Chapter 6. Sakoku Decree Lifted, Kujou Clan Punished!
With the defeat of the Shogunate Army and the return of Kujou Takayuki, the long-awaited trial finally began.
The three heads of the Tri-Commission once again gathered at Tenshukaku. However, unlike before, the proceedings were not held within the palace itself, but outside, before the eyes of the people. A vast crowd had already gathered, waiting for the final judgment.
There was no need to announce the defendant. After the news from the front lines spread throughout Inazuma, everyone already knew.
One by one, the deeds of Kujou Takayuki and the Tenryou Commission were exposed. Authority collapsed overnight, and the prestige the Kujou Clan had built over centuries was utterly shattered. Apart from Kujou Sara, the entire clan had become the target of public condemnation—so much so that even stepping outside their gates would invite curses.
That Kujou Sara alone was spared was no coincidence. Both Yae Miko and Futsu Mitama had personally vouched for her. With the Guuji and the Shogun's successor standing behind her, no one dared speak otherwise.
Thus, all pressure fell upon Kujou Takayuki.
He knelt at the center of the plaza, his face pale, the dignity he once carried completely gone. No longer the head of the Tenryou Commission, no longer the patriarch of the Kujou Clan—only a criminal awaiting judgment.
In the past, he had always found reasons to justify himself.
Now, every excuse was meaningless.
Everything he claimed to have done for the Shogun, for the Commission—none of it could conceal the truth. He had acted for his own interests.
And now, he would face the consequences.
Above him stood three figures: Kamisato Ayato, Kujou Sara, and Hiiragi Chisato.
They stood as the current leaders of the Tri-Commission—and as witnesses.
Kujou Sara's expression remained calm, without hesitation. Yet when her gaze fell upon Kujou Takayuki, a fleeting trace of confusion still surfaced.
He had once been resolute. He had once taught her to faithfully execute the Shogun's will.
The Kujou Clan had risen because of the Shogun's grace—they were to remain her loyal blade, never to betray her.
Kujou Sara had done exactly that. She had stood by the Shogun's side, served Inazuma with unwavering resolve, and never forgotten her principles. Yet the one who had taught her all of this—had abandoned it himself.
Originally, she had no intention of inheriting the positions of clan head or commissioner. Others stood before her in succession. But circumstances left no alternative. After everything Kujou Takayuki had done, public anger had already reached its peak.
If she did not step forward—The Kujou Clan would not simply fall. It would be devoured.
From this perspective, even with her efforts, the clan's future would likely be worse than that of the Kaedehara Clan in its decline.
The crowd suddenly stirred.
"Guuji Yae Miko!"
"I knew Guuji Yae Miko would come; how could she not be at such an occasion?"
"Who is that beside Guuji Yae Miko?!"
"Is that Futsu Mitama?! The only descendant of the Futsu Family? I never expected him to transform into a Archon candidate."
"How dare you! How dare you call Futsu no Anchan by his name! Don't you know he's the next Shogun?!"
"What?! The next Shogun?! Him?! What's going on?! I've only been in seclusion forging weapons for a few days, how has Inazuma changed so much?!"
"Don't you know? This matter has spread like wildfire throughout Inazuma City! Let me tell you all about it."
"Ah!!! Futsu Mitama!!!! Did you see me?! You haven't come to find me in a long time!!!"
Following that last voice, Futsu Mitama subconsciously looked over.
There, squeezed all the way to the front, was Yoimiya.
He had met her several times before—after all, the fireworks of festivals all came from Naganohara Fireworks.
Not far away, Arataki Itto and his gang were also present, clearly having put in significant effort to force their way forward.
Further within the crowd, he also spotted Kaedehara Kazuha, Gorou, and other Resistance generals. Sangonomiya Kokomi had not come—she was still occupied with her duties—but through the Chat Group's live stream, she was watching everything unfold.
Yae Miko merely smiled gently and waved to the crowd.
Then she and Futsu Mitama stepped aside, waiting.
Waiting for Raiden Ei.
Around them, the Shogunate Army and the Okuzume maintained strict order, preventing the crowd from advancing further while remaining alert to any disturbance. The attempted jailbreak had already proven that recklessness still existed.
Though unlikely, they would not allow a second incident.
Time passed.
Then—At noon, the sound of footsteps echoed.
The once noisy plaza fell completely silent.
From Tenshukaku, a figure in violet descended.
