Ryosuke hardly flinched as he roared, “Hold your swords. I’m still the head of the Watanabe family. Now, back off.” The imposing command immediately stopped the charging guards in their tracks.
At the end of the day, they were in the service of the Watanabe family. They dared not disobey the instructions of the active family head. “Charge! I’m ordering you to!” Asuka shouted at the guards, who remained frozen in fear despite his command.
Jetroinians were well-known for their strict deference to the traditional hierarchical system. While Ryosuke remained the head of the. Watanabe family, the guards simply could not bring themselves to disobey his direct orders.
Seeing this, Asuka cursed at the top of his lungs, but his infuriated protests were in vain. Meanwhile, Jared shot Asuka a frosty glare while slowly approaching him. “You’re dead meat today, Asuka.” Asuka hastily pulled Haruto with him and backed away until they eventually hid in his room.
Bam! Suddenly, a loud explosion erupted in front of Jared, shrouding the place in billowing white smoke. Jared waved his hand and instantly dissipated the smoke, but Asuka and Haruto were nowhere to be found.
“Damn it. They must’ve escaped using a secret tunnel under the mansion,” surmised Ryosuke with a deep frown. “Don’t worry. It’s impossible to escape.”
Jared closed his eyes and used his spiritual sense to scan the mansion and its surroundings, spanning a diameter of several kilometers. Soon enough, he tracked the two runaways down. “Let’s go.”
After his abrupt order, Jared disappeared in a flash, leaving Ryosuke to hurry after him. Jared tracked Asuka’s aura all the way to the foot of Fujio Mountain.
A small army of samurai stood guard outside Masato’s hut at the foot of Fujio Mountain. Masato was in the hut, engaged in a meeting with numerous branch family members of the Watanabe family.
An elder from one of the branch families piped up, “Ryosuke has been too quiet lately. I don’t think he’d agree to send his daughter to the shrine.”
Several relatives immediately concurred with his views. “That’s right. I even caught wind that Ryosuke was in contact with someone in Chanaea. Perhaps he’s trying to gain their help and move his entire family abroad.”
“I even heard that he’s paying ten billion in Anglanduran currency to hire the assassin, Mr. Loufury, to take out Grandpa!” Masato remained silent amid their gossip, though his fury was palpable in his aged, wrinkled features.
He scoffed coldly and spat, “He must think I’m some senile old man. He doesn’t bother listening to my orders once I’ve stopped asking about the family’s affairs.”
Just then, the door of the hut was flung open. Asuka and Haruto rushed into the room in a panic. Their frantic expression caused Masato’s frown to deepen. He demanded, “You rascal. Where are your manners? You can’t barge into this place as and when you please.”
Asuka shouted, “Save me, Grandpa. Save me! Ryosuke’s out for my blood, and he brought Jared Chance with him. He even said he was going to kill you too!” “What?” Masato immediately got to his feet.
A chorus of shocked gasps rang out through the hut. They could not believe Ryosuke was completely disregarding his family ties and openly hunting his younger brother down. One of the branch family members asked Asuka, “Who is this Jared Chance?”
“He’s the person who killed my son, Ichiro. I heard he’s an extremely strong fighter.” Asuka’s explanation fueled Masato’s anger. The elder thundered, “A Chanaean? It seems Ryosuke is bent on pledging his loyalty to another country.”
Just then, Kawano, who had appeared to be in a light slumber the whole time, slowly opened his eyes and said, “Whoever he is, as long as he’s bold enough to cause trouble here, the only fate that awaits him is death.”
As he spoke, Kawano rose to his feet and grabbed a katana, shooting a piercing look out the window. One of the powerful members of the Watanabe family spoke up. “With Master Kawano around, do you think Ryosuke would really be brave enough to chase us down?”
“Let’s go. Accompany me while I meet and kill this Watanabe traitor,” Masato declared calmly. Asuka and Haruto quickly stepped forward and supported the old man as he left the hut.
