Chapter Summaries

Amon arrived in Japan with a show of overwhelming military force, and Inuyama He’s memories of postwar humiliation resurfaced as he faced the Academy executive. The chapter ended with Inuyama He recognizing Amon’s resemblance to Douglas MacArthur.

• Amon signaled from a warship as two B-2 Spirit bombers’ explosions left Inuyama He and the women unharmed at the pier.
• Inuyama He composed himself and recalled how the US Military’s occupation had shattered his family after Japan’s defeat.
• Inuyama He remembered defending two prostitutes from American sailors and being beaten, an experience that deepened his hatred and shame.
• Amon disembarked and told Inuyama He to speak Chinese because his English was bad.
• Inuyama He studied Amon and recognized his pipe and sunglasses as resembling Douglas MacArthur.

Amon arrived in Japan and used his five-star general rank and MacArthur-like persona to cow Inuyama He and the Japan Branch reception party. After warning them to keep his whereabouts secret, he abruptly ruined the imposing moment by choking on his pipe smoke.

• Inuyama He recognized the five stars on Amon’s uniform and learned that the president had recently awarded the rank to a general on a secret mission.
• Inuyama He introduced himself and confirmed Amon’s Chinese name, while Amon told the group to remember him as Mike Amon.
• Amon said he had come as a Kassel College special operative, not as Commander of the Asia-Pacific Region, and warned Inuyama He not to reveal his whereabouts.
• Inuyama He bowed respectfully, reconsidered his judgment of Amon’s supposedly modest file, and wondered what kind of operatives Angers kept as trump cards.
• Amon began coughing violently after inhaling pipe smoke, breaking the imposing mood he had created.

Minamoto Chisaki received Caesar and the headquarters group in Japan, where Xia Mi admitted she had come sightseeing and illegally tagged along. As they drove to the hotel, Lu Mingfei learned that He Xiaomeng would meet them there, and his anticipation revealed a sharper presence that made Minamoto reconsider the group.

• Xia Mi told Minamoto Chisaki she had come sightseeing and became excited when he explained that she had smuggled into Japan.
• Caesar introduced himself and asked Minamoto to host Xia Mi, while Minamoto introduced himself as the Japan Branch Execution Bureau director and Sakura as his assistant.
• Minamoto gave Caesar a body disposal plan to sign, warning the group that the SS-class mission carried a high risk of death.
• Finn told Xia Mi she did not need to sign because she was not on the mission roster, and she accepted with disappointment.
• Lu Mingfei asked about He Xiaomeng, and Minamoto explained that another branch agent had gone to pick him up and that they would meet at the hotel.
• Lu Mingfei expressed his eagerness to see his senior brother, revealing a fierce aura that made Minamoto reconsider his first impression of the headquarters agents.

Amon accompanied Inuyama He in a luxury car, where Inuyama He tried to tempt and assess him with the Inuyama Clan’s hospitality. At the hotel, Amon abruptly sent Setsuko and Mimi away when his younger sister appeared, leaving him flustered.

• Inuyama He probed Amon about the Inuyama Clan and offered to arrange his stay and entertainment while the mission preparations were delayed.
• Amon played along with Setsuko and Mimi’s attentions, but chose to meet the other headquarters agents before visiting a private residence.
• Inuyama He sent Setsuko and Mimi with Amon to the Tokyo Peninsula Hotel as a generous gift and potential means of influence.
• Amon released Setsuko and Mimi at the hotel entrance when he noticed a beautiful young woman waiting there.
• The young woman called Amon “Brother,” and he reacted with startled embarrassment, asking why she had come.

Amon reunited with Xia Mi in Tokyo and left Setsuko and Mimi embarrassed after denying any connection to them. Meanwhile, the Kassel delegation questioned the Japan Branch’s unusually cordial welcome, and Amon suspected Herzog was behind the armed police attack on their arrival.

• Xia Mi teased Amon about Setsuko and Mimi, and Amon denied knowing them before leaving with his sister for the hotel.
• Setsuko and Mimi apologized to Inuyama He for failing their assignment, but he comforted them and called the failure an accident.
• Lu Mingfei, Caesar, Chu Zihang, and Finn discussed the Japan Branch’s reputation and wondered why the delegation had received such generous treatment.
• Amon joined the group, and Xia Mi told them that yakuza disguised as police had opened fire on their party after they arrived in Japan.
• Amon connected the unexpected attack to the altered timeline and suspected Herzog was responsible.

After realizing the Japan Branch had engineered a police ambush to make the headquarters team dependent on its protection, Amon secretly ordered Delta Force to arrest Yokohama’s police chief. The team prepared to meet Tachibana Masamune and the other clan heads, while Amon promised to handle the Japan Branch and left Lu Mingfei to focus on the dragon mission.

