Charles and Stella checked into a luxury suite at the island hotel.
Hell Island—its real name is Hanging Island—was an isolated atoll far out at sea, rarely visited by people.
You could say the creator leaned too hard into horror when naming things. It's baffling how an island wound up with a name like that.
The most eye-catching sight was the ring-shaped megalith with a missing segment—its shape really did look fit for hanging.
The bigshots of the underworld cared about their comfort; the island's amenities were complete.
But neither of them felt like playing around, mainly because the island was too foul right now.
In the Dark Tournament, whether contestants or spectators, the vast majority were yokai.
To put it bluntly, Hanging Island had become a lawless zone, with violent clashes breaking out almost anywhere, anytime.
Still, the yokai knew they weren't to touch the humans of the underworld, so the hotel where humans stayed saw no troublemakers.
Charles couldn't stand the tedious opening ceremony and briefing, so he tossed them aside and went out for a stroll—only to run into something exasperating.
Outside the arena, a group of yokai were ganging up on another yokai—one Charles had seen on the entrants list.
Listening to them, he learned the cause: they thought the other guy was too weak to be a contestant and teamed up to beat him down.
Right after, Charles stumbled into another fight—three members of one team ambushed a lone member of another.
That motive was easy enough: eliminate competition. Team Urameshi had met the same thing in the original story.
The organizers only cared about what happened in the ring; maintaining order on the island was thankless work—no one was going to do it.
Contestants and spectators who ignored rules, going into a tournament with no rules—no wonder things turned out like this.
Just as he'd seen enough and was about to head back, Charles ran into Yusuke Urameshi's crew.
By tradition, the Dark Tournament had fifteen regular teams plus one invited guest team.
The guest team was usually human martial artists, and being targeted was a given—they'd long been treated as a blood sacrifice to open the tournament.
This time the guest team was naturally Team Urameshi, and they'd felt the nastiness from the start.
The other fifteen teams had arrived on Hanging Island with their sponsors long ago, while Team Urameshi had their own troubles before reaching the island.
They fought off a ship full of yokai to get here.
The five-man lineup was the same as in Charles's memory: Hiei, Kurama, a masked figure disguising Genkai, Yusuke, and Kuwabara.
Charles glanced at Genkai first. It was one thing for Kurama and Hiei not to recognize her—but how had Yusuke and Kuwabara missed it?
Especially Kuwabara. Where had that stellar sixth sense that could even read people's memories gone?
Even if they couldn't identify her by the unique aura Charles could sense, they could at least use their eyes, right?
Genkai hadn't even changed her clothes; failing to recognize her baffled Charles. And what was the point of the mask, anyway?
Hiei, Kurama, and Genkai seemed fine; Yusuke and Kuwabara were collapsed to the side, snoring away.
Yusuke was exhausted from Genkai's special training and hadn't woken up even as the tournament was about to begin.
As for Kuwabara, Charles knew the reason even better—that credit was his.
He'd truly played hell teacher these past few days, dumping every kind of training on Kuwabara.
Even someone as sturdy and durable as Kuwabara had been put through the wringer; he needed the rest now.
Though the two most familiar with Charles were asleep, the other three had met him at least once.
Genkai had sought guidance from him, Kurama had been let off once, and Hiei had seen through his Jagan that Charles rescued his sister Yukina—that was enough to erase the unpleasant memory of being thrashed.
Ever polite, Kurama greeted him first. "Mr. Charles, it's been a long time since we last met. I just didn't expect our reunion to be in a place like this."
Charles didn't recall telling Kurama his name—apparently Kurama had looked him up after their last meeting.
Charles wasn't petty enough to mind being investigated, and Kurama's transparent attitude wasn't offensive.
"Been too bored lately, so I came to join the fun," Charles said.
From the side, Hiei spoke in a cool tone. "A man like you interested in the slaughter of weaklings? That's quite the perverse taste."
Charles smiled. If he didn't know Hiei's tsundere streak, he might've thought it a provocation.
His gaze shifted to Genkai. He'd already noticed how eerily calm her aura was.
It wasn't the heavy, steady calm of a mountain, but the lifeless stillness of dead water. More deathly silence than peace.
Charles frowned. "If you've chosen to entrust things to the young, then trust them completely. Why throw yourself in as well?"
He knew exactly what state Genkai was in.
Their last fight had shown her she no longer had the ability to change Younger Toguro—and she wasn't someone who could create miracles.
All she could do was entrust the Spirit Wave Fist, and the possibility of defeating Toguro, to a worthy young man like Yusuke.
But coming to compete made it clear she carried a death wish—a choice Charles couldn't approve of.
For some reason, Genkai didn't use her usual husky voice; she spoke in a youthful one. "Yusuke's training isn't finished. The crucial trial hasn't been conducted yet.
"And while I may not live to see the end, even that can have meaning."
The core, foundational inheritance of her Spirit Wave Fist was the Spirit Wave Orb formed from one's inner spirit.
Yusuke currently only had the qualifications to attempt the Orb's trial; with the tournament upon them, they would have to do it on the island.
But that wasn't her main reason for being here. Charles suddenly recalled how, at the original finals, Genkai had possessed Yusuke's Spirit Beast and suggested killing Yusuke's teammates to spur him on.
Her words now clearly counted her own death among the triggers to push Yusuke—women truly were terrifying when they steeled themselves.
There wasn't much to say to someone who'd wagered her life. After exchanging greetings, Charles simply left.
The Dark Tournament began once all teams had arrived.
This edition had sixteen teams total, split into two brackets to slug it out until two finalists remained to fight for the championship.
The first match was Team Urameshi versus Team Rokuyukai.
Stella naturally didn't get why Charles suddenly lit up. It was the first appearance of the Dragon of the Darkness Flame—never mind how strong it was, it was pure childhood nostalgia.
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