Taito Ward,
Kouou Girls' Academy.
"Why is that woman here?"
Akiyoshi Kaoru, walking out of the school gate with an umbrella, saw Iai Nao next to her brother at a glance, and her expression immediately turned cold.
"Ahem, Nao walked me over with her umbrella."
His mind turning, recalling the 'conflict' between the two, Akiyoshi Yuu took the initiative to ease the atmosphere.
"Sharing an umbrella with me is enough!"
She reached out and grabbed her brother's arm, pulling him towards her.
Although with Akiyoshi Kaoru's strength, it was impossible to pull Akiyoshi Yuu, who was protected by chakra, Akiyoshi Yuu couldn't just stand still. After giving the class president Nao an apologetic look, he voluntarily walked under Akiyoshi Kaoru's umbrella.
"Yuu-kun, Kaoru-chan, and Nao-chan, we'll be leaving first~~"
Being led into the black luxury car by the flower-on-a-high-peak-like young lady, Nagisa Kazuha, Tennyo Ei waved goodbye to the three from the window.
"See you tomorrow,"
Waving goodbye to the two sisters, Akiyoshi Yuu turned to look at Iai Nao.
"Let's go home together too."
"Eh? I... can I?"
Facing the surprised class president Nao and the increasingly unhappy Akiyoshi Kaoru on the other side, Akiyoshi Yuu waved his hand grandly.
"Of course."
...
"Brother, that woman did that kind of thing, why are you still walking with her?"
Back at the Akiyoshi home,
Akiyoshi Kaoru, who had been holding it in all the way, finally couldn't help but explode.
"That was years ago. Besides, I don't mind..."
"I mind!"
The sister, realizing her slip of the tongue, snorted coldly.
"Anyway, don't associate with that kind of bad woman in the future, brother."
"And... we still have our own troubles. If the police come knocking..."
Akiyoshi Yuu waved his hand at Akiyoshi Kaoru's worries.
"Don't worry."
"They're just a few pieces of social scum. How could the police have time to deal with them?"
The police...
It's about time they got 'busy'.
"It's time to move."
In an empty apartment, Tanimura Wataru, who was resting against the corner of the wall, opened his eyes.
As the saying goes, 'a single thought of the supernatural, and the world suddenly feels vast'. After obtaining 'demonic power', especially after personally killing several enemies last night, Tanimura Wataru's mentality had undergone a earth-shattering change.
He no longer felt a trace of nervousness for things like secretly entering a private apartment.
Compared to what he was about to do next, what did this little 'crime' count for?
"One day, my soul will also be absorbed by this stone, right?"
He raised his hand and touched the 'Killing Stone' fragment on his forehead. Tanimura Wataru gave a bitter smile, got up, and prepared to go out.
Click.
At that moment, the sound of a key turning came from the main door.
The next second, an office worker pushed open the door.
"Eh?"
The office worker, having changed his shoes, walked into the living room and looked at the lightly dancing curtains with confusion.
"Did I forget to close the window?"
Could it be a thief...
"How is that possible?"
Walking to the window, the office worker looked down and couldn't help but find his absurd idea laughable.
This was the fifth floor, and as a rented apartment, what could a thief steal besides daily furniture?
Downstairs, a young man who had pulled down his baseball cap was slowly walking away.
Flap, flap~~
The crow squatting on the rooftop also glided out silently.
The greenery in Tokyo was quite good, and various parks provided ideal habitats for crows. Plus, the large amount of household waste also provided food for the crows. Furthermore, although the people of the island nation disliked crows, for example, there was a tradition of quickly closing the door if a crow cawed in front of it... but similarly, they would not harm crows because it was unlucky.
Even though the government had a special 'Crow Countermeasures Task Force', it only controlled the number within a certain range.
So, it was perfectly normal for a crow to fly across the sky.
Besides that,
Bunkyo Ward, Jippo-ji Temple.
"Yes, Mom."
"I'm at Jippo-ji Temple, I'll be back later. Don't worry, yeah, you take care too."
Hanging up the phone, standing among a field of tombs, the young Kishida Jun looked at the classical Japanese-style tombstone before him. Here lay his regret, his beloved.
Tomb of Miyashita Ryoko
"Ryoko, I don't know if what I'm about to do is right or wrong, but—"
"I want you to come back to my side, to share this umbrella."
