Baku stood in the center of the palace grounds, his chest rising and falling like a raging storm.
His body was injured. Blood ran down his arms and soaked into the stone floor beneath his feet. Yet his eyes burned with an unshakable confidence—no, with madness.
He looked at the gathered clan leaders and spoke in a voice filled with fury.
"If you want to kill her," Baku said slowly, every word heavy, "then you'll have to kill me first."
The guards did not wait.
They rushed at him together, blades flashing, boots striking the ground in unison. Baku welcomed them.
The first guard fell with a broken jaw. The second was slammed into a pillar so hard the stone cracked. A third tried to stab him from behind—Baku grabbed the man's wrist and snapped it like dry wood before driving his elbow into the guard's throat.
One by one, they fell.
Yet something was wrong.
Baku felt it.
His arms felt heavier than they should have. His breath was uneven. His reactions—slower.
Why…?
His mind screamed in confusion, but he ignored it.
Nothing mattered anymore.
He stepped over the fallen guards and stormed into the palace hall.
The clan leaders stood in a semicircle, watching him like predators studying wounded prey.
Baku's gaze locked onto the weakest among them.
Without hesitation, he lunged forward and threw a punch meant to crush the man's skull.
But the leader dodged.
The counterattack came instantly.
A fist slammed into Baku's face, snapping his head to the side. Pain exploded in his skull.
Baku staggered.
Impossible…
His thoughts spun wildly. He shouldn't be this fast.
Rage drowned his doubt.
With a roar, Baku grabbed the leader by the face and smashed him into the floor. The ground cracked. Blood splattered.
Before the other leaders could move, a calm voice echoed through the hall.
"Enough."
The supreme clan leader stepped forward.
"Stand down," he ordered the others. "I'll handle him myself."
Baku turned toward him, eyes blazing.
He attacked first.
But the supreme leader moved like a shadow.
He dodged effortlessly and drove a powerful kick into Baku's ribs.
A sickening sound echoed.
Baku choked, coughing blood as he was sent flying across the hall.
He tried to stand.
The supreme leader was already there.
A punch struck Baku's face.
Again.
And again.
Each blow was precise. Merciless.
Baku's vision blurred. His knees buckled.
He was about to collapse when the supreme leader spoke again.
"Bring her."
Baku's heart stopped.
His wife was dragged forward, her face pale, her eyes filled with terror.
The supreme leader placed a sword against her neck.
Baku tried to move.
His body screamed in pain, but he forced himself upright.
"Please…" he whispered, his voice breaking. "Don't kill her."
The leader's expression remained cold.
Without hesitation—
The blade flashed.
Baku watched as her head fell to the ground.
Time stopped.
Sound vanished.
The world turned silent.
Baku's knees hit the floor.
His eyes stared at the lifeless face he loved more than anything.
Something inside him shattered.
His skin flushed deep red. His veins bulged. His eyes changed—burning crimson.
The supreme leader took a step back.
"Finish him," he ordered.
One of the clan leaders rushed forward.
Baku moved.
He grabbed the man by the waist.
And tore him apart.
Blood rained across the hall.
The other leaders froze in horror.
Far away, in the Misaki Clan…
Nobu's wife sat on the floor, crying uncontrollably.
A full day had passed.
Kaito still hadn't been found.
Nobu's brother stood before her, his fists clenched.
"I've sent everyone," he said. "We'll find him. I swear."
But fear gnawed at their hearts.
Elsewhere, Nobu and Beru searched relentlessly.
Beru's voice was sharp as he spoke into his phone.
"Find my nephew. Now."
Nobu's mind was breaking under the pressure.
Baku was in danger.
His son was missing.
Everything was falling apart.
In a dark, abandoned place…
Kaito was chained to a metal pole.
His body was bruised, bloodied, barely conscious.
He lifted his head weakly and stared at the man sitting in front of him.
"Who… are you?" Kaito asked.
The man smiled faintly.
"You may not know me," he said calmly, "but your father does."
Kaito's heart skipped.
Father?
His thoughts raced. He and Kudo had always believed Nobu's brother was their father.
"Uncle… knows you?" Kaito asked weakly.
The man's smile deepened.
"Nobu betrayed me," he said. "And now he lives peacefully with his family."
Kaito shook his head.
"You're wrong," he said. "Nobu doesn't live with us. He left before we were even born."
The man paused.
Then he laughed softly.
"Oh?"
His eyes gleamed. "Then things have become very interesting."
He stood up and unlocked Kaito's chains.
"Go home, boy," the man said. "I got the information I needed."
As Kaito stumbled away, the man's smile widened.
The storm had only just begun.