You bought another missile off the Dark Web again?
Well, it was a rare prototype, so I had to.
I found a super-rare marble statue!
So tacky!
Wow, what a pretty stone! There are flowers blooming all over it!
That's a cherry blossom agate. If you want it, feel free to take it.
MUTSUMI
Here's another "Mutsumi" box.
Want to see what's inside?
No, no! Just carry it out as is!
This really takes me back!
Everyone's so small.
ALBUM
It's bad enough that you're slacking. At least don't make a mess!
That body pillow, didn't I tell you to throw it out,
Big Bro?
But... but this was made by a professional prosthetic maker,
and it's a 100% match for your density and body mass.
Don't wrap around it. You're giving me the chills.
Understood.
So you say, but you're only going to hide it again.
My bad, Mutsumi, adding to your workload.
This Old Man Hunter update is taking forever.
And you haven't been feeling well lately, either?
Don't worry. I'm just a little feverish at night, that's all.
It's clear that the resurrected head has some connection with Dad.
There were traces of Dad's visit to the Ninomae Manor.
Meaning that looking into Lady Ninomae would be one way to go about it.
But Lady Ninomae is someone from 200 years ago.
Our first order of business should be
to find the Ninomae Journal, the most important Yozakura family record,
and pick up some clues about our dad!
Yeah.
Finding it sounds like a good idea, but wouldn't it be in the library?
It's an old house, so even if there are records,
we have no idea where a lot of the actual things are.
Definitely the library, as well as the storage rooms,
the repositories, the closets.
We're going to split up the work and go over the place with a fine-tooth comb!
Shinzo! Just what are you planning to do
with all these bullet casings?
I can't get back there. They're in the way!
Hey, sorry. I'll move them right now.
Who stuffed the bookshelves on the north side with fashion magazines?
Me!
No surprise there.
The storage room on the second floor has all my chemicals,
so don't go in there till I move them out.
I want these pressed flowers!
You can have them. Those are called thistles.
Whose box is this?
My hard drives! I thought I lost them!
- Huh? So what's in them, Big Sis? - So that's where they were?
I can't believe you hoarded all these old issues of "Step."
Whoa! This cover is epic!
I wanna see it!
All right! Listen up, everyone!
I now realize how foolhardy it would be
to search for a book in a mansion this cluttered.
Therefore let's begin...
the Yozakura Mansion Major Cleanup Mission!
- Ah! - What?
YOZAKURA FAMILY
MISSION 36 TSUBOMI & MUTSUMI
Even for you guys, this is way too sloppy!
For example...
- Kengo! - Me?
These statues of you, put them all away!
The poses are unpleasant, and above all, I can't tell what they're for!
What, seriously?
But I thought they'd be healing and a feast for the eyes.
They're stressing me out visually and mentally!
I'm going to help myself to this tiny one!
Next, Big Sis Shion!
Whoa!
ASAGAO FAMILY
Collecting every version of the same book...
collecting games by serial number...
you're collecting too many of the same thing!
Who knew you had no inkling what it means for a collector to seek perfection.
What a child you still are, Mutsumi.
There's nothing more childish
than buying in bulk!
If it makes you that proud, would you mind taking
these "Witch Girl Warrior Magical Boing" goods you lent me...
off my hands?
Whoa! Mutsumi! That was our secret!
I love Usa-Pink, too!
- Ai, I'll let you have this, so be quiet! - Yay!
Big Bro Shinzo...
even you aren't an exception!
Oof!
Buying a ballistic missile? Just what are you going to do with it?
We're spies, you know, not warmongers!
Worse, you didn't buy it from our business partners,
but a Dark Web auction, an easily traceable route!
It was cool, so I couldn't help myself.
Don't buy weapons like they're jewelry!
So big! It's so cool!
My, my. No wonder the house gets so cluttered.
You all keep pouncing from one thing to another.
There are so many heirlooms in this house, like books and pottery.
Wouldn't you agree that protecting traditions like those...
is what the Yozakura family should be about?
So that means that
you've brought out all those antique stuffed animals...
not because they're cute, but...
Because they're heirlooms.
And the reason you've been placing them by your pillow lately
isn't because you're afraid of sleeping alone, right?
Because they're heirlooms.
Oh. So cute!
Am I cluttering up the house with something, too?
No. You're one of the more organized ones, Nanao.
The only thing is...
