Chapter 61
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The Synonym
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[Assault]
────────────────────────
…
"Come on, hurry it up with those boxes. That's our last shipment for today. You finish that, and you get to go home, bunch of losers!" A man in a puppet body wearing a plague-doctor mask barked at the thugs carrying crates into the truck.
They didn't answer. They rarely did. He was, after all, the Shie Hassaikai's General Manager. A single word of his would get them killed. So, even with those sour looks on their faces, they had no other option but to pick up the pace.
He huffed, satisfied at the response, arms crossing as he supervised the loading.
A few minutes later, the truck was full. Someone slammed the back doors shut, and the vehicle rumbled off through the residence's gate.
The puppet-bodied man, Joi Irinaka, nodded in approval.
"Alright, go home, you bastards," he said, shooing away the men wiping off grime with rags.
Again, no answer. Only tired steps as they shuffled toward the exit. Irinaka clicked his tongue.
As he watched them leave, a voice approached from behind.
"You're working hard, Irinaka."
"Boss!" Irinaka spun around, straightening up immediately when he recognized Overhaul. He even saluted. "The last shipment of the day is done!"
"Good work," Overhaul said with a curt nod. "Is business with our clientele going well?"
"Like never before! Our version of Trigger is hitting it big!" Irinaka said proudly. "At this rate, all the resources and machinery you asked for will be here in a week at most! Ah, I can't wait for your research to finish, boss! We'll be swimming in money, and no one will dare look down on the Yakuza anymore, Kyeeee!!" He let out a strange screech at the last part.
Overhaul exhaled through his nose—something between amusement and acknowledgment.
"Go rest, Irinaka. You earned a break."
"Oh!" The little puppet raised his tiny arm in a cheer. "Right away, boss, just gotta make sure these bastards left everything up to code!"
"Then, I'll leave that to you." Overhaul gave him a little nod, turned, and walked inside the traditional-looking house.
Left alone, Irinaka looked out over the parking lot with smug satisfaction.
Another day of managing the Hassaikai's logistics perfectly. With progress like this, it was only a matter of time before the Yakuza reclaimed their spot at the top of the criminal world, just like Overhaul envisioned.
He lifted a fist and clenched it in pride.
"Well, I should finish what's left and go to sleep soon. Can't have any bastard looking down on me because I look tired."
Nodding to himself, he turned to leave.
"...?!"
But when he saw what lay behind him, he froze.
Without having made even the faintest sound or stirring the air in the slightest, a dark figure had somehow made its way behind him. Towering over his tiny puppet body, two dim, red eyes stared down at him like twin embers in the dark.
"W-who are yo— ghk?!"
The question was strangled out of existence as Irinaka was lifted clean off the ground by seemingly nothing. Something clamped around his throat with brutal force, crushing any possibility of sound.
His eyes, filled with tears from the asphyxiation, turned to his foe.
It was a hooded man in a dark coat, with a full-face mask that left nothing to see except his red, eerie eyes, which seemed to stare into his very soul.
Then, the man brought up a single finger—And let out a chilling hush.
Like a button being pressed, it brought a little composure to Irinaka, one that made him realize that no matter who he was, he wasn't here with good intentions.
And at nighttime, when everyone had their alert at the bottom, he presented a danger to Overhaul.
So, in maximum alert now, and not about to let anything happen to his boss, he decided to change his approach, realizing that as things were, he was gonna be knocked out without fighting.
"Ky-k-kyeeee!"
He groaned as much as he could under the pressure on his throat as his puppet body began being ripped apart, revealing his much bigger, true form: a muscular, very spiky-haired blonde, with a furious expression, veins popping on his forehead.
He opened his mouth to shout, expecting that transformation to have given him at least a second to escape from the invisible pressure—
"O—"
–Bam!–
Sadly, he was mistaken. Before his mouth could even finish the first letter of his sentence, his throat clenched again, and this time he felt a wave of pressure fall down on him, stomping him to the ground mercilessly.
