However.

As a novice leaving the village, the first encounter proved to be a tough one.

Hyakki, devoid of pain sensation, relied on his heightened senses to detect the false sensation of swords striking down. The subsequent heavy force exceeded his limits, forcing him to rely on evasion and skillful force discharges to prevent injury. At the same time, he noticed the rapid speed of the life flames before him, with the red light burning fiercely around the perimeter, covering the surroundings with colors for the first time.

A kind of pure yet intense power.

This demon’s strength was beyond his expectations. It would be safer to postpone the confrontation for later.

Hyakki flipped in mid-air, retrieved his arm, and fitted it back into place. With explosive strength, he retreated after several failed attacks, showing no intention of engaging in a prolonged battle.

Nakahara Zhong pursued furiously, “Do you think you can escape?!”

He transformed into a red light and dashed forward.

Although the opponent’s method of concealing weapons shocked the orange-haired youth, the King of Sheep protected his comrades and dared not let an antagonistic youth easily escape his sight.

The chase and escape traversed half of Leibo Street. Hyakki didn’t know the way, but his adaptability to complex environments was remarkable. Making numerous turns and relying on his honed sixth sense, he managed to leave the “gradient-colored demon” behind in less than half an hour, disappearing into the chaotic alleys.

Minutes later, Nakahara Zhong arrived, aggressively grabbing nearby people and demanding, “Where did that brat go just now?!”

“I-I don’t know… It seemed like he emerged from the broken wall over there.”

“Take me there!”

Then, Nakahara Zhong looked at the size of the hole in the wall, gestured to his own body size, and realized that unless he smashed through someone else’s wall, he wouldn’t be able to squeeze through.

That’s the problem with Leibo Street; the buildings are haphazardly constructed, making it easy to lose track of fleeing individuals.

Wait a minute… How did that taller kid than me manage to crawl in?

Nakahara Zhong was puzzled for a moment.

The answer was—

Hyakki’s limbs were detachable and usable versions. As long as his head could fit, his body was generally fine.

Leaving the core area of Leibo Street, Hyakki’s clothes became dirty again, no different from the residents of Leibo Street. This place was originally a slum in Yokohama, established during the post-war period in Japan, occupying a pit that had suffered immense destruction, becoming the place Yokohama citizens least wanted to enter.

He raised his arm, dusted off the dirt from his hair, and thought to himself: Off to a bad start.

He had lost the samurai sword Shou Kai had given him and almost damaged his prosthetic limb. It was evident that the power of the demons was not on the same level as the monsters, and he had underestimated the strength of the demons.

As soon as Hyakki thought of there being twelve demons like this, his mood inevitably became heavy.

The mission was daunting and couldn’t be underestimated.

Under the indifferent gazes of others, the black-haired youth with hollow eyes looked around and, after finding a direction, ascended the steps to seek out the next easily dealt-with demon.

But a whole day passed without finding any. The demons seemed to have temporarily gone into hiding. Lost in the sense of direction back home, Hyakki wandered on the outskirts of Leibo Street, avoiding humans and treating it like surviving in the wilderness, continuing his search for a river to catch fish.

A calico cat had somehow been following Hyakki, its round eyes fixed on him.

Using the sword in his arm, Hyakki skewered the fish, took a gulp of murky river water, and, soaked to the waist, climbed ashore. Rarely, he reacted to something around him, “glancing” at the calico cat squatting on a garbage can lid. The cat meowed at him as if drawn by the fresh small fish.

After three seconds, Hyakki felt there was no problem and withdrew his gaze. Although the small white flame of life resembled a human, humans shouldn’t be that short unless they were babies, and babies couldn’t keep up with him all the time. So, this should be a spiritually pure little animal.

Like rabbits or pheasants?

Those animals were too troublesome to eat, requiring fur and bone removal. Fish was indeed more convenient.

Hyakki sat down away from the water source, didn’t make a fire, pushed his mask to the side of his face, and crudely swallowed the fish—dinner was served.

The calico cat suddenly widened its eyes, its fur bristling as if startled.

