Inside the Zenin estate, in one of the rooms in the center, a bunch of people currently gathered.
"The answer is no."
The words fell across the room with enough finality to make it clear that the discussion was over.
Or at least, that was what the Zenin Clan wanted to believe.
Hiroyuki remained seated.
Several documents rested on the low table before him. Some had been read more than once. Others had been pushed aside after the elders decided they had already seen enough.
Across from him sat the senior members of the Zenin Clan.
Naobito occupied the central seat.
Unlike everyone else, the head of the clan appeared almost completely relaxed. One hand rested against his knee while the other held the small gourd he had been drinking from throughout the meeting.
Ogi sat near him, his expression considerably less pleasant.
Jinichi remained silent on the opposite side. His arms were folded, and although he had said very little during the discussion, the disapproval on his face had never disappeared.
Several other elders completed the gathering.
Behind Hiroyuki stood Senjumaru.
Quiet.
Still.
Almost easy to forget.
Ogi stared directly at Hiroyuki.
"You have explained what you intend to accomplish," he continued. "What you have failed to explain is why the Zenin Clan should involve itself."
"I already explained the long-term benefits."
"To Jujutsu society," another elder corrected. "Not to us."
His fingers tapped against the documents.
"You are asking our clan to provide its name, resources and political influence. If this fails, we will share the consequences."
"And if it succeeds?" Hiroyuki asked.
"Then you receive the credit."
A few quiet murmurs of agreement followed.
Hiroyuki looked around the room.
"I never asked for the credit."
"That hardly matters," Jinichi finally spoke. His voice remained calm, but there was nothing friendly about it. "The proposal began with you. Regardless of whose name appears on the final agreement, people will remember who placed it before the Three Great Clans."
"That sounds more like a problem with how people think."
"It becomes our problem the moment we support you."
Fair enough.
Hiroyuki had expected resistance.
He had even expected most of the arguments being used against him.
That did not make listening to them for the last two hours any less exhausting.
Another elder leaned forward.
"The Gojo Clan may have allowed itself to be dragged into this, but their approval carries no obligation here."
"Dragged is a strong word."
"Is it inaccurate?"
Hiroyuki considered the meeting he had endured back home.
"No," he admitted. "Probably not."
The response earned him several displeased looks.
Apparently, agreeing with them was also irritating.
Ogi's expression hardened further.
"You appear to be treating this matter rather lightly."
"I'm not."
"Then behave like it."
Silence followed.
For the first time since the discussion began, the atmosphere sharpened.
Ogi placed one hand against his knee.
"You have gained some recognition within the Jujutsu world. No one here denies that."
The way he said it made the acknowledgment sound almost insulting.
"For someone your age, your accomplishments may even be considered exceptional. But do not mistake attention for authority."
Hiroyuki said nothing.
"You are still a boy," Ogi continued. "A talented one, perhaps. But a boy nonetheless."
One of the elders beside him nodded.
"You entered this estate and placed a demand before the Zenin Clan as though our cooperation had already been decided."
"I presented a proposal."
"You told us that our support was necessary."
"It is."
Several expressions darkened.
Ogi's eyes narrowed.
"That arrogance may be tolerated within the Gojo Estate. Here, your name means considerably less."
Hiroyuki's expression remained unchanged.
Ogi apparently found that irritating as well.
"You have nothing worth offering us. No leverage. No authority over this clan. Nothing."
He paused.
"Were Naobito not willing to entertain you, we could have killed you for speaking to us this way."
The air changed.
It happened quietly.
Senjumaru did not move, but her gaze shifted toward Ogi.
Hiroyuki noticed.
So did Naobito.
Before anyone else could speak, the clan head lifted his gourd.
"That will do, Ogi."
His voice was relaxed.
Even so, Ogi stopped.
Naobito took another drink before lowering the gourd.
"I doubt the boy came all this way just to listen to you explain how unimportant he is."
A few elders frowned.
Hiroyuki almost smiled.
Almost.
Naobito turned his attention toward him.
"I've always liked that nerve of yours."
"Only my nerve?"
"Don't become greedy."
Hiroyuki gave a small shrug.
Naobito studied him for several seconds.
There was amusement in his eyes, but something more serious sat beneath it.
They had met several times over the years.
Sometimes because clan matters demanded it.
Sometimes because one of them had information the other wanted.
And, on a few rare occasions, simply because Naobito found speaking with him more interesting than attending whatever meeting he had been expected to join.
Hiroyuki never behaved like most boys his age.
Naobito had noticed that almost immediately.
Unfortunately, liking someone did not mean placing the Zenin Clan behind him.
"I do think highly of you," Naobito said. "More highly than some people in this room would prefer."
Ogi's expression tightened.
Naobito ignored him.
"But that isn't enough."
He rolled the gourd slightly between his fingers.
"This plan asks too much while offering us too little. Supporting it would create enemies inside headquarters, and perhaps outside it as well."
Hiroyuki remained silent.
Naobito's eyes narrowed slightly.
"You already knew what our answer would be."
The room quieted.
Several elders turned toward Hiroyuki.
He briefly considered denying it.
There was very little point.
"Yeah," he answered. "I knew."
Naobito stared at him.
Then he laughed.
Loudly.
The sound filled the meeting room while the elders looked between them with varying degrees of irritation.
Naobito shook his head.
"Then what the hell have we been doing for the last two hours?"
"Negotiating."
"No. Negotiations generally require both sides to believe an agreement is possible."
"I believed it was possible."
"Today?"
Hiroyuki paused.
"No."
That only made Naobito laugh harder.
Ogi did not share his amusement.