Struggling, he lifted his eye to see the man once again looking down at him.
That was an unfamiliar appearance, but amidst the pain and pressure, his racing mind recognized the abilities currently pinning him down—thus, making the connection.
"T-that shitty vigilante... R—rockinesis.....!" he was able to exclaim—at a very low voice, not any bigger than a whisper.
After a moment of silence, the man let out a snort. "You figured it out, huh?"
Despite his realization, the pressure didn't ease.
"W-why are you a—attacking us?" Irinaka struggled to speak. "We haven't done anything to warrant your attention on us!"
The man knelt to his level.
"You've done plenty."
With those words, Irinaka suddenly found the pressure pinning him ease.
No—that was wrong.
It had inverted.
He was now flying up.
"...?!"
As he ascended, his eyes couldn't help but fall on their opponent one more time.
He stood there, eyes gleaming at him without the slightest bit of mercy.
He wanted to scream, to alert Overhaul and give him at least some time to prepare against the threat that had arrived unannounced.
But his throat didn't allow it.
Even as he then began descending at rapid speeds, his voice continued to be gone until the last moment.
His screams remained only to himself.
—Crack!—
A second later, his body hit the ground nastily, knocking him out as his body rolled limply after the hit. His eyes completely rolled out.
—Step, step, step—
As he lay there, unmoving, heavy, almost metallic-sounding steps drew closer.
Soon, the same dark figure from before now stood beside him, eyeing him with narrowed eyes.
"One annoyance less"
…
°
°
°
| Inside the house… |
…
"—That's the combination and the path to the girl's room, I swear!"
"So you were right, Rockinesis." Gentle said, stroking his moustache with a surprised expression as he glanced between a scared Yakuza and Taka. "I didn't think you were lying, but I'm still surprised you knew about it."
Taka didn't answer him. Instead, he continued glaring at the Yakuza.
"And Chisaki?"
The Yakuza answered without hesitation. "He always remains in his lab until late. We aren't allowed to enter it, but I know it's taking a turn to the left three times, and then another one to the right. From there, it's a straight line!"
"I see."
—Bam!—
A sudden force struck the panicking Yakuza, hitting his face and sending him rolling across the floor like a tossed rag doll for several meters.
Seconds later, he lay flat on the ground, knocked out.
"Not a shred of mercy, it seems. Even though he told us everything." Gentle glanced at the Yakuza's beaten body and commented wryly, before turning to him. "By the way, how did you do it? You didn't even need to hurt him. He began speaking as soon as you stepped up."
"I can be persuasive." Taka simply said, before turning and reaching for what appeared to be a memorial in the middle of the hallway they were on, pressing a combination of buttons hidden under a flower base.
Seconds later, a hidden door opened, revealing a path underground.
The three stepped through it, going down the stairs until they eventually reached the labyrinth that was the Yakuza's underground facility.
As they stood at the entrance, which split into several more paths, Gentle sweatdropped slightly.
"It seems we are here at last… Are you sure we are actually prepared for this? I remember one of your old combat videos where you fought three A-class villains, and you seemed to struggle somewhat… The Eight Bullets of the Shie Hassaikai are on a similar level to them—at least most of them."
A beat of silence followed, making Gentle even more nervous, thinking he might actually be right.
But then, to his surprise, Taka's figure began dividing into several others like him, each staring ahead without even the slightest doubt in their gazes.
Then, the original turned to him, gazing at him calmly.
"If it had been me from that time, maybe... But you've seen the difference between the recent footage and those from back then, right?"
Gentle blinked, then nodded with a serious expression.
Superhuman feats were hard to measure perfectly unless you were a scientist or physicist, or at least had some knowledge of such things, and even less through mere videos. But despite that, he could clearly tell.
He had, after all, seen the battle between him and the Nomu.
Taka was stronger than before.
How much, he didn't know.
'Maybe La Brava would know more about things like this.'
