# 659
Chapter 659
Thousand Cranes
Yokohama City.
A certain nursing home.
Faint moonlight filtered through the windows, casting a gentle glow across the pristine white floor tiles.
In the center of the room, an elderly woman with silver-white hair sat in a wooden chair, her head bowed, wrinkled face framed by cascading strands of silver. She folded paper cranes carefully in her palm under the moonlight.
Around her feet, hundreds of paper cranes had piled up like a small mountain, burying her ankles.
Suddenly, as if sensing something, she lifted her head to gaze at the bright moon outside the window. The turbidity in her eyes gave way to unprecedented clarity!
Little Yuzuri…
She murmured to herself.
Sister Crane, it's time for bed~ The caretaker's voice came from outside the door.
Sister Crane acted as if she hadn't heard, rising shakily from the wooden chair. Her feet stepped through the ocean of paper cranes as she slowly walked to the window and pushed it open with all her strength.
Sister Crane, I'm coming in!
The sound of the caretaker turning the door handle echoed.
Sister Crane gazed up at the moon and slowly closed her eyes. In the next moment, her body transformed into countless drifting paper cranes, scattering into the air!
These paper cranes seemed to come alive, flapping their wings like a large white cloud, flying from the open window into the dark night sky!
The caretaker pushed open the door.
She froze at the sight of the empty room.
Sister Crane? Sister Crane?
She noticed the open window and walked over in a daze, looking up to see a cloud of snow-white paper cranes rising gently, ascending toward the silvery moonlight before disappearing into the clouds…
…
Osaka.
The paper crane resting in Yuzuri Nana's palm trembled lightly.
Under Yuzuri Nana's gaze, this paper crane fluttered its wings and took flight. Even with a scorched bullet hole on its back, it showed no impairment, drifting directly toward the sky.
Seeing that bullet hole, Yuzuri Nana finally understood why she had no wounds on her body after being shot by those thugs who kidnapped her to the warehouse…
She had thought they had missed their shot. Now she realized it was this paper crane hidden on her person that had saved her from harm.
Yuzuri Nana watched the paper crane fly into the sky and vanish beyond the clouds. A moment later, a massive cloud of paper cranes tumbled down from the night sky, surging directly toward Yuzuri Nana!
These paper cranes circled around Yuzuri Nana like a swirling gust of white crane wind. Yuzuri Nana stood bewildered in the center of the flock, watching it all unfold.
Then, these paper cranes gradually gathered in Yuzuri Nana's right hand, their forms unraveling into sheets of white paper that folded together automatically…
The outline of a sheathed white paper blade manifested among the flock of cranes.
Seeing this, Yellow-Robed Oracle Envoy's brow furrowed slightly.
As expected… Amemiya Haruki's lips curved upward as he exhaled in relief. This blade was on her all along.
As the paper cranes vanished, a complete white longsword lay quietly in Yuzuri Nana's grasp. On the scabbard, faint creases remained like a web of lines spreading across its surface.
Yuzuri Nana's black hair draped behind her as she stood in the rain, staring blankly at the blade in her hands. It was as if she could see Crane Grandma folding white cranes with a gentle smile cupped in her palm.
This was the Magatsu Blade left for her by Yuzuri Kurotetsu.
One of the Nine Magatsu Blades, 【Thousand Cranes】.
"Another blade master has appeared?" Yellow-Robed Oracle Envoy frowned as he gazed at the young Yuzuri Nana. After a moment, he shook his head. "No, she hasn't become the blade master yet. This blade is simply protecting her…"
"You're wrong."
Amemiya Haruki's lips lifted slightly. "Since this blade has come to her of its own accord, it means she already possesses the qualification to become a blade master. She's only one blade-drawing away from becoming a true Magatsu Blade master."
"But she hasn't drawn the blade, has she?" Yellow-Robed Oracle Envoy stared at Yuzuri Nana. "What if she herself doesn't want to become a Magatsu Blade master?"
Amemiya Haruki seemed to think of something, his brow creasing.
Yellow-Robed Oracle Envoy struck Amemiya Haruki away and turned to face the young Yuzuri Nana, speaking slowly:
"You're Yuzuri Kurotetsu's daughter, aren't you?"
"Yes…"
"How old are you?"
"Thirteen."
"Then do you know what the blade in your hands is?"
Yuzuri Nana froze. After hesitating for a moment, she still shook her head in confusion.
"That is the Magatsu Blade that represents disaster and curse. Every Magatsu Blade master is destined to die a violent death—there is absolutely no good end." Yellow-Robed Oracle Envoy spoke calmly, his words carrying an air of authority. "The moment you draw it and become a Magatsu Blade master, you will be hunted by 【Pure Land】, becoming a 【Ghost-Class】 wanted criminal, pursued by the Oracle Envoys… just like your father.
From now on, you will never be able to live an ordinary, happy life again. You will always be狼狈地像老鼠一样狼狈地在这座城市中躲藏，而我们，终将找到你，然后将你击杀。
你所信奉的神明大人，再也不会庇护你，这个国家，都会与你为敌。
你……真的想成为"恶人"吗？"
Yellow-Robed Oracle Envoy paused for a moment, then continued: "You're still a child. There's no need to walk this path of ultimate evil. Hand over that blade to me, and you can continue living your happy life. The great gods will continue to protect everything about you, and you can grow up safely and securely…"
Yuzuri Nana held 【Thousand Cranes】, standing alone in the torrential rain. The storm had soaked her disheveled black hair, but she gazed quietly at the beautiful longsword in her hands, as if lost in thought.
Growing up safely and securely…
A bitter smile flickered across Yuzuri Nana's face.
The words "safe and secure" had never once appeared in her thirteen years of life… Until she came to the Black Wutong Club, she had only briefly experienced what it felt like to have a home. But now, everything had shattered once more.
Brother Qiye, Brother Xiao Jin, Brother Amemiya—even Uncle Keisuke had turned out to be a mysterious person who might be her father. They were all wanted criminals.
As a child who had grown up in this country, the only warmth she had ever felt, the only genuine joy… had come from a home composed of so-called "evil persons"…
"Virtuous people" had left her covered in wounds, while "evil people" had given her warmth and laughter.
She lifted her head and looked past Yellow-Robed Oracle Envoy at the hundreds of people kneeling on the ground like ants. Her eyes were filled with complex emotions.
Were those people groveling on the ground like dogs truly the way "humans" were meant to be? Was this what the great gods wanted them to become? Was this the result of the gods' protection?
Did the gods truly care about their survival?
If they did, then where were the gods when she was beaten by those thugs? Where were the gods when her home was ransacked? Where were the gods when she and Crane Grandma were forced to live in shipping containers, starving?
What was truly good, and what was truly evil—Yuzuri Nana was no longer able to tell.