Crimson Code: Last Descent

 Veymars Headquarters Training Grounds

Gintama and Konatsu stood across the field, eyes locked in a tense stare-down.

"Are you ready, Konatsu?" Gintama shouted, voice echoing across the open space.

"Bring it, Gintama!" Konatsu yelled back, grinning fiercely.

Gintama thrust out his hand, crimson blood surging from his palm. A volley of jagged blood daggers hurtled toward Konatsu with lethal precision.

Konatsu's hands flared to life, a sleek blood dagger materializing in his grip. With lightning-fast swings, he deflected each incoming projectile, sparks of crimson clashing in the air.

Both charged forward, daggers gleaming. They met in a brutal clash—blades scraping and sparking as they danced around each other. Gintama ducked a wild swing, countering with a thrust. Konatsu parried, sidestepping a slash. Their hand-to-hand combat was a blur of motion, each dodging and striking with relentless fury.

Suddenly, Gintama leapt atop Konatsu, pinning him momentarily. From his hands, blood spears erupted, rocketing downward. Konatsu rolled aside just in time, the spears embedding deep into the earth, pinning the ground where he'd been. As Gintama landed, he charged again—but Konatsu's hand flashed, a long, shimmering blood sword forming. With a single, powerful slash, he cleaved through the spears, shattering them into crimson mist, and leapt free.

Gintama darted forward, seizing Konatsu mid-air. With a twist, he slammed him hard into the dirt, pinning him down.

"Okay, okay, I give up!" Konatsu gasped, laughing weakly.

Gintama smirked, offering a hand to pull him up.

From a distance, Kenmochi watched, awestruck. "That's amazing."

A voice behind him chuckled. "Gintama sure has higher intelligence than… well, Gintama."

Kenmochi turned. "Dio?"

Koni Dio grinned. "Oh?" He darted left, then right, dropped to the ground, and sprang upward in a playful blur.

Kenmochi's head tracked his movements perfectly.

"You can see?" Koni Dio asked, impressed.

"Oh yeah," Kenmochi said. "Well, not exactly."

"Better than nothing, kid," Koni Dio said. "Congrats."

Gintama's voice boomed from afar. "Kenmochi! Did you see that?"

"Yes!" Kenmochi called back. "That was amazing—you guys are so fast!"

Konatsu and Gintama strolled over to join Dio and Kenmochi.

"This is perfect," Koni Dio said. "I need the three of you for a mission."

"A mission already?" Gintama's eyes lit up. "I'm so excited!"

"What is it?" Konatsu asked, leaning in.

"Are you sure I'm ready for a mission, Dio?" Kenmochi said, hesitant.

"Ahh, you'll be just fine," Koni Dio replied with a wave. "This is a very important mission."

Gintama and Konatsu listened intently.

"You guys are bodyguards today," Koni Dio announced.

Their excited faces dropped instantly to disappointment.

"Ah? I'll pass on that," Gintama said, turning to walk away.

"I'm with him," Konatsu added, following.

"Wait, hold on!" Koni Dio called. "I'm not finished!"

He continued, "This is a perfect opportunity for Kenmochi to learn what it means to be a Veymar, and I can't send him alone. So I need you two."

"You need us?" Konatsu asked, skeptical.

"Yes," Koni Dio said.

"Like, really need us?" Gintama pressed, grinning.

"Yes," Koni Dio snapped, irritated.

"Well," Gintama and Konatsu said in unison, "if you need us and beg us to go, maybe we'll entertain it, haha!"

"Call me if anything goes sideways," Koni Dio growled.

"So who are we protecting?" Konatsu asked.

"His name is Kakaro," Koni Dio said. "One of the best healer Veymars. We need him at our second headquarters, so you'll transfer him safely."

Gintama picked his nose. "Why doesn't he just use a teleport technique if he's that strong?"

"I didn't say he was strong," Koni Dio corrected. "I said he's a healer. He doesn't know combat techniques beyond blood manipulation and weapons."

"Fine, fine, we'll do it," Konatsu said.

"Meet him at two o'clock in the entertainment district," Koni Dio instructed. "And remember—that place is swarming with Veymars, so keep your guard up."

"Okay, I leave this up to you. Byeee!" Koni Dio vanished, leaving a trace of blood on the ground.

Kenmochi thought to himself, My first mission. I need this to grow stronger.

Entertainment District, Kabukicho – Three Hours Later

 Gintama, Konatsu, and Kenmochi stood waiting, scanning the bustling crowd.

"We don't even know what he looks like," Gintama grumbled.

"Dio, leaving out important details," Konatsu muttered.

Suddenly, a kid with a lollipop stepped in front of them.

"Get lost, kid," Gintama snapped.

"Hey, don't say that!" Kenmochi protested. "He's just a kid!"

"I hate kids," Gintama said flatly.

Konatsu crouched to the kid's level. "Are you lost, little guy?"

Gintama's phone rang. He answered. "Who is this?"

"That's the guy," Koni Dio's voice crackled through.

Gintama screamed, "That's no guy! That's a kid!"

"Guy, kid—same thing," Koni Dio said, hanging up.

Gintama gripped his phone, seething. "That fucking bastard!"

He turned to the kid. "Alright, be quiet, don't go anywhere, and don't ask for anything."

The kid shuffled over to Kenmochi and grabbed his hand.

Surprised, Kenmochi said, "Hey, guys, can you lead him? I can't get a good grasp of this place—I can only see people."

Konatsu took the kid's hand. "I'll be your guide, kid. Let's go."

