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At the long dining table, Kurosaki Rei looked at the lavish dinner spread before him, appetite stirring. He had already used the space's appraisal function—no poison.
The Wu Clan's dining hall was enormous. Every long table was filled, and among familiar faces, the conversations were nothing like those at an ordinary family dinner.
Topics such as:
"That new XX-brand dagger I bought works really well,"
"The bodyguard that guy hired was tough—I had to put in a lot of effort to kill him,"
"Oh? The new XX firearm from XX Arms has great rate of fire and accuracy,"
floated endlessly through the air.
Only the table where Kurosaki Rei sat was eerily quiet.
Seated there were the Wu Clan's core members. Karura sat directly opposite Kurosaki Rei, chin in her hands, gazing at him with lovestruck eyes. At the far end of the table, Clan Head Wu Hui Li'ang wore a dark expression, staring at Kurosaki Rei with undisguised hostility.
After a long while, Wu Hui Li'ang finally forced out a stiff smile and spoke.
"Our honored guest has come from afar. Please, try some of our local cuisine."
With the clan head's words, everyone turned to look at Kurosaki Rei. Only after he picked up his chopsticks would the others begin eating.
Kurosaki Rei didn't hesitate. He picked up a piece of fried tempura and took a bite.
"The chef here is truly first-rate…"
As he spoke, he raised a cup of sake toward Wu Hui Li'ang.
"My thanks, senior, for your generous hospitality."
Seeing Kurosaki Rei toast him with respectful words, Wu Hui Li'ang's expression eased slightly. He returned the toast.
"It's just simple home cooking. I'm glad you like it."
With the opening formalities complete, the people at the table finally began to eat. Even so, the atmosphere remained heavy. As long as Wu Hui Li'ang and Kurosaki Rei didn't speak, no one else dared to.
In the end, Wu Hui Li'ang was the first to break the silence.
"Young friend Rei has traveled a great distance and says he wishes to exchange martial arts. I doubt you're satisfied with merely fighting one of our strong members, am I right?"
He was probing for Kurosaki Rei's true intentions.
Originally, he had planned to keep Kurosaki Rei around for a few days—perhaps even obtain some high-quality seed during that time, further optimizing the Wu Clan's bloodline.
But when his most beloved great-granddaughter Karura came to him, blushing and shyly announcing that she was in love, his entire world darkened.
The more he looked at Kurosaki Rei's strong, handsome face, the more detestable it seemed.
She's still a high school student! You beast—how dare you set your sights on Karura!
No, I need to get rid of Kurosaki Rei quickly, before he corrupts my precious great-granddaughter.
Karura must just be acting on impulse. Give it some time and she'll forget him.
Yes—definitely.
"Since you've asked, senior, I'll be frank."
Kurosaki Rei set down his chopsticks and met Wu Hui Li'ang's gaze.
"I wish to learn the Wu Clan's secret technique—Release."
The moment those words were spoken, not just their table, but several others nearby fell silent as well.
Wu Hui Li'ang narrowed his eyes.
"Oh? You wish to learn our Wu Clan's secret art? Do you realize that Release has been a closely guarded technique of the Wu family for thousands of years? Since you say you've dealt with the Wu Family before, you should know that such a technique is never passed on."
"Since this is a martial exchange, I wouldn't learn it for free," Kurosaki Rei replied calmly.
"I'll offer the Wu Clan a powerful secret technique in return. And I'll guarantee that I won't pass Release on to anyone else."
"What secret technique could possibly rival our clan's Release?"
Wu Hui Li'ang's tone softened noticeably, even his form of address reverting.
"Young friend Rei, you jest."
Kurosaki Rei raised his hand. A gray-black sheen wrapped around his fist.
"With your eyesight, senior, you should be able to tell how powerful this technique is. Trained to the extreme, even ordinary firearms—perhaps even artillery shells—would be unable to harm the body."
Yes—he was offering the training method for Armament Haki in exchange.
