The next morning, as the first rays of sunlight sliced through the high-rises of the New Human Central Zone, Zero Horizon's campaign to take over the underground forces officially commenced. The third strike force—comprising Yanagisawa Shin, Roxy Vance, and Kamishiro Seijuro—stood before the gates of Kurohana Kai's (黒花会) headquarters: an estate steeped in traditional Japanese architecture, yet reinforced with heavy alloy armor and draped in brutal black snowflake crests.
Roxy stood on an adjacent rooftop, her canine ears twitching slightly as she narrowed her eyes at the line of black-suited bodyguards heavily patrolling below:
— "Do we have a plan for breaking in?"
Seijuro rested his hand on the hilt of the Katana at his hip, assessing the battlefield before commenting in a deep voice:
— "Looks like there are more of them than I expected."
Roxy turned to Shin:
— "Shin, what's your plan now?"
Shin cracked his wrists, a nonchalant smirk pulling at his lips:
— "What plan? We just charge straight in and get the job done!"
Before his two teammates could utter a word of restraint, Shin was already striding proudly right toward the main gate. The surrounding guards flinched in surprise, stunned to see a casually dressed young man approaching them with such arrogance.
A rugged thug stepped out to block his path, barking fiercely:
— "Hey, punk! Get lost, this ain't a tourist spot for you to go sightseeing!"
Shin halted, flashing a polite smile:
— "Hello! If you don't mind, I'd like to meet the person in charge here."
The first thug furrowed his brows suspiciously:
— "Are you from a rival gang? What business do you have with our boss?"
The second thug beside him adjusted his coat, snapping his chin up menacingly:
— "Want me to beat your face into a bloody pulp right here?"
Shin scratched his head, spreading his hands out:
— "Ah, it's nothing too big really!"
With those words, Shin's gaze suddenly darkened. A thick, murky, ice-cold killing intent straight from the abyss erupted from his body, crushing down upon the guards' chests. Shin spoke in a razor-cold voice:
— "I'm just here to level your entire faction."
Hearing this, the thugs stood frozen in utter disbelief at his absurdly arrogant declaration. A split second later, they burst into mockingly loud laughter.
— "Hahaha! What the hell is this idiot talking about?!" The first thug clutched his stomach, laughing uncontrollably.
— "Hey guys, come out and look at this lunatic talking mad nonsense!" The second thug yelled toward the inside.
A third thug pulled out a machete, pointing it straight at Shin's face:
— "Go home and keep dreaming! Or else we'll kill you right here!"
Shin wiped the smile off his face, his eyes turning deadly serious:
— "What if I say I'm not leaving?"
The thug roared:
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— "Stubborn bastard!"
SLASH!
Just as he swung his blade to rush Shin, a crescent streak of light flashed through the air with lightning speed, far beyond what the naked eye could follow.
The guard's knife-wielding arm was instantly severed, dropping with a thud onto the ground! Fresh blood splattered across the faces of those beside him. He clutched his bloody stump, screaming in agonizing pain.
Seijuro stepped forward casually, sliding his Katana—which had barely nudged out of its scabbard—back into place:
— "Guess we really don't need any tedious plans after all."
Shin turned around, grimacing in complaint:
— "Seijuro, you stole my target!"
Seijuro replied calmly:
— "Your actual targets are deeper inside. Why waste time on these low-level grunts out here?"
The second thug backed away in terror, all color drained from his face:
— "Who... Who the hell are you guys?!"
Roxy smirked, exposing her razor-sharp canine teeth:
— "We're just looking for your boss!"
SLASH! SLASH!
Roxy burst forth with explosive speed, her Hellhound claws rending space into streaks of deep crimson wind. In a single instant, the surrounding guards were sliced cleanly in half, blood and entrails spilling copiously across the stone courtyard.
Shin looked at the slaughter field, slapping his forehead:
— "Roxy, that's way too grotesque!"
Roxy casually flicked the blood off her claws:
— "Just business as usual!"
Seijuro narrowed his eyes toward the mansion interior, where sirens were beginning to wail deafeningly:
— "Looks like the two of you just prompted them to call in reinforcements."
Shin warmed up his joints, cracking his knuckles with a hearty laugh:
— "Time to have some fun, then!"
SWARM!
Hundreds of Kurohana Kai thugs wielding machetes, iron pipes, and firearms surged forth like a burst dam. Yet before the three monsters of Zero Horizon, that fragile mob was nothing more than straw scarecrows. Shin, Roxy, and Seijuro transformed into three terrifying arrows of destruction—wherever they swept through, the crunch of snapping bones, agonizing shrieks, and rivers of blood followed. Not a single soul could slow the trio's momentum for even a second!
Until... a towering figure slowly stepped out from the main hall.
The moment they caught sight of him, hundreds of chaotic thugs instantly parted to both sides, bowing respectfully:
— "Kyousuke-sama!"
Shin halted his fists, shoving aside a thug he had just knocked unconscious, his eyes gleaming bright:
— "There he is! Looks like we've finally met a real opponent!"
