Mushoku arrives at the village with Flame Boron; Flame Boron is carrying Onjo.
Upon arrival, Mushoku immediately rushes to the medical team, as Nagai's operation is still underway. A portion of the medical team has gone to Kyoto to fetch blood, while the remaining doctors are keeping Nagai alive on life support.
The doctors have set up their tent near the village hall—or rather, the site where the hall once stood, as only a barren patch of land remains now.
Inside the tent, doctors are attending to Nagai, trying to keep him alive until the team returns from Kyoto with the blood.
Nagai's condition is critical; he is unable to speak properly.
A large tube has been inserted into his mouth to supply oxygen.
The skin around his mouth has sloughed off, revealing raw flesh, and his lower body is completely paralyzed. Yet, Nagai remains conscious; he refused sedatives and declined any anesthetic injections.
He wants to feel every bit of this agony himself. He wants to remember this—his first defeat in life—and recall every pang of pain he is enduring now, so that he would think a hundred times before engaging in such a battle in the future.
Saliva is drooling from his mouth as he screams in excruciating pain; his entire body feels like it is burning, yet he refuses to give up.
He knows he will never walk again, but even so... He hasn't lost heart; he will keep trying. And whoever is responsible for his current condition—he will kill them. That is Nagai's sole reason for living from this day forward.
Mushoku watched anxiously and nervously as she entered the tent; he was deeply worried about Nagai.
It wasn't that he feared Nagai might lose his life—Mushoku knew full well that Nagai wasn't the type to die easily.
Instead, Mushoku dreaded what would happen if his wife found out—how she would react. She loved two things in this world above all else: Mushoku himself and her brother, Nagai. If anything were to happen to either of them, she would burn the world down.
When Mushoku enters the tent, he sees Nagai—one of the world's most powerful Athel captains—lying half-dead on a stretcher, his body drenched in blood.
Nagai is in a critical state; his jaw is shattered, and there isn't a single unbroken bone left in his body.
The pain is so excruciating that moving even the slightest part of him would feel like having millions of nails driven into his flesh. Mushoku cannot bear to see Nagai in such a condition.
He asks the doctor how much longer it will take for blood to arrive from Kyoto.
The doctor replies, "Sir, we don't know how much longer it might take.
Kyoto is quite far away, and with war raging everywhere, it could take one or two days for the shipment to arrive—and by then, Nagai-sir..." Mushoku cuts the doctor off mid-sentence, saying, "That's enough; I know what comes next. I am the one who has to do what needs to be done." Saying this, Mushoku looks at Nagai and steps out of the tent.
Stepping out of the tent, Mushoku tells Boron, "Cover her completely in wax; we won't kill her right now—we'll do it later.
First, I have something else to attend to, and you're coming with me."
Flame Boron refuses, saying, "I'm not coming with you; I have to look after this beautiful girl." Mushoku asks again, "Are you coming or not? Yes or no?" Flame Boron replies, "I'm not coming; do whatever you want."
As Mushoku moves to touch him, Boron realizes what is about to happen and immediately shouts, "I'll come, I'll come, I'll come!" Mushoku touches Flame Boron anyway and absorbs him inside. Once inside, Boron curses Mushoku, but Mushoku remains unfazed.
He had absorbed Boron so hastily that he completely forgot to encase Onjo in wax. When he finally remembered, he didn't want to bring Flame Boron back out, so he decided to take Onjo along with him and hand her over to the King in Kyoto in front of everyone.
He reasoned that the King could decide her fate—whether to kill her or let her go—but Mushoku was determined not to let her live.
Onjo was a renowned figure and the most beautiful woman across the six islands, but none of that mattered; according to the ritual, she had to die—whether here or in Kyoto, her death was destined to happen at his hands. After saying this, Mushoku picks up Onjo and sets off for Kyoto.
Inside Fujimoto village, everything remained normal—as if no war were raging outside. In contrast, every other village had either fallen under enemy control or been destroyed by them; war was everywhere.
The poor were dying, while the wealthy used their money to survive .
Meanwhile, in Kyoto—the capital of Onigiri—people were living in luxury, oblivious to the fact that outside the capital, even small children were being raped. Oda Ujiharu, the King of Ponigiri, had launched a war against Miyamoto Musashi, the King of Onigiri.
This conflict would claim countless lives and bring about immense destruction, but ultimately, to end the war, either Miyamoto Musashi or Oda Ujiharu would have to die.
When the two finally clashed, the entire Okutsuki Island risked total devastation; a previous war between them had already split the island in two—creating the separate realms of Onigiri and Ponigiri.
