Uta’s office no longer looks like a mafia headquarters.
Now it looks like the table of a shared apartment… for dangerous people.
Kuro chews on dried meat.
— So, doctor of order… do we have a plan, or are we improvising like always?
Uta, mouth full:
— I was thinking about it.
Shizuka snorts.
— Sure. And I’m a circus dancer.
She wipes her hands.
— No need. He’s about to arrive.
Uta and Kuro exchange looks.
— Who?
Knock.
The door opens without drama.
Akihiro walks in, pushing a portable whiteboard.
The wheels squeak.
A crooked smile.
A coin spinning between his fingers.
— Good morning, privileged minds.
He looks at the food.
— I see the revolution has already started…
Kuro narrows his eyes.
— I don’t like you.
Akihiro nods.
— Mutual. A sign of intelligence, at least in your case.
Uta points at the board.
— Is that for drawing monkeys?
— No — Akihiro says — it’s to explain to you how you should be running things.
Shizuka covers her mouth to keep from laughing.
Akihiro turns the board.
At the top he writes:
KROV TRANSITION PLAN
Underlines it.
— If you abandon crime without a replacement, the territory collapses. Hunger. Looting. Chaos.
He draws three circles.
1?? ECONOMY
— The Krov control routes, transport, security, and distribution.
— That doesn’t get destroyed. It gets legalized.
He writes:
? Protection → Community private security
? Smuggling → Official logistics network
? Weapons → Metallurgical industry and territorial defense
— Money will keep flowing. But now it’ll be jobs.
2?? EDUCATION
— Fangdrift isn’t poor because it lacks resources.
— It’s poor because it lacks knowledge.
He writes:
Schools
Trade training
Basic medicine
He looks at Uta.
— You want to save people? Teach them how not to need saving.
Uta stays quiet. That one lands.
3?? WORK
— We absorb orphans, outcasts, ex-bandits.
He taps the board.
— We give them function.
— Purpose reduces violence more than punishment.
Kuro tilts his head.
— That’s… suspiciously brilliant.
— I know — Akihiro says — it annoys me too.
Then he erases a corner and writes big:
PROBLEMS
? People are afraid of the Krov
— We’ll need public acts of aid.
? Ivanov
— Overloaded novel villain. Predictable.
— He’ll move on pride, not strategy.
? Gouma Enji — Akaryuu (Red Dragon)
— He is the real danger.
— If the Krov leave crime, he’ll try to absorb the vacuum.
He draws a map of the continent.
The Krov and Akaryuu divide almost everything… except one gray area.
? Refuge Zone
— Small gangs. Outcasts. No clear law.
— If we win that zone first, we win.
Akihiro sets the marker down.
— And the final problem.
He looks at the three of them.
— We’re alone.
Silence.
— We need reinforcements.
— Not soldiers.
He points at Uta.
— Symbols.
Points at Shizuka.
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— Brains.
Points at Kuro.
— People who believe in something.
Pause.
— Otherwise… this isn’t a revolution.
A faint smile.
— It’s elegant suicide.
Silence.
Uta scratches his head.
— So… we’ve got homework?
Akihiro looks at him.
— Yes.
— You, for the first time.
Kuro grins.
— I like this guy.
Shizuka crosses her arms.
— Fine. Then we start today.
The board is still full of diagrams when Uta—who seemed to be paying attention to nothing—speaks with his mouth full of bread.
— I know someone who can help us.
Silence.
Akihiro raises an eyebrow.
Shizuka stops writing.
Kuro stops chewing.
Uta scratches his cheek like he’s saying something trivial.
— Chikari.
Pause.
— The former Decimus leader.
Kuro’s chair screeches back.
— …Chikari the Renegade?
Uta nods calmly.
— The same one.
Shizuka blinks, genuinely surprised.
— That man is a political ghost. No one knows where he is.
Uta shrugs.
— I do.
Kuro goes thoughtful, then smiles sideways.
— Then I can move another piece.
They all look at him.
— The new Winter Wolves.
Akihiro stops spinning the coin.
— That’s not a piece. That’s a detonator.
Kuro stretches back in his chair.
— Mikhail asked me to reactivate the plan and gave me two names.
— No one wants them. No one controls them.
He smiles, but his eyes don’t.
— Perfect to follow someone who doesn’t see them as tools.
He murmurs, almost to himself:
— Like Uta did with me.
Shizuka explodes.
— Oh yes! Perfect plan!
She jumps to her feet.
— We recruit a former rebel leader, a war-assassin project, and while we’re at it let’s invite the border pyromaniac gang and found an army while declaring we’re no longer a mafia!
She rubs her face.
— Do you think for even five seconds?
She points at Kuro.
— A former elite government assassin.
Points at Uta.
— The heir of the most feared clan.
Points at the board.
— And now you want to reactivate a lineage of human weapons.
— What’s next? A sign over the office saying “global threat”?
Akihiro speaks softly.
Too softly.
— You’re wrong.
Shizuka looks at him, sharp.
— Strength isn’t the problem.
— Direction is.
He flips the coin.
— Those men only knew orders and violence.
— Give them purpose… and they become pillars.
He looks at Uta.
— If anyone can do it, it’s him.
Meanwhile, Uta is rocking his chair back like a child.
— Besides… it sounds fun.
Kuro laughs.
— I love it when your strategic plan is “let’s see what happens.”
Uta grins.
— It’s an advanced method. It’s called controlled chaos.
Suddenly—
TAC
Threads.
Ultra-thin.
