Page 1
Quick flashes. No words.
Snow falling. Mabu charges at Thian with his sword. Thian deflects. Mabu redirects. Thian sidesteps.
Spring. Mabu carries an enormous boulder and runs with dogs chasing him — laughing the whole way.
Summer. All four training together. Karki goes down. Yuzuha strikes. Totoki times everything with his watch.
Winter again. Mabu is taller. His strikes are heavier. His dodges are faster.
Seven years in one page.
Page 2
The same market. The same noise. The same smells.
But the person walking through it now is different.
A tall young man. A calm face. A wooden sword across his back. He moves between the vendors with steps that neither rush nor hesitate.
Yuzuha walks beside him, examining the goods with eyes that miss nothing.
Then — at one of the carts — a voice breaks the air.
"Hello there, beautiful."
Page 3
A girl buying from a vendor. A hand on her shoulder she didn't ask for.
She looks at the hand's owner with cold anger.
Before she can speak, another hand grabs the man by his shirt.
He's lifted into the air.
Thrown toward the wall.
He lands.
The man rises slowly. Brushes off his clothes. Turns around.
Mabu and Yuzuha stand looking at him in silence.
Page 4
"Do you know who I am?!"
Mabu looks at him with an expression that carries zero interest.
"No. And I don't care."
The man's face darkens: "You'll regret this. Follow me and we'll see."
Mabu sighs. He turns to Yuzuha: "Do I have to go?"
She says: "I'd prefer you didn't. I still have a very long shopping list."
He claps his hands together.
"I won't be long. In and out."
She looks at him with pure frustration, mutters something sharp under her breath, and turns away. Mabu scratches his head, laughing quietly.
"Alright then, let's go, O Important Person."
He follows the man, whistling into the enormous forest.
Page 5
They walk until the village disappears behind them.
A forest. Then a large building in the middle of it.
The man stops at the door and smiles — the smile of someone who knows exactly what's waiting on the other side.
"You'll regret every step you took following me."
He opens the door.
Dozens of people turn to look at Mabu.
"Friends… this person attacked me without reason, insulted our gang with the worst words imaginable, and on top of that claims he can defeat every single one of you."
He turns to Mabu:
"Say it again. Right in front of them."
Page 6
Mabu studies them slowly. Yellow robes. Embroidered insignia. Serious faces.
Then he raises one finger and points it at all of them.
"You're a bunch of idiots dressed like bananas."
He laughs — overdramatic, wiping a fake tear.
"Sorry. I couldn't help myself."
Complete silence.
"Seize him."
Page 7
The first person to arrive carries a massive hammer.
He swings.
Mabu blocks with one hand. Takes the hammer. Returns the blow to its owner.
Two more come from both sides. Mabu grabs them by their heads and slams them into each other.
He stands in the middle of them without moving from his spot.
Someone charges with a sword — fast, aiming to stab. Mabu steps on the blade and answers with a punch.
Page 8
Everyone stops.
Then a voice from above.
A man sitting on the edge of the upper floor. Two swords in his hands. Watching with bright, eager eyes.
"Finally."
He jumps.
Page 9
He launches at Mabu at speed.
Before he arrives, Mabu draws his wooden sword and deflects the first strike from the right.
The leader steps back one step.
"A wooden sword?!"
Mabu doesn't answer. He grabs the leader's wrist and twists it. The first sword drops. A headbutt.
The leader recovers. Tries again.
A kick from the side. His head meets the floor.
Page 10
Mabu steps onto his head calmly.
"This is your leader?"
He raises his eyes to the rest of them.
Then the ground splits. A small rock formation erupts beneath him.
From the left, someone charges with a long spear.
From the right, an ice pillar pierces the earth.
Mabu looks at all three in a single sweep.
"Great."
Page 11
He steps back. Stands.
A slight smile.
He shifts only his right hand into the Stone Mantle — just the hand, just halfway.
He points it toward them.
"Come on then."
Page 12
He moves.
The rock formation erupts directly in front of him. One punch demolishes it to pieces.
The ice user sends a sharp pillar. Mabu catches it with both hands before it reaches him.
The spear user comes from the side — accelerating, on the verge of running Mabu through.
The door explodes open with a tremendous crash.
Page 13
Soldiers pour in wearing uniforms.
"Assassination Squad Number Two! Nobody move!"
Chaos erupts. Gang members scatter in every direction.
Mabu drops the three he was dealing with. He turns. Measures the distance to the window.
He jumps.
Page 14
Glass shatters. Cold air. The forest floor below.
He lands and runs between the trees without stopping.
A voice behind him:
"Go after him."
Fast footsteps. Light. Following him without noise.
Page 15
Mabu runs through the trees. The footsteps behind him neither fall back nor close in.
Then an arrow buries itself in the tree in front of him — grazing his head.
He stops.
He turns.
A man in black. The number two on his chest — and beside it, number seven. His hand transforms slowly — flesh and bone reshaping itself into a bow made of the same.
He nocks an arrow. Takes aim.
Mabu stares.
First time I've seen this power.
Page 16
Mabu ducks behind a tree.
An arrow punches through the trunk beside his face.
"I know you're there. Come out and make this quick."
Mabu tries to spot him through the trees. Another arrow punches through from the other side.
"How did he see me?"
Page 17
He moves to another tree.
An arrow arrives first.
Another tree. An arrow is already waiting.
As if he knows where Mabu will move before Mabu moves.
Then a massive bow forms from nothing. An arrow the size of a small trunk.
The tree Mabu is hiding behind shatters.
He stands exposed in the cold air.
He thinks of the blue knight at the festival. Same power — conjuring from nothing. But this one has something extra.
Two powers at once.
"That's not fair."
Page 18
Mabu thinks fast.
The bow needs a straight line. The trees block him — but not enough.
So the problem isn't the trees. The problem is that he sees where Mabu will move before he moves.
Mabu smiles.
"Got it."
Page 19
Mabu runs toward a tree. Not away from it. Toward it.
One punch. Two. It tears from its roots.
He catches it as it falls and runs with it in front of him like a massive moving shield.
The arrow pierces the tree. It doesn't reach Mabu.
He throws it. Grabs another. Throws it. Closes the distance.
Page 20
Number Seven forms a sword and swings.
Mabu blocks with his wooden sword. He responds with a strong punch — Number Seven deflects — and answers with a punch to Mabu's stomach.
Mabu grunts from the impact.
Footsteps approach from behind.
Number Seven turns — about to shout to his allies —
A punch from the left. He loses consciousness.
Mabu stays low, monitoring the approaching footsteps carefully, breathing through the pain from the stomach shot.
Page 21
He slips into the forest in silence.
He cuts through the trees at speed until the village appears ahead.
He slows as he enters the market. Walks calmly, as if nothing happened.
Yuzuha is standing exactly where he left her. She looks at him. She notices the cut on his shoulder.
"How many?"
"I don't know. I didn't count."
Page 22
She looks at him sideways.
He smiles.
They continue walking through the market as if nothing happened at all.
But inside Mabu's head, one image refuses to leave.
Number Seven. And the bow that formed from nothing.
One person. Two powers.
Page 23
In the forest, the squad leader stands over Number Seven lying on the ground. He looks toward the trees.
"Who did this?"
One of the soldiers: "A young man. Tall. Wooden sword on his back."
The leader is silent for a moment.
"Take Number Seven to the capital for treatment."
He turns back toward the forest.
Page 24
"The rest of you — spread through the surrounding villages."
He grips his sword handle.
"I want his name. I want his face. I want everything there is to know about him."
He walks away from them.
"I will find you. Without fail."
Continued in Chapter Thirteen