The night was deep and quiet.
Kanashimi, Senior Kanji, and Yoshi were sleeping near the dying campfire, exhausted from the long journey and the earlier battle. Their breathing was heavy and uneven.
Only three figures remained awake — guarding the group under the moonlight.
Akari sat quietly on a rock, occasionally glancing around. Haru was still in Yuna's lap. And Yuna… was silently crying.
Tears fell from her eyes one by one, sliding down her cheeks and disappearing into the darkness. She didn't sob. She didn't make a sound. The tears just kept falling, as if her heart was leaking pain she could no longer contain.
Haru noticed.
"Sister-in-law…" he whispered softly, looking up at her with big, worried eyes. "Why are you crying? Will brother be okay?"
Yuna's breath hitched.
Yuna's inner thoughts:
Haru… you sweet, innocent child.You have no idea what your brother has done.You don't know the shame he brought upon me.You don't know how many nights I cried because of him.And I… I can't even tell you the truth. How can I destroy your love for him?
She gently wiped her tears with the back of her hand and forced a small, broken smile.
"I'm fine, Haru. Don't worry."
But Haru wasn't convinced.
He suddenly jumped down from her lap and ran toward Kanashimi. He kicked his brother's leg lightly.
"Brother! Wake up!"
Kanashimi didn't move. He was in a deep, pained sleep.
Yuna called softly, "Haru, come back here."
Haru kicked again — a little harder this time.
"Brother, get up!"
Still no response.
Haru's small face scrunched up with frustration and worry. He walked over to where Kanashimi's katana lay and struggled to pull it out of its sheath.
Yuna's eyes widened. She stood up instantly and ran toward him.
"Haru! What are you doing?!" she scolded, grabbing his small wrist before he could fully draw the blade.
Haru looked up at her with determined, teary eyes.
"Brother said… if he ever leaves me, this katana will protect me. But I don't need it right now." He pushed the katana toward Yuna with both hands. "I'm giving it to you… so it can protect you from crying."
Yuna froze.
Her heart shattered.
She slowly took the katana from his tiny hands. Tears welled up in her eyes again, faster this time.
Yuna's inner thoughts:
This child…He's willing to give up his only protection… just so I stop crying.How can someone so small be this pure?I came here to kill his brother… and he's trying to comfort me.
She pulled Haru into a tight hug, burying her face in his messy hair so he wouldn't see her tears.
"Thank you, Haru…" she whispered, voice cracking. "Thank you…"
From the deep shadows of the trees, a mysterious man watched the entire scene.
His eyes glowed with an eerie, special pattern — a rare special eye that could see energy flows and emotions like colors in the wind. A faint smirk played on his lips as he observed Yuna hugging the child and Kanashimi lying unconscious nearby.
"Interesting…" he murmured to himself. "The runaway traitor, the vengeful wife, and the innocent key to it all…"
He slowly faded back into the darkness, his glowing eyes disappearing last.
From the deep shadows of the trees, the mysterious man finally stepped forward.
Moonlight spilled across the clearing, illuminating his tall figure. Sharp, refined features, long dark hair tied loosely at the back, and a cold, confident smirk that sent chills down everyone's spine. He looked strikingly similar to Kanashimi — the same jawline, the same sharp eyes — only older, more battle-hardened, and far more dangerous.
Yuna's eyes widened in pure shock.
"You…!"
The man raised both hands calmly, showing he held no weapon. On the back of his right hand was the exact same ominous symbol that had been on the man Kanashimi killed in their apartment.
Haru instinctively hid behind Yuna, peeking out with wide, terrified eyes, clutching her clothes tightly.
The man looked at the entire group with calm superiority and spoke in a deep, steady voice that carried through the night air.
"My name is Kage Oketo. I am Kanashimi's elder brother… and like him, I also carry a kill-on-sight order from the village."
A heavy silence fell over the campsite.
Senior Kanji and Yoshi woke up instantly, grabbing their weapons in alarm. Kanashimi stirred painfully on the ground, his eyes widening in disbelief and confusion.
"Brother…?" he whispered hoarsely, voice weak from blood loss.
Kage looked down at his younger brother with a mix of pity and faint amusement.
"Shime didn't frame you because she hated you, Kanashimi," he said calmly, ignoring the hostile glares aimed at him. "She framed you to save the village."
He continued, his tone measured and cold:
"There was a powerful organization that wanted your Special Arts — especially your Infinite Drops and those rare techniques no one else possesses. They were planning a full-scale assault on the village just to capture you. Shime discovered their plan. So she created the perfect crime, made sure the evidence pointed at you, and forced you to run away with Haru that night. She sacrificed your reputation, your marriage, and your entire life… just to buy the village precious time."
Yuna's face twisted with rage and denial.
"Lies!" she shouted, her voice cracking with emotion.
Without hesitation, she and Akari attacked simultaneously — silver threads shooting forward like deadly spears while blazing fire techniques roared toward Kage.
Senior Kanji and Yoshi charged as well.
Even the heavily injured Kanashimi tried to push himself up, determined to fight.
But it was useless.
Kage moved like a ghost. With a single, almost lazy wave of his hand, a dark, suffocating wave of energy exploded outward. All four attackers were slammed violently to the ground. Yuna's silver threads scattered uselessly in the air. Akari's flames were snuffed out like candles. Kanji and Yoshi were knocked unconscious once again.
