“So you’re saying that my nephew’s body was dropped down from the sky?”

“Y-yes, lord patriarch.”

“Do you know who it is?”

The subordinate looked down in fear.

“N-no, lord patriarch.”

In a hall filled with candles and glamorous decorations, a council of ten men were sitting on chairs, five on each side of the room. Between these two sides, there was a shinobi who was bowing towards a man who was sitting on an elegant chair that would make kings jealous.

He was the patriarch of the Minamoto clan, Minamoto no Hozuki. He had long black hair and tanned skin. He had brown eyes and was bare-chested, giving off the presence of a powerful warrior. There was a massive two-handed battleaxe that was leaning on the side of his throne. He also had the fur of a grey wolf draped around his waist, almost hiding his black pants. He had strapped sandals that were similar to those of Roman soldiers.

Right now, Hozuki gave off a disdainful smirk at the report of the shinobi in front of him.

“Find out what my nephew was doing these last few days and place the report on my desk as soon as possible.”

“Yes lord patriarch.”

The shinobi didn’t dawdle any longer and vanished.

“So…”

Hozuki began.

“What do you think we should do, elders?”

The elders he was talking about were the twenty men seated before him on the sides of the room. Each of these elders had different appearances but they were all old men. There was however one considerable difference. Of the twenty elders, there was six of them that were different. From the six, three were triplets and the other three were also triplets.

One set of triplets had white eyes and white hair while the second set of triplets had black eyes and black hair. One set wore white robes and the other set wore black robes respectively. The only thing that they had in common with the rest of the elders were their grey beards.

One of the triplets with white hair stood up and respectfully lowered his head.

“Allow me to speak, lord patriarch.”

Hozuki nodded with a gaze of interest.

“I’m listening, elder Ryu.”

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“Depending on the impending results from what nephew Yaroi had been doing these past few days, we should include a sealing team that will capture the demon.”

Hozuki’s eyes widened slightly.

“Demon?”

“Yes lord patriarch. My brothers and I noticed that within nephew’s corpse, there were traces of demonic energy.”

“I see.”

(AN: Nature chakra that demons use is so pure compared to the chakra that humans use that if a human just comes into contact with nature chakra, they will die since that nature chakra will also clash with their inherent ki. The only reason Sakura and Chizuki can use nature chakra is because Uehara conditioned them over the years on how to use it without causing themselves to burn out due to it interacting with their ki.)

Hozuki didn’t doubt what Ryu said. Even though the triplets are blind, they gained incredible sensory capabilities in return. The three of them were the ones responsible for the rapid rise of the Minamoto clan in the last few decades and were also fundamental in establishing the terrifying force of Minamoto shinobi that allowed them to rise past the Fuma clan in power.

Hozuki nodded to himself again.

“I’ll consider your advice, elder Ryu.”

Ryu cupped his hands...

“Thank you, lord patriarch.”

…before sitting down.

Hozuki directed his gaze across the room. His gaze lingered on Minamoto no Keiji, the former patriarch. He was a feeble old man who with long white hair and grey robes. But behind his skinny appearance was one of the most powerful shinobi within the Minamoto clan.

“Is there anyone else with an opinion?”

Keiji didn’t show any signs of emotion at all, making Hozuki grow cold in his heart.

[Even after seeing his son’s corpse, his expressionless gaze doesn’t waver.]

Although the incident of Yaroi irked Hozuki a bit, he was more concerned about his brother. More than ten-years have passed and yet Keiji had never showed any sort of dissatisfaction of having his position stolen from him.

It’s something that annoyed Hozuki the most since he couldn’t plan ahead anymore.

[I’ll settle this once we capture the demon that disgraced our clan.]

Standing up from his throne, he snapped his fingers. Instantly, a shinobi appeared in front of him in a kneeling position.

“Deliver my orders. Seal any information regarding my nephew’s death and…”

His eyes gained a cold glint.

“...prepare a team of trackers to find the demon that sullied our family name.”

“Yes, lord patriarch.”

The shinobi vanished without leaving a trace. Hozuki looked at the elders.

“This council is dismissed. I would also like for elder Keiji to stay behind.”

““Yes, lord patriarch.””

With all the elders leaving, Keiji stayed standing where he was with his hands hidden behind his black robes.

“I’m awaiting your words, lord patriarch.”

Hozuki frowned slightly.

[No malice. No condescending attitude. Nothing. Absolutely nothing.]

Ignoring the bad feeling he had in his gut, he placed his hand on Keiji’s shoulder.

“Brother. Know I’m here for you.”

Keiji gave a simple nod.

“Thank you brother.”

“Mm.”

Silence…

[He’s not obstructing the flow of ki I’m sending into his body and at the same time, I cannot sense anything from him at all...]

An uncomfortable silence ensued. At the same time, Hozuki was doubting his brother in his head.

He started contemplating for a while.

[Perhaps, he has no wish for the seat-]

“If there’s nothing else to say, I will take my leave, lord patriarch.”

Keiji shook his brother’s grasp and left. As he walked out the door, a bit of blood escaped his mouth. The blood was caused by the ki of his brother entering his body that was conditioned towards chakra. The only reason he’s bleeding is because he didn’t fight his brother’s ki but instead, suppressed his own chakra.

Either way, it would take some time to recover.

[As long as you don’t lead this clan to the ground, I will let you live, brother.]