The battlefield shifted.
Ash from fallen Ubuyō warriors still drifted in the air, flickering with faint embers of corrupted Tamashkii.
And standing in the center of it all—Toshiro.
He cracked his neck. His lips curled into a pyful grin, mirroring the gleam in his eyes.
“Well… now that pesky lieutenant is out of the picture.”
He looked across the battered field. Their squad stood tall—worn, but ready.
“I guess that means… it’s time for me to py.”
His gaze swept across them, calcuting.
“So. Which one of you is gonna be fir—”
Before he could finish—
BAM.
Ryuko was already there. A blur of shadow, bde drawn mid-sprint.
Toshiro’s grin widened.
He dipped beneath the incoming strike, hair brushing Ryuko’s arm as the bde passed over.
“Heh… I like that spirit. You’ll be my first pything.”
Then—
Palm.
Toshiro’s hand caught Ryuko’s face, locking him mid-motion. Ryuko struggled—but couldn’t move.
And in one sharp burst—
BOOM.
He shoved him backward into a wall, shaking the foundation. Ryuko coughed up blood, slumping to a knee.
Toshiro ughed. “Oh, don’t tell me you’re done already.”
But Ryuko wiped the blood from his lip and shoved his hand forward.
“Shadow Puppeteer.”
Dark threads snaked along the ground, rising like tendrils to wrap around Toshiro’s arms, legs, back. Dozens—interlocking.
Toshiro blinked.
Then smiled.
“Puppeteer…?”
He chuckled.
“Trust me, I know the best puppeteer there is.”
He tilted his head.
“And you?”
“You don’t match.”
With a fluid spin, he twisted once—and cleaved every single thread clean through. The shadows scattered.
He rushed Ryuko again—
“Half Crescent!”
A streak of pale Tamashkii carved the air between them.
Toshiro slid back, boots skidding against the stone as the silver arc parted the battlefield.
Just as Toshiro slid back from Ren’s ssh, his eyes flicked sideways—toward the Fifth Gate squad, who’d been circling, looking for an opening.
Jiro charged first.
Big mistake.
In one breath, Toshiro vanished.
In the next—
Three bodies hit the ground at once.
Tetsuo. Amano. Jiro.
Dropped.
Toshiro reappeared, brushing blood off his colr.
“Your squad’s got guts,” he said, casually.
“But no bite. You’re not even toys—just broken pieces.”
Ren stepped forward, bde raised.
“Hey. I want a turn too.”
Toshiro grinned. “You guys really don’t know how to wait, huh?”
He straightened, brushing dust off his coat.
“Actually…”
He spread his arms wide.
“Now that I think about it—come at me all at once.”
“YuYu would say it’d be more fun that way.”
Yumi didn’t wait.
“Oh? I thought you’d never ask.”
She lunged, bde bzing.
Toshiro stepped back as her Reibaku cshed with his, sparks bursting in a quick exchange.
“Oho… you’re fast.”
He blocked another ssh, eyes narrowing.
“Fierce, too. But sadly…”
He ducked low, twisting behind her.
“There’s already a fierce girl in my life.”
WHAM.
He palm-struck Yumi in the gut—Tamashkii bursting from his hand.
She flew backward.
“Kiyohime—burn!”
A burst of golden fire erupted from behind her. She twisted mid-air, pnting her bde and riding the wave of fmes into a sharp redirect, catching Toshiro by surprise.
Before he could counter—
Akira was already on him.
One arm. One bde.
He sshed forward—clean and fast.
Toshiro raised his own to parry.
But Toshiro’s eyes flicked to Akira’s missing hand. “You think I don’t see it? You’ll need both hands for me.”
Akira smiled. “Who said I wasn’t using both?”
His spirit arm bsted from behind his shoulder, striking Toshiro’s open palm.
Palm to palm.
A full power struggle.
They locked, teeth gritted, bdes pressed together.
A crack spread beneath their feet as they struggled.
Ren narrowed his eyes.
There.
A chance.
He stepped forward.
“Full Moon.”
The field dropped into a deep chill. Time slowed. All sound dulled.
And Toshiro felt it.
His footwork hesitated. His bde pressure slipped.
His smile vanished.
“Tch…”
He clenched his teeth, trying to move through the cold moonlight—but it was too steady, too precise.
Until—
He grinned again.
“You really want to see me use it that badly?”
“Fine.”
He inhaled.
And then roared.
“Shugorei no Gōka.”
(Guardian Fme of the Vengeful Soul.)
BOOM.
Bck and red Tamashkii erupted from his body in a cyclone.
It spiraled around him like fire—but not natural fire. Jagged. Warped. Spiraling backward as if time itself was unraveling around his body.
His bde shifted—metal groaning as it elongated into a dual-ended naginata, one side a massive cleaver, the other a jagged bck spike.
His eyes shimmered red and bck.
The air itself cracked.
The sudden shockwave shattered Full Moon’s effect—a burst of raw energy forcing Akira back, Ryuko off-bance, Yumi reeling.
Toshiro stood tall in the center of the smoke. Cloak gone. His torso wrapped in glowing, rune-covered bandages that pulsed with unstable energy.
“Man…”
He rolled his shoulders, spinning the naginata once.
“I can’t believe you made me use this.”
He looked at them—smiling wide now. Borderline maniacal.
“You better not die too fast now.”
“The toybox is just getting started.”
