Intermission

"Eh?"

"Due to a sudden heavy fog in Kita-Senju Town, a Black Hawk Fighter crashed in 1-chome. Fortunately, there were no casualties."

Akihi Yu's fingers paused as she ate breakfast and scrolled through her phone.

"It crashed in the city?"

"After the Osprey, even the Black Hawk is unreliable now?"

American aircraft crashes were nothing unusual to the people of the Island Nation. With so many planes taking off and landing every day, a malfunction was practically normal.

"One aircraft? No casualties?"

Akihi Yu, sitting across from her, rolled his eyes.

There had clearly been five!

Leaving aside passersby and residents, weren't the American soldiers people too?

"They actually dared to report such a pack of lies?"

Akihi Yu was absolutely qualified to say that. After all, he had truly been there and seen it with his own eyes.

If he had not taken down those five Black Hawk helicopters, whether the two "offline accounts" he had created could have escaped intact would have been questionable.

"It concerns America. How could they possibly let us see the truth?"

"Forget that, Brother. Are you really going to school with that bad woman?"

Putting down her phone, Akiyu Sora asked with a serious expression.

"Nao isn't some 'bad woman.' You used to be really attached to her too."

Akihi Yu was rather speechless toward his sulking younger sister.

"Come on. Let's go to school happily."

"I wonder how much longer these peaceful days can last."

"Hmph."

With a soft snort, Akiyu Sora said nothing more.

Two days ago, her brother had killed four scumbags. Though it had been "self-defense," killing was still killing.

Of course, Akiyu Sora did not want to see her brother thrown in prison, not even for a single day. She naturally accepted Akihi Yu's destruction of the bodies, but that did not mean the matter was over. Maybe tomorrow, maybe the next second, the police would come knocking.

Faced with such a crisis, what had happened before seemed somewhat easier to accept.

"I'll never forgive that bad woman!"

As they stepped out of the house, Akiyu Sora stated her position again, making Akihi Yu nod helplessly.

"Yes, yes, yes."

"Yu-kun, A-Akihi-san."

At the intersection not far away, the Class Monitor nervously adjusted her glasses and raised a hand to greet them.

"Nao, let's go together."

"Ah, okay."

Bunkyo Ward.

"I'm off."

Kishida Jun, dressed in his school uniform, left the apartment where he lived with a backpack on his back and a folded umbrella in hand.

However, instead of heading directly to Koishikawa Middle School, he turned toward the nearby residential area.

Knock, knock, knock.

"It's Jun. You've troubled yourself again."

The door was opened by a haggard middle-aged woman. Seeing the breakfast in the boy's hands, she forced herself to greet him.

"Would you like to come in and sit?"

"No, I still have to go to school."

Kishida Jun handed the breakfast he had bought on the way to the woman before him, then hesitated for a moment.

"Aunt Mie, please take care of yourself."

"Give me some time. I'll let you completely emerge from your grief, I swear."

"I actually need Jun to comfort me. I'm such a failure as an adult."

The haggard woman tried to smile, but her face was full of bitterness. Her name was Miyashita Mie, Miyashita Ryoko's mother.

Ever since her daughter had died in a car accident half a year ago, the woman had nearly collapsed both mentally and physically. She made frequent mistakes at work and had been ordered by her husband to stay home and rest. Yet she remained dazed most of the time, forcing Kishida Jun to bring her breakfast every few days.

"Aunt Mie, please wait patiently."

After saying goodbye, Kishida Jun heard muffled sobbing behind the closing door and tightened his grip on the umbrella in his hand.

If his experience of waiting out the rain at school had left the boy merely half-convinced and half-doubtful...

Then what he had witnessed last night had completely convinced Kishida Jun.

This world truly possessed supernatural beings!

Werewolves, Paper Dancer, police officers, even the American military had been mobilized.

Though he had failed to obtain the Sessho-seki from the Werewolf's forehead, these supernatural beings meant that...

White Ghost Messenger had not lied to him.

Reviving Ryoko...

Was not an impossible fantasy!

What people feared most was having no hope in sight. So long as there was a possibility, even if the odds were only one in ten thousand, countless people would be willing to risk their lives for it!

To revive Ryoko, let alone hunting supernatural beings, even if he had to target the military, he would not hesitate.

Having obtained "supernatural power" for only two days, Kishida Jun's mentality had already changed drastically.

With a weapon in hand, murderous intent arose naturally!

The other "party involved" from last night...

Was currently—

"Hisss..."

The metal tweezers pulled outward, and with a pop, they brought out a string of bloody grime.

Clink.

The deformed bullet fell to the ground, and layers of cold sweat appeared on Tanimura Wataru's fierce face.

"Damn America."

He cursed under his breath while taking out a medical spray and aiming it at the wound to stop the bleeding and sterilize it.

