Kyogoku House was the most exclusive den of extravagance in the Yoshiwara Pleasure District.
Its mistress, the courtesan Warabihime, was famed far and wide for her beauty, a peerless woman who haunted the dreams of countless men.
Yet beneath this pinnacle of luxury and beauty lay the deepest darkness and decay, hidden from outsiders' eyes.
A shadow clone disguised as an elderly handyman carried a bucket through the innermost courtyard of Kyogoku House, his back bent. His movements were slow and his expression numb, perfectly portraying an old servant whose years of work here had long since worn away all his edges.
Not a single guard or servant suspected him.
As he passed a maid delivering food, his ears twitched slightly, catching her hushed complaints.
"Warabihime's temper keeps getting worse..."
"Yes, I heard another newly arrived kamuro-an underage maid-had her fingers broken today..."
"Shh! Keep your voice down! Do you want to get 'hanged'?"
The maids scattered in terror.
A cold gleam flashed through the shadow clone's clouded "old eyes." He continued forward without betraying anything, relaying the information to his original body far away on the rooftop.
In the original Sasuke's mind, countless pieces of information were rapidly coming together.
Uzui's three wives: Hinatsuru, Makio, and Suma.
Suma had "run away" after accumulating an enormous debt at Ogimoto House, and her whereabouts were unknown.
Inosuke had found Makio in the underground storeroom of another establishment, trapped by a wormlike sash monster.
As for the most crucial of them, Hinatsuru, who had also been the first to infiltrate Kyogoku House, all intelligence from her had stopped several days ago.
Most likely, she was here.
The shadow clone disguised as an elderly handyman stopped before a seemingly unremarkable room that no one approached. He could sense a demonic aura so dense