As he had such thoughts, all the Takas took a step forward, the original one narrowing his eyes.
"From here on, we separate paths."
"Hold on, we already know where the child is. Why would we…?"
"I said it before. Saving the kid is priority number one." He lifted a finger before lifting the next one. "Wiping out the Shie Hassaikai is the other."
At his words, all the clones began walking in different directions, each taking a different path.
As did Taka, leaving a few words behind for Gentle, who remained at the back.
"So from now on, take care of any Yakuza that remain here."
"Where are you going?" Gentle asked.
Taka's eyes gleamed. "What I came here for."
Then—he vanished.
…
°
°
°
| Chisaki's laboratory |
…
Sitting in a dimly lit room, back hunched as he stared into a microscope positioned above a drop of blood, Chisaki's eyes remained unblinking, with a maddening light that almost went unnoticed due to how brief it was.
After a few seconds, he leaned back, looking tired.
"Just a bit more, boss… The future you envisioned for the Yakuza, it will come soon…" His pupils fell and focused on the blood again, this time with the same maddening glint from earlier. "Soon, the illness of the mind that Quirks have brought to people will cease. Then, the Yakuza will reign as they did in the past…"
Letting out a short and faintly exhausted laugh, Chisaki stood up and picked up the glass slide with the blood on it, preparing to put it somewhere to study it later.
At least that was the plan—
—Rumble…—
—Crack!—
Until the whole underground shook, causing him to drop the blood along with the slide.
"...?!" Chisaki's eyes widened as his head snapped around for a moment, seeing dust fall from the ceiling at the unexpected seismic movement.
—No, this was no earthquake.
In a hurry, he walked toward the door, leaving the room and stepping into the hallway to see what was happening outside.
—Rumble…—
Once again, the whole base shook like an enormous fight was taking place above.
The lights flickered as dust detached from the ceiling before falling onto him.
He quickly batted the dust away with a disgusted face, groaning as he continued looking around.
Only to—as the lights flickered once more—see a figure clad in black, almost camouflaged with the shadows, suddenly appear at one end of the hallway.
His eyes widened for but a moment before a frown took over his face.
"Who the hell are you?"
The man, however, simply took a step forward, not answering.
Chisaki immediately took one of his gloves off.
"Damnit… I heard noise upstairs. What did you do?" Annoyance began creeping into his tone. He had been making so much good progress lately. Why did someone have to pick a fight now?
He expected the police to notice eventually, so he had prepared a few things to escape—but this was too early to be having problems.
Who was this? A rival group seeking a monopoly over Trigger?
Someone who held a grudge against him?
"You better not have damaged my equipment."
Saying that, he swung his hand—aiming to reach him and activate his Quirk.
Only—
"What...?!"
Once he did, nothing happened.
Even as he continued touching the man's chest, activating his Quirk—nothing happened.
"...How—?"
His eyes widened as he realized the truth.
He thought he had reached the man—but he was wrong.
He was touching something that he could feel—but somehow, what he was seeing contradicted that.
There, his extended palm remained centimeters away from his objective, touching only air.
"A barrier type?!—Gakh!"
His voice was cut short as his throat was compressed, a tight force keeping it closed—then lifting him against his will.
He gasped for air, legs kicking in the air, eyes going wide at his enemy, and widening even more once he saw him not even bothering to take his hands out of his pockets for what he was doing.
That was enough for Chisaki to realize who this was.
There was only one such powerful telekinesis user in the present times.
'That vigilante..!?'
"—A—argh!"
Despite his shock, his fighting spirit remained.
As his legs touched the air, he continued activating his Quirk while trying to touch whatever energy was forcing him up and closing his throat.
But no matter how much he searched, how much he wanted something to be there, so he could disassemble it... There wasn't.
Gargling and gasping sounds came from him as air became scarce, tears leaving his eyes.
Eventually, his consciousness began fading due to the lack of oxygen. Helplessness settled into his heart as he realized he had met a counter to his own Quirk.
