"Damn, I—I can't... another bite..."
With a tragic groan, Niwa collapsed face-first onto the table, joining the already food-coma'ed Takigawa. All around the central buffet, martial artists were slumped over their chairs, completely knocked out, clutching their swollen stomachs in deep, food-induced comas.
Stacks of empty ceramic plates towered around them, completely stripping the buffet of its rare and exoteric delicacies.
"It is only Lord Moretsuna and Lord Katsui left!" Hideyoshi, who preferred to savor his food than to eat gluttonously, yelled in awe, gesturing wildly toward the end of the long table.
Shibata let out a desperate, strangled wheeze, dropping a half-eaten ox-bear thigh onto his plate.
Merun, fully embracing his Saiyan metabolism, didn't even slow down. He was a blur, brutally clearing out entire platters of dense mountain grains and heavy meats.
Suddenly, a sharp, distinct chill rippled straight through the base of Merun's tail.
His danger sense pinged. A powerful presence was cutting through the crowd, closing in directly behind his blind spot.
But instead of jumping away or dodging, Merun simply settled into Sanchin as he slowed his chewing, calmly reached for a silk napkin, and smoothly wiped the grease from his face.
Thud!
"Moretsuna!"
Before he could even turn around, a small, aggressive blur of white-and-indigo silk slammed squarely into his back. Mikan threw her arms around his neck, tackling him with a massive, breathless hug. Merun laughed heartily, easily absorbing the impact from his older sister as he stood up from the table.
The exact moment Merun fully turned his back on the feast to face his family, a sweating, painfully bloated Senior Shibata saw his golden opportunity. Summoning the absolute last ounce of his willpower, Shibata slammed his greasy fist onto the table, thrust a half-eaten beast thigh into the air, and bellowed at the top of his lungs:
"He turned away! He has forfeited! THEREFORE, I WIN!"
The surrounding crowd of stuffed, semi-conscious martial artists instantly erupted into wild, rowdy cheers, banging their cups together and celebrating Shibata's legendary "victory" as if he had just won the Steel Convergence himself.
Merun completely ignored the roaring table behind him, his attention locked entirely on the three girls. He stood at his full height at around 177cm, instantly towering over them with his, lean-muscled frame.
"Hello, my sisters," Merun said, his voice thick with genuine emotion as a bright smile broke across his sharp jawline. "It's been a long time. Look at you all... you've become so pretty!"
His eyes shifted to the middle sister, who stood with her arms crossed, glaring up at him with fiery intensity. "And Big Sis Ringo... you're still so small! Have you not been eati—"
"Shut up and let's not piss me off. I've missed you, little brat!" Ringo snapped.
She lunged forward, her arms locking around Merun's forearm as she tried to playfully crush it with her new Squire-level grip. To her immense frustration, Merun's muscles didn't budge. It felt like she was trying to squeeze a pillar of solid bedrock.
Right at that moment, Hideyoshi smoothly strolled over, charismatic greeting prepared on his lips. But the second his eyes landed on Mikan—who looked remarkably striking, sharp, and mature in her formal kimono—the elegant Toyotomi heir completely froze.
His sophisticated brain instantly stripped its gears. His jaw dropped, his eyes widened into saucers, and he practically began to drool right then and there, utterly starstruck by her appearance.
Mikan noticed the intense, goofy stare, immediately furrowed her brows, and gave him a thoroughly unimpressed look.
Without saying a single word, she casually flicked her wrist and shooed him away like an annoying housefly.
Hideyoshi coughed awkwardly, snapping himself out of his trance and retreating a half-step into the background, while Merun's gaze finally shifted past Ringo to the tallest of the three.
"Big Sis Ichigo... I missed you most. Have you been well?"
Ichigo stood perfectly still in her beautiful garments.
For a long, silent moment, she simply stared at him.
Then, slowly, the rigid, icy stoicism on her face completely dissolved, and she gave him a soft, beautifully radiant smile.
"You've done us all proud, silly boy. We've missed you more."
The surrounding crowd of nobles and recovering martial artists collectively gasped.
Tense, panicked whispers broke out across the pavilion floor.
"Silly boy?!"
"She... she can smile?!"
