Marvel: Trading with Worlds

Tohsaka Meeting

There were only three people present: a high school student with a downcast expression, a servant from the future, and Rin Tohsaka—who had grandly named the meeting after herself.

Snap.

Rin Tohsaka slapped the table and couldn't hold back any longer.

"What happened just now? How do you know the other party's servant? And you seem so close! Are you from the same era? Acquainted Heroic Spirits or something?"

Rin's mind was still stuck on their earlier conversation. If they hadn't known each other, a fight would've broken out for sure. And if they'd lost, they could have been disqualified from the Holy Grail War they had only just entered.

If Emiya Shirou hadn't been in danger, Rin honestly wouldn't have jumped out to confront that servant. She was just a mage. Even with the boost from her magic gems, she was no match for a Heroic Spirit—it was simply too dangerous.

Tsunade noticed Rin's reluctance and stubborn determination. Knowing that Rin would keep pestering her unless she got answers, Tsunade shrugged and said nonchalantly, "It's not that strange that I know him. I'm his wife. Tsunade."

"WHAT?!"

Rin nearly bit her tongue in shock. She pointed at Tsunade with a trembling finger and asked, "W-Wife? You and him? You're husband and wife?!"

"Yeah," Tsunade replied. "I tried to hide my identity, but he still figured it out. Used some kind of spiritual magic to force the truth out of me. That guy's sharp."

She sighed, clearly irritated. "Good thing I'm fully armored. None of my familiar moves gave me away."

Rin slumped slightly, exhausted just from processing the conversation. "If you're really husband and wife, how did you expect to hide it from him with just armor?"

She muttered in frustration. Her follower might not be the smartest…

But then her eyes sharpened again as she continued, "So if you're married, what does that mean for this Holy Grail War?"

"I'm still bound by the Command Spells," Tsunade said. "But Kain… probably not. The moment he arrived in this world, he must've started thinking of ways to break free. That's what he's always like. Acts obedient on the surface, while plotting in secret."

At her words, Emiya Shirou suddenly slammed the table in fury.

"Then it's true! Sakura must have been threatened by him—and Shinji… he was killed by that bastard! And Saber—!"

"I haven't heard of this 'Shinji,'" Tsunade replied indifferently. "So he's probably insignificant. And people die in war—it's normal. You'll get used to it."

Tohsaka Rin covered her face with her hand in exasperation. How could she speak so casually about something like this?

And Shirou was clearly losing his composure, his emotions spiraling from everything that had happened tonight. Trying to calm things down, Rin quickly changed the subject.

"S-So… what era are you from, exactly? The name 'Tsunade'—I don't recall it being part of any myth or legend…"

But halfway through her sentence, Rin paused. A realization hit her. She remembered the mechanism behind summoning Heroic Spirits.

Her eyes widened. "Wait… you're a Heroic Spirit from the future?!"

She hadn't summoned Gilgamesh, the ancient king. She'd used a different summoning ritual—one capable of calling Heroic Spirits from any time period. Even the future.

"You're smarter than you look, Tohsaka," Tsunade said with a smile. "Yeah, I was summoned by you—just by chance."

"Originally, your world had no version of me. But the future is always shifting. One small change can alter everything."

She folded her arms, her expression growing a little more serious. "As for the details—I don't know. Time is a pain. If you're not careful, it causes all kinds of trouble. Kain's the only one who really studies that stuff. Everyone else avoids it."

Rin's curiosity flared again. "Then how did you die in the future? And who's Yoko? That name he mentioned earlier?"

Tsunade blinked. "Yoko's my daughter, of course. And who said I'm dead? Don't assume the future works the same way as the present. It's uncertain—always changing."

After Tsunade took a sip of tea, she continued speaking to Tohsaka Rin.

"I can't explain everything, but when Kain and I came to this world, the future changed. I didn't say it—he did."

"So mysterious… I don't even understand what you're saying anymore," Rin muttered.

Seeing that Tsunade refused to elaborate, Tohsaka Rin sat down, chewing on her thumbnail. She barely understood what had just been said, but that only made her feel worse.

The greatest threat in the Holy Grail War had appeared—and three Servants were now united in a single camp. Even if the total number of Servants was expanded, such an alliance was nearly unheard of.

Worse still, she had summoned one of them. And they were husband and wife.

Rin Tohsaka couldn't think of any way to turn this around.

"Tohsaka, I'm heading back," said Emiya Shirou.