Stroking the little bear umbrella in his hand, the boy's eyes gradually became determined.
"For this, even if this body falls into hell, I have no regrets."
"Please forgive me."
After speaking, Kishida Jun turned and left, holding the umbrella, leaving only the smiling photo of the girl on the tombstone to see him off.
"Target has appeared!"
"The target is accompanied by a... dog?"
"It's a Shiba Inu. Is it for camouflage?"
In the 'Special Operations Room' of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, rows of computers stretched as far as the eye could see, playing surveillance footage from countless national units throughout Adachi Ward.
At the same time, over a hundred plainclothes police officers were scattered around Ayase Town, forming a dense surveillance network.
And a considerable number of drones were quietly traversing the skies of Tokyo.
Hard work paid off. They finally found Tanimura Wataru, wearing a baseball cap, a mask, and walking a Shiba Inu.
"Target is moving towards 'Kita-Senju Town'..."
"There are two 'Zanshi-gumi' 'sales points' there, located in the 'Creative Bar' on 1-chome, and..."
Various pieces of information were constantly being reported. Even though Tanimura Wataru had thrown away all his electronic devices and disguised himself, in the face of the fully operational state machinery, he was still naked.
In modern society, if the state is determined to find a person, they can be dug up even if they are burned to ashes!
The so-called 'wanted criminals' and 'vicious thugs' were just from an individual's perspective. Let alone the state, even a police station being able to dispatch two teams would be a major case. Haggling between various departments, cross-regional investigations, and so on... all wasted a lot of time.
But now it was different. This was supernatural!
And it was unprecedented... at least the entire upper echelon of the island nation had never heard of any trace of a supernatural being.
With the power of the entire nation, searching mountains and seas! Unless it was a being like 'Mister Three' who came and went without a trace, and it wasn't even clear if they were human, it was impossible not to leave a trace.
"Execute Plan A!"
With the order from Superintendent General Takeya, who was in charge of everything, countless commands were transmitted to the front-line personnel through electromagnetic waves.
"Move out!"
"Hmm?"
Walking a Shiba Inu through the brightly lit city, a trace of doubt flashed in Tanimura Wataru's eyes.
In his view, he had been bestowed with the 'demonic power' of a 'wolf demon' by that 'mysterious being', becoming a classic 'half-demon' from anime. However, in reality, he was still a pure-blooded human, but he had the ability called chakra and had obtained the secret techniques of the Inuzuka clan from the Naruto World.
The so-called secret techniques did not deviate from the scope of normal ninjutsu, but they were slightly more difficult than normal ninjutsu.
And besides controlling dogs for combat, the Inuzuka clan themselves could also transform into dogs: the Four-legged Jutsu could transform one into a dog, but in Tanimura Wataru's subconscious, he was more willing to believe he was a wolf.
Combined with chakra, the 'werewolf' he transformed into was enough to crush ordinary armed forces.
As a power directly bestowed by Akiyoshi Yuu, the 'Otsutsuki', there was naturally no need for 'hand seals'.
And—
Pulling down his mask, Tanimura Wataru twitched his nose.
His sense of smell had also been greatly enhanced, and he could smell a large number of 'strange' scents.
"Target has stopped."
"Did he sense something?"
"Pay attention to his movements. Combined with the supernatural image he has shown... it's super smell!"
Far away in the 'Special Operations Room' in Chiyoda Ward, the elites of the police system quickly reacted. Since plans couldn't keep up with changes, then—
"Inspector Iori, move out immediately!"
"Yes, yes, yes."
In Kita-Senju Town, on the streets of 1-chome, Iori Ichika, wearing a leather jacket, a belt cinching her open clothes, and military boots, looking like a street gang big sister, scratched her hair, her face full of annoyance.
Not only had she been reinstated, but she had even skipped two ranks to become an 'Inspector'.
At her age of 27, it was like taking a rocket!
This was a height that an ordinary family could never hope to reach in a lifetime.
Behind the rocket-like promotion, of course, was the danger of having to step up when difficulties arose—
"Yo, isn't this Tanimura-aniki?"
?
Just as Tanimura Wataru sensed that something was wrong, a delinquent-sounding voice sounded.
"Officer Iori?"
Seeing the woman with one hand in her pocket and the other waving at him, Tanimura Wataru first showed a smile on his face, but then his muscles tensed up.
