02x06 - Hindering and Restoration

[bunniefuu]

You must have come up with some plan,

but it was all for nothing.

Do not engage the Tensen.

If you do, the plan fails.

Gabimaru.

It's over.

Over? What do we do
if we actually encounter one?

Just run away?

At that point, the plan is over.

Move to plan B.

Steel yourself. We face them
with everything we have.

Once you encounter them,
they’re an opponent you can’t escape from.

We won't run. We won't give up.

We will defeat you and leave this island!

If you intend to resist,

I'll put it bluntly, it's pointless.

Plan B is brute force?

No. There’s a strategy.

Sister… Let’s return
to Brother and the Master.

The reason Brother
exiled you was out of love.

It pains me to see the two of you at odds.

If you’re still opposed
to the Outer Elixir Flower,

it’s already meaningless.

The perfect Tan…
The elixir is nearly complete.

This Tan doesn’t turn people into trees.

W-what?

We’ve discovered the refining method.

With human cooperation.

Research into
the Outer Elixir Flower is over.

There’s no reason left for us to quarrel.

All that remains is preparing quantity.

More materials and better-quality ones.

That’s why Brother began the ritual…

The "Rite of Abstaining
and Sustaining Life."

You still don’t know
Brother’s true anguish.

But now, I’m sure you can
understand each other.

Just once more,
I want to see Rien and the Master.

Mei.

I wanted to see all of you too.

But now I understand. I'm…

different from everyone else.

Living, dying, not being
able to die, it all hurts.

I came to see everyone.

I came to say goodbye.

I’m leaving the island.

Can't be helped then.
Let's get it over with first.

The ritual has already begun.

All that’s left are the offerings.

That being… all of you.

There’s only one confirmed way to victory.

Destroy the opponent’s Tanden
using a Tao that overcomes theirs.

That is, an elementally superior Tao.

The course of battle changes
depending on the enemy’s attribute.

For example, Gabimaru.

Your Tao has an advantage
over Gui Fa’s "metal."

But if your opponent is Ran,
whose Tao is "water," you’re in trouble.

If you touch him, your "fire" Tao weakens.

Even if you destroy his Tanden,
it won’t be a fatal blow.

In other words…
you have no way to defeat him.

There’s simply too much difference
in the size of your Taos.

What do you plan to do?

I have an idea.

Of all things…

For Gabimaru
to encounter his natural enemy…

Sagiri.
- Huh?

Go with Mei to the room
where the elixir is.

Yuzuriha and I will hold them here.

What? Why me?

Ran’s Tao is water.

The only one
with an overcoming Tao, earth, is you.

Gabimaru, this isn't the place.
This isn't the Ren Tan Palace.

There’s no elixir!

What?!

So fast!

Just as Sister said,
this isn’t the Ren Tan Palace.

This is my castle, the Douin Palace.

How…

But we confirmed the location
of the Ren Tan Palace and the Tan's Tao…

Inorganic Tao is easier
to manipulate than living Tao.

You simply command its form.

Constructing the island’s
buildings and stone statues,

using feng shui to renovate,
those are my duties.

Adjusting the castle’s paths and layout

to match your invasion was easy.

The Tao of corpses
is the same as inorganic matter.

I disguised it to seem
as if the Tan were here.

Mei!

See? Just like this.

Please behave yourself
for a moment, Sister.

So we'll have to end it here after all!

Gabimaru!

Yuzuriha! We're using that strategy!

Magnificent, the dynamism of your body!

But unfortunately,

no matter how much you strike,
your Tao can’t deal a fatal blow.

So, this is your true aim?

You can imbue weapons with Tao, right?

I can.

Then wouldn’t ranged attacks
be better than close combat?

They’re safer and easier
to catch someone off guard.

The Tensen regenerate,
so they’re careless about defense.

Why? It's overcoming!

As I thought.

Even just blocking the attack is heavy.

Is this also the effect of overcoming?
But more than that…

This is different from that time
with Zhu Jin. What is his "hardness"?

I stretch my Tao thin
and bind it together.

Strong and flexible, like muscle fibers.

Uh… Meaning?

He’s wearing a hardened Tao armor
over his entire body.

If that coordination was your strategy,
it’s meaningless.

Tao has no gaps or blind spots like armor.

This is the harmony of muscle and Tao.

The truth of the body.

Are all Tensen this insane?

How should I know?

Let’s disengage while we can.

Ninja Art: Thunder Stones.

Gabimaru!

He’s not just tough.

He’s more skilled in combat than Mu Dan.

At this rate…

Don’t worry.

This is within expectations.

I've got a rough grasp.
Let's begin, Yuzuriha.

Yeah, yeah, finally.
I thought I was going to die.

Begin?

That wasn’t their strategy just now?

Your Tao’s amount and attribute
haven’t changed.

You won't even be able
to scratch my muscles.

No matter how many times you try,
it'll be the same.

Seems like it worked.

We've affirmed the first move.

Next comes the second.

SAGIRI - GABIMARU - YUZURIHA

GABIMARU

The names of those on the island.

Names are required for rites and curses.

We'll use their names for the Rite
of Abstaining and Sustaining Life.

Shall we capture them
and make them talk then?

Gabimaru… Gabimaru the Hollow.

Tamiya Gantetsusai.

I've memorized
all the names in the registry,

including the executioners.

I don’t know who’s still alive, though.

My younger brother is among them.

You and I fought once before.

There’s no point hiding it now.

I have one condition for cooperating.

My brother’s safety.

I'll side with you guys
if you can give me that.

