The room had fallen quiet again.
Makoto studied the two people sitting across from him as though weighing their capacity to understand what he was about to say. The old man's posture remained relaxed, yet there was a sharpness in his eyes that hadn't been there earlier.
Tamaki sat stiffly on the tatami mat, hands folded tightly in her lap. Yusuke leaned slightly forward, elbows resting on his knees, his expression caught somewhere between disbelief and reluctant curiosity.
Makoto exhaled slowly.
"Before I explain our family's technique," he said, "you need to understand what a cursed technique actually is."
Yusuke nodded slightly. Tamaki said nothing.
Makoto tapped the ancient book beside him.
"As I explained earlier," he continued, "cursed energy is born from negative human emotions. Most people leak it unconsciously. But some individuals are born with bodies capable of controlling it."
He paused briefly.
"These individuals are called sorcerers."
Yusuke rubbed the back of his neck.
"So… cursed energy is like fuel," he said cautiously.
Makoto smiled faintly.
"That's a simple way to put it."
He leaned back slightly.
"A cursed technique is the method by which that fuel is used. Think of it as an innate blueprint embedded within the body. A spiritual circuit that determines how cursed energy manifests."
Tamaki finally looked up.
"Innate…?" she murmured.
Makoto nodded.
"Most techniques awaken naturally. Some appear in childhood, others during moments of extreme stress. But they are not learned like skills."
His gaze shifted toward Yusuke.
"They are inherited."
Yusuke frowned.
"So people are born with them?"
"Yes."
Makoto rested one hand on the old book again.
"And some families pass their techniques down through bloodlines."
A quiet moment passed.
Then Makoto's expression grew slightly more serious.
"The Uzumaki clan," he said, "possesses one of those hereditary techniques."
Tamaki's breath caught.
Makoto slowly opened the book.
"The name of the technique," he said calmly, "is Chinese Zodiac."
Yusuke blinked.
"…Chinese Zodiac?"
Makoto nodded.
"It is a summoning technique. One that allows the user to call forth twelve Shikigami. Spiritual familiars bound by contract."
He lifted a finger and began listing them.
"Tiger. Rabbit. Dragon. Snake. Horse. Goat. Monkey. Rooster. Dog. Pig. Rat. Ox."
Each name seemed to hang in the air for a moment before fading.
"These twelve Shikigami represent the zodiac animals," Makoto continued. "But they do not serve a user automatically."
Yusuke leaned forward.
"What do you mean?"
Makoto closed the book halfway.
"To gain control of a Shikigami," he explained, "the user must pass a trial given by that Shikigami itself."
Tamaki blinked slowly.
"A trial…?"
Makoto nodded.
"The Shikigami decides the conditions. Strength, intelligence, endurance, spirit. If the user passes, the Shikigami forms a contract with them."
"And then?" Yusuke asked.
"Then they can summon it whenever they wish."
Makoto's voice remained steady.
"However… every user of the technique is granted one Shikigami at birth."
Tamaki straightened slightly.
Makoto looked directly at her.
"The Shikigami given depends on the month the user is born in."
The implication lingered.
Then Makoto spoke again.
"Oden was born in May."
Yusuke nodded slowly.
Makoto continued.
"That means the Shikigami he inherited should have been Snake."
Tamaki's fingers tightened.
Makoto's voice grew slightly more deliberate.
"The Snake Shikigami possesses several abilities."
He lifted a finger.
"First. Poison."
Another finger.
"Second. It can share its vision with the user. Allowing the user to see what the Shikigami sees."
A third finger.
"Third. It can divide itself. One snake becoming many."
Yusuke's eyes widened slightly.
Makoto raised one final finger.
"And its most powerful ability…"
He paused.
"…is the ability to rewind."
Silence filled the room.
"To rewind?" Yusuke repeated.
Makoto nodded.
"The Snake Shikigami can reset damage. Injuries. Even fatal outcomes."
Tamaki leaned forward slightly.
"…You mean…"
Makoto continued calmly.
"It allows the user to return to a previous moment and negate the result of a situation."
Yusuke stared at him.
"That sounds… impossible."
Makoto shrugged.
"There is one limitation."
"What is it?" Tamaki asked quietly.
Makoto's eyes narrowed slightly.
"The technique fails if the opponent becomes aware that time is looping."
The room fell quiet again.
Makoto folded his hands together.
"With such a powerful Shikigami," he said calmly, "I believe it is fair to assume that Oden should still be alive."
Tamaki's head snapped up.
For the first time in six years
Light returned to her eyes.
"You mean… he survived?" she whispered.
Makoto nodded slowly.
"I cannot say with absolute certainty," he admitted. "But I am about ninety-five percent sure."
Tamaki's breathing quickened.
Her shoulders trembled.
Makoto's expression softened slightly.
"That is why you must stop drowning yourself in despair," he said. "Your guilt has been drawing curses into this house."
Tamaki bowed her head deeply.
"…I understand."
Then she turned toward Yusuke.
"Yusuke," she said quietly, "please… increase the search efforts for Oden."
Yusuke stared at her for a moment.
Then he nodded.
"I will."
He rubbed his temple again, letting out a breath.
