That evening, Ren waited in the low-lit study. He was alone, seated with quiet dignity at the head of the table.
Riku arrived five minutes early.
He wore a tailored black suit, his posture relaxed, his expression unreadable.
"Ren-san," he greeted, bowing slightly.
"Riku."
Riku took the seat across from him and set a small leather folder on the table. He opened it, revealing a copy of the original alliance document, the same one Yuto had uncovered.
"Do you recognize this?"
Ren's eyes flicked down, then back to Riku 's face. "I do."
"Then you know what it entitles."
Ren said nothing.
Riku smiled slightly. "I'm not here to ask for your throne. I'm here to claim what was promised to my family. An inheritance. Land, recognition… and the chance to restore the Hoshino legacy."
Ren leaned back, his gaze steady. "You think this paper gives you leverage?"
"It gives me legitimacy," Riku replied. "But that document was signed by our ancestors, long before either of us was born. The clause is still valid. You know the law of the old guard, bloodlines and binding words. You built your empire on both."
Ren's silence stretched, but his stillness sharpened. Then, quietly, he said, "Empires are not built on paper. They're built on the lives you protect and the lines you do not cross."
Riku didn't flinch. "And yet, this paper opens a door. One you've kept closed for decades."
Ren's eyes narrowed. "Because some doors are shut for a reason."
Riku stepped forward, placing the document back on the table. "I'm not here to tear down what you've built. I'm here to claim what was written long before either of us had a say. The east was promised. The clause allows it. And with your heir, the condition can finally be met."
Ren stood, his voice low and final. "Then hear this, Riku. You are not entitled to my daughter. And you are not entitled to this family's future. That legacy belongs to her now. And she owes nothing to the dead men who wrote your claim."
The tension hung thick between them.
Riku's fingers tapped once on the folder. "I didn't come here to threaten you. But if you shut this down, others will see you as breaking your own code. Some of your allies already know this clause exists. They're watching what you'll do next."
Ren stood, slow and deliberate. "Let them watch."
Riku stayed seated, but his smile faded.
Ren's tone turned cold. "And now you want to legitimize yourself. Through Hina."
"She is the bridge between the past and the future," Riku said, voice calm. "That document was signed by our ancestors. The marriage clause was written with the intention of uniting two lines with two powers. But when both houses ended up with sons, the agreement was quietly buried. Forgotten by most."
He leaned forward slightly. "But now Kazama has a female heir. For the first time, the conditions of that clause can be fulfilled. It's not just paper anymore, Ren. It's an opportunity. A union between Kazama and Hoshino would rewrite the story. Restore trust. Realign the power structure in a way that favors stability. I don't want war, Ren. I want to lead beside her."
Ren's fingers tapped once on the armrest. "She already has someone beside her."
Riku's smile faded. "That man's blood is not as strong as mine."
Ren's eyes sharpened. "He makes her safe. And she chose him."
There was a pause, then Ren added flatly, "You forget your age, Riku. You could be her father."
Riku stood, shoulders squaring. "Then you should be prepared. Because if Hina refuses me and if the Kazama house dismisses this claim, I'll take it to the the rest. And they'll listen. Not because they like me, but because they're tired of you."
He leaned forward slightly.
"You've ruled too long using your authority. They want something new. I'm offering it."
Ren rose slowly, his movements measured, deliberate. "Let them be tired," he said. "That doesn't make them right. And it doesn't make you their answer."
Riku held his ground. "I'm not here to start a fight."
"You already have," Ren said, voice like steel. "You walked into my home, opened old wounds, and placed my daughter at the center of your ambition. That is not diplomacy. That's provocation."
Riku's jaw tightened. "I am just making a claim that I deserved."
Ren stepped closer, closing the distance between them. "No. You offered a trap, dressed in legacy and wrapped in strategy. But I know men like you, Riku. You don't build. You wait. You circle. And when someone else bleeds, you move in and call it vision."
The room fell into silence.
