"Whoa, who's the daredevil planning to head to the Kure Clan?"
Immediately, someone responded. The speaker was a person known as 'Shadow-Sama'.
"Just asking. I'm thinking of making a deal with them," Ren replied casually.
"Have you not read the manga? The Kure Clan members are all dangerous individuals. Even if you're fearless, this isn't how you play with fire!" someone chimed in.
"Exactly! Besides, do you even have the money? Doing business with the Kure Clan isn't a joke—without at least a hundred billion yen, don't even bother."
…
The public chat buzzed with heated discussions about the Kure Clan. In no time, the topic spiralled off-course, drowning out Ren's initial question. Just as he was about to ask again, an explorer named 'Little Mushroom' dropped a coordinate in the chat.
"This is Kure Village. Good luck to you."
Ren checked the coordinates. They were longitude and latitude points.
Cross-referencing them with a map, he felt the person was likely not playing a prank. The destination was about 500 kilometres from Tokyo, matching the description from the source material.
"Thanks. If the coordinates are accurate, I owe you one," Ren replied before setting out. His goal was to visit the Kure Clan for some martial arts exchange.
The Kure Clan was a prominent and powerful family in the world of Kengan Ashura and had some ties to the ultimate boss of this universe.
In this world, the Kure Clan members reigned as the kings of the underground assassination world.
No other organization could rival their capabilities. If you had the money, the Kure Clan would even dare to assassinate the Prime Minister.
Their influence, to Ren, was borderline absurd.
Their base, called the Kure Village, was not just a residence but an entire city with an estimated population of at least several hundred thousand.
Among them, Kure Clan members alone numbered in the tens of thousands.
Such a heavily armed organization thriving within a country while conducting assassination operations was baffling.
But then again, the world's setting was, admittedly, peculiar.
The Kure Clan's origins lay across the sea, where their ancestral lineage, the 'Wu Family', still resided.
The Wu Family shared a history as ancient as the old nation from which it hailed.
From their founder, Wu Hei, the family had a history spanning 5,000 years.
However, an incident 1,300 years ago split the mighty family into three branches that scattered across the globe:
The Kure Clan, which migrated to Japan.
The Main Wu Family, which remained in their homeland.
And,
The Westward Faction, which settled in the West.
The brutal internal struggles across history led to the loss of countless secret techniques. However, one secret technique remained common to all three branches.
This was also Ren's purpose in visiting the Kure Clan—Secret Technique: Liberation (Removal).
As explained in the manga, this secret technique removed the brain's restraints on the body, unleashing the full potential of one's physical strength.
Ren regarded this as a game-changing ability, especially valuable in life-and-death battles against formidable opponents.
As for the manga's protagonist, Tokita Ohma, and his 'Advance' (Possession), Ren found it had too many side effects. Its practicality paled in comparison to Liberation.
After half a day of travel, Ren arrived at Kure's Village by Shinkansen.
The streets were bustling with office workers, shop vendors calling out their wares, and high school girls munching on crêpes as they walked home after school…
Ren's first impression of the place was that of a small, laid-back city, the kind you'd find in a third or fourth-tier region. The pace was slow, and the atmosphere was peaceful.
But upon closer observation, he noticed that a minority of passersby had black sclera and white pupils. Their eyes were eerie enough to send chills down one's spine, yet the locals seemed entirely accustomed to it.
"The Kure Clan's patrol team, working hard as always. Here, have some freshly fried potato cakes to take back," a kind old lady running a fried potato cake stand greeted a patrolling squad with genuine warmth.
"No, thank you, Aunt Yoko. We're still on duty. Maybe next time," the young man leading the Kure Clan squad declined with a smile before continuing on his way, exchanging greetings with many others along the route.
Ren rubbed his chin. It seemed the Kure Clan enjoyed significant respect in the area.
Although he hadn't finished reading the manga back in the day, he had caught up with it during his time at Eternal Vines.
He had always known that the Kure Clan was a mysterious assassin family that safeguarded their territory. But seeing them in person, they seemed even more personable than he'd imagined.
Walking down the street, Ren passed the patrol squad and stopped in front of the potato cake stand. "I'll have ten potato cakes."
In no time, the freshly fried cakes were ready. Paying the vendor, Ren took the bag in one hand and a wrapped cake in the other, preparing to dig in.
But before he could take more than two steps, he found himself surrounded.
Unperturbed, Ren leisurely blew on the potato cake and took a bite. "This is unexpected. You all look so weak, yet you noticed something off about me?"
Six members of the Kure Clan surrounded him, their expressions grave and their eerie white pupils locked on him.
The young leader spoke up. "It seems you have no awareness of your status as a wanted criminal."
Ren was momentarily stunned. He had assumed their caution stemmed from sensing his strength but had completely forgotten about his fugitive status.
Come to think of it, breaking out of prison and killing the Juoh Communications' CEO would naturally land him on the wanted list, especially without anyone powerful to protect him.
"Don't misunderstand. I'm not here to cause trouble—just to exchange martial arts techniques with the legendary Kure Clan." Ren flashed what he believed was a friendly smile.
At the same time, he marvelled at the Kure Clan's efficiency. In mere moments, snipers had already taken positions on the surrounding rooftops, with three rifles trained on his head.
This was Kure's Village—no one had ever caused trouble here and walked away unscathed. After all, the Kure Clan wasn't composed of mere fighters. As assassins, they played dirty. If a fight broke out, they wouldn't bother with one-on-one battles. They'd swarm you, unleashing cold weapons, firearms, and everything in their arsenal.
Ren genuinely had no intention of causing trouble. He came to the Kure Clan with a mindset of peaceful exchange. However, it seemed his presence wasn't exactly welcomed.
"You want to exchange martial arts with us? You, a wanted criminal?"
The young Kure Clan member sneered. "Surrender obediently, and we'll send you back to prison."
Ren's expression turned odd. He swallowed the remaining half of his potato cake and chuckled. "An assassination family want to send me back to prison?"
He couldn't help but marvel at the absurdity of this world. The Kure Clan members carried out assassinations daily, and not only did the government turn a blind eye, but it also seemed like they weren't even officially wanted.
Some members of the Kure Clan even ventured out for regular jobs. For instance, Kure Karura's family lived in Tokyo while Karura herself attended school there.
Whether her parents had side gigs alongside their regular work or not was anyone's guess.
Seeing that Ren remained relaxed and showed no intention of surrendering, the man decided to act.
A dagger slid out from his sleeve, and with a swift, precise motion, he aimed directly for Ren's neck.
As protectors of the city and enforcers of underground order, the Kure Clan would not tolerate a dangerous murderer like Ren roaming freely in their territory.
Clang—
A metallic clash echoed through the air.
To the disbelief of the surrounding Kure Clan members, the dagger stopped just three inches from Ren's neck.
What had blocked it wasn't a weapon but....a single outstretched middle-finger!
Ren's gaze met the young man's dark eyes, and his lips curled into a grin, revealing sharp, white teeth.
"Seems like I'm not very welcome here," Ren remarked in a casual tone. "But if the lady up there decides to take her shot, I wouldn't mind turning this place upside down."
His eyes flicked upward briefly, indicating one of the rooftop snipers aiming at him.
_________
[T/N] - So close....we missed out on our goal by 10. Surely we can do it (60 powerstones) today?
And, I know many of you may not be familiar with Kengan Ashura, but according to the Author - 'just close your eyes and enjoy the fight scenes'. That's what he said. No cap.
And it's not like he is gonna be here for long. So just 'close your eyes' and enjoy!
And you guys are gonna love the world he goes to next. (Hint: Worlds listed in the synopsis are in order)