— Earlier that day —

 

In the palm of a hand, there was a scar — right where the “line” appeared on people born with elemental blood.

It was the hand of a boy who stared at the scar intently. His expression was emotional — it was clear that something important lay behind that scar. Then, he clenched the hand tightly into a fist.

His expression changed instantly, filled now with determination.

The boy’s name was Hanzo Hakai — 15 years old, tall and strong. He wore a headband and a ninja outfit with armored plates on the chest, shoulders, elbows, and knees. There was a chain-kunai wrapped all around his torso.

He carried two ninja swords on his back, and had two ninja tool pouches, one strapped to each leg. And, he also carried a mysterious backpack on his back.

Hanzo was in the middle of a forest, surrounded by trees and wooden training posts. It was silent, the only sound was the wind rustling the leaves. Then, he began to train.

With his eyes closed, he launched shurikens while flipping through the air in swift, precise acrobatics — hitting every target dead center.

Suddenly, sharp wooden spikes shot up from the ground at random angles. But Hanzo reacted fast, dodging all of them with agile spins and flips.

Before he could rest, a rain of kunai came speeding toward him. He drew both of his swords and deflected the kunais with incredible speed, leaving them scattered uselessly on the ground.

Just as he began catching his breath, he suddenly found himself caught in a net being pulled upward. Quickly, he threw a smoke bomb at the ground and set it off. The area filled with smoke, and only the empty net rose into the air!

Hanzo was already elsewhere, swinging from a wire before landing on the branch of a nearby tree. He reeled the wire back in and placed it in his pouch.

“Enough! That’s all for today,” came a woman’s sensual voice.

“But sensei, I just got started! There are still over a hundred traps left,” Hanzo protested.

There she was, Aoi Momoa, sitting on a log, holding a wine bottle, looking cheerful... and clearly drunk.

She jumped down, and staggered as she walked, clearly tipsy.

“Speaking of traps, we need to take them all down before someone gets killed. You’re the only one who can make it out of them alive.”

“Alright, I’ll dismantle them after I finish today’s training.”

“Forget the training. You’re already ready. All the different traps I built over the past few months haven’t even scratched you. The training’s lost its fun.”

“Let’s hope getting into the Special Unit is as easy as this training.”

“When I found you a year ago, training alone in the woods, I knew right away you had the potential to join the Special Unit, even without elemental blood. And with the intense training I gave you, I’m sure of it now. You don’t need any special powers to beat your opponents. Your tools are more than enough.”

“That’s my motto, sensei. A real ninja doesn’t need special powers, only his ninja tools. That’s why I carry them all.”

“I still think it’s overkill. Traditional ninja weapons like swords, shuriken, kunai, smoke bombs, and wires would do the trick.”

“A prepared ninja is worth more than a ninja with powers, sensei. That’s why I added nunchaku, chain-kunai, a foldable staff, and a few secret weapons in my backpack.”

“Anyway... dismantle the traps and go say goodbye to your village. Tomorrow is Arena day.”

“Sensei, are you sure they’ll let you back into the army after you left so long ago?”

“Of course! I left, I wasn’t expelled. And I only left because I didn’t want anyone pitying me for losing my powers.”

“I get it, but besides losing your powers, you also turned into a...”

“I know, my boobs got bigger,” she said, jiggling them playfully. “And I got hotter. But why would that be a problem?”

“Stop shaking your boobs at your student!” Hanzo shouted in embarrassment. “And I meant you turned into a drunk, irresponsible slob.”

“The army will just have to deal with it. I passed the Arena, joined the Special Unit, and completed missions. I’ve earned my place there, just like everyone else who probably became captains by now,” then her expression changed, growing serious. “Now I have to face that idiot Kubo again, the one who made me lose my powers.”

“But he saved your life, sensei.”

“The ‘Blood Pact’ is only made when someone’s on the verge of death. I could’ve survived the injuries without having to benefit from the pact in exchange for my precious powers,” Aoi said bitterly.

