Tsuchinoko

The **Tsuchinoko** (ツチノコ, *Tsuchinoko*?) was the name of a kuragari, or Mongolian Death Worm, that had been revered by the people of Jiji's village, especially the Kito Family, as the **Great Snake** (大蛇様, *Orochi-sama*?), believed to be the cryptid tsuchinoko.

In *Dandadan*, the Tsuchinoko serves as one of the primary antagonists during the Cursed House Arc.

## Appearance

The Tsuchinoko is an enormous worm with a spotted pattern serpent body and a tentacle ringed gaping mouth that has multiple rows of teeth. Okarun had noted that the Tsuchinoko was much larger than the average Mongolian Death Worm, which are about 1.5 to 2 meters long in length.

## Background

During the feudal period, the Mongolian Death Worm resided inside a village volcano where it became revered as the Tsuchinoko by the villagers due to it causing the volcano to become active whenever hungry. In order to keep the village safe from the volcano's magma, the Kito Family appeased the Tsuchinoko by offering a child from their village as a sacrifice for it to eat and continued on this ritual for 200 years, with one of the rituals resulting in the birth of the Evil Eye.

## Synopsis

### Cursed House Arc

After the Kito Family has the Enjoji family move into the sacrificial house, the Tsuchinoko causes the parents to succumb to its suicidal psychic influence and end up hospitalized. Believing that the house is cursed based on this event and the appearance of the Evil Eye, the son of the Enjoji family, Jiji, receives help from Momo and Okarun to exorcise the house. This then leads to the trio, along with the Kito Family, being sent deep underground the house where the Tsuchinoko resides. Despite the Kito Family presenting themselves as worshippers, the Tsuchinoko eats them and goes after Momo, Okarun, and Jiji next. While the Tsuchinoko has Momo and Okarun fall victim to its suicidal psychic influence, the worm chases after Jiji as he struggles keeping the two from killing themselves. Just as the Tsuchinoko confronts Jiji with nowhere else left to run, the Evil Eye appears to use his powers to clash with the Tsuchinoko's, which ends up canceling out the mind control on Momo and Okarun. The Tsuchinoko is then decapitated by Okarun in his transformed state but regenerates from the damage and chases after him. After Okarun reaches his limit, the Tsuchinoko releases electricity that shocks Momo, Jiji, and the Turbo-Granny down at the lower level and spews out phlegm to bind them as it dives down to swallow them. However, the Tsuchinoko is stopped after being punched by Jiji who becomes possessed by the Evil Eye. The Evil Eye then further damages the Tsuchinoko by continuously attacking it with a grudge form ball, causing the worm to have no other option but to retreat within the ground. At the same time, the Tsuchinoko creates a spore to poison its enemies who continue to remain in its layer.

Later, the Tsuchinoko is forced to come up to the surface after Momo came up with the plan to have the village firemen hose down the sacrificial house after setting it on fire, realizing earlier that worms are unable to remain underground if its soaked with water and will end up drying up once exposed to sunlight, which starts to happen to the Tsuchinoko. The Tsuchinoko then takes cover behind the sacrificial house to prevent itself from completely drying up, however, using her psychokinesis, Momo destroys the house by throwing a fire truck and successfully kills the Tsuchinoko. After Momo checks to see if the Tsuchinoko is really dead by kicking its stomach, the Tsuchinoko's corpse reacts by vomiting out the Kito Family who managed to stay alive.

Though she managed to stop the threat of the Tsuchinoko, Momo now becomes faced with the problem of stopping the active village volcano from destroying the village due to it being linked to the Tsuchinoko. Having figured out the true message to the village legend, Momo uses the Tsuchinoko's corpse as a hose to cool down the magma in the forest with its phlegm as water from the hot springs starts to pump it. However, her plan is soon hindered with the Kito Family not wanting her to take credit for protecting the village and the Evil Eye damaging the Tsuchinoko's corpse. Later, after the arrival of Seiko, Taro, the Dover Demon, and Chiquitita, the Tsuchinoko's corpse is once again used to cool down the magma with the help of Chiquitita controlling it with his father's spacecraft and is also used to save Okarun and the Turbo-Granny who were still trapped within the Tsuchinoko's layer.

## Abilities and Powers

### Kuragari Abilities

As a Mongolian Death Worm, the Tsuchinoko possesses the natural ability to create spores that releases a toxic venom to weaken its enemies.