Watari stepped into his room and immediately froze.

  “What did you do to my room?” His voice carried that signature irritation—the kind that came when things changed without his permission.

  Koharu stood in the center, arms folded, unmoved by his tone. “This is a barrier.”

  Watari frowned. “A barrier?” He gnced around, eyes scanning the barely visible energy outlining the space. It wasn’t a huge shift, but now that she’d pointed it out, the air felt different—denser.

  Koharu raised an eyebrow. “Have you never seen one before?” She tilted her head slightly. “Every battle you’ve had so far, there’s been one around the area.”

  Watari blinked. “Huh? Pretty sure I would’ve noticed if I was mid-fight in the Chūkan or something, don’t you think?”

  Koharu sighed. “This barrier was made by Ayase. It’s stronger than most.” She gnced toward the far end of the room, where Ayase stood with his hands tucked into his sleeves, watching the conversation unfold with silent amusement. “The Chūkan deploys a barrier for any Tamashkii-reted incidents to keep civilians safe. Sometimes opponents can break through, but for the most part, it holds.”

  Watari crossed his arms. “Well, I definitely would’ve noticed a barrier like this.”

  Before Koharu could respond, Ren finally spoke up from the side. “Then why do we need such a strong one now?”

  A beat of silence.

  Then Koharu exhaled. “Because I don’t want the Elders to hear me.”

  Kaito let out a low whistle. “Oh. This isn’t gonna be good, huh?”

  Koharu didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she looked at each of them before finally speaking.

  “Hyouma… was not the first person to meet that type of demise.”

  Yumi’s breath caught. “You mean… you’ve seen this before?”

  Koharu nodded. “Yes. But it’s been decades. We thought it was gone.”

  Ayase, standing in the corner, finally spoke. “Truthfully, we thought it was a failed experiment. That they had given up on it.”

  Ryuko scoffed. “From what we saw, it was a failed experiment.”

  Koharu shook her head. “Sadly, it was not.” Her voice was ced with something unreadable—regret, maybe. “I’ve seen what happens when that pill is perfected. When it comes to full fruition.”

  Silence.

  Watari narrowed his eyes. “So… what happens when it’s perfected?”

  Koharu inhaled slowly. “To my knowledge, it has only been perfected six times.”

  Even Ayase, composed as he was, stiffened at that.

  “Six?” Kaito echoed, his casual tone faltering. “What do you mean, six?”

  Koharu’s gaze was steady. “The Kegare have six warriors who have perfected this process. And I have met their third strongest.”

  Watari clicked his tongue. “Great. Love that for us.”

  Kaito snorted. “Right? I was just thinking we didn’t have enough problems.”

  Kaito’s brows furrowed. “Wait, so if the third strongest is gone, does that mean it’s five now?”

  Koharu’s voice was even. “I didn’t say I killed him. Plus they always have a seventh in waiting. The Ubuyō. That’s what Hyouma was.” She let the weight of those words settle. “I was lucky to walk away from that fight with my life. ”

  That made the air in the room shift.

  Watari frowned. “Then how did you make it out?”

  Koharu exhaled through her nose. “Ancient.” Her voice was quiet. “Ancient saved me.”

  Ren stiffened. “You… you worked with Ancient?”

  Ayase gave a light chuckle. “Oh, I suppose we never told you all.” He gestured vaguely. “Not only did we know Ancient, but we taught under him.” He smirked. “The captain has only come second to one person. And that was him.”

  Koharu’s expression darkened. “My techniques, my fighting style—everything I honed was to defeat that man.” Her fists clenched slightly. “And then he came to this world… and got murdered.”

  That st part left a bitter taste in her mouth. It was almost venomous.

  Ren swallowed. It wasn’t hard to pick up on what she was really saying.

  She stopped coming to this world after Ancient died. After the one person she had devoted herself to surpassing was wiped away.

  She hated this pce.

  But there were more pressing matters.

  Koharu straightened.

  “The six warriors I mentioned… even Ancient wouldn’t have been able to take them all on. At best? Two. And that’s Ancient we’re talking about.”

  Letting that sink in, she allowed the weight of her words to settle on the room.

  “The Elders didn’t want you to hear about this.” Her voice softened slightly. “But I thought you all should be as prepared as possible for what’s coming.”

  Ryuko narrowed his eyes. “What’s coming?”

  Koharu looked around the room, her eyes meeting each of theirs.

  Then, with absolute certainty, she answered.

  “A full-scale war.”

  Yumi tilted her head slightly. “A war?”

  Koharu sighed. “They have six perfected warriors now. But if they’re giving out pills to their lower-ranked members, that means they’re trying to create more than six. And the only reason to build up that many warriors…” She paused. “Is to fight.”

  Watari clenched his jaw. “This sounds… organized.” His tone was low. “Who runs it all?”

  There was a brief moment where Koharu and Ayase exchanged a gnce.

  Then, Koharu’s eyes darkened. Her voice was quiet—taut, edged with something sharp.

  “The Shingan.”

  The room fell silent.

  And then—

  Cut to bck.