The consumable item itself had long been used up, but he had already grasped the principles behind Armament Haki. Teaching others was entirely possible.
That said, mastering Armament Haki from scratch placed high demands on aptitude in an ordinary world. Even within the Wu Clan, those who could truly learn and apply it in combat would likely number no more than a handful.
He would write down the cultivation method and let the Wu Clan study it slowly. Whether they could succeed would depend on their own talent.
"If it's a technique like this… it really could be compared to Release…"
Wu Hui Li'ang pondered deeply. He could see the power of Kurosaki Rei's technique. If cultivated to a certain level and paired with Release, the Wu Clan's overall strength would skyrocket.
He felt the trade itself was reasonable.
"…The Wu Clan can teach you Release. However, aside from exchanging techniques, you must also leave behind your seed."
At last—the dagger was revealed.
Kurosaki Rei inwardly sighed. As a man, he wasn't without desire, but under his master's traditional values, he believed that such matters carried responsibility. He had no intention of fooling around within the Wu Clan.
This demand… was troublesome.
At that moment, Karura spoke up excitedly.
"Grandpa, that's great! Kurosaki Rei, let's have babies!"
In the next instant, Wu Hui Li'ang's face turned pitch-black. His withered skin looked like cracked old tree bark, as if it might peel away.
His expression shifted repeatedly. Realizing he'd made a mistake, he finally snorted coldly.
"Forget it. The second condition is canceled. We'll trade your hardening technique for Release—nothing more!"
Kurosaki Rei hadn't expected such a dramatic reversal.
This old man really is a super great-granddaughter fanatic…
Looking again at the noisy Karura, Kurosaki Rei suddenly found her far more endearing than before.
In a thoroughly awkward atmosphere, the dinner came to an end. Aside from Kurosaki Rei, hardly anyone else from the Wu Clan ate much—clearly, everyone had their own thoughts.
"Mr. Rei, I'll take you to the guest room."
Once again, Wu Fengshui led the way. As for Karura, she had already been taken away by her great-grandfather.
Now Wu Hui Li'ang guarded against Kurosaki Rei like a wolf. He had originally thought Kurosaki Rei was sensible for refusing Karura's advances—who would have thought that during dinner, he'd directly brought her up, instantly putting the old man on high alert?
"This way. Fresh bedding is prepared, and clean clothes are in the cabinet. If you need anything else, please let me know."
Wu Fengshui knelt outside the guest room, just like the proprietress of a traditional inn.
"It's fine. Thank you for the trouble."
Kurosaki Rei was never picky about lodging. After his master's death, sleeping in cardboard boxes on the street had been commonplace.
Before closing the door, Wu Fengshui added,
"Oh, and although you said you wanted to experience our assassination techniques, the clan head has given orders—no one will disturb you tonight. Please rest well."
With that, she considerately slid shut the sliding door and headed to another room—her accommodation for the night.
Kurosaki Rei wasn't surprised by Wu Hui Li'ang's decision. The old man was clearly planning for everyone to be well-rested tomorrow before mutually teaching secret techniques. Tonight wasn't for games.
After tidying up slightly, Kurosaki Rei lay down to rest—his first proper sleep since entering this world.
...
The night passed without incident.
In the morning, birdsong and the sound of a bamboo water fountain awakened Kurosaki Rei.
He hadn't slept deeply. His five senses remained half-awake; at the slightest disturbance, he would have drawn Prison Demon: Initial Release immediately.
After washing up, Kurosaki Rei sat on the veranda by the courtyard, browsing messages on the public channel.
Aside from the initial excitement when everyone first entered the world—when Explorers had been actively chatting—the channel had long since quieted down. Everyone had their own missions to pursue.
Most likely, quite a few people were preparing to participate in the Kengan Annihilation Tournament, scrambling to secure their qualifications. Naturally, they had no time to idle in the public channel.
But this very morning, a shocking piece of news ignited the entire channel.
Tokita Ohma… is dead.
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