Undercurrents

On West Island, upon the cratered earth littered with rubble after a fierce battle, two figures stood facing each other.

One was Otakemaru, holding his twin blades with a calm expression. The other was Shuten-doji, his fists clenched so tightly that veins popped, his face twisted in fury.

"You bastard! What did you just say?!" Shuten-doji roared at the indifferent Otakemaru. The latter responded with a dismissive shrug.

"Ah, are you deaf? If so, I’ll say it once more, so prick up your ears and listen well. I’ve grown tired of this game you land-dwelling yokai are playing. Continuing this so-called duel would be a waste of time. Therefore, out of the goodness of my heart, I choose to forfeit. I’ll let you win this one. You should be grateful for my grace, Ghost King of Mount Oe!"

Watching Otakemaru look down on him as if granting a charity, Shuten-doji felt a fire ignite in his chest. He smashed a nearby rock in his rage and bellowed.

"Don't mess with me! Are you trying to mock me?! I was just about to show my true strength, and now you want to run?!" Given his battle-hungry nature, Shuten-doji could not accept such an attitude. He had already dealt with a forfeit in the previous round; although he had agreed to it then, he had been deeply dissatisfied in his heart for not being able to fight to his heart's content. Now, just as he was starting to enjoy the battle, his opponent pulled the same stunt.

"Hmph, and what if I am mocking you?" Otakemaru let out a cold laugh, his gaze still filled with disdain. He didn't look like someone surrendering at all; he looked more like a victor granting a favor.

"You... bastard!!" Finally, Shuten-doji reached his limit. He leaped into the air, bringing his fist down toward Otakemaru. However, his fist of fury did not hit its mark; instead, it smashed into the ground, creating massive fissures. Otakemaru’s figure vanished into the rising dust.

"Hahaha! Treasure this charity, Shuten-doji! Don't worry, if you want to duel me, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future. But when that time comes, you’d better be prepared to die..." In the sky, the massive ghost ship had approached at some point. Standing at the prow, Otakemaru laughed down at Shuten-doji. As the ghost ship quickly sailed away from the battlefield, Shuten-doji could only crack his knuckles in rage, facing an opponent who had no intention of continuing the fight.

"Damn it, I'll definitely kill you the next time I see you..."

Having failed to enjoy a proper fight for two consecutive rounds, a stifling fire burned within Shuten-doji's heart. He, who had come primarily for the thrill of battle, could now only place all his hopes on the final match.

That fight had to satisfy him...

In the sky, as Otakemaru was returning on the ghost ship, his attendant Kujira spoke with a hint of confusion.

"Young Lord, why not continue the fight with that Ghost King... With your strength, dealing with him shouldn't have been a problem."

"It wouldn't be a problem, but that would require using that thing. For the sake of our future grand plan, I don't want to reveal too much in front of those land-dwelling yokai..." Looking at the rolling black clouds ahead of the ghost ship, Otakemaru continued slowly.

"Hmph, don't forget, Kujira, our trip here wasn't for that demonic power that comes with a forced contract. It was primarily to see what kind of caliber these land yokai possess and how strong they are... From what I've seen, there are several decent ones. When we rise up in the future, we must include them in our countermeasures... especially that Shuten-doji..." Otakemaru’s expression hardened. Clearly, despite the brief clash, Shuten-doji had left a significant impression on him.

The primary goal of the Sea Nation yokai's journey was not the Black Tortoise demonic power that required a contract with Tamamo-no-Mae, but to gather intelligence on the land's Yokai Lords for future plans. Thus, there was no need to fight to the bitter end.

As the Sea Nation's ghost ship sped toward its return, several gap eyes with purple pupils slowly opened within the surrounding clouds. they moved along with the ship, terrifying many of the small yokai operating the vessel.

"Young Lord, what is this..." Kujira frowned at the sight.

"Heh, it seems someone doesn't want us to go back... This so-called gathering has other conspiracies afoot..." Looking at the surrounding gap eyes, Otakemaru drew his blade and took out a strange magatama, clutching it in his hand.

"Prepare for battle, Kujira. It looks like... I'll have to get a bit serious..."

...

In a secluded forest on the island.

Ao Andon stood alone, scanning the surroundings. Countless gap eyes stared back at her. After an initial look of surprise, her heart settled into a calm realization.

"So you've finally come, Yakumo Yukari..."

...

Beneath the island, within a massive seawater cavern, dilapidated man-made ruins were scattered everywhere. These were facilities used for rituals over three hundred years ago, and they had long since lost their original purpose—at least on the surface.

In a deep pit filled with jagged stalagmites, countless rotting corpses were piled up. Some were animals, but the majority were humans. Countless maggots crawled in and out of the semi-decomposed bodies at the bottom of the pit, emitting a nauseating stench.

"Ugh... what is this place? Why are there so many corpses piled here..." Above the pit, Nura Rihyon stood at the edge of the cliff, covering his nose and mouth as he looked down at the disgusting scene.

"It should be a place where the yokai of the island discard their food scraps," Kamo Yoshin said slowly, standing beside Rihyon with a lantern.

"No, the flesh on these corpses is mostly intact. There are signs of decay but no bite marks. This doesn't look like yokai food scraps," Seimei said, his expression solemn as he manipulated a sphere of spiritual light to illuminate the bodies below.

"Not scraps? Then what are these corpses?" Hearing Seimei's explanation, Rihyon frowned. Just then, a voice rang out from behind him.

"They are sacrifices..."

Everyone turned to look and saw a blonde woman wearing a strange kariginu. It was Matara Okina.

"It's you!" Rihyon was the first to exclaim in surprise. He had met this mysterious woman thirteen years ago during that great yokai calamity.

"Ah... it's me. Next time you buy cheap sake, don't go feeding it to the goldfish in your courtyard, Rihyon..." Okina said with a smile. This caused Rihyon to shudder, breaking into a cold sweat as he thought to himself.

How does she know I often feed sake to the goldfish in the courtyard? Don't I always have my ability active when I do that?

"Judging by your look, you're an acquaintance of Rihyon. You just said these corpses are sacrifices—what do you mean by that?" Seeing that this mysterious woman knew Rihyon, Seimei lowered his guard slightly and asked.

"Have you come all this way without realizing? This island was originally a sacrificial altar for the deity known as Tokoyo-no-Kami. Is it so strange for sacrifices to appear in a sacrificial pit on an altar?" Okina looked at the group, and her words sent a shock through them.

"Sacrifices? How is that possible? The faith of Tokoyo-no-Kami was wiped out by Hata no Kawakatsu over three hundred years ago. How could there be such fresh sacrifices? Are you saying the yokai of this island are secretly offering sacrifices to Tokoyo-no-Kami?!" Kamo Yoshin spoke up, finding Okina's words hard to believe.

"And... why would that be impossible? Why would the yokai of this island suddenly go to such great lengths to capture Shiranui? Do you truly have no other guesses in your heart, member of the Kamo family?" Okina spoke in a heavy tone. Kamo Yoshin froze, his face suddenly changing as if he had remembered something.

Ignoring the reactions of the group, Okina pointed toward the pitch-black depths of the cavern and continued seriously.

"The answer to everything likely lies in the main sacrificial grounds at the center of this island's underground. However, that place is currently being strictly protected as a base for the conspiracy of the Nine-Tails and the boundary yokai. The boundary yokai's barrier has completely enveloped the main sacrificial grounds, making it airtight. No one can enter except for themselves and their most trusted confidants."