"You knowingly wasted the time of this council?"
"I needed to ask properly."
"And now you have received your answer."
Ogi gestured toward the documents.
"This discussion is finished."
Hiroyuki looked down at the proposal one last time.
Then he released a quiet breath.
"I suppose it is."
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then Hiroyuki placed one hand against the floor and slowly stood.
Senjumaru's eyes followed him.
Several elders watched in silence, apparently waiting for him to accept the refusal and leave.
Hiroyuki adjusted his clothes.
"I still need the Zenin Clan."
A few snorts answered him.
One elder shook his head.
"Your needs are irrelevant to us."
"Probably."
Hiroyuki glanced toward Naobito.
"No worries, old man. I'll find some way to convince your clan."
Naobito raised an eyebrow.
The others were less amused.
Ogi's voice became colder.
"You have already failed."
"Today."
That single word settled across the room.
Hiroyuki's posture remained relaxed.
His expression did not change.
And yet, something around him slowly began to feel different.
The shift was subtle at first.
A faint pressure.
A change in the air that could not be blamed on the weather or the enclosed room.
"I'm rather desperate, you see."
The lightness in Hiroyuki's voice remained.
The meaning behind it did not.
"I'll leave for now."
His gaze moved across the council.
"Tomorrow, I'll come back and ask again."
One of the elders stared at him in disbelief.
"You expect this council to gather merely because you demand another audience?"
"No."
Hiroyuki smiled faintly.
"I expect you'll already be waiting."
The pressure inside the room grew heavier.
Not enough to become an outright attack.
Enough to ensure no one misunderstood him.
"Hopefully, by then, you'll have an answer I can accept."
Silence.
Hiroyuki turned slightly toward the exit.
"Otherwise, I may need to use a more drastic method of persuasion."
The room erupted into movement.
Not an attack.
Not yet.
But several elders shifted from their seated positions. Cursed energy rose throughout the room as hands moved toward weapons hidden beneath robes or placed within reach.
Ogi moved first.
His hand reached for the sword resting beside him.
His fingers had barely touched the handle when Senjumaru raised one hand.
Her expression sharpened.
One slender finger extended into the empty air.
Then curled.
Something caught against it.
A thread.
She pulled.
For the first time, the light touched what had been hidden throughout the room.
Thin strands appeared everywhere.
Across the floor.
Between the pillars.
Above the table.
Beside throats, wrists and ankles.
Some passed so closely against the elders' clothing that even the smallest movement caused the fabric to press against them.
Everyone froze.
Ogi's hand remained on the handle of his sword.
A single thread stretched across his wrist.
His skin brushed against it.
A thin line of blood immediately appeared.
Ogi's eyes widened before his expression twisted with fury.
"You dare?"
Another elder attempted to pull his arm back.
The thread beside his sleeve grazed his skin.
A shallow cut appeared along his forearm.
He stopped.
"You damn brats!"
Senjumaru said nothing.
She stood behind Hiroyuki with one hand raised, her gaze moving calmly across the room.
There was no anger on her face.
That somehow made the threat clearer.
The strands were not tightly wrapped around anyone.
They did not need to be.
Every thread had been placed where movement would carry flesh into it.
A wrist against one.
A throat against another.
Several strands waited close enough to eyes that even turning one's head had become dangerous.
The elders slowly realized the same thing.
Senjumaru had not created the trap after they moved.
It had already been there.
Perhaps for minutes.
Perhaps for the entire meeting.
Jinichi's eyes moved across the room, following the faint light reflected along the threads.
His expression darkened.
"When?"
No answer came.
Ogi tightened his grip on his sword.
The thread against his wrist sank slightly deeper.
More blood followed.
"Release me," he growled, "and I will show you exactly what happens to those who threaten this clan."
Senjumaru's eyes settled on him.
Her finger moved by the smallest amount.
The thread tightened.
Ogi stopped.
Amidst the anger, only one person remained seated as though nothing particularly unusual had happened.
Naobito looked around the room.
Then at Senjumaru.
Finally, his eyes returned to Hiroyuki.
A slow, amused smile appeared on his face.
One thread rested near the hand holding his gourd.
Naobito made no attempt to move it.
Hiroyuki briefly met his gaze.
Neither said anything.
There was no need.
Hiroyuki looked around the trapped council.
"Not now."
His voice remained calm.
"Tomorrow."
His gaze passed over Ogi before returning to Naobito.
"I'll come back for my answer."
Then he turned and walked toward the exit.
Nobody attempted to stop him.
Senjumaru remained behind for several more seconds.
Her gaze swept across the elders, pausing briefly on Ogi's bloodied wrist.
Then she lowered her hand and followed Hiroyuki out.
The door slid shut behind them.
The threads remained.
One second.
Two.
Three.
Then the tension holding them together disappeared.
The threads loosened and disappeared before touching the floor.
Ogi immediately stood, drawing his sword as he turned toward the door.
"Call the Hei. They won't leave this estate—"
"Sit down."
Naobito's voice stopped him.
Ogi turned, his bloodied hand tightening around the sword.
"They threatened the Clan inside our own estate."
"I noticed."
Naobito raised his gourd and took another drink.
"And you intend to let them walk away?"
"They already did." He paused for a second before continuing.
"Besides. They'll be back tomorrow."
A short silence followed.
Ogi stared at him.
"That is your reason?"
"No."
Naobito lowered the gourd, an amused smile slowly returning to his face.
"I simply want to see how that boy plans to convince us."
His gaze moved toward the closed door.
"He knew we would refuse him today."
Naobito took another drink.
"So let's see what he brought for tomorrow."