**PROLOGUE**

*

JULY 1, 2019

*gasping, wheezing, panting*

“Just…who the hell are you?”

There was dead silence, although the arena was full. The fighting ground was absolutely

devastated, as if a death battle between King Kong and his own clone had taken

place...although, the men in question would undoubtedly be much more powerful.

In the midst of the arena stood the two elites, one being the Sanjuro Clan Head, and the

other...a complete nobody...or so we thought. Everybody knew Lord Gado as the strongest

martial artist in existence...until this guy appeared. We thought he'd been dead or

something…

As Gado laid on the ground, he looked up at his opponent; the blazing sunlight inhibiting

his vision, so that only the young warrior's silhouette was seen. In the background, upon

one of the Torii Gates, sat another young individual, chucking as he beheld the glorious

battle.

As the fighter responded to Lord Gado, his Red right eye glistened amid his silhouette:

"I...no, we...are the strongest in the world."

"...Father."

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**ABANDONED WAREHOUSE**

**FEBRUARY 11, 2002, 6:00PM**

"Oi, you're releasing too much power. Turn it down a notch, would ya?"

Energies flaring, powers clashing, this was a regular occurrence at the hideout of the

Dragon-Tails; a form of cult that endorses the exercise of forbidden arts, formed centuries

ago by Hellam Ryūjin, the greatest sorcerer in existence.

It is said that he wielded the powers of 9 Ancient Dragons and distributed them among his

fellow 8 Leaders, who in turn could bestow small portions to all their followers. With such

power, the Dragons asserted dominance over all others, and established themselves at the

very top of the food chain, that is, until those Two Warriors put the Leaders in place. Since

then, the Dragons have maintained a rather low profile, concealing their true intentions. To

this day, all Dragons are capable of drawing on their special power. In this hideout, they

spar with each other, testing out and honing their abilities.

"Damn it, these youngsters...I'm getting way too old for this."

"Gyuwhan, you'll be in charge of these knuckleheads after me."

Ivan Ryūjin, the current Leader of the Dragons, spoke to his infant son, Gyuwhan. Ivan was

very old, well over 100 years, being able to extend his lifespan through the power of the

Dragon he had, passed down from his great aunt.

The young lad looked intently at the sparring Dragons, and looked back at his father:

"Why me, old man?"

"Because, half-wit, I don't have much longer to live. I'll be entrusting everything to you, my

son."

Gyuwhan was only 3 years old, but he was an unusually smart and understanding child.

The more he learned from his elder father, and the more attention he paid to his fellow

Dragons, the more mature he became.

But...Gyuwhan was easily bored.

"That's right...watch closely, all that I'm exposing you to right now. You will fulfill your

great granddad's wishes, Gyu."

“You will…revive the 9 Dragons.”

Gyuwhan wasn't amused in the slightest.

"......lame."

"I'll scold you, damn brat."

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**CITY DISTRICT, 9:00PM**

*cars passing, city sounds*

*persons running*

"GO, MOVE IT!"

A chase ensued in the city at night, 3 individuals outrunning two young boys; the 3 were

Dragons of the Orochi Gang, a group of delinquent Dragons who stray from their kin's main

purpose and, more or less, do what they want.

As the two boys pursued them, one followed directly, and the other followed from above,

upon the rooftops. As the leader of the Trio saw that they were surrounded, he changed

plans:

"Shit, into this alleyway! You two, shake that guy!”

“Yeah!”

River of Snakes! · 蛇の川 (He-bi no Ka-wa)

As they turned into the alley, two of the Dragons performed a secret technique; focusing

their energies, a slow-motion sequence followed, showing that their footsteps began

producing multitudes of Serpents, all targeted at the boy in direct pursuit.

“Hmph.”

Gado-Style: Flame Control! · 加具土命 (Ka-gu-tsu-chi)

Focusing his energy to his feet, they were engulfed in a purple flame, and the young man

performed a sliding dash right through the horde of snakes, consuming them all with his

flames. The Leader saw this, and was amazed, but not quite shocked; he knew how capable

the boy was.

"I figured as much, of all the people...these guys really don't play. We have to escape! Run

idiots!"

The three Dragons were quite fast themselves; they were slowly outrunning their pursuers.

As he pursued behind, Fudo conversed with his ally using ear-phones:

"Damn, these reptile-ass fuckers sure are fast. That earlier move slowed me down a little.

Where the hell is Captain Emir?"

"PFFFFFT- HA! 'Reptile a-' OH HOLY SHIT!" his friend yelled.

"What the hell are you doing Kakkun? Can you actually take this seriously?"

