As Ren made his way to the dining room, the echoes of the previous night's contemplation about the Hearteater ghost still reverberated in his mind. He had attempted to find a solution, but it remained elusive.

"Good morning," Satoru's greeting snapped Ren back to reality. The old man sat at the table with his wife, who was already placing dishes on top.

"Are you going to make us wait as you did yesterday?" Ayako's tone was sharp, her irritation evident due to what had transpired earlier.

Ren let out a nervous chuckle, scratching the back of his head. "N-no," he stammered, quickly taking his seat and grabbing his chopsticks.

Throughout the meal, he nibbled at his food, periodically stealing glances at Satoru. The same conclusion looped in his mind repeatedly: asking the old man for help was not an option. It was obvious that he would not react well to Ren's audacious plan, so the young warrior needed someone who either shared his daring vision or would discreetly assist him. But who could fill that role?

His eating pace picked up, averting questions about his appetite. However, Ayako had already noticed his distracted behavior.

Suddenly, inspiration struck Ren like a lightning bolt. ‘I know!’ he thought, abruptly freezing. ‘Isamu! He's always up for crazy ideas, and he's undoubtedly knowledgeable about Jujins. He should be able to help, right?’ Ren mused to himself. ‘Perhaps I could also seek Hiroshi's assistance. He might have medicines to enhance my strength. Considering what Tsukiko mentioned, the ghost's formidable swordsmanship is my primary concern. Moreover, I should deepen my knowledge of ghosts by revisiting the temple.’

The idea of returning to the temple brought a blush to Ren's cheeks, as visions of Reiko and her alluring figure flooded his thoughts.

Satoru, sensing Ren's distraction, chuckled. "I see your mind is already in the dojo," he remarked. "Are you eager to spar with Hinata again?" Satoru's expression shifted, the smile vanishing to reveal a shadow of concern. However, he quickly masked it with a forced grin.

"What? Oh... Yes, the dojo," Ren replied, his focus still on the internal musings. "Yes, I'd like to train again. Are we going today?"

Satoru's face got slightly paler. "Yes, of course. Training daily is essential for improvement. Jujin alone might not be enough, so honing your skills is crucial." He punctuated his words with an awkward chuckle.

Ayako, her gaze fixed on her husband, shot him a piercing glare. Their eyes met briefly, but neither spoke. It was evident that something was amiss.

Ren picked up on the unusual tension but refrained from drawing attention to himself. He sensed that further scrutiny from Satoru could interfere with his plans. Thus, an unspoken unease lingered throughout the meal, laden with unanswered questions and concealed intentions.

After the meal, as usual, Satoru retreated to the porch for his smoke break, and Ren followed suit, expecting their daily trip to the dojo to follow this brief moment of relaxation. They settled on the stairs, the first grey cloud enveloping them, before Satoru began to speak.

"Today might be a bit different," he said, pausing to take another puff before continuing, "Hinata… She might be Kagetora Noroi's daughter, but from what I know, she has two distinct goals in life. One is to journey to the Realm of Gods, seeking the treasure and perhaps her older brother." He shrugged. "The other is to challenge her father and strive to become the clan leader to change the ways of our clan."

The old man's revelation confused Ren at first, but he understood that there had to be a reason for this, so he decided to go with it. "Change the ways of the clan? I'm not sure I understand," he admitted.

"I've mentioned before, our Noroi clan doesn't place the same emphasis on honor as the Tachibana clan does," Satoru explained. "We're realists. We understand that in the end, it's often a matter of winning or dying. The survivor writes history. However, Hinata believes in the importance of honor. So if she's heard about your recent fight—and she probably has—she might be quite angry."

Now everything in Ren’s mind clicked. His mental image of the beautiful Hinata, with her lithe figure clad in a tight-fitting costume, dissipated like smoke, mirroring the hazy cloud surrounding them.