"Huh? Lady Ichigo? The heartless maiden who beats nobles nearly to death... has such a side to her?!"
"She's not even like this with Lady Inyen... I didn't think she possessed human emotions!"
"...Should I become her brother as well? Is that the new angle? What do you guys think?"
Merun didn't give a damn about the high-society gossip, though he was surprised by her popularity.
Still wearing a joyful grin, he stepped forward and swept all three of them into a fierce, bone-crushing embrace, effortlessly lifting them high off the pavilion floor in pure glee.
"You all are dressed so well!" Merun said proudly, setting them back down. "Did you guys watch the battles?!"
"You mean the tournament? We did!" Mikan nodded frantically, her eyes wide. "You were absolutely awesome! But seriously, WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN EATING?! YOU'RE ALREADY TALLER THAN FATHER!"
Without an ounce of hesitation, Mikan began aggressively pinching Merun in several spots—his shoulders, his chest, his massive biceps—checking on his newly expanded physique like a proud, frantic mama bird inspecting a prize chick.
"Me-Moretsuna," Ringo chimed in, her eyes suddenly burning with intense, unyielding martial passion. "Tomorrow, we train defensive techniques. Teach me your defensive techniques, and I'll share mine!"
"...But Ringo, aren't Shinken's techniques forbidden to non-clan members?"
"It's only bad if I get caught, so shut it, Mikan."
Ichigo remained quiet, but her eyes were exceptionally warm as she took in the long-awaited reunion.
She looked past Merun's broad shoulders, catching the eyes of Budo and Nashi, who stood on the sidelines with tears of overwhelming joy streaming down their faces.
Ichigo gave her parents a respectful, reassuring nod.
Our little brother has done well... Ichigo thought.
But the moment the phrase little brother echoed through her mind, the warmth in Ichigo's chest suddenly soured. A sharp, bitter pang of grief sliced through her heart, and her smile faltered for a fraction of a second.
A dark, heavy shadow from their past flashed behind her eyes.
The lingering image of Kyoho... Ieyasu Tokugawa.
Before the bittersweet memory could completely pull Ichigo into the darkness, the entire banquet suddenly quieted down.
The boisterous laughter of the martial artists died instantly. The clinking of wine cups halted, replaced by an eerie silence.
The dense crowd of high nobility immediately split down the center, bowing their heads in profound, fearful reverence.
Walking from the inner chambers, Itahaya Iaiashin had arrived.
The moment she stepped into the banquet, the atmosphere shifted from a rowdy warrior's feast back into the solemn court of authority.
A sea of high nobility instantly surged forward, desperate to secure a passing nod from the martial artist who stood at the absolute peak of the Kinzoku Clan.
As one of the primary holders of the shared seats governing the faction until a true heir was chosen, Itahaya was generally revered as the clan's acting matriarch. She was unflinchingly neutral, entirely immune to the petty squabbles of the noble houses, acting solely in pursuit of the clan's absolute prosperity.
While the desperate nobles swarmed the Master like moths to a flame, Merun quietly slipped away, saying goodbye to Hideyoshi and the others. He guided his parents and sisters into one of the quiet alcoves along the pavilion's edge overlooking the beautiful gardens.
Instantly, his family hounded him.
They bombarded him with questions, their voices hushed but bursting with frantic curiosity.
What had happened?
What was that power?
How did you get this strong?
Most importantly...
Were you safe? Did you need anything?
Because of their earnestness, Merun didn't lie much.
Within the privacy of the alcove, he answered them with the truth—or rather, a half-truth.
The Beggar Sage had already crafted a meticulous alibi for Merun that was technically true. It covered the important parts while leaving out the Beggar Sect, Itahaya's plans, and everything else that truly mattered.
It all boiled down to this:
Merun went to a training ground (war), saved someone and fought a noble (nearly died), joined the Iaiashin's special training academy (Beggar Sect), completed a series of missions (the Beggar Sage's quests, which were either morally draining or genuinely fucking dangerous)...
...and now he was here because he'd completed the first phase of training.
"What?! You're just at the first phase?!"
Sitting there, listening to Ringo complain about how unfair genetics was while looking at his family—completely reunited, safe, and radiating pure happiness—an entirely different sensation suddenly began to swell within Merun's chest.
