The rain poured down in torrents, and dark clouds blotted out the sky...
A flash of silver lightning split the heavens, followed by a low, rumbling thunder.
Logan strode out of the bathroom, his hair and beard bristling, his brows furrowed and eyes glaring like an enraged wolf. Twenty minutes earlier, he had just endured the worst bath of his life.
Three elderly women in kimonos had scrubbed his body with long brushes that scraped painfully against his skin, all while chattering away in incomprehensible Japanese, their noise grating enough to make his head spin.
The Wolverine who had never backed down from a fight had nearly unsheathed his Adamantium claws in frustration...
Sure, he had spent some time living in the wilderness, where hygiene wasn't exactly a priority, and before arriving in Tokyo, he had looked like a vagrant. But that bath had left him feeling violated, as if he'd been assaulted.
The Yashida estate stood along Tokyo Bay, sprawling across vast grounds. From its vantage point, one could gaze out at the rushing rivers and towering skyscrapers in the distance... a truly breathtaking view.
Logan followed the red-haired woman, Yukio, who was now dressed in a kimono, down a long traditionally styled corridor.
To his right stood an antique folding screen painted with famous scenes from the Warring States period. Through the open shoji screens on the left, he could see stern-faced bodyguards in suits patrolling at regular intervals beneath the eaves, their watchful presence creating an atmosphere of tense vigilance...
Truth be told, Logan still couldn't shake the surreal feeling of standing inside this ancient Tokyo mansion.
Just ten hours ago, he had been living like a wildman in the remote mountains of a small Canadian town.
Since Stryker's death, this lone wolf, forever drifting without a home, had left the relative safety of the Xavier Institute and set out on the road again, wandering the world.
As the Professor had once said, for Logan, immortality was an inescapable curse. It meant he would always be alone, forever denied the warmth of family or love.
Though the Wolverine appeared young and strong, his true age was more than double that of Charles Xavier.
When he had first joined the Institute, it wasn't just the pull of his fellow mutants that drew him in... it was the hope of reclaiming his lost memories.
But with Stryker buried beneath the ruins of Alkali Lake's dam, those forgotten years were gone forever, lost to time.
Even Jean Grey had briefly captured his heart, but Logan could never stay for long, and he had no reason to.
After the Professor and Sean formed their alliance, he had shouldered his pack and left, wandering until the red-haired woman named Yukio had found him.
Pushing open a pair of heavy wooden doors adorned with an archaic dragon painting, Logan laid eyes on the man he had come to meet... Ichirō Yashida.
The frail old man lying on the hospital bed was also the head of Yashida Industries, a corporate titan whose influence could shake the entire nation with a single step.
Stepping into the intensive care unit, Logan took in the array of life-support machines surrounding the bed. A blonde woman in a surgical mask issued orders, Yashida's personal doctor, judging by her authority.
Even the loose white coat she wore couldn't hide her striking figure...
"...Wolverine." Yashida's voice was weak as he addressed Logan.
The old man whose face was mottled with age spots and deep wrinkles looked like a candle flickering in the wind...
"You haven't changed a bit. Not that I'm surprised..." Yashida's clouded eyes gleamed for a moment before he dismissed his doctor, Dr. Green.
The multi-articulated metal bed shifted like a living spine, propping the dying man up...
"All these years… I've wanted to thank you for saving my life..." He paused, wheezing between sentences.
Logan glanced at the monitors displaying vital signs. Even without medical knowledge, the organ scans and fluctuating data made it clear that this industrial magnate was truly on the brink of death.
Noticing Logan's gaze lingering on a large folding screen, Yashida explained, "That painting was brought from my birthplace. It depicts the skill and bravery of the shinobi, warriors who served my family for centuries."
The artwork showed black-clad ninjas locked in brutal combat with armored samurai on horseback, blades clashing, blood spraying... a scene of cold and ruthless violence...
"I didn't bring you here just to express my gratitude," Yashida said solemnly, "Logan… I want to repay you. With something no one else can give... a gift worthy of the life you saved."
Logan shook his head, "I don't need anything in return."
He and Yashida had met at the end of World War II, in the summer of 1945. Back then, Logan had been a prisoner of the Japanese military, locked up with other American soldiers.
Thanks to his superhuman stamina and volatile temper, Logan had earned 'special treatment'... being chained inside a well.
Then, on August 6th, a B-29 dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki. And Yashida Ichirō had been there.
Though Japan's defeat was inevitable by then, their fanatical resistance in places like Okinawa had caused heavy Allied casualties. To force a swift surrender, President Truman and military leaders had chosen Hiroshima and Nagasaki as targets.
As the eldest son of his family, Yashida should have died in that blast, his name etched on a memorial. But a single act of mercy had spared him.
Terrified of death, unwilling to commit seppuku, Yashida had stood frozen as the blinding light erupted, followed by the cataclysmic explosion.
Like a monstrous beast, flames and smoke devoured everything in their path. Yashida had stood there clutching his sword, utterly lost.
And then, Logan had saved him...
The Wolverine had thrown the stunned soldier into the well and endured the nuclear inferno with nothing but his own indestructible body.
Young Yashida had watched as this man emerged from the flames with his flesh charred beyond recognition, only to heal completely within minutes...
"Immortality is a curse. It haunts you like a ghost. Every loss cuts deeper, until the pain erodes your will to live. You lose your purpose… becoming a lone wolf, a rōnin without a master..." Gasping for breath, Yashida mustered his remaining strength and sat up slightly, his eyes burning into Logan's, "I can end it. I can free you from immortality, and let you live as a normal man."
He gestured weakly, and Yukio stepped forward, handing Logan a thick dossier, the memories he had spent decades searching for.
Through his family's connections and other hidden channels, Yashida had uncovered everything...
"You've suffered long enough, Logan. I know your past."