10:30 AM – Kojin's Office
Inside the room stood Diablo, Serena, Kazuki, and Levi—the team leader of Sukuna, Kinto, and Baraka. Kojin looked around the group and asked,
"Are we still waiting on anyone?"
Serena replied without looking up from her sword,
"Just Alex and Kinto."
Kojin sighed to himself.
"I just hope Alex takes this seriously… and doesn't blow anything up."
Moments later, Alex and Kinto walked in. Serena gave Alex a curious look.
"Where've you been?"
Kinto answered,
"Found him sleeping by the river."
Alex smirked.
"Hey, gotta enjoy peace while it lasts. So, what's the mission?"
Kojin stepped forward, his tone turning serious.
"Two high-ranking criminals have escaped from prison. One is Jugo, a B-rank swordsman with exceptional close-range skills. The other is Kirihai, a C-rank kunoichi who excels with shuriken and kunai."
Levi spoke up.
"Any idea where they're headed?"
Kojin shook his head.
"Nothing certain. But the lord of Wind City reported traces of them nearby. Your mission is to investigate."
Alex stretched again.
"Sounds easy."
Kojin shot him a glare.
"Don't get cocky. Now go."
As the team turned to leave, Kojin stopped Diablo.
"I need to speak with you privately."
Outside the City – Gate Area
At the city gate, the rest of the team gathered. Kinto opened his backpack and showed Alex a stash of handmade explosives.
"Take a look."
Alex's eyes lit up.
"Yo, can I borrow one?"
Kinto handed him one carefully.
"Just don't blow yourself up."
Levi walked up.
"You pack anything fancy for this mission?"
Kinto grinned.
"Oh, I brought enough boom to level a village."
Kazuki, arms crossed, mumbled under his breath.
"All this guy's good for is making fireworks."
Serena looked around.
"Where's Diablo?"
Baraka answered,
"Probably with Kojin. As usual."
Right on cue, Diablo stepped out from the main building.
"I won't be joining this one. Got some business with Kojin. You'll have to manage without me."
He looked at Levi.
"Don't let things fall apart."
Levi nodded.
"They won't."
Later – On the Road to Wind City
The group traveled through a forest path. Baraka asked,
"How far is Wind City?"
Levi replied,
"Two days on foot. We'll camp before sundown."
After an hour, Alex groaned,
"Are we there yet?"
Kazuki snapped,
"Shut up."
Alex shot him a glare.
"Wasn't even talking to you, bonehead."
In a flash, they were pointing daggers at each other.
Serena rolled her eyes.
"Seriously? Quit it."
Levi raised his voice with authority.
"Unless you want to lose teeth, stand down."
Sukuna whispered to Serena,
"Are they always like this?"
Kinto sighed.
"I don't like where this is going…"
The tension between Alex and Kazuki reached a boiling point. Kazuki sneered,
"Keep pushing, and I'll cut you down."
Alex didn't respond—just stared him down with cold intensity.
Suddenly, Serena's eyes narrowed. She whispered,
"Something's here."
Without warning, a black metallic puppet leapt from the bushes toward her. Levi moved like a blur and punched it mid-air, shattering it into pieces. Dozens more emerged with glowing red eyes.
Sukuna scowled.
"Now what?"
Levi barked,
"Everyone! On guard!"
Kazuki drew his daggers, Kinto pulled explosives from his pouch, Baraka hardened his arms with earth energy, and Alex activated his glowing energy fists.
The puppets charged.
Baraka crushed one after another, Kinto hurled precise blasts, and Alex flash-stepped through the field, demolishing puppets with a barrage of fists. Kazuki sliced through them with clean, deadly strikes.
Meanwhile, Serena stood back, eyes closed, trying to sense hidden energy.
A puppet lunged at her—
But Sukuna erupted from the ground and uppercut it into an explosion.
"Focus. You got anything yet?"
Serena replied,
"Still searching. Nothing nearby... so far."
Levi stood at the center, calmly pulling a pistol and gunning down any puppet that got close.
"These things are trash."
Once the last puppet fell, Levi holstered his gun and turned to the group.
"Everyone okay?"
They all nodded. Alex asked,
"What the hell just happened?"
Levi replied,
"Shadow puppets. Looks like someone didn't want us reaching Wind City."
Sukuna scowled.
"Kojin never said anything about shadow users."
Levi shrugged.
"Doesn't matter. Whoever sent them… just gave away their location."
Meanwhile...
Deep in the woods, a single puppet hid in the shadows, its vision feeding information to Kirihai, far away on a cliffside. She watched the group through a spellbound mirror.
Jugo stood beside her.
"Well?"
Kirihai smirked.
"They're just a bunch of kids. Only one worth worrying about is their leader.". Jugo turned and replied "Well it doesn't matter. But although, those kids seem like rather promising soliders. I'd be wary of em."
Kirihai replied as she took a sigh "Yeah yeah. Who cares. Their in the way, so we'll kill them." Few hours later, Kirihai is in a hut with just her bra on, she was laying on a couch with her sword standing on the wall beside her couch. She smirked as she proceeded to sit up well "Its just a matter of time."
End of episode