The Yatogami Family had ranks of honor and inferiority: the direct line was honored, while the branch lines were lesser.
The direct line passed down through a single heir and was responsible for suppressing Kitetsu. The descendants of the branch lines spread and multiplied, clustering tightly around the main house to protect the Yatogami Family's interests.
For eight hundred years, it had always been this way.
But when it came to Yatogami Taizo's generation, this tradition encountered some unexpected changes.
First, Yatogami Koushirou, the eldest son of the direct line, disregarded the opposition of the entire family and left Mary Geoise with his commoner-born wife, retiring into seclusion in East Blue.
Then, a youth of unknown origins entered the Yatogami Family and became its new young master.
Though the branch family descendants did not dare speak recklessly in public due to Yatogami Taizo's long-established authority, behind closed doors, all three hundred inner disciples muttered that the Yatogami Family would sooner or later be ruined by Lord Taizo's decisions.
No matter what, however, the ceremony to appoint the Yatogami Family's young master was held as scheduled today.
Long Yi slowly rose from the large bath reserved exclusively for him and stretched lazily.
Looking outside, he saw that dawn had already broken.
Waving off the male attendant's offer, Long Yi took the towel from him and carefully dried himself.
The soft towel brushed over the scars on his body, but the youth's face showed neither sorrow nor joy.
Yet those savage blade wounds and gunshot scars made the attendants involuntarily suck in cold breaths.
They were certain that, aside from the person before them, none of the other Yatogami Family descendants bore so many scars.
This new young master was different from the others.
Seeing that Long Yi had dried himself, one