Zoro
Safe to say luck was on our side. The yakuza saved that night — later identified as Kentaro — turned out to be the heir of one of the most powerful families in the Osaka-Kyoto region: the Inagaki family.
'Do I have legendary plot armor?'
That thought arrived the moment that detail came to light. Unfortunately, it wasn't all sunshine and roses.
As feared, they weren't part of the "good" yakuza. Neck-deep in drugs and prostitution — and not the kind of operation that treated its girls with any generosity.
Exterminating all of them crossed the mind. Twice. But restraint won out, for two reasons: they were needed, and killing them wouldn't have changed anything in the long run. Another family would simply have filled the vacuum.
So the decision was made to kill two birds with one stone.
First step: eliminate the Inagaki patriarch and the most influential figures in the clan.
Not having cursed energy makes concealment almost effortless. Even from non-sorcerers, blending into the shadows requires minimal effort.
Kentaro was placed at the head of the family without any friction. He didn't appear particularly attached to his father — if anything, he looked genuinely relieved, maybe even happy, when told of the death and handed the position of patriarch.
Between the gratitude he felt and the fear running underneath it — let's not pretend otherwise — he followed every instruction without complaint.
And that was how Toji and I experienced luxury for the very first time.
"YAHOOO!"
SPLASH!
"TOJI, THIS ISN'T A POOL, STOP DOING CANNONBALLS!"
The childish voice echoed through the room, but the sound of water swallowed it almost immediately.
Taking advantage of Kentaro's hospitality, the patriarch's private hot spring had seemed like the obvious choice.
Toji was having the time of his life. So much so that he was actively swimming in the hot water despite there being barely enough depth for it.
Plaf!
Plaf!
Plaf!
"TOJI, I SAID THIS ISN'T A POOL!"
Since when does he know how to swim?
The question nagged at the back of the mind. His movements looked completely natural — no hesitation, no adjustment. Either he'd picked it up from watching television, or it was something more instinctive. Neither explanation was entirely satisfying.
Too entertained to acknowledge anything being said, Toji dipped his head underwater and resurfaced a moment later with puffed cheeks —
SLPFF!
He spat the entire mouthful in a single burst.
Does he think he's a dolphin now?
Not entirely inaccurate, honestly. He moved through the water like it was where he belonged, darting in every direction without any apparent effort.
It was genuinely starting to get on the nerves.
All right. If he wants to play, we'll play.
A hand rose to the chin, feigning deep and thoughtful consideration.
"Hmmm! He seems fully recovered. I think we can resume training tomorrow."
The effect was immediate. Toji, who had been expertly pretending not to hear anything, stopped moving instantly.
His face went pale. A cough followed — a very deliberate, very unconvincing cough.
He really can't act.
"Ow-Ow, it hurts, pain, suffering, I'm going to die."
That's just insulting. Does he take me for an idiot?
"Cut it out and come sit down."
He deflated completely. "Okay."
He dragged his feet the entire way over, mumbling things that were technically words but formed no recognizable sentence. Still, he sat.
The hot water was exactly what the body needed. Tired muscles loosened one by one, and for the first time in two weeks, Observation Haki was switched off completely. A headache hit almost immediately — the kind that builds up from constant mental strain — and sinking deeper into the water seemed like the only reasonable response.
Of course, the universe took that exact moment of relaxed vigilance as an invitation.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
The head hurt too much to reactivate the Haki. That left the old-fashioned method.
"Who is it?"
A deep voice answered from the other side of the door.
"It's me, Kentaro, Lord Roronoa."
Roronoa was the pseudonym chosen for this. Problem?
"Come in."
The sliding wooden door opened. Footsteps crossed the room and stopped somewhere behind.
"What do you want? I don't like being disturbed when I'm relaxing."
Cold tone. Deliberate. Establishing hierarchy was important early, and maintaining it mattered just as much.
It seemed to land correctly.
