The council chamber in Gosha Village was dimly lit.
Lanterns cast long shadows across the wooden floor as the village elders sat around the low table.
The mood was heavy.
At the head of the gathering sat Aoi, now the official head of the Fuuma Clan after the passing of her father.
Across from her were the elders of the other major clans.
Among them sat the Igawa Elder, calm and unreadable.
Standing in the center of the room was Leo.
His arms were folded.
His expression was already dark.
Elder Akiyama cleared his throat.
"So," he said slowly, "Kotaro has been captured."
Leo nodded once.
"Yes."
The word was short.
Sharp.
Elder Kamimura leaned forward, worry clear on her face.
"This is bad… very bad."
Aoi nodded in agreement.
"It's extremely urgent," she said. "If Nomad manages to figure out how the Fuuma Demon Mark works—"
The Igawa Elder raised a hand calmly.
"Yes," he interrupted.
"That would be unfortunate."
Leo's eyes narrowed slightly.
The old man continued, his tone cold and practical.
"But we cannot divert all of our resources to retrieve one Taimanin."
Silence filled the room.
For one second.
Then—
CRACK!
Leo's arm exploded into Blacklight claws.
The floor splintered beneath his step as he lunged straight for the Igawa Elder.
His eyes were blazing with fury.
But before he could reach him—
THIRTY Taimanin dropped from the ceiling.
They slammed into Leo all at once.
BOOM!
The impact drove him to the ground.
But even that wasn't enough.
Leo kept pushing.
His muscles strained as the Blacklight surged through his body.
The Taimanin immediately activated a gravity suppression technique.
Seals lit up.
The weight pressing on Leo multiplied.
Still—
He kept moving.
The floor cracked under the pressure as Leo forced himself upward inch by inch.
The Taimanin holding him down looked panicked.
"Hold him!"
"Don't let him move!"
Even with thirty elite operatives and a gravity technique—
They were barely holding him.
Leo's head lifted.
His eyes locked on the Igawa Elder.
"You knew!"
His voice shook the room.
"You knew!"
Spittle flew as he shouted.
"You told Asagi, but not anyone else!"
The elders shifted uncomfortably.
Leo strained harder.
The Blacklight claws dug into the floor.
"When were you going to tell this village?!" he roared.
"After it was too late?!"
The room shook with the force of his voice.
Aoi stood quickly.
"Please!" she said urgently.
"Forgive my son—he is not thinking clearly!"
Leo turned his head toward her.
His expression wasn't confused.
It was furious.
"I know exactly what I'm saying, Mother."
Then he looked back at the Igawa Elder.
His voice dropped into something colder.
More dangerous.
"He's responsible."
The room fell silent.
Because the accusation was clear.
Leo wasn't just angry about Kotaro being captured.
He was accusing the Igawa Elder of something far worse.
Of knowing this would happen.
And letting it happen anyway.
The council chamber remained tense.
Thirty Taimanin were still pressing Leo into the wooden floor, gravity seals glowing beneath him. Even with the technique active, the floor had begun to crack under the pressure of his strength.
His Blacklight claws dug into the wood like blades.
His eyes never left the Igawa Elder.
Then—
A new voice cut through the room.
"Alright, boy. Cool down."
Everyone turned.
Another elder had spoken.
She sat calmly near the edge of the council table, looking far younger than most of the others present.
That was the strange thing about Taima particles—they slowed aging in powerful Taimanin.
Her long silver hair was tied in an elegant style, and she held a long pipe between her fingers as if the chaos in the room was mildly inconvenient rather than dangerous.
She was Inage Natsu.
One of the oldest—and most respected—elders in the village.
She lightly tapped her pipe against the table.
"Making a scene in the council chamber isn't going to help your friend."
Leo growled.
The sound was almost animalistic.
His claws scraped deeper into the wood as he struggled against the gravity seal.
Natsu's green eyes shifted toward him.
Calm.
Sharp.
"There is no proof what you are saying is true."
Leo glared at her.
For a moment, the room expected him to explode again.
But Natsu continued before he could.
"But."
Her voice remained steady.
"There is also nothing saying you are incorrect either."
The room went still.
Several elders shifted in their seats.
Even the Igawa Elder's eyes narrowed slightly.
Natsu leaned back slightly in her chair.
"Nomad capturing a Fuuma is not a coincidence."
