"What a show, Yu."
Naraku watched coldly as Yu relentlessly attacked Yomi's heart, exploiting her guilt.
'I was too lenient with this younger brother in the past.'
He then shifted his gaze to the aged Grand Elder.
Despite holding a high position for decades, the Grand Elder could not hide the fear in his heart at this moment.
'Naraku faked his death to lure us out, planning to eliminate us all at once and clear the way for Yomi.'
Having witnessed countless overt and covert struggles, the Grand Elder's thoughts raced through countless possibilities.
Seated in a wheelchair, Naraku slowly scanned the room.
Among the dozen or so people present, some showed joy, some surprise, and some fear.
'Those showing joy are mostly the people Yu promoted. Those showing surprise are likely neutral observers. Those showing fear mostly belong to the Grand Elder's faction.'
In an instant, Naraku roughly categorized everyone into factions.
Although this incident nearly cost him his life, it also gave him the chance to thoroughly purge the Isayama Family and smooth the path for Yomi.
Naraku gently patted Yomi's hand, comforting his sobbing daughter with a trace of pain in his heart.
Then he looked up at Utata standing behind him.
Utata, pushing the wheelchair, immediately understood his meaning and moved him toward the main seat at the front of the hall.
There sat Yu, pale and fearful, and Mei, trembling and staring in disbelief.
"Brother, Brother, it's truly wonderful that you're safe."
Yu looked flustered. Weak willed and accustomed to bullying the weak while fearing the strong, he was deeply afraid of this brother who had dared to fight with his life on the line.
"Is that so? I thought you would be very happy."
Naraku's voice carried no emotion.
"How could that be? You're my brother. Of course I'm happy that you're alive."
Sweat had already formed on Yu's forehead.
Naraku looked at Yu's trembling, panicked state and shook his head slightly.
'So it really wasn't you, Yu.'
His gaze then shifted to Mei standing beside Yu, dressed in black with a black floral hair ornament.
'But even if you weren't involved, it has to be you now.'
"Answer me one question."
"Of course, Brother. One or even ten is fine."
Hearing Naraku's slightly softened tone, Yu finally felt his heart settle a little.
"Yu, do you want the position of Family Head so badly that you would even try to kill me?"
Naraku's voice was not loud, but it was clear enough for everyone to hear.
"So it was Yu who wanted to seize power."
"No wonder the Grand Elder supported such a useless man. They must have colluded long ago."
The hall immediately erupted into chaos.
If this was confirmed, the Isayama Family would face a massive upheaval.
"What are you saying, Brother? How could I…"
Naraku's words left Yu's mind blank for a moment. He immediately stood up, trying to refute him.
"Hmph."
As Yu tried to approach Naraku, Utata let out a cold snort.
A chilling killing intent pressed down on Yu, cutting off his words.
Yu collapsed back onto the ground, staring in terror at Utata, who was radiating killing intent.
He cowered, just as he had years ago when he fled at the first sign of danger during a battle with a Cursed Spirit.
Once Utata's killing intent locked onto him, Yu instinctively wanted to run.
The Tsuchimiya Family was different from the Isayama Family.
The inherited cursed tools of the Isayama Family could be used by anyone with sufficient strength, so becoming Family Head required both strength and political skill.
But the Inugami Byakuei inherited by the Tsuchimiya Family had to be implanted into the body, and the successor had to constantly resist its consciousness.
Because of that, strength and compatibility were the most important factors.
As a result, successive Tsuchimiya Family Heads were decisive and taciturn figures.
That was why Yu feared Utata so deeply.
Under normal circumstances, it might have been fine, but now that Naraku had accused him of assassinating the Family Head, no one would object even if Utata acted on the spot.
What Yu did not expect was that Mei, trembling behind him, suddenly made a move.
When Naraku appeared alive, Mei had been utterly incredulous.
They had personally seen Naraku's corpse the night before.
She could not imagine who could have silently infiltrated the Family barrier and rescued Naraku, who had suffered fatal injuries and had only minutes to live.
To vent the hatred in her heart, Mei had deliberately avoided killing Naraku immediately after delivering the fatal blow, intending for him to die in agony.
That delay had given Medea enough time to save him.
Sneaking into the Isayama Family barrier from the outside without alerting anyone was extremely difficult.
But the residence where Eichi and Medea were temporarily staying was on the outer edge of the Family grounds, still within the barrier.
'Why? Why is he still alive?'
The question echoed repeatedly in Mei's mind.
'I'm finished.'
Mei collapsed inwardly. She understood what it meant for Naraku to stand here alive.
Despair flooded her heart.
Sensing her emotions, the Sesshoseki buried within Mei began to release waves of negative emotions such as resentment and jealousy.
The Sesshoseki continued to perform its role, amplifying the hatred in her heart.
Caught between despair at losing everything and the relentless surge of resentment and jealousy, Mei finally broke.
The Cursed Energy of the Sesshoseki erupted violently.
The sudden outburst of powerful Cursed Energy shocked everyone in the hall.
This included Yu, who was still sitting on the ground in front of her.
"Die. Go to hell. Die for me."
Mei lost all trace of her usual elegance. Her eyes glowed red as her right hand, wrapped in Cursed Energy, clawed toward Naraku.
Gurgle. Swish.
The shadow beneath Naraku's feet boiled like water, then transformed into several tentacles that wrapped tightly around Mei.
"Get lost."
Utata, already aware of what had happened the night before, had been watching Mei closely. The instant the Sesshoseki's Cursed Energy erupted, he reacted.
His fist sent the restrained Mei flying.
"Protect the Family Head."
Several of Naraku's confidants immediately moved to shield his wheelchair.
The moment Mei attacked, everyone understood that the accusation against Yu and his daughter could no longer be denied.
No explanation could cover an attack like that.
"I'll kill you all. Every single one of you. I'll leave no one alive."
Completely broken and fully controlled by the Sesshoseki, Mei was consumed by madness.
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)