He couldn't accept tonight's outcome. Saber was lost. The only person he thought he could trust was now allied with the enemy. There was no hope left—he barely knew any magic. He was helpless.

"Wait, Emiya—um, Student Emiya," Rin corrected herself, trying to keep a professional tone. "Why don't you take a couple of days off from school? You need rest."

She had wanted to persuade him to stay calm, but tonight was clearly not the time. Shirou was emotionally wrecked. Though he had no serious injuries, his body was covered in small cuts from debris and shockwaves.

Two days of rest sounded reasonable.

Tohsaka Rin felt utterly lost. This Holy Grail War had gone completely off script.

If Saber hadn't died, there should have been twelve Servants remaining. And among them, three were now confirmed to be in the same camp. Worse—if you counted her own summoned Servant, that meant four were allied.

One-third of the war's combatants… all from the same side.

Rin felt a wave of hopelessness crash over her. What was even the point of this war anymore?

Sensing Rin's growing despair, Tsunade tried to reassure her.

"Don't be too pessimistic, Tohsaka. Even if you fail, you've got to fight like hell before you fail."

"Is this how you usually comfort people?" Rin sighed.

She wanted to ask more questions, but Tsunade simply shook her head each time. No matter how Rin pushed, the woman wouldn't say another word.

Use the Command Spells.

The thought crossed Rin's mind—but she dismissed it instantly. Forcing someone to speak when they didn't want to? She couldn't bring herself to do that.

"Tonight's been a mess. I need to go clear my head."

With that, Rin dragged her exhausted body upstairs. Tsunade had already healed her small wounds after they entered the house earlier.

Now that her identity was exposed, Tsunade no longer bothered to hide her abilities. Originally, she had planned to conceal everything until the final stages of the Holy Grail War—then remove her mask in dramatic fashion. That plan was clearly over.

Matou Residence

"Mr. Kain, about that magic—"

"You've done well, Medea," Kain interrupted. "I'll organize the spell structure and hand it to you in two days. As for Saber, I'll leave him to you."

Kain already knew what Medea was going to ask. Her obsession with magic had made her the strongest magician of the Age of Gods. Now that she'd met someone like him, her interest was practically bursting.

As for Saber—he no longer had the time or interest to train her himself. Medea, however, seemed eager. If Saber could be turned into a weapon for their side, he had no reason to object.

"Mr. Kain," came a soft voice.

Matou Sakura approached with Rider at her side. She placed her hands over her chest, hesitating slightly before speaking. "Just now…"

"Nothing happened just now, Sakura Matou," Kain cut her off.

"Your personality doesn't suit this kind of war. Focus on your studies. Live your life. There won't be any bugs or abusers tormenting you anymore. After one month of patience, you'll be free to do whatever you like."

There was no way he was going to punish Medea for Sakura's sake.

Medea had done a brilliant job. She'd captured Saber, taken out an enemy Servant, and solidified her position as a powerhouse. With the protection of Kain's magical barriers, she ranked among the top three in this war—just behind Tsunade and himself.

Kain had been a superior for a long time. He would never make the mistake of punishing an excellent subordinate just because someone "unimportant" complained.

That kind of foolishness was beneath him.

Matou Sakura looked a little reluctant and softly tried to continue, "But—"

"No buts. Now go back to sleep. Do you want to request a leave of absence tomorrow?"

Kain cut her off again, waving his hand to dismiss her. She turned reluctantly and went upstairs. In his view, high school students had no business getting involved in matters like this—it wasn't even worth considering.

"Rider, keep monitoring the person I mentioned. This Holy Grail War is coming to an end."

Expressionless, Rider asked, "Your rank should be Slave Owner. Who is that person?"

She was referring to Tsunade. Although Rider had stayed back during the earlier battle, she had still caught the odd atmosphere between the two.

"My wife. I'm going to handle it tonight."

Kain had a suspicion—one he needed to confirm. But before leaving, he had to repair the Matou household's magical barrier.

There were many civilians and police patrolling outside. Though the chances were slim, there was still a 1 in 10,000 chance a reckless person might stumble into something they shouldn't. Once the barrier was restored, if anything happened to the Matou family, he'd be able to rush back immediately.

After restoring the barrier and reinforcing it with a surge of magical energy, Kain teleported—apparating just outside the Tohsaka residence.

He didn't bother concealing his aura.

Tsunade, who was browsing the DB website, immediately noticed his presence.

