Shuten Dōji, one of Japan's three great yokai, a super great yokai on par with the Great Tengu and Tamamo-no-Mae. In legend he appears as a handsome youth who seduces virgins, then cuts off their breasts to eat. In some regions he's said to drop the disguise—an outright butcher of maidens.
He loves eating humans, commands a pack of evil spirits, and is violently lawless, bearing the title "King of a Hundred Demons." In Japanese lore, Shuten Dōji never plays a righteous role.
In Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan, the Shuten lineage first appears in the Abe no Seimei era. The story mentions Seimei defeating the then "King of a Hundred Demons," Shuten Dōji, and freeing Ibaraki Dōji, who had been Shuten's foster child. Afterward, Ibaraki Dōji, impressed by Seimei's unmatched power, joined Seimei's Night Parade and now serves under Hagoromo Gitsune.
The Shuten Corps. Since it bears Shuten's name, it's eight or nine out of ten linked to Shuten Dōji. Though the original never states it outright or confirms that young lord Dassai is truly Shuten Dōji, even apex clans like Tsuchigumo and the Great Tengu have lineages—there's no reason Shuten Dōji wouldn't.
So Dassai being Shuten Dōji is a near lock, and his Shuten Corps, only five hundred strong, still dared stand alongside the Nura Clan's ten thousand yokai and the Shikoku Eighty-Eight Demons under Tamazuki, and even dared challenge them. That says it all.
The Shuten Corps' fighters were formidable; there were likely many of Shuten's blood among them. Hence their confidence, and Dassai himself wasn't weak.
But that was the original. Now, outside Yamaguchi, the Shuten Corps—five hundred yokai in all.
One remains.
All others, annihilated.
"Who… who are you people? Why attack the Shuten Corps? You're not onmyoji—what yokai are you?" As the Shuten Corps' young lord, Dassai now lay on the ground, barely clinging to life, a far cry from the hard-drinking bravado of the original.
Anyone would lose their swagger watching the organization they'd built uprooted, their clan slaughtered—annihilation of a lineage.
Dassai glared at the twelve monsters before him, each with power on par with a great yokai. He racked his brains, but couldn't imagine how the Shuten Corps had provoked such a pack of demons.
Twelve great yokai at his level—beings who usually ruled their own domains from on high.
Sadly, even dying he wouldn't guess the truth: Meruem had destroyed the Shuten Corps simply to test this world's yokai power.
"The Dark Division's Twelve Stars are now on par with Kage-class powerhouses in the Naruto world. From what Dassai said, 'Kage' equals 'great yokai' here. Just as the System said—this world means little to me. After hundreds of years, they've only reached Kage level?"
"Forget it. I came only to devour Abe no Seimei's perfect body. I never expected much of this world. The Chimera Ant army doesn't have many at Kage level, but it's not a small number either—about a hundred. As for those just shy of Kage, the top-tier elite jōnin equivalents—we have over a thousand mid-to-lower-tier squadron leaders. Add nearly a hundred thousand troop captains (roughly special jōnin to jōnin level), and it's a complete steamroll of this world."
"Tsk, tsk. Seems the only one who might surprise me here is Abe no Seimei. Against power like this, even knowing the plot, I can't be bothered to scheme. Whatever—consider this a vacation."
The Shuten Corps' annihilation outside Yamaguchi didn't cause a ripple among humans—or even onmyoji.
Among yokai, though, it was different. Dassai held great-yokai power and commanded a respectable band. Their reputation couldn't match the Nura Clan's, but it wasn't small.
Wiped out in a single night, they left nearby small fry rattled. Of course, with time they'd be forgotten. Among yokai, you either erase others or get erased.
Even at their peak, the Shuten clan had been destroyed by onmyoji. So only yokai near Yamaguchi stayed skittish; elsewhere, people were merely surprised.
If the Nura Clan—Kanto's number one yokai faction—or the Keikain family—Kyoto's top onmyoji faction—were wiped out, the impact might last longer.
Incidentally, yokai's top faction and onmyoji's top faction were on friendly terms. If that got out, what a stir it would cause. Who knows?