She blew a thin line of smoke from her pipe.
"They've tried before."
Her gaze moved toward the Igawa Elder.
"And information leaking from this village would certainly explain their sudden success."
A murmur spread across the chamber.
Leo stopped struggling.
Not because he was calm.
But because now someone was finally saying it out loud.
The Igawa Elder spoke slowly.
"Are you accusing me, Natsu?"
She shrugged casually.
"I am saying the boy's anger did not come from nowhere."
Her eyes flicked back to Leo.
"And if he is willing to try and kill an elder in front of the entire council…"
She tilted her head slightly.
"…then maybe someone should ask why."
Aoi closed her eyes for a moment.
This meeting had just gone from tense—
To dangerous.
Because now the room was divided.
Some elders were looking at Leo with suspicion.
Others…
Were looking at the Igawa Elder.
The room fell into a heavy silence.
The kind of silence where everyone was thinking the same thing… but no one wanted to say it first.
The gravity seals still glowed beneath Leo, the Taimanin holding him down straining as he slowly stopped struggling.
Not because he had calmed down.
Because he was listening.
Across the table, the Igawa Elder folded his hands calmly.
"You are walking a dangerous path with those words, Natsu."
Inage Natsu lazily puffed on her pipe again.
A thin ribbon of smoke curled toward the ceiling.
"Oh please," she said casually. "If we were afraid of dangerous paths, none of us would be here."
A few of the elders shifted uncomfortably.
Natsu leaned forward slightly.
"You said something earlier that bothered me."
Her eyes sharpened.
"You called Kotaro 'one Taimanin'."
She tapped her pipe against the table.
"Except he isn't."
She raised a finger.
"He is the last direct heir of the Fuuma branch line outside the main clan."
Another finger.
"He carries one of the most unstable Fuuma Demon Marks ever recorded."
Another.
"And Nomad specifically targeted him."
Now the entire room was quiet.
Natsu exhaled slowly.
"So forgive me if I find it strange that you consider this… insignificant."
The Igawa Elder's face hardened slightly.
"That still does not prove anything."
Natsu shrugged.
"True."
Then she gestured lazily toward Leo.
"But the boy is reacting like someone who already suspected something."
All eyes turned toward Leo again.
He was breathing slowly now.
His claws slowly retracted back into his arm.
But the anger in his eyes hadn't faded.
Not even a little.
Aoi spoke carefully.
"Leo."
Her voice carried both authority and concern.
"Explain yourself."
Leo slowly lifted his head.
He looked around the chamber.
At the elders.
At the Taimanin still holding him down.
Then finally…
At the Igawa Elder.
His voice was quiet now.
Which somehow made it worse.
"Three years ago," Leo said.
"Oboro came back from the dead."
Several elders stiffened.
"That shouldn't have been possible," Leo continued.
"But she came straight for Kotaro."
His eyes narrowed.
"And she knew exactly where to find him."
A murmur spread across the room.
Leo continued.
"And today?"
His gaze hardened into pure steel.
"Nomad captures him."
He slowly pushed himself up slightly.
The Taimanin holding him tensed but did not stop him this time.
Leo's voice dropped lower.
"Which means one of two things."
He raised a finger.
"Either Nomad suddenly developed the best intelligence network on the planet."
Then another.
"Or someone in this room has been feeding them information."
The chamber felt colder.
Because the implication was obvious.
Leo wasn't just accusing the Igawa Elder.
He was accusing someone among the village leadership.
And if that was true—
Then this wasn't just a rescue mission anymore.
This was treason.
Across the table, Inage Natsu slowly smiled.
Not because the situation was good.
But because the boy had just done something interesting.
He had just forced the entire council to face a possibility they had been quietly avoiding.
And now…
Everyone in the room was wondering the same thing.
Who betrayed them?
The chamber filled with a low murmur.
Aoi slowly stood from her seat at the head of the council table. The movement alone brought silence back to the room.
Her presence carried weight now.
She was no longer just Leo's mother.
She was Head of the Fuuma Clan.
Her eyes moved across the elders.
"Enough."
The single word cut through the tension.
Leo was still kneeling on the floor, the Taimanin around him easing the pressure but not fully releasing him yet. His claws had retracted, but the anger in his chest still burned.
Aoi looked toward the elders.
"It seems clear we have a compromised situation."
Several elders shifted.
