Hell Teacher Nube 103

Three years ago, the new teacher Nube faced down an Oni and...was completely overwhelmed by it and utterly squashed!? Wait...is this really the incident Nube receives his Oni no Te...and how could he seal away something this powerful!?

#103: The Secret of the Oni no Te (end)

146.
(This isn’t a good scenario: you’re facing down a massive Oni and your left hand is destroyed…and according to tales, that Oni is now your left hand…so now what?)

147.
Narrator: Three years ago—the new teacher Nube-sensei did an exorcism so he could remove an Oni that was possessing a student. But…the Oni was too powerful…
Nube: !!

148.
(Title page…um…Nube…you do realize you don’t have a left hand anymore)

149.
Tamamo: Stupid…that Oni’s spiritual power is several hundred times Nueno-sensei’s…!
Hiroshi: Huh!? Then, Nube will lose!?
Kyouko: That can’t be.
Kyouko: This is the past; this is an incident that occurred in the past. If the past Nube loses to the Oni, then there won’t be a reason that the Oni no Te is attached to Nube in the present.
Kyouko: Foremost, if he dies here, then the present Nube won’t reasonably be alive.
Tamamo: That seems so but…how can I say he’ll win…with this!

150.
SFX: Gogogogogogo

151.
Nube: S**t, can I lose here!
SFX: Gu
Nube: (to himself) Minako-sensei, I became a teacher similar to you who I respect. For saving children who have been possessed by spirits and have problems with them similar to you…
Nube: You abandoned your own life so you could exorcise an evil spirit that had possessed me.
Nube: I inherited this will.
Nube: I’m certain…I will rescue her.
SFX: Gyo

152.
SFX: Yura~~
Nube: Take this! Byakue Reibakuju…
SFX: Bari bari bari
Oni: Gobaa
Nube: !!
SFX: Doooo Baki dogagaga

153.
Hiroshi: Nube
Kyouko: You can’t die—
Hiroshi: Damn this—
Hiroshi: Nube doesn’t have reason to lose!! This past is nonsense--!!
SFX: Suka suka
Tamamo: You fools…! This doesn’t surpass an image of a past that is reproduced by a crystal ball. Although I said that you can’t interfere or converse with it…
Hiroshi: No—we can’t do anything--!!
Kyouko: Nube!!
Hiroshi: !!
SFX: Zushin! Zushin!

154.
Tamamo: He’s going to finish this. It’s impossible to win against an Oni after all…
Hiroshi & Kyouko: Nube!!

155.
Oni: Guaaaa
Nube: !?
Tamamo: What? The state of the Oni is
“Oni”: Please…seal…me…hurry…right…now
Nube: …What?
“Oni”: I…came so I…could be contained with your power by you who…I trust in…
Nube: What are you saying? I don’t know who you are.
“Oni”: It’s me…I’m…

156.
SFX: Gogogogogo

157.
Nube: Minako…sensei…
Nube: S…stupid, am I seeing a dream?
Minako: This is reality, Nueno-kun. Please firmly take me.
Minako: I…failed in your exorcism and was killed by the evil spirit…after that, my soul went deep into the realm of the dead with the evil spirits…lead to a place that people call Hell. For the evil spirits, this was their revenge on me.

158.
Minako: And then, my soul was absorbed into an Oni of hell. My soul with strong spirit power was a suitable prey for the Oni.
(TN: There is a word here that probably really should be changed since it’s a massive spoiler…but that I’ll leave to interpretation)
Minako: I was absorbed and became part of the Oni.
Minako: But whether fortunate or unfortunate, my will remained within the Oni’s body. Due to this, when this Oni appeared in this present world so it could raise disasters in the world, I induced it to come to here…so it could be sealed by you…
(TN: A reminder: “Present world” is a Buddhist term of “Gense”, which is the current, present world as opposed to any previous or past lifes or any other worlds where one can live like heaven or hell)
Nube: It’s a lie.

