Some Burdens Can Only Be Borne by Adults!

"Your dad... has returned to your side," Jirochou chuckled softly, "Let's go, Pirako."

"Wait a moment," Otose's voice suddenly came from one side, "This level of apology is not fully accepted by me, at least... at the drinking party to be held in my shop later; I won't accept it unless you dance a couple of octopus dances. Jiro-chan, you come too; consider it a farewell drink before you leave."

"Dad... my mom..." Chin Pirako turned her head and asked softly, "Who exactly is my mom?!"

"Is this kid really such an idiot?" Kawaki pointed at Chin Pirako and looked towards Jirochou.

"No mistake; she's an idiot," Gintoki said, playing with the handcuffs in his hand. He casually remarked, "Hey, Birabira Pirako, you're fired from Yorozuya today. Go back with your stinky dad."

...

In Otose's shop, it was probably the busiest day ever. Apart from a particular vixen who was imprisoned in Yoshiwara, all the Four Devas were gathered here.

The entire shop was so crowded there was hardly space to stand.

"Hey, who won the first Kabukicho Acting Competition today?" Otae squinted her eyes and smiled at Kawaki, "It must be me, right? When will the promised one million prize money be credited?"

"No, it should be me-aru!" Kagura argued, "Playing dead is very hard! I really had to resist falling asleep!"

"No, without a doubt, it should be me!" Gintoki shouted while holding up a drink, "The one who was about to catch a cold lying on the ground in the rain!"

"Shut up! It should be me, the most beautiful hostess of Otose's shop!" Catherine countered.

"Um..." Watching the group almost start to fight, Kawaki quietly pulled an envelope from his pocket and placed it on the table, "You guys decide..."

Seeing the envelope peeking with stacks of ten thousand yen bills, Gintoki and others rushed forward. Kagura was the first to kick Catherine away from the envelope, but before she could touch the envelope, Gintoki pressed her head down with his palm. However, as Gintoki was about to grab the envelope, Otae delivered a powerful kick to his face, sending him flying.

"It's mine!" Otae shouted.

However...

"The money for today's drinks." Otose picked up the envelope from the counter and casually slipped it into her sleeve.

"Are you kidding me? Didn't you say it's on you today?!" Gintoki immediately got up to protest, "That's my money!"

"I don't recall ever saying I'd treat everyone!" Otose shouted back with eyes wide.

"Forget it; since you took it, let's consider it as a pay for the rent we owe; how many months? Six months? A year? Well, it doesn't matter," Gintoki said casually.

"Give me back every penny of the rent you owe! You debt-ridden perm!" Otose shouted.

"What's wrong?" Jirochou, sitting at the counter with an empty glass in front of him, asked.

"No, nothing..." Chin Pirako, sitting beside Jirochou, shook her head and whispered, "I just don't understand what I'm even doing here. One of the Four Devas, Kada, has been eliminated, and I knew nothing about it..."

"Kids just need to know who their real parents are," Kawaki disdainfully commented.

"Damn you! You deceived me!" Chin Pirako suddenly clenched her teeth in anger, staring intensely at Kawaki.

"Ah, once you become a normal kid, I just can't like you anymore," Kawaki sighed, "Really, it's frustrating."

"Damn it!" Chin Pirako was about to draw her sword.

"Enough," Jirochou spoke up, "He's not someone your dad can afford to mess with. Causing trouble for adults might be a child's privilege, but it doesn't include this guy."

"Little girl..." Kawaki propped his cheek with one hand, turned his face towards Kagura, who was playing with Gintoki, and softly said, "Children... can't bear the weight of life. Killing and being killed are not things a child can handle. Remember that well. And your dad's chains have been broken. If they haven't, just go up and bite off a piece. No chain is strong enough to withstand... a daughter with steel teeth... Ouch! Damn it!"