Ukiyoe, Kanto
Today was an ordinary day at Ukiyoe Middle School—especially for Rikuo Nura, who attended there.
Ever since he'd won the acknowledgment of the ox demon from Lake Biwa's Nejigan Mountain, Rikuo's mood had improved day by day. Don't be fooled by his frail, uke-like appearance.
He was, in fact, the young head of Kanto's largest yokai faction—the Nura Clan. Oh no—now they called him the Third Heir.
Yes, the number-one organization. Compared to the Nura Clan, all those Yamaguchi-gumi-type yakuza groups were laughably weak.
They were yokai, after all—the Nura Clan claimed more than ten thousand yokai gathered under its banner. "Morning, Rikuo~" said Kiyojuji Kiyotsugu, one of Rikuo's friends at school.
"Come here, come here! I just heard a super-amazing scoop." Kiyotsugu wore a look that said: You want to know, don't you? Beg me.
"Heh." Seeing Kiyotsugu's face, Rikuo forced a weak smile as a bead of sweat slid down his neck.
Because whenever Kiyotsugu was interested in something, it was the last thing Rikuo wanted to hear. Why? Because Kiyotsugu was a gentleman-level super yokai nerd!
Being into yokai wasn't so bad. But… the key was that Rikuo had one-quarter yokai blood—and he was the head of Kanto's top yokai faction.
"Since you look so eager, I'll be merciful and tell you." Kiyotsugu ignored Rikuo's expression and launched in.
Can I say I'm not interested at all? Rikuo wept inside.
"Did you hear? We're getting three new transfer students today," Kiyotsugu whispered in Rikuo's ear, all mystery.
"Eh?" Not a yokai topic? Looks like Kiyotsugu could be normal for a change. Mm-hmm.
"Word is, the new transfers are from the recently risen onmyoji Uchiha clan!" Kiyotsugu's next line shattered Rikuo's fantasy.
I knew it. Wait—onmyoji? One Keikain Yura was more than enough. Now more onmyoji? My school life! Rikuo was breaking down inside. Please estimate the shadow cast over Rikuo's heart.
The Uchiha clan? Since when did onmyoji have that surname?
"My name is Uchiha Reiko! Nice to meet you all!" A sweet-faced, long-haired black-haired girl appeared in Rikuo's class. Reiko—long unseen in the Naruto world—at last resurfaced. Back there, the late-game was too dangerous and Reiko wasn't strong enough to protect herself, so Meruem had hidden her away.
In this world, things were far safer. After Meruem's careful training, Reiko had reached elite jōnin level.
"Meow~ Neferpitou!" A short-haired, striking, cat-eared girl.
"Meruem." A slightly deadpan, black-clad pretty boy.
Meruem and Reiko weren't that old to begin with; even with the Naruto arc over, Meruem was, strictly speaking, only sixteen, and Reiko the same.
Pitou was born only recently—at most a few years old. But changing ages was nothing to Meruem now. His main purpose here was Seimei—and a vacation. Might as well ride the Nura plot for a free blockbuster. Why not?
Aside from a few yokai, Meruem had a decent opinion of the Nura Clan's yokai. If he felt like it, he didn't mind helping them in a pinch.
"They're here! The onmyoji Uchiha clan!" Kiyotsugu's eyes sparkled.
"Good thing it's only one," Rikuo exhaled, relieved. He'd thought all three were onmyoji.
"Wow—Neferpitou, Meruem, are you two foreigners?" "Are those ears on your head props?" When the bell rang, a flock of middle schoolers chattered around them.
Compared to the bustle around Meruem and Pitou, fewer students gathered around Reiko. Meruem was one thing—black hair, black eyes—but Pitou didn't look Japanese at all.
"Hi, I'm Kiyojuji Kiyotsugu—this is Rikuo. Are you onmyoji? Join our club! Our mission is to discover yokai…" After the initial novelty faded, Kiyotsugu dragged Rikuo over to the trio and launched into his yokai theories.
As if anyone would join such a weird club, Rikuo thought, embarrassed.
"Sounds interesting. We'll join. What's the club called?"
"Kiyojuji Paranormal Patrol."
(End of Chapter)
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