Was this how it was going to end? All his plans, the future he had envisioned, his boss's dream?
"Ghk—Haaaah?!"
His eyes snapped wide open as his vanishing mind recovered with a sudden influx of air.
And not only that, but soon, he also fell to the ground. Whatever force had been keeping him up there no longer applied.
He ended up on the floor, coughing and gasping, his chest rising and falling with the deep breaths he was taking.
Once he recovered enough for his mind to wander back to his current situation, he turned back to the man, eyes wide not with anger anymore—but pure terror.
And there he was, staring down at him, eyes narrowed into thin slits—revealing only a glimpse of red, murderous pupils behind the mask.
His mind became filled with confusion. Why had he not been killed? Why was he letting him go?
Had he not been here originally to kill him?
Sadly, he wasn't about to get his answers.
"Run."
The man only said that single word before his eyes gestured behind Chisaki.
"...!"
That was enough to get the adrenaline to kick in properly and snap him out of his trance.
In an instant, he scrambled to his feet, nearly tripping before bolting down the hallway in the opposite direction at full speed.
He had an evacuation route.
All he needed to do was reach it, and he'd live to see another day.
The Shie Hassaikai would live to see another day!
So long as he didn't die, he would rebuild everything in time!
With such thoughts, Overhaul, the feared Yakuza boss, ran away with whatever energy was left in him.
Meanwhile, the man didn't move at first. He simply watched Chisaki's fleeing back in silence.
Then, once it dissapeared around the corner, he let out a snort.
One filled with amusement.
—Step, step, step—
And then, began walking after him with complete calm.
Like a predator biding his time before starting the hunt.
…
────────────────────────
-To Be Continued...-
────────────────────────
(A/N: I know Overhaul can heal himself, but the anime was a bit vague about its functioning, so I'm just gonna do my interpretation of it. Hope you don't mind. It will make the fight at least a bit more interesting.)
patreon.com/TheSynonym
────────────────────────
[Assault]
────────────────────────
…
"Come on, hurry it up with those boxes. That's our last shipment for today. You finish that, and you get to go home, bunch of losers!" A man in a puppet body wearing a plague-doctor mask barked at the thugs carrying crates into the truck.
They didn't answer. They rarely did. He was, after all, the Shie Hassaikai's General Manager. A single word of his would get them killed. So, even with those sour looks on their faces, they had no other option but to pick up the pace.
He huffed, satisfied at the response, arms crossing as he supervised the loading.
A few minutes later, the truck was full. Someone slammed the back doors shut, and the vehicle rumbled off through the residence's gate.
The puppet-bodied man, Joi Irinaka, nodded in approval.
"Alright, go home, you bastards," he said, shooing away the men wiping off grime with rags.
Again, no answer. Only tired steps as they shuffled toward the exit. Irinaka clicked his tongue.
As he watched them leave, a voice approached from behind.
"You're working hard, Irinaka."
"Boss!" Irinaka spun around, straightening up immediately when he recognized Overhaul. He even saluted. "The last shipment of the day is done!"
"Good work," Overhaul said with a curt nod. "Is business with our clientele going well?"
"Like never before! Our version of Trigger is hitting it big!" Irinaka said proudly. "At this rate, all the resources and machinery you asked for will be here in a week at most! Ah, I can't wait for your research to finish, boss! We'll be swimming in money, and no one will dare look down on the Yakuza anymore, Kyeeee!!" He let out a strange screech at the last part.
Overhaul exhaled through his nose—something between amusement and acknowledgment.
"Go rest, Irinaka. You earned a break."
"Oh!" The little puppet raised his tiny arm in a cheer. "Right away, boss, just gotta make sure these bastards left everything up to code!"
"Then, I'll leave that to you." Overhaul gave him a little nod, turned, and walked inside the traditional-looking house.
Left alone, Irinaka looked out over the parking lot with smug satisfaction.