Seeing Hyakki’s lack of reaction, the calico cat gradually relaxed its tense body, whiskers trembling slightly. Its bright, lively cat eyes contracted into vertical slits in the night. It jumped down from the garbage can that nobody wanted to approach, trotting on its little legs, gradually catching up with Hyakki, who was walking again, like a small tail in his shadow.

Hyakki searched for a place to spend the night. His sleep requirements were minimal—just enough to shield from wind and rain.

A dreamless night passed.

The black-haired youth squatted on the ground, burying his face in his knees to sleep. His dusty clothes made pickpockets avoid him. Even Yokohama’s street urchins rarely wore such ragged clothing—just a few pieces of fabric and a hemp rope tied around him. Although these clothes could cover most of his body, they made him look extremely impoverished—after all, he couldn’t even afford bandages and had to wrap his ankles and wrists with white cloth.

In the morning, the calico cat also woke up in a better place nearby, stretching lazily. The cat’s bones made a crackling sound, causing a momentary expression of either discomfort or contentment to flicker across its face.

It approached the black-haired youth with light, silent steps, but its presence awakened Hyakki.

Hyakki “looked” at it.

Then, he remained in his sitting position with his knees up, eyes unfocused, simply watching the calico cat. The calico cat was initially prepared to evade, not wanting to be touched by others, but seeing him sitting there motionless, it boldly approached and tentatively touched Hyakki’s foot with its white cat paw.

Hyakki didn’t react.

It then touched him a second time, this time on his arm.

Hyakki grabbed its paw and gently let it go, not liking to be touched by “weapons” like small animals.

The calico cat withdrew its paw, reflexively licked the fur on its back, and pondered. It paced back and forth in front of Hyakki, its long tail swaying with soft curves, inviting to touch. But Hyakki couldn’t see exactly what it was doing, just puzzled by the flickering of this small flame of life.

What a beautiful flame.

Hyakki rarely saw such a small, pure flame, which seemed even purer than many humans in this era of chaos, and without any murky malice. He was pleased to see this beautiful and harmless vitality appear before him and quietly watched it as if it were commonplace.

Let’s continue to survive…

Don’t let this world destroy us. I will definitely slay the demons and restore order to the world…

With this thought in mind, Hyakki abandoned the mindset of a time traveler and immersed himself in his current identity. He not only didn’t realize he had traveled through time, but also failed to notice the mastermind behind the scenes in the world of “Bungo Stray Dogs” crouching opposite him.

Underneath the appearance of the calico cat, Natsume Soseki felt a bit troubled. “What’s going on with this child?”

He usually enjoyed transforming into a cat form, wandering the streets and alleys of Yokohama, collecting intelligence as a secondary objective. Doing so allowed him to see the true side of Yokohama and incidentally understand that one of his disciples was a cat enthusiast, and a pitiful person who couldn’t even give away the fish in his possession.

This time, as usual, he went to the chaotic Leaping Tiger Street to observe the ability users not under government jurisdiction. Little did he expect to see the black-haired youth running to challenge the King of Sheep. While challenging someone was one thing, the King of Sheep was a decent youth who wouldn’t easily resort to violence. What he never expected was the scene of dismemberment he witnessed during the subsequent escape!

Natsume Soseki deeply felt like he had just watched a horror movie. The heart of an elderly man couldn’t withstand such excitement. Before he could recover, while openly tracking the other party, he saw a “moving” face.

This young man… Is there something real about him?

After touching Hyakki’s hands and feet, Natsume Soseki repeatedly confirmed that they were not real flesh and blood, but prosthetics. This young man’s hands, feet, and even his face were meticulously crafted items. Weapons were hidden in his arms, and there was no skin behind his face, making chewing unnecessary as he habitually swallowed everything.

Human experimentation?

Side effects of supernatural abilities?

Cutting-edge technology for the rehabilitation of disabled individuals in Japan?

Natsume Soseki’s imagination was rich, befitting his role as a part-time writer. After the initial shock, he fell silent, realizing how challenging it must be for the other party to be able to move around so freely.

Then, new doubts surfaced. He didn’t understand why the youth would provoke the King of Sheep.