• Amon feigned outrage over Xia Mi becoming wanted, then slipped into the washroom and ordered Delta Force to covertly arrest the Yokohama police chief and transport him to New York for Judgment.
• Amon returned to find Xia Mi had left, and Finn warned that the Japan Branch seemed suspicious despite being essential to the mission.
• Amon said the Principal had assigned him to watch the Japan Branch and told Lu Mingfei to focus on the dragon problem.
• Caesar explained that the team would meet Tachibana Masamune and the heads of the other seven families the next day.
• Lu Mingfei planned to study Japanese mythology and history, and Amon encouraged him to prepare for the meeting.

Caesar toasted the group with plans to conquer Japan, while Amon checked on Fenrir’s progress and promised more funding. As the group went to bed, Delta Force helicopters carrying armed operatives launched on a covert nighttime mission against the Yokohama police chief.

• Caesar praised the Japan Branch’s reception and toasted a future victory over the Japanese, with Amon and Finn joining him.
• Amon ended the toast, and the group dispersed to their rooms for the night.
• Amon learned from Rigerif that Fenrir’s body was regenerating, but the project faced high costs and poor sales, so he promised to transfer more money.
• Amon reflected on how his earnings and military-industrial orders had grown through his connections and special rank.
• Delta Force operatives boarded MH-60 helicopters at a secret base in Japan and flew out on a covert mission targeting the Yokohama police chief.

Minamoto Chisaki attended a tense Eight Clans of the Serpent meeting about the Dragon Kind Embryo in the Japan Trench and the arrival of Kassel College specialists. Tachibana Masamune warned that cooperation with Headquarters could also threaten the clans’ independence, leaving their response unresolved.

• Minamoto Chisaki reflected on his duty to lead the Eight Clans of the Serpent and his determination to destroy the Nippon Stronghold and the god it served.
• Crow told Minamoto Chisaki that Sakura was guarding the Headquarters specialists, and Minamoto Chisaki warned that Lu Mingfei had a lion hidden in his eyes.
• Minamoto Chisaki joined the clan heads in the shrine hall and stopped Uesugi Erii from taking out her game console.
• Tachibana Masamune told the clan heads that Kassel College had confirmed a Dragon Kind Embryo in the Japan Trench and that specialists sent by Principal Hilbert Jean Ange had arrived.
• Tachibana Masamune said the clans would cooperate with Headquarters but warned that Ange might also interfere with their efforts to free themselves from the Secret Party.

Tachibana Masamune explained the linked threats around the Dragon Kind Embryo, Takamagahara, Nippon Stronghold, and headquarters’ investigation, while the clan leaders weighed cooperation against protecting their secrets. Inuyama He warned them not to confront agent He Xiaomeng, revealing that he was also Mike Amon, a newly appointed five-star general whose arrival was backed by a warship and B-2 bombers.

• Tachibana Masamune revealed that the Dragon Kind Embryo lay in the Japan Trench at the site once called Takamagahara, a burial ground and seal for a god.
• Miyamoto Shio reported that research institutions linked to Nippon Stronghold were preparing for deep-sea exploration, and Tachibana Masamune described the threats posed by the First Generation Dragon, Nippon Stronghold, and headquarters.
• Minamoto Chisaki assessed the visiting agents, identifying Lu Mingfei as an S-rank agent and noting that Finn and another support agent might handle the team’s political weaknesses.
• Sakurai Nanami argued that the clan leaders should focus on the agents managing the frontline fighters, while Uesugi Erii ignored the discussion and wished to return to her games.
• Inuyama He urged the clans to avoid direct conflict with He Xiaomeng, then revealed that he was Mike Amon, a five-star general who had arrived aboard a warship with B-2 bombers clearing the way.

Inuyama He revealed that a US five-star general commanded the American forces in Japan and that the United States was accusing Japan of biological weapons research. Herzog feared the accusation could expose his secret experiments, and the meeting learned that American soldiers had taken the Yokohama police chief because he had targeted College Headquarters’ commissioners.

• Inuyama He warned the clan leaders that a US carrier group was nearby and its five-star general could call in airstrikes.
• Inuyama He showed news footage of the US ambassador presenting alleged evidence of Japanese biological weapons research, prompting angry but fearful reactions from the clan leaders.
• Herzog realized the accusation could expose his secret experiments on Dead Servants and wondered whether the Americans were coming for him.
• Crow reported to Minamoto Chisaki that American soldiers had taken the Yokohama police chief, who had ordered informants to retaliate against the commissioners.
• Inuyama He explained that one of the Headquarters group was the younger sister of General Mike Amon.

Genji Wakana learned that Kassel College’s elite squad had arrived in Tokyo, including his brother, and decided to go there despite General Amon’s order to suspend operations. He encountered Wang Jiang at the door as he left.

