Hello. My name is Takeya Renshō.

  And ever since four months ago, my life has been… strange.

  I’ve been a warrior of the Ichimon my whole life, and in all my years, I’ve seen nothing more constant than the order of the Chūkan. We are warriors bound by our roles. The elders give judgment. The captains give orders. The warriors follow.

  Yet, four months ago, I saw something I never expected.

  That was the first time I saw Watari Hayashi.

  I was there, in the Judgment Hall, when the elders chose to test him instead of banishing him outright.

  That was strange.

  I was there when I watched the so-called exile pass that test.

  That was even stranger.

  And then, a week ago…

  My captain received word that warriors from other gates would be coming to train here.

  That was supposed to be normal. Just a simple lesson. Our captain, Masaki Hiroto, had one thing to teach them. The core teachings of the Ichimōnban:

  The fundamentals.

  Something all warriors of the Chūkan learn. Something the Jumōnban warriors have already mastered.

  So imagine my surprise…

  When the very same Jumōnban warrior I saw stand before the elders… stepped through our rift…

  And didn’t know a single thing about the basics.