From a distance, Tsunayoshi had already spotted the Ishida residence. The building was so vast it resembled a manor; it was impossible to miss. Masaki no longer needed to guide him—Tsuna simply headed straight toward it.
Just as Tsuna set Masaki down, an unfamiliar spiritual pressure appeared before them. The manor's gate opened, and a tall silver-haired man stepped out.
"Ryūken, I'm back," Masaki called with a smile as she hurried toward him—though after only a couple of steps, she was already gasping for breath.
Ryūken Ishida quickly supported her, his expression filled with concern.
"Why are you so weak right now? And where's Kurosaki Isshin? Also… who's this kid?"
"Forget that for now. Kanae—how is Kanae doing?" Masaki asked anxiously.
Back when Masaki had lived with the Ishida family, Kanae had been her close friend—the first person who truly respected her decision to be with Isshin. That was why Masaki had rushed back here.
Ryūken's expression changed.
"How do you know about Kanae—"
"It's Auswählen. The Auswählen of the Quincy progenitor!" Masaki said urgently.
With that reminder, Ryūken suddenly recalled the old books belonging to his father, Sōken Ishida, which contained records about the Quincy progenitor. A trace of regret flickered across his mind—because of his strained relationship with his father, he had never studied much of the Quincy past.
"This Auswählen targets mixed-blood Quincy," Masaki continued. "Those with weaker bodies may even die! Take me to see Kanae—quickly!"
"…Understood."
Though he didn't know whether Masaki had any way to solve the problem, Ryūken chose to trust her. As he turned around, however, his eyes subtly swept over Tsuna.
Masaki noticed the small gesture immediately. Having grown up with Ryūken, she knew exactly what he was thinking—he was still wary of Tsuna.
"I was also struck by Auswählen," Masaki said quickly. "Tsuna saved me. He knows about Auswählen."
Trusting Masaki's words, Ryūken didn't ask further questions for the moment.
"Come with me, then… young man."
...
Following Ryūken through the manor's wide corridors, the three eventually reached a room deep inside the house.
When the door opened, the interior revealed an elegant yet simple bedroom. On the bed in the center lay a long-haired woman. Beside the bed stood a boy about Tsuna's age, tears streaming down his face.
"Uryū… don't cry. Mommy is fine."
Just from her voice alone, it was obvious how weak the woman was.
As soon as the door opened, Masaki seemed to regain strength from nowhere.
She stumbled several steps forward and rushed to the bedside.
"Kanae… you…"
"Masaki? Why are you here…?"
The woman on the bed, Kanae Ishida—looked even paler than usual. Her already fair complexion appeared almost ghostly against her long black hair.
"How are you feeling right now?" Masaki asked anxiously, leaning halfway over the bed.
"I'm fine," Kanae said gently, comforting Masaki the same way she had been comforting her son. "I just suddenly felt weak. A little rest will fix it."
"How could you possibly be fine…?"
Masaki glanced hesitantly at Uryū Ishida, who stood nearby. Kanae immediately understood what she was worried about.
"Uryū," Kanae said softly, "go to bed first. Mommy just wants to talk with Aunt Masaki for a bit."
Uryū opened his mouth, about to protest—but Ryūken's stern voice cut him off.
"Uryū. Go to your room and sleep."
The boy froze. His father had always been strict. Unable to say anything, he stiffly turned and walked out of the room.
As he passed the doorway, he glanced curiously at Tsuna, surprised to see another child his age here. But under his father's pressure, he didn't dare ask questions. He left the room and quietly closed the door behind him.
...
Once the door shut, Masaki immediately spoke seriously.
"It's Auswählen. Not just you—I was affected as well. I can't use my power at all."
She tried to gather reishi with all her strength. For a moment, a faint vein-like flow formed along her arm—then collapsed instantly.
She could no longer control reishi.
"Masaki," Ryūken asked from beside the bed, "how did you overcome the weakness after Auswählen?"
He wanted Kanae to be able to get out of bed and live normally again.
"Ryūken… I didn't overcome it," Masaki replied. "This is simply my condition after Auswählen. Tsuna said it specifically targets mixed-blood Quincy. Some with weaker constitutions may even die."
When she finished speaking, Masaki looked at Ryūken in surprise.
He didn't look shocked at all.
"…Ryūken? You knew?"
"I did," Ryūken said coldly. "My mother stopped breathing earlier today."
The air in the room instantly grew heavy.
"Your mother…?" Kanae gasped. "But she was a pure-blood Quincy! Why would Auswählen—?"
"…She was attacked by a Hollow when she was young," Ryūken said quietly. "When I examined her body, I found the scar on her leg."
Unlike Kanae, Ryūken's mother had not survived Auswählen at all.
She had died instantly.
Masaki fell silent, shocked by the sudden news.
Then her eyes shifted—and landed on the short figure standing beside the bed.
"Tsuna!" she called out quickly. "You know about Auswählen. Is there any way to help Kanae? She doesn't need to regain her powers—just living normally like me would be enough."
Ryūken also turned to look at the boy.
If Masaki hadn't insisted that Tsuna understood Auswählen, Ryūken would never have allowed him inside—let alone brought him into this room.
But the next moment, Tsuna's answer was like a bucket of cold water poured over Ryūken's head.