A tactical flashlight hanging overhead cast bright light over the surrounding walls, which were smeared with a layer of mud.

Two backpacks lay on the ground, crammed haphazardly with all kinds of firearms, night-vision goggles, grenades, and medical kits—all high-end goods contributed by American soldiers. There were even military energy bars. Who knew which old Black guy had gone on a mission carrying rations with him?

"Although demon power can heal injuries, it consumes a lot too."

After treating his wounds, Tanimura Wataru, whose body was wrapped everywhere in bandages, stood up and moved around a little.

Any beginner Ninja could use Transformation Technique to turn into a dog. But the Inuzuka clan's Four-Legged Technique was naturally no ordinary transformation.

While transforming into a dog, it granted additional boosts to physique, strength, and speed, as well as sharp claws and fangs and a keen sense of smell. Though an overly keen sense of smell could lead to the awkward situation of being knocked down by someone's fart, its enhancement of combat ability was absolutely among the best for beginner Ninja.

"I'm starving. I need to eat a lot of meat."

Taking a vicious bite out of an energy bar, Tanimura Wataru, hiding in the sewers, began planning his next move.

He had killed so many American soldiers. They were definitely searching frantically for him outside.

Plainclothes police, cameras, drones—he would need to watch out for those things from now on.

He had been found so quickly before; simple disguises apparently were not enough. His ability to transform into an "animal" had also been exposed. If he maintained a "half-transformed" state, then as long as his face, hands, and feet did not reveal any flaws, could he disguise himself as someone else?

With such plans flashing through his mind, Tanimura Wataru began practicing "transformation" in the sewers.

A certain transmigrator who was leisurely attending school felt the proficiency of his Transformation Technique steadily rise.

How diligent.

Sitting in the classroom, Akihi Yu looked out the window.

It was not only his offline account. Akihi Yu himself was also controlling the crows in the sky, constantly patrolling the city.

Kita-Senju Town, 1-chome.

The place resembled a war zone. Not a single pedestrian could be seen on the streets, while uniformed police officers stood everywhere, each one fully armed.

Helicopters also patrolled the skies. Calling in the Self-Defense Force was simply too sensitive, and there was also the issue of the Self-Defense Force's quality. Otherwise, soldiers should have been guarding this place.

Police cars stood across every intersection, completely sealing off the area.

All residents had been relocated to hotels in other districts under the pretext of handling the American plane crash. The displaced residents privately wondered whether their superior nation's aircraft had been carrying radioactive materials, biological weapons, or something else.

Otherwise, why make such a huge fuss?

Before the full operation of the state machine, the thousands of people living in this area left "without complaint."

Even online, apart from a bland accident report, there was no further buzz whatsoever. It was instantly buried beneath countless celebrity scandals.

"Absolutely not!"

"No unrelated personnel are allowed through—"

Outside the sealed-off area, a middle-aged police inspector with bloodshot eyes stood firm despite having an American soldier's gun pressed to his forehead, roaring without yielding an inch.

"Don't try to scare me with some 'military operation.' I haven't received any orders concerning you people. If you've got the guts, then shoot!"

"Sir..."

The American captain leading them wore an ugly expression. As a "senior official" from the superior nation, people in the Island Nation normally treated him politely wherever he went. Now he was getting sprayed in the face with spit. How could he not be angry?

Yet no matter how furious he was, he could not directly order the man shot. Besides, this bald Island Nation police officer clearly was not afraid of dying!

"Please step aside. We are under orders—"

"Without an order from the Ministry of Defense, no one is permitted to pass!"

The bald police inspector drew the pistol at his waist, his eyes bloodshot as he ignored the guns aimed at him from all around.

"Anyone who crosses the cordon, I am legally authorized to shoot and kill!"

The bald police inspector had completely assumed an attitude of come on, kill me if you dare. With a cannibalistic glare, he viciously bored his eyes into the American captain before him.

"My son is dead."

"Last night. Right here!"

"He died from a 5.56-millimeter rifle bullet. Do you know who did it?"

"You want to go through? Come on, step over my corpse—"

"Oh, shit!!"

The American captain cursed, the veins on his forehead throbbing.

Order his men to shoot and kill an Island Nation police officer in full view of everyone?

Don't be ridiculous. America might be the Island Nation's father, but he was only a lowly captain. No matter how the conflict ended, he would definitely be court-martialed.

The politicians on Capitol Hill would not hesitate for even a second to use him to placate the Island Nation's Rage.

"Contact the lieutenant general. Ask him to put pressure on them."

In the end, all the captain could do was follow the rule of "if there's a problem, find your superior."

If a fight broke out, you would take the credit while I went to prison? I only made a few thousand dollars a month. Why would I risk my life?