The request came out of nowhere.
Takeru stood by the classroom door, holding the folded poster like it weighed more than it should.
He looked around the room.
Then spoke.
"…Bro, Half-bro, Hakari, Maki."
A pause.
"…Can y'all follow me real quick?"
Yuji blinked.
"…I'm Half-bro now?"
Hakari grinned.
"…I'll take it."
Maki didn't react immediately.
But her eyes sharpened the moment she heard the destination.
"…Where?"
Takeru held up the poster slightly.
"…Zen'in estate."
The room went quiet.
Panda slowly leaned back.
"…Oh."
Yuji frowned.
"…That's not a casual place to say like that."
Hakari stretched his neck.
"…That sounds like trouble."
Maki didn't answer.
But her expression had already changed.
"…Fine."
That was all she said.
But it wasn't light.
It carried something heavier.
History.
Megumi looked between them.
"…Be careful."
Takeru nodded once.
"…We will."
And they left.
Zen'in Estate
The air felt different immediately.
Not cursed energy.
Not pressure.
Something older.
Rigid.
Like the place had rules even the wind followed.
Maki walked slightly ahead.
Silent.
Tighter than usual.
Yuji glanced around.
"…It feels… off."
Hakari smirked.
"…Rich people always make places feel cursed without even trying."
Takeru didn't respond.
His eyes were scanning.
Carefully.
Like he expected something to recognize him.
And then—
they noticed.
Movement.
At the edges of the estate.
Zen'in members.
Watching.
Whispering.
One of them stopped completely.
Naoya Zen'in.
His gaze locked immediately on Gojo.
Then Maki.
Then the group.
His expression shifted slightly.
Interest.
Annoyance.
Recognition.
"…So the Six Eyes are dragging toys around now."
Maki didn't even look at him.
But her hand tightened slightly.
Yuji whispered.
"…That guy feels awful."
Hakari grinned faintly.
"…Yeah, I already don't like him."
Takeru kept walking.
"…Ignore him."
Naoya's eyes flicked to Takeru.
Then narrowed slightly.
Like he was trying to place something.
But it didn't stick.
"…Huh."
He turned away.
But not fully uninterested anymore.
Inside the Estate
Maki led them deeper.
Past halls.
Past sealed rooms.
Past areas that clearly hadn't been opened in a long time.
Yuji frowned.
"…How do you even know where you're going?"
Maki answered without slowing down.
"…I used to live here."
Silence followed that.
Hakari muttered.
"…Yeah, that explains the vibe."
They stopped at a side corridor.
A door slightly hidden.
Old wood.
Barely used.
Maki pushed it open.
Inside—
a storage room.
Dusty.
Quiet.
Stacks of old records and sealed containers.
Yuji blinked.
"…This is it?"
Maki nodded once.
"…Zen'in archives don't care about anything they don't profit from."
Takeru stepped in.
Immediately scanned the room.
"…This place has been untouched."
Hakari looked around.
"…Which means if something is here…"
"…It would still be here," Yuji finished.
Maki walked straight to a corner shelf.
Stopped.
"…Here."
She pulled out a thin file.
Older than the rest.
Not labeled like the others.
Just a blank spine.
Takeru opened it.
Slowly.
Inside—
more fragments.
More erased names.
More incomplete lineage structures.
Yuji leaned in.
"…Is it more of the same?"
Takeru flipped a page.
Then paused.
"…No."
Everyone leaned closer.
There was one thing different.
One detail they had all missed before.
A repeated symbol.
Faint.
Stamped across multiple erased sections.
Not a name.
Not a family line.
A marking.
Hakari frowned.
"…What is that?"
Maki's eyes narrowed slightly.
"…That's not Zen'in."
Yuji blinked.
"…Then what is it?"
Takeru stared at it for a long moment.
Then spoke quietly.
"…A monitoring seal."
Silence.
That changed the room instantly.
Hakari straightened.
"…So someone's tracking all of this."
Maki's voice dropped.
"…Not Zen'in."
Yuji swallowed.
"…Then who?"
No one answered.
Because now it was clear—
the estate wasn't the origin.
The poster wasn't the source.
Even the factory wasn't the full picture.
They were all just layers.
And somewhere above all of it—
something was watching the system they were only just starting to understand.
Takeru closed the file.
Slowly.
"…We're being catalogued."
Silence.
Maki looked at the empty shelves.
Her expression tight.
"…Then we stop being readable."
Hakari cracked his knuckles.
"…Now that sounds like a plan."
Yuji nodded.
"…Yeah."
Takeru turned slightly toward the exit.
"…Next step."
And for the first time since entering the estate—
no one argued.