Sakura Matou Rewrites Destiny

Looking at the instruments around her that clearly pulsed with Chakra, she turned and pointed to the Giant Python not far off—modified by Orochimaru, it was now constantly generating Chakra to power the various devices.

At Orochimaru's mention of science, Sakura's face plainly showed a you've got to be kidding expression.

"What sharp observation... but Sakura, these are merely replicas of achievements from my past memories, not brand-new results."

"Replicas, huh... I think I get it. Still, please crack this world's Magecraft System as soon as possible. We don't have much time..."

"Hehehe, I'll do my best."

Though she fully trusted Orochimaru—who held the 'core technology' before her—Sakura hadn't pinned all her hopes on him.

After all, given that summoning Orochimaru cost only a thousand units of Destiny Points, there had to be some flaw in this world that made him so cheap.

Now, hearing Orochimaru's talk of replication and seeing the basement full of instruments running on Chakra, Sakura had a pretty good idea of his weakness.

'His entire research system is built on a Chakra environment... so that's Orochimaru's flaw... As expected, I'll have to rely on—Grandfather after all.'

With that thought, Sakura quietly approached the tank containing Zouken Matou's original body. Staring at the fat insect still wrapped in that blue glow, a chilling smile crept across her face.

"Flesh life is too fleeting, too impermanent... isn't that right, Orochimaru?"

"Indeed. All tangible things wither in time, and humans are no exception."

"Then it seems I, as his granddaughter, need to prepare a body for Grandfather that will never wither..."

As she spoke, an eerie aura erupted from Sakura's small frame. Even Orochimaru, who usually faced everything with calm composure, couldn't help but glance at her with surprise.

Just as Orochimaru was eyeing her, Sakura waved a hand at him, then turned and walked toward the lab entrance...

"Orochimaru, starting tomorrow, please spend an hour each day training me in basic Body Techniques."

"Hehe, no problem."

Watching Sakura's figure disappear from the lab, the pale-faced man with a chilling aura suddenly laughed under the dim light...

'Sakura, what kind of storm will your breeze bring... I can hardly wait.'

5. 'Subduing' Zouken Matou

In the study that had belonged exclusively to Zouken Matou half a month ago.

All traces of Zouken Matou in the study had vanished after Sakura took over the entire Matou Family.

With good lighting, a modern design, and a desk and chair specially prepared for Sakura—after a professional design team's renovation—this once antique-style study now clearly declared who the true master of the Matou Family was.

Panting heavily, Shinji Matou trembled as he stopped pounding the wooden post before him.

He had been awake for a full week now, furiously striking the post.

Suddenly, a curse drifted down from the second floor of the Matou mansion. Shinji paused, looking up at the study with admiration and reverence, muttering under his breath.

"My foolish grandfather, can't you accept reality yet?"

Listening to the venomous, almost cursed words spilling from the study, Shinji's face flickered with disdain. Then, with a dramatic flourish, he brushed back his sweat-soaked bangs.

The half-month deadline had arrived. The Insect King of the Matou Family had awakened.

But for Zouken Matou, frozen by the Power of Destiny half a month ago, those earth-shaking fifteen days had passed in an instant.

Struggling to writhe his fat, maggot-like body, Zouken Matou tried to escape from Sakura's grasp—but he did not yield.

"Vicious little brat from the Tohsaka Family, don't think you'll get any knowledge or information from me... AAAAAHHH~!"

With a delighted smile, Sakura once again cut off one of the abdominal legs from Zouken's original body, cutting him off mid-sentence.

This interrogation had been going on for nearly an hour.

Having started judging and torturing Zouken the moment he woke up, Sakura asked again.

"Grandfather, hand over all the Holy Grail information and Magecraft you know. It'll save you a lot of suffering."

Hand it over? How could he?

Zouken, who had no idea how Sakura had sealed away every trace of his magical power, would never give her what she wanted.

