Chapter 70: [70] Tohsaka Tokiomi's Dilemma
"Does his eyesight really have foresight? Or perhaps clairvoyance? No... it shouldn't be either of those. I see, so this is his uniqueness."
There was a presence observing Kurokawa Kazuya. While it wasn't constant, during idle moments, this presence would cast its gaze in that direction.
Thus, the sequence of events was clear to him.
Most magus had deliberately ignored this manga due to Counter Force influence. A small number believed it was created by a powerful magus with inside knowledge of the Holy Grail War, using it as reference material. However, they dared not investigate further. Another portion of those who took interest had been annihilated.
Why did the Counter Force act this way? What were the reasons and objectives behind it? He didn't know.
He just found it amusing.
A person, yearning to explore the mysteries of this world, striving in vain, and finally making a desperate attempt. But because of the intervention of the Counter Force, he still failed.
However, even though the Counter Force had been protecting this person for so long, what was the point? Weren't they afraid that this person might create something similar again?
Wouldn't it be better to eliminate him or subtly suggest he stop drawing? It was such a simple matter. What were they thinking?
But...
"In that case, it gives me an opportunity. Like humans, the Counter Force has limited attention."
The Counter Force invested its energy differently in each parallel world.
Now, in this parallel world, the Counter Force was inexplicably focusing on Kurokawa Kazuya and not paying as much attention to other matters. This presented an opportunity.
An opening to exploit.
However, what concerned him now was not only the Counter Force but also someone who could be considered his arch-nemesis.
...
Tohsaka Tokiomi was troubled.
He had already read all the content of Fate/Zero that Kurokawa Kazuya had sent him.
Therefore, he naturally did not instruct Kotomine Kirei to inquire about Kurokawa Kazuya's whereabouts. He wanted to go there himself, but now he couldn't leave the house because of Zouken Matou.
He even left his daughter, Rin Tohsaka, who should have been attending school, at home and forbade her from going out.
The bounded fields around the Tohsaka residence remained active twenty-four hours a day. Even some minor tasks had to be handled by Kotomine Kirei.
He was wracking his brains on how to educate his disciple.
After all, he couldn't punish or kill his disciple over a frivolous manga. But everything confirmed about Fate/Zero so far was true. He couldn't ignore the potential threat.
But... he didn't want to kill him just because he might go down a dark path in the future. In his view, there was still a chance to correct Kotomine Kirei, especially since he was currently empty inside. All he needed was to find the right way.
However, what troubled him the most was Zouken Matou.
That old schemer.
Previously, after the representatives of the Mage's Association and the Church had come and confirmed that Zouken Matou met the conditions for sealing, but that old man, who had lived for hundreds of years, had probably existed even before the appearance of the Holy Grail War, according to subsequent investigations. Now, the situation was that both the Mage's Association and the Church believed they had killed the old man.
In the worm pit, there was no longer a trace of life within the Matou residence. The Matou residence had also been reduced to ashes in the raging fire.
But... that old man had somehow survived and even launched an attack on Rin Tohsaka, a situation Tohsaka Tokiomi couldn't understand. According to Kotomine Kirei, there had been an arrow that streaked across the sky like a shooting star.
Then, just before Zouken Matou was about to attack again, Kotomine Kirei had protected Rin Tohsaka and brought her back.
In other words...
Kotomine Kirei had saved Rin Tohsaka.
This made it even more impossible for Tohsaka Tokiomi to take action against his disciple casually.
The Tohsaka family was a family of nobles.
As a noble, one had to maintain noble dignity. If Kotomine Kirei showed hostility toward him, then even if he had saved Rin Tohsaka, he couldn't allow him to continue living.
However, the reality was different. Kotomine Kirei continued to show him respect and behaved as a disciple should.
In this way, he was even less likely to take action against him.
And... with Zouken Matou watching him like this, he couldn't do much in the short term. He could only watch as JUMP and Fate continued to be released.
This manga would become known to more and more people...
For now, it was fine. The Fourth Holy Grail War was still a year away. Even if someone became suspicious, there probably wouldn't be much of an issue.
But... if his prediction was correct...
In a Holy Grail War like the one currently led by the three great families, this was likely the last one.
After this Holy Grail War, the Mage's Association would probably learn that the Holy Grail could reach the Root... At that time, he should be able to use his connections to protect his family.
Of course, assuming he didn't die.
Especially now... he had no confidence.
"Just one more year... before the Holy Grail War, I should leave the Tohsaka family's magic crest to Rin." In the true Holy Grail War, he probably wouldn't need his Master's combat abilities much.
Therefore, just to be safe, he should leave it behind.
And, the final troublesome matter was... Sakura.
The Matou family's path had been severed. What should be done next?
Then, setting aside family matters, since this was likely the Tohsaka family's last Holy Grail War, he had to give it his all. Resolve everything...
Among these, one very crucial point about this Holy Grail War was...
How should that black mud be dealt with? If it wasn't resolved, could it truly reach The Root?
...
On the other side—
Iwamoto Yu returned to Morioh Town with mixed feelings, unlike before. This time, he came with a purpose from the upper echelons of JUMP... and the purpose was simple: to ensure that Kurokawa-sensei continued drawing the storyline of Fate.
Currently, JUMP was in turmoil because of this massive fire.
If JOJO attracted die-hard fans, then Fate/Zero's ensemble drama attracted a much larger audience who wouldn't normally read manga.
Countless people had fallen into the manga because of it, and it would take time for them to become loyal JUMP readers.
And previously... the serialization of Fate couldn't be interrupted like this.
This was a challenging order from above for him as an editor...
---
The Holy Grail War has begun!
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