In the heart of the Shingen Palace, bathed in sterile white light, Ishiguro stood shackled by invisible threads—no, not invisible.
Crimson.
They laced through his limbs like marionette strings, coiling around his biceps, wrists, ankles... even his neck. His body refused to obey him.
His eyes narrowed.
"…What's going on?" he muttered.
Across the chamber, Kaito stood still—shoulders slouched, eyes half-lidded like he had just woken from a nap. His fingers gently tugged one of the threads.
Wham!
Ishiguro's fist shot forward and smashed into his own face.
A grunt escaped him. "Tch... I see now."
Kaito exhaled slowly, his voice as dull as his expression.
"Crimson Flow Technique: Crimson Marionette."
He spoke as if explaining a boring game.
"It overrides a target's motor control by reversing their Flow. In short—I make you dance with your own muscles."
Ishiguro felt sweat slide down his temple.
(…I've heard of this technique before… it's not common.)
(So this is… Kaito the Parasitic Ant.)
Kaito pulled another thread.
Ishiguro dropped to one knee—his muscles bending against his will.
(He's reversed the entire direction of my Flow. I can't move at all.)
But Ishiguro grit his teeth.
"Then…"
With a wild surge of willpower, his left arm convulsed—tendons tearing, vessels rupturing—as the crimson string snapped free. Blood splashed across the polished floor.
Kaito's eyes widened for the first time.
"I figured it out!" Ishiguro barked.
He stood tall, face pale, left arm hanging limp.
"Flow is like a river—it only moves forward. Your technique forces it to run backwards, letting you control your target like a parasite with those cursed strings."
Kaito's lips curled slightly.
"Then you also know... the consequence."
"Reverse Flow causes violent friction—ruptures blood vessels, destabilizes spiritual structure. You'll die if you push too hard."
He gestured at Ishiguro's bleeding arm.
"That limb is already useless. How long do you think you can keep this up?"
Kaito's fingers danced.
"Now... dance for me."
Ishiguro's right arm moved against his will.
Crack!
He smashed his own cheek with terrifying force, staggering. Again. And again.
(…The damage is worse than I thought. I can't afford to lose my other arm…)
Smash!
One last blow—and Ishiguro collapsed to the floor. Unmoving.
A memory surfaced.
A mountain bathed in gold from the setting sun. Wind gently brushing against skin. Trees swaying below like waves.
A woman stood beside young Ishiguro, eyes gentle.
"Ishiguro," she said, "what do you think is the most precious gift given to life?"
He scratched his head.
"…Food?"
She laughed softly, brushing his hair.
"Freedom," she whispered. "The ability to shape our own future."
His eyes snapped open. Blood stained his vision. But his smile returned.
"Damn you."
A fresh spurt of blood burst from his right arm as the second crimson string shattered—by sheer force of will.
Kaito took a step back in disbelief.
"What good is a man who cannot raise his blade against the tides of fate?!"
"Maybe I was born a mistake, but choice brought me here!"
"I stand as a guardian—of life, of hope…"
His voice echoed.
"…of freedom!"
A cold shiver ran down Kaito's spine.
(That look in his eyes…)
"…Bold words," Kaito said, tightening his grip. "But both arms ruined… how do you plan to fight?"
"Many like you have fallen, believing in causes they couldn't protect."
Ishiguro bent down slowly… and dropped his katana to the ground.
Then, with shaking strength—he picked it up.
Using only his teeth.
Kaito stared, lips twitching.
"…Still holding on. Just like…"
His voice trailed off.
Another memory.
A young Kaito stood in ornate samurai armor, kneeling before the Shogun. Applause thundered.
"Kaito Yamato," the Shogun proclaimed, "first of your generation to reach the Platinum rank. A man of true valor."
He handed Kaito a mythic artifact.
"Use this to dominate the warfront. With this—you will change the tides."
That night, Kaito returned home. His sister lay asleep, peaceful.
"She cried for you all day," the nanny whispered.
Kaito kissed her forehead.
"Sleep well, my little dragon."
Then came the betrayal.
At the front lines of war the Shogun had one of the greatest enforcers at that time activate the ring...releasing it's true nature.
"The Ring of Orochi doesn't grant power without taking the life of a loved one" a war general said.
"A soul for the riches of Shingen, a cheap price to pay if you ask me" replied the Shogun
"The Ring of Orochi?…" Kaito whispered as it began to glow red, burning through his finger.
He screamed—a scream that shattered mountains.
Soldiers died just from being near the corrupted divine aura he released.
He fought with godlike strength.
But even then…
He fell.
To a single man.
Hasegawa Shiryu. The Samurai of the Azure Blaze.
The Shogun gave a scoff and left him on the cold battlefield to die as a punishment for failing.
When Kaito crawled home, the scene before him shattered his sanity.
His sister… lifeless as a result of the sacrificial conditions needed to activate the ring.
Snake fangs buried in her neck.
"She was just playing…" the nanny sobbed.
"And then she collapsed…"
Kaito's laughter mixed with sobs.
He entered the Shogun's court soon after.
Crimson threads flew through the whole courtroom attaching to everyone present and turning them into killing zombies that were after each other's blood.
Like a maniac, Kaito simply laughed as he watched them butcher one another.
"Freedom let them misbehave " He muttered to himself with what little sanity he had left.
And in seconds—
They were all dead.
"Join me," a voice said. "Let's reset this cursed world."
Kenji Shinoda.
Back in the present.
Kaito stood silently, face twisted in disgust.
"Freedom…" he spat. "A gift too great for mankind. It only breeds chaos."
He placed a hand on the floor.
From the earth—a girl's corpse rose.
Lifeless eyes. Crimson threads linking her to him.
"Ultimate Crimson Technique: Red Afterglow."
"When my strings touched you… they extracted your muscle memory. Now she fights in your place."
The child lunged forward, slashing with twin crimson daggers.
Ishiguro couldn't block in time.
Slash. Slash. Slash.
Blood sprayed from a dozen fresh wounds.
"She's… fast!"
He bit down hard on his blade and managed to parry one blow—but the next projectile tore across his chest.
"I swore I'd protect you," Kaito murmured. "Now I make you fight for me."
Ishiguro dropped to one knee—his entire body drenched in blood.
But suddenly…
He stood.
His hands twitched.
The Flow had returned.
"Believe…" he whispered, eyes wide. "Every nerve begs me to stop... but something stronger tells me to rise."
His katana glowed in his grip.
"My existence rejects your ideals."
"You chained even your loved one to your beliefs... how twisted can you be?"
Kaito's eyes bled from overusing his power.
"Shut up!" the child hissed. "You know nothing! This world is cruel! Freedom lets monsters thrive!"
Ishiguro raised his blade high to the heavens.
"I do know… that there are people worth risking it all for."
A faint whisper drifted into Kaito's ear.
"Brother… you're a good man."
Sakura's voice.
"Fifth Flow: World Splitter!"
Ishiguro stabbed the blade into the earth. A spiral of radiant energy erupted, engulfing Kaito in light and force.
BOOM!
The palace shattered. Debris rained as both warriors were blasted to the lower floors.
The crimson strings snapped.
Kaito fell—his sister's corpse disintegrating in midair.
With trembling fingers, he cast a talisman of flame, burning her body to ashes.
He smiled… faintly.
A single tear fell.
"In protecting what I stood for… I became the very thing I feared."
"Sakura…"
"Be free."