The beginning

"Fuck, this goddamn dump! Did you secretly rig my odds? I blew all that cash and only got a consolation prize?"

"I'm so pissed! So fucking pissed! I'm gonna tear this shitty place down!"

Welcome to Degenerate Gambler TV. Today's star was Kamo Xu, who had just lost his entire allowance for the month-a full three hundred thousand yen.

His face was livid. His normally delicate, boyish features had scrunched together after his string of crushing losses, making him look like a Special Grade Cursed Spirit that had just been cursed to death and resurrected.

He had an adult by the collar and was radiating menace as he interrogated the balding middle-aged man before him.

"Goddammit, you bastard, if you don't give me an explanation today, I'll use that polished walnut of a head of yours to crack actual walnuts!"

At those words, the already trembling shop owner's knees nearly buckled. "Spare me, Young Master Kamo! I'll refund all your money, won't that do?"

"It really was just bad luck! Besides, you've already smashed the machine, so please stop tormenting these old bones! I'm begging you to show mercy!"

Someone was still clinging to Kamo Xu's raised fist: the unfortunate household servant the boy had forcibly dragged out to gamble with him.

This man was howling even louder. Anyone who didn't know better would have thought he was the one being beaten.

"Young master, stop! If you really hit him, the master will be furious! Even if you're going to ruin the Kamo Clan's reputation, please don't take me down with you!"

"The master will skin me alive if he finds out!"

The situation spiraled out of control. Just before it passed the point of no return, a gentle yet commanding female voice called Kamo Xu to a halt.

"Asahi, stop."

Kamo Xu flinched at the voice. Reluctant though he was, he immediately released the poor owner.

He turned and saw a woman not far away, supported by several maids.

She was dignified, elegant, and unsmiling. One look at her face was enough to tell that she was an exceedingly serious person.

Yet this noble lady's face was pale, with scarcely a trace of color.

She looked at the owner, then at the servant who had been dragged out to take the fall, and sighed.

Seeing that, Kamo Xu acted at once.

"Oh, Mom! What brings you here? You're not well, and it's cold outside. Come on in."

He hurried over as he spoke, pushed aside the maids surrounding her, and took her hand himself, slowly guiding her somewhere sheltered from the wind.

Then he jogged over to pull out a chair and gently settled her into it.

This woman was Kamo Xu's mother in his new life, the person who had given birth to him and raised him.

The boy refused to listen to old man Kamo simply because he looked down on the man, whose head was stuffed with clan etiquette and who kept making Kamo Xu do pointless, utterly useless training.

But his mother was different. From his birth until now, she had truly showered him with all her tenderness. Even though his soul did not belong to this world, he had to acknowledge that.

His mother was his anchor in this world.

In his previous life, he had grown up in an orphanage. From adulthood to his death, no wealthy family had ever come to reclaim their long-lost son. Not even an ordinary family had...

He had never understood what having a family felt like. Once he grew up, he could only sink into the numbness of work and watch anime, occasionally hoping the family affection depicted there might find its way into reality.

Sadly, that hope remained unfulfilled until he died.

Fortunately, he had died.

The woman before him was his mother. Her name was Kamo Kimie. She was the person in this world who truly loved the boy without reservation.

"Asahi, you've come to a place like this again. Hasn't your father told you time and again not to visit these disreputable places?"

His mother extended a finger and poked Kamo Xu's forehead, making his head tilt back. The boy wore the awkward smile of someone caught red-handed.

"Come on, Mom, you know me. I already know how to do everything the old man arranges for me, and I can even do it better. There's really no need to go..."

"No." Kamo Kimie closed her eyes and shook her head. "You little rascal, all you do is sweet-talk. Are you about to trot out those lines you heard who knows where to make me happy, just so you can keep slacking off?"

Oh crap. Mom knows me too well. She's getting hard to fool!

Kamo Xu gave an awkward smile, but showed none of the embarrassment of someone whose scheme had been exposed. Instead, he changed tactics and started acting cute.

"Come on, Mommy, my wonderful Mommy. Just this once, and never again. I've always listened to you the moooost."

"Enough. Put that act away. Your father wants to see you today, so hurry home."

Old man Kamo? What does he suddenly want with me? In his confusion, the crude words slipped straight out. "Has that old bastard done something sleazy again? Another illegitimate kid?"

Thump. A chopping hand landed squarely on the boy's head. It didn't hurt, but Kamo Xu still clutched his head and yelped a few times.

"Don't speak about your father that way. Whatever else he may be, he is still your biological father, the man who fathered and raised you, and the head of the Kamo Clan."

