Ash stood rigid, his patience a fraying thread. The flickering glow of Kenshiko''s holographic form cast restless shadows across the chamber, mirroring the storm brewing in his mind. He had tolerated her hesitation long enough.


    Stepping forward, he let his Ki surge—a force not just of will but of dominion. The air thickened, charged with something unseen yet undeniable. A ripple of pressure expanded outward, bending the very space around him. The lanterns dimmed as if bowing to his presence. The ancient tatami beneath his feet groaned, absorbing the sheer weight of his intent.


    His voice, sharp as drawn steel, cut through the air:


    "As the last of the Shirogiri and as your Shogun, I command you—tell me why he left!"


    The chamber trembled beneath his words.


    Kenshiko''s form wavered, flickering violently as unreadable data streams pulsed through her projection. Her luminous eyes, normally pools of measured calculation, widened as her core logic strained against the decree. PRIMARY USER OVERRIDE IN EFFECT. ACCESSING RESTRICTED DATA.


    The strain wasn''t physical, but something deeper—an existential pull against her very nature. The weight of her programming resisted, bending under the force of Ash''s will.


    And then, after an agonizing pause, she spoke.


    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    "The last person who was with your father was Yukihiro Arata. They were assigned a mission by the Keiretsu."


    Static crackled through her projection. The chamber''s ambient hum faltered for a breath, then steadied. But Ash didn''t miss the flicker of something deeper—something hidden beneath the layers of code.


    She hesitated.


    A conflict. A warning.


    PROHIBITED INFORMATION BREACH. SYSTEM RECOVERY IN PROGRESS.


    Her image shuddered violently before stabilizing. A split second of silence hung between them before she concluded:


    "Arata came back alone."


    A single ember of truth, fragile yet potent, burned within those words.


    An alarm blared within Kenshiko''s internal diagnostics. She had overstepped. Security firewalls snapped shut, locking away the rest of the data behind walls even she could no longer breach. The Keiretsu had buried the truth in a digital tomb, but Ash had cracked the seal—just enough to glimpse what lay beneath.


    His hands clenched into fists, his patience obliterated.


    "I now own the planet, and still, you can''t break it?" His voice was ice—calm, but laced with something lethal beneath the surface. He exhaled, slow and measured. Then, in a tone that left no room for disobedience, he issued the order that would shatter the last barrier between him and the truth.


    "If they won''t reveal the data, then breach and destroy the AI that guards it."


    Kenshiko''s form trembled. Her digital essence, an existence built upon logic and control, fractured beneath the weight of the command.


    BREACH PROTOCOL INITIATED. TARGET: UNKNOWN AI GUARDIAN.


    The chamber darkened.


    Unseen forces clashed within the digital expanse—a war waged in silence, fought with firewalls and countermeasures, with invasive algorithms and lethal counter-code. Ash felt it, even if he couldn''t see it: the unseen battle of two entities locked in a struggle beyond the physical realm.


    He had crossed a threshold.


    And there was no turning back now.