"Hah?!"
Mizuno froze, completely dumbfounded. For a moment, he genuinely wondered if he was still floating face-down in the pond after Hayakawa-san's punch, hallucinating this bizarre conversation as his brain shut down.
He'd only met Master Jin twice. The man didn't even know his real face—and now he wanted Mizuno to call him father-in-law?
Mizuno pinched his cheek. It hurt.
Nope—definitely real.
"What's wrong? Is it so good you think you're dreaming?" Master Jin laughed, slapping Mizuno on the shoulder hard enough to jolt him. "Relax, kid! Sure, asking you to join my family before you've even met my daughter might sound sudden—more reckless than those folks who marry after one week—but think about it! This'll benefit both of us!"
"...Benefit us?" Mizuno blinked, not following at all.
Even though he wanted to refuse on the spot, he needed that wrestling technique to beat El Condor Pasa. So he decided to listen first—maybe there was still room to negotiate.
"Exactly! Huge benefits!" Master Jin grabbed his hand before he could back away, eyes gleaming with excitement.
"Don't be fooled by this abandoned shooting range, kid—our family runs a business empire back in the States. Restaurants, fashion, sports brands, you name it! We're part of America's elite. If you join our family, I'll take you there myself. Money, fame, connections—you'll never have to worry about a thing!"
He leaned closer, lowering his voice like a salesman sealing a deal. "In return, I want your genes! That miraculous recovery of yours—if our bloodline inherits it, the Jin family could dominate every athletic field on Earth for generations!"
"Oh, and I've got cousins in the U.S. with plenty of Uma Musume daughters your age. They're very interested in strong young men like you! A guy who can survive a full-power Uma Musume punch? You're exactly their type."
He gave a proud, approving nod. "America's full of young people who don't want to get married anymore. If my nieces can't find suitable husbands, well… they might rely on you to help the family produce the next generation of champions."
"Don't worry, I'm an open-minded man! As long as my daughter doesn't find out, you can date as many family girls as you like, have as many kids as you want—I'll support you completely."
He grinned broadly. "So? Tempted yet?"
"…"
Mizuno stared at him, silent for a long second, then said flatly, "Not tempted at all."
First off, he didn't have any kind of miracle recovery genes—Fortune did. Second, even if he did, there was no way he'd join this man's personal breeding project.
And third—what was with this twisted American-elite logic?!
'My cousins' Uma Musume daughters need offspring, so go help them'?
Hey! One Uma Musume was enough to drain a man dry! Did Master Jin want him dead?
"Nope! Nope! Nope!" Mizuno shook his head violently. "Absolutely not!"
"Are you sure?" Master Jin raised an eyebrow, voice turning dark. "If you don't agree to join my family, I won't teach you the move."
"…"
Mizuno's stomach sank. He couldn't refuse outright, but he really couldn't accept becoming the family stud horse either.
He hesitated, then an idea sparked.
"Then… could we maybe handle this another way?" he asked cautiously.
"Oh? Like what?"
"If you don't mind," Mizuno said carefully, "I could become your sworn son instead."
Master Jin frowned, clearly dissatisfied. "Little Gou, you're really that against meeting my daughter? You haven't even seen her yet—she's adorable! Extremely cute!"
Mizuno's face went blank.
Cute or not, once morning came and she started "squeezing him dry," he doubted he'd still find her cute.
Realizing Master Jin wouldn't back down, Mizuno sighed and switched tactics.
Fine. If the old man wanted to play dirty, he'd just play dirtier.
So Master Jin wanted him to marry his daughter? Fine. He'd pretend to agree. He'd learn the move, then disappear before anyone could drag him to the altar.
It wasn't even a real engagement—Master Jin hadn't asked his daughter's opinion, and Mizuno hadn't shown his face. When he broke it off later, she'd probably just shrug and move on.
Perfect.
"Heh-heh-heh…"
Feigning a heavy sigh, Mizuno clutched his chest dramatically and bowed his head, looking as if he were making the hardest decision of his life.
"Alright… I agree."
"Really?!" Master Jin's eyes lit up like fireworks.
"Mhm." Mizuno nodded solemnly, keeping his expression straight.
"Excellent! Then next time my daughter's free, I'll call her over so you two can get acquainted!"
"Mhm."
"Hahaha!" Laughing heartily, Master Jin threw an arm around Mizuno's shoulders, already treating him like family.
Mizuno smiled along, but deep inside he was already plotting the perfect excuse to disappear the second he learned that legendary wrestling move.