In the vast reaches of space, an advanced spacecraft tore through a wormhole, emerging in the orbit of Knowhere—a lawless outpost carved from the decapitated head of a Celestial.
As the hatch slowly opened, a man in his early twenties stepped out. His presence was calm, but the aura surrounding him was anything but ordinary. Beneath strands of dark hair, one eye shimmered gold, the other violet—eyes that reflected countless battles and relentless purpose.
This was Kurogai.
It had been several years since he awakened the Fourth Ring—the Byakugan. Now at eighteen, Kurogai had spent those years roaming the stars, systematically hunting Kree and refining his ocular abilities.
His arrival on Knowhere today had a simple goal: gather information on any remaining Kree targets. The last known groups he'd been tracking had already fallen to him two days prior.
Before he could take another step, a towering alien with scaly blue skin swaggered up to him, sneering.
"Hey, kid. You must be new here. Knowhere's not a place where just anyone walks around for free. If you wanna keep that shiny ship of yours safe, you'll have to pay up."
The alien's gaze lingered greedily on Kurogai's spacecraft—a sleek, high-end model far beyond what most bounty hunters or pirates could afford.
Kurogai raised an eyebrow. He hadn't expected anyone to be bold enough to try this here, not anymore. But clearly, this one hadn't gotten the memo.
Just then, a red-skinned humanoid caught sight of him, and his expression turned to panic. He rushed forward, yanking the scaled thug backward with both hands.
"Lord Hunter! I—I sincerely apologize!" the red-skinned alien stammered, bowing repeatedly. "My friend's a fool who doesn't know whose presence he's in. I'll make sure he learns... the hard way!"
Kurogai gave a faint chuckle and waved them off. "It's fine. Go."
The red-skinned man exhaled in relief, practically dragging his still-confused companion away.
The title he had used—"Hunter"—was shorthand for what Kurogai had become known as across the cosmos:
The Kree Hunter.
It was a reputation earned, not given.
Ever since awakening the Fourth Ring, Kurogai had hunted the Kree without mercy. Wherever they were spotted—be it backwater planets or elite military zones—he would strike. No fleet was too large, no fortress too fortified.
And perhaps the boldest move of all: Kurogai had infiltrated and attacked a Kree colony world. The planet had been brimming with Kree. To him, it was a feast of opportunity, a chance to harvest their blood to fuel the evolution of his Byakugan.
Naturally, such an act didn't go unnoticed.
The Supreme Intelligence, the living AI that ruled the Kree Empire, had flown into a fury. A galactic bounty was placed on Kurogai's head, and entire fleets were dispatched to eliminate him.
But they failed.
Over and over again, the Kree forces sent after Kurogai fell—some crippled, some slaughtered, many harvested for their blood. In many cases, it was as if their own pursuit had simply handed themselves to him.
And with each kill, the legend of the "Kree Hunter" grew.
By now, the name was whispered across the galaxy, both in fear and fascination. A lone man challenging a cosmic empire—and surviving.
Kurogai smirked to himself.
"I'm sure word of my arrival has already reached them."
With a flick of his wrist, he dismissed his ship into his Kamui dimension, then stepped confidently into the gritty streets of Knowhere.
He moved like someone familiar with the place, weaving through the crowds until he reached a dimly lit bar tucked beneath a rusted platform.
The bartender was already waiting.
"Old Ou," Kurogai called, taking a seat.
Behind the counter stood a bulky creature with stone-like skin, his entire body composed of jagged gray rock. Despite his hulking, slow-moving form, Ou was known as one of Knowhere's most reliable information brokers—particularly regarding the Kree.
"Got anything for me?"
Ou raised his head slowly, his gravelly voice calm. "Two pieces of bad news… and two pieces of good news."
This was a routine Kurogai had grown used to. Ou had helped him for years, ever since discovering that they shared a common enemy. Like Kurogai, Ou had a vendetta—one against Ronan the Accuser, who had destroyed Ou's homeworld. Since then, he'd fed Kurogai Kree locations for free, asking for nothing in return except blood spilled.
Kurogai leaned forward.
"Start with the bad."
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