Nodding, Suijin then put his cigarette—that he had barely even puffed—out before saying, “…Tell him to meet me at the reception room.” Fast forward to twenty minutes later, Suijin could be seen sitting on a bamboo chair in the reception room when Suke rushed in under Ryugu’s lead. Upon seeing Suijin, Suke immediately yelled, “Patriarch! As long as you help me kill Gerald, I’m willing to let go of half the benefits that we previously agreed upon!” “Calm yourself and slowly elaborate the situation to me,” muttered Suijin as he held onto his temple, feeling a slight headache coming. Honestly, all these problems stemmed from the moment he had told Saburo to go after Fujiko… Come to think of it, if Gerald wasn’t in the picture, everything would’ve gone smoothly! However, there simply was no getting rid of that youth no matter what tactics they used! “…Well, the Futabas held a family meeting tonight, and Gerald revealed that he got people from the Yamashita family to guard over our man

“…What? Haven’t you already entered their territory?” asked Suijin with a slight frown. “…Well, while it’s true that that old man was extremely strong, I couldn’t tell whether he was a ninja… After all, I’ve never met a ninja before so I can’t really tell them apart from regular people…” muttered Ryugu, who knew better than to assume that the old man was a ninja just because he had immense speed. “Then investigate further into this. However, only make your move once you’ve completed your investigation! Remember, the stakes are very high this time around! Also, while I won’t be arguing about Endo and Izumi’s case for the moment, you'd best bring them back safely or I’ll replace you—from your role as leader of the assassin team—with someone more capable!” growled Suijin as he glared at Ryugu. “C-copy that…!” replied Ryugu who got so frightened that his forehead was drenched in cold sweat in no time… Meanwhile, Kai had just awoken back at his manor. After making himself look a bit

Rather than helping, Gerald believed that the ‘reinforcements’ would only end up being burdens that he needed to protect once they were there. “…Who will you be bringing along?” asked Takuya. “Just Fujiko and Aiden. Both of them are plenty enough,” replied Gerald as he turned to look at the duo that he had just mentioned. Upon hearing that, Aiden—who would follow Gerald to the ends of earth, regardless of how dangerous it was—immediately declared, “We’re ready when you are!” “I see… Well, Fujiko has my approval,” said Takuya with a nod, believing that Gerald would keep his daughter safe. Nodding in response, Fujiko then got to her feet as she asked, “When are we heading off?” “Well, rather than wait around any longer, I say we meet them now. As the old Weston saying goes, ‘strike while the iron’s hot’. Let’s see how the Hanyus respond to our little visit,” replied Gerald with a faint smile… Shortly after, the trio left the manor. Though they left Master Ghost behind, Gera

“With that said, both of them are currently on the verge of death. I’m afraid you’ll have to bring stretchers along if you truly wish to rescue them. Otherwise, they’ll probably not make it,” replied Gerald as he stared Suijin directly in the eye… “…I-is that so…” replied Suijin, his hands already trembling slightly as he desperately attempted to keep his cool. “Release them, you mother*cker! Otherwise, you won’t be leaving this place alive!” roared Ryugu as he rushed into the room! Since he was the one who had sent Endo and Izumi out on the mission—without Suijin’s knowledge—, Ryugu knew that he was going to be held responsible for whatever happened to them. With that said, as long as they were still alive, he would probably just have to endure a punishment or two. However, if they were dead, there was a high chance that he would be too…! Either way, upon seeing Ryugu rush over, Aiden immediately got to his feet! Within seconds, the two were already exchanging dozens of blows!

Following that, Gerald laughed heartily before getting to his feet and saying, “Alright, let’s head back. We’re already an eyesore to them by this point!” Nodding in response, Aiden and Fujiko then followed closely behind him. However, before they left, Aiden made sure to roughly brush his shoulder against Ryugu’s, causing Ryugu to almost fall! “You…!” growled Ryugu as he turned to glare at Aiden. Aiden, however, paid him no notice and simply walked out with Gerald and Fujiko… Once the trio was no longer in sight, Ryugu—who had been actively suppressing his rage this entire time—immediately ran toward Suijin before asking, “Patriarch! Why did you just let them leave like that…?” Snorting in response, Suijin then scoffed, “Why would you want them to stay? Are you planning to treat them to dinner or something?” Honestly, if it wasn’t for the fact that Ryugu was an important family member whom Suijin couldn’t easily replace, he would’ve driven Ryugu away ages ago. “With all du