In Fujimoto village, everyone was going about their daily lives: children were playing, someone was weeping, babies were being born in the hospital while others were passing away there, weddings were taking place, and newlyweds were celebrating their first night together.
Everyone was busy with their own affairs, yet—despite being strangers to one another—they were all engaged in the same pursuit: living. They were striving to live at any cost, determined not to give up on life; for if one stops living, what kind of life is that?
In Fujimoto Village, Marry—the wife of Chijoro and mother of Hanako Saikyo—has been bedridden for 15 years.
Confined to her home, she cannot go outside because she is unable to walk and cannot tolerate direct sunlight; furthermore, her hands tremble whenever she attempts to pick anything up.
Despite all this, Marry has not given up on life; she tries every day to recover, even though success remains elusive.
She may never fully heal, but her husband, Chijoro, has encouraged her by saying that if she keeps making a concerted effort every day, she will eventually recover completely and be able to run again.
That is why Marry refuses to give up; she wants to keep living—not for herself, but for her family. She has not lost hope, and for the past 15 years, she has continued to live for the sake of her family.
Meanwhile, Chijoro, along with Hanako's father and Miyamoto's father, was growing increasingly anxious; Saikyō still hadn't returned home with Hanako and Miyamoto.
This worry began to take a toll on Miyamoto's mother's health.
She suffered from a heart condition, and even the slightest stress could prove fatal.
Upon learning that her son was missing, she became distraught, weeping uncontrollably. The three of them—Chijoro and the parents of Hanako and Miyamoto—were gathered in the Fujimoto village meeting room; there was no one else present.
Chijoro was deeply concerned about Saikyō, Hanako, and Miyamoto. His fear wasn't that they might have died, but rather what would happen if Saikyō's powers spiraled out of control.
Miyamoto's mother was sobbing so violently that saliva was spilling from her mouth.
Her husband tried to comfort her, reassuring her that their son would be fine because he was with the strongest person in the village—or rather, the strongest in the entire world.
Just then, the door to the meeting room was flung open with great force, practically broken down by the person entering. Chijoro angrily demanded, "I told you no one was to enter this room until I said so.
Why have you come in?" The person who had burst in was panting heavily. After catching his breath, he stammered, "Sir, an eagle just arrived and delivered a letter.
It stated that Miyamoto and Hanako are with the sender and are completely safe, so there is no need to worry..." Chijoro stops him and asks what Hanako and Miyamoto are doing with this man named Ren, and how they even got there.
He asks, "If Hanako and Miyamoto are with Ren, then where is Saikyo?" The attendant replies, "Sir, this letter mentions him as well," but his head drops and his voice lowers as he adds, "The letter states that Saikyo has passed away; he is no longer in this world."
Upon hearing this, Chijoro and Miyamoto's father are left completely stunned; Chijoro collapses to the ground.
Miyamoto's father tries to steady him, but Chijoro is at an age where he can neither weep nor fight—though Miyamoto's father certainly can take action.
Chijoro orders Miyamoto's father to immediately assemble a team of ten guards, identify the person who wrote the letter, and travel to the location from which it was sent to verify the news. He instructs him that, if the report is true, his first priority must be to rescue Hanako and Miyamoto from the man named Ren.
Find out as soon as possible who killed our Saikyō; if you find Saikyō's body, bring it back to me intact.
I don't think anything could happen to my monster, but every monster eventually falls prey to something, so one never knows. Go now and get this done.
Miyamoto's mother looks at Miyamoto's father; she doesn't say a word, but conveys through her eyes that Miyamoto must be brought back to her safe and sound—this is his wife's command. Miyamoto's father leaves.
Chijoro asks the Athelguard if there is anything else written there; the Athel replies, "No, sir, nothing else is written." Chijoro says, "You may take them and leave; make sure to drop them off safely at their home."
Chijoro was deeply anxious about how to break the news of the current situation to his wife.
If something were to truly happen to Saikyō, who would look after the village? And if harm came to Hanako, her mother wouldn't be able to bear it; she was living her life entirely for the sake of these two.
If anything happened to them, Marry would effectively die while still alive—her life would lose all meaning.
Meanwhile, Marry was knitting scarves out of soft wool for Hanako and Saikyō. Her hands were trembling so much that the needle frequently pricked her fingers and hands, leaving behind tiny puncture marks.
Yet, despite all this, her love for her two children never wavered. Outside, a cold wind was blowing, so Marry had a guard close the only window in her room; she seemed lost—not in herself, but completely immersed in her love for her children.
.