“He couldn’t be sure about that. He couldn’t take the risk. You yourself said you were unconscious and badly hurt.”

“Are you siding with that idiot too?” Aoi asked, annoyed.

“If it weren’t for that guy Kubo, I might’ve never met you, sensei. Because, well... I guess you decided to help me because our cases are similar.”

“They’re not similar at all! You were born without elemental blood, you never had powers. I was born with elemental blood, I had powers... and I lost them. I miss my powers,” she began to sob like a child, pulling Hanzo’s head into her chest as she cried.

“Sensei... you’re the one who needs comforting. So it’s your head that should be on my chest, not the other way around!”

 

***        

 

In a small, poor, and humble village, all the villagers were gathered in front of Hanzo.

Everyone was emotional — it was a farewell.

Hanzo stood with his backpack, ready to depart.

Then, an old man, clearly worried, approached Hanzo. It was his father.

“Son, I know you're doing this for the village… but there's still time to turn back. If they find out you're pretending to be your twin brother, I don’t know what they’ll do to you.”

“They won’t find out. The scar I made on my hand is flawless. It looks just like the line of elemental blood was erased by the wound. Outside this village, everyone thinks the one who died of illness was Hanzo’s twin, the one born without elemental blood.”

“Pretending to be Hanzo doesn’t make you him. You don’t have his elemental blood, you don’t have his special powers.”

“The whole village placed their hopes on Hanzo. When he died, everyone panicked. It became my duty, as his twin brother, to carry out his mission: to pass the Arena, join the Special Unit, and save our village. And I’ll do it without any special powers.”

“But it was because of his special powers that the army official even made the offer, that once he turned 15 and passed the Arena, the village could remain on these State lands in exchange for his service as a soldier in the Special Unit.”

“Father, the deal is to pass the Arena. That’s it.”

“Understand this once and for all, you won’t make it through the Arena without special powers. I don’t want to lose another son,” his father said, worried.

Hanzo’s face twisted with indignation.

He stepped away, disappointed, and began to leave.

But then he stopped, his thoughts pulled back to the past.

 

— One year earlier —

 

Inside a small house, the identical twin brothers was together — one was on his deathbed, the other held his hand tightly.

“Brother… I failed our village. I’m going to die without saving them. They have nowhere else to go. Our story is here… this place is our home,” said the bedridden brother, coughing.

“You did everything you could. Don’t feel bad. The village will understand.”

“I have a mission for you. As my twin, you must finish what I started. Pass the Arena. Join the Special Unit. Save the village.”

“But brother… without special powers, I can’t complete that mission.”

“Yes, you can. You were always the best student among those without elemental blood. Your skill with ninja tools is just as impressive as any special ability.”

“But I still never managed to defeat you in a fight.”

“Yet you defeated everyone else at the academy, even those with elemental blood. With time, you would have mastered every ninja weapon and eventually defeated me. That just never happened because I couldn’t afford to lose... not while I was supposed to be the village’s savior, it wouldn’t have been right.”

“But brother…!?”

“From today on, you are Hanzo Hakai. Finish my mission and save the village. This isn’t just a favor, it’s the last wish of your beloved brother. Show the village that you were always better than me.”

“Me?” he asked in disbelief.

“Yes, you… Hanzo Hakai!” he declared, as he closed his eyes and drew his final breath.

Tears fell from his brother’s eyes, but still his gaze carried determination. He was clearly resolved to fulfill his brother’s dying wish.

 

— Back to the present —

 

After recalling the memory, Hanzo turned to face the villagers. With a deep breath, he raised his head and spoke boldly:

“The one standing before you now is Hanzo Hakai. Don’t wait for news tomorrow to start celebrating, because I’ll say it now: I’m going to pass the Arena!”

The villagers erupted in celebration, shouting with joy. And Hanzo walked away with powerful, steady steps while behind him, everyone chanted his name in hope and pride:

“Hanzo Hakai! Hanzo Hakai! Hanzo Hakai!”