No one spoke.
Yet every gaze was fixed upon her.
Kujou Takayuki slowly lifted his head, looking at the one he had once sworn to serve. His expression was complicated—regret, shame, and something else buried too deep to name.
Raiden Ei stood before her people, her voice calm, yet carrying across the entire plaza.
"The Sakoku Decree and the Vision Hunt Decree, I will abolish them, and the Thunderstorm surrounding Inazuma will also dissipate today."
"Today, Inazuma will embrace a new beginning. Futsu Mitama once said that eternity is not merely the cessation of time. Within Tenshukaku, I could neither see nor hear your voices and Devotion. If I wish to achieve eternity—"
"Then this body must advance and retreat with the people, and not remain confined within Tenshukaku."
For a moment—
Silence.
Then—
"The Way of the World is grand, but Narukami is eternal!"
"The Way of the World is grand, but Narukami is eternal!"
"The Way of the World is grand, but Narukami is eternal!"
The entire plaza erupted.
Voices surged like a tidal wave, filled with fervor, relief, and reverence.
And within that tide—
Golden motes of light began to rise.
Only three people could see them.
Yae Miko, Futsu Mitama, and Raiden Ei.
"This…" Yae Miko murmured softly, a faint smile appearing at her lips.
Futsu Mitama reached out instinctively—But the light passed through his hand, merging into Raiden Ei.
A flicker of emotion crossed her eyes.
Then—
It steadied.
Her gaze lowered.
"And now…it is your turn."
Kujou Takayuki bowed deeply.
"Shogun, I plead guilty. Whatever the punishment, I will accept it."
"Just please spare the Kujou Clan. Everything was my doing. Consider what the Kujou Clan's ancestors did for you and Inazuma. I was consumed by desire. I deluded myself into thinking I had everything under control, believing that no matter what happened, as long as the Shogun's Musou no Hitotachi existed—"
"then no matter what mistakes I made, as long as the Shogun unleashed Musou no Hitotachi, everything could be resolved."
Kujou Takayuki's confession did not end quickly.
He spoke for a long time—far longer than most had expected—his voice steady at first, then gradually losing its strength as the weight of his own words pressed down upon him. One crime led to another, one justification unraveled into the next, until what remained was no longer an explanation, but a complete exposure of everything he had done. The plaza remained silent throughout, the earlier fervor replaced by a heavy stillness as the people listened to the truth laid bare.
Above him, Raiden Ei stood without interruption, listening from beginning to end.
Her expression did not change. Yet the longer she listened, the deeper the disappointment settled within her gaze.
This was no longer the Kujou Clan she remembered—the clan that had once stood firm as one of Inazuma's pillars, valiant and disciplined, worthy of the blade they claimed to be. The man kneeling before her now bore none of that former dignity. The current—no, the former—head of the Kujou Clan had long since lost himself, blinded by authority and consumed by his own ambition, committing one wrongdoing after another while convincing himself it was all justified.
Wrong was wrong.
There was no room for reinterpretation.
If the matter had ended merely at corruption, at arrogance, even at betrayal of duty, there might still have been space—however slight—for leniency. The Kujou Clan's past contributions were not insignificant, and under different circumstances, Raiden Ei might have considered them.
But now—there was nothing left to consider.
The theft of the Gnosis had crossed a line that could not be ignored, and everything that followed had only reinforced that conclusion.
When Kujou Takayuki finally fell silent, the weight of the moment pressed down upon the entire plaza. All eyes turned toward Raiden Ei, waiting.
Her judgment came without hesitation.
Kujou Takayuki was to be stripped of all titles, his authority erased entirely. He would be imprisoned for life, never to be released, and subjected to weekly punishment as a warning to others who might walk the same path.
The sentence did not end with him.
The Kujou Clan itself would bear the consequences. With the sole exception of Kujou Sara, every member of the clan would be stripped of their noble status. Their resources, their wealth, their influence—all confiscated. What had once been one of Inazuma's most powerful families was reduced, in a single decree, to nothing more than ordinary citizens.
If they wished to rise again—
They would have to begin from the very bottom.
Kujou Sara, meanwhile, was entrusted with a different burden. She would oversee the process personally, ensuring that the outcome remained absolutely fair. No corruption. No favoritism. No suppression of talent out of spite or politics. The clan would not be allowed to reclaim its status through hidden means, nor would it be unjustly crushed beyond recovery.
