Uchiha Mirai's words left Chino completely stunned.
As the Emperor, not only did he not hold her accountable for her past mistakes, he was even willing to tell her the truth she had long been seeking.
This...
Was too unbelievable.
Not even in her dreams did Chino dare imagine something like this could happen.
Nowaki, seeing Chino frozen in place, quickly spoke up in her stead.
"My lord, you know the truth about the Chinoike Clan?"
"Could you tell us?"
Based on their own investigation, they had believed that the Chinoike Clan had been imprisoned in Hell Valley by the Uchiha.
So, naturally, they assumed it was the Uchiha Clan who brought about their downfall.
But now... could there be more to the story?
Seeing the intensity in their eyes, Mirai answered calmly, "I can."
With that, he paused briefly in thought before beginning his explanation.
"The earliest record I've found about the Chinoike Clan dates back to the Warring States Period."
"At that time, Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara had yet to establish the One Country, One Village system. The various daimyo of each land would hire powerful shinobi clans to protect them."
"The Chinoike Clan was one such group, hired by the daimyo of the Land of Lightning."
"During this period, a woman from the Chinoike Clan caught the eye of the daimyo and was taken as one of his concubines."
"She was extraordinarily beautiful and soon became his favorite, which inevitably sparked jealousy in the daimyo's legal wife."
"Not long after, the daimyo died under mysterious circumstances. The legal wife shifted all the blame onto the Chinoike woman, claiming she had cursed him to death."
"As a result, the woman was executed, and the entire Chinoike Clan was implicated."
"The daimyo then hired shinobi from the Uchiha Clan to exile the Chinoike Clan to Hell Valley."
...
Chino and Nowaki were both shocked by what they heard.
So this was the truth?
That meant the one truly responsible for the clan's destruction was... the daimyo's legal wife?
Chino took a deep breath and gave Uchiha Mirai a respectful bow.
"Thank you, my lord. You've cleared the doubts that have haunted me for so long."
"I wronged you. Since the person who caused the Chinoike Clan's downfall is already dead, I am willing to accept punishment for what I've done."
The Warring States Period...
That was two whole eras ago. The legal wife must have died long ago.
But then, to Chino's surprise, Mirai smiled and shook his head.
"While it's true the daimyo's wife orchestrated the clan's exile, she didn't completely destroy them."
"Though Hell Valley was harsh and unforgiving, it allowed the Chinoike Clan to survive and reproduce for many years."
...
At that, Moegi Kazamatsuri, who had been standing to the side, couldn't help but voice her curiosity.
"That's right! If Hell Valley alone was enough to wipe them out, there shouldn't be any survivors from the Chinoike Clan alive today."
"Lord Mirai, how exactly did the Chinoike Clan meet their end?"
Her question made both Chino and Nowaki come to a sudden realization. They turned to Mirai, eyes filled with anticipation.
Mirai continued calmly. "Many years ago, there was a deeply loving couple within the Chinoike Clan. They lived in Hell Valley, but still held hope for the future."
"Unfortunately, that hope didn't last. For reasons lost to history, the wife was driven to her death by others in the clan."
"Consumed by vengeance, the husband massacred the entire Chinoike Clan. That was how the clan was annihilated."
Chino clenched her teeth. "Who was that man?! Is he still alive?!"
Uchiha Mirai answered coolly, "Yes. And you're quite familiar with him."
Chino and Nowaki were stunned. "We are?"
Mirai nodded slowly. "His name... is En Oyashiro."
"What?!"
Both of them gasped in unison.
As members of the Battle Arena, they knew En Oyashiro all too well—he was their leader.
They never imagined he was the one who slaughtered the entire Chinoike Clan!
"That bastard!" Chino's fists trembled with fury.
For as long as she could remember, she'd been raised under En Oyashiro. He had locked her and countless other orphans in the Arena, forcing them to fight one another day after day.
The losers lost the right to eat.
Chino had always hated that cruel world, but at the same time, she'd believed it was En Oyashiro who had taken her in and raised her.
Even when she ran away, she'd never thought to truly rebel against him.
But now, she learned he was the very man who had murdered her people!
"I'm going to kill that monster."
Seeing the hatred burning in her eyes, Uchiha Mirai spoke again.
"Chino... have you ever wondered why En Oyashiro slaughtered the entire Chinoike Clan—but spared you?"
Chino paused, then replied, "Because I was too young to understand anything? So he could keep me in the dark for life?"
"No," Mirai shook his head. "You weren't the only infant in the clan at the time."
Chino frowned. "Then why?"
Mirai gave her a small, enigmatic smile. "Because you... are the only child he had with the wife who died."
"What?!"
Chino, Nowaki, and Moegi Kazamatsuri all gasped in shock.
Chino... was En Oyashiro's daughter?!
That was too much to take in!
"How can this be... I'm his daughter...?"
Chino collapsed to her knees, dazed, her lips moving as if by instinct.
She had always believed she was an orphan and had long yearned to know her origins.
It was that very yearning that pushed her to flee the Battle Arena the moment she discovered she was the last remnant of the Chinoike Clan.
To her, if she had no family, then her fellow clansmen were her family.
It was that belief that drove her to avenge people she had never even met.
But now, the people she wanted to avenge were the ones who drove her mother to death...
And the one who murdered them... was her father.
All these entangled truths crashed down on her, numbing her mind completely.
Even Nowaki and Moegi Kazamatsuri were stunned speechless.
What had seemed like a straightforward tragedy turned out to be far more complex and twisted than any of them had imagined.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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