• At the Shrine, Tachibana Masamune and the Eight Clans of the Serpent discussed the American operation and resolved to learn General Amon’s demands before deciding how to respond.
• Amon received a report that Delta Force had secured its target without casualties, then went back to sleep.
• Sakurai Kogure told Genji Wakana that Kassel College’s squad had arrived in Tokyo and showed him photographs that included his brother and Lu Mingfei.
• Genji Wakana ordered Sakurai Kogure to report on the Eight Clans of the Serpent, then concluded they were avoiding an all-out fight while guarding against headquarters and the God's Burial Ground.
• Genji Wakana decided to go to Tokyo and found Wang Jiang waiting outside his door.

Genji Wakana confronted a masked figure claiming to be Wang Jiang and killed him as an impostor. Another Wang Jiang appeared immediately afterward, leaving Genji facing a potentially genuine—and possibly duplicated—enemy.

• Wang Jiang appeared before Genji Wakana and warned him that Tokyo was too dangerous because Fuma Kotaro was preparing to attack their allied underworld organizations.
• Genji Wakana accused Wang Jiang of fearing the Secret Party's unpredictable power and realized the man before him was behaving unlike the Wang Jiang he knew.
• The masked man questioned whether Genji could know which Wang Jiang was genuine, since no one had seen Wang Jiang's true face.
• Genji Wakana decapitated the man and ordered Sakurai Kogure to clean up the impostor's corpse.
• Another masked Wang Jiang appeared and asked Genji where his impersonation had fallen short.

Genji Wakana discovered that the masked figure impersonating Wang Jiang could return after being killed and realized Wang Jiang’s immortality might rely on others believing in his identity. He outwardly accepted the impostor as Wang Jiang while secretly planning to turn the two “monsters” against each other and free himself from both.

• Genji Wakana killed the masked figure again, tore away its mask, and saw that its face matched the one in his memories.
• Another masked figure appeared, and Genji Wakana questioned the impostor about his identity and intentions toward Nippon Stronghold.
• The fake Wang Jiang suggested that anyone could become Wang Jiang if others believed it, then invoked cloning to explain the returning bodies without answering Genji Wakana’s questions about their memories and behavior.
• Genji Wakana asked about the impostor’s connection to the original Wang Jiang, and the impostor claimed he had always been the Wang Jiang who led Nippon Stronghold.
• Genji Wakana declared that the impostor was Wang Jiang while privately resolving to let the two rivals fight and seek a chance to destroy them both.
• The masked figure, identified as the Amon Avatar, approved of Genji Wakana’s choice.

Lu Mingfei, Caesar, and Chu Zihang prepared to meet the Eight Clans of the Serpent while Amon insisted on joining them in his eccentric uniform. As the group headed through Tokyo, Amon studied the orderly crowds and hinted that Naga might be interested in them.

• Lu Mingfei and Chu Zihang discussed the Japanese Imperial family's divine genealogy, and Caesar said Secret Party screenings had found no significant Dragon Raja bloodline traits.
• Lu Mingfei, Caesar, Chu Zihang, Amon, and Finn dressed for the meeting, while Xia Mi prepared to explore Akihabara with Sakura accompanying her.
• Amon reluctantly left Xia Mi in Sakura's protection before the group drove toward the meeting.
• Amon asked Lu Mingfei what he saw in Tokyo's orderly crowds; Lu Mingfei commented on women's calves, while Amon described the people as cattle and horses that might interest Naga.

Caesar, Amon, Lu Mingfei, Chu Zihang, and Finn arrived at the Eight Clans of the Serpent’s black headquarters and were greeted by six clan heads. Amon’s commanding manner drew unusually humble deference from them, leaving Chu Zihang suspicious that their reverence was aimed specifically at He Xiaomeng.

• Tachibana Masamune and five other clan heads bowed to welcome the visitors, and Crow introduced them one by one.
• Inuyama He greeted Amon warmly and invited him to visit, while Lu Mingfei and the others noticed their familiar rapport.
• Amon asked why only six of the Eight Clans were present, and Tachibana Masamune explained that the Miyamoto Clan Head was handling mission preparations and the Uesugi Clan Head was unwell.
• Amon told the clan heads to go inside, and Tachibana Masamune immediately led the visitors into the headquarters.
• Lu Mingfei and Finn whispered about the clans’ fearful-seeming behavior, while Chu Zihang concluded that their reverence appeared directed at He Xiaomeng.

Amon met with the Eight Clans of the Serpent at Genji Heavy Industries and asserted his authority over them. Lu Mingfei experienced a sudden vision of a dog sled under fighter-jet attack before Amon dismissed the Japan Branch’s strength and ordered it to cooperate in handling the dragon beneath the Trench.