It was a balance—strict, but deliberate.
The entire judgment was delivered in only a few sentences.
Yet each word carried a weight heavier than any blade.
When it ended, Kujou Takayuki's body trembled slightly before collapsing forward. He had not feared death—what broke him was not the punishment upon himself, but the fate imposed upon the clan. To see the legacy of generations reduced to nothing because of his own actions—that was a blow he could not endure.
In Inazuma, noble status was more than privilege—it was identity, honor, and history intertwined.
Families might fall into decline. They might lose power, lose wealth, lose influence.
But to be stripped of that status entirely—that was something else entirely.
Something far rarer.
And far more devastating.
It was completely unexpected that the Kujou Clan, which had existed since the founding of Inazuma, would be stripped of its noble status.
This was undoubtedly an enormous piece of news. At the same time, many people could not help but wonder what exactly had happened to provoke the Shogun's fury to such an extent—enough to strip the Kujou Clan of its status entirely.
Although the common people were filled with curiosity, the matter had already come to an end. As the trial concluded, Raiden Ei returned to Tenshukaku. Yae Miko, Futsu Mitama, and the heads of the Three Commissions also departed one after another. Kujou Takayuki, who had fainted, was dragged away by the Shogunate Army.
Everything was over.
At the edge of the dispersing crowd, Kaedehara Kazuha watched the people gradually leave and said with some emotion,
"It seems it's over. We succeeded. Although all of this was part of the plan, we also paid a great deal."
Beside him, Gorou nodded seriously as he looked at the departing citizens of Inazuma City.
"With this, the Resistance will no longer exist, just as Sangonomiya-sama said."
After a brief pause, Gorou turned to Kazuha with curiosity. "Kazuha, what do you plan to do next?"
He vaguely remembered Kazuha mentioning something before, but in the chaos of battle, he had not heard clearly and had long since forgotten.
"Me?" Kazuha reached out and caught a leaf drifting in the wind. Looking at the small hole in it, he chuckled softly. "Perhaps I'll travel to various nations."
"I'll go to Liyue first. Through the Divine Priestess, I made an appointment with the Dragon King there. Next time she comes over, I'll board her ship and go to Liyue to see different sceneries."
Then he looked back at Gorou. "What about you? After the Resistance disbands, what do you plan to do?"
"Ah, that…" Gorou showed a troubled expression, his tail swaying slightly as he sighed. "Sangonomiya-sama told me that Guuji Yae has something to ask of me."
"After all, she helped the Resistance with many things and even saved Sangonomiya-sama's life, reportedly at the cost of unimaginable treasures. So I have to meet her. I don't like that person; I have a feeling nothing good will come from meeting her, but for Sangonomiya-sama! I'll go all out!!!"
As he spoke, Gorou clenched his fists, his eyes filled with determination.
Kazuha fell silent for a moment. The image of Yae Miko's gentle smile flashed through his mind, and for some reason, he felt a slight chill.
He reached out and patted Gorou's shoulder. "Good luck."
That was all he said.
If the Guuji had set her sights on him, then things would certainly not be simple.
With that brief exchange, everything truly came to an end.
The Thunderstorm that had long shrouded Inazuma gradually dissipated. Ships that had once been confined began to move again, heading toward distant nations. Along the coasts of Watatsumi Island, people returned to the sea, casting their nets once more.
This time, their harvest was abundant.
For the first time in a long while, smiles returned to the faces of the people.
Within Sangonomiya Kokomi's domain, she looked toward Inazuma City, her gaze calm yet faintly emotional.
"All of this is thanks to them."
In her mind, the figures of Futsu Mitama and the others appeared one after another. Without him, the Resistance would not have reached its current scale, nor would Inazuma have changed so quickly.
"Today is also a day full of hope."
With that thought, Kokomi stretched lightly before returning to her work. Though the Resistance had begun to disband, there were still many details that required her attention.
And she was not the only one.
Yae Miko had her own matters to handle. Kujou Sara had responsibilities she could not avoid.
Even Futsu Mitama—could not remain idle.
As the future Electro Archon, he was about to begin his journey across Inazuma, gathering Devotion.
According to Raiden Ei, Devotion was extremely important. Not only could it unleash immense power, it also possessed other, more mysterious uses.
As for what those uses were—he would have to discover them himself.
The path had already been laid before him.
Now, he only needed to walk it.
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