Another day of managing the Hassaikai's logistics perfectly. With progress like this, it was only a matter of time before the Yakuza reclaimed their spot at the top of the criminal world, just like Overhaul envisioned.
He lifted a fist and clenched it in pride.
"Well, I should finish what's left and go to sleep soon. Can't have any bastard looking down on me because I look tired."
Nodding to himself, he turned to leave.
"...?!"
But when he saw what lay behind him, he froze.
Without having made even the faintest sound or stirring the air in the slightest, a dark figure had somehow made its way behind him. Towering over his tiny puppet body, two dim, red eyes stared down at him like twin embers in the dark.
"W-who are yo— ghk?!"
The question was strangled out of existence as Irinaka was lifted clean off the ground by seemingly nothing. Something clamped around his throat with brutal force, crushing any possibility of sound.
His eyes, filled with tears from the asphyxiation, turned to his foe.
It was a hooded man in a dark coat, with a full-face mask that left nothing to see except his red, eerie eyes, which seemed to stare into his very soul.
Then, the man brought up a single finger—And let out a chilling hush.
Like a button being pressed, it brought a little composure to Irinaka, one that made him realize that no matter who he was, he wasn't here with good intentions.
And at nighttime, when everyone had their alert at the bottom, he presented a danger to Overhaul.
So, in maximum alert now, and not about to let anything happen to his boss, he decided to change his approach, realizing that as things were, he was gonna be knocked out without fighting.
"Ky-k-kyeeee!"
He groaned as much as he could under the pressure on his throat as his puppet body began being ripped apart, revealing his much bigger, true form: a muscular, very spiky-haired blonde, with a furious expression, veins popping on his forehead.
He opened his mouth to shout, expecting that transformation to have given him at least a second to escape from the invisible pressure—
"O—"
–Bam!–
Sadly, he was mistaken. Before his mouth could even finish the first letter of his sentence, his throat clenched again, and this time he felt a wave of pressure fall down on him, stomping him to the ground mercilessly.
Struggling, he lifted his eye to see the man once again looking down at him.
That was an unfamiliar appearance, but amidst the pain and pressure, his racing mind recognized the abilities currently pinning him down—thus, making the connection.
"T-that shitty vigilante... R—rockinesis.....!" he was able to exclaim—at a very low voice, not any bigger than a whisper.
After a moment of silence, the man let out a snort. "You figured it out, huh?"
Despite his realization, the pressure didn't ease.
"W-why are you a—attacking us?" Irinaka struggled to speak. "We haven't done anything to warrant your attention on us!"
The man knelt to his level.
"You've done plenty."
With those words, Irinaka suddenly found the pressure pinning him ease.
No—that was wrong.
It had inverted.
He was now flying up.
"...?!"
As he ascended, his eyes couldn't help but fall on their opponent one more time.
He stood there, eyes gleaming at him without the slightest bit of mercy.
He wanted to scream, to alert Overhaul and give him at least some time to prepare against the threat that had arrived unannounced.
But his throat didn't allow it.
Even as he then began descending at rapid speeds, his voice continued to be gone until the last moment.
His screams remained only to himself.
—Crack!—
A second later, his body hit the ground nastily, knocking him out as his body rolled limply after the hit. His eyes completely rolled out.
—Step, step, step—
As he lay there, unmoving, heavy, almost metallic-sounding steps drew closer.
Soon, the same dark figure from before now stood beside him, eyeing him with narrowed eyes.
"One annoyance less"
…
°
°
°
| Inside the house… |
…
"—That's the combination and the path to the girl's room, I swear!"
"So you were right, Rockinesis." Gentle said, stroking his moustache with a surprised expression as he glanced between a scared Yakuza and Taka. "I didn't think you were lying, but I'm still surprised you knew about it."
Taka didn't answer him. Instead, he continued glaring at the Yakuza.
"And Chisaki?"
