framing and betrayal

【June 27】

The Starmagma mission failed; the Celestial Origin assimilation process could not proceed; initial signs of evolution have emerged; the barrier remains unchanged.

Inside the dark, enclosed room, the walls were covered with countless runes and talismans. Red ropes, glowing with a red light, strung with copper coins, intertwined in the air. In the center of the room, a boy sat on a wooden chair with his head down and his hands bound behind his back with hemp rope.

This is a solitary confinement room.

It is usually used to imprison heinous criminals who are highly aggressive and extremely dangerous.

Tsurumi Kawakami had been locked in this solitary confinement cell for a day. After returning to the high school from Hokkaido, and after reporting the aforementioned mission the next day, the General Headquarters sent someone to summon the three of them that afternoon.

Upon entering the director's office, he was secretly led to meet Matsumoto, the man with stitches on his forehead who had assigned him the task. Matsumoto got straight to the point, first praising Tsurumi Kawakami for completing the mission, and then personally handing him a black card with no spending limit.

Just as the handover was taking place, a middle-aged man named Matsumoto suddenly collapsed to the ground, clutching his chest with one hand and clutching Tsurumi Kawaru's sleeve tightly with the other. Within half a minute, his face turned blue and he foamed at the mouth, dying in great agony.

Tsurumi Kawakuri didn't even have time to react; his face was filled with shock, and his mind went blank.

Then, the sliding door of the Japanese-style room was suddenly flung open, and a group of people rushed in. As the only living person in the room, Tsurumi Kawa was labeled as a murderer and a defector, and was then bound with rope and imprisoned here.

The dimly lit solitary confinement cell was only illuminated by a ring of candles when someone entered; otherwise, only a sliver of light shone from above. All around was utterly silent, and Tsurumi Kawakami's consciousness drifted aimlessly in the darkness, feeling as if time itself was passing endlessly.

He still can't understand why this happened, why Matsumoto suddenly died in front of him. Recalling the scene, Tsurumi Kawakami is certain that it was a premeditated and planned frame-up.

-

Director's Office Meeting Room.

In the conference room that had just been smashed to pieces by Gojo Satoru, seven or eight elderly high-ranking members of the Jujutsu family were so angry that their mustaches twitched and their eyes widened. They pounded the ground with their canes and glared at the Gojo family's high-ranking members next to them, accusing them sternly.

The senior members of the Zenin family and the Kamo family next door tried to mediate, but their sarcastic remarks only added fuel to the fire.

The meeting room was where more than ten senior executives from the director department were discussing the final punishment for Tsurumi Kawaru. Halfway through the meeting, the Gojo family's Six-Eyed Man burst in, started a scene without saying a word, smashed a lot of things, and injured seven or eight senior executives.

No matter how angry and dissatisfied the General Directors were with Gojo Satoru, they often had no choice but to swallow their anger because of the existence of the Gojo family and Rokugan.

The senior members of the Gojo family in the General Manager's Office were already used to their daughter's behavior. When faced with criticism, they would even offer a few kind words of advice, then gather their sleeves, put on their haori, and slowly leave.

His actions infuriated the person who had spoken up, who nearly fell backward and choked on their breath. Finally, pointing at his retreating figure, the person trembled as they cursed a few more times, their face flushed with anger, and with a flick of their sleeve, they followed him away.

Inside the pharmacy, seven or eight high-ranking officials who had been injured by Gojo Satoru were lying on the bed drinking medicinal soup. Without exception, they were all people who advocated for the death penalty of Tsurumi Kawaru.

The pharmacy door opened, and an assistant supervisor in a black suit walked in. He went straight to a hospital bed and said something respectfully in a low voice.

Lying on the hospital bed was an old man of about sixty years old. The deceased Matsumoto looked three or four parts like him. This was Matsumoto Saburo's uncle, named Matsumoto Naojiro.

"Besides these, has Saburo given any other instructions?" Matsumoto Naojiro paused for two seconds before asking sharply.

Director Naomoto Yamashita paused, a hint of hesitation flashing in his eyes. He looked up at the other senior executives lying on the hospital beds, unsure whether he should speak up.

Naojiro Matsumoto noticed his unusual behavior and his heart skipped a beat. He realized that his deceased nephew was hiding something, and that what he was hiding might be quite serious.

Thinking of this, he couldn't stay in bed any longer.

Naojiro Matsumoto struggled to get out of bed and led Naojiro Yamashita to an empty conference room. He sat at the head of the table, looking directly at Naojiro Yamashita with a serious expression.

"Tell me, what did Saburo do behind my back?"

"Lord Matsumoto spoke with Tsurumi Kawakami before the 'escort the asteroid body mission' was assigned. Because Lord Matsumoto had instructed that he wanted to speak with her alone, I am not very clear about the specifics of what they talked about."

Upon hearing Yamashita Naomoto's indistinct words, Matsumoto Naojiro remained silent for a few seconds. A sinister look appeared on his dark face. He raised his eyes and looked directly at Yamashita Naomoto. Suddenly, the thought of killing this assistant supervisor who worked under Matsumoto Saburo flashed through his mind.

But then he thought of Tsurumi Nagare, who was locked in solitary confinement. He suppressed the thought, pondered for a moment, and then instructed: "Go to the solitary confinement room and find out what task Saburo gave him. After you finish questioning him, get rid of him and tell the outside world that he committed suicide out of fear of punishment."

In an instant, cold sweat broke out on Yamashita Naomoto's back. His scalp tingled, but he dared not look up at Matsumoto Naojiro, who was sitting at the head of the table. His lips trembled as he replied, "Yes."

