Morning came!

Gotan opened the restaurant door, still looking sleepy, stretching his arms as he yawned. Out of nowhere, he did a quick backflip and landed on the ground full of energy.

“Aaaaah!” he shouted loudly and excitedly. “Today is Mania’s recruitment day, let’s go!”

Suddenly, he stopped. He froze in place! Something had caught his attention. Slowly, he began to lower his head, hesitating. The moment he looked down, he was startled.

One of his boots was stepping in a purple liquid, and it was obviously no ordinary liquid — it was blood. And it could only be his father’s.

“Dad!? Daaaad!” he called out as he followed the blood trail to where his father was lying, motionless, dead!

“Daaaaaaaaaad!” he screamed in shock.

 

***        

 

Kubo was walking down the street, calm as always, chewing his gum. He was thinking to himself: so, it’s today! Well, the academy can wait a bit. Let me stop by the restaurant first and get something to eat…

Suddenly, Kubo stopped, confused by what he saw. There was a small, agitated crowd gathered in front of Rino Amazo’s restaurant.

He let out a worried sigh. It was clear he had realized what had happened.

“Don’t tell me…”

He immediately ran over there and pushed through the crowd at the door.

There was Gotan, leaning on Mania’s shoulder, holding his father’s body in his arms. Gotan was in tears, while Mania tried to comfort him.

There were also a few soldiers — ninjas e samurais — at the scene, investigating for clues.

Kubo approached slowly, his eyes scanning the restaurant — everything was in place. No signs of a struggle.

So there was no fight. What could have happened?

He walked up to Gotan and knelt down, looking at him with deep sympathy.

“I’m sorry, kid.”

“Who is this man?” asked Mania, clearly curious.

“What did you say to him yesterday that left him so worried he ended up taking his own life?” Gotan asked, visibly shaken.

“So it’s this guy’s fault? I’ll kill him right now!” Mania shouted furiously.

“Stop being idiots. Your father would never take his own life… he was murdered.”

“Don’t be an idiot yourself! If you knew Uncle Rino’s power, you’d know no one could do this without a serious fight. Can’t you see the place shows no signs of battle?” Mania snapped, still fuming.

“He didn’t want to fight. He was surely trying to protect you, kid. Someone is hunting the Amazo Clan because of the purple blood. He killed everyone, and your father was the last one. If he knew you existed, you’d be dead by now.”

“He talked about an enemy with power greater than the three nations. Could it be him?” Gotan wondered aloud, deep in thought.

“Maybe. If he managed to wipe out the Amazo Clan, then the power level fits.”

“My dad said only I could stop that man. But I have to let go of hate first in order to awaken the ‘Circle’. I don’t think I can do it now… because all I feel is hate. I want revenge,” Gotan confessed, full of rage.

“Of course you have to get revenge. You’ll have to awaken that ‘Circle’ through hate if you must. And if you can’t… then you’ll have to defeat that assassin anyway,” Mania said firmly.

“Mania, you can go to the academy so you don’t miss the recruitment. I’ll stay here and take care of things with this man.”

“My name is Kubo Kaisen. No need to go, girl. The captain won’t be showing up at the academy today.”

“How do you know?” Mania asked, puzzled.

“Because he’s here right now, taking care of this boy who just lost his father.”

“You’re the captain who’s going to recruit us!?” Mania asked, very surprised.

“Let’s take care of things here. Recruitment will happen another day” Kubo stated decisively.

 

***          

 

The next day. Morning.

Gotan, Mania, Kubo, and some villagers were at the cemetery.

Everyone wore black kimonos, and their faces were marked by sadness. It was the funeral of the late Rino.

Gotan, who stood closer to the front, approached the grave and remained there, still and thoughtful. His gaze was heavy with sorrow.

 

***          

 

Later that day, Gotan, Mania, and Kubo were sitting at the restaurant. The atmosphere was heavy with sadness and silence.

“I’ve already sent a message to Headquarters informing them about what happened… I came by that day to warn your father about the assassin, but I didn’t think he’d come after him so soon,” said Kubo.

“He didn’t even give Uncle Rino time to prepare, not even enough to return to the capital and take refuge at Headquarters,” added Mania.

“I don’t think that would’ve helped much. Given the assassin’s power level, no place would’ve been safe. I believe your father chose to die to prevent the assassin from hunting him so much that he’d eventually discover he had a son.”

“My father sacrificed himself so I could live. And I don’t know how to honor that sacrifice… whether by fighting or by pursuing peace, like he always wanted,” said Gotan.

“Seek peace through battle, Gotan! Uncle Rino gave you a mission to stop that mysterious man, who is probably also the assassin,” encouraged Mania.

“Well, kid… You need to decide what you’re going to do from now on. Whether you’ll stay in the kitchen, or whether you’ll fight. Whether you’ll follow the path of peace, or the path of war,” said Kubo with a hopeful look.

“I need to be alone to think,” said Gotan, looking distant and deeply thoughtful.

“And we also need to go do the recruitment test. Let’s go to the academy, Mania. I want to see what you’re made of,” Kubo said in a more casual tone.

“Let’s do this, Captain!” Mania replied, excited, rubbing her hands together with a smile on her face. ‘Gotan, once recruitment’s over, I’ll come by to say goodbye, okay?”

“Alright.”

“Bye, kid.”

Kubo and Mania left. Gotan stayed behind, sitting there, thoughtful and sad.

Then he lowered his head, and tears began to fall from his closed eyes. His body trembled as he tried to hold back the crying, but his sobs could still be heard.

 

***          

 

At the Academy.

Kubo, always chewing gum and blowing bubbles, was standing beside an older man, the Academy’s sensei.

The two stood in front of Mania and Mikko Mugen — a 15-year-old boy, a samurai with a katana at his waist.

In the back, a bunch of ninja and samurai academy students sat watching.

“Sensei, just curious... are there many students here with elemental blood?” Kubo asked.

“No! As expected, most don’t have elemental blood. But among those who do, I guarantee these two here are the best. I’m sure you’ll approve them.”

“Let’s see… I’m a tough one to impress.”

“We’re going to exceed your expectations, Captain!” Mikko said confidently.

“Well, the test is a fight between me and both of you. If either of you manages to land a single hit on me, both of you pass. I don’t know your abilities yet, so use that to your advantage.”

“But we don’t know yours either, Captain. So I don’t think that makes much difference,” Mikko replied.

“Don’t worry. Since you’re still at the ‘line’ level, I won’t use my powers. I’ll fight using only basic physical combat skills.”

“This must be a joke! I want a real fight,” Mania snapped, outraged.

“Well, I was going to give you a 10-minute time limit, but thanks to Mania’s overconfidence, I’ll cut it to 5 minutes.”

“You see that, Mania!? Now we only have half the time to hit the Captain,” Mikko said, very annoyed.

“I don’t care. I’ll hit him before that,” Mania replied calmly.

“Then let’s begin. You may activate your powers!” Kubo ordered.

Mikko drew his katana slightly and ran his thumb along the edge, cutting his finger just a bit to draw blood. Then he unsheathed the sword completely and took his stance.

Mania pulled a kunai from her ninja tool pouch, pricked one of her fingers until a small drop of blood appeared, and put the kunai back. She also assumed a fighting stance.