Chapter 77 : Host we got played

Arthur’s gaze sharpened slightly.

’System... show me the conditions.’

The moment he said that—

His vision filled instantly.

Multiple notifications overlapped, glowing faintly in front of his eyes.

[ A foreign system has been detected ]

[ System Name: Ultimate Foresight System ]

[ Type: Predictive Authority ]

[ Rank: Level 3 ]

[ This system observes and predicts future outcomes ]

[ The host is rewarded based on how much they change the future and how beneficial the new outcome is for them. Bigger and smarter changes yield greater rewards. ]

[ Target Identified: Sakura Takahashi ]

System: Ultimate Foresight System

Relationship: Stranger

[ Target Perception of Host ]

• Neutral

• Non-hostile

• Irrelevant

[ Extraction Conditions: ]

• The target has taken her stepmother, Himari Takahashi, hostage—her death already set in stone by the future Tsunade has foreseen, and the clock is running out.

• Reach her before the final moment strikes, and shatter the future that has already been predicted—prove Tsunade wrong and break her belief that everything is under her control.

• Bring Himari back alive... and deliver her safely to Yuichi Takahashi, while facing an enemy who already knows what comes next.

[ Success Reward ]

• One random system ability

• 50 attribute points

Arthur’s eyes narrowed slightly as he read through everything.

’...Now this is going to be troublesome.’

His gaze flickered toward Sakura.

’She can see the future... huh.’

A faint exhale escaped him.

’And the attribute points increased... looks like the difficulty just went up as well.’

He was about to question the system—

But before he could—

Across from him—

Tsunade...

No—

Sakura Takahashi stood quietly, her gaze fixed directly on him.

Then she spoke.

Calm.

Certain.

"You won’t reach her in time."

Arthur’s eyes widened slightly.

’...So she’s already seen it.’

’She knows I’m going to try to save Himari.’

A pause.

’But the real question is... how much has she seen?’

Just then—

More notifications appeared.

[ Accessing other target systems within vicinity... ]

[ Access Denied ]

Arthur frowned.

’Denied?’

The system tried again.

[ Multiple system interference detected ]

[ Access pathway destabilized ]

[ Unable to retrieve target extraction conditions ]

The screen flickered once—

Then went still.

[ Host: Due to interference from multiple active systems, access to other system users’ extraction conditions has been blocked ]

Arthur’s expression darkened slightly.

’What the hell is happening...?’

’I can’t see other players’ extraction conditions?’

’It worked fine with Sakura... so what changed now?’

Before he could think further—

Sakura suddenly burst out laughing.

A genuine, almost euphoric laugh.

"Oh... this feeling... of control. Knowing everything will go exactly the way I want... I’m really getting addicted to it."

Arthur looked at her calmly. "So... you did it, huh."

Sakura tilted her head slightly, smiling. "You’re really naive, aren’t you? You don’t even understand how systems work."

She stepped slightly closer.

"Did you really think only your system has the capability to detect foreign systems in its vicinity?"

Her smile widened.

"When your system is only level one?"

Arthur’s eyes narrowed.

Just then—

A voice echoed inside his head.

[ Host... bad news. She played us. ]

Arthur replied internally, ’What do you mean... we got played?’

The system responded quickly.

[ As you know, she was already aware that you possess a system. Even though her system didn’t directly block me from accessing its information from the Nexus... it wouldn’t have succeeded anyway. ]

A brief pause.

[ But it backfired on us. The other four system users attacked me simultaneously while I was busy accessing her system data from the Nexus. ]

[ They attempted to access my data at the same time... and a conflict broke out. ]

Another pause.

[ And as you can see... it was four against one. ]

[ I lost. ]

Arthur’s eyes flickered slightly.

The system continued.

[ They have successfully blocked my access to their data through the Nexus... I can no longer provide you with their extraction conditions. ]

A final message appeared.

[ And it was all planned by that woman standing right in front of you (•>︿<•) ]

Arthur remained silent.

Then—

A faint smile appeared on his face.

’...Is that so.’

’Don’t worry... I’ll handle this somehow.’

His gaze sharpened slightly.

’Just knowing hers... is enough.’

Arthur let out a light chuckle.

"Well played... I really didn’t see that coming at all. Maybe I really am naive... just like you said."

He tilted his head slightly, his tone calm.

"But let me ask you something... before we get into action."

His eyes locked onto hers.

"Why are you doing all this... when you already have a loving father... and a family now?"

Sakura scoffed.

"Loving father? What a joke."

Her expression turned cold.

"The loving father you’re talking about... abandoned my real mother years ago... left her to die on the side of a road."

Arthur frowned slightly. "He didn’t look that heartless to me."

Sakura smirked faintly. "Looks can be deceiving... you know."

She folded her arms.

"My mother still survived. She raised me on her own... hell, she even started a small company and made it successful."

Her voice lowered slightly.

"She gave me everything she could."

A pause.

"But deep down... I never understood why she still loved that man so much."

Her eyes darkened.

"She kept hoping... that one day... he would come back to her... if she just raised me well enough."

Arthur spoke calmly. "Looks like he did come back... didn’t he?"

Sakura let out a short laugh.

"Yeah... he did."

Her expression twisted slightly.

"But not for anything good."

She stepped closer.

"That old bastard found out he couldn’t have children anymore."

A cold silence followed.

"So I became his only option."

Arthur’s gaze sharpened.

"So... he came back for you."

Sakura nodded.

"He didn’t want my mother."

Her lips curled slightly.

"Because he already had a wife."

She looked directly at Arthur.

"I think you already know her... Himari."

Arthur nodded. "Yeah... I know. I came here to save her too."