Kage remained completely unharmed, standing tall in the center of the clearing with an almost bored expression.
"I'm not the leader of that organization," he said calmly, "but I am an important member. And I'm telling you the truth. The village elders knew parts of the threat… but they still chose to brand Kanashimi as a traitor. It was easier to blame one man than admit their own helplessness."
He turned his gaze directly toward Yuna, his smirk softening into something almost mocking.
"You've been hating the wrong person for three years, little sister-in-law."
Yuna clenched her teeth so hard her jaw trembled. She tried to stand, but her body was still shaking from the impact. A thin trail of blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.
Haru was trembling violently behind her, silent tears falling down his cheeks.
Kanashimi, still lying on the ground, could only stare at his elder brother with a storm of complicated emotions swirling inside him.
Kanashimi's inner thoughts:
Elder brother…So this was the real reason behind everything…Everything I lost… everything Yuna suffered for three long years… it was all to protect the village?Then why does it still hurt this much? Why does the truth feel heavier than the lies?
Kage smiled faintly, taking one slow step back toward the shadows.
"I won't kill any of you today. Consider this my parting gift — the truth. Whether you believe it or not is up to you."
He looked at Kanashimi one final time, his expression softening just slightly.
"Take care of the little one, brother. The real war is only beginning."
With those ominous words, Kage Oketo vanished into the darkness, melting away as if he had never been there.
Silence returned to the campsite.
Yuna slowly sat up, staring at the empty spot where he had stood, her face pale and conflicted.
Haru crawled desperately over to Kanashimi and hugged him tightly, sobbing into his bloody chest.
"Brother… I'm scared… Who was that man…? Why did he say those things…?"
Kanashimi wrapped his trembling arms around his little brother, holding him as tightly as his injured body allowed. His heart felt heavier than it had in three long years.
The journey back to the hidden village had suddenly become far more complicated — and far more dangerous — than anyone could have imagined.
The silence after Kage's disappearance lasted only a few seconds.
Kanashimi, still lying on the ground in a pool of his own blood, suddenly pushed himself up with trembling arms. His voice cracked as he shouted desperately into the darkness:
"Is there any proof, Kage?! Any proof at all?!"
The shadows seemed to shift. Kage's figure reappeared at the edge of the clearing, his back half-turned, as if he had never truly left.
He glanced over his shoulder with a cold, knowing smile.
"Proof?" he repeated softly. Then he spoke two simple letters that shattered the night:
"C. Oketo."
Yuna's entire body froze.
Her eyes widened in pure shock and disbelief. The name hit her like a blade straight to the heart.
C.
Her elder brother's name. The brother who had disappeared years ago. The one everyone believed had died on a secret mission.
"No…" she whispered, voice trembling. "That's impossible…"
Kage let out a low, mocking chuckle.
"Believe what you want, Yuna. But C. Oketo was one of the key figures who planned the operation. He was the one who ordered Shime to frame Kanashimi. Ask the village elders… if they dare tell you the truth."
Rage exploded inside Yuna like wildfire.
"You liar!" she screamed.
Without thinking, she launched herself forward, silver threads bursting from her fingers like furious snakes. She attacked with everything she had — raw emotion fueling her technique.
Combat erupted.
Yuna moved like a storm of silver light. Her threads whipped through the air, slicing, binding, and stabbing toward Kage from every direction. She poured years of pent-up anger, pain, and betrayal into every strike.
But Kage didn't even move his feet.
He simply raised one hand.
A dark, oppressive aura flared around him. Every single one of Yuna's silver threads shattered mid-air like fragile glass. When she tried to close the distance for a physical strike, an invisible force slammed into her chest, sending her flying backward.
She crashed hard into a tree, coughing up blood.
Akari tried to support her, but Kage flicked his wrist and Akari was thrown aside like a doll.
Yuna stood up again, breathing heavily, blood dripping from her mouth and forehead. She attacked once more — creating a massive silver domain of threads around Kage, attempting to crush him.
Kage simply walked forward through it.
Not a single thread touched him.
Not a speck of dust landed on his clothes.
He stopped right in front of Yuna, looking down at her with calm, almost pitying eyes.
"You're strong, Yuna. But you're fighting with hatred and pain. That makes you blind."
He gently flicked her forehead with one finger.
The impact was light, but the force behind it was monstrous. Yuna was sent tumbling across the ground, rolling several meters before stopping.
She tried to get up again, but her body refused. Blood flowed from fresh wounds on her arms and torso.
Kage looked at her for a long moment.
"I didn't come here to fight children throwing tantrums. I came to deliver the truth. Whether you accept it or keep living in delusion is your choice."
He turned away once again, his figure slowly dissolving into the shadows.
"Take care of my little brother and nephew… while you still can."
And with that, Kage Oketo vanished completely.
Yuna remained on her knees, breathing raggedly, blood staining the grass beneath her. Tears of rage, confusion, and heartbreak mixed with the blood on her face.
Haru ran to her, crying loudly.
"Onee-chan! You're hurt! You're bleeding too!"
Kanashimi could only watch helplessly from the ground, his heart breaking into even smaller pieces.
The truth had finally surfaced…
But it had come at the cost of even more pain.