As he walked from the meeting room toward the confinement room, Yamashita Naomoto knew he had been abandoned.

Before he came to the director's office, he had heard that Gojo Satoru had caused a scene at the director's office and threatened the higher-ups to release Tsurumi Kawaru because of him. At this time, Tsurumi Kawaru suddenly died, and Gojo Satoru would definitely investigate thoroughly.

As the executor, he had no background and was the most suitable person to be pushed out as a scapegoat.

Thinking of this, Yamashita Naomoto swallowed hard in fear. He forced himself to calm down and glanced behind him out of the corner of his eye. After making sure no one was following him, he decided to be on the safe side.

-

Solitary confinement.

Tsurumi Kawaru lowered his head, replaying in his mind what had happened since he entered the director's office the day before yesterday. His hands were bound behind the chair, tightly secured with specially made hemp rope, without the slightest loosening.

At that moment, the door to the solitary confinement cell clicked open, and bright sunlight rushed into the dimly lit room.

Tsurumi Kawakami paused, then looked up. Tiny dust particles danced and leaped in the golden sunlight. A figure walked in from outside, its back to the light, the heels of leather shoes clicking crisply on the floor.

As the figure approached, Tsurumi Kawakami, using the dim light of the room, clearly saw the person's face. In that instant, a hint of surprise appeared in his golden eyes.

"Supervisor Yamashita" hadn't spoken in a long time, and his voice was slightly hoarse.

The assistant supervisor, whose name was called, froze on the spot, staring stiffly at Tsurumi Kawaru. Meeting the question in his golden eyes, Yamashita Naomoto straightened his back and spoke dryly after a moment.

"He asked me to stop the astral body from assimilating with the celestial body, and that black card was the one he gave me back then." Although Tsurumi Kawa was somewhat surprised by Yamashita Naomoto's question, he still answered honestly and seriously.

Upon hearing his words, Yamashita Naomoto felt as if he had been hit on the head with a stick, his mind going blank for a moment, and his ears ringing.

Tsurumi Kawaru tilted his head slightly, discerning the fear in Yamashita Naomoto's eyes. His dark golden pupils were somewhat confused, not understanding why he was acting this way.

With trembling hands, Yamashita Naomoto recorded Tsurumi Kawakami's words on his phone. After being terrified to the extreme, he calmed down and his mind raced to find a way to survive.

A moment later, he stared intently at Tsurumi Kawakami, pursed his lips, made up his mind, picked up his phone, sent a text message to Gojo Satoru, and then deleted the message. Next, he sent the recording to Matsumoto Naojiro, and then made a backup copy which he sent to his own email address.

“Tsurumi-kun, disrupting the Tengen Assimilation and releasing the Starmash is a serious matter, and the higher-ups at the General Headquarters will investigate it thoroughly. Also, regarding Lord Matsumoto's death, the higher-ups have decided to punish you.” Yamashita Naomoto pursed his lips and said calmly.

Tsurumi Kawakami paused, frowned, and said, "I didn't kill Matsumoto."

He didn't refute the matter of the astral bodies, but Tsurumi Kawakami was equally bewildered about Matsumoto Saburo's death. He remembered that Yamashita Naomoto was among those who led the charge in, so he looked up at the man in front of him.

Yamashita Naomoto paused, recalling what had happened that day, and said after a moment's thought, "That day it was Lord Naojiro..."

He recalled what happened that day: the three students from the vocational high school were summoned by the directorate for questioning. Before the routine meeting began, Yamashita Naomoto received a text message from Matsumoto Saburo, who took Tsurumi Kawa to the Japanese-style room at the back.

Everything was normal on the way. After escorting Tsurumi Kawaru into the Japanese-style room, Matsumoto Saburo dismissed his servants as usual and instructed him to stand guard outside.

Naomoto Yamashita stood in the corridor under the eaves of the Japanese-style room, as usual.

At that moment, a servant rushed over from the other end of the corridor with two assistant supervisors. The servant was acting on the orders of Matsumoto Naojiro and said that he had urgent business to discuss with Lord Matsumoto Saburo.

Yamashita Naomoto didn't think too much about it at the time and led them to the Japanese-style room. But before he could knock on the door to remind them, the servant simply opened the door.

After listening to him, Tsurumi Kawakami nodded, seemingly understanding, and asked, "What about that servant?"

Naomoto Yamashita shook his head blankly: "It was too chaotic at the time, I didn't notice where he went."

After saying that, he paused and continued, "However, since he is Lord Naojiro's servant..."

Naomoto Yamashita suddenly stopped, his pupils contracted sharply, and in that instant, all the things he couldn't understand and the clues that seemed to be out of place became clear.

Tsurumi Kawakami's intuition kicked in at that moment, and he asked bluntly, "So why did he rush in with his men at that exact moment, as if he knew Matsumoto was going to die?"

Naomoto Yamashita: "But, but Lord Matsumoto and Lord Naojiro are uncle and nephew. He even asked me to investigate Lord Matsumoto's death, and to... kill you."

In the end, his voice was so low that only Yamashita Naomoto himself could hear it. He suddenly realized something, as if he had discovered a shocking secret.

Tsurumi Kawakami didn't pay attention to what Yamashita Naomoto said; he was still thinking about the question from earlier.

Just then, a commotion arose outside the confinement room, and the sound of hurried footsteps grew louder as they approached.

The next second, with a loud crash, the door to the solitary confinement cell slammed down, and a figure stood backlit in the doorway, the dust kicked up dancing in the light and shadow, making the figure appear incredibly tall.

"Yosh~ The all-powerful and strongest Gojo-sama of the future has come to rescue the trapped hero."

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