Okay.
I'm leaving that idiot to you...
Now, then...
the final stage starts now.
YOZAKURA FAMILY
So 15 of them passed the second stage?
Well, that's not too shabby, right?
The ultra-high-end tea leaves, Dark Sweet.
The aroma and richness is to die for.
I'm speaking to each of you via Morse Thread.
Your final exam will be an interview.
I have nothing more to impose
on you prodigies who've passed the first two stages.
Just some quick questions and dialogue should suffice.
Once teatime for me is over, the interview will end.
So feel free to approach it casually.
I'm using Morse Thread to protect your privacy.
They're somewhat flimsy, so make sure you stay calm.
That's still no reason to deliberately leave us hanging like this.
Oh!
How did you know that I was wearing woolen shorts?
Usa!
Again, these threads are fragile.
For example, even the quickening of your heart rate can cause them to fray.
Secrets that you want to keep hidden.
But I've never told anyone
that my hobby is to dress up as a woman in my private time!
The past that you'd like to forget.
No! Don't tell them that I wrote a love letter using my own secret code!
First-class spies never get agitated due to mere words.
If you haven't fallen into that pond by the end of my teatime, you pass.
Cries of shame and fear go so well with tea.
DARK SECRETS OF THE SILVER RANK EXAM'S APPLICANTS
Mmm. I've found bliss,
You're depraved!
Oh, crap. What's he going to ask me?
About that thing when I was in third grade?
Or what happened in seventh grade?
Now, then, I'm asking Examinee Number 321, Taiyo Asano...
Why do you believe Tsubomi Yozakura?
How does Big Bro Kyoichiro know about that?
Though scant, there's some literature
on how unique the blood of the first head, Tsubomi Yozakura, is.
Since that day you interacted with Kawashita,
I've always kept my eye on you.
The flowers blooming on your body.
The unlocking of the Book of Buds.
It's clear that something's influencing you.
As well as...
the fact that you're trying to use that entity.
Don't do it, Taiyo.
She's not an opponent that you can handle.
Let me do this, please, Big Bro Kyoichiro.
I still know nothing about it,
and I'm aware that it's dangerous. But...
this is my chance to unmask whatever's targeting Mutsumi.
If I can just infiltrate the enemy as a spy...
And if I end up failing, before I put the family in danger...
You'll take responsibility?
There's no guarantee that you'll have that luxury.
What if they don't allow you to die
so they can wring every bit of information out of you?
If it ends up that way,
then I want you to kill me yourself, Big Bro Kyoichiro.
I'd gladly accept your threads then.
I know that we both feel the same way towards Mutsumi.
Out of the question.
You're too weak.
Whoa!
I get why you want to take advantage
of your brush with the enemy.
Damn it!
I'll even acknowledge your feelings towards Mutsumi.
But I can't entrust a task like this to someone as green as you.
You're free to meet up with Kawashita,
but I have no intention of giving you a license for that purpose.
Take this to heart.
You may have come up with that strategy to protect Mutsumi...
but I'm the one who's protecting you both.
The chances of a weakling like you passing this exam...
- are nonexistent. -
Big Bro Taiyo!
I mean, everyone except for Taiyo has washed out.
Oh?
Nice work, Big Sis.
What should we do?
Big Bro would leave us zero successful candidates again.
Unbelievable, huh?
Kyoichiro told me just a bit about your secret.
So I do get where both of you are coming from.
And that's why you've got to overcome him.
Kyoichiro as your proctor.
Kyoichiro as your elder brother.
Both of them.
THUNDERCLAP
Hey, now, what's wrong?
Mist Cocoon.
You're forfeiting the exam?
You said at the start...
as long as I don't fall into the pond, I'm good.
So,
that chair...
you don't mind if I take it from you, right?
You're welcome to give it a shot.
Though I'm dubious that you could even disrupt my teatime.
Huh? I see.
You're going to survive
by gathering the threads charged by electricity and climb up.
To pass this exam,
I've got to make Big Bro Kyoichiro recognize my strength!
To achieve that, I'm going to grab that seat while it's still teatime!
You're family.
You should clash without holding back.
Just like when you and Mutsumi got married.
All right.
This will be a brawl between brothers.
FIRST YAE CLEAR SKIES
DRAGON METEOR SHOWER SPECKLED
Examinee Number 321, Taiyo Asano...
do you have any hobbies or special skills?
WEIGHT OF ONE FLOWER
Transforming weapon: Yae... Gun Form, Clear Skies.
Blade Form, Rain.
Movement Skill: Walking on Flowers.
Hardening.
I see.
You've mastered them well.
But...
It's not enough to end my teatime, let alone activate my Blooming.
How do you fight Kyoichiro's threads?
What's going on? Are you planning to fight him?
No, just out of curiosity, I guess?
Hmm, let's see.
You'll never escape his Steel Spider.
So true.
But if you're still looking for a way to counter it,
the first thing you need to do is accept it.
Accept it?
It's the same as my aiki.
Rather than oppose the flow of the attack, you should receive it,
which creates an opening.