"Gulp! I'm sorry for disturbing you, my lord, but I came to inform you that the preparations are complete."
That shattered the cold demeanor immediately.
Turning around. "Really?"
"Yes, my lord. All the documents have been prepared. One of our men in the police handled the report and made sure no one would dig too deeply."
"Good! Very good, even! I honestly didn't think it would be this straightforward. I expected this to take a much longer and more complicated route."
"The Osaka police operates under our control. Whatever we want done gets done. Whatever we want buried stays buried."
Kentaro's voice dripped with arrogance. Even from him, it was a little surprising.
'Look at him. So proud of himself.'
"Alright — walk me through exactly how it went."
The arrogance cleared from his face the moment the question landed.
He produced a register and began reading.
"Officially, you are orphans who lived in the mountains with your parents, isolated from society, until wild beasts killed them." He skipped over the administrative details and read only the relevant section. "You survived alone for several weeks until I found you two weeks ago, at which point I decided to take you in."
'The story is genuinely far-fetched. Lucky this is still an era where technology isn't advanced enough to make that kind of thing easy to disprove.'
He closed the register and set it aside.
"You are now Inagaki Ryuma and Inagaki Riichiro. Twin brothers, born December 31st, 1979, to the late Shimotsuki Arashi and Shimotsuki Terra."
'Zero inspiration for names. One Piece got shamelessly plagiarized.'
"There's one thing I still don't understand. Why adopt us at all?"
His face lit up at that.
"Because with you at its head, I'm certain the clan will prosper for decades. Possibly centuries."
'So he wanted sorcerers in the family. Less foolish than expected. But there's something he's not saying.'
"What you said is true. But there's something else you're holding back." A controlled release of killing intent — just enough to press. "So I'll ask again. Why did you adopt us?"
His hand moved to his chest. Breathing became visibly difficult. The killing intent was clearly overwhelming him — and yet he said nothing.
"Talk. Or I'll have to kill you."
Still nothing.
Killing him was never the actual plan — he was far too useful alive — but in that moment the silence was genuinely baffling. Only one question made any sense:
"What could he possibly want to hide that is worth more than his own life?"
'Let's see how long he holds out.'
The killing intent was pushed higher. Standing up helped sell the impression that the next move was already decided.
"If you don't talk, I'll wipe out this entire clan. Nothing will remain."
His face went white. Hesitation moved through his eyes — visible, real. Several seconds passed.
Then he opened his mouth.
"I adopted you because I can't have children."
"What — you're sterile?"
Another pause. Shorter this time.
"No, it's not that. I-I just… I like men."
(…)
An awkward silence settled between us.
'Really? That's it? I know this era isn't kind to homosexuals, but was it genuinely worth risking his life to keep that quiet?'
The killing intent dissolved on its own, replaced almost instantly by laughter.
"Pfft! Puhahaha! That's why you looked so constipated this entire time? You're really something if you thought that was worth dying over."
He flushed at the teasing, but the relief on his face was undeniable. Mortal danger had passed, and he knew it.
Settling back into the water. He retrieved the register.
"If that's everything, you can go."
"A-As you wish, my lord."
He rose, crossed to the door, and reached for the handle — then turned back.
"Oh, I forgot to mention — I've already enrolled you and your brother in the best private school in Osaka. First day is scheduled for July first."
He left the room immediately after saying it. No pause, no opening for a response.
"Hey — wait. What are you talking about? What school? Come back here, I'm serious. I don't want to go back to school!"
No answer.
"Kentaro! Kentaro! KENTARO!"
Of course the walls had to be soundproof.
The panic faded slowly. A breath in.
'Fine. I'll just tell him to unenroll us.'
Then something touched the shoulder.
"Hey big brother…" Toji. "Are we really going to school?"
The word no was already forming — and then the turn came, and his eyes were right there. Full of something that looked a lot like hope.
Only one answer was ever going to come out of that.
"Of course, Toji."
---