We can say I got very lucky. The yakuza I saved—whom I later learned was named Kentaro—turned out to be the heir of one of the biggest families in the Osaka–Kyoto region, the Inagaki family.
'Do I have legendary plot armor?'
That's what I thought when I learned that. Unfortunately, it wasn't all sunshine and roses.
As I feared, they weren't part of the "good" yakuza. They were neck-deep in drugs and prostitution. And they weren't the kind of pimps who were generous to their girls.
I restrained myself from exterminating all of them because, first, I needed them, and second, killing them wouldn't have changed anything. Another family would simply have taken their place.
So I decided to kill two birds with one stone.
I first eliminated the Inagaki patriarch and the most influential members of the clan.
Honestly, not having cursed energy helps a lot. I don't even need to make much effort to conceal myself, even from non-sorcerers.
Kentaro was then placed at the head of the family without any problem. He didn't seem very attached to his father, because he looked genuinely happy when he was told of his father's death and given the position of patriarch.
Because of the gratitude (and the fear too, let's not lie) he felt toward me, he kept listening to all my orders.
And that's how Toji and I experienced luxury for the first time.
"YAHOOO!"
SPLASH!
"TOJI, THIS ISN'T A POOL, STOP DOING CANNONBALLS!"
My childish voice echoed, but it was quickly drowned out by the sound of the water.
Taking advantage of Kentaro's hospitality, we decided to go to the patriarch's private hot spring.
And Toji was clearly having a lot of fun. So much that he was swimming in the hot water despite its lack of depth.
Plaf!
Plaf!
Plaf!
With an annoyed voice, I yelled at him again, "TOJI, I SAID THIS ISN'T A POOL!"
Since when does he know how to swim?
I was puzzled. How could his movements look so natural?
Did he learn just by watching TV, or is it instinctive?
Toji was too amused to pay attention to anything I said. He dipped his head underwater and resurfaced a moment later with puffed cheeks—
SLPFF!
He spat out all the water he had in his mouth.
Does he think he's a dolphin now?
Honestly, it wasn't that far off. He acted as if water were his natural habitat.
He moved around in every direction. It was really starting to get on my nerves.
All right, if you want to play, we'll play.
I held my chin thoughtfully, faking deep reflection.
"Hmmm! He seems fully recovered. I think we can resume training tomorrow."
The jab had the intended effect. Toji, who had been pretending not to hear me, stopped playing immediately.
His face turned pale, and he started coughing. A very forced cough.
Yeah, he really can't act.
"Ow-Ow, it hurts, pain, suffering, I'm going to die."
Okay, now this is just insulting. Does he take me for an idiot or what?
"Cut it out and come sit down."
He completely deflated. "Okay."
He dragged his feet while mumbling incomprehensible things, but in the end, he still sat down.
The hot water was really soothing. My tired muscles finally relaxed.
For the first time in two weeks, I stopped using my Observation Haki. I let my mind rest as well. A headache immediately hit me, and I sank deeper into the water to drown it.
But as if the universe wanted to warn me about my lack of vigilance, a few minutes later someone began knocking on the door leading to the springs.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
My head hurt too much to reactivate my Haki, so I had to act like ordinary mortals.
I had to ask who it was.
"Who is it?"
A deep voice came from behind the door.
"It's me, Kentaro, Lord Roronoa."
Yeah, I used Roronoa as a pseudonym. You got a problem with that?
"Come in."
The sliding wooden door opened, and I heard footsteps approaching until they stopped right behind me.
"What do you want? I don't like being disturbed when I'm relaxing."
My tone was cold—I wanted to establish a clear hierarchy between us.
It seemed to work, because I heard him gulp behind me.
"Gulp! I'm sorry for disturbing you, my lord, but I came to inform you that the preparations are complete."
That immediately shattered my cold demeanor.
I turned around at once. "Really?"
"Yes, my lord. All the documents have been prepared. One of our men in the police handled the report and made sure no one digs too deeply."
A smile appeared on my face.
"Good! Very good, even! I didn't think it would be this easy. I thought we'd have to take a long and complicated route."
"The Osaka police is under our control. If we want them to do something, they do it. If we don't want them to do something, they don't."
Kentaro's voice oozed arrogance. Even I was surprised.
'Look at him, so proud of himself.'
"Anyway, how did it go exactly?"
The arrogance on Kentaro's face vanished the moment I spoke again.
He pulled out a register and began reading.
"Officially, you are orphans who lived in the mountains with your parents, isolated from society, until wild beasts killed your parents." He skipped the useless details written there and read only our story. "You survived alone for several weeks until I found you two weeks ago. After that, I decided to adopt you."
'Yeah, the story is really far-fetched. Thankfully we're still in a time where technology isn't super advanced or widespread.'
He closed the register and placed it behind him.
"You are now Inagaki Ryuma and Inagaki Riichiro. Twin brothers born on December 31, 1979, to the late Shimotsuki Arashi and Shimotsuki Terra."
'Yeah, I had zero inspiration for names. I shamelessly plagiarized One Piece.'
"But there's one thing I don't understand. Why did you adopt us?"
His face lit up at that question.
"Because I'm certain that with you at its head, the clan will prosper for decades, maybe centuries."
'So he did it to get sorcerers in the clan. He's really less dumb than I thought. But I feel like he's not telling the whole story.'
"I can tell what you said is true, but I can sense you're holding something back."
I released a bit of killing intent to pressure him. "So I'll ask again. Why did you adopt us?"
He clutched his chest and struggled to breathe. It was obvious that my killing intent was overwhelming him, but he still refused to speak.
"Talk, or I'll have to kill you."
And yet, despite my death threat, he kept his mouth shut.
I wasn't going to kill him—keeping him alive brought me far too many advantages—but in that moment I was genuinely puzzled.
I asked myself only one question:
"What could he possibly want to hide that is more precious than his life?"
'Well, let's see how long you can hold out.'
I intensified my killing intent, and on top of that, I stood up to give the impression that I was truly about to act.
"If you don't talk, I'll wipe out this entire clan. Nothing will remain."
At those words, his face turned pale, and I could see hesitation in his eyes. But after several seconds of silence, he finally opened his mouth.
"I adopted you because I can't have children."
"What, you're sterile?"
He hesitated again but eventually spoke.
"No, it's not that. I-I just… I like men."
(…)
An awkward silence settled between us.
'Really? That's it? I know homosexuals aren't exactly well-accepted in this era, but was it really worth risking his life just to admit that?'
The final answer was so unexpected that my killing intent quickly faded and was replaced by laughter.
"Pfft! Puhahaha! That's why you looked so constipated? You're really stupid if you think I give a damn."
He blushed at my teasing but looked relieved to no longer be in mortal danger.
I sank back into the hot water and he retrieved the register.
"If that's all, you can leave."
"A-As you wish, my lord."
He stood up and walked toward the door. But just before leaving, he turned around.
"Oh, I forgot to tell you—I already enrolled you and your brother in the best private school in Osaka. Your first day is scheduled for July first."
After saying that, he immediately left the room.
When I heard that, I panicked a little.
"Hey wait, what are you talking about? What school? Come back here, do you hear me? I don't want to go back to school!"
I received no answer.
"Kentaro! Kentaro! KENTARO!"
Of course the walls of this place had to be soundproof.
After a moment, I calmed down.
'Fine, whatever, I'll just tell him to unenroll us.'
Then I felt something touch my shoulder.
"Hey big brother…" It was Toji. "Are we really going to school?"
I was about to say no, but when I turned toward him and saw the hope in his eyes, I could only answer one thing:
"Of course, Toji."