As someone who's been snagged countless times in those threads,
you should be able to find a way.
If you can find even the slightest opening...
Then I can start my counterattack!
It took everything to extricate myself.
I'm way overmatched against him!
But even still...
someday...
I have to face him!
I have to get him to recognize me!
That was my thought from the start.
Now's the time to challenge him!
Please take me on,
Big Bro Kyoichiro!
So he broke free?
Futaba's behind that.
The threads' behavior is unexpected.
He faked the restraint patterns by using fake "thread-wrapped arms" as camouflage.
Kengo, eh?
But this is odd.
How could I have missed the difference
in the feel and look of the threads I released?
Hmm?
The feeling in these fingers...
A neurotoxin from a blight spider.
It numbs the sensations in all four limbs.
It's the one toxin that works on Big Bro Kyoichiro.
Though the effects don't last, and they're weak.
But combined with my tech, you'll be able to deceive Big Bro for an instant.
I modified Yae for you, Taiyo.
Thank you very much.
Wow, it's so cool!
Oh, by the way, if you clamp some rope or something
into this revolver, then activate it...
it will generate tremendous traction.
I see.
You have zero chance of breaking out of Kyoichiro's threads.
And that's why you should use the threads themselves.
Even a thread woven from tens of thousands of algorithms
will inevitably lead you to Kyoichiro if you follow just one strand.
That's 100 percent.
DARK THUNDER
Not bad at all.
The propulsive force produced with Yae's revolver and jet thrusters,
combined with Hardening make for a devastating move.
However...
it's still weak.
Arachne.
Made by weaving tens of thousands,
hundreds of millions of loosened threads...
just barely visible to sight enhanced by Blooming.
It can block all physical attacks, chemical substances,
and even eerie soundwaves.
It's my benevolent hand, woven over 10 years to protect the delicate and dear.
It's the fruit of my love for Mutsumi.
Even if your love for Mutsumi is higher than a mountain or deeper than the sea...
it can never surpass my feelings for her.
My love will prevail over all.
Taiyo!
He's severed the threads I had left.
And Yae doesn't have the force to propel my body higher.
I can't let it end here.
Think.
There's got to be a way!
Something.
Something!
Don't be surprised.
You're the one who summoned me...
with that desperate cry from your heart.
My blood, which you've been infused with...
I'll awaken it for you.
But be careful.
If you can't withstand this blood's power...
you'll be destroyed.
I can feel power building up...
inside my body...
in my fingertips, too.
No...
even beyond them!
I can sense Yae...
like my blood and nerves are connected to it...
as if it were a part of my body.
No way does Yae have the power
to propel a human body up this high.
This is the power seen in our ancestors,
stronger than Blooming...
Profuse Blooming of 10,000 Flowers.
PROFUSE BLOOMING OF 10,000 FLOWERS
What's going on? I can't control my own body.
Don't let it overwhelm you, Taiyo.
You've got to face up to it here and now,
or you'll eventually be swallowed up in my blood.
My body... feels hot.
Hollow Cocoon.
It's only temporary, but I've paralyzed the rampage of his cells and nerves.
I knew it. Her blood's been awakened.
If you keep trying to contain that power, it'll destroy your body.
Release it.
Show me that strength of yours.
It won't be easy to live up to Big Bro's expectations.
There's no guarantee that he'll ever acknowledge you.
But...
I believe that you, of all people, can pull it off, Taiyo.
AMATERASU - CHAOTIC BLOOMING
Taiyo?
Whoa!
What the heck?
What an unbelievable blow that was.
Even I don't understand it completely.
It was amazing,
but even more, it was terrifying.
Taiyo.
So he wasn't able to break through and fell?
Hmm?
Teatime is over.
You've passed.
So you've reined in Profuse Blooming
of 10,000 Flowers for now.
But you've still got a long way to go before you can control it.
In terms of force, you could only barely scratch Arachne.
But this is undeniably your strength.
Make sure you polish it to the hilt and master it.
If you do, then I wouldn't mind...
letting you protect Mutsumi in your own way.
That goes without saying.
Yay!
All right! Taiyo!
Score!
Taiyo! Taiyo!
You did it, Taiyo!
You need to put me down, Shinzo, this second.
A photo of the sole successful candidate.
I was able to get a scoop!
I'm packing up now!
You must have had a lot of help to get this far.
You passed this exam on your own,
but don't ever forget that it doesn't belong to you alone.
177th Silver Rank Spy Exam, Examinee Number 321, Taiyo Asano...
Kyoichiro Yozakura
...you've earned the Silver rank.
Thank you very much!
GOTTA WIN
Hello?
This is Futaba.
Taiyo's cherry blossoms are in bloom.
Yay!
I always had faith in him!
Wow! Amazing!
CONGRATULATIONS, TAIYO
Yay! All right!
I'm so, so glad.
Good job, Taiyo.
All right, time to go.
I'm coming to see you now...
my treasures.
NEXT EPISODE NEW CHERRY BLOSSOMS