Forest of Misfortune

## Chapter Chronology

**Special Edition: Forest of Misfortune** (特別編 勿怪の森, *Tokubetsu-hen Mokke no Mori*) is a special one-shot by Yūji Kaku that was published in Shonen Jump+ to commemorate the release of the Jigokuraku anime series.

## Summary

While out in the forest, Gabimaru looks back to see a group of children popping out from the bushes ready to attack him, believing him to be a monster. After he is struck on the shoulder with a hoe by a girl named Aki, who becomes shocked to see that the tool did not pierce his body, Gabimaru responds by scaring off the children with a menacing face. Aki becomes too scared to move from this reaction and begs Gabimaru to spare her life. Gabimaru tells her that he is not going to kill her but asks that she not attack him again. Aki tells Gabimaru that he is trespassing on her village, which caused her and the others to become suspicious of him being one of the rumored criminals that had escaped from the capital. Gabimaru informs her that he only came to grow veggie outside her village and that he will not cause any trouble. Aki unfortunately tells Gabimaru that he won't be able to grow anything with the inadequate spot he has chosen, since she has knowledge of how to farm, and once again becomes frightened after thinking she has offended him. Gabimaru initially becomes disappointed that he won't be able practice growing crops for "her" sake but quickly develops the idea to have Aki teach him how to farm in exchange for giving her chances to make attempts at trying to kill him.

After agreeing to this, Aki instructs Gabimaru to remove the stones on the ground so that he can till the soil. Gabimaru believes that it would be easier for him to simply rip the ground and send the stones flying but is denied by Aki, being told that he must do it carefully since getting violent with the soil would be a disrespect towards the bugs who spent years working on it. After Gabimaru questioning if killing is easy compared to growing something, Gabimaru is told by Aki that this was his only task for today, which causes him to complain. Later, Gabimaru allows Aki to strike him with a hoe and becomes unharmed. Aki wonders how Gabimaru was able to survive this and hears from him that he was probably using Ninpō. He then makes his leave until they meet tomorrow for the next lesson.

The next day, Aki instructs Gabimaru to till the soil for the next three days and has him eat poisonous bugs and mushrooms as her attempt to kill him, only for Gabimaru to state to her that he is immune to toxins and becomes eager to take them home to make stew. Later, Aki warns the other children about how dangerous Gabimaru is and that they have to do something, believing that there is a connection between him and the rumor a monk told them about how a few criminals gathered by the shogun had returned from an island as monsters. Seeing them unmotivated, Aki tells them about how Gabimaru is unkillable due to his Ninpō and manages to convince them to work with her.

Later, Gabimaru notices the children watching him work and is told by Aki that they came to help her kill him. Gabimaru tells them that if they want to kill him then they will have to lend their assistance by helping him farm, which they agree to do. Shortly after, the children attempt to kill Gabimaru by dropping a boulder on him but witnesses it being split in half by his head, much to their amazement. As he continued to farm, Gabimaru sees more children coming to participate to try their hand at testing his body. After taking a break to eat with the children, Gabimaru notices on the ground that a bud managed to grow. Aki tells him that his next lesson would be to keep the deer and boars away from the crops. Gabimaru then smiles giving his thanks to Aki for helping him.

After helping him to keep the wildlife away from the crops, Gabimaru offers to walk the children home after it gets dark. Although he told one of the children that they didn't have to come tomorrow since he can handle the rest himself, Gabimaru is asked by the child if he and the rest can still help him the day after and gives his permission. Gabimaru then takes Aki home while carrying her on his back since he thought that she looked exhausted. While walking, he notices that no of the parents came to greet the children after they were brought home and is informed by Aki that, according to a residential monk, all the adults had become sick by a plague and worries that they won't get better before the fall harvest. She also explains that the children were left with no other choice but to protect the village themselves but becomes disappointed in herself that she couldn't do anything to help. This helps Gabimaru to realize why the only people attacking him have been children and his apologized by Aki. Gabimaru tells her that he doesn't hold it against her since he is a suspicious person and advises her to never hesitate to kill when it is necessary, especially in the world they live in. While Gabimaru continues giving her advice by listing out ways in which she can kill a person, Aki thinks to herself that he is trouble but nods off thinking that he is much more. After noticing her asleep, Gabimaru runs into the monk Aki mentioned earlier.

