Departure

Lore & Background

In the world of Hell's Paradise, the Oniwabanshu are an elite cadre of assassins serving the imperial court, men and women whose skills have been refined over generations into something approaching the supernatural. Gabimaru was once among their most feared blades, but he left that life behind to tend fields and live quietly. His master, Kozue, is the one person who still holds a thread to his past, and her slow, agonizing decline is the single force capable of dragging him back. The Elixir of Life—a mythical substance said to grant eternal vitality—is rumored to exist on a remote, forbidden island. No one who has sought it there has returned with certainty, and the island itself seems to warp the natural order, breeding creatures and phenomena that defy ordinary explanation. Yuzuriha, a bright-eyed young girl, is assigned to travel alongside Gabimaru as part of the expedition. Her role in the opening is that of a guide and observer, but the arc carefully withholds the full truth of her nature, planting seeds that will bloom in later arcs. What the Departure arc establishes is that this is not a simple treasure hunt. The island has rules, it has inhabitants, and it has a hunger. The emotional architecture of the arc rests on contrast: the softness of Gabimaru's farming life, the tenderness of his care for Kozue, set against the brutal, blood-soaked identity he is being forced to reclaim. Every quiet moment before the departure is a countdown, and the moment he steps onto the road toward the island, the reader understands that the man who planted those rice paddies is already gone.

Reader's Guide

Working title: "Departure" (Chapters 1–~10, approximate opening arc)

Gabimaru, a former Oniwabanshu assassin now living as a country farmer, is summoned back to service when his dying master Kozue begs for one last thing: the Elixir of Life, hidden on a forbidden island no seeker has survived. He is paired with Yuzuriha, a young girl assigned as his guide, and the two set out across the sea toward a land that defies natural law. Pivotal beats: (1) Gabimaru's pastoral life is shattered by the summons and the revelation of Kozue's terminal condition, forcing him to reclaim the assassin identity he buried. (2) The journey to the island introduces the Oniwabanshu's operational structure and the political weight behind the mission. (3) Arrival on the island reveals its supernatural ecology—twisted flora, predatory creatures, and the faint presence of other seekers—establishing that this is not a simple expedition. (4) Early encounters test Gabimaru's combat instincts against foes that operate on rules he has not seen before, reminding him (and the reader) that his old skill set may not be enough. The arc resolves with Gabimaru and Yuzuriha firmly on the island, the mission underway, and the first cracks in the world's surface visible. The dynamic between the two—his guarded silence against her open, probing curiosity—becomes the emotional spine of the series, and the central mystery (what the Elixir truly is, what the island truly is, and who else is hunting it) is set in motion.

Did You Know?

• Gabiaku's Hell's Paradise debuted in Jump SQ in 2018, and the Departure arc's quiet, character-driven opening was a deliberate contrast to the high-octane action that dominates the rest of the series.
• Gabimaru's background as a former Oniwabanshu member means the 'Departure' arc is, in a sense, an anti-departure: he is leaving the peace he chose to re-enter the violence he once defined himself by.
• Yuzuriha's true nature and full connection to the Oniwabanshu are not fully revealed in the opening arc; her role as a simple 'guide' is layered with implications that pay off in later storylines.
• The island's supernatural rules—its creatures, its ecology, its relationship to the Elixir—are introduced gradually across the Departure arc, meaning readers are meant to be as confused and unsettled as Gabimaru himself.