"This whole thing is insane," he admitted. "Cursed energy… monsters… our son having powers…"
He shook his head.
"It makes no sense."
He glanced at Tamaki.
"…But if it gives you hope," he said softly, "I'm willing to believe it."
Makoto closed the ancient book.
The sound echoed softly through the room.
"Good," he said.
The old book remained closed between Makoto's palms.
For a moment, no one spoke. The quiet in the room had shifted. What had once been heavy with grief now carried something else.
Possibility.
Makoto broke the silence.
"But a powerful hereditary technique," he said calmly, "was not the only thing the Uzumaki clan was known for."
Yusuke glanced up.
Makoto leaned back slightly, resting his hands on his knees.
"What made the Uzumaki clan truly terrifying," he continued, "was the sheer volume of cursed energy our bloodline produced."
He tapped the floor once with a finger.
"Historical records suggest the average Uzumaki possessed four to five times the cursed energy of a normal sorcerer."
Yusuke let out a quiet whistle.
"That much?"
Makoto nodded.
"Yes. Imagine a sorcerer already capable of wielding an advanced hereditary technique… and then multiply their energy reserves several times over."
His eyes darkened slightly.
"That combination alone made the Uzumaki a force few families wanted to confront."
He paused for a moment, then added thoughtfully,
"I wonder just how much cursed energy Oden might have inherited."
Yusuke shifted slightly where he sat.
Makoto continued.
"In ancient times, the Uzumaki were counted among the four great clans within the sorcerer world."
Yusuke blinked.
"Four?"
Makoto nodded.
"Yes. The Gojo clan. The Zenin clan. The Kamo clan."
He rested his hand on the old book again.
"And the Uzumaki clan."
Tamaki remained silent, but her fingers trembled faintly in her lap.
Makoto continued his story.
"At the time, the head of the Uzumaki clan was a man of overwhelming power. He possessed the Chinese Zodiac technique… and cursed energy that bordered on absurd."
Makoto's voice lowered slightly.
"But power often breeds pride."
Yusuke frowned.
Makoto went on.
"He proposed a change within the governing structure of the sorcerer world. One that would have shifted the balance of influence among the great clans."
Yusuke leaned forward.
"And the others rejected it?"
Makoto nodded.
"They voted against him."
A faint smile tugged at the old man's lips.
"He did not take that decision well."
Yusuke rubbed his temple.
"Let me guess."
Makoto finished the thought calmly.
"He went rogue."
The room fell quiet again.
"He declared war against the very system that had rejected him."
Makoto's voice remained steady as he continued.
"And in doing so… he ignited one of the most destructive conflicts the sorcerer world had ever seen."
Yusuke stared.
"You mean—"
Makoto nodded.
"The Three-Clan War."
He lifted three fingers.
"The Gojo clan."
"One of their heads at the time possessed both the Limitless technique and the Six Eyes."
Another finger.
"The Zenin clan."
"A prodigy had inherited the Ten Shadows technique."
And finally—
"The Uzumaki clan."
"Led by the Chinese Zodiac."
The names alone seemed to weigh heavily in the air.
Makoto exhaled quietly.
"The war ended as most wars between monsters do."
Yusuke waited.
"In mutual destruction."
The old man lowered his hand.
"All three of those powerful sorcerers died."
Silence lingered for several seconds.
Makoto continued.
"With those pillars gone, the Kamo clan, who had remained relatively untouched by the conflict rose to prominence."
Yusuke shook his head slowly.
"So the Uzumaki lost everything."
Makoto nodded.
"And what remained of the sorcerer families… feared what little of us might still survive."
His gaze hardened.
"So they did the only thing powerful institutions ever do when faced with something they fear."
He said it plainly.
"They attempted to erase the Uzumaki clan entirely."
Tamaki's breath caught faintly.
Makoto looked toward the floor.
"Every known member of the clan was hunted down."
The words sat heavy in the room.
"But," Makoto said quietly, "one survived."
He looked up again.
"That is why we are here today."
Yusuke let out a slow breath.
"Well," he muttered, "you certainly know a lot."
Makoto shrugged.
"Everything is written in the book."
He patted the old volume beside him.
"It's quite an interesting read."
He glanced at Yusuke.
"You should try reading it sometime."
Yusuke snorted.
"I can't. I'm too busy."
Makoto chuckled softly.
"Busy avoiding your responsibilities, perhaps."
Yusuke rolled his eyes.
Makoto's expression shifted slightly.
"But if Oden truly inherited the Chinese Zodiac technique…"
His gaze sharpened again.
"…then this could be the chance to restore the Uzumaki name within the sorcerer world."
Yusuke's expression hardened immediately.
"Father."
Makoto looked at him.
"Don't start thinking about using Oden to gain influence," Yusuke said firmly.
Makoto blinked once.
Then he chuckled.
"It was only a thought."
The tension eased slightly.
But Tamaki had not reacted to any of it.
Not the war.
Not the clan history.
Not the politics.
Her mind had stopped listening long ago.
The moment Makoto said Oden might be alive…
Everything else had faded into the background.
Her fingers clasped together tightly as she closed her eyes.
For the first time in six years
She prayed again.
And this time…
It was not a prayer of regret.
It was a prayer of hope.