At the monk's temple, Gabimaru asks him when he became the head, to which the monk answers that it was recently after his predecessor passed away. He tells Gabimaru that he is grateful that he took the time to play with the children and will see to it that Aki is returned home. Gabimaru then hears from the monk about how Aki is carrying the responsibility of looking after her family after her father passed away from being infected with the plague and has recently become quite cheerful ever since she and the other children met him, which the monk was grateful for. After admitting to Gabimaru that he was concerned about what kind of person he might be, the monk apologizes for thinking that he offended him but hears from Gabimaru that he was fine with this since he sees that they are the same, much to the monk's confusion by what he meant.

Gabimaru tells the monk that he sees right through him in that he is a killer like himself, based on the smell of poison and blood, and figures out that he is a part of gang of bandits who came to take over the village by poisoning the villagers' medicine. With his identity exposed, the false monk lets out his true nature and calls Gabimaru out to be a fool since he has him surrounded by his goons from above with arrows pointed towards him. The false monk reveals to Gabimaru that the bandits plan on raiding the village tonight and has his men on standby outside waiting for the signal to kill every resident. After waking up to find the false monk holding a kunai next to her face, Aki trembles in fear while becoming disappointed with herself for not accomplishing anything for the sake of others despite all the effort she put in. The false monk notices the poison Gabimaru drank from the tea taking effect after his hand starts to shake while holding the teacup tells him that even worse side-effects will progress. Despite this, Aki remembers how Gabimaru has an immunity to poison and see him kicking the teacup towards the false monk. This prompts the false monk to signal his men to fire their arrows at Gabimaru. At the same time the poison tea splashes the false monk's eyes, Gabimaru grabs every arrow aimed at him and throws them back to kill everyone one of the bandits by the time the false monk finishes clearing his vision.

The false monk becomes horrified to see that all his men have been brought down and tries to intimidate Gabimaru by pointing out that he still has allies outside, only to fail as he sees that Gabimaru is unfazed. The false monk further tries to intimidate Gabimaru by telling him that he and his gang are the monsters who were the past group of criminals sent to a mysterious island and says that he will spare him if he walks away. Gabimaru sees through his lie and was prompted to reveal to him the whole truth about the tall tale, as he was one of the criminals sent to the island but clarified that the one who came back wasn't him, much to Aki and the false monk's confusion by what he meant by this. The false monk believes that Gabimaru is simply stalling for time and that he is not a threat. Having not convinced him, Gabimaru asked if he wanted to see his ninjutsu and uses Ninpō: Hibōshi to incinerate the false monk's body as he attempted to attack him. One of the injured bandit's bears witness to this event and figures out that the white-haired man is none other than "Gabimaru the Hollow" of Iwagakure. After figuring out what kind of poison the false monk used, Gabimaru tells Aki that he will be able to make an antidote to save her family and the rest of the villagers, which is thanks to her hunting him down. Aki then remembers her father's dying wish to take care of her brothers and the rice seeds he gave her that he says are the village's future, making her cry as a result since she used the seeds to help Gabimaru create the crops.

With the bandits still outside, Gabimaru finds himself having no choice but to kill them all. After one of the bandits tells Gabimaru that the village is doomed for sure since they were sent by a lord, Gabimaru decides to go to the lord's mansion, kill all of his men who got in his way and warn the lord to not bother the village or he will come back to kill him, which the lord fearfully agrees to do. Noticing that it was already morning, Gabimaru tells Aki that he should take her back to the village, to which Aki agrees and says that they should go home to "our" village.

At the village, the children bring out the fruits and vegetables planted from the harvest to the adults who are back to being healthy. While bringing fruits and vegetables to her mother, Aki looks to see Gabimaru relaxing from a tree while eating a piece of fruit, which he comments was delicious.

## Characters in Order of Appearance

* Aki
* Tarō
* Gabimaru
* Yui (mentioned)
* *Bandit Monk*
* Rokurōta (flashback)
* Warped Keiun (flashback)
* Tamiya Gantetsusai (flashback)
* Yuzuriha (flashback)
* Moro Makiya (flashback)
* Aza Chōbei (flashback)
* Akaginu (flashback)
* Nurugai (flashback)
* Hōrubō (flashback)
* Yamada Asaemon Genji (flashback)
* Yamada Asaemon Kishō (flashback)
* Yamada Asaemon Eizen (flashback)
* Yamada Asaemon Tenza (flashback)
* Aza Tōma (flashback)
* Yamada Asaemon Fuchi (flashback)
* Yamada Asaemon Sagiri (flashback)
* Shion (flashback)
* Yamada Asaemon Senta (flashback)
* Yamada Asaemon Jikka (flashback)
* Zhu Jin (flashback)
* Yamada Asaemon Shugen (flashback)
* Shija (flashback)
* Rien (flashback)
* Mu Dan (flashback)
* Ju Fa (flashback)
* Tao Fa (flashback)