Chen Lin stood at the edge of the deck, looking down at Kudan-kita in Chiyoda Ward.
Tower cranes were turning.
Construction vehicles were moving.
Workers in reflective vests swarmed over the scaffolding. The steel reinforcement for the new foundations was already in place, and most of the concrete had been poured.
At this rate, a brand-new Yasukuni Shrine would rise on the original site in less than six months.
The memorial tablets of Class-A war criminals would be brought back.
Politicians in suits would line up to bow on appointed days.
Everything would go on as before.
As though those four Tomahawks had never struck.
Chen Lin watched for five seconds.
"This nation-"
His tone was flat, as though he were discussing something that had little to do with him.
"Really has a terrible memory."
He turned his hand over.
His Storage Ring flickered.
A rosewood box landed in his palm, and its lid opened.
The Purple Firmament Divine Thunder Talisman.
Crimson lines flowed slowly across the purple-gold surface of the talisman. Tiny sparks of lightning danced at their intersections, crackling softly.
The fully charged power of one hundred and thirteen spirit stones was packed into this palm-sized talisman.
Chen Lin picked it up between two fingers.
The instant his fingertips touched it, a tingling numbness spread through his entire right hand, from fingertips to wrist.
That was the sealed Core Formation lightning technique stirring within.
Power pent up for centuries had finally reached the moment of release.
Chen Lin lowered his eyes and took one last look at the construction site.
His spiritual sense spread out from three thousand meters above, revealing the position of every person below with perfect clarity.
Outside the construction barriers, men in black suits stood in a line at ten-meter intervals.
They were not