After taking a week break, Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku returned this past weekend with quite the epic ninth episode which revealed the full complement of the series' villains: the Tensen. This episode was the first attempt of any the members of the Vanguard Party to enter the innermost part of Shinsenkyо̄, the location of the Elixir of Life known as Hо̄rai, with Gabimaru attempting a foolhardy solo mission to retrieve it.
Accosted by the same Tensen who attacked the group of Nurugai and the Yamada Asaemon warriors Tenza and Shion, Gabimaru is shown to have incredible strength for a human, and the real extent of the gap between possibly the strongest human and the Tensen is established in the ensuing battle with a dramatic trope not yet seen in the series: the final transformation.
Build-Up
As Gabimaru and the gang have been planning their way forward in the home of the tree-man Hoko and the mysterious child Mei in the middle part of the island known as Hо̄jo, they have essentially been closer to the Elixir of Life than anyone else in prior expeditions to Shinsenkyо̄. Having understood the basic structure of the island, and a little bit about the various major threats that can be expected. Despite having exhausted himself from taking in all the important information, the knowledgeable Senta does not take up Sagiri's offer to relieve him of his nightly watch duty, which he performs alongside Gabimaru. The fatigue catches up to Senta, and he passes out, leaving Gabimaru to watch by himself. This gives the ninja the perfect opportunity to investigate uninterrupted, and he comes across a square filled with tree-people like Hо̄ko fixed in a prayer position. Gabimaru then rushes off to Hо̄rai alone, but he doesn't notice Mei watching him from a safe distance.
The Way (To Eternity)
After traveling some distance, Gabimaru arrives at a pair of big red doors accented with vines growing all over it, and immediately recognizes it as the entrance to Hо̄rai. Just as he is about to open the door, Zhu Jin, the Tensen who killed Tenza, appears behind Gabimaru, lamenting the fatigue they feel from having to deal with all the humans they've come across. Assuming their feminine form, the Tensen immediately attacks Gabimaru, who holds his own against the threat for a while, even posing a threat to the Tensen himself. After unleashing his signature attack, the Ascetic Blaze, the Tensen appears to be incapacitated; however, after switching from their Yin Form (feminine presentation) to their Yang (masculine presentation), Zhu Jin unleashes a vicious barrage of attacks that send Gabimaru flying into walls and damaging the environment from the sheer force with which the Tensen attacks. They break from their dance and exchange a few words as Gabimaru tries to extract information from his attacker, but Zhu Jin is annoyed, tired and adamant of one thing: no one leaves here alive.
Gabimaru, being Iwagakure's strongest ninja in history, puts up a great fight against Zhu Jin, and the resulting combat sequence reflected the Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku anime's signature wide-shot for intense blow exchanges as seen in Gabimaru's fight against Sagiri in episode 3. The fight was well-animated and exciting, despite its emphasis on the intensity of the combat more so than its choreography, and it established one of the series most basic but most important facts – Gabimaru is inhumanly strong. Despite taking countless punches that he understands to be bolstered by the same mysterious power he encountered when he cornered Mei for the first time. Gabimaru overwhelms the immortal, throwing out far more punches than his enemy can count, leaving the Tensen beaten to a pulp. Pushed to the brink, Zhu Jin decides that there's no reason to hold back anymore.
Fool, This Isn't Even My Final Form
Zhu Jin's beaten body sprouts beautiful flowers all over, and a wry smile develops on their face as they initiate their transformation. Covered in flowers, Zhu Jin undergoes a rapid transformation which involves various stages of floral development before emerging from a rosebud as a giant murderous hibiscus flower. This is known as the Tensen's "Kishikai State", a final monstrous transformation which is their last resort in combat. They only ever assume this form when they are in dire need of a dramatic power boost to overwhelm their enemy. The two bodies representing Zhu Jin's Yin-Yang forms are fused together to form the flower's style, and various long vines work like monstrous tentacles that crush the opponent. The style has four antlers protruding from it which enable Kishikai Zhu Jin to produce arcs of electricity, which they used to bring Gabimaru to the brink of death, despite him having had the upper hand prior to their battle. As the beaten Gabimaru struggles to stand up against his opponent, Zhu Jin prepares a critical final blow, but Mei steps in at the last second and produces some kind of forcefield or barrier to protect them both as they escape.
Kishikai
The Kishikai State is the dramatic final form of the Tensen, who only ever assume this form when they are met with an opponent that they can't defeat any other way. The term "Kishikai" is written in kanji like so 鬼尸解, with the first character which gives the "ki" sound translating to "demon". On its own, this kanji would simply be pronounced "Oni", a word for a demon, orc, troll or similar entity in Japanese folklore. The second kanji is the "shi" from the word "shikabane", meaning "corpse", while the final kanji is "kai", which in this case is "solution", as in the solution to a problem. Altogether, "Kishikai" directly translates to "Demonic Corpse Release", furthering the divine aspect assigned to the Tensen but giving it much darker overtones.
From the perspective that the Kishikai State is a last resort, Gabimaru vs Zhu Jin established three things for Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku – the transformation available to the series' antagonists; the true extent of Gabimaru's strength and finally, the fact that whatever strange technique applied by the Tensen and Mei can be learned by mortals. During the battle, Gabimaru began to experience a strange sensation; a feeling of mysterious power flowing out of him with each blow. To illustrate this, the fight would have moments in which the connecting attack would be slightly illuminated with a yellow light which indicates one thing: the usage of Tao, which has yet to be fully explained in the series but will be pivotal to its progression.