Tarujirou

When the first cracks spiderwebbed across the great fish statue in the plaza of Waterfall City, Tarujirou was not looking at the stone. They were looking at the water. Everyone else screamed and ran for the lower stairs, but Tarujirou, a simple river trader known more for their easy smile than any prowess, began to climb. Before that day, the captain's hat was a jaunty affectation, the Mega Sabre a useful counterweight on their barge. They wandered the city's levels, their intense focus reserved for navigating treacherous currents, not impending doom. But they saw what the panicked crowds missed: the river was not angry, it was afraid. And Tarujirou’s shocked expression wasn’t terror—it was recognition. The water needed a captain, not a warrior.