Surgical precision.
They snap shut over both mouths.
Uta and Kuro try to speak.
Nothing.
Shizuka, a vein bulging on her forehead:
— Shut. Up.
Absolute silence.
Akihiro watches the scene.
— This… is the most stable this group has been since I arrived.
Uta gives a thumbs-up with his mouth bound.
Kuro tries to wink.
Shizuka sighs, exhausted.
— God… I’m going to need a vacation after we save the continent.
Akihiro corrects her:
— If we survive ourselves first.
The camera pulls back.
On the board behind them it says:
“REBUILD A CONTINENT”
Below:
A chaotic leader.
A romantic weapon.
A strategist on the verge of collapse.
A manipulative genius.
Location: Nokoribi-mura, alley behind the restaurant
Nao stands in the middle of the alley.
Eyes blindfolded.
Breathing slow.
Tense.
Chiaki leans against the wall, lighting a cigarette.
— Your radar is still a disaster.
Nao frowns.
— Hey, I’m learning, old man.
— No. — exhales smoke — You’re distracted.
Footsteps approach.
Firm. No wasted noise.
Tadaaki enters the alley, hands in his pockets.
— So today I get to hit him with permission?
Nao growls.
— Bully…
Chiaki raises a hand.
— Rules.
He points.
— Shoulder touch: 1 point.
— Knee: 2 points.
— First to 15 wins.
— Loser goes to the old lady’s place for medicine.
Nao protests.
— That’s super far!
Tadaaki shrugs.
— Run. Builds cardio.
Chiaki steps back.
— Begin.
Silence.
Nao listens.
Breathes.
But hesitates.
TAC
A hit on his shoulder.
— One — Tadaaki says calmly.
Nao turns too late.
TAC
Knee.
— Three.
Nao clenches his teeth.
Chiaki doesn’t intervene.
Just watches.
— Don’t listen. Feel.
Nao lowers his shoulders.
Stops searching for footsteps.
Stops guessing.
He breathes…
And something changes.
His body leans slightly right.
Tadaaki attacks from the left.
Nao doesn’t see it.
But he feels it.
He moves just before.
The strike grazes past.
Nao counters.
TAC
Tadaaki’s shoulder.
— One for me — Nao smiles.
Tadaaki tilts his head.
Now he’s serious.
He pulls back.
Pressure at Nao’s back.
Nao turns before the attack.
Blocks with his forearm.
Misses by centimeters.
But he’s no longer lost.
The points climb.
7–3
9–5
11–8
Chiaki murmurs:
— There it is…
Tadaaki vanishes from his front.
Nao stays still.
Too still.
Mistake.
TAC
Knee.
Nao breathes hard.
He senses something behind him.
Turns with everything—
But Tadaaki was already sliding in low from the side.
TAC
Shoulder.
Silence.
Nao removes the blindfold.
Sweaty. Panting.
But smiling.
— I almost had you.
Tadaaki replies flatly:
— A month ago you couldn’t touch me even once.
Chiaki crushes his cigarette.
— Loser gets the medicine.
Nao looks at the sky.
— I hate this town…
But he starts walking.
Without complaining anymore.
Tadaaki watches him go.
Chiaki speaks quietly.
— You don’t fight like a scared kid anymore.
Tadaaki nods.
Nao walks down the cobblestone street.
Kicking stones.
— Abusive old lady… why does she live SO far…?
A bag of medicine hangs from his shoulder.
Annoyed.
Proud.
Tired.
He looks at the sky.
Orange.
Golden.
That village silence that tries to be normal.
Then—
He stops.
His expression changes.
That chill.
That tingle down his spine.
It’s not immediate danger.
It’s presence.
Nao doesn’t think.
He runs.
Jumps to a wall.
Then to a balcony.
Then to the rooftop.
He runs across the roofs with that street agility that’s already part of him.
Steady breathing.
Searching for the source.
He finds it.
Stops.
Blinks.
?? Main Street — Below
A man walks as if the world doesn’t exist.
Black suit.
Deep green shirt.
Dark green hair slicked back.
A thin braid down his back.
A poetry book open in his hand.
Reading.
Walking in a straight line.
Completely unconcerned.
As if he weren’t on a continent full of mafias.
Uta frowns slightly.
Something…
Too late.
A shadow drops from above.
Uta looks up.
Too late.
BAM
Nao lands on him.
But there’s no strike.
No attack.
There are arms wrapped tightly around him.
Nao clutches his clothes.
He’s crying.
— Thank you…
Uta blinks.
Confused.
— Huh?
Nao tightens his grip.
— For saving me back then…
His voice breaks.
Uta freezes.
He didn’t sense his presence.
Nor intent.
Nor hostility.
Nothing.
That scares him.
That… makes him happy.
Slowly, he raises a hand.
Lets it fall awkwardly onto Nao’s head.
— Hey… hey… calm down…
He looks around, uncomfortable.
— Don’t cry, you’re making me feel responsible…
Nao lets out a tearful laugh.
Uta sighs.
Looks at the book.
Closes it.
— It was nothing.
Brief silence.
Uta studies him more closely.
Notices the bandage on his neck.
The recent bruises.
The posture.
— Training with Chiaki?
Nao nods.
Wipes his face with his sleeve.
— Yeah.
Uta scratches the back of his neck.
— Ah… is that old man around?
Nao smiles for the first time without sadness.
— Yeah.
He steps away.
— Follow me.
Uta shrugs.
They start walking together through the village, bathed in the light of sunset.
