Chapter 12 Emergency Meeting

· Push from Kilo App ·
(*°▽°)ノ Delivering the real truth of Zero Island to you today.
The ruler of Zero Island's dark side is the Martial Assembly, Military Vanguard, while its public governing body is formed by a coalition of seven local mega-corporations, collectively known as the Mega-Corporation Federation, or Mega-Fed. Its chairman also holds the concurrent position of Prime Minister of Zero Island.
However, the Military Vanguard and the samurai and ninjas backing it would not simply sit back and watch the businessmen monopolize all power. After prolonged open struggles and covert conflicts, Zero Island has now achieved a stable balance of power, allowing ordinary citizens to live out their days in relative peace... probably.
·
The headlights of the vehicle melted into the multi-colored streets. A pitch-black luxury limousine tore through the alleys at speeds genuinely exceeding the limit, heading straight for the landmark building in the center of the megalopolis of Mihara: the Ninety-Nine Capital Tower.
Under the veil of night, Mihara City was brightly illuminated. [Muramura Pharmaceuticals serves your health] [Super-popular idol Shiri's latest album] [Biotechnology is the star of the era] [Ultra-mobile ninja martial arts chronicles broadcasting tonight at 9 PM]... Slogans with actual pulling power were lit up by neon lights, rendering the streetlamps almost meaningless. Searchlights at the tops of skyscrapers tore through the night, forcing the darkness that lost its hiding place on the ground to retreat helplessly from the sky. The red-and-white steel exterior of the Ninety-Nine Capital Tower gleamed brilliantly in the illumination. A salaryman who had just staggered out of an izakaya drunkenly raised his hand and toasted the towering edifice: "Damn it! Cheers to another 10% pay cut on overtime!"
His brain dominated by alcohol, he walked swayingly, and suddenly stumbling, he toppled onto the roadway. The drunkard looked up in a dazed haze; rushing winds and noise assaulted his face. The luxury limousine traveling at ultra-high speed was about to crush his skull!
"Aieeee!" the salaryman screamed in terror, but unable to pull himself up, his life was about to end in such a place. "Aieeee—!" His screams grew ever more shrill, yet he felt no pain. Was he already dead? The salaryman opened his eyes, seeing only the distant taillights of the car fading away.
"Deities... protect me, oh deities..." He swore he would never dare complain about overtime pay again; this must surely be karmic retribution. Yet the drunkard had mistaken the object of his gratitude. He should not be thanking the deities of the hidden realm, but rather the ninja gripping the steering wheel in the driver's seat.
·
Idiot! Yamada cursed inwardly. If it were an ordinary driver, your head would have long since turned into flesh and blood beneath the wheels! Someone who doesn't cherish their life deserves to be run over anyway! That being said, Yamada still relied on his ninja reflexes to dodge the drunkard in the nick of time.
The price of the sudden lane change was a jolt inside the car. Yamada recalled that his superior in the back seat was drinking tea, and a cold sweat instantly broke out on his forehead. "My deepest apologies, Drunken Eye-san!" Was he going to have to slice off a finger to ated for this?
"Never mind." The teacup in Drunken Eye's hand remained perfectly steady; not a single drop of tea slipped past the rim of the cup—truly a superior of the Soul-Severing rank! The short-nosed ninja spoke again: "It reminds me of Wildfire-san."
Wildfire. An unfamiliar name. Could he be an old subordinate of Drunken Eye-san? Or perhaps a ninja hostile to him... Yamada momentarily didn't know how to respond and said cautiously, "It is my honor to bring back past memories for you."
"It's all in the past." Drunken Eye looked out the window, the rapidly receding neon lights blurred like the light of a dream.
In just a few brief exchanges, the luxury limousine had driven into the parking lot beneath the Capital Tower. Yamada flashed his headlights to signal, and a hidden door as seamless as a wall swung open, leading the two of them into the secret zone belonging exclusively to the Military Vanguard.
Yamada parked the car and respectfully opened the door for his superior. "We have arrived at our destination, Drunken Eye-san." "Hmm. There are quite a few Thousand-Forged rank ninjas on the 20th floor." Yamada was overjoyed. This was his superior's subtle hint that he should seize this opportunity to build workplace friendships with other ninjas. Mutual assistance is indispensable in any workplace, a principle that applies equally to ninjas. You can climb higher only if you have friends! "Actual thanks."
