"So that’s the thod? You save her by... doing that?"
Fujimoto Tōma raised an eyebrow, wearing the exact expression of soone who refused to be tricked by suspiciously convenient explanations.
Across from him, Mizuno Kagetora lowered the brim of his hat and chuckled.
"Exactly."
Then his tone shifted, quieter.
"You already know corrupted entities are the opposite of living humans. Then naturally... the opposite of archer bloodline users would be shinobi."
"...I actually didn’t know that," Tōma said flatly.
"You do now," Kagetora replied lightly.
Then he sighed.
"The real problem is worse. Corruption chakra is basically poison to those bloodline users. That’s why the girl is so weak."
"Poison, huh..." Tōma murmured.
So that’s why those clans were obsessed with destroying corrupted entities completely.
Not purification.
Not balance.
Eradication.
"...Maybe," Kagetora said when Tōma voiced the thought. No confirmation. No denial.
Which ant there were politics buried underneath this story like bones under snow.
Tōma clicked his tongue quietly.
Secrets layered on secrets.
He glanced toward the closed room.
From inside, faint sounds leaked through the poor soundproofing.
Kagetora coughed awkwardly.
"...Let’s step outside."
"Agreed."
Outside, the air felt cooler.
"So Shiba Isshin is using his shinobi chakra to suppress the corruption inside her?" Tōma asked.
"Yes."
"That level of corruption... if he keeps suppressing it constantly... he’ll eventually lose access to his own power. Unless the corruption disappears first."
Kagetora stared at him.
"...Your instincts are terrifying."
Tōma shrugged.
Then asked quietly:
"He doesn’t regret it?"
Kagetora smiled faintly.
"He said sothing once. Don’t let tomorrow’s version of you regret what you refused to do today."
Tōma exhaled slowly.
Yeah.
That sounded like a man who’d already decided how his story would end.
"That corruption entity... strong," Tōma said after a mont. "But strong enough to kill Isshin outright? I doubt it."
"Who knows," Kagetora said.
Topic closed.
Which ant there was absolutely more to it.
Tōma didn’t push.
If it didn’t involve him directly, he wasn’t interested in digging into buried wars.
Still...
Would he give up his power for soone else?
He thought about it.
Then laughed quietly.
If the choice ever ca to that, he’d probably just remove the problem itself.
Simpler.
Cleaner.
"That limiter body Isshin’s using... custom build, right?"
Tōma had noticed imdiately. Isshin’s chakra signature read like a normal civilian. Not a shinobi using a shell.
"Of course," Kagetora said proudly. "Good, right?"
"...Ridiculously good," Tōma admitted.
For soone to overwrite that much chakra identity...
That was technology generations ahead of standard shinobi science.
"Are you really not going back to the Capital?" Kagetora asked suddenly.
During Tōma’s years here, Hoshizora Town had beco absurdly safe. Even without actively patrolling, his presence alone suppressed threats.
Tōma snorted.
"To be monitored by the Grand Council?"
"...Fair," Kagetora said.
"I don’t like being controlled," Tōma said quietly. "This ti I let it go. Next ti... I won’t."
Kagetora snapped his fan open.
"That is a terrifying sentence."
Tōma smirked.
"Please. You’re technically a wanted criminal too."
Kagetora just laughed.
Eventually, Isshin stepped out.
His face was flushed.
Kagetora had already explained everything.
He likely couldn’t return to the Capital.
He’d be labeled a rogue shinobi.
Might even drag his clan reputation down with him.
Isshin sighed.
But didn’t hesitate.
"I’ll stay."
Then Kagetora said:
"You’ll need a new civilian identity."
Isshin scratched his head.
Then snapped his fingers.
"Then... Kurosaki Isshin."
Tōma froze for half a second.
Kurosaki.
That na rang like a temple bell in his mory.
Kurosaki Ichigo.
So that ant...
He looked toward the closed room.
Inside was probably Ichigo’s future mother.
"...Heh."
So he’d accidentally walked into the prologue of a protagonist’s origin story.
If he’d interfered earlier...
Would that future even exist?
Probably.
But he wouldn’t have stopped it anyway.
Ichigo wasn’t a normal protagonist.
Other heroes started weak and grew into monsters.
Ichigo?
He started as a walking cheat code.
Human.
Archer bloodline.
Shinobi.
Corruption hybrid.
Stack all that into one person and yeah... that was how legends were born.
Tōma glanced at Kagetora.
Was this all coincidence?
Or had Kagetora nudged events forward just enough?
Even if he hadn’t engineered it...
He’d definitely used it.
Soone with his brain didn’t ignore opportunities like this.
Isshin looked nervous suddenly.
"...Deputy Commander. You won’t report , right?"
"I don’t care enough to," Tōma said.
Isshin visibly relaxed.
Now powerless, Isshin couldn’t see chakra constructs anymore.
Tōma and Kagetora only looked normal because of their civilian bodies.
Isshin scratched his chin.
"...What skills do I even have for civilian life..."
Then he muttered:
"...dical training. From academy days."
Good enough.
"If you want, I can pass ssages to the Tenth Division indirectly," Tōma offered. "No trace."
Isshin thought.
"...Nah. They’ll be fine. Our Third Seat, Hitsugaya Tōshirō... once-in-a-century talent. Already mastered advanced techniques insanely young. He’ll be a great captain soday."
"I’ve heard of him," Tōma said. "Kid’s terrifying."
Isshin nodded proudly.
"So no ssage needed."
"Your call."
"Still," Isshin said quietly. "Thanks."
Tōma didn’t respond.
Respect didn’t need words.
Inside the shop, Isshin and Kagetora began discussing civilian life logistics.
Opening a clinic.
Funding.
Identity paperwork.
Normal life.
For the first ti ever.
Tōma stepped outside.
Looked up at the sky.
Sowhere in this tiline...
A kid would be born who carried four different destinies in his blood.
And Tōma...
Wanted to see what kind of monster that would beco.
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