Is someone controlling him?\

In the following days, the calico cat occasionally appeared around Hyakki, but most of the time, it was nowhere to be found nearby.

Hyakki felt a subtle sense of regret. Apart from his foster father, Shou Kai, there was no other gentle and harmless life flame that would always be by his side. Unable to find his way home and unable to find any evil beings to slay, Hyakki, who avoided the “Gradient Color Demon,” finally understood his original thoughts: even if someone could briefly accompany him, they would eventually leave.

The only exception to this rule was Dororo, who admired Hyakki.

This was a destined connection set by fate.

Hyakki initially had some psychological resistance. As someone who had never experienced love, he couldn’t understand it. But the fact that someone would willingly follow him in his current state was truly touching.

[It will happen…]

[Someday, someone who will never leave my side will appear…]

As clouds drifted in the sky.

The black-haired youth from chaotic times wandered in the secluded corners of Yokohama, honing his swordsmanship and physical abilities, striving for the day when he could slay the demons and reclaim his first organ.

Hyakki continued with such simple and unadorned days for a while. The teenage gangs of Leibo Street had all heard about “the King of Sheep.” Nakahara Zhong was looking for a black-haired youth who often appeared on Leibo Street. It was said that the two had a grudge, and some witnesses claimed to have seen the black-haired youth successfully escape Nakahara Zhong’s pursuit after attacking him.

Back at the base, Nakahara Zhong looked gloomy. Every time he almost caught a trace of the other party, he was somehow evaded. Could it be that someone dared to leak information?

Nakahara Zhong didn’t suspect those around him, at most he thought someone in Leibo Street was mocking him.

“Zhong, you’re too focused on this. If you can’t find him, just forget about it,” his companions in the Sheep Organization commented, pouring cold water on Zhong ‘s enthusiasm.

“No,” Nakahara Zhong shook his head. “I feel like he won’t miss the chance to kill me.”

Another teenager with a blue ring on his hand curiously asked him, “What will you do if you find him?”

“Beat him up first,” Nakahara Zhong hesitated for a moment, recalling the abnormal fighting style. “He’s very skilled, and I’m not sure what his hostility towards me stems from. If it’s a misunderstanding, we’ll try to resolve it. If it’s an enemy, then we’ll decide whether to deal with him later. We can’t let him keep staring at me.”

His response, neither weak nor overly assertive, immediately drew mockery from his other companions.

“See, Zhong is just too soft.”

“In my opinion, we should definitely kill him if we see him!”

“Yeah, anyone who attacks Zhong will be a threat to us in the future. I support Zhong going to find that person during the day.”

“Well… I support it too.”

The danger of discovering the enemy made Nakahara Zhong alert. The Sheep Organization immediately changed its direction. Even though Zhong wasn’t happy being away from the Sheep’s base, they couldn’t afford to compromise their safety. However, external enemies needed to be dealt with.

Nakahara Zhong wasn’t paying attention to their conversation, feeling rather restless. He walked to the side to gaze outside, a faint unease lingering in his heart.

During the period when the harbor mafia boss kept ordering killings, the sudden appearance of such a strange youth… Could he be acting on someone’s orders to eradicate the Sheep Organization from Leibo Street?

Apart from the mafia, which organization could be so twisted? Sending someone with missing limbs into battle?!

The harbor mafia, already subject to much criticism, was successfully blamed.

Unfortunately, nowadays, privately cursing the harbor mafia had become the norm. The notorious harbor mafia boss was blamed for the chaos in Yokohama. Since falling ill, his character had become extremely tyrannical. He was suspicious of high-ranking officials, believing they wanted to seize power. He issued orders for persecution, mercilessly eliminating anyone who crossed him, be it government or ordinary people!

In such an atmosphere of fear and paranoia, hardly any young person wanted to join the harbor mafia.

Near the five towering buildings of the mafia in downtown Yokohama, a few playful children were doodling on a black luxury car with ordinary chalk. Passing adults immediately changed their expressions, scolding the kids, “Stop it! Go home quickly!”

The chalk drawings were soon noticed by the driver of the harbor mafia boss, who panicked…