The Tsukimi Clan's unique style, known as True Musha, isn't exactly a traditional ninja art. While it started as a ninja lineage, it has since evolved far beyond its origins.
True Musha is a hybrid style that incorporates elements from ninjutsu, martial arts, esoteric Buddhism, and onmyodo—making its combat style unlike any other. But rather than relying solely on their physical skills, practitioners of the Tsukimi Clan depend on the spirits within them. And no, that's not a metaphor. They quite literally harbor vengeful spirits inside their bodies.
That's right—the Tsukimi Clan are essentially spirit handlers. In Japan, such figures are also referred to as onmyoji, and the spirits they wield are known as shikigami.
Tsukimi disciples use these spirits to fight. But for their spirits to grow stronger, they require a constant supply of dark energy, which they acquire by hunting down individuals tainted by evil. This dark energy feeds their spirits, allowing them to grow in power and, in turn, fortify their masters.
This training method has both pros and cons. On the one hand, it offers rapid growth; as long as they feed their spirits enough negative energy, they gain tremendous combat power. On the other hand, when these spirits become too powerful, they often influence their hosts, pushing them toward madness and turning them into the very evil beings they hunt.
For Tsukimi's disciples, "becoming the monster you hunt" is no mere saying. To maintain their sanity, they undergo rigorous training to sharpen their willpower. This is why they wear the robes of an ascetic monk, practicing self-restraint and strengthening their minds to resist their spirits' corrupting influence. Traveling the world disguised as wandering monks, they work to temper their will while seeking out suitable prey. Such is the daily life of a Tsukimi disciple.
Unfortunately, their way of life is becoming increasingly obsolete. Their harsh training, constant risk of corruption, and unorthodox fighting style often make them outcasts. After all, spirit-based combat doesn't exactly scream "good guy" to most people.
With so many drawbacks, the Tsukimi Clan has been in decline for years, with fewer and fewer new disciples joining. Things took a turn for the worse over a decade ago when, jealous of their rival's expansion, they chose to pick a fight with the Shiranui Clan. The battle that followed nearly wiped them out.
Their previous clan head and several key fighters perished, leaving the clan on the brink of annihilation. The Shiranui also suffered, losing their head—Mai's father—and most of their disciples. The Shiranui Clan was left with just two direct descendants: Mai and her grandfather.
That bitter fight forged a blood feud between the two clans. However, the Tsukimi Clan has refrained from provoking the Shiranui in recent years—not out of regret or a guilty conscience but due to fear. Mai's grandfather, the only remaining elder of the Shiranui, still lives. Despite his age, he remains a formidable force.
Meanwhile, the Shiranui Clan has been regaining its strength over the years. With a beautiful and highly skilled young disciple like Mai as their face, they've drawn in numerous new students. In contrast, the Tsukimi Clan has little to offer: no dazzling skills or flashy techniques, only a grueling, ascetic training regimen. Forget rebuilding their numbers—just keeping their gates open is already a struggle.
Thus, the Tsukimi disciples are few in number, mostly gruff ascetics whose looks could hardly be described as attractive. But those who withstand their harsh training are formidable, just like the Tsukimi disciple currently battling the six adventurers.
Swinging his staff, he unleashed an array of techniques, summoning a gigantic spirit above him with a roar that sent several adventurers flying.
Skill: Spirit Surge (C-rank)
But no matter how powerful he was, he was still only one man. Against six well-coordinated adventurers, each with their own abilities, he was eventually overwhelmed.
With a reckless lunge, Long took a direct hit but managed to strike the disciple with a shoulder charge enhanced by a spiked pauldron. His improvised tactic compensated for the lack of flames in his Shiranui-style technique.
His blow sent the Tsukimi disciple sprawling to the ground. Before he could rise, the other adventurers closed in and cut him down with a barrage of attacks.
After dispatching the disciple, Long—blood splattering his face—grinned and turned to give Qin Ming a triumphant look. Qin Ming, reclining under a tree, smirked back and gave Long a thumbs-up as his mission tracker registered another successful target. This recognition made Long beam with pride. The group quickly gathered the loot, including a low-grade blue key, and dragged the body away to relocate their ambush.
However, Qin Ming, who had quietly followed them to a new location, couldn't shake a nagging feeling. He'd noticed that the blue key dropped from their kill was unusually pale in color. Although this Tsukimi disciple was technically a small boss, he should have at least dropped a mid-tier blue key, if not a rare silver one.
It seemed that the rules of this combat system were stricter than he'd thought. The "-1 rank penalty for non-solo kills" was a harsh handicap indeed. If he had been powerful enough to kill the boss on his own, his loot would have been one rank higher—a rewarding incentive for going solo.
Watching the adventurers huddle together to open the chest, Qin Ming sighed. If not for caution, he'd have gone solo against the boss to reap the best rewards.
But why wasn't he taking matters into his own hands? The answer was simple—he wasn't confident he could handle it. The Tsukimi Clan had a decent number of fighters, and if they caught wind of their disciples being hunted, they'd certainly swarm him. With his low agility, Qin Ming wasn't about to test his luck trying to escape from a full-blown mob.
Not to mention that the Tsukimi Clan's current head, Jikaku Tsukimi, was reportedly still around—a powerful character in the original story of Fatal Fury 3. Of the fourteen featured characters, he was one of them, making him a major force in his own right. A tough boss like that, combined with a swarm of mini-bosses, wasn't a challenge Qin Ming could survive.
So, he would definitely avoid fighting. If the Tsukimi Clan discovered what was going on? That wouldn't be his problem—he hadn't lifted a finger. If any punishment was due, it would fall on these eager Shiranui "disciples."
Worst-case scenario, he could always walk away, leaving them to face the consequences. After all, he was just passing through.