worried about him being out on his own.
We should at least go and see how he is.
Situation?
What situation?
I create the situations around here.
Napoleon said that too.
Napoleon said some pretty good stuff.
The hakutaku (白澤 or 白沢) is a mythical, spiritual beast said to advise only virtuous rulers.
Bon, why aren't you going to bring the Hakutaku here?
The hakutaku (白澤 or 白沢) is a mythical, spiritual beast said to advise only virtuous rulers.
Me? That's a bold statement, Utsubushi.
You want me to bring him here by force, as the Princess did?
And what of his own free will?
In the first place, his power isn't something that can be obtained by asking for it.
The Princess is struggling desperately, but in vain.
I suppose we both want to make use of the White One.
That's not the Princess's place.
So what are we to do?
Don't worry.
In his state of ignorance, he's powerless,
but he's no fool.
We merely have to wait.
How valiant.
Where do you get that confidence from?
If I can't believe in myself, then what can I believe in?
According to what I've learned,
he will become my ultimate weapon and protector in Amatsuki.
But if I can't steal my weapon to use in accordance with my plans,
then it will result in ruin,
and I may be caught like a bird in a net.
However, I'm confident that I can use him.
Now, all that's left to do is to polish my weapon.
Come now, Utsubushi.
Those who would oppose me are most unfortunate.
The fools who would touch my possessions
will be condemned by my own hands.
Oh? So Kon and the others won't return tonight?
I'm sorry to say so. Did you have plans with him?
Well, it's not exactly like that.
They left early this morning,
but I fear that if they aren't back by this late...
I hope they haven't got mixed up in anything funny.
Where did they go, anyway?
Um, well,
th-there was a bit of a problem, and he had to return to his hometown.
What I mean to say is...
they went to learn the method, no, the route to return to their hometown.
What? I knew they were from the same village,
but are they going home?
Well, that's a possibility.
High priest, please come quickly.
It's about Nakamuraya Kenpachi. I spoke to you about him yesterday.
Please help him.
Nakamuraya-san?
Another incident?
What happened this time?
The victim was horribly burned.
In any case, please hurry.
I beg you.
I understand, Nakamura-san. I'll go there now.
Heihachi-kun, I apologize for the circumstances, but could you return in the morning?
Yes, I understand.
Well, take care.
Hey Kon, where do you come from?
Hmm? From far away.
Is he going to go home?
I don't care!
It's not as though I'll miss him.
Man, that hurt.
For such a shabby-looking temple, it sure has a strong barrier around it.
Caught me off guard.
Damn!
I lost sight of him.
That bastard! Where is he?
What's this?
Wait for me, master!
This is terrible.
What happened?
Sir...
Are the ayakashi causing mischief for people again?
Next episode
Episode six: Markings in a water channel.
Markings in a Water Channel