Drunken Eye abruptly changed the subject: "Yet your evasion maneuver during driving was somewhat excessive. Your karate practice remains insufficient, Yamada-san. You shall perform your basic training right here."
"...With utmost pleasure!" Yamada bowed until his superior stepped into the elevator, then began dutifully standing by the car to practice karate. During this process, he saw several cars parked nearby, from which emerged prominent ninjas even he recognized. Quite a few ninjas burst out laughing upon seeing him.
It's over! The tea-clad ninja wailed inwardly. Actual social death. Might he end up with a nickname like "Yamada of the Parking Lot"?!
·
Ninety-Nine Capital Tower, top floor.
Drunken Eye stood before the folding screen engraved with the shuriken and battle fan. The luxurious screen slid open automatically. Greeting him was a brightly lit grand hall where bookshelves replaced walls. Countless books of varied colors occupied every tiny gap of the bookshelves, imparting a sense of sacredness surpassing even a library; even a brute holding no respect for knowledge would instinctively hold his breath in such a solemn atmosphere.
Located in the center of the hall was a long table, upon which was painted the unique crest of the Military Vanguard—the mystical and arcane shuriken and battle fan. A hunchaged elder sat at the head of the table, thumbing through an old book.
"Domo, Yamazaki-dono." Drunken Eye bowed composedly.
"You are the earliest to arrive this time as well, Drunken Eye." Yamazaki Ken's voice was low, devoid of much physical strength as he spoke. "Stay behind after the meeting concludes."
"With great pleasure."
Two chairs were placed at the left and right hands of Elder Yamazaki, while four other chairs surrounded the other end of the long table, belonging to the leaders of the ninja armies. Piping hot tea, freshly brewed, sat before the seats of all seven attendees. Drunken Eye took his seat at his assigned place and quietly awaited the arrival of the others.
·
The third to arrive was the exceptionally gigantic Smash, the fourth was the demonically beautiful Cherry Dance, and the fifth was Purity, clad in white robes. With this, all four ninja army leaders were present. Another warrior, clad in dark samurai great armor and wearing a katana at his waist, walked in amidst the sound of clashing metal and took his seat to Elder Yamazaki's right hand. He was the leader of the Martial Assembly, Munemotoin Ryu.
The tea cooled to a temperature suitable for drinking, marking the time for the meeting to begin, yet one person had still not arrived. The elder's stern voice echoed from within the samurai great armor: "Where in the world has Shigure Gendoya gone?!"
"Let us wait a little longer," Elder Yamazaki advised gently. Thus, the six continued to wait. Not until the tea had turned cold did the sound of new footsteps finally approach.
"Sorry, sorry, I'm late. How is everyone chatting?"
A remark entirely unbefitting the solemn atmosphere was brought by a flippant man showing not a shred of apology. He wore a white suit and a fedora, stepping as lightly as if he were dancing. Shigure Gendoya took his seat to the elder's left hand, reached out to touch a teacup, and smiled, saying: "Well now, the tea has gone cold."
Impolite! Actual impoliteness! Even in ordinary corporations unrelated to the inner world, a madman daring to pull such a stunt would skip the village ostracism phase and be fired outright by an enraged boss; yet in the strictly regulated Military Vanguard, such an insolent fellow deserved direct ritual suicide!
Yet Drunken Eye could muster no anger. The other party was a power-holder of a higher rank than himself; only the other two lords possessed the authority to criticize his strength. Munemotoin within the black armor bellowed: "Gendoya!" Shigure Gendoya merely smiled.
"It matters not. Let us begin." Once again, Elder Yamazaki spoke to ease the atmosphere. He took the lead in drinking the cold tea, and the remaining six followed protocol and drank along with the elder. Drunken Eye rose to distribute the paper documents to all attendees. The elder put down his teacup: "You have all seen the divination results from the Spirit Temple."
