Though Gerald felt that the old man’s reasoning clearly had holes in it, he chose not to say a word first. After all, even if things did go south, he knew he would still be able to protect Fujiko. “Look, I’m just an outsider in all this, so I can’t settle your issues. With that said, if you still wish to fight, do it outside the Yamashita family’s territory. While I won’t meddle once you’re no longer here, as long as you remain, I forbid you from continuing to brawl. Do I have myself clear?” replied the old man—rather threateningly—before alternating his gaze between Gerald and Ryugu… “…Got it,” muttered Ryugu who knew that he didn’t really have a choice but to agree. “Good. Now that that’s out of the way, why don’t all of you accompany this old man for a few cups of tea? Since we rarely leave this place and we hardly ever get any visitors, I’d like to know what’s been happening in the outside world… Of course, if you’d like to leave first, I have no issue with that either,” repl

“They left through the back door, though they didn’t tell me where they were headed to,” replied the old man as he shook his head. Now understanding that he wouldn’t find out where they had gone to no matter how much he asked, Ryugu immediately said, “Pardon me, but I’ll be taking my leave now!” As he left the house, he figured that in the end, Gerald and Fujiko would still end up participating in the special forces competition. With that in mind, he knew that his best bet was to put them aside for now… After all, though he was the leader of the Hanyu’s assassination department, he wasn’t too keen on disrupting the activities of the war department. What more, since the competition was international, special forces from all over the globe would be present. Because of that, if he created a mess there, it’d surely cause his family a great deal of trouble… Still, though he failed to capture Gerald this time, the trip wasn’t a complete disappointment. After all, he now knew that Endo

“I’m pretty sure they are, though I haven’t been able to bring it up with them since their family has been plagued with troubles lately. Still, once I settle all their problems, I have a feeling they won’t attempt to hide it anymore when I ask,” replied Gerald with a sigh, wondering when he would be able to solve all the Futaba family’s issues. Still, for the sake of his parents—who were still stuck on Yearning Island—, Gerald knew better than to complain. “Well, I’m honestly just pleased that it’s confirmed. After all, this means that our trip to Japan has been worth it,” said Master Ghost as he sighed with relief. Soon enough, they arrived at their building and began walking upstairs. Naturally, Aiden had made sure to apply for a room that had three rooms—from the war department—, and once they entered, he immediately closed the door behind them. Since there were so many special forces in the training ground, the trio knew that they had to be extremely careful with their words

“…You’re saying the Futabas have been in contact with the Yamashitas for that long…?” replied Suijin who was rightfully surprised. After all, though the two families hadn’t had any conflict in decades, all the patriarchs of the Hanyu family—Sujin included—had made sure to secretly and consistently keep tabs on the Futaba. With that in mind, how had all the previous patriarchs failed to find out about this? “…With that said, should we still make a move on the Futabas…? After all, now that we know that they have a good relationship with the Yamashitas, we can’t just cause the Futabas all willy-nilly anymore…” muttered Ryugu who was honestly getting a little worried. After all, the Yamashitas were exceedingly strong. Truth be told, he wondered whether he would even be a match for that shuriken-throwing old man if they got into a serious battle… Either way, after thinking about it for a while, Sujin eventually said, “…For the time being, let’s not make any further moves on the Futaba

After all, he knew for a fact that Gerald could easily handle those people. “Even if you say that… All the countries have sent their best men over to participate, despite the fact that this isn’t even an overly formal competition. With that in mind, I’m not really sure how well I’ll do… Getting an above average rank is good enough for me…” muttered Aiden who was well aware that among his teammates, he wasn’t really all that strong. Though he bore the title of ‘King of Soldiers’, he had earned it from the many battles he had been in. However, now that he had to abide by the event’s rules and regulations, he wasn’t quite sure how well he’d fare… Moving back to Gerald, he was currently seated in the interrogation room, his legs crossed and a cigarette in his hand. With even a cup of tea placed before him, anyone who didn’t know that this was an interrogation room would’ve surely thought that Gerald was here as a guest… Regardless, after clearing his throat, Ichiro turned to look a