Inside the Castle Keep, Genichiro Ashina sat silently, looking at the assembled people, giving the impression of a lack of confidence.
"Lord Suzuki, are you saying that the Divine Dragon has been slain by you, and that everyone, including the Divine Heir, has lost the Power of the Dragon's Heritage?"
"Yes, those abominations will likely soon wither and die after exhausting their own flesh and blood. Everything related to the Power of the Dragon's Heritage will be the same—except perhaps the Divine Heir. From now on, he is just an ordinary human, destined to grow old normally."
Genichiro Ashina's expression changed drastically. He even disregarded etiquette, leaping up and rushing to where he stored the Divine Heir's blood. He opened the chilling jade bottle, from which the already withered branch still extended outwards.
He watched the scene stiffly. His hands, which never trembled when wielding a sword or bow, now couldn't even hold a light bottle.
Crash.
The jade bottle shattered on the ground, leaving only formless black roots inside; the Divine Heir's blood that had once been stored there was gone.
Genichiro shook his head with a bitter smile. He understood now; he had truly reached a point of no return.
The man, disheartened, returned to the reception room. Two Mortal Blades, one red and one black, were laid on the table.
"Our transaction is complete, Mr. Genichiro."
Suzuki Makoto felt no reluctance. He habitually used katanas; the custom Nichirin Blade in his hand and the one lodged in Ryomen Sukuna's heart were both katanas.
While large odachi like the Mortal Blades wouldn't be difficult to use, he wasn't particularly fond of them. Even if he kept one, it would most likely end up in storage.
After all, he intended to deal with Ryomen Sukuna after returning, and carrying two katanas was more convenient. He could also use a two-sword style, but adding another odachi would be cumbersome just to carry, and he certainly wasn't going to hold a third blade in his mouth for some flashy three-sword style, was he?
"Wait, Lord Suzuki!"
Genichiro Ashina picked up the black Mortal Blade and solemnly offered it to Suzuki Makoto.
"This is the blade my grandfather gifted to you. My original intention was merely to have someone wielding a Mortal Blade slay the Divine Dragon, which is why I proposed this transaction. Now that the Divine Dragon is dead and the Dragon's Heritage is severed, I no longer need the Mortal Blade—consider it Ashina's gift to you, in gratitude for slaying the Divine Dragon."
Now that the Divine Heir's blood was ineffective, even if he wielded Open Gate, he could no longer open the Gates to the Underworld to summon Isshin Ashina in his prime. If Suzuki Makoto harbored any dissatisfaction towards him, or towards Ashina, because of this, that would be truly disastrous.
Suzuki Makoto looked at the man with some surprise; he could still discern whether the other's words were sincere or disingenuous.
Perhaps only someone with such clear thoughts could lead Ashina out of its predicament, to this day, and into tomorrow.
He reached out and took the blade, nodding to Genichiro Ashina.
"Then I thank you, Lord Genichiro."
The man did not linger. The undying abomination had been slain, and his own power had been further honed—now it was time to return and deal with unfinished business.
Stepping out of Ashina Castle, Suzuki Makoto stepped into the summoned space-time vortex. As heaven and earth inverted, he returned to the world where Ryomen Sukuna resided.
However, the moment he emerged from the vortex, the man sensed something was amiss. He glanced around for a moment, looking somewhat bewildered at the deep mountains and old forest.
Where exactly did I end up?
Is this even within the country?
And... where's my sword?
The man walked a few more steps, extended his hand, and touched the shrine that was once familiar to him.
Now, the traces of time were deeply etched onto the shrine. It was clear that no one lived here anymore, though someone still came to tidy it occasionally.
However, the torn chains proved that the last person to visit here was clearly not for the purpose of worshipping at the shrine.
Suzuki Makoto sighed. When he had said goodbye to his master, they had already foreseen this scene in their conversation.
After all, Suzuki Makoto was not originally from this world, and the blade that could truly serve as an anchor point had not yet awakened. Although he could return, the specific time point was beyond his control; unlike the last time, when his master had remained there to guide his return.
He picked up the chains, and long-sealed memories began to stir. If he wasn't mistaken, it should now be the main storyline period of Tiga, where someone had stolen the blade from here, causing Ryomen Sukuna to awaken.
A curve formed at the corner of Suzuki Makoto's mouth. He had already detected Ryomen Sukuna, and besides Ryomen Sukuna, another familiar aura was also approaching.
The man placed the chains by the door, tidied up the interior, and began to wait quietly.
A figure in modern attire appeared in Suzuki Makoto's line of sight. Although the build and facial features were completely different, these were merely minor details.
"Oh, A-cheng, you certainly picked a good time to come back."
The man laughed heartily and tossed the blade in his hand to Suzuki Makoto.
"Any later, and I would have had to clean up your mess myself!"
"Then I truly would have been too ashamed to return and face you—what is your current situation?"
"Just a wisp of consciousness. I also left my blade here."
Ida Iryuu rattled the other blade in his hand, the very one he had carried when they bid farewell.
"Master, then where are you now...?"
"I don't know where I am now. Perhaps I'm dead, or in some secret realm, or perhaps I've gone to a new world. Well, the most important thing about a journey is being on the road; the destination is the least important part."
Suzuki Makoto smiled faintly. This was indeed his master's style.
"Perfect. This old man is a bit tired from rushing back, so I'll leave Ryomen Sukuna to you. Let your master see if you've wasted your talents."
As the two were about to continue deeper into the mountains, they simultaneously stopped and looked behind them.
"Hey! There was a monster here before, it's very dangerous, you two should leave quickly!"
Daigo Madoka, wearing a GUTS uniform, ran over while calling out.
"This one doesn't seem human either, more like a ghost... How strange, I can't feel any evil aura from him?"
"What a dazzling soul."
Suzuki Makoto marveled. Ever since he had become aware of this world's truth, he had been anticipating what Tiga would look like through his current eyes. The result was even more dazzling than he had imagined.
"Yes, truly dazzling."
Ida Iryuu nodded in agreement. He, too, had never seen a soul in such a state.
____
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