Jin Kisigi swept his purple bangs upward with a sharp flick of his hand, eyes narrowing as Ogi lifted his head from the crater. Dust rolled off his shoulders like smoke.
Ogi grinned widely, teeth bright against the pale of his skin."Jin Kisigi," he said with a low laugh. "Second Asura. Heir to the Kisigi Clan. This day keeps getting better. I get to kill the 2nd Asura now."
Jin didn't flinch. He reached behind him and pulled free four blades strapped in an X across his back — thin, curved, patterned with Kisigi scripture that glowed faint purple.
"Kill, huh?" Jin said, twirling one blade once. "That's a strong word. You're talking to the Second Asura, not some random Taoist wandering the street."
His expression tightened."And I can't believe Scissors is stupid enough to attack the Hunter Association. You know this is suicide."
Ogi shrugged like a child asked about homework. "I dunno. Go ask Scissors or something."
Jin stepped closer. "You trying to say you're not with them?"
Ogi leaned forward until their foreheads nearly touched. His smile widened into madness."I don't know," he whispered. "I've been having too much fun to ask questions."
He swung.
The bandaged hammer came down with earth-shattering force, blowing apart the rooftop and carving a crater deep enough to expose the support beams of the floor below. But by the time Ogi looked down—
Jin was gone.
A purple slash glimmered across Ogi's chest as Jin appeared behind him, blades dripping with faint Tao.Ogi looked down at the cut, touched it with two fingers, then smeared the blood across his cheek like war paint.
"Heh," he chuckled. "You hit hard."
He didn't get time to enjoy it.
A girl with messy black hair landed beside him, hands flicking into rapid seals. The air warped."Push!"
A force blast erupted, slamming Jin backward—only for her to clutch her nose as blood sprayed down her lips. She staggered, dizzy.
Behind her, a boy with bright pink hair soared in on a manta-shaped glider identical to their transport, circling above the rooftop like a scout hawk.
"Ogi! Pull back! Pull back!" he shouted through a megaphone. "We pick up the injured first — Form Beta! Form Beta!"
The marked troops moved instantly.
Another teen sprinted in strange zig-zag motions, each step building power until steam lifted from his skin. He lunged for Jin in a blur.
A swamp burst open beneath Jin's feet — the tongue-bearing kid crouched on all fours, saliva dripping as his Tao expanded the wet circle outward, trying to drown Jin in a growing mire.
Two identical boys — the twins — dashed in from opposite ends of the rooftop, grinning with nerves of steel. Their bodies swelled like balloons.
"Left twin ready!"
"Right twin ready!"
Their bodies detonated in twin explosions — smoke, flame, metal rattling — and then both instantly regenerated, each reforming from the other's surviving fragments, as if death was just a temporary change of shape.
Jin exhaled slowly."Your abilities are really impressive, but they're wasted on people like you." He quickly stabs the touge-bearing man in the throat with one of his knives before jumping up to meet the boy riding on the Mantaray.
Jin curves his knife towards the boy, preparing to stab him as one of the twins' hair glows, charging with explosive power, jumps up, catching up to him in one swift motion, the boy's whole body starts to glow, getting ready to explode.
"Perfect." Jin quickly twists his body, planting four of the knives deep into the twin. Jin flashes his palm to the marked men as he pulls down 2 of his fingers. "Two down."
A bead of sweat drops down the boy's face. "He already figured out the twins' technique and let them out." He looks down as the other twin walks to check on his brother.
Jin stares at them, confused, "That was a dumb move." He then kicks both the twins onto the Black Mantaray, both of them in handcuffs.
The boy catches both of them. Why would he rush in? He can't use his technique without his twin. "Ogi, Mira, Granny. Plan Alpha."
Ogi raised the hammer again and rushed in alone."What can I say? I'm not a team player."
He slammed the hammer down at Jin — Jin blocked with one blade, the force shaking his bones. The power-built kid hit Jin from behind, but Jin pivoted midair, kicking him away. The swamp kid rose again, tongue stretching, hurling more sludge to slow Jin's steps.
From above, the pink-haired rider swooped low."Don't let him breathe! Shift left! Form Gamma!"
The push-and-pull girl made a rapid seal — "Pull!" — and Jin was yanked straight toward the swamp user. Jin slashed the air with glowing arcs, cutting the pull vector in half before it reached him.
Ogi burst in with reckless delight, swinging for Jin's ribs.
Jin parried.Ogi swung again.Jin dodged.Ogi laughed louder.
"You're fun!" Ogi yelled. "Way more fun than any of those dumb monks from the monastery."
Jin's expression didn't change. He ducked a hammer swing and sliced Ogi's arm. Ogi didn't even wince — he grabbed Jin's blade hand with his good arm and kneed him across the jaw.
Jin slid back across the rooftop, boots scraping sparks.
From the sky, "We're winning, Granny, do your thing!" the pink boy ordered, diving past them as the manta glider emitted a sharp, whale-like cry. He then dropped the boy with the long tongue
The boy raised up his touge, still hanging out of his mouth. The zombie soldier stumbled toward Jin with jerky motions, reaching out with claw-like fingers. Jin sliced its head cleanly off — but the granny only smiled softly.
"That's one," she whispered. "Bring him back."
Bones twisted. Flesh crawled. The zombie stood again, head reattaching with a sickening snap.
Ogi crackled with excitement. "Oh, this is good! Jin, we should do this every day!"
Jin wiped blood from his mouth. "Nah, you're too boring ."
He vanished.
A blur of purple light sliced across the rooftop in twenty places at once. The swamp user collapsed, cut by dozens of shallow slashes. The power-builder was knocked unconscious before he even finished turning around. The twins tried to explode — but Jin struck them both simultaneously at their foreheads, collapsing them mid-detonation.
He reappeared behind Ogi, blades humming.
Ogi turned slowly, smiling as if nothing had happened.
"Round two?"
He swung the hammer.
Jin raised all four blades.
And the rooftop—
shattered.