• Tachibana Masamune guided Amon and the others through Genji Heavy Industries and explained how the Eight Clans managed Japan’s underworld.
• At Xingshen Temple, Amon took the seat of honor while the clan heads accepted his presence without protest.
• Amon questioned Tachibana Masamune about his Russian past, and Tachibana revealed that he had lived in the Soviet Union and once kept sled dogs.
• When Tachibana mentioned a dog named Agata, Lu Mingfei suffered a vision of a girl on a sled pursued by fighter jets and machine-gun fire.
• Amon told the clan heads that the Japan Branch was worth only two dog sleds and said his group would handle the dragon beneath the Trench if they cooperated.

Amon forced Tachibana Masamune and the Eight Clans of the Serpent to accept his commands, then left Caesar’s team to discuss the dragon mission with the Japan Branch. Minamoto Chisaki explained their plan to locate and destroy the dragon embryo in the Japan Trench, while the team awaited specialized equipment.

• Amon insulted the Eight Clans of the Serpent, but Tachibana Masamune restrained Fuma Kotaro and agreed to follow his orders.
• Amon left Xingshen Temple, and Tachibana Masamune, Inuyama He, and Fuma Kotaro departed after handing the mission briefing to the Japan Branch representatives.
• Minamoto Chisaki showed Caesar’s team a chart of the Japan Trench and explained that the dragon embryo was developing in the Abyssal Zone.
• Minamoto Chisaki rejected Caesar’s suggestion of an underwater nuclear explosion and described the Dragon Abyss plan to locate the embryo with a manned submersible and destroy it with a parcel bomb.
• Chu Zihang asked how the team would withstand the deep-sea pressure, and Minamoto Chisaki said the Equipment Department would bring the necessary equipment in a few days.

Fuma Kotaro urged the Eight Clans of the Serpent to retaliate against the American general, but Tachibana Masamune warned that open resistance or assassination could doom their families. Meanwhile, Amon survived a taxi bombing and warned Lu Mingfei, leaving Minamoto Chisaki scrambling to deny the clan’s involvement and protect Lu Mingfei’s group.

• Fuma Kotaro demanded that the Eight Clans of the Serpent assassinate the American general, but Tachibana Masamune warned that doing so could bring the clan’s destruction and endanger its children.
• Tachibana Masamune asked Inuyama He to sound out Principal Angers’s attitude toward the general’s actions, and Inuyama He agreed to try.
• An elderly taxi driver expressed hatred for Americans, then detonated the taxi with Amon inside; Amon emerged largely unharmed and called Lu Mingfei.
• Lu Mingfei answered Amon’s call while touring the Ganryu Research Institute with Caesar, Chu Zihang, Minamoto Chisaki, and Miyamoto Shio, revealing that Amon had been attacked.
• Minamoto Chisaki denied that the Eight Clans of the Serpent had arranged the bombing, blamed Nippon Stronghold for framing them, and promised to protect Lu Mingfei’s teammates.

After Amon ended his call, Minamoto Chisaki revealed that Amon was Mike Amon, a recently promoted US five-star general commanding the Indo-Pacific Command, and explained the Eight Clans’ fearful behavior. The group negotiated to keep their freedom of movement, then Minamoto rushed off to check on Sakura and Xia Mi.

• Amon rejected Minamoto Chisaki’s offer of protection, accusing the Eight Clans of the Serpent of being badly infiltrated after Nippon Stronghold’s attack.
• Minamoto proposed comprehensive protection for Caesar, Chu Zihang, Lu Mingfei, and Finn, but Caesar objected that it sounded like surveillance and house arrest.
• Minamoto revealed that He Xiaomeng was also Mike Amon, a US five-star general who commanded the Indo-Pacific Command and had mobilized forces against the Yokohama police chief.
• Caesar agreed to trust Minamoto’s sincerity but refused close surveillance, and Minamoto promised the Execution Bureau would keep its distance while providing necessary support.
• Lu Mingfei warned Minamoto that Xia Mi being frightened could make Amon lose control, so Minamoto urgently left with Crow to check on Sakura and Xia Mi.

Sakura and Xia Mi were ambushed in Akihabara by a group of armed street thugs who tried to seize Xia Mi. Sakura prepared to fight, realizing the attackers knew Xia Mi’s importance and had been sent by someone with a specific target.

• Sakura noticed several men following her and Xia Mi as they explored Akihabara.
• Xia Mi led Sakura into a quieter side street and bought a Gatanothor figurine for her brother.
• A black sedan charged at them, and Sakura shoved Xia Mi into a shop alcove before leaping over the car as it crashed into a wall.
• Armed young men surrounded the two girls, and Yellow Hair ordered his gang to take Xia Mi alive and attack Sakura.
• Sakura recognized that the attackers’ orders suggested they knew Xia Mi’s value, then took a fighting stance and told Xia Mi to step back.