"Shut up Fudo! Because of your horrible joke I almost fell off a fucking rooftop."

"Whatever dumbass, just focus and continue luring these guys. Once they've reached the

spot, it's finished."

"Yeah yeah."

As the Dragons fled, the leader began to assess their situation:

"Hmph, no need for us to worry."

"Katashi and Fudo Sanjuro...a young but dangerous duo. However, they're Sanjuros after

all; Spiritual Energy isn't their forte, meaning their sensory capabilities, et cetera, are more

or less crap."

"We're quite fast ourselves, and we can hide our presence. Very soon, these guys will lose

sight of-"

Immediately after they made a certain corner in the alley, the leader was cut off mid-sentence

as he came to a sudden halt:

"STOP! Don't take a single step further!"

"Huh? What are you saying? If we stop, they'll catch up!"

"Listen. The area in front of us is highly condensed with spiritual energy; it's the Soul

Barrier Technique. Stepping inside that thing isn’t the brightest of ideas, no matter who the

user is."

He then continued assessing the situation:

These guys are currently chasing us, there's no way they would've had the time to put up this

barrier. Which means..

As he was in thought, he looked up to see a silhouette emerging from atop the

rooftops.

A third, huh? And he must be a Yamaguchi too, it's their technique.

But, maintaining a Soul Barrier takes a shit-ton of focus. Why did he create it before we got

here? Did he think we couldn't sense it?

"Either way, you're a fool. I'll get rid of you right n-"

His heart felt like it had stopped when he was able to make out his opponent's face.

"W-WAIT A MINUTE! That face...!"

"...EMIR YAMAGUCHI?!"

With a grin, and a snap of his fingers, Emir's energy flared up through the entire alleyway,

like dozens of lights turning on all at once with a single flip of a switch. When the Dragons

felt it, they immediately fell to their knees; gasping for air and coughing up blood. It felt like

every one of their organs were being strangled.

Fuck...seriously? I’ve heard about him, but…this guy’s a fucking monster! We weren't even

inside the Barrier!...

"Yeahh about that...you were. The entire time."

As he did a short victory flex, Fudo and Katashi emerged on a nearby rooftop, having exited

the alleys before Emir engaged his technique.

"Oi, good work you two."

"Yo, Captain!"

While they talked about the crime committed, and what kind of Dragons they were, the

Leader laid on the ground in utter confusion:

how the hell does he know what I'm thinking?

Emir then remembered what he was saying.

"You're probably thinking you didn't enter the Barrier, right? Yeah, I'm saying you did."

"How?...I'm 100% sure we stopped right before entering the energy zone."

"Yes, you didn't enter that zone, but you entered my Barrier the moment you set foot in this

giant maze of an alleyway. I simply gathered all my energy over to one area within the Barrier.

Once I had you right where I wanted you, I spread my energy out again."

The leader was astonished to hear that Emir could create a Soul Barrier of this scale; it was

an entire apartment complex.

"B-But, if this whole area was a Barrier, what about the residents of these apartments?"

"Huh? Obviously it's not, only the alleyways are affected."

"THAT'S EVEN MORE RIDICULOUS. HOW?"

As backup later arrived to escort the Dragons to lockup, Emir communed with his two

subordinates.

"Well, that's another mission accomplished. Good work once more, Fudo, Katashi. But, you

guys should really work on your synergy."

"Sorry Captain, Kakkun's retarded."

"Your jokes are cancerous."

"Your mum."

"On my dick."

"...wait what?"

*facepalms*

"Anyway, I believe we should be heading back home now, Fudo."

"Hm? Me and you Captain?"

"what about me?"

"Miri-sama and Yura-sama both went into their labour pains a few hours ago."

"Hehe, soon you'll have a younger sibling, and I'll have another little nephew."

Fudo began to recall. His mother, Lady Miri, the wife of the Sanjuro Family Head, had been

pregnant. At the same moment, the wife of the Yamaguchi Family Head, Lady Yura, was also

pregnant. They both went into labour on the same night.

what are the odds of that?

"Well, let's all hurry back then!"

"It's alright, the two of you go on, I'll catch up in a bit."

------------------------------------------------------------------------

**SANJURO/YAMAGUCHI FAMILY GROUNDS**

**MEDICAL WARD, 10:30PM**

*babies crying*

"Finally...I get to meet you...you're so adorable."

"Congratulations, Miri-sama!"

Lady Miri laid in her hospital bed, embracing her beautiful newborn son. Her nurse looked

on with nothing but joy for her Mistress.