Having lived over five hundred years, Zouken knew full well that once he handed over what Sakura wanted, that little monster from the Tohsaka Family would crush him without hesitation.

He couldn't die. Absolutely couldn't die. No matter what, he had to survive.

Having long forgotten his once-noble dream, twisted over five centuries into his current form, Zouken's only remaining pursuit was to live—to live forever.

So even if Sakura only tore off his abdominal legs, or even flayed him, pulled his tendons, transferred his soul onto a maggot, and threw him into the filthiest place on earth, Zouken Matou would stubbornly cling to life.

Sakura knew this well.

So this nearly hour-long questioning and torture was, from the start, purely for Sakura to 'get back at' Zouken Matou.

But the revenge was probably about to end.

By now, almost all of Zouken's abdominal legs had been torn off.

If she kept playing, she might actually need to give him a new body... but that wouldn't do. After all, it had taken Orochimaru a full eleven days with a modified Sealing Technique to completely lock down any chance of Zouken suddenly lashing out, turning him into a bug she could hold in her palm.

"Grandfather, are you really unwilling to 'help' me, no matter what?"

"Hiss... hiss! Don't even think about it..."

"Then what if I sign a Self-Imposed Contract with you, guaranteeing that I won't kill you after you hand these over?"

As soon as those words left Sakura's mouth, the flesh worm she was holding up before her eyes with one hand suddenly displayed an unmistakably human-like face, instantly making her feel a wave of disgust.

"Hehe... so your goal really isn't to kill me..."

As if he'd caught Sakura in a weak spot, Zouken Matou, who had seemed so frail just a moment ago, now let out a sinister cackle.

That old face of Zouken Matou was already enough to make Sakura sick, and the sudden eerie laughter pushed it over the edge—unbearable, utterly intolerable.

Just as Zouken Matou smugly believed he had Sakura cornered and was about to seize the chance to make some demands...

A force capable of shattering him into pieces in the next instant made Zouken Matou immediately understand his position.

"Change back! Speak like a human!"

Clutching Zouken Matou tightly in her palm, Sakura, nearly driven mad by disgust, had without a doubt seized the throat of his fate in that moment.

Looking into Sakura's eyes, which had lost nearly all emotional light, Zouken Matou had no doubt that if he didn't do as she said, this little brat before him would really crush him to death.

"Yes... yes... This old one will change back now... don't... don't squeeze any harder..."

She tossed the transformed Zouken Matou onto the desk in front of her. After this experience, Sakura might never choose to touch such a disgusting bug with her hands again in this lifetime.

Forcing down the lingering nausea in her body, after Zouken Matou struggled to crawl back before her...

A Self-Imposed Contract, which Sakura had crafted over the past few days using the Matou family's magical materials, was placed in front of Zouken Matou.

"Sign this, Grandfather, and you'll live... If you agree to serve me..."

With that, another Self-Imposed Contract was pulled from the desk drawer by Sakura.

"Then I can guarantee that before I come of age, you'll get the immortality you desire from me!"

Immortality...

No need to elaborate on how massive an impact those two words had on Zouken Matou, who only wanted to live, to live forever.

But...

Staring fixedly at Sakura's face, which wore a faint, knowing smile, Zouken Matou at that moment was like a child tempted by candy, trapped in agonizing indecision.

The Self-Imposed Contract was real, and its contents were absolutely flawless.

Yet... did this young girl before him truly possess the power to grant immortality to others?

Without a doubt, she did.

Commanding the Temple of Destiny, forged from the unwillingness of countless souls who refused to be toyed with by fate, Sakura could certainly use it to grant... a partial form of immortality.

And the methods were numerous—so many that even Sakura herself probably couldn't keep track of them all.

Thus, fulfilling this Self-Imposed Contract was no problem for Sakura at all.

Of course, what kind of "immortality" she would actually grant Zouken Matou, and in what form, she naturally wouldn't tell him.

But one thing was certain... when the time came to fulfill the contract, if Zouken Matou had lost his usefulness, he would likely regret it deeply...