Kawaki turned back to look at Chin Pirako, who was biting his head fiercely, and yelled, "Want me to break all your teeth?! Do you want to die, you brat?!"

"It's all your fault I got fired by big bro!" Chin Pirako didn't let go, still fiercely biting Kawaki's head.

"Hey, Kagura, call an ambulance; I need to get a rabies shot," Kawaki casually pulled Chin Pirako off him and tossed her aside, then spoke to Kagura nearby.

In stark contrast to the surrounding noise, Jirochou just stared at the half-burnt cigarette in his hand and the empty glass in front of him.

"Want a drink? Although you're injured, I authorize you to have a drink now," Otose slowly filled Jirochou's glass with sake, casually glancing at the half-burnt cigarette in his hand, "And you, who have always tried to protect this town, can now pass on the task to the next generation. The promise has been kept, so put that thing down. Don't you still have many promises to fulfill? Jiro-chan, I'm happy now. I met Tatsugorou in this Kabukicho, encountered those guys, and met our favorite Jiro-chan again... Thank you for all this time."

Looking at the glass filled with sake, Jirocho rubbed his eyes, "Not good. Have I reached the age where even my eyesight getting bad? I was just wondering what to do if I couldn't hold my pee anymore. Heh, it turns out it's the same up top, too."

After saying this, Jirochou raised the glass to his lips and drank it in one gulp, "Thanks... for the hospitality."

"Don't worry, dad!" Chin Pirako squinted and smiled, raising a finger, "Both the urinal and a daughter to wipe your tears are ready. But the urinal is a bit heavy; could you help your daughter a little?"

She pointed at Kawaki's head and added, "Look, this urinal is pretty good, right?"

"Who's head is a urinal?!" Kawaki angrily grabbed Chin Pirako's made-up ahoge, which had been reattached with glue, his face turning blue with veins popping, "I'll kill you, you brat!"

"Dad, how about killing this man as compensation for all these years to your daughter?" Chin Pirako, held up by her hair, proposed with a squint, "I really fancy this man's head as a urinal for your future~."

"Believe it or not, I'll sell you to Yoshiwara, damn it!" Kawaki muttered under his breath.

"Forget it; this kind of little girl might just cause Yoshiwara's business to slump," Tsukuyo, who had arrived at some point, casually retorted while pinching her kiseru.

"What about the SM club? I feel like if trained well, this brat could become a top earner," Kawaki stroked his chin, nodding, and then his tone turned cold again, "Of course, it has to be trained well; ordinary training won't do."

"Dad, can you get your daughter a spare pair of panties?" Pirako squinted and said, "This man is so scary~."

"Really, just now, weren't you talking about holding a urinal for your dad? How come so quickly you need your dad to take care of you?" Jirochou chuckled, "Daughter, I've prepared the compensation, but not for killing this man for you, but... the second half of my life, okay?"

Hearing this, Chin Pirako pouted, and tears began streaming down her cheeks.

"Really, they really do look like father and daughter," Gintoki scornfully quipped.

"That's true," said Kawaki, setting Chin Pirako down.

Nearby, members of the Dobunezumi gang, who were partying hard at their booth, suddenly remembered something.

"Um... are we forgetting something?"

"Indeed, I also feel like we've forgotten something, but I can't quite remember what."

"I have that feeling, too!"

"So, what exactly did we forget?"

"That kind of thing doesn't matter! Today is the boss's and Otose's reconciliation party, as well as the boss's and the young lady's farewell party! We should celebrate properly!"

"Right! We need to have even more fun today! And with Kada's gone, that big casino is ours, too! We should be celebrating!"

Meanwhile, in a hospital in Kabukicho, the forgotten existence of Kurogoma Katsuo and two injured subordinates quietly lay on their hospital beds, also silently staring at the ceiling.

"Um, Bro, I need to use the bathroom..." the bald, scar-faced man weakly called out, "I can't hold it anymore."

"Ah, me too, please, Bro," another subordinate called.