The man approaching possessed a massive frame, his coat thrown open to reveal intricate Irezumi tattoos covering his entire chest and back. His gaze radiated the cold ruthlessness of a warrior who had survived hundreds of life-or-death battles. This was Higa Kyousuke (比嘉 恭介).
Seijuro narrowed his eyes, his grip tightening on the hilt of his sword:
— "This guy looks dangerous!"
Higa came to a stop, looking at the wreckage at his feet before scanning the trio, his deep voice heavy with killing intent as he spoke in Japanese:
— 「貴様ら、どこから来てここで暴れているんだ！本当に死にたいようだな！」
(“Where the hell did you bastards come from to rampage here?! You must really have a death wish!”)
Higa slammed his massive palms together, his bulging muscles surging:
— 「雑魚どもが、今日はこの俺が３人の珍客を念入りに可愛がってやりよ！」
(“A bunch of small fry... Today, I'll personally give you three rare guests a very warm welcome!”)
Shin stepped forward, a smirk on his face:
— "I was really hoping the host's representative would come out to greet us!"
Without giving Higa a chance to answer, Shin exploded with speed, unleashing a wind-tearing roundhouse kick straight at Higa's temple! The shockwave generated by the kick blasted dozens of nearby lackeys off their feet. Yet strangely, Higa simply raised his thick, solid arm to block the kick head-on.
BOOM!
Higa smirked slightly, speaking in Japanese:
— 「なかなか強いじゃないか！」
(“You're pretty strong!”)
Shin furrowed his brows:
— "You think that's all I've got?!"
Shin instantly retracted his leg, funneling all his momentum into a straight punch aimed dead center at Higa's face! Higa reacted in time once again, crossing his arms into an X-guard to absorb the blow.
BANG!
The horrific impact forced Higa sliding back several meters, his boots plowing deep grooves into the stone floor. As he lowered his arms, a deep indentation was left etched into his thick muscle.
Higa stared at the wound on his arm, shock flashing in his eyes as he continued in Japanese:
— 「やるな！お前みたいな奴には会ったこともなければ、これほど強い奴も見たことがない！」
(“Not bad! I've never met anyone like you, nor have I seen anyone this strong!”)
Higa lowered his center of gravity, his eyes burning with fire:
— 「いや…だが、お前以上の化け物なら知っている！」
(“No... but I DO know a monster even stronger than you!”)
However, just as Higa was preparing his fighting stance—
CRASH!
A colossal hand suddenly punched right through the reinforced brick wall beside them, reaching out and grabbing Shin's entire face in a vice grip!
— "What?!" — Before Shin could react, the arm hoisted him into the air and hurled him violently dozens of meters away, shattering a massive stone pillar.
Seijuro leapt aside like lightning to evade the shockwave. From the gaping hole in the ruined wall stepped a man with wild, unkempt hair and crazed eyes.
Higa grimaced at the newcomer:
— "Why are you interfering in my business, Kyo?"
Roxy narrowed her eyes, recognizing the newcomer's identity:
— "That must be Saionji Kyo (西園寺 狂)... The two strongest men in this underground domain are both here!"
Shin stood up from the pile of rubble, dusting off his shoulder, his eyes flashing with excitement:
— "Didn't expect that!"
Seijuro approached Shin, whispering:
— "Looks like those two are preparing a joint attack."
Saionji Kyo cracked his neck with a sharp snap, responding breathlessly to Higa:
— "I'm just taking care of some vermin on behalf of Big Boss!"
Shin stepped forward, waving his hand at the two bosses:
— "Hey, you two!"
Both Higa and Kyo turned simultaneously to face the Zero Horizon trio.
Shin let out an arrogant laugh:
— "Let's keep playing! I'm thrilled I don't have to hunt you down one by one! Since you're both here, why don't we get down to business right now?"
Kyo glanced mockingly at Higa:
— "You let these three penetrate all the way in here?"
Higa snapped his chin up, deflecting the blame:
— "Not my fault! The subordinates are just useless!"
Kyo continued:
— "A rival gang?"
Higa shrugged:
— "Beats me!"
Shin took a deep breath, his voice resounding across the estate courtyard:
— "We are Zero Horizon! And today, Zero Horizon will officially swallow Kurohana Kai whole!"
BOOM!
All five simultaneously erupted with violent killing intent, dropping into fighting stances for a life-or-death showdown!
Kyo sneered:
— "Big Boss is gonna be mighty surprised to learn we have guests who want to annex our entire syndicate!"
Higa clenched his fists, speaking steel-hard Japanese:
— 「決まりだな。俺たちは最悪で最強の組だ。これほど威勢のいい奴らは久々だぜ！」
(“Settled, then. We're the worst and strongest syndicate around. It's been a long time since we had punks with this much spirit!”)
Roxy raised her claws before her face, whispering to Shin:
— "Shin, we've bumped into some stubborn bastards this time!"
Seijuro unsheathed his Katana slightly by a fraction of an inch, releasing sharp, razor-edged sword qi:
— "We've stepped right into an invincible hornet's nest."
Shin burst into a loud laugh, his eyes blazing with unstoppable ambition:
— "Hahaha! No problem, we can handle it! Let me see today... who's gonna swallow whom!"
(To be continued)