159.
Nube: It’s a lie—
Minako: Now hurry…! If you ignore this, this Oni will murder many children…seal this Oni together with me!
Tamamo: The Oni’s power is weakening…this woman is suppressing the Oni’s power in it’s body!
Hiroshi: Now he’ll win!
Minako: Why are you hesitating, Nueno-kun!! You are a teacher!

160.
Nube: Uaaaaa!!
Nube: Namu Daiji Dahi Kyuugu Kyuunan!!
Nube: By the power of Byakue-Kanzeon, seal this…Oni into…
(TN: I’m not quite sure if I ever addressed this, but while “Byakue” has been explained prior, “Kanzeon”, which is always part of Nube’s sutra, is in referened to the bodhisattvas Avalokitesvara, the “Holder of the Lotus” or “Lord of the World”, who according to Mahayana Buddhism is the bodhisattva who appears to assist sentient beings in times of difficulty and who appears to assist everyone to reach Buddhahood, even at the cost of his own)

161.
Nube: My left hand!!
SFX: Bashu
Nube: Minako-sensei…someday I certainly…will rescue your soul from the Oni…until that day…I will protect children from evil spirits…as your soul dwells in this…

162.
Nube: Oni no Te…!!
(TN: I really hated to do the translation you read here, but basically the line that bridges from the last page to this, culminating with the revelation of the Oni no Te, goes “Anata no tamashii no yadotta kono Oni no Te”. If read correctly, it should actually be “This Oni no Te which your soul dwells in”, but with the revelation of the Oni no Te having the “your soul dwells in” part as opposed to the “Oni no Te” part due to the structure of Japanese having words usually being read from the last word to the first with the subject the last word mentioned and every sentence section before it modifying it. As much as I hated to do the “as your soul dwells in this” part, this was the only way I could make it work in English so that “Oni no Te” would be on this page with the revealed existence...while it would be just as shocking probably to have “which your soul dwells in” on this page, it really wouldn’t match with the Oni no Te right there)
Tamamo: Right…the Oni no Te wasn’t sealed by the power of Nueno-sensei alone…in cooperation with the soul of that woman…it was sealed two-fold from the inside and outside.
Kyouko: That’s right…

163.
Tamamo: If we understand as such, then it’s useless to go further…we’ll return to present!
SFX: Shu
Sign: Night-Watch Room
Note: Present Nube
Hiroshi: Wh…what are you doing?
Tamamo: The woman’s soul should be sleeping within the Oni…this will wake her up and she will suppress the Oni once more.
Tamamo: Hinrou Kyoumon Reidai Bunkyoku Rentei Bukyhoku Hagun: Soul of the Oni no Te: awaken
SFX: Ka

164.
Minako: You’ve become splendid, Nueno-kun. I will always watch over you.
Nube: Mi…nako-sensei…
Minako: Well…please be healthy. The Oni…will be suppressed with my full power today where your spiritual power has abated.

165.
Hiroshi: The Oni no Te is…returning…
SFX: Shuuu…shuuu…
Kyouko: He did it! That was clever.
Nube: Hiroshi…Kyouko…
Hiroshi & Kyouko: Nube
Narrator: The Oni no Te is a double-edged sword together with being the strongest weapon. This here was one of the sad episodes.

166.
RETURN OF THE GREAT YOUKAI ENCYCLOPEDIA

#33: Oni

The first appearance of the Oni within a book was in “Izumo no Kuni Fudoki”. Next it was introduced in “Nihon Shoki”. The Oni in those days seemed to be put on par with the spirit of an ancestor. Along with being presented various natural blessings by people, the Oni at the time as an existence who pulled the pedigree of the “God of Destruction” that accomplished terrible curses.

However, along with the transmission of Buddhism, the Oni lost the people’s faith. A portion of Oni became bodies who were useful to Buddha as Gohoushin like the representative “Yashagami” and also, like “Zenki” and “Goki”, who followed En no Odzuki, there came to exist those who were employed by high priests and were ruined religiously.

But on the other hand, there were also Oni who weren’t conciliated by Buddhism. They were strengthened by just their brutality in place of losing their divinity and came to seem to reign the spirit world as symbols of evil. A good example os the famous “Shuten Douji”. The image of Oni, which was bipolarized like this, was further amplified together with the era. That’s the reason why the Oni that were introduced in folklore were occasionally humorous comedians or terrible villains.