The Yakuza answered without hesitation. "He always remains in his lab until late. We aren't allowed to enter it, but I know it's taking a turn to the left three times, and then another one to the right. From there, it's a straight line!"
"I see."
—Bam!—
A sudden force struck the panicking Yakuza, hitting his face and sending him rolling across the floor like a tossed rag doll for several meters.
Seconds later, he lay flat on the ground, knocked out.
"Not a shred of mercy, it seems. Even though he told us everything." Gentle glanced at the Yakuza's beaten body and commented wryly, before turning to him. "By the way, how did you do it? You didn't even need to hurt him. He began speaking as soon as you stepped up."
"I can be persuasive." Taka simply said, before turning and reaching for what appeared to be a memorial in the middle of the hallway they were on, pressing a combination of buttons hidden under a flower base.
Seconds later, a hidden door opened, revealing a path underground.
The three stepped through it, going down the stairs until they eventually reached the labyrinth that was the Yakuza's underground facility.
As they stood at the entrance, which split into several more paths, Gentle sweatdropped slightly.
"It seems we are here at last… Are you sure we are actually prepared for this? I remember one of your old combat videos where you fought three A-class villains, and you seemed to struggle somewhat… The Eight Bullets of the Shie Hassaikai are on a similar level to them—at least most of them."
A beat of silence followed, making Gentle even more nervous, thinking he might actually be right.
But then, to his surprise, Taka's figure began dividing into several others like him, each staring ahead without even the slightest doubt in their gazes.
Then, the original turned to him, gazing at him calmly.
"If it had been me from that time, maybe... But you've seen the difference between the recent footage and those from back then, right?"
Gentle blinked, then nodded with a serious expression.
Superhuman feats were hard to measure perfectly unless you were a scientist or physicist, or at least had some knowledge of such things, and even less through mere videos. But despite that, he could clearly tell.
He had, after all, seen the battle between him and the Nomu.
Taka was stronger than before.
How much, he didn't know.
'Maybe La Brava would know more about things like this.'
As he had such thoughts, all the Takas took a step forward, the original one narrowing his eyes.
"From here on, we separate paths."
"Hold on, we already know where the child is. Why would we…?"
"I said it before. Saving the kid is priority number one." He lifted a finger before lifting the next one. "Wiping out the Shie Hassaikai is the other."
At his words, all the clones began walking in different directions, each taking a different path.
As did Taka, leaving a few words behind for Gentle, who remained at the back.
"So from now on, take care of any Yakuza that remain here."
"Where are you going?" Gentle asked.
Taka's eyes gleamed. "What I came here for."
Then—he vanished.
…
°
°
°
| Chisaki's laboratory |
…
Sitting in a dimly lit room, back hunched as he stared into a microscope positioned above a drop of blood, Chisaki's eyes remained unblinking, with a maddening light that almost went unnoticed due to how brief it was.
After a few seconds, he leaned back, looking tired.
"Just a bit more, boss… The future you envisioned for the Yakuza, it will come soon…" His pupils fell and focused on the blood again, this time with the same maddening glint from earlier. "Soon, the illness of the mind that Quirks have brought to people will cease. Then, the Yakuza will reign as they did in the past…"
Letting out a short and faintly exhausted laugh, Chisaki stood up and picked up the glass slide with the blood on it, preparing to put it somewhere to study it later.
At least that was the plan—
—Rumble…—
—Crack!—
Until the whole underground shook, causing him to drop the blood along with the slide.
"...?!" Chisaki's eyes widened as his head snapped around for a moment, seeing dust fall from the ceiling at the unexpected seismic movement.
—No, this was no earthquake.
In a hurry, he walked toward the door, leaving the room and stepping into the hallway to see what was happening outside.
—Rumble…—
Once again, the whole base shook like an enormous fight was taking place above.
The lights flickered as dust detached from the ceiling before falling onto him.
He quickly batted the dust away with a disgusted face, groaning as he continued looking around.