6. Matou Family Affairs

At the Matou family's lunch table.

Aside from Orochimaru, who might or might not count as a member of the Matou family now, and Kariya, the wanderer off somewhere unknown, all the Matou family members currently in Fuyuki City were present.

But unlike over ten days ago...

Now, seated at the head of the table, the head of the Matou family had been replaced by... a young girl who had just celebrated her fifth birthday—Sakura Matou.

Sitting in a chair specially crafted by Tsuruno Matou to curry favor with her, facing the three generations of Matou men who were clearly "shorter" than her, Sakura cheerfully tapped the armrest of her custom chair, signaling that everyone could begin eating.

Having come from Europe to this small town of Fuyuki, the Matou family naturally didn't follow the Japanese custom of shouting a phrase before a meal.

Just as Sakura gave the signal for everyone to start...

Shinji, who had spent the entire morning in the garden training Body Techniques and was ravenous, unhesitatingly reached out his chopsticks and launched an attack on the feast ordered from a high-end hotel.

But just as Shinji scooped up a large piece of Premium Wagyu into his bowl, ready to devour it...

Under Orochimaru's guidance over the past few days, Shinji had successfully begun to use the Chakra Seed within him, gaining this mysterious power. He suddenly noticed that at this table, aside from himself, neither his "useless" father nor his "monster" grandfather had moved a single chopstick...

"Father, eat up... Grandfather, you too?"

Giving Shinji a gentle smile, knowing how hard his training had been, Sakura spoke up as she saw his puzzled expression.

"Brother Shinji, you go ahead. Grandfather and Uncle Tsuruno might not have much of an appetite."

"Oh..."

Not having an appetite—all excuses.

The real reason the two hadn't touched their chopsticks was that Zouken Matou and Tsuruno Matou knew full well that this so-called family dinner was anything but a simple meal.

Compared to feasting, finding out what this strange young girl had in mind and what orders she might give was far more important for the father and son.

And sure enough, just as Shinji started burying his head in his food again, Sakura, seated at the head of the table with a beaming smile, spoke up.

"Uncle Tsuruno, how much funds can our Matou family still pull together?"

"Hmm, without affecting the foundation, give me a week and I can pull together 30 million dollars... at most 50 million within a month."

"That's all?"

That's all—Sakura wasn't just saying that. Though the Matou family's magecraft had declined, their finances hadn't weakened at all. Under Zouken Matou's stewardship, having lived over five hundred years, compared to the neighboring Tohsaka family's poor-posing-as-rich act, the Matou family owned a pile of real estate and rented out spiritual lands to Magi for rent. Not only did they have a stable income, they could even be called a house of immense wealth.

"Sorry... that's all I can temporarily gather. Most of our accumulated liquid assets were already used to purchase experimental equipment and materials for Lord Orochimaru."

Hearing Tsuruno's slightly trembling report, she remembered that just a few days ago, she'd had Zouken Matou and Tsuruno together mobilize over a hundred million dollars to buy equipment for Orochimaru.

"Ah... sorry, Uncle Tsuruno, I forgot. But the next plan of mine requires a lot of funds. What should I do about that?"

Though she said what should I do, Sakura's eyes had already turned to Zouken Matou sitting on her left.

Facing Sakura's gaze, Zouken Matou—who had temporarily submitted to Sakura for the sake of immortality, wearing a Clone Body prepared by Orochimaru and restored to a human appearance—couldn't misunderstand her meaning.

"Ahem, Tsuruno... Sakura's 'plan' is the most important thing for our Matou family... understand?"

"Father, you mean..."

"Pick ten deeds. I'll contact some old friends to raise the funds."

"Yes, Father. I'll prepare it this afternoon."

Listening to the father and son's exchange, Sakura nodded in satisfaction.

Then, having achieved her goal, Sakura picked up her chopsticks with a cheerful mood and happily focused on enjoying the meal before her.