Then Ren added, low and final, "Take your folder. Take your forgotten clause. And understand this: Hina's future will never be decided by a man who sees her as a path to power."
Rikui didn't move at first. Then, without another word, he picked up the folder and turned for the door.
Ren stood still for a long moment afterward and then quietly reached for his phone.
"Call Yuto."
*****
"His move is made," Ren said. "Now we respond."
The study doors shut quietly behind Yuto as he stepped inside. He took one look at Ren and immediately knew.
"Riku proposed?" he asked.
Ren handed over the letter, letting Yuto read the final sentence.
"…It's time we speak of legacy and the rightful blood that carries it."
Yuto's jaw tightened. "He's going to make this public."
Ren nodded once. "And if we challenge it directly, we legitimize it."
"So we let him think he's ahead," Yuto said quietly. "And take his support base out from under him before he can stand on it."
"Exactly."
Ren turned toward the window. "He's built his momentum on fear. Promising the fading groups protection, relevance. We give them that without strings."
"I've already made contact with two undecided rings in Kyoto and Nagoya," Yuto said. "They're nervous about a Kazama–Honshino merge. But they still respect you. They're watching to see how you handle this."
Ren's voice darkened. "Then we remind them that legacy isn't claimed by paper and bloodlines, it's also earned by loyalty and control."
He turned back to Yuto.
"You said you wanted to marry Hina."
Yuto straightened, meeting his gaze. "I still do."
"Then prove yourself again. No violence. No spectacle. Just precision. I'll buy time at the council. You dismantle his claim. Quietly."
Yuto nodded once. "I'll begin tonight."
******
Meanwhile, Hina stood alone in the garden, surrounded by early autumn leaves rustling in the trees.
She had tried to study, tried to focus on the upcoming strategic planning session Ren had invited her to observe. But the silence pressing in from all directions was louder than any war cry.
She knew something was wrong and no one was telling her.
People spoke more carefully around her now. Some averted their eyes. Even Emi had been more protective than usual, her gentle smiles edged with worry.
And Yuto… he was always near, always loving but she could feel the quiet behind his eyes. Something he was shielding her from.
She wrapped her arms around herself, trying to breathe.
That was when Emi stepped out onto the deck with a shawl in her hand.
"Cold?" she asked softly.
"Inside," Hina said. "Not outside."
Emi walked over and draped the shawl around her shoulders. "You're feeling it, aren't you?"
"Yes."
"They're not shutting you out to hurt you," Emi said. "They're trying to protect you."
Hina swallowed. "From what?"
Emi looked out at the garden, her expression unreadable.
"From having to make a choice."
Hina turned to her mother. "What choice?"
Emi didn't answer at first. She just took Hina's hand and held it tight.
Then finally said, "The kind that turns a girl into a leader."
That night, Yuto didn't return to the Kazama estate.
He slipped into the back entrance of a discreet bar in Shibuya, a known meeting spot for minor lieutenants and advisors with ties to groupsRiku had been courting. He wasn't there to confront.
He was there to listen.
In a booth near the back, he met with a low-tier syndicate advisor named Koji, middle-aged, well-dressed, and once loosely tied to the Narumi group before it fractured.
"You're Daiki's kid, huh?" Koji muttered, swirling his glass. "You even sit like him."
"I'm told that a lot," Yuto replied coolly.
Koji chuckled, but his eyes stayed sharp. "So what do you want?"
"Information," Yuto said. "And an offer."
Koji raised a brow. "And if I say no?"
"I'll find someone else. But you'll be left out when this is over."
Koji exhaled, then leaned forward. "Hoshino came to us with promises. Said if we backed him and if he married into Kazama, he'd redistribute eastern assets. Give mid-level houses a voice again. Said Hina was the key."
Yuto's expression remained composed, but his hands clenched beneath the table.
"And?"
Koji hesitated, then said, "Some of us believed him. But now we're hearing that you and Ren are showing strength again. Pulling strings we thought were gone."