MUTSUMI HAIR
I wish you'd store the family's hair and nail samples
somewhere more out of sight.
Because it's a little creepy.
Sorry about that!
They're useful for managing everyone's health
and prescribing meds that match well with each person,
so I end up hoarding too much.
Anyone but you, Nanao, would be in handcuffs.
Hey, one more thing.
Big Bro Kyoichiro asked me to give him your samples, so--
SECRET MUTSUMI COLLECTION
Discard! Discard!
What are you doing to my Mutsumi collection?
Goliath, take them to the incinerator.
I don't want that. It's kinda scary.
No!
TRASH
All right! The place is a lot tidier now,
so we can start looking for that journal.
I should be careful not to hoard too much stuff, too.
That's not true, Taiyo.
Having all this stuff signifies, for better or for worse,
how long the Yozakura family history is.
You're just getting started collecting and hoarding stuff.
Objects and memories, let's build up a whole pile of them!
Mutsumi.
I should make sure the pile doesn't get too big,
or I'll get yelled at.
Huh? Hey, what's this? Wow!
TAIYO
It's a Taiyo fan!
Isn't this one of those things you use to cheer on idols?
For sure.
And it has that homemade look, too.
Jeez, Taiyo? How in love with yourself are you?
Hey! I'm not you, Kengo!
I'd never make something like that!
Then who did?
Ai, where'd you find that?
There!
DO NOT OPEN
It fell out from the gap in Mutsumi's box!
DO NOT REMOVE
Whoops! My hand slipped!
Taiyo posters, photos, tote bags, coasters,
book covers, red penlights, and red towels.
Also, eight types of tin badges,
two types of die-cut keyholders,
five types of acrylic stands, and a life-size cutout.
A double-sided body pillow!
Don't tell me.
These were all...
Made by you, Mutsumi?
Well, what could I do? After all...
After all, Taiyo...
he's my number-one fave.
You really think you can fool us with such gorgeous tears?
Who would have thought you had a side like this, Mutsumi?
Lots of Taiyo!
You're just like Big Bro Kyoichiro!
Why, Mutsumi?
Why, when your brother is so like you,
you won't offer your love to me?
The same blood flows in our veins, you know!
I think I'm going to die.
My whole body's heating up.
- Mutsumi. - Oh.
I didn't know that you cared so much about me.
I knew he was going to say that!
Thanks, Taiyo!
From now on, you don't have to hide it, okay?
All right, then! I want to make a one-to-one scale figurine of you!
So can I take your measurements?
Please, be my guest!
I give up on this couple.
Huh?
Here's an old book!
Hey!
It's the Ninomae Journal!
NINOMAE JOURNAL
I organized all the people, places,
and objects named in the Ninomae Journal.
After analyzing and sifting through them,
we detected someinine being released in a location that I'd missed initially.
Founded by Lady Ninomae back in the day...
the Yozakura Silk Mill.
Still operating today in the textile industry, including sericulture,
a lot of employees and tourists come and go during the day.
I'm unable to pinpoint the source of the someinine due to noise.
There's no telling when Dad and Lady Ninomae might show up.
Watch your backs.
Are you all right, Mutsumi?
Yes. Thanks.
That low-grade fever hasn't gone down yet.
All the dust from the cleanup probably didn't help, huh?
No, no, I'm fine.
I'll be on my feet again in no time.
Mutsumi, would you like Big Bro to sing you a lulla--
No, I wouldn't.
I knew things were all hot and heavy,
but who would have thought she'd get an actual fever?
You said it.
Hey, no.
Oh.
What's that thing?
What a gaudy centerpiece.
That's the fifth Yozakura head,
who presided over the Yozakura Silk Factory in its heyday,
Lady Steward Itsuwa.
She launched numerous brands and shows
using her own company's fibers.
Known for her love of glitz and glamor,
it's said that she ordered her body to be put on permanent display in all its glory.
Well, I guess you could call her a Kengo-level narcissist.
What? I don't think even I would go that far...
Hmm.
I just might.
- We suppose so. - We knew it.
No good. The noise is still preventing me from detecting the someinine.
Gotcha. For now, we'll split up and...
Water God!
Is this Big Bro Shinzo's Turmeric?
Should I be happy or sad?
It's complicated.
I'm pleased to meet my beloved grandchildren,
but I'm hardly dressed for the occasion, not the way I look.
You must be disappointed.
I couldn't be more embarrassed.