Sakura waved it off dismissively. "Yeah, yeah... keep dreaming."

She turned slightly, as if recalling something distant.

"Huh... where was I..."

A pause.

"Right."

"By that time... I had already been chosen by my system."

Her eyes gleamed faintly.

"I had gained power... real power."

"And I had already joined TCO."

Arthur stayed silent.

Listening.

Sakura continued.

"The orders were simple... accept Yuichi’s offer."

A faint smile appeared.

"So I already knew what was going to happen."

Her voice softened slightly.

"When Yuichi came to take me back..."

She paused.

Her expression shifted.

"It was the first time I had ever seen my mother that happy."

A distant look filled her eyes.

"That light in her eyes... it was as if she was ascending to heaven."

Her fingers clenched slightly.

"Oh... how I hated it."

Her voice dropped.

"It still makes my stomach crawl."

A slow breath escaped her.

"Even though she knew... he was only there to hurt her again."

Silence fell between them.

Heavy.

Uncomfortable.

And filled with something far deeper than anger.

Sakura’s gaze grew distant as she continued, her voice steady but filled with suppressed emotion.

"I wanted to kill Yuichi that day... so badly."

Her fingers tightened slightly.

"But I held myself back... because I knew the kind of power he had. His business empire... his influence... it was on another level."

She took a slow breath.

"But I also couldn’t bear to see my mother suffer again."

Her eyes lowered.

"I knew... once I left her... she would break completely."

A pause.

"And she would probably go mad."

Arthur exhaled sharply. "Fuck... I already know what you’re going to say next... so please don’t. It’s going to make my stomach crawl."

Sakura smiled.

A calm, unsettling smile.

"Just listen... this is the good part."

Arthur’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"I didn’t want to see her suffer anymore... so I killed her myself."

Silence.

"And I made it look like an accident."

The air turned heavy.

Arthur stared at her for a moment—

Then slowly started clapping.

"Wow... your mother would be so proud of you."

Sakura nodded faintly. "Of course she would."

She looked straight into his eyes.

"I know you think of me as a freak... a maniac... but at least listen to me."

Her voice trembled slightly.

"You don’t understand... how painful it is to watch a broken woman pray... and hope for something that will never happen."

Her breathing grew uneven.

"To see that pain eat her away... every single second."

Tears began forming in her eyes.

Real.

Uncontrolled.

"I just couldn’t bear it anymore..."

Her voice cracked.

"I knew nothing I did would ever change how she felt about that man all these years... hell, I bet she loved him even more than me... even though he is a piece of shit."

Her hands trembled.

"So a swift death was mercy... far better than letting her live like someone already dead."

A pause.

"I made sure it was painless."

Silence fell.

Arthur looked at her calmly.

"Well... you’re missing the point here."

His voice was cold.

"It doesn’t change the fact that... just like your father... you chose power and control over your own mother."

He stepped slightly closer.

"Doesn’t that make you the same as him?"

Those words—

Hit her.

Hard.

Sakura’s expression darkened instantly.

Her eyes sharpened with anger.

"How dare you... compare me to him."

Without hesitation—

She raised her hand—

And swung it toward his face.

But—

Arthur caught her wrist mid-air.

Firm.

Effortless.

Their eyes met—

Tension crackling between them.

Tears welled up in Sakura’s eyes as her voice trembled, yet carried a sharp edge of hatred.

"I’m doing all this to ruin that man... I don’t want to give him an easy death."

Her fingers curled into fists.

"I’ll take everything away from him... everything he has... and then I’ll give him the same pain he gave my mother."

Arthur listened quietly.

Then he nodded slightly. "Alright... understood. Good luck with that."

Just like that—

He let go of her hand.

The tension between them eased... slightly.

Arthur’s expression shifted.

"Now... change of topic."

He looked at her directly.

"What are you doing at the Brandon family estate... and why do you want to kill everyone here?"

Sakura wiped the corner of her eye casually, regaining her composure.

"Oh... that."

Her tone returned to normal.

"As you can see... the Brandon family hosts these gatherings where they sell slaves, make drug deals, supply weapons of mass destruction... everything illegal and disgusting happens here."

Her eyes turned cold.

"So... I killed the entire Brandon family."

A pause.

"Wiped out their lineage about a month ago."

Arthur raised an eyebrow slightly.

"And then?"

Sakura continued calmly. "And then I took over... assumed the identity of Tsunade."

She looked at him.

"And today... I plan to kill every single scumbag gathered here."

A brief silence.

"And put all the blame on my father... Yuichi Takahashi."

Arthur let out a low whistle. "Well... it’s really hard to tell sometimes whether you’re a good person or a bad one."

Sakura’s mouth twitched. "I only killed my mother because she was suffering, okay? You don’t understand... because you never saw her like I did."

Arthur waved his hand slightly. "Yeah, yeah... I understand everything now."

Then his expression sharpened again.

"Just answer one final question for me."

Sakura narrowed her eyes. "What is it?"

Arthur spoke calmly.

"Who is the leader of this organization... TCO?"

For a moment—

Silence.

Then—

Sakura started laughing.

"Well, well... don’t get cocky."

Her eyes gleamed dangerously.

"You’re in no position to ask me something like that."

Arthur shrugged lightly. "Doesn’t hurt to try."

Sakura stepped closer.

"Alright... now it’s my turn to ask questions."

Her voice dropped.

"And think carefully before you answer... because it might decide whether you’re still breathing the next second or not."

Arthur smiled faintly. "Ask away... I’m all yours."

Sakura’s lips curved slightly.

"Join TCO."

Arthur didn’t hesitate.

"I will..."

He paused.