Shigure Gendoya rustled through the materials: "Ounowell Slock's second trump card, plus our cute little princess! How wonderful, a runaway daughter is bringing a man back to meet daddy. Should I prepare red bean rice in advance? Or wrap a red envelope according to the Empire's customs?"
No one took up his joke. The burly Smash "accidentally" snapped off an armrest of his chair.
"Pardon me, Shigure-dono. This chair is actually rather brittle." Smash apologized with a volume sufficient to knock a child unconscious. Shigure Gendoya waved a hand, "Don't mind it! It's the 21st century; there's no need to cling to those old-fashioned rules."
Elder Yamazaki cued the ninjas with his gaze, and Purity, receiving the signal, stood up. He was a man clad in white monk robes, his face beneath short black hair plain and serene, making it hard to connect him with the identity of a ninja.
"Allow me to briefly introduce our current enemy," Purity began in order, presenting a concise overview. "Shigure Rei, the first experimental subject cultivated by Shigure Gendoya-dono, is a dual-phase dharma user of Spirit Phase and Brahma Phase."
"Gongsun Ce, one of the highest-threat dragon species in the Firmament City. Based on abnormal manifestations observed during the Glaze Disaster on February 13th, it is highly probable that he has sealed within him the highest-ranking known heart-phase armament—the End-Sword wielded across generations by the Morton Royal Knight Order..."
Purity detailed the capability manifestations of the two individuals and summarized: "Excluding the condition of the End-Sword, the comprehensive combat power is evaluated as equivalent to two peak Manifestation states; factoring in the End-Sword, an accurate evaluation is practically impossible. That is all."
Silence hung within the conference hall for a moment; everyone except Shigure Gendoya was deep in thought. Drunken Eye held a differing opinion regarding this combat power assessment, but he did not speak up.
Munemotoin within the black armor slammed the documents down and roared: "Mere Manifestation-level pair! Do the three major nations dare to flagrantly insult our dignity in such a manner!"
Cherry Dance said softly, "Munemotoin-dono, this is not a matter of the surface..."
"Idiots! Knowing full well that we possess the blessing of Lord Magatsu-shin, they still resort to such petty tricks that are bound to be discovered—this is the arrogance of the major nations!!"
The warrior's roar buzzed through the hall. Shigure Gendoya rolled his eyes, a gesture remarkably similar to Shigure Rei's.
"Alright, alright, Uncle Ryuu. The target is me, not you. If you are so anxious to protect the country, I can dispatch an aircraft to take you to Firmament City for an assassination; an eye for an eye," Shigure Gendoya said flippantly. "Besides, the major nations have the right to be arrogant. Morton still has two Genesis-level beings supporting its miserable state right now; what about us, the Military Vanguard?"
The man in the white suit shook his head and sighed: "None, none at all! The Military Vanguard has no Genesis, and the Seven Luminaries Shinto has no Genesis either. The big shot who can truly represent Zero Island in the inner world happens to be that Scarlet Mage..."
The name about to be uttered made all members tense up. Munemotoin roared: "Silence!"
Shigure Gendoya traced his fingers across his lips to signal they were sealed.
An entirely normal reaction, Drunken Eye thought to himself. No one wished to hear the name of the Scarlet Mage. Fortunately, that individual left Zero Island back in February; otherwise, emergency meetings would likely be convening irregularly every week.
Elder Yamazaki put down the documents, turned his head, and asked, "Gendoya. Tell us your views on this matter."
"I see this as an excellent opportunity! Although we didn't wait for怜一 (Ren'i), the End-Sword is an even more absolute power."
Shigure Gendoya, despite being the target locked onto by the major nations, showed not a shred of fear; instead, he was filled with an unusual excitement. He rose from his seat, raised his hands like an orator, and an unmaskable fanaticism appeared in his eyes.
"Think about it carefully, everyone. That is Morton's End-Sword, the supreme treasure that allows a mere remote island to sit on equal footing with Everlight and Ustus, a power sufficient to slay monarchs! If we can grasp it in our hands..." Shigure Gendoya's voice seeped with serpent-like greed, "there will be no need for tributes, no need for the Unification Project, and even those ** experiments that certain among you deeply loath and wish to devour me alive for will no longer need to be carried out!"