"That guy... definitely came here to pick a fight," she muttered, reluctantly closing her laptop. After making sure Rin Tohsaka was resting in bed, she stepped outside.

As she exited the Tohsaka villa, Tsunade spotted Kain leaning against the railing. She composed herself, then marched toward him with an angry expression.

"Tsunade—"

Boom!

Before Kain could finish speaking, Tsunade's fist crashed into his chest, knocking the wind out of him.

"Cough, cough..."

Kain wheezed, rubbing his chest while trying to steady himself. He quickly raised his hand to stop Tsunade's second strike. "Hey—hey! I'm the victim here!"

"Victim?" Tsunade sneered. "You think you can keep Uchiha Mikoto and Nohara Rin a secret from me?"

These were only two of the names she'd discovered—and she'd found out after the fact. The more she learned, the more she realized how outrageously far Kain had taken things.

"If Tohsaka hadn't accidentally summoned me, I wouldn't have known any of this. If it had been Kushina who found out—!"

Kain visibly shivered at the thought. He quickly recalculated his timeline. It was probably time to visit the Shinobi World again. Thanks to Tsunade's timely arrival, he still had a chance to prepare.

"Well, whatever. Tsunade, did you come through the Holy Grail this time?"

"Hmph. Of course. What other route is there besides the Grail?"

Kain nodded thoughtfully. "Then... it worked. I think I've done it. Sometimes a flash of inspiration really is the right path."

This idea had first occurred to him while collecting the Infinity Stones. Back then, he only had the Space Stone and had shelved the plan. But after arriving in the Fate world and gaining access to the Root, the thought had resurfaced. Tsunade's sudden appearance was likely a result of his tampering with the timeline—this world was developing into a different possibility now.

In the future, perhaps only Rin Tohsaka could summon Tsunade due to those effects.

Tsunade hadn't said much, but with just a few words, Kain had deduced a lot.

Still, tonight wasn't about theories. He had come to ask questions, but as usual, Tsunade had redirected the conversation with a single line.

Now out of her armor, Tsunade crossed her arms under her chest—emphasizing her curves—and gave Kain a mocking smile.

"Anything else you want to ask?"

"No more questions," Kain said quickly, before adding, "Tsunade, would you like to come to my side? I can remove your current Command Seal and form a new pact—"

Before he could finish, Tsunade turned away with a cold snort. "Not a chance. I already listened to you once, and I suffered enough."

"I only did it for the Holy Grail War—"

"You're lying!"

Tsunade shot a glance up to the third floor of the house, then turned back. "No point dragging this out. Let's leave it here for tonight."

How did my future self make Tsunade this sharp? Kain sighed internally.

She was pointing things out he hadn't even considered. Now that she had said them out loud, he couldn't argue back.

In the end, all he could do was ask about some less sensitive matters—Naruto, Yoko, Nono's children, Mikoto's kids. Nohara Rin, it seemed, had never been pregnant, but her relationship status was clear.

Kain's grin only grew wider as he heard the news. Finally, Tsunade had enough of his smug expression and kicked him out—before he started getting any more "ideas."

After Kain left, a small head at the third-floor window let out a quiet sigh of relief.

Rin Tohsaka had been watching.

But when she peeked again, Tsunade was looking straight at her—with a sly smile.

Flushed with shame and frustration, Rin dove back under the covers and hid in the quilt.

"That woman! She probably thinks I'm spying on her! I just happened to wake up and saw my Servant sneaking out... Who wouldn't peek outside?"

After coming up with that totally reasonable excuse in her head, Rin finally relaxed. She was exhausted from the events of the day and fell asleep soon after.

Emiya Residence

The spacious courtyard was silent.

Emiya Shirou had returned home after telling Fuji-nee about everything. Now, he was the only one here.

This place had been left to Emiya Shirou by Emiya Kiritsugu.

"Damn it! Sakura... Saber!"

Emiya Shirou was still seething when he returned home. He wasn't strong enough. All he could do was watch helplessly as the people around him were taken away.

"Hehehe... There's no need to be so angry, Emiya Shirou."

"Who's there?!"

Startled by the sudden voice behind him, Shirou spun around—only to see a thin, elderly man standing silently behind him. He had no idea when the man had even appeared.

"Are you... another Master in the Holy Grail War?"

"A mere commoner wouldn't have the skill to sneak up behind you like this."

Matou Zouken coughed twice before continuing in a frail voice, "I knew your father, Emiya Kiritsugu. That's why I decided to pay you a little visit tonight."

…

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