Pariston leaned against the railing, his eyes narrowing into crescent moons.
"Go on. From here on out, he'll face an endless stream of trouble. It doesn't matter if someone's pulling his strings. Work up the courage and get in touch with him."
Pariston sounded so casual, it was almost as if he were urging Xiyou to ask Gelman out on a date.
"Huh?" Xiyou's voice rose, then dropped again. "Wouldn't even an idiot realize someone was pulling strings behind the scenes?"
"Mm-hmm." Pariston nodded. "Isn't that a good thing?"
"I don't understand."
"Haha." Pariston let out a laugh without any humor in it. "He's actually just like us. For him, the worst thing that could happen would be to draw the attention of V5 and Chairman Netero."
"He has strength and ability. I'm sure he can see that, across the entire Six Continents, we're the only ones with the power to protect and support him."
"We're alike. He'll understand soon enough."
Xiyou muttered to himself for a while on the other end of the phone, then replied, "Fine, fine. I'll give it a try. This time, I'll need some of your resources. If things get out of hand again, don't blame me."
--
Half an hour earlier.
Outside, the island was battered by torrential rain, but indoors, everything was calm and peaceful. Men and women alike wore humble smiles.
Light Nosra had been invited to attend the grand banquet. At that moment, he was circulating among the small groups in the hall, making the necessary social rounds.
But the people he truly wanted to speak with, especially in front of so many others, were the big shots who had just finished giving their speeches and returned to the second floor.
The Ten Dons were the leaders of nearly half the