The Igawa Elder's eyes narrowed slightly, but he said nothing.
Aoi continued calmly.
"If information may have leaked to Nomad… then the integrity of this council itself is in question."
Natsu quietly smiled around her pipe.
Good.
The girl was handling this correctly.
Aoi raised her hand.
"This matter cannot be ignored."
Her voice carried authority now.
"So we will handle it the proper way."
She looked around the chamber.
"This council will vote."
A ripple of tension passed through the elders.
Then Aoi spoke clearly.
"Until this matter is investigated, I propose that all elders present be placed under quarantine restrictions."
That caused an immediate stir.
One elder slammed his hand on the table.
"Outrageous!"
Another snapped.
"You would imprison the council?!"
Aoi did not react.
Her gaze remained steady.
"This is not imprisonment."
She folded her hands.
"It is containment."
She continued evenly.
"No elder will leave Gosha Village."
"No outside communications."
"No private missions."
Her eyes moved to the Igawa Elder.
"Until we determine whether Nomad has a source inside our leadership."
The room went quiet again.
Natsu tapped her pipe once on the table.
Then raised her hand lazily.
"I vote yes."
A few heads turned.
That was the first vote.
Across the chamber another elder slowly raised their hand.
"…Yes."
Then another.
"…Agreed."
But not everyone moved.
Some elders remained stiff in their seats.
Others glanced toward the Igawa Elder, waiting.
Because this vote…
Was about to reveal who trusted the council.
And who didn't.
Meanwhile on the floor—
Leo slowly lifted his head.
For the first time since the meeting started…
He felt something shift.
Because now the truth was starting to surface.
And someone in this room…
Was getting nervous.
The silence stretched across the council chamber.
Hands slowly began to rise.
One.
Two.
Five.
Eight.
Each elder who voted yes did so with visible hesitation, as if they understood what this decision meant.
Quarantining the council wasn't just a precaution.
It was an admission that someone among them might be a traitor.
Aoi stood calmly at the center, counting the votes in her head.
Natsu leaned back in her chair, lazily watching the room through half-lidded eyes.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Across the chamber, the Igawa Elder had not moved.
His hands were still folded neatly in front of him.
Finally, Elder Kamimura slowly raised her hand.
"…Yes."
That made the majority.
A quiet ripple passed through the room.
The decision had been made.
Aoi spoke firmly.
"The vote has passed."
She looked around the chamber.
"Effective immediately, all elders present are under council quarantine until the investigation is completed."
A few elders looked angry.
Others looked relieved.
But none of them openly challenged the ruling.
Because the vote had been legitimate.
Then—
The Igawa Elder slowly stood.
The room immediately grew tense again.
Leo's eyes locked onto him.
The Taimanin holding Leo tensed slightly, unsure if they should brace for another outburst.
But the Igawa Elder simply adjusted his robes.
"So be it," he said calmly.
"If this is what the council wishes."
His gaze briefly shifted to Leo.
Then back to Aoi.
"I trust the investigation will be… thorough."
His tone carried a faint edge.
Aoi met his eyes evenly.
"It will be."
For a moment the two simply looked at each other.
Then the Igawa Elder nodded once and sat back down.
Natsu exhaled a small puff of smoke.
"Well."
She tapped her pipe against the table again.
"That was productive."
Several elders shot her irritated looks.
She ignored them.
Instead her eyes drifted down to Leo.
The Taimanin around him finally released their hold.
Slowly, Leo stood up.
His shoulders rolled as he straightened.
The gravity seals faded from the floor.
He didn't look at anyone else.
His eyes were still on the Igawa Elder.
Natsu spoke again, casually.
"You should be careful with that temper, boy."
Leo glanced at her.
She smirked slightly.
"But…"
She leaned forward slightly.
"…you weren't wrong to question things."
Leo didn't answer.
Because something about the Igawa Elder's reaction had bothered him.
He had not panicked.
Not even slightly.
Which meant one thing.
Either he was innocent…
Or he was very confident.
Aoi stepped down from the council platform.
"Leo."
He looked at her.
Her voice softened slightly.
"This matter will be investigated properly."
Leo nodded once.
But his expression remained cold.
Because even if the council investigated…
Even if they found the truth…
That didn't change one thing.
Kotaro was still in Nomad's hands.
And time was running out.
To be continued
Hope people like this ch and give me power stones and enjoy