"You have a choice," Yuto said. "Stick with Riku and bet everything on a claim that will never be honored. Or come back into the fold, quietly. Support Kazama. Stay protected."
"And Hina?"
"She's not a pawn," Yuto said, voice cold. "She's the future of this house. No one will touch her."
Koji looked at him for a long time and then gave a short nod.
"One word from Ren, and I'll switch sides."
"You'll get it."
*****
Back at the estate, Hina stood outside her father's office. She didn't knock, she just stepped inside.
Ren looked up from a low stack of reports. His eyes didn't show surprise. He had expected her.
Hina closed the door gently. "I need to know."
Ren set his pen down.
She stepped closer. "Everyone's been acting like I'm porcelain. Even Mama. Yuto's distracted. And the silence is louder than anything. So tell me, Papa, what aren't you saying?"
Ren studied her for a moment.
Then rose from his seat and walked to the tall window, his hands folded behind his back.
"Riku came here to claim legitimacy," he said at last. "He believes his family blood gives him rights to our land, our influence. And to you."
Hina felt the chill ripple up her spine.
"He made a marriage proposal," Ren added. "Framed as politics. Dressed as an opportunity."
"And?"
"I told him no," Ren said firmly. "But he's not waiting for consent. He's spreading the idea. Planting doubt in weaker houses. Using your name as leverage."
Hina stepped closer. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I wanted to shield you."
"I don't need shields," she said. "I need the truth."
Ren turned to her fully, and for a moment, his expression softened. not as the boss of the Kazama group, but as her father.
"I know," he said quietly. "But as your father, it kills me to place this weight on your shoulders."
Hina's voice trembled—but held. "I need to carry it. For real. Or I'll never be ready."
Ren held her gaze for a long moment.
Then he stepped forward and placed his hand gently on her shoulder.
"Then stand tall," he said. "Because they'll be watching you now, not just as my daughter, but as someone who would inherit the storm."
Hina nodded.
*****
The Kazama district martial arts center had long been considered neutral ground which used for training and informal sparring between trusted circles. Yuto had arrived early, hoping for a quiet session to clear his head.
But when he stepped out of the locker room and into the long corridor toward the practice hall, Riku Hoshino was already waiting.
Leaning casually against the wall, unarmed and smiling faintly.
"Yuto," he said smoothly, pushing off the wall. "I was hoping we'd speak alone."
Yuto's eyes narrowed. "You followed me."
"No," Riku said with a shrug. "I asked around. Discreetly. You're not exactly easy to track but you're predictable."
Yuto crossed his arms. "You're on Kazama territory."
"I'm aware."
Silence pulsed between them like a slow war drum.
Then Riku smiled again.
"You're good," he said. "I'll admit, you've dismantled quite a bit of my groundwork. Quietly and precisely. I underestimated you."
Yuto didn't reply.
Riku tilted his head. "But it's not over, you know. What I'm building isn't just about inheritance. It's about restoring balance."
"To what?" Yuto asked coldly.
"To a world where people like you know their place."
Yuto's jaw tightened, but his expression didn't change.
Riku stepped a little closer.
"I've seen you beside her. Protective. Loyal. But eventually, you'll realize that she's destined for more than you."
"She decides what she's destined for."
Riku studied him.
Then, quieter now: "Do you think you can really carry the weight of her world? The alliances? The enemies she'll inherit? The name she bears?"
Yuto didn't move.
"I've trained for that my whole life," he said evenly. "And unlike you, I don't need to manipulate her to stand beside her."
Riku''s smile faded for the first time.
"This isn't over," he said. "You and I both know that. She'll have to choose eventually. Not just between men—but between futures."
"I know," Yuto replied. "And I'll still be standing when she does."
Riku took one step back, adjusting his cuff.
"I suppose we'll see," he murmured.
Then, with a nod, he walked past Yuto and disappeared down the corridor.
Yuto didn't move for several long seconds.
Then he turned to the side wall, where a training dummy stood.
And drove his fist through it.