"But I had no choice!" He protested, his frustration evident. "That fight was never fair, to begin with. I could never have defeated that ape, and it certainly wasn't honorable in any sense! How can a contest between a man and a beast be categorized as an honorable fight?"

"Hey, hey, hey!" Satoru intervened, placing a reassuring hand on Ren's shoulder. "You don't have to convince me. I understand your perspective. But Hinata… she might not."

"Anyway," Satoru continued, removing his hand and rising from the stairs, "Let's go." He entered the house briefly to collect some clothes for later, and they set off for the dojo. Ren followed suit, catching up after a moment as he spent a moment thinking on the porch.

Conversation between them remained sparse during their journey, and as they drew closer to the dojo, their apprehension became palpable. Their expressions conveyed their anticipation of the impending confrontation with Hinata. As her practice sounds reached their ears, their moods darkened even further, and Ren began to feel nauseous. Nevertheless, he pressed on.

Upon entering the dojo, Hinata halted her practice, lowering the wooden sword in her hand. Her face contorted with anger as she spoke. "You two have some nerve coming here, especially you, Sensei. You, Ren, may not know me well, but this old man does. You both schemed behind my back while seeking my assistance and now you have the audacity to show up here. Have you no shame?"

Ren quickly leaped to Satoru's defense. "Satoru didn't know about any of this. I planned it without his knowledge. It was all my doing, so if you want to blame anyone, blame me!" He hesitated before continuing, "Besides…"

Hinata's voice rang out with authority, cutting him off. "Enough!" Her anger was palpable. "I don't need your excuses," she declared, tossing her wooden blade to the ground, where it made a dull thud upon impact. She stormed toward the corner of the training room, retrieving her Jujin, and then made a hasty exit, brushing past Ren and Satoru, bumping into both of them as she departed.

Ren clenched his teeth but refrained from responding as he turned away, his frustration simmering beneath the surface.

"Don't," Satoru advised quietly. "If she wants to be angry, let her be angry. It's not our fault, and we don't have to fix it." He sighed, his gaze intent on his adopted son. "It's a loss that you won't have her to encourage you to train harder, but I hope your own resolve will keep you on the right path." He held Ren's gaze, his eyes looking for an answer.

The young warrior’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Are you asking me if I want to give up on your lessons because she's no longer here?"

"Yes," Satoru replied simply.

Ren's surprise was evident, but his determination remained unwavering. "No. I want to keep training," he affirmed. "I have my own resolve, and it's good enough." He nodded, a sense of purpose emanating from him, as the visions of his soon-to-be wife flooded his mind.

"Then let's start," Satoru declared, turning to close the room's entrance and stow the clothes he had brought. "Put away those clothes and choose a sword. We'll review the basic forms once more."

"Yes!" Ren responded with fervor, his enthusiasm clear.

The training commenced, more challenging than ever. Satoru became stricter, pointing out even the smallest errors that he had previously allowed to pass. They repeated the basics until Ren executed each step flawlessly. Then they ventured into practicing new moves.

"That's enough," Satoru eventually called a halt.

By this point, Ren was drenched in sweat, his breath ragged. He needed a moment to slow his racing heart and regulate his breathing before he returned the practice sword to the rack. They left the training area and headed straight to the bathhouse, where they could wash away the fatigue.

Afterward, they arrived back at the house with a delicious meal awaiting them.

"I'm going for a walk," Ren announced as he stood up from the table.

Satoru raised an eyebrow, a hint of suspicion in his gaze. "Are you trying to do something behind my back again?"

Ren met his gaze directly. "If I were, do you think I would tell you if you asked?"

Satoru sighed, his exhaustion transforming into a tired chuckle. "No, I suppose not. Just be careful, whatever you're planning."

Ren offered a reassuring smile and nod before swiftly departing from the house. He had a destination in mind, a place he had visited only once before. He wasn't entirely sure he could find it easily, but he was determined to try nonetheless and find allies in his new quest.

