“Yes!” Keiko Ito nodded hard with excitement. She walked around the tea table, took Allen’s hand, and said brightly, “Let us go, Allen‑kun!”Having just broken through to a whole new level of strength, Keiko Ito showed none of the poise of a seasoned martial‑arts master.Right then, she was nothing more than a simple, joyful young girl, holding the hand of the man she loved and rushing out into the snowy night she adored.Keiko Ito loved snow, especially snow at night. Out in the quiet snow, free from outside disturbance, she could peacefully enjoy the beauty of falling snowflakes and the dark of night.Such were her girlish thoughts and tender sentiments.A thick blanket of snow covered the courtyard.All traces of Allen’s fight against the Torin clan ninjas had long vanished. The heavy snow crunched underfoot, as if shutting out all the noise and chaos of the city.Keiko Ito would not let go of Allen’s hand. She led him wandering through the snow, then lifted their joined hands high

Several subordinates rushed over to support him. Weak yet seething with rage, he barked, “Hurry! Dispatch helicopters and the special tactical unit to rescue Yoshihiko Ito at the Yotsuya Viaduct. Tokyo cannot afford any more deaths today!!!”In theory, the fully‑equipped modern special tactical unit matched special‑forces soldiers in both gear and combat capability.When fighting one‑on‑one against a ninja, these SWAT‑style officers stood little chance against the ninjas’ uncanny movement and hidden weapons.Yet once dozens of them worked together, leveraging overwhelming firepower, formation tactics, and coordinated teamwork, the ninjas’ advantages would vanish completely.The biggest problem, however, was that help was too far away to arrive in time.It would take at least five minutes for the special tactical unit to assemble, several more minutes to board the helicopters, and additional time for the aircraft to take off and rush to the scene. All in all, the response would take we

Matsumoto Yoshito flew into a rage and hurled his whiskey glass onto the floor. The cup crashed hard against the marble tiles and shattered instantly.Just then, a cold female voice echoed through the living room, “You certainly have quite a temper, Mr. Matsumoto.”Matsumoto Yoshito and his assistant were both startled by the unfamiliar voice. They turned toward the sound and saw a woman in her twenties dressed entirely in black step inside.Matsumoto Yoshito paled in shock and blurted out, “Who are you?! How did you get in?!”The woman let out a cold laugh. “I simply walked right in.”Matsumoto Yoshito stepped backward and demanded nervously, “What do you want?!”The woman sized him up with keen interest. After a moment, she said in an icy tone, “You abducted the young master and young lady of the Bruce family, and assassinated more than ten of our men. What do you think I want? Your life, of course.”Matsumoto Yoshito had never dreamed that members of the Bruce family would track hi

Allen couldn’t help laughing and said, “If your dad heard that, he’d probably be furious.”Ito Keiko stuck out her tongue. She was about to speak when her phone suddenly vibrated.She looked confused. “Who would be calling this late? Could the servants have noticed we snuck out?”She quickly pulled out her phone and gasped in surprise. “Oh no, it’s Father!”She never expected her father to call her so late at night.She said nervously to Allen, “Allen‑kun, I need to take this call from my father…”Allen nodded with a smile. “Go ahead.”Keiko quickly answered the phone and asked cautiously, “Father, why are you calling me so late? Is something wrong?”Ito Takehiko’s weak voice came over the line. “Keiko, I’ve had an accident. I’m calling to make sure you’re safe. Is everything all right over in Kyoto?”Keiko asked anxiously, “Father! What happened to you? Are you badly hurt?”Takehiko replied, “Tanaka and I were hunted down by attackers. We barely managed to escape. But I’m afraid they

After the double‑leg amputation, the doctors had put him on a pain pump, so he barely felt any physical agony. Still, constant worry over Ito Keiko, who was far away in Kyoto, kept him from sleeping soundly.He had just dreamed that Keiko had met with misfortune in Kyoto. The nightmare jolted him awake at once, and he intended to tell his younger sister Ito Emi to send people to bring Keiko back to Tokyo without delay.Yet what he had never dreamed of was that when the ward door swung open, his beloved precious daughter Ito Keiko walked in together with his sister Ito Emi."Keiko?!" Ito Takehiko blurted out in shock. "What are you doing here?"Seeing her father lying pale and bloodless on the hospital bed, with thick bandages wrapped around his knees and everything below gone forever, Ito Keiko burst into tears and cried out, "Oto‑san!"She rushed over to the bedside, grabbed Ito Takehiko’s hand, and wept bitterly.It took Ito Takehiko a moment to collect himself. Relieved and deeply