"What does that have to do with him not keeping it in his pants? Besides, having you is enough, Mom. Nothing matters more than the two of us being happy together."

Kamo Kimie withdrew her hand, straightened her loose sleeves, and only then stood up.

The maids hurried forward to support her. Before leaving, Kimie turned back to Kamo Xu. "Don't make him too angry when you see him. Your words and actions represent the Kamo Clan too. Until you become clan head, try to behave yourself, Asahi."

"Got it, Mom. Next time for sure." Kamo Xu straightened and gave a respectful bow. At the sight of him, Kamo Kimie knew the boy hadn't listened again. She could only sigh and leave first.

He wants to see me...

Kamo Xu's smile faded. With his back to the light, his face lay shrouded in shadow, leaving only a pair of eyes silently fixed on the ground.

Inside a courtyard on the Kamo Clan's grounds.

The abundant greenery cast a broad patch of shade over the courtyard. Sunlight filtered through the leaves and branches, scattering dappled spots across the ground.

Kamo Xu strolled in at a leisurely pace, slowly following the winding stone path through the courtyard. He still held a peach he had swiped from a fruit platter at the pachinko parlor.

He tried to take great mouthfuls of flesh, but unfortunately his mouth was too small. He could only bite through a little of the skin and nibble away.

"How do they grow peaches in Japan? They're nowhere near as sweet as the ones back home. When I grow up, I'm definitely going back to China for a look."

As he spoke, he reached a door.

Kamo Xu narrowed his eyes slightly. After taking one last bite of peach, he casually tossed it into the picturesque courtyard.

He pushed the door open.

An intricate, lavish interior greeted his eyes. Though the room was spacious, it always felt oppressively low and heavy.

Torches mounted before the pillars lit the darkness beyond the door, yet those small patches of light seemed liable to be crushed at any moment by the darkness filling the hall.

Kamo Xu strode inside, uninterested in all that pretentious decoration. Right now, he only wanted to get this over with quickly and return to his carefree life.

"You're here, Asahi."

A voice reached him, authoritative and deep, steeped in an arrogance that brooked no question.

Just hearing it made the corner of Kamo Xu's eye twitch. He really disliked this old bastard.

The boy nodded, his gaze settling on the man seated above him.

The Kamo Clan's head was someone who had never actually appeared in the original story. Kamo Xu's only prior impression of him was that he had expelled the illegitimate son, Noritoshi Kamo, and privately designated a new heir to the clan.

Kamo Xu had absolutely no interest in someone who was always looking to use him as a tool. Thoroughly bored, he yawned on the spot.

Clearly, however, the Kamo Clan's head did not care about Kamo Xu's attitude. He picked up a sheet of paper from the desk before him and studied it with lowered eyes for a while before beckoning Kamo Xu closer.

He held out the paper. Before Kamo Xu even took it, he saw the words plainly written there: "Three-Family Exchange. Participant: Satoru Gojo."

That actually surprised Kamo Xu. The Three-Family Exchange had come around so soon, and the Gojo Clan was even sending Satoru Gojo into battle. It looked like this batch of brats-at least those his age-would have no chance of winning.

The thought that the Kamo Clan had no one presentable to send against him, and that the old man before him would finish the event looking as though he had swallowed a dead fly, made Kamo Xu want to laugh.

"What, you want me to participate? I'll only lose to that Six Eyes prodigy on purpose. Don't count on me."

The clan head showed no surprise at that. He simply raised one finger.

"One million."

His voice was quiet, but Kamo Xu's eyes lit up for a moment-only a moment. You think one million yen is enough to make me the clan's lapdog?

This old bastard just won't give up...

"Heh, I'm not kidding. That's Satoru Gojo. Born with the Six Eyes, and he has Limitless too. What am I supposed to fight him with, my head?"

"US dollars..."

"Dad, not to brag, but anyone else really couldn't handle this job. Just so we're clear, though, I can't guarantee I'll win."

"Heh. All you need to do out there is show the other two clans that while the Gojo Clan has the Six Eyes and the Zenin Clan has shikigami, our Kamo Clan has a monster with Blood Affinity."

The middle-aged man seemed to have anticipated Kamo Xu's reaction and had prepared well in advance.

He lifted a briefcase from beneath the desk. "Here's one hundred thousand. You'll get the rest once you've actually fought the Gojo Clan's Six Eyes."

"Remember, winning or losing doesn't matter, but you mustn't slack off. If you give it your all and show them what you can do, your mother will be pleased too."

"Deal. Just watch. I'll give it everything I've got."

Heh, you old bastard. You're only my dad when you've got money...