"Pfft!"
Just as Tatsumi was at a loss for what to do,
a wave of warmth enveloped him.
His two old friends had rushed up to him and thrown their arms around him.
Feeling the warmth of their bodies, Tatsumi let the sword in his hand fall to the ground.
Then he raised his arms and hugged them back.
His body trembled uncontrollably.
"Tatsumi, thank you for everything."
"Thank you for bringing us back to life."
Sayo's gentle voice sounded beside Tatsumi's ear.
Tatsumi loosened his embrace slightly, still feeling as if none of this was real.
They'd clearly been through all that. How could they now...
As he thought about it, Tatsumi instinctively turned his gaze toward Uchiha Kazama, who stood calmly nearby.
Only Uchiha Kazama could have accomplished something so miraculous.
"Oh, right. Sayo, Ieyasu."
"Let me introduce you. This is Uchiha Kazama. He helped me rescue you both."
"If..."
"From now on, I'm going to follow Kazama. Would you two..."
At this point, Tatsumi looked at them worriedly.
He didn't want the fact that Uchiha Kazama had saved them to become a way of pressuring them into joining him.
Besides, Uchiha Kazama hadn't even said he would take Tatsumi under his wing yet.
For a moment, he didn't know what to say...
"Hello, you two."
"Next, I intend to take Tatsumi with me and destroy this Kingdom."
"We'll build a country where everyone can be as equal as possible."
"Of course, absolute fairness can never exist."
"But at the very least, we won't let a country that devours its people like this one continue to exist."
"So, would you like to join us?"
Uchiha Kazama spoke with a smile.
"Is this guy insane?"
For a moment, both Ieyasu and Sayo froze.
They had initially had a good