"There's no way," Tsuna said calmly.
"For mixed-blood Quincy affected by Auswählen, besides losing their powers, a substance called Still Silver forms inside their bodies."
"Depending on their condition, some Quincy die immediately after Auswählen. Others accumulate this Still Silver until it forms a silver blood clot in the heart, which eventually kills them."
"With Kanae's current condition… if she carefully manages her health, she might have a few months left."
"You brat, what did you just say?!"
A cold flash appeared in Ryūken's eyes. In his left hand, a Heilig Pfeil (Holy Arrow) had already formed—reishi gathering into a glowing arrow ready to fire.
Tsuna's words had struck directly at Ryūken's most sensitive wounds—his mother and his wife.
A green flash flickered.
Tsuna instantly darted behind Masaki and spoke dramatically:
"Masaki-auntie, this silver-haired uncle is really scary~!"
Masaki nearly lost her patience.
Of course Ryūken would explode when Tsuna kept poking at his nerves like that.
She grabbed Tsuna and pulled him out from behind her.
"Tsuna," she said seriously, "tell me something. How long do I have left?"
Masaki didn't expect she had avoided the Still Silver entirely. According to Tsuna, her condition was better than Kanae's—so she should live longer.
Now that she knew her life might be short, Masaki wanted time to prepare for her family.
Tsuna turned his face away, looking toward the door instead of meeting her eyes.
"I don't know… if I hadn't shown up."
Masaki's pupils shrank.
Combining those words with what Tsuna had said earlier at her home, she immediately understood.
Without Tsuna's intervention—
She would already be dead.
She would have died after Auswählen… killed by the Hollow.
Kanae's few remaining months were also based on the assumption that Tsuna had never appeared.
But if Tsuna had appeared…
Perhaps the outcome could change.
Masaki spoke gently.
"Tsuna… do you have some way to prevent Kanae from dying from the silver blood clot?"
Her request had already lowered again.
Before, she wanted Kanae to recover.
Now she only wanted Kanae to survive.
...
Ryūken slowly lowered his Heilig Pfeil.
He rubbed his forehead. Normally calm no matter the situation, he had completely lost composure today because of his wife.
Tsuna shrugged.
"Why do you think I said I wanted to apprentice under that stuck-up uncle over there? I wouldn't say that if I didn't have a backup plan."
Ryūken's forehead twitched again at the insult—but he restrained himself.
Masaki quickly said,
"I'll agree on Ryūken's behalf! Tsuna, please help Kanae!"
"Fine," Tsuna replied.
"If Still Silver exists inside their bodies, then we just remove it before it forms a clot in the heart."
"Angiography?" Ryūken immediately proposed. As a doctor, he quickly thought of medical imaging.
"…It might not be that simple," Tsuna said.
If it were as easy as using X-rays, Ryūken would have already discovered the problem during the months Kanae had been weakening.
"Kid," Ryūken said impatiently, "what exactly are you trying to say?"
Tsuna grinned.
"I just happen to have something more convenient than medical technology."
"Something that can see through every illusion and reach the truth itself."
A green light flashed on his chest.
"Demon Spade's Magic Mirror."
Three monocles of different sizes floated before Tsuna's left eye. Each lens was decorated with two long silver spikes and small white wings.
This was the weapon of Demon Spade, the First Generation Vongola Guardian of Mist.
Legend said that anyone stared at through Demon Spade's magic mirror would be cursed—and their corpse would float in the sea the next day.
Tsuna believed the truth was simpler.
Demon Spade had likely used the mirror to cast powerful illusions.
The mirror didn't strengthen Tsuna's illusion abilities much—but it gave him something far more valuable:
The power to see through illusions.
When the three lenses overlapped and Tsuna poured spiritual pressure into them, he could see the underlying truth.
...
Tsuna looked at Kanae on the bed.
Immediately, the reishi pathways within her body appeared in his vision.
Along those pathways were three faint silver points—so small they were nearly invisible.
Then he turned toward Masaki.
She also had them.
But smaller.
And more numerous.
"Three points inside Kanae-auntie's body," Tsuna said.
"One in the chest, one in the right arm, and one in the left leg."
"Masaki-auntie has five—spread across her limbs and abdomen."
"The points are slowly moving. My guess is that when they all gather in the heart, that's when the silver blood clot forms."
"And Masaki-auntie is in better condition because the Still Silver inside her body is more dispersed."
"I see…" Masaki nodded slowly.
Then suddenly—
She clutched her chest with one hand and grabbed Tsuna's cheek with the other.
"You little brat! Your ability didn't see something it shouldn't have, did it? I'll tell Nana about this!"
Tsuna was speechless.
At a moment like this, that was what Masaki was worried about?
Her train of thought really was unpredictable.
He quickly defended himself.
"The Magic Mirror isn't something that crude! Your bodies themselves are illusions in front of it!"
"What I see are only your reishi pathways. And since you've lost your powers, the clearest things I can detect are the traces of reishi carried by the Still Silver."
Masaki was about to release him—when Tsuna continued speaking.
Her grip immediately tightened again.
"Besides," Tsuna added helplessly, "if I really had X-ray vision… do you really think your arm could block it?"
===================
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