Brother Hideyoshi... Beggar Sage... Master Iaiashin...
I owe you all one.
Suddenly, he felt a deep, rhythmic thrum.
A primal, boiling heat.
The immediate crisis was over.
His family was protected.
His social standing was secured.
And yet, the sheer satisfaction of the moment didn't make him want to relax.
It did the exact opposite.
His Saiyan blood began to fiercely demand the one thing it lived for.
...I want to fucking train, Merun thought, his jaw tightening as his knuckles whitened. Right now.
Tap.
A light, firm palm suddenly settled onto Merun's shoulder.
A violent shiver ripped straight through the base of his furred tail.
His eyes widened slightly.
With all his heightened senses, ki perception, and reflexes, he hadn't felt or heard a single thing until the hand had already made contact.
"Moretsuna," a calm, melodic voice spoke from directly behind his ear. "I see you've already caught up with your family?"
Merun turned his head to find Master Itahaya standing there, her eyes carrying a profound, unreadable depth.
Emerging from the shadows just behind the Master was Inyen.
True to her proud nature, the Iaiashin heiress completely ignored Merun's existence, subtly stepping past him to warmly greet Ichigo and the other Furutsu sisters.
Itahaya looked at Merun, her gaze piercing straight through him.
"Shall we talk alone?"
"Sure," Merun replied smoothly, adjusting his white cape.
As Merun stepped out of the alcove to walk alongside the Matriarch, he could instantly feel the weight of the room shifting back onto him.
The surrounding nobles meticulously maintained their distance, but their heads turned in unison, their eyes tracking the pair with discreet, anxious murmurs.
Once they reached a secluded terrace overlooking the moonlit gardens, the noise of the banquet faded.
Merun crossed his arms, staring out into the darkness.
"Well... I won, but my win didn't feel like a win," Merun admitted bluntly, a trace of lingering frustration bleeding into his tone. "If I'd used that technique... I'd have definitely beaten him into the dirt."
Itahaya let out a soft, knowing hum, her hands resting elegantly behind her back.
"Mmm, yes. And if you had... I would've been the one burying you beneath the dirt."
Merun laughed weakly, and the Matriarch simply kept her gaze fixed on the horizon.
"Did you know?" Merun asked, changing the subject. "That Sakuma would do something like forfeit out of honor? I wasn't sure if he was bluffing or not, since he's never had a record of doing this..."
"You don't truly understand how significant it is to have forced him to use his Martial Heart," Itahaya explained, her voice dropping into a rare tone of deep instruction.
"You see, Moretsuna, we weapon users aren't exactly like traditional martial artists. Most of our strength—the power we pride ourselves on—belongs entirely to our weapon arts. Our physical bodies, while highly trained, are secondary to the lethal perfection of the blade."
She turned her head, her sharp eyes locking onto his.
"At Sakuma's level, pushing him to ignite his Martial Heart means he came to a definitive realization. He acknowledged that your raw strength had completely surpassed the capability of his weapon arts. In the first place, this was never a fight you were meant to win, but rather a fight where you had to prove yourself worthy of standing among us... and you passed with flying colors."
"You've exceeded my expectations with your surprise techniques... and your grit."
Merun stood in silence, his eyebrows knitting together.
He understood the words, but the deeply ingrained philosophy of the clan's weapon masters was still completely alien to him.
He still didn't feel good about it.
Was the gap between them truly that high?
Itahaya smiled softly, seeing right through him.
"I see you're still confused," the Matriarch said, her aura flaring with just a hint of her true power. "Tomorrow evening, I will give you an official opportunity to show me everything you are truly capable of."
Merun's breath hitched as his heart rate instantly spiked.
"Even that?"
"Yes... everything. But I can already see your blood boiling, boy Furutsu. Calm down," Itahaya chided gently, turning back toward the grand pavilion. "For now, just enjoy your time with your family. You've earned this night."
The heavy, restless tension in Merun's shoulders finally relaxed.
He took a deep breath, stepped back, and offered a deep, genuinely respectful bow to the strongest being in the domain.
"Thank you for letting me fight that fight, Master."
She smiled.
"Keep surprising me."