Take me to that "ritual" or whatever.

I’ll personally bring
my brother over to our side.

Don't lay a hand on him.

Tell me everyone’s name then.

I'll use talismans to see the present.

KEIUN

Warped Keiun.

Yamada Asaemon Kisho.

Rokurota.

Yamada Asaemon Eizen.

Akaginu.

Yamada Asaemon Shion.

YAMADA ASAEMON SHION

Alive… "Kinoe."

He’s highly proficient with Tao.

NURUGAI YAMADA ASAEMON SHION

He's encountered Zhu Jin
in the Taisoku Palace.

For Shion, "water"
Zhu Jin isn’t overcoming.

Meaning, he has no way to k*ll him.

Nurugai with him is "water."

Attacks against Zhu Jin are effective,

but her Tao training is insufficient.

She’s no match.

However, I sense strong anger.

Human emotions greatly affect Tao.

We can’t be careless.

Yamada Asaemon Fuchi
and Tamiya Gantetsusai.

They've encountered Tao Fa
and Ju Fa in the Bochu Jutsu.

Fuchi’s "metal" overcomes Tao Fa,

but both he and Gantetsusai
lack Tao training.

Conversely, Ju Fa’s "fire"
will k*ll Fuchi.

Both will die.

And then…

Chobe will bring his brother over to us.
That should be easy.

The one we must watch closely…

is this man.

So this is… the first move
Gabimaru mentioned?

Tao is like a current of water
covering the body.

A physical phenomenon.

Its speed and volume
determine its strength.

Attributes are differences
in flow direction.

Generation is a current
that pushes another forward.

Overcoming is a current that blocks it.

But the Tensen’s Tao flow is so immense

that normal rules don’t apply.

There are three countermeasures.

Momentarily or locally surpass their Tao.

Or the opposite.

Partially weaken your Tao
and deflect the attack.

With neither generative acceleration
nor overcoming repulsion,

you simply ride your opponent's
wave smoothly,

and win just as you are.

it’s similar to what Tai Chi calls
"neutralization" or "silk-reeling."

A technique that returns
the opponent’s power to them.

Can you really do that?

It’s not easy, but it builds
on what we’ve learned.

Using the opponent’s Tao,
that's from training with Nurugai.

Thinning Tao to the extreme,
that's from Yuzuriha.

Partial control is from Shion.

And finally…

To match the opponent’s breathing…

balancing calmness and ferocity.

With a centered mind,
deflect their attacks.

That technique… Sagiri…

I learned it from you.

So, this is the sum of everything so far.

Yeah. We throw everything we have at them.

Thinning Tao also weakens
your own defense.

If we can keep deflecting attacks,
it's fine, but…

Even grazing hits are heavy.

A direct hit would be bad.

Impressive.

If I look closely,

I can see you only began refining Tao
after coming to the island.

And yet, this level of technique…

Many awaken to it after
being exposed to the dense Tao

drifting around this island.

In fact, that’s the island’s purpose.

But that alone doesn’t explain
this adaptability.

True talent. Honestly, it moves me.

Talent… You call this talent?

This isn’t something so trivial.

It’s a desperate, painful strategy
born from struggle and thought.

A culmination of what humans
discovered amid countless sacrifices,

all in order to k*ll you guys.

And you dismiss that as "talent".

That’s a pretty
thoughtless way of talking.

You're out.

Gabimaru!

We're going to the Ren Tan Palace
to get the elixir!

Behave yourself.

The elixir… Now, while we can.

The other immortals are engaged.

The ritual… The danger…

I'm counting on you!
- Okay!

Wait!

Are you planning to use my Tao again?

Then I’ll weaken it instead.

The woman with overcoming?
Was she waiting for this?

Magnificent martial skill.
Magnificent teamwork.

With them, I’m sure I could reach
even greater heights of Tao.

The finest opponents. But…

One more!
- Wait!

Sorry, but this is a ritual.

There’s no time to play.

This is…
- Yeah…

It’s coming. The real fight starts now.

It really is a shame.

Has Ran undergone Kishikai?

Something that hasn’t
happened in centuries.

That’s how exceptional a man he is,
how exceptional a material.

Master,
the elixir’s sake base is complete.

We’ll first increase the seed
using those on the island,

then cross the sea
and gather even more materials.

At last, everything will end tonight.

Such… a shame…

First, as before, we must grasp
the opponent’s Tao flow and habits.

Can I manage it?

The body's… dyna-dyna-dyna…

Dynamism!

This strength…
It’s on a completely different level.

We can get there this way.
- Okay.

I-it’s okay… if that's Gabimaru.

He’s measuring our stamina
and avoiding fatal blows.

To turn us into Tan?

This is different from Zhu Jin and Mu Dan.

Even transformed,
Ran retains intelligence.

He has technique and strategy…
This is bad.

My consciousness…

There’s another problem.
Tao is life itself.

Using it heavily while badly injured
might actually shorten one’s lifespan.

The body… dynamism…

Ninja Art: Thunder… Stones…

That’s why, depending
on Tao compatibility,

I’ll protect you strategically.

We’re both ninja,

but you and I are completely different.

When it comes down to it,
I’m only going to protect myself.

Let's pull back for now!
We'll look for another opening.

As long as we don’t die,
we can manage somehow!

My life comes first for me.

There's no way I'm risking my life!

That’s enough…

The Tan's materials… are lives, but…

But you’re… far too persistent…

That’s enough.

I’m the same.

My life is my top priority.
I don't intend to die.

My goal is to return alive.

To live… and see my wife.