Old and Cunning

Daishimaecho.

"The road is blocked."

"What the hell? Why is there traffic control everywhere in Tokyo lately!"

A few streets away from the dissipating fog, complaints rose incessantly from the stalled traffic. However, faced with heavily armed police, no one dared to get out and cause a scene, settling for just venting their frustrations.

Meanwhile, on the cordoned-off street, a family car was speeding along.

"It's over, it's all over!"

The girl driving the car wore a miserable expression.

"This is the shop manager's car. Does this count as grand theft auto?"

"It's much worse than that,"

Tanimura Wataru replied from the passenger seat, gasping for breath.

"You're already on a wanted list. Who told you to come and save me?"

"I... I..."

Just as the girl struggled to find an answer, Tanimura Wataru's pupils constricted.

"Stop the car!"

Screech!

Acting on instinct, she slammed on the brakes.

The family car left four scorched skid marks on the empty street.

Bang!

Kicking the door open, Tanimura Wataru, having regained a sliver of strength, jumped out, circled to the other side, scooped up the girl who had just stepped out, and sprinted toward—

The sewer entrance by the roadside.

A few minutes later, Accompanied by the "wee-woo, wee-woo" of sirens, Numerous police cars raced over, surrounding the abandoned vehicle and the sewer entrance until not even a drop of water could leak through.

Tokyo sewers.

A vast number of rats, cats, turtles, and even crocodiles lived here!

Abandoned pets had established a new "homeland" here; the surface was the territory of the terrifying two-legged beasts, and every companion who ventured out would vanish without a trace.

Even animals knew how to avoid harm; they would never step into the sunlight easily, but if a two-legged beast intruded:

A group of rats foraging in the sewage suddenly raised their heads and turned around.

Their specialized vision allowed them to see moving objects within ten meters in the darkness, though only ten meters.

To detect distant enemies, the rats' hearing was exceptionally developed, capable of picking up high-frequency sounds inaudible to humans. Thus, the moment they heard the footsteps of a "two-legged beast," they scattered and fled in all directions.

Splat.

A boot landed heavily in the sewage. Before the splashing water could even spread, the boot exerted sudden force.

Whoosh—

The "gale" whistled past her ears as the girl curled up in Tanimura Wataru's arms.

The stench and the smell of blood drilled into her nostrils. Moving at high speed through the pitch-black darkness, she could only squeeze her eyes shut and entrust everything to Tanimura Wataru.

Faced with the thrill of potentially being smashed into a meat patty against a wall the next second, she had no choice but to stop thinking.

"Hey, wake up."

She didn't even know when Tanimura Wataru had stopped. Opening her eyes, the girl found herself in a... clinic?

"The doctor at this clinic is away on vacation. We're borrowing it for a while. Cough, cough."

Setting the girl down, Tanimura Wataru swayed slightly, nearly collapsing.

"Your injuries..."

"There are tools over there. Please, help me pull these steel needles out."

Collapsing into a chair, Tanimura Wataru, with several steel needles still embedded in his upper body, pointed toward the clinic's medical kit.

"Ah? Oh, okay!"

Fumbling as she opened the medical kit, she put on rubber gloves and laid out surgical forceps, iodine, gauze, and bandages in a row. Holding the scissors, the girl was trembling violently.

"What should I do?"

"Start now. First, cut my clothes open."

Having reverted from his transformation, Tanimura Wataru, still wearing his tattered clothes, had to force himself to stay conscious to direct the girl.

"Pull them out by hand. Don't hesitate. Use force—ah!!"

"First, use iodine to disinfect, then cover it with gauze."

"Well done, wrap it up with a bandage."

Cold sweat dripped incessantly from his forehead, but for Tanimura Wataru, having someone treat his wounds was already a luxury; the last time, he had to dig the bullets out himself.

Cling.

The blood-stained steel needle fell to the floor. The scent of blood made the young girl clench her teeth as she mechanically repeated the motions of pulling needles, disinfecting, and bandaging.

After more than half an hour of busy work, a freshly bandaged Tanimura Wataru was complete.

"In this state, I could even pass for an Oni."

Tanimura Wataru let out a self-deprecating laugh, licking his lips while drenched in cold sweat.

"Could you get me a glass of water?"

"Of course, just a moment."

The girl took off her rubber gloves, not even pausing to wipe the sweat from her brow, and hurried outside.

There was a water dispenser in the outer room of the clinic.

The opportunity had arrived!

While drawing the water, the girl reached into her pocket. A piece of candy?

No, this was certainly not candy.

