"Sigh. What a mess."
The room was identical to the one that had served as a recovery space after the first mission. Two months had passed, and almost nothing had changed—same smell, same lighting, same faint background noise filtering through the walls.
This room felt frozen in time.
The one difference was tragic.
Toji was the one lying on the bed now. Bandages covered most of his body, and in the two days since their arrival, he had come close to dying more than once. Without Tsukumo Hyo's medical knowledge, the outcome would almost certainly have been different.
"Things really took an unpredictable turn."
None of this was supposed to happen.
Toji was always going to be mistreated by the clan—that was written into the fabric of this world. The psychological damage was part of his path, the crucible that would forge him. But this level of cruelty had exceeded every expectation.
In the prime world, he had walked away with a scar on his cheek. After what happened here, the damage would be spread across his entire body.
"I really underestimated the Zen'in's malice."
The original thinking had been simple, and in hindsight, stupid: two people meant the suffering would be divided.
'Ha. What a joke.'
Two Heavenly Restriction users didn't halve anything. They doubled it. Maybe quadrupled it. And on top of that, showing a portion of real power had actively stoked the hatred rather than dampening it.
The reasoning had seemed sound at the time—frighten the weak ones into keeping their distance, rely on the strong ones' arrogance to make them consider the situation beneath them.
Whether the clan's malice had been underestimated or overestimated barely mattered anymore. The result was clear: a situation worse than anything Toji prime had faced.
In summary: this was entirely self-inflicted. Toji might end up more broken than his counterpart ever was, and with the chaos left behind, Haruto wasn't going to let them go quietly.
"What am I supposed to do?"
No answer came. No path forward presented itself. A desperate situation, caused entirely by the person sitting here asking the question.
But while the mind sank deeper into that spiral, things outside of it were already moving.
The door opened. Observation Haki registered Tsukumo Hyo entering—it was covering the full room, though the mental state wasn't steady enough to push it further.
"Are you sure you don't want to take him to a hospital? He might have internal injuries."
A shake of the head.
"The Zen'in clan has too much influence. In a public place like a hospital, they'd find us easily." Standing up, adjusting Toji's blanket. "Especially here in Tokyo, where their reach is absolute—even among the Three Great Clans."
"You really got yourselves into a serious mess, kid."
A slight bow in her direction.
"There are no words for how grateful I am that you took us in and treated my brother."
An annoyed expression. A click of the tongue.
"Tss. I've told you four times already—stop bowing. Your injuries could reopen."
"Hahaha, sorry, I keep forgetting." Sitting back down. "Don't worry though—they've already started healing. With enough meat, I'll be fully recovered in three days."
"You're a real monster. I had my doubts when I watched you take down that cursed spirit, but seeing your broken teeth grow back just from drinking milk confirmed it."
A laugh. Then silence. The atmosphere shifted toward something awkward.
Unable to sit in it any longer, a new thread presented itself.
"By the way—how's your daughter? We've been here two days and I haven't seen her once."
Hyo's expression transformed instantly.
"And why do you ask? What do you want with my daughter? Did you fall for her and plan to steal her from me? No boy is taking her until she's thirty-three!"
"Wait, wait, wait—that's not what I meant at all. I just found it strange not seeing her around."
Narrowed eyes. A long, scrutinizing look.
"Fine. I believe you."
A breath of relief.
"For now. Don't think for a second I'll let you sink your claws into her."
'Sigh. Too good to be true.'
"Don't worry, ma'am. Four-year-olds aren't exactly my type."
That did not help.
"So you're saying my daughter isn't good enough for you? Who do you think you are?!"
'Oh, come on.'
---
Narrator
The escape of the Zen'in twins did not go unnoticed.
A single child had defied the clan, neutralized several of its members, and walked out. The ripple moved through the estate quickly, drawing attention from people who had no reason to be watching.
Natsugu and his subordinates had moved quickly to contain it—the incident in the underground cells was buried, and the identities of Zoro and Toji were kept out of any official account to protect the clan from further embarrassment. The version that circulated instead painted it as a reckless act by some nameless kid who happened to succeed purely out of audacity.
That framing brought its own problem. The fact that it had happened at all, and that they had walked away cleanly, cast a shadow over the clan's reputation.
"Damn it. I should've killed that kid when I had the chance."
Not a single day passed without that thought moving through Haruto's mind.
He wasn't alone in it.
Zen'in Ogi carried the same feeling. Zen'in Soya carried it even more intensely. The children were his, and since he hadn't been present when things fell apart, the blame had settled on the parents. The clan head position—already slipping—felt further away with every passing day.
Though in truth, from the moment all the brothers' innate techniques became known, Soya had never been a real candidate.
The fate of the twins' mother was another matter entirely—and a darker one.
---
Three men around a table in a traditional Japanese room.
Two of them had tea. The one seated farthest from the door had a can of beer, which he opened without ceremony and poured directly into his mouth.
Several long gulps.
"Ahhhh. Nothing beats a good white wine in a can."
The patience of the other two had been quietly crumbling—visible in the grinding teeth, the clenched fists, the veins standing out against the skin.
The oldest-looking one reached his limit first.
BAM.
His fist came down on the table and split it.
"When are we going to stop this farce? The situation is serious. The clan's legitimacy is being questioned."
Silence. Then the youngest-looking spoke.
"It pains me to admit it, Naobito—but he's right. This incident damaged the clan's image in ways that won't repair themselves. Others will interpret it as weakness and look for opportunities."
Naobito's attention remained on the puddle of beer spreading across the broken table.
Soya continued regardless.
"They're already moving. The Kamo clan has been working to undermine our standing in Tokyo's upper circles."
Ogi nodded.
"Their eyes are on Tokyo. The Gojo clan has no interest in opposing them—Kyoto is already informally theirs. Now they want the same arrangement here."
Soya's jaw tightened.
"This is your fault. Yours and Natsugu's. If you had dealt with those children when it mattered, none of this would be happening."
Ogi kept the obvious observation to himself. Naobito showed no reaction.
"Actually—you're not the only ones responsible."* A pause. *"But don't worry. I already took care of the third problem."
A smile spread across Soya's face. The kind that had nothing warm in it.
Naobito's head lifted. For the first time, he was fully present in the conversation.
"Soya."
The temperature in the room seemed to drop.
"What did you do to Chie?"
The smile didn't waver. It widened.
"A womb that can't produce proper children doesn't deserve to remain mine. I made sure she'll never bring shame to this clan again."