What the...
It's talking?
I see there's a child who takes after me.
I'm quite touched.
Normally, I'd give you an exuberant welcome...
gorgeous attire, glory and abundance,
the brilliant dawn of the Yozakura conglomerate.
I wanted to fully showcase the harmonious display of beauty
forged by my artistic sensibility and business acumen.
However...
this castle has already been cursed.
By our founding ancestor, Tsubomi Yozakura.
Human bones!
We found some at the Ninomae Manor, too.
These black cherry blossoms are roots put down by Tsubomi.
They're demonic roots that absorb people.
Her longevity prompted Tsubomi, out of fear of aging,
to spread these roots out far and wide in order to live on...
deep and long.
She also used her own blood to awaken the heads, her descendants,
at rest in their respective locations...
drawing out hidden powers that never would have manifested in a family head.
And so, to have them protect her roots,
she turned the former heads into puppets that she could control at will.
I have no interest in Tsubomi's fate.
The last thing I'd do is worship her as Ninomae does.
I ask you to please send me back to the underworld with your own hands.
I get it. It's not just that I can't register it due to the noise.
The whole silk factory's tainted with someinine!
She probably specializes in skills like Kengo's Observation and Trace.
She's transforming the whole factory.
All right, here it comes.
You guys, we're sticking to the plan!
Right!
Most likely, those black trees are the source of the enemy's energy.
First thing...
Destroy!
So beautiful.
I was able to slash away most of them.
I'll finish them off with one more blow to eradicate--
Big Sis Mutsumi's vitals are off!
What?
What's wrong, Mutsumi?
Hey, dumbass Big Bro!
What's going on over there?
I see. So that stinking hag...
Watch your language, my dear.
You should show restraint before your mother.
Tsubomi?
You're much too talkative.
Is this how you thank me for reviving you with my blood?
It's not in my nature to cling to life in such an unseemly way.
Is that the person Taiyo told us about?
Tsubomi?
I'll take command of the front lines now.
Nanao, watch over Mutsumi!
Roger that!
But Big Sis' temperature keeps spiking.
This is bad!
Cherry blossoms?
My bond with Mutsumi has awakened.
Even a great tree such as I will wither away one day.
To revive my aging, deteriorating body,
I needed fertilizer of the most staggering potency and succulence.
That's why I planted these special seeds of mine
into the Yozakura family
and waited for them to blossom and bloom profusely.
And then...
I should have harvested them.
Though I failed to do so that day,
I was able to embed a strong bond in her...
roots too thin to be seen, that can never be severed.
That said, having missed a golden opportunity,
I'd withered completely and needed to rebuild myself...
into a robust body that could withstand robust fertilizer.
Momo, Dr. Kawashita...
my descendants who'd become family heads...
people whose names were unknown to me became the source of my sustenance.
Thoroughly hydrated,
I regained my vigor, bit by bit.
And now the time is ripe.
I am ready to absorb that child into me through my roots.
Yes.
That child was born for me,
and she will die for me.
Too engrossed in your chatter and absorption?
Thanks. Now I can move.
You little pests, listen up.
The roots and the previous heads, that's what's sustaining Tsubomi's life.
Meaning there's just one thing to do.
Demolish them all.
Then you'll be able to obliterate the power of the roots
that are draining away the current head's life.
Give this gorgon who refuses to die...
the coup de grace.
What a bad girl.
As long as I have Mutsumi, I don't need anything else.
All of you, come back...
to my womb.
My body is...
No way! She's absorbing all of their someinine?
What the heck?
This could be fatal! Get out of there right now!
But if this keeps up...
Big Sis Mutsumi will...
Demolish them all.
What should I do?
Taiyo... can you hear me?
Run away.
I'll be fine.
If you're all safe, that's enough for me.
He repelled my roots.
I'm such an idiot.
I haven't been protecting Mutsumi.
Mutsumi has always protected me.
The vow I made that day...
I'm going to...
protect you!
This time, no matter what, I'm going to come through!
AMATERASU - CHAOTIC BLOOMING
Let us meet again.
Taiyo!
Are you all right?
Taiyo...
I won't let her have her way.
I swear I'm going to save you, Mutsumi.
Right.
Mother, the roots have stopped throbbing.
Itsuwa's roots have been destroyed.
I shall heal them and then restore them.
No need to panic.
That child will always be in my grasp.
NEXT EPISODE REFUSAL