By the time they left, Rin Takeda had sworn:
"The next meeting will be the final one."
And so, days later—
the third meeting began.
The four great samurai clan leaders gathered once more inside the dimly lit Judgement Hall.
Lantern flames flickered against the wooden walls, casting long shadows as the tension in the air settled like fog.
The talks began again.
"What should we do," someone finally said, "to the remaining family of Kaoru Hibuko?"
Ashura replied first, voice flat and weary.
"We should let them be. The guilty one was killed — and that's it."
Rin Takeda's tone cut through the room like a blade.
"No. The Hibuko clan is rotten because of Kaoru Hibuko. I will not risk another demon rising from that same bloodline."
Taren Touka nodded sharply.
"I agree with Rin."
Eruma answered next, his tone steady and calm.
"The remnants of Hibuko aren't even swordsmen. They're ordinary people. We shouldn't harm them."
Ideologies clashed, voices rising, arguments overlapping like the echoes of clashing steel.
The debate went on for two hours straight, neither side yielding.
Finally, Ashura rubbed his face with exhaustion, irritation clouding his eyes.
"I do not care any longer," he muttered. "Do whatever you want."
But inwardly, a bitter thought crossed his mind:
There is no perfect leader. Everyone is rotten in their own way… but still better than Kaoru ever was.
With that, Ashura stood, grabbed his sword, and limped out of the hall — the door sliding shut behind him with a hollow thud.
Rin Takeda exhaled sharply.
"So it's decided."
The room fell into dead silence.
"We will kill every single person of the Hibuko clan."
The other clan leaders exchanged grim looks, then slowly nodded.
One by one, they rose to their feet and left the Judgement Hall, their footsteps echoing like the tolling of a funeral bell.