Also even about the form of the Oni, it is popular to say that they have two horns, fangs, and further tiger underpants, but that wasn’t for certain in ancient times. While Oni appeared in “Suzuka Gozen (Tatee-Boshi)”, they were beautiful women without equal; and the Oni introduced in the aforemention “Izumo no Kuni Fudoki” were said to have one eye. Many other Oni are beings that haven’t been seen by the eyes, without possessing forms that can be decided on. The form of the Oni we had today is one that had been influenced by Buddhist art and the Inyou Gogyou Shisou which had come into Japan alongside that. In short, because the direction where there are Kimon in Onmyoudou is “Cow-Tiger” (Northeast), it was devised that they would have cow horns and tiger underpants and the reason why it widened nationally is due to this form being carved in graven images.

There are many things I had wanted to write aside from these, but there will be another chance.

(TN: There are quite a few things this time to go over due to all the aspects involved in the explanation of probably the most important youkai in this series [yeah this is the first we’ve actually seen “the Oni”, but the Oni no Te has been there since day one], so I’m going to try and explain all of them as best as I can:
1. “Izumo no Kuni Fudoki”, which I mentioned back in Vol. 10, is considered the third-oldest book in Japan, written in 733 and written completely about the “Izumo Kingdom” of the early age of Japanese myth. It translates into “Topography of the Nation of Izumo”. According to the info in the book, an Oni appeared in an area that is now considered around what is today the city of Unnan, near the southern area of Honshu island.
2. The “Nihon Shoki”, also known as “The Chronicles of Japan”, is the second oldest book of classical Japanese history, finished in 720. The book is notable for starting with various Japanese myths, but getting into a rather detailed version of events of the 8th century. According to one source, the “Oni” in “Nihon Shoki” is actually read as “Mono” and originally appeared as hags dispatched by god Izanami to pursue Izanagi, with the kanji for “ugly” and “woman” used for the reading of “Oni”
3. “Gohoushin” is a Japanese term for a “Dharmapala”, a type of wrathful deity also known as the “Protector of the Law”. Though notable for their horrific appearance, they are all considered either bodhisattvas or Buddhas, thus making them benevolent and caring despite their horrific look. The Japanese name literally stands for “Gods who Defend the Constitution of Religious Doctrines”
4. It was really hard for me to find anything about Yashagami, but it does have a pass named after in a location around the southern area of the Japan Alps.
5. En no Gyouja, also known as En no Odzuki, is a Japanese aesthetic and mystic who is said to be the founder of Shugendou, a syncretic religion merging concepts of various religions in Japan, including Shinto, Buddhism, Taoism and Japanese shamanism. Zenki (Literally “Front Oni”) and Goki (“Back Oni”) are literally seen as a pair of Oni that are husband (Zenki) and wife (Goki) who joined and protected En no Gyouja on his journeys after learning and practicing aesthetics. While the duo have appeared in other manga and anime, probably the best series to look into in regards to using the legend in a pop manner is Monthly Shonen Jump manga/anime Kishin Douji ZENKI, written by Kikuhide Tani and illustrated by Yoshihiro Kuroiwa
6. Shuten Douji (literally “The Heavy-Drinking Child”) is a massive Oni seen as the ruler of Oni in certain areas of Japan, including in Kyoto and Tamba. He was infamous for kidnapping, enslaving and devouring maidens of Kyoto. In a notable legend, he was finally taken down by the power of Minamoto no Yorimitsu forces, including several deities. (the same hero who brought down Tsuchigumo as depicted in an entry in Vol. 9’s encyclopedia)
7. Suzuka Gozen (“Excellency Suzuka”), also known as “Tatee-Boshi” as mentioned above, is a female introduced in 13th Century book “Kokoncho Monjuu” (literally translates into “The Ancient Knowledge Collection”). She ultimately took many guises based on her depiction, including as a female thief, a goddess or, in this case, as the princess of Oni. She was ultimately exterminated by “Sakanoue no Tamuramaro”, the man known as Japan’s first shogun. A slight bit of trivia: “Tatee-Boshi”, the alternate name, is also the name of a hat typically seen worn by female priests in Japan.
8. Inyou Gogyou Shisou, which translates into “Yin-and-Yang Five-Elemental Thoughts”, is a form of elemental thought structure that further advances the “Gogyou Shisou” concept which both came in from China. However in this version, the concept of duality comes into play, where there is difference not just in the classical element (Fire, Water, Wood, Metal, Earth) but also in the whether it takes the Light or Darkness siding, thus changing five elements into ten.
9. The concept of the 12 months in Japanese [and likewise some of the concepts of direction] are driven by the concept within Inyou Gogyou Shisou where the four seasons are driven by the relationship to four of the elements and how they influence the world around them over two months, with “Earth”, the fifth element, taking up the last month due to being fully emerged and as the “cardinal direction”. Thus “spring” is seen in Japanese as February and March as represented by “Wood”, then with “Earth” in the final month; likewise “summer” with “May” and “June” and the element of “Fire” [“Earth” being “July”], “fall” with “August” and “September” and the “Metal” element [“Earth” is “October”] and “winter” being “November” and “December” in the “Water” element [“Earth” is January”] It is through this that we also get the cardinal directions that are tied to the 12 Chinese Zodiac signs, thus explaining the idea of “Kimon” being explained here as “Cow-Tiger” which is represented as “Northeast”: when reflected by 12 signs, “northeast” would be the exact middle between the signs of “Cow” and “Tiger”, or in calendar terms between “February” [which is represented by “Ushi” or “Cow”] and “March” [“Tora” or “Tiger”], with “January” [which is “Ne” or “Mouse”] and “April” [“U” or “Rabbit] firmly planted as the cardinal directions of “North” [the full representation of winter] or “East” [the full representation of spring] respectively)