"Yura-sama gave birth a few minutes earlier. Two beautiful baby boys were born on this

night."

"I see."

As Miri kissed her son on the forehead, she blessed him saying,

"...I hope you'll grow to be as strong as your father, my precious one."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Haha, I'm really happy, Tenchi. Aren't you?"

"Of course I am, my child was just born."

"That face could fool anyone, man."

"You know me, Gado."

In the private waiting room sat the two jovial Family Heads, Gado Sanjuro and Tenchi

Yamaguchi. Gado was a rather big individual, having a very muscular body, but he always

had a joyous look on his face. Tenchi could be considered as Gado’s complete opposite; he

was a bit taller, with a slender build. He also tended to look more serious most of the time,

but he was a really laid-back individual.

As they talked, a nurse came into the room to bring news to them:

"Excuse me, Lords Tenchi and Gado. I have something important to share with you."

"It's...regarding your newborn sons."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**OUTSIDE THE MEDICAL WARD**

"Looks like we've made it in time, Kakkun."

"Yeah, there's so many people waiting out here."

"Oii, big bro!!"

"Over here!"

"You two sure took your sweet-ass time. Glad you could make it."

As the two arrived at the hospital, there met them a small crowd of clan members, awaiting

the Heads and Mistresses to exit. Among them were Fudo and Katashi's friends, as well as

Fudo's young twin siblings, Gina and Ilmar. The friends exchanged greetings with each

other.

"Yeah, our mission took a little more effort. Anyway, have we heard anything?"

"Yeah, they're both boys apparently. We haven't heard their names yet. The Heads should

be coming out soon."

"Look, it's them!"

The doors opened, and out came the Family Heads, taking their wives in wheelchairs, with

their sons asleep in their arms. Those of the Sanjuro Clan gathered on the left, where Gado

and Miri were, and the Yamaguchi Clan on the right where Tenchi and Yura were. Both

members began to cheer on and congratulate their Masters and Mistresses:

"WOOOO!! CONGRATS GADO-SAMA, MIRI-SAMA!!"

"CONGRATULATIONS, TENCHI-SAMA! YURA-SAMA!"

The Sanjuros were more carefree and expressive, and the Yamaguchis maintained an

orderly demeanour.

you can really tell a Sanjuro from a Yamaguchi, jeez.

The Heads walked with a rather serious look, however. But as they walked, Gado reassured

Tenchi of something:

"Don't worry, Tenchi. Everything will be alright."

"I hope so."

As Gado was passing his children, Fudo and the twins, he instructed them,

“Let’s go.”

While he walked along, Fudo and his friends were confused.

"Hm? What's that about?"

"Dunno...but, I'll be there in a little bit. Gina, Ilmar, you two follow Mom and Dad."

"Okayy!" the twins said in unison as they followed their parents.

Tenchi was also passing by his infant son, Satoru, stopping to say to him,

"Come, Sato. We need to talk when we get home."

"Ok, Father."

Katashi and Fudo continued to joke around with their friends for a while, discussing who

was stronger between the two, and Katashi’s earlier roof blunder. When they were finally

out of topics, they agreed to head to their homes. As Fudo was walking away, however, he

said something rather interesting to the group:

"By the way guys, don't misunderstand..."

"...I'm not the main character."

*wink*

They all looked at him in confusion.

"...tf?"

"what is he saying?"

"i think your stupidity is rubbing off on him, Katashi."

"oh fuck off."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"You're still up, old man?"

Back at the abandoned warehouse, Ivan was looking through some old scrolls as his son

Gyuwhan came to him.

"It's late, Gyu. Aren't you tired?"

"I woke up and I saw lights, so I came in here."

"I see...well, I'm just going through your great grandfather's memos. He kept a decent

record of his magic spells, stories about himself, and-"

Gyuwhan was already walking away.

"nevermind, I'm bored already. good night Gramps."

"are you seriously 3 years old?"

*sigh*

"...Hm?"

As Ivan was reading, he felt a slight shift in the entire atmosphere, such that even one of the

lit candles suddenly went out. Goosebumps rose up all over his body as he looked around in

suspicion...

"...heh"

"Gyu...you might not be the most enthusiastic kid…but you'll have the time of your life when

you get older."

Ivan’s body suddenly began to undergo a change; as a blood-red aura rose up from his

body, his skin darkened, and manifested scales all over. Horns were outstretched from his

temples, his hair grew longer and spikier, and his teeth grew sharper. Finally, he let out a

blast of smoke from his nostrils, and chucked, saying:

"...Something big is about to happen."

**TO BE CONTINUED**