Friendship Club

Hasegawa had actually died so quietly. He had originally thought the other party would accomplish something.

Uesugi Tetsu closed his eyes, feeling the reality of the words "you will die" that Nanjō Emi had told him that night.

"Where is he buried?"

Shizuma Mafuyu answered meticulously, "The public cemetery in the Honganji area. I heard the land there is cheap, so they can send the remaining money to his family."

After a moment of silence, Uesugi Tetsu nodded slightly towards Shizuma Mafuyu and continued, "Ms. Shizuma, please protect your sister and her friend."

Shizuma Mafuyu remained silent.

For a fleeting moment, she wanted to loudly question how Manatsu had become involved with demons, but at the same time, Shizuma Mafuyu understood that bringing up past events was meaningless. Letting her emotions run wild now would only make things worse.

"Mr. Uesugi, thank you for your trouble."

Shizuma Mafuyu bowed deeply to Uesugi Tetsu and said sincerely.

--If it weren't for Uesugi Tetsu, she might not have known Manatsu had come into contact with danger, and by the time she found out, it might have been too late.

Fortunately, fortunately.

"It's alright, I'm the one who should be saying that."

After seeing Shizuma Mafuyu pull the clueless Manatsu into the van, Uesugi Tetsu even saw Kitano Runa bow deeply to him before getting in.

He smiled, "Ririko, your taste in friends isn't bad."

Ririko, whose forehead was covered in fine sweat, snorted, "Does that even need saying?"

After seeing Ririko's two best friends off, the two of them leisurely walked towards their reserved yakiniku restaurant.

In front of the red light at the entrance of the yakiniku restaurant.

"Uesugi-kun, why are you sweating so much when you're walking so slowly?"

Uesugi Tetsu stopped using his Ki-ai Technique and glanced at Ririko, whose sweat was dripping from her chin, "You're asking me?"

Ririko stopped talking and clicked her tongue, "Scumbag."

Crossing the final intersection brought them to their destination, but there was already a line of over a dozen people outside the restaurant.

Most good restaurants in Japan require reservations, and even with a reservation, you still have to wait in line honestly. You can only enter after the people ahead of you are all gone. Generally, waiting for half an hour is considered fast.

This is especially evident in densely populated Tokyo.

Sniffing the aroma of grilled meat wafting from under the curtain, Ririko, who was starving but still practicing, gnashed her teeth, "Is this tempering my dao heart...?"

Uesugi Tetsu was about to mock her when he vaguely heard a conversation from inside the restaurant: "If there is no one to save them, no one to care for them, then let love transform everything..."

"Will I... will I be saved if I just follow you?"

"We will give you happiness."

The conversation seemed to be coming from deep within or a corner of the restaurant, and the voices weren't loud. If Uesugi Tetsu hadn't just undergone Ririko's special training, which had improved his physique by two points, he really wouldn't have heard it.

This conversation sounded a bit off.

Uesugi Tetsu continued to listen.

"To be separated from those whom one dearly loves... this is the suffering of separation. In this world, only love can deliver. Poor child, the Friendship Club welcomes all who suffer."

Uesugi Tetsu indifferently lowered his gaze. Ririko, who was still strenuously practicing beside him, was startled and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Friendship Club," Uesugi Tetsu said softly. "There are people from the Friendship Club inside trying to manipulate ordinary people."

In just a moment, Ririko composed herself, her expression returning to normal.

Without hesitation, she unbuckled her sword bag and was about to take out her bamboo sword.

Seeing this, Uesugi Tetsu quickly grabbed her hand and scanned the normal queue of people around them, "Don't rush."

Ririko's expression was blank, and she asked coldly, "Why?"

Uesugi Tetsu whispered in her ear, "There are too many people around, it might cause a commotion. Let's call the police and have Sister Nanjō and the others come over."

But Ririko acted as if she hadn't heard him and continued to draw her bamboo sword.

"Then you go ahead, Uesugi-kun," she said coldly. "This is my personal decision. It's my fault if it implicates you."

This stubborn woman...

Uesugi Tetsu rolled his eyes in his mind, realizing that unless he knocked Ririko unconscious, verbal persuasion would be completely ineffective.

But how could he attack his own teammate when the enemy was right in front of them?

So Uesugi Tetsu forcefully gripped Ririko's wrist and whispered in her ear, "They're a cult and a terrorist organization. Are you really going to hit them with a bamboo sword?"

Ririko's movements stopped.

"Then tell me, what's a better plan?"

Uesugi Tetsu smiled sinisterly, like Brahma, "Wait for them to come out, lure them to a deserted place, rescue the person, and then interrogate and execute the members of the Friendship Club."

Ririko's mouth opened slightly, "You dare to kill people?"

"They want to kill me, so am I supposed to just let them?" Uesugi Tetsu sneered. "Should good people be pointed at with guns?"

"Or perhaps, Ririko, you're a bit too saintly and don't want to do this?"

The two looked at each other, and after a moment, Ririko put away her bamboo sword and patted his shoulder with unusual cheerfulness. "So I underestimated you, Uesugi-kun."

A guess rose in Uesugi Tetsu's heart. "You..."

"Yep." Ririko grinned and readily admitted, "Originally, I wanted to ditch you, Uesugi-kun, and take care of them myself."

Uesugi Tetsu took a deep breath.

This guy was unbelievably arrogant, with no hesitation or fear of the law in her eyes at all.

She wasn't like this just two days ago; what had changed her? Was it Clear Sword Heart?

The two waited quietly.

Not long after, Uesugi Tetsu keenly caught sight of three people emerging from the shop entrance.

Two of them were dressed similarly and wore mechanical smiles. The scent emanating from them made Uesugi Tetsu's brow furrow.

But he looked at Ririko, who didn't seem to notice the unpleasant odor.

The young man following behind the two looked dazed, appearing to be an employee of the yakiniku restaurant. Uesugi Tetsu could smell the strong scent of yakiniku spices on him.

"Follow them."

While not FBI agents, both could use Ki-ai Technique to suppress their breathing and control their footsteps to match the sounds of honking cars on the street.

Tail-gating two ordinary members of the Friendship Club who were still proselytizing to the employee was more than enough.

They followed along, but Ririko noticed they were straying further and further from the main road.

Were we discovered?

Ririko looked at Uesugi Tetsu in alarm, but he raised his hand and smiled at her.

Only then did Ririko realize that Uesugi Tetsu was now holding a tachi with a vermilion scabbard, and he had deliberately pushed it out slightly so she could see the glinting cold blade.

'Where the hell did he get that!?'

Ririko was shocked, silently cursing.

The next moment, Uesugi Tetsu stopped.

Because the two Friendship Club members about to leave the alley had turned around and said in unison with smiles:

"Fellow travelers on this difficult road, are you also looking to join the club and receive the enlightenment of love together?"

Hearing the sound of a car engine and footsteps, Uesugi Tetsu looked behind him and saw the man standing on the retreat path was putting his head back onto his neck with both hands.

This is a bit troublesome.

Uesugi Tetsu indifferently drew Kaga Kiyomitsu, thinking.