Zenji and Polo arrive at the city of Sengakuren, home to the Yokai Exorcist Association. Zenji, cursed to always smile due to his Kage alignment, learns from Polo about the existence of kami — people with divine blessings tied to their alignment. The Kage alignment is feared as a bringer of chaos, but Polo reveals they once had a kind Kage-aligned member, challenging the stigma.

  Zenji’s powers likely awakened after losing his brother, Tsuya, and he demonstrates his ability by manipulating paper. Polo reveals the Tava Retzon Crown, a fragmented, wish-granting artifact held by yokai. When asked about his true desire, Zenji confesses he wants to bring his family back.

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  During his entrance test, Zenji fights a brutal yokai in a desert-like testing ground. Despite exhaustion, he defeats the yokai, his permanent smile unsettling even in victory. Polo then declares that Zenji must lose body parts as a rite of passage, viciously incapacitating him. Zenji later wakes up with his body regenerated and enhanced into a living weapon, complete with bizarre modifications, marking his irreversible step into the exorcist world.