His destination was the home of Hayashi Hiroshi, the doctor who had created his new body. He thought to himself, 'He knows the most about me, perhaps even more than Tsukiko. She's already refused to help, so he's my best option. Then I should visit Isamu, and maybe even the temple.' With this conviction, he walked down the street toward his goal.

In his mind, as he moved, he kept formulating questions about what to do, or who else he could ask for help, eventually reaching the inner parts of the city. That was the easy part, as he had been there many times walking to the Tachibana clan district. The issue wasn’t even with the inner Hikarimura, but solely with the strange district of the Hayashi clan.

It was easy to spot, so he found no issue with getting there. However, from that point, the situation went downhill. Not only was he unsure about the path itself, but he also hesitated to ask anybody for directions. The clan members often possessed peculiar physiques, and their strange attire didn't help. Most of them looked to him like straight-up monsters, failed experiments of a mad doctor, or the mad doctors themselves.

The weird smell of chemicals in the air didn’t help at all, and the buzzing of electrical lamps only further enhanced the ominous feelings.

He got lost very quickly, but he didn't give up, eventually finding places that seemed familiar. This helped to guide him a little, but overall, it began to get darker before he finally found the strange house with the red plus sign, nested in a white circle, on the wall.

A smile bloomed on his lips, and he rushed to knock on the door. It opened a few moments later, revealing the surprised face of the doctor.

"Ren?" Hiroshi asked, then glanced around as if expecting to spot Satoru. However, the old man was not present. "What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be resting?"

"I came to ask for a favor…"

"Favor? Are you feeling worse? Why did you come alone?"

"Can I please enter first before I tell you everything?"

"Yes… Sure, come on in," Hiroshi stepped aside, encouraging him with a gesture of his hand.

Ren went inside, allowing the doctor to close the door behind them and lead him to the sitting room. They both settled on the couch.

"You made this body of mine," Ren began. "This means you know more about it than anybody. I want to get stronger. Can you help me with that?"

"Of course I can. What exactly do you have in mind?"

Ren needed a moment to find the right words. He was hesitant to reveal the truth about his plans but realized that beating around the bush might lead to misunderstandings. "I want to change my Jujin into a Maken. I’m looking for the right ghost... No. I found the right ghost," he confessed.

"And you want my help with trapping it?" the doctor asked.

"Yes. In a way... I want to trap the Hearteater."

Hiroshi deeply inhaled as the revelation reached his ears. There was a long pause in their conversation as Ren gave Hiroshi some time to process this, which the doctor clearly needed.

"This is… This is a lot," he eventually stated. "Are you even aware of… Do you know who the Hearteater was? Do you know how strong his ghost is?"

"Yes. I spoke with a saiin named Reiko. She told me a lot about him."

"Then you..." Hiroshi shook his head in disbelief as a smile appeared on his lips. "Then you should be aware of how ridiculous you sound."

"I know this will be hard… Maybe impossible, but I want to give it a try and not die in the process if it’s possible. I understand that the most difficult part is to deal with his swordsmanship, but as you know, I don’t really have a good grasp of everything around. I don’t really know how ghosts work. I’ve learned I can trap one using chants and talismans, but…"

The doctor raised his hand, making Ren go silent. "I understand. This is a lot to go through, and it’s late today. Why don’t you come tomorrow, a bit earlier?"

"Are you trying to get rid of me, doctor?" Ren asked bluntly.

"No," Hiroshi protested. "It’s just… I need a moment to think. I don’t know if I should really offer you help or refuse to lead you towards giving up. I just don’t want you to die. You’ve been in this world for not very long, and your decisions… They don’t seem very sane to me. First the ape, now this… I don’t know how to react, and I want to react in a way that would benefit you the most. So please let me sleep on this."

Ren nodded slowly. "Then I will return tomorrow. But could you at least show me the way out of the district? I got kinda lost getting in here," he revealed.

Hiroshi chuckled. "Yes, I can."

With this, both of them got up and left the house.