·
Leaning over the conference table and licking his lips, he said: "That is power, everyone. The power we have yearned for for hundreds, thousands of years. Once seized, it will belong forever to the Military Vanguard, a power belonging forever to Zero Island!"
Several people's breathing turned heavy involuntarily. The power of the End-Sword was a might comparable to monarchs. This was a temptation no faction could resist. Over the past three years, it had been sealed upon the corpse of a giant dragon, locked away in the most heavily guarded city in the world. Yet now, this sword was about to arrive on Zero Island, right beneath their noses!
Elder Yamazaki's voice awakened the fanatics.
"The major nations have simply sent us such a generous bait," the elder said with closed eyes. "If we are to deploy in full force to seize the sword, Gendoya will likely become indefensible."
"How cost-effective that is, old man," the man in white said, leaning back in his chair. "Trading a Clear-phase dharma user for the End-Sword—there is no more profitable deal in the world."
The elder smiled.
"Compared to an uncontrollable unknown power, Zero Island has far greater need of you as a Clear-phase dharma user," Yamazaki made an irrefutable judgment. "I believe that treating the protection of Gendoya as the top priority in responding to this matter—what do you all think?"
The black-armored warrior nodded first, and the four ninja army leaders chorused: "Indeed!"
"The incident in Firmament City was a misunderstanding," the elder sighed. "The turmoil triggered by a runaway experimental subject somehow sparked suspicions against us by coincidence. At the end-of-month meeting, I shall personally step forward to explain the truth to various nations."
"Thank you for your hard work, Ken-san," Munemotoin bowed and said. "Then, regarding the response to these two individuals... Drunken Eye, you speak."
"With utmost pleasure!" Drunken Eye rose and bowed. "Further divination by the Shigure Spirit Temple requires time. Our Yamato Island, defended by the ninja army, genuinely possesses no gaps through which one could quietly invade without being detected. Chongo Island is the sphere of influence for the Hiding Deities, and I imagine the investigators from Firmament City will cooperate with the Seven Luminaries Shinto."
"As expected..." the elder lamented.
"Before the commencement of the Magatsu-shin Festival, keep the core forces confined within Yamato Island to fully safeguard Lord Shigure's safety. Simultaneously, dispatch vanguard forces to harass Tsukushi Island to delay their operations as much as possible. If things go smoothly... an accident befalling the dragon species due to innate instability would be an unavoidable misfortune." Drunken Eye lowered his gaze. "What do your honors think?"
The elder nodded. "Let it be done thus. Gendoya, in these extraordinary times, you will have to grievance yourself by staying in the tower for a period."
"Hey, hey, this is troublesome, old man," Shigure Gendoya spread his hands. "What about the experiments I currently have underway?"
"Hand them over to Soichi for now. You too should let the younger generation learn to stand on their own feet."
"There's no helping you then~" Shigure Gendoya's eyes rolled. "Then we should also discuss the matter of the Unification Project."
"A small-scale descent of Magatsu-shin will occur in the middle of this month. Shall we treat it as a rehearsal?"
·
After the meeting adjourned, Shigure Gendoya was the first to leave, just as flippant and discourteous as ever, totally disregarding the opinions of the crowd.
He walked into the elevator and pressed the button for the 77th floor. "Arriving at ~77th floor~" the sweet synthesized voice chimed. Shigure Gendoya loosened his tie, discarded his suit jacket, and as he prepared to step into his office, he uttered an astonished "Oh?"
The office door was ajar; someone had entered his room ahead of time. Shigure Gendoya pushed the door open and stepped inside. A blank-eyed figure in black was sitting on his sofa, looking to be around the age of a young man, staring blankly ahead. Shigure Gendoya locked eyes with this idiot-like fellow for two seconds, then chuckled abruptly.
Another person stood with their back to him by the floor-to-ceiling window, looking down at the scenery of Mihara City from a commanding view. That individual wore garments glittering with multicolored specks of light and sported an exceptionally tall hat. He flicked his sleeve, turned around, and offered a greeting in a peculiar cadence.
"A reunion of old friends is a joyous event in the mortal world!"
Shigure Gendoya tossed his coat next to the man in black and said with a smile.
"Who's to say it isn't? I thought you people had died!"