There was a long moment of silence in the bedroom.

"I am Taiki Iekami." The man finally said.

"Your surname is Taiki?" Kaito asked with obvious disbelief.

"Martial Island is an independent state with numerous families from diverse origins with differing creeds, climes and beliefs. We have established a few rules to ensure the standardisation of information. One of these rules is the use of the given name before the surname." Taiki explained.

Kaito felt like he had fallen into the proverbial rabbit hole. The way the man spoke was like Martial Island was not part of the normal world. However, he refused to be drawn into the curiosity about the politics of the land.

"And how did you know my mother?"

"Before she became Takahashi Hime, she was Hime Iekami." The sorrow in Taiki's eyes could not be hidden.

"Please don't tell me you are my secret father, and my mother was running away from you." Kaito laughed without humour.

The older face before him darkened. "Hime was my older sister."

Kaito did not feel better after finding out that the man who had captured him was his uncle. He did not have a good track record with blood relatives. And the streak was continuing with this maternal uncle, who thought that killing him would be more convenient.

He had struck the jackpot with his dirty bloodline. It seemed like it was inevitable he would become an assassin or some other type of villain, considering the contributing gene pools. This thought came with some bitter amusement at his situation.

"How nice! Now, I have two murderous uncles." His voice was chilly, even though he wore a smile.

"Do not put me in the same category as that man!" Taiki displayed his temper, and his schooled face lost its usual composure.

Kaito's eyes became sharper. He could sense genuine anger and dislike from this new uncle. It seemed like he could not stand Senzo. But if that was the case, why did he continue to collaborate with that poor excuse of a human?

"I don't see a difference between you two. Both of you want to use me to accomplish your goals. How do I know that you will not also discard me without care if I do not meet your expectations? He did not waste time disposing of me once he discovered I was not as useful as he hoped." Kaito responded harshly.

"The cooperation with Takahashi Senzo involves the life and death of countless people. He has eliminated everyone else who could provide the pharmaceutical ingredients needed on Martial Island." Taiki sighed. "If I were to eliminate him without a viable alternative solution, the lives of those people would be on my hands."

Kaito did not understand the intricacies of the explanation, but he got the general picture of the situation on Martial Island. The island was isolated and required special medical resources, and their only source was his uncle.

However, when he thought of his uncle blatantly killing his relatives for the opportunity and succeeding, he felt a little sick in the stomach. The more important question was the reward given to make him so desperate to monopolise this chance.

This issue pricked his brain. It could not be money because he had looked at his uncle's financial records. Even though everyone loved money, Senzo did not seem to care much about it. He was generous with his children, and all his employees were handsomely rewarded.

There had to be something else at play.

But for now, he did not care about the personal interests of his evil uncle. Or his new possibly evil uncle. He had only one interest: returning to Akira's side and making a grand proposal. His heart warmed a little before he quenched all emotions again.

"What do I have to do to get out of Martial Island? I have a life." He said.

Taiki looked troubled as he looked to the open ocean. He did not want to tell his nephew that leaving Martial Island was almost impossible once one stepped onto the sacred land. Instead, he chose to focus on the minuscule chance that he could.

If he was dealing with the Kaito on paper, he might have assumed that the boy could not accomplish the difficult task ahead of him. But after meeting him, he held some hope towards Kaito. He could become a force to be reckoned with in Martial Island.

Once he became a power, leaving would no longer be difficult.

"Leaving Martial Island is based on merit," Taiki said. "The members of Martial Island have to prove that they are trustworthy enough to travel without betraying the secrets of this place. Of course, this principle applies to the weak people in our population."

Kaito frowned, but he did not interrupt.

"The alternative is to be strong enough to stand at the top. True strength is never questioned on Martial Island. As long as a person is strong enough to not be prey in the outside world, they can leave as they wish. The greatest fear of our denizens is being exposed." Taiki finished.

Kaito's frown became deeper. "A weak individual can leave the island because you trust them, and a strong person can leave because they can. Only a fool would believe that kind of nonsensical explanation. Let me guess."

"Weak people are necessary cogs in the interaction between the outside world and the island. For instance, they are needed in the transportation of goods to Martial Island. I would assume that there is some sort of guarantee of their loyalty."

"For example, their family members like children are on the island, so they would never betray the secrets of this reclusive place. As for the strong, they would never expose the secrets of their little kingdom because it is their haven."

"I would assume that this structure means that the majority of the people of medium or ordinary strength would be unable or unwilling to leave the island. It is an exceptional system." Kaito could not deny the effectiveness of such a structure.

Taiki was even more impressed with his nephew.

His original explanation was simplistic and did not capture the nuances of the real situation. In reality, the merit system was based on risk assessment. The possibility of a person leaving the island was based on the affordable risk.

The strong were low-risk individuals because they did not have any reason to betray Martial Island. The weak individuals might be tempted to sell the secrets of Martial Island, but they had a lot to lose. Even those without family as a guarantee were too afraid because they could be killed with a wave of the hand.

The highest risk of betrayal came from those of medium strength. They were not strong enough to be unquestionably loyal to Martial Island, and they had enough ability to hide and fight back. These factors improved their chances of succeeding in selling secrets and escaping punishment. Therefore, they could not be allowed to leave freely.

"You are indeed as sharp as your mother." Taiki smiled a little in approval.

"Now that I have played your little games, tell me. How do I leave the Island?" Kaito asked.