"Hey, Kenmochi," Gintama called.

"Yes?" Kenmochi replied.

"Why haven't you used your blood to enhance your hearing?" Gintama asked.

"I can do that?" Kenmochi said, startled.

"If you can manipulate it around your eyes," Konatsu explained, "you can easily manipulate it in your ears."

"Your hearing will become so good," Gintama added, "you'll sense everything—the wind hitting objects. Some people master it so well they can 'see' the sounds."

"Okay, let me try," Kenmochi said. He focused, channeling blood to his ears.

Suddenly, he winced. "Ahh, what is this? I hear a buzzing sound!"

"That's a high-frequency sound wave," Gintama said. "Humans can't hear it—only animals can like dogs and cats."

"You'll get used to it," Konatsu assured him.

The buzz blended with other sounds as they walked. Ahead, a construction hole loomed in Kenmochi's path. Konatsu opened his mouth to warn him, but Gintama silenced him with a gesture.

Kenmochi neared the hole—and stepped around it effortlessly.

"You saw that, didn't you?" Gintama said, impressed.

"I heard the wind clashing with the ground," Kenmochi explained. "But in that spot, it moved past it, so I figured it was a hole."

"With enough practice," Konatsu said, "it'll become an instinct."

Suddenly, the kid stopped dead, sweat beading on his forehead. He pointed ahead, trembling.

"What is it, kid?" Konatsu asked, following his gaze.

The trio froze. A cloaked figure loomed ahead, radiating menace.

Gintama swallowed hard.

"I sense it," Kenmochi whispered. "A high amount of bloodlust."

"It's an Oni," Konatsu said, voice low.

"Almost every Oni is a bloodthirsty killer," Gintama added.

"But this one…" Konatsu trailed off. "I can feel the blood."

"He's strong," Kenmochi said.

The figure vanished, reappearing closer. Gintama stammered, "W-What was that? Teleportation technique?"

"No," Konatsu said. "If it was, he'd be right in front of us."

A blood dagger materialized in Gintama's hand. Konatsu shoved the kid behind him, a spear forming in his grip.

The Oni flickered closer—disappearing and reappearing in rapid bursts until he was dangerously near.

"Just support me from behind!" Gintama barked, charging forward.

Gintama lunged, his blood dagger slashing with ferocious speed. The Oni vanished in a blur, reappearing before Kenmochi. With a thunderous roar, the Oni drove a fist into Kenmochi's stomach, the impact reverberating like a shockwave. Kenmochi doubled over, coughing up vomit as the air exploded from his lungs.

Konatsu reacted instantly, swinging his spear in a wide arc. Crimson energy crackled along its edge as it sliced toward the Oni—but the figure vanished again, Kenmochi in tow, reappearing farther away.

"It's Flash Step!" Gintama shouted. "Don't let him get away—he's taking Kenmochi!"

Kenmochi's eyes snapped open, blood surging within him to heal the damage. The world blurred as the Oni dragged him at breakneck speed. With a desperate twist, he broke free, hitting the ground hard. A spear of blood materialized in his hand, and he thrust it upward with all his might.

The Oni leapt into the air, evading effortlessly. Gintama yelled, "He's in the air—he can't Flash Step now!"

Konatsu seized the moment, hurling five blood spears skyward. Each glowed with searing crimson power, streaking toward the Oni like guided missiles. But a wave of blood energy erupted from the Oni's body—a pulsating, violent shield that shattered the spears into sparkling fragments, scattering them harmlessly.

The Oni landed with a ground-shaking thud, his eyes locking onto Kenmochi's. Kenmochi stared back from the dirt, tracking every twitch. As soon as he lifts that foot… he thought.

The Oni's foot rose—Kenmochi rolled left, swinging a freshly formed blood dagger. It sliced into the Oni's side, drawing a spray of dark blood. The Oni snarled, Flash Stepping closer, but Kenmochi had anticipated it—dodging just before the strike landed.

Gintama and Konatsu charged in unison, weapons blazing with crimson fury. The Oni sneered, healing his wound in seconds. He Flash Stepped forward, seizing Kenmochi by the throat with a grip like iron.

Turning, the Oni saw Gintama and Konatsu closing in. In a blink, he appeared before Gintama—still clutching Kenmochi—and unleashed a devastating punch. Gintama blocked with his dagger, but the force crushed his hands, bones snapping audibly.

The Oni Flash Stepped again, appearing before Konatsu. A brutal kick slammed into Konatsu's legs, shattering them and sending him crashing backward in a heap.

Kenmochi struggled, choking under the Oni's grasp. He thrust out his hand, blood splashing onto the Oni's arm. The Oni grinned, revealing razor-sharp teeth and glowing red eyes. He licked the blood, his voice dripping with menace. "How cute."

"Take this!" Kenmochi roared. The blood exploded in a violent burst, a crimson detonation that shook the air. The Oni's grip faltered, his hand scorched. Kenmochi dropped, scrambling to Gintama and Konatsu. He hauled them up, shouting for the kid to follow.

The Oni's face, half-blasted off, began regenerating—flesh knitting back together with grotesque speed.

Kenmochi staggered under the weight of his injured teammates, the kid trailing behind. A voice thundered from the shadows.

The Oni screamed, his roar splitting the air. "That was a cheap trick! I didn't expect that from someone so weak!"

He glared at Kenmochi, eyes blazing. "That's it, boy. I don't care if I hurt you—heck, I don't care if I kill you!"

With terrifying speed, the Oni charged, the ground quaking beneath his blood-fueled wrath.

To Be Continued…