It was a "fast-acting, potent sedative" provided by the government. Its purpose was simple: once she had gained Tanimura Wataru's complete trust, she was to have him ingest it or slip it into his drink.

The experts who gave her the drug had sworn that it was colorless, odorless, safe, and healthy. In short, according to the "plan," this was her chance.

Plop.

The drug, disguised as a candy, fell into the water. With a slight ripple, it dissolved and vanished in the blink of an eye.

But did she really want to do this?

If, at the beginning, she had merely thought of him as a vicious thug so dangerous that even the government was at its wit's end, requiring her to use a "honey trap"...

Then, after getting to know him, aside from that supernatural power that allowed him to transform into a Dog Demon, Wataru was just a sincere, neighborly big brother.

One could even say that when he wasn't transformed, he was full of a scholarly air.

If he fell into the hands of the government, what awaited Wataru was...

Imprisonment, experimentation, and dissection!

It had to be said that this sequence of events was deeply ingrained in everyone's minds; any normal person would think the same.

"Cough, cough, is it not ready yet?"

Tanimura Wataru's voice drifted from the clinic, snapping the girl back to reality.

"Ah, coming!"

The girl walked back carrying the water glass, her eyes fixed on the floor, not daring to look at him.

"Your... water."

"Thanks."

Her hand felt lighter as he took the cup.

Then:

Crash.

The cup hit the floor, and the water spilled everywhere!

"This glass of water..."

Having swiped the cup away, the girl looked up, her entire body trembling.

"...was drugged with a sedative."

"I know."

Tanimura Wataru replied indifferently.

The girl's demeanor just now had practically written "I have a secret" all over her face.

"I am actually with the government!"

Biting her lip, the girl summoned her courage once more.

"I know that, too."

Tanimura Wataru lowered his eyes. He had already noticed the irregularities during the treatment process.

Logically, the restaurant should have been cleared out when he was battling the government forces. Furthermore, the idea of her, an ordinary person, driving him away and escaping the encirclement was absurd no matter how one looked at it.

Could the government of the Island Nation, which had nearly beaten him to death, really be unable to handle a single ordinary girl? Impossible. There was only one answer—

"Our meeting, and everything that has happened, was a government mission!"

Since she had already said it, the girl decided to stop hiding anything at all.

Just as Tanimura Wataru was sighing to himself, a pair of hands landed on his shoulders.

"So, you need to run, quickly."

?

"The government will be here soon; it's not safe here."

"Escape Tokyo, just leave the country."

"Go!"

Facing the girl who had grabbed his wrist and turned toward the exit, Tanimura Wataru, who had stood up instinctively, was stunned.

"Wait, what about you?"

"Me?"

The girl took a deep breath.

"Mission failed. I'll go back home, keep working and studying, and prepare for university entrance exams."

"It's only natural that a weak girl like me would be noticed by an extraordinary existence like you."

Having spilled the secrets from her heart, the girl gradually felt at ease.

"Hmm, how about you pretend to hit me?"

"Don't use too much force, though~~"

As she spoke, she pulled the bandage-covered Tanimura Wataru toward the door.

"That's it. Besides, I'm not a criminal; but you, don't ever come back to Tokyo. It's dangerous here. ?!"

Creeeak.

Just as she pulled open the clinic door, the girl, still busy lecturing Tanimura Wataru, froze.

"Yo, we meet again."

With a cigarette dangling from her lips, her arms and shoulders wrapped in bandages, wearing a tank top with a police uniform draped crookedly over her shoulders, the woman squatting across from the clinic like a hoodlum looked up.

"Iori... Officer?!"

The girl was stunned, then instinctively spread her arms wide.

"Wataru, run!"

However, the bandaged young man behind her did not move a muscle.

"Hahahaha~~"

The sight made Iori Ichika burst into laughter.

"Don't be nervous."

She stood up and took a deep breath.

The half-smoked cigarette in her mouth instantly burned down to gray ash.

She took the filter out and flicked it away. Exhaling a thick cloud of smoke, the female section chief smiled and gestured toward the two at the clinic entrance.

"Tanimura Wataru, let's have a talk, shall we?"

"Hoshino, step aside."

?!

Dazed, letting Tanimura Wataru walk past her, the girl stood frozen in place.

He... called her by her name?

That's right, Tanimura Wataru had never called this girl, whose name was Hoshino, by her name before.

The reason was simple: in the past, the girl had been nothing more than a shadow of his younger sister in his heart. But now:

"Your agents are formidable; I am no match for them at all."

Tanimura Wataru walked out the door and voluntarily held out his hands.

"Come on, cuff me."

?!

