"Uncle Jackie, don't be like that... uh, where's Tohru?" Jade asked, quickly trying to change the subject.
"Haah..." Jackie sighed deeply. He felt he would never win an argument against Jade. Resigned, he said, "Tohru's in the other room, reassembling the stone tablets we found in Shendu's palace. Supposedly, they contain clues about the Oni Masks."
"Whoa, cool! So that means we have a new mission!" Jade said excitedly.
"Ah... Jade, this is dangerous business. And that Liver guy said there are nine Oni Masks. Oh, man... please tell me that's not true. My head's spinning just thinking about it." Jackie rubbed his temples, already exhausted.
But Jade, of course, didn't share his concern. "Wow! Nine masks, nine demons! Uncle Jackie, let's go defeat them all!" she cheered, leaping into the air.
At that moment, a familiar voice called out, "Teacher, I've deciphered the inscription on the tablet!"
The study door swung open, and Tohru entered, holding the reassembled stone tablet. The small, already crowded room instantly felt even smaller.
Setting the tablet down on the carpet, Tohru said quickly, "Teacher, that man named Liver wasn't lying."
"The inscription says Tarakudo once ruled ancient Japan alongside his most trusted generals. Each general commanded his own army, and together, those armies formed the Shadowkhan's nine tribes—nine clans, nine generals, nine masks."
"Oh no... for once, I wish he had been lying," Jackie groaned, pressing a hand to his forehead. It felt like the entire world was conspiring against him. He just wanted to be a normal archaeologist—but somehow, he kept getting dragged deeper into demon-hunting chaos.
"Uh... Teacher, there's more," Tohru continued. "It says that when all nine masks are gathered, they will unleash 'Ultimate Darkness' upon the entire world."
"Ultimate Darkness?" Uncle repeated, his eyes narrowing as he fell deep into thought.
After a long silence, he sighed, his expression grave. "I don't know why, but Uncle has a bad feeling about this... Let's hope I'm wrong."
He turned to the others. "Here's what we'll do. Jackie, Tohru—you two go search for the remaining masks. Uncle will study the Immortal's magic circle further."
Without waiting for objections, he waved them toward the door. "Now go, go! Uncle must begin his research!"
The group exchanged confused looks as they were herded out. With a sharp click, the door locked behind them.
"Uncle..." Jackie started, but then thought better of it. "Never mind. Let's focus on the mission. Tohru, we'll need to research ancient Japanese texts—maybe they'll point us to the other eight masks."
"What about me? What do I do?" Jade asked eagerly.
"Captain Augustus," Jackie said apologetically, "I'm afraid I have to ask you to keep an eye on Jade." Without waiting for their reactions, he grabbed Tohru and hurried off.
"Oh, great..." Captain Augustus Black and Jade looked at each other, both feeling a headache coming on. What now?
Mission Received: Abyssal-Class Difficulty — Keep Jade Out of Trouble!
...
Tokyo, Japan.
"I hope this time, you don't disappoint me," Tarakudo said coolly, using telekinesis to pull the four Dark Hand enforcers toward him.
"We won't, boss!" ×4 — Finn, Hak Foo, Chow, and Ratso all bowed deeply, voices trembling.
Yet Tarakudo didn't seem angry. In fact, he almost sounded encouraging. "Good. Don't be disheartened. Last time was merely... a minor setback."
The four men exchanged surprised looks, visibly relieved. "Oh, awesome!" "The new boss is way better than the last one."
After all, compared to their previous employers—who ruled with fists and fury—Tarakudo was a saint. He had never once punished them physically.
"Now then," Tarakudo continued, his golden eyes narrowing. "Our mission has only just begun." Turning away, he motioned for them to follow. "Come. We go to find the next mask."
"Oh no... it's starting again," Chow muttered.
"Just our luck..." Ratso sighed.
But as Tarakudo turned his back, his expression twisted into something far more sinister. In truth, he didn't care about the masks at all.
In truth, it didn't matter who gathered all nine masks—once united, the sealed Oni Generals within would awaken and return to the mortal world. Tarakudo cared little about the success or failure of these hunts. His true intent was misdirection—to lure others into collecting and storing the masks together.
But Liver's humiliation of him—that, Tarakudo would not forget. "We'll see soon enough..." he muttered darkly. "We'll see who the true leader of the Shadowkhan really is."
...
Half a month later — at a high-rise hotel overlooking Uncle's Rare Finds.
"So this is where the ones collecting the Oni Masks reside?" Liver murmured, standing before the floor-to-ceiling window of his suite, gazing down at the antique shop in the distance.
Since retrieving the Razor Khan mask from a small mask-themed inn in Tokyo, he had followed Selene's orders and stationed himself nearby to observe.
Over the past two weeks, with the help of the Ninja Khan's soldiers, Liver had already secured the masks of the Mini Kha,, Crab Khan, and Mantis Khan.
During that time, through careful surveillance, he discovered that Jackie's group had obtained the Bat Khan, Sumo Khan, and Samurai Khan masks—and that they were now being stored in a facility known as Section 13.
Through the resonance between the masks themselves, Liver had even pinpointed its location.
As he looked down at the city streets, glowing with jack-o'-lanterns and festive lights, he muttered, "These natives call this season... Halloween, don't they?"
He shook his head dismissively. "Irrelevant." Turning toward the crystalline containment box that held the assembled masks, he continued softly, "Only one remains—the Squid Khan mask. Soon, Milady will descend."
...
At the same time — inside Uncle's Rare Finds.
"Uncle?"
"Magic circle magic circle magic circle..."
"Uncle."
"Magic circle magic circle magic circle..."
"UNCLE!!"
"Aiyah! Jade, are you trying to give Uncle a heart attack?!" Startled from his intense concentration, Uncle nearly dropped the ancient tome in his hands.
"Oh, come on, Uncle—it's Halloween Eve! Jump scares are normal today!" Jade said, her face painted green like a tiny demon.
"You go play. Uncle still has work to do," he said, clutching his book and heading back toward the study.
Jackie and Jade exchanged worried looks. For over two weeks now, Uncle hadn't left his study, poring obsessively over his research.
"Uncle, it's Halloween already. Maybe you should rest?" Jackie suggested gently.
"Aiyah... Uncle has no time! This is very important!"
It was the same scene they had witnessed countless times this month. After weeks of tension, both Jackie and Jade had inevitably lowered their guard. Even Captain Augustus Black had ordered Section 13 to stand down from high alert.
After all, there had been no signs of the supposed 'catastrophe' Uncle warned about. Instead, reports of mask demons appearing across the globe had become routine. Naturally, they all assumed the magic circle's warning referred to Tarakudo and his Shadowkhan.
After all—what kind of apocalypse could possibly fall from the sky?