TN: Ugh...that encyclopedia is going to be the death of me. As much as we think we know about Oni, there are just so many more we don't. Then again this is from the guy who essentially saved the reputation of Vlad Tepes in a recent entry...

Seriously: this is probably one of the chapters that just makes me love "Hell Teacher Nube" all the more and probably why it is one of my favorite shonen manga ever written. One part of it has to be just the utter insanity and awesomeness of Nube himself, but we already knew that from before. But in a weird way, this chapter in particular sort of illuminated something that just seems to separate Nueno Meisuke from many, many, many other shonen leads out there: he's not some super-special one-of-a-kind person who just gets super-uber and saves the world based on something or another or just becomes massively powerful and gains the ability to blow up universes just to beat a guy who could have blown up the universe seven times during his "ten seconds that feels like a million years" training regime. He's just a teacher who gained a power way beyond his own control that allows for him to protect and look out for those in need, particularly the students under his guidance. Maybe some could say "well he had spiritual power from the getgo"...but that was a hinderance more than a help until Nube finally was able to control it. (not to mention...well, that will spoil a later chapter but there are some things about how Nube has some of his powers pre-Oni no Te that he really regrets) Furthermore, his mission isn't to just fight to get stronger or just be "the best", he just wants to continue a mission given to him by Minako-sensei to help out children and likewise help youkai in his own weird way. Heck, in a way it was Minako-sensei who not just gave him the influence to be a teacher...but now is the key as to why Nube possesses the Oni no Te: the combined power of both teachers were enough to finally subdue the Oni which can't typically be done by someone facing it on their own. Yet by possessing the Oni in him, it now has the potential to ultimately rip him apart or take him over some day, a danger that Nube himself has to be vigilent for and one where even he needs help on a day like this one. Nube isn't some super-soldier or tournament fighter: he's just a normal guy who tries to live his life with his problems and cope while helping other cope with similar problems...and that's why he's so awesome. Strangely enough now that we know of the Oni and Minako-sensei's connection with it, the two of them will become more ingrained in the lore of the series with Nube desiring to save his teacher and find some way of mastering the Oni and getting full control over it...but that's for another time. I think we need to leave the depressing stuff behind now that we got this major story out of the way.