Only to—as the lights flickered once more—see a figure clad in black, almost camouflaged with the shadows, suddenly appear at one end of the hallway.
His eyes widened for but a moment before a frown took over his face.
"Who the hell are you?"
The man, however, simply took a step forward, not answering.
Chisaki immediately took one of his gloves off.
"Damnit… I heard noise upstairs. What did you do?" Annoyance began creeping into his tone. He had been making so much good progress lately. Why did someone have to pick a fight now?
He expected the police to notice eventually, so he had prepared a few things to escape—but this was too early to be having problems.
Who was this? A rival group seeking a monopoly over Trigger?
Someone who held a grudge against him?
"You better not have damaged my equipment."
Saying that, he swung his hand—aiming to reach him and activate his Quirk.
Only—
"What...?!"
Once he did, nothing happened.
Even as he continued touching the man's chest, activating his Quirk—nothing happened.
"...How—?"
His eyes widened as he realized the truth.
He thought he had reached the man—but he was wrong.
He was touching something that he could feel—but somehow, what he was seeing contradicted that.
There, his extended palm remained centimeters away from his objective, touching only air.
"A barrier type?!—Gakh!"
His voice was cut short as his throat was compressed, a tight force keeping it closed—then lifting him against his will.
He gasped for air, legs kicking in the air, eyes going wide at his enemy, and widening even more once he saw him not even bothering to take his hands out of his pockets for what he was doing.
That was enough for Chisaki to realize who this was.
There was only one such powerful telekinesis user in the present times.
'That vigilante..!?'
"—A—argh!"
Despite his shock, his fighting spirit remained.
As his legs touched the air, he continued activating his Quirk while trying to touch whatever energy was forcing him up and closing his throat.
But no matter how much he searched, how much he wanted something to be there, so he could disassemble it... There wasn't.
Gargling and gasping sounds came from him as air became scarce, tears leaving his eyes.
Eventually, his consciousness began fading due to the lack of oxygen. Helplessness settled into his heart as he realized he had met a counter to his own Quirk.
Was this how it was going to end? All his plans, the future he had envisioned, his boss's dream?
"Ghk—Haaaah?!"
His eyes snapped wide open as his vanishing mind recovered with a sudden influx of air.
And not only that, but soon, he also fell to the ground. Whatever force had been keeping him up there no longer applied.
He ended up on the floor, coughing and gasping, his chest rising and falling with the deep breaths he was taking.
Once he recovered enough for his mind to wander back to his current situation, he turned back to the man, eyes wide not with anger anymore—but pure terror.
And there he was, staring down at him, eyes narrowed into thin slits—revealing only a glimpse of red, murderous pupils behind the mask.
His mind became filled with confusion. Why had he not been killed? Why was he letting him go?
Had he not been here originally to kill him?
Sadly, he wasn't about to get his answers.
"Run."
The man only said that single word before his eyes gestured behind Chisaki.
"...!"
That was enough to get the adrenaline to kick in properly and snap him out of his trance.
In an instant, he scrambled to his feet, nearly tripping before bolting down the hallway in the opposite direction at full speed.
He had an evacuation route.
All he needed to do was reach it, and he'd live to see another day.
The Shie Hassaikai would live to see another day!
So long as he didn't die, he would rebuild everything in time!
With such thoughts, Overhaul, the feared Yakuza boss, ran away with whatever energy was left in him.
Meanwhile, the man didn't move at first. He simply watched Chisaki's fleeing back in silence.
Then, once it dissapeared around the corner, he let out a snort.
One filled with amusement.
—Step, step, step—
And then, began walking after him with complete calm.
Like a predator biding his time before starting the hunt.
…
────────────────────────
-To Be Continued...-
────────────────────────
(A/N: I know Overhaul can heal himself, but the anime was a bit vague about its functioning, so I'm just gonna do my interpretation of it. Hope you don't mind. It will make the fight at least a bit more interesting.)