At the long dining table, Luke eyed the lavish dinner spread before him, practically itching to dig in. He had already used Endspace's appraisal function to check it. No poison.
The Kure Clan's dining hall was enormous. Every long table was packed with people, and familiar acquaintances chatted about things no ordinary family would discuss over dinner.
Topics like, "That new-brand dagger I bought is really handy," "That guy's bodyguard was tough—I had to put in serious effort to kill him," and, "Hey, that new firearm from such-and-such arms manufacturer has a pretty good rate of fire and accuracy," came up one after another.
Only the table where Luke sat was exceptionally silent. Everyone there was a core member of the Kure Clan. Karla sat directly across from Luke, propping up her chin with both hands and gazing at him with starry eyes.
At the head of the table, Clan Head Erioh Kure wore a dark expression as he looked at Luke with obvious displeasure.
After a long while, Erioh finally forced out a stiff smile. "Our honored guest has traveled a long way. Please, try some of our local cuisine."
Once the clan head spoke, everyone turned to Luke. Only after he picked up his chopsticks would the others begin eating.
Luke did not stand on ceremony. He picked up a piece of fried tempura and ate it. "Your chefs are truly exceptional..."
As he spoke, he raised a cup of sake toward Erioh. "Thank you for your generous hospitality, sir."
Seeing Luke toast him and address him so respectfully, Erioh's expression eased somewhat. He returned the toast. "It's only a simple family meal. I'm glad you enjoy it, young Luke."
With that opening, the people at the table finally began eating. Yet the atmosphere remained heavy. As long as Erioh and Luke said nothing, no one else was comfortable speaking.
In the end, Erioh was the first to lose patience. "Young Luke, you came all this way claiming you wanted to exchange martial arts. Surely you are not satisfied with merely fighting one of our strong members?"
He wanted to learn Luke's true intentions. Originally, he had planned to keep Luke around for a few more days and, while he was here, obtain some of Luke's superior seed to further improve the Kure Clan's bloodline.
But when his most beloved great-granddaughter Karla came before him, blushing as she said she had fallen in love, his entire mood had soured.
The more he looked at Luke's ruggedly handsome face, the more detestable it seemed.
Karla was still a high school student! How dare this bastard set his sights on her!
No. He had to send Luke away quickly, before he corrupted his precious great-granddaughter.
Karla had to be acting on a temporary impulse. After some time passed, she would surely forget Luke.
Yes. That had to be it!
"Since you have asked, sir, I'll be direct."
Luke set down his chopsticks and met Erioh's gaze. "I want to learn the Kure Clan's secret technique—Removal."
The moment those words fell, not only did their table go quiet, but the other tables did as well.
Erioh narrowed his eyes. "Oh? You want to learn the Kure Clan's secret technique? Do you know that Removal has been a closely guarded secret of the Kure family for thousands of years? Since you say you have dealt with the Wu Clan before, you should know that such a technique is never taught to outsiders."
"Since this is a martial arts exchange, I naturally would not learn it for free. I will offer the Kure Clan a powerful secret technique in return, and I will guarantee that I will not pass Removal on to anyone else."
Luke did not think the Kure Clan would hand over Removal easily, but he had bargaining chips of his own.
"What secret technique could possibly compare to my clan's Removal? Young Luke, you jest."
Erioh's tone had noticeably softened, and even his form of address had changed back.
Luke raised a hand. His fist was coated in grayish-black. "With your discerning eye, sir, you should be able to see this secret technique's power. At its peak, ordinary firearms would be unable to harm you. Even artillery shells would be powerless against it."
Yes, he intended to trade the training method for Armament Haki.
He had indeed used up the item, but he now understood the principles behind Armament Haki. Teaching it to others was still possible.
However, learning Armament Haki from scratch in an ordinary world demanded considerable talent. Among the Kure Clan, there would likely be fewer than five people capable of mastering it and using it in actual combat.
He would write down the training method and let the Kure Clan study it gradually. Whether they could learn it or not would depend on their own aptitude and fortune.
"If it is a secret technique like that, then it truly can stand alongside Removal..."
Erioh pondered for a moment. He could see the strength of Luke's secret technique. If the clan could train it to a sufficient level and combine it with Removal, the Kure Clan's overall strength would rise dramatically.
He did not find Luke's proposed trade excessive. "...The Kure Clan can teach you Removal. But aside from exchanging secret techniques, you must also leave behind your seed."
There it was. The real demand had finally come out.
Luke thought, Just as I expected. As a man, he was not without desire. But under his master's old-fashioned values, he believed some acts required responsibility. He had no intention of fooling around within the Kure Clan, so this request was genuinely troublesome.
At that moment, Karla spoke up excitedly. "Great-Grandpa, you're the best! Luke, let's have babies!"
In the next instant, Erioh's entire body seemed to turn black. His shriveled skin split like the bark of an ancient tree, as though it were about to peel off.
His expression shifted constantly as he realized that he might have made a terrible miscalculation. At last, he snorted coldly. "Forget it. The second condition is withdrawn. Your hardening technique in exchange for Removal will be enough!"
Luke had not expected such a sudden reversal. The old man really is absurdly devoted to his great-granddaughter...
When he looked at the noisy Karla again, he suddenly found her far more adorable.
In that strange atmosphere, everyone finished dinner. Except for Luke, however, none of the Kure Clan members ate much. Clearly, each of them had their own thoughts.
"Mr. Luke, I'll show you to the guest room."
Fusui led the way once again. As for Karla, her great-grandfather had already taken her away.
Erioh was now guarding against Luke like he was a wolf. Originally, he had thought the boy knew his place after refusing Karla's request. Who would have thought that he would single Karla out at the dinner table, putting Erioh on high alert?
"There is fresh bedding here, and a change of clothes is in the cabinet. If you need anything else, please let me know at any time."
Fusui knelt outside the guest room like the proprietress of a traditional inn.
"This is more than good enough. Thank you for the trouble."
Luke had never been particularly picky about where he stayed. After his master passed away, sleeping in cardboard boxes on the street had become a routine part of life.
Before closing the door, Fusui added, "Oh, and although you said you wanted to experience our assassination arts, the clan head has issued orders. No one will disturb you tonight, so you can rest well."
With that, she considerately slid shut the door to the Japanese-style room and headed for another room, where she would be staying that night.
Luke was not surprised by Erioh's order. The old man still wanted them both alert and clear-headed tomorrow, when they would teach one another their secret techniques. Tonight was not the time for games.
After tidying up a little, he lay down to rest. This counted as his first real rest since entering this world.
...
The night passed without incident. In the morning, birdsong and the sound of a shishi-odoshi in the courtyard woke Luke.
He had not slept deeply. His five senses remained half-alert the entire time. At the slightest disturbance, he would immediately draw Prison Demon and release its Shikai.
After getting up and washing, Luke sat along the courtyard veranda and browsed the messages in the public channel.
Other than the first half-day after entering this world, when the Explorers had been fairly excited and exchanged plenty of information, the public channel had gone quiet afterward. Everyone had their own missions to handle.
As expected, quite a few people were likely planning to participate in the Kengan Annihilation Tournament. They had to work for their entry qualifications, so naturally they had no time to idle around in the public channel.
But this morning, an explosive piece of news ignited the entire public channel.
Ohma Tokita was dead.
Thanks to Lianbian for the 10,000-point donation, Shadow Sid for the 100-point donation, Zhang San's Philosophy for the 100-point donation, and Old Bear Shadow for the 500-point donation!
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