"What, have you lost your mind? You want to let Some out? No, I won't agree to it." As soon as that clan member proposed releasing Kurama Some, someone stood up to object.
But the man supporting Kurama Some's release had his reasons too. He said, "The Kurama Clan is already facing a matter of life and death. Why worry about all that now? If no powerful shinobi emerges from our Kurama Clan, there won't be a place for us in Konoha anymore."
"But what if Kurama Some loses control after we let him out? Don't forget how much effort and how many losses it took us to lock him up in the first place. Besides, we're trying to restore our reputation in Konoha. Let's not turn that reputation into infamy and end up even more ostracized by Konoha."
"Our clan is already in this state. If we don't take a gamble now, are we supposed to carry on like this and die a slow death?"
"Right, right, take a gamble and gamble our entire Kurama Clan out of existence. Releasing Kurama Some will only bring our clan's destruction sooner. His hatred for us isn't going to disappear."
The supporters and opponents argued fiercely, each side convinced that they had the stronger case. Seated at the head of the table, Kurama Masahiro felt irritation rise as he watched his clansmen start arguing again. He slammed his hand on the table. Smack!
"Argue, argue, argue! That's all you know how to do! You've been arguing since the start. Haven't you had enough yet?" Utterly exhausted by his clansmen's bickering, Kurama Masahiro angrily berated the arguing crowd.
Only when they heard their clan head's rebuke did the two sides fall silent.
Seeing his clansmen quiet down, Kurama Masahiro took a deep breath and said, "Stop arguing. It's no use. Some can no longer come out."
Kurama Masahiro looked around and told the clansmen present, "Some died long ago."
Everyone listening to their clan head froze. How could Kurama Some have suddenly died?
"Clan Head, how is that possible? How could Some have died?" The people around him all questioned him in shock upon hearing the news.
Although they feared Kurama Some, they also had to admit that he was the Kurama Clan's trump card, their last fighting force.
"Some is dead. He died a month after the internal conflict ended." Kurama Masahiro could only helplessly announce Kurama Some's death.
But none of the Kurama clansmen present could believe what their clan head said. They simply could not imagine how someone as powerful as Kurama Some could have suddenly died.
Faced with their disbelieving expressions, Kurama Masahiro could only slowly explain, "On the very day Some awakened his Kekkei Genkai, he couldn't control his power and killed everyone in his household. His father, his mother, and his younger sister all died by his own hand. Only then did he begin rampaging through the clan grounds. He only regained his senses after we suffered heavy losses and sealed his chakra."
"When he came to his senses and discovered that he had mistakenly killed his own family and brought a great disaster upon the Kurama Clan, pain and remorse overwhelmed his entire heart. He couldn't forgive himself for being stained with the blood of his relatives and clansmen. A month later, unable to endure that inner torment, he chose to end his own life."
Kurama Masahiro's face was filled with grief as he explained. He had failed to discover Kurama Some's suicide in time. Now they had lost such a gifted shinobi, and the Kurama Clan had one fewer trump card.
"How is that possible? How could Some have died so easily?"
The clansmen present found Kurama Masahiro's explanation hard to believe, but he had no reason to lie to them.
Kurama Masahiro and Kurama Some were relatives, after all. Kurama Some's father was Kurama Masahiro's younger brother, making Kurama Some his nephew. Of all the Kurama clansmen, Kurama Masahiro should have been the one who suffered most from Kurama Some's death.
"Then why haven't you announced Some's death to us all this time, Clan Head?" After hearing Kurama Masahiro's explanation, everyone present felt some regret mixed with confusion.
"That's because I wanted to uncover the secrets behind Some's Kekkei Genkai awakening and his madness. Although it was disrespectful to Some, I had to do it for the Kurama Clan."
Kurama Masahiro's words made everyone realize something.
"Don't tell us you used Some's corpse for human experimentation, Clan Head?" They all looked at Kurama Masahiro in horror. They had never expected their clan head to be so mad that he would use his own nephew's remains for research.
"What are you all thinking? I only took samples of Some's cells and tissue and had a medical-nin I know study them." Seeing the horror in his clansmen's eyes, Kurama Masahiro did not know whether to laugh or cry. He was Some's uncle. How could he desecrate his nephew's corpse?
But to his surprise, even after his explanation, his clansmen still looked unconvinced. With no other choice, he took out a scroll and retrieved a corpse from it.
"Look, isn't Some's body right here, perfectly intact?" Kurama Masahiro pointed at the body he had taken from the scroll as he spoke to his clansmen.
Only after seeing Kurama Masahiro's proof did everyone present relax. They did not want their clan head to become someone who would not even leave his own clansmen's corpses alone.
Meanwhile, Kōki's eyes lit up as he listened by the door, where he had been for quite some time. His purpose in sneaking in this time was to obtain a Kurama Clan corpse.
Now, after listening to the Kurama Clan's internal discussion, he had discovered that they actually had such an excellent specimen.
He silently made his decision. This is the corpse.
Looking at Kurama Masahiro, who possessed the strength of a Jonin, Kōki decided to keep an eye on his movements and see where he would put the scroll containing the corpse.
Inside the room, having proven his innocence, Kurama Masahiro told the clansmen before him, "That's the situation now, so we can only rely on ourselves to restore the Kurama Clan. As for the problems you mentioned earlier about not getting along with those shinobi, I'll speak to Lord Hokage tomorrow. Hopefully, we can improve our circumstances."
"Now that I've told you about Some's death, and the medical-nin hasn't managed to find anything either, I plan to bury Some tomorrow and let him rest in peace." After saying this, Kurama Masahiro checked the time and continued.
"It's getting late. You should all go back and rest."
Hearing their clan head say this, the Kurama clansmen present had no other choice. They could only nod helplessly, then leave the room in an orderly fashion.
Outside the door, Kōki had already hidden himself before the Kurama clansmen came out. Once everyone had left, he looked into the room. Only the Kurama Clan's head, Kurama Masahiro, remained.
Kurama Masahiro gazed at Kurama Some's corpse before him in a daze. After a sigh, he sealed the body back into the scroll, then placed the scroll on a shelf in the room.
Looking at the scroll on the shelf, Kōki was sorely tempted. But he feared that if he stole it, the Kurama Clan would cause a major commotion once they discovered it missing, which would make staying hidden difficult.
So he restrained his eagerness and decided to wait until the Kurama clansmen buried Some's corpse before stealing it. That way, he would not arouse suspicion.
But at the thought of having to wait another night, Kōki could not help lamenting how long the night was.