"Wait, Wataru! You don't have to—"

"Stop!"

Iori Ichika across from them raised a hand, cutting off the "tear-jerker" before her.

Snap.

She clicked her fingers.

A policewoman with a bob cut trotted over, handed a file folder to Iori Ichika, and picked up the cigarette butt from the ground before leaving.

"This is the Imperial Amnesty Decree signed by the Emperor: all crimes and sentences are pardoned!"

Iori Ichika took a document adorned with an exquisite chrysanthemum crest from her file folder.

"Tanimura Wataru, all of your crimes have been wiped clean."

"Accept this document, and you are a citizen without sin!"

Nani????

To say nothing of Tanimura Wataru, even the young girl Hoshino was stunned.

Since ancient times, every new emperor's ascension has been accompanied by a "general amnesty."

The Island Nation shared this tradition; five years ago, when Emperor Naruhito ascended the throne, he announced an Imperial Amnesty Decree for 550,000 people in one fell swoop, causing an uproar throughout the country.

If one were to ask why, it was naturally because many wealthy individuals had barely warmed their seats in prison before being released under the "amnesty," continuing to live beyond the reach of the law.

Beyond such ascension amnesties, the Emperor also held the power of "individual amnesty": the right to designate a specific subject and absolve them of all guilt.

Clearly, what Iori Ichika held in her hand was an "individual amnesty" signed personally by the Emperor.

Its effect was equivalent to a presidential pardon in America!

"You are free."

"No more police will come to trouble you—"

Facing the Imperial Amnesty Decree that Iori Ichika held out, Tanimura Wataru reached out instinctively.

Just like that, everything was wiped clean?

The members of the Broken Tooth Gang, the American soldiers, and...

"That's wonderful, Wataru!"

As his arm was hugged by the person beside him, Tanimura Wataru turned his head to see the joyful girl: her face held happiness, relief, and a sense of burdens lifted that gradually replaced the face in his memories.

"Mm, it is a good thing."

After speaking gently, he looked at Iori Ichika, who had turned to leave.

"Wait,"

"Officer Iori."

"I will go back with you."

The Imperial Amnesty Decree in his hand certainly cleared his crimes, but Tanimura Wataru had not forgotten the restriction that he must "harvest" one soul every day.

Moreover, glancing at Hoshino beside him again, he realized the best way to protect her was to join the government!

"You are most welcome,"

Iori Ichika turned around and spread her arms.

With this, the "Collar" was set!

"Good,"

"A great victory!"

"Tora! Tora! Tora!"

In the Metropolitan Police Department's operations office, a group of personnel involved in the project stood up and cheered, pumping their fists into the air!

Some even jumped onto the tables, twisting their waists and tossing their hats; their uninhibited behavior drew applause and cheers from the others.

Adjusting his non-prescription glasses, Director Takeya had to admit that his subordinate was truly capable. As long as that girl "Hoshino" didn't have any issues, from this day forward, Tanimura Wataru would be the most loyal hound in the government's hands!

"That Ichika,"

If only she put this much effort into the political arena...

Thinking of this, Director Takeya couldn't help but shake his head with a smile.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk,"

The crow, witnessing all of this, couldn't help but shake its head in admiration.

"With this, the Island Nation has a rich hand of cards, even if they are all just low-level ninja."

This is for the best!

His golden finger required combat to rapidly increase proficiency.

If there weren't enough opponents, would he really have to resort to fighting himself?

"Come to think of it, technological weapons are actually quite powerful."

The sniper rifle used by that policewoman forced Tanimura Wataru, a low-level ninja, to dodge in a panic, and even Kishida Jun, a mid-level ninja, had to defend carefully.

Their power was no less than the shuriken and kunai of ordinary low-level ninja, and they required almost no training to become an effective combat force.

Not to mention various armor-piercing rounds, high-explosive shells, thermobaric weapons, and even the ultimate weapon: the nuclear bomb.

Fortunately, those nuclear bombs, with power rivaling a "Tailed Beast Bomb," would not be used lightly.

Next, it was time to develop some "hostile forces."

The crow landed on the roof of the building, and countless sheets of paper scattered, reassembling into a figure: wearing a traditional, wide hunting robe and a tall, imposing black cap.

Decorated with magatama at the waist and wearing wooden clogs, the figure appeared to be only about 1.4 meters tall, excluding the hat. A white cloth hanging from the front of the hat obscured the face, and the pitch-black character "Three" on the white cloth was exceptionally striking.

As the first "alt" for Akihi Yu, if he didn't come out to stir up some trouble soon, he would be forgotten by everyone.