He smiled because he knew her, and she had helped him a lot. He was tense because she was from 'Boutai', and theoretically... she was also his enemy now!
"What's with this getup? A hikikomori going out?"
The big sister-looking female officer came forward and familiarly threw an arm around Tanimura Wataru's neck, making the hearts of the people behind countless surveillance monitors jump into their throats.
Fortunately,
the scene of the target suddenly killing someone did not occur.
"Come on, I'll treat you to ramen."
???
"Eh, eh? Officer Iori, why is this..."
"Hahaha, because I got promoted. No need to be polite, my treat, come on."
Dragging him towards the ramen shop next door, Tanimura Wataru wanted to struggle, but in the end, he was half-pushed into the shop.
After all, this 'Officer Iori' next to him dealt with the yakuza every day and was a truly good person fighting on the front lines.
...
"Slurp~~ A good person?"
"Hey, slurp~~ what kind of evaluation is that!"
In the ramen shop, while eating noodles, the straightforward Iori Ichika retorted.
"The reason I became a police officer is just to legitimately exercise violence. I got the rank of inspector by winning a medal in an international competition."
"Being able to beat up those social scum is my pleasure. So, I'm not a good person, nor a 'good cop'. Don't get the wrong idea, Tanimura-aniki."
Tanimura Wataru actually smiled at this female officer's bluntness.
"In my opinion, Officer Iori is a good person."
"By the way, Officer Iori mentioned a promotion just now. I haven't congratulated you yet."
Hearing Tanimura Wataru's words, Iori Ichika put down her chopsticks.
"Speaking of which, it's all thanks to you."
?
"Because this morning, I solved the case in Ayase Town, 3-chome."
?!
Clatter.
Suddenly standing up, Tanimura Wataru's muscles tensed, the 'demonic power' in his body boiled, and his aura changed dramatically!
So strong...
As a former international karate champion who had been promoted because of a gold medal, Iori Ichika suddenly felt a terrifying pressure rush towards her, as if she were standing in front of the bloody maw of a fierce tiger, and would be decapitated in the next second.
"Don't be nervous, Tanimura-aniki."
Slowly turning around, Iori Ichika looked at the young man who was crouched and facing her, ready to pounce.
"You're collecting human 'souls', right?"
"It seems so."
Although Tanimura Wataru didn't answer, the expression on his face had already betrayed his inner thoughts.
"Tanimura-aniki, there's no need for such trouble."
"You want to collect 'souls'? Aren't the prisons full of them?"
???
Tanimura Wataru, who had originally thought the other would draw a gun and was even prepared to flee, was stunned.
What does that mean?
"It means, Tanimura-aniki, why not cooperate with the state?"
Iori Ichika stood up.
She spread her hands to show that she had no malicious intent.
"Look, I got a useless gold medal and was promoted to inspector on the spot. How many old men work until retirement and only reach this position?"
Iori Ichika's voice was transmitted back to the headquarters through electromagnetic waves, making many 'inspector old men' look embarrassed.
"With your power, aniki, are you still afraid you won't be able to make a name for yourself?"
Seeing that the other party didn't refute, Iori Ichika struck while the iron was hot.
"As for imprisonment, dissection... to put it bluntly, you're more precious than the Prime Minister right now, aniki. Such things are absolutely impossible!"
To die of laughter,
Only in pulp fiction would they always talk about 'dissection'.
As if not dissecting a corpse didn't make one a 'mad scientist'.
However, the value of a living body far exceeds ten thousand corpses!
Anyone who dared to suggest dissecting such a precious sample would be drowned in the saliva of all scientists. Although his personal freedom might be restricted to a certain extent, Tanimura Wataru's life—as Iori Ichika said, was now much more precious than the Prime Minister's.
So that's how it is!
Tanimura Wataru suddenly understood.
The 'strange smell' he had smelled was the smell of bullet propellant!
And there was a large amount of it... was he surrounded?
"I... need to use the restroom."
After thinking for a moment, Tanimura Wataru gave this answer.
"Go ahead."
Iori Ichika raised her hand and gestured into the shop.
This place was completely surrounded, and with her understanding of Tanimura Wataru, he was not an antisocial personality.
A few minutes later,
Tanimura Wataru walked out of the restroom with a straight face, holding his Akita dog.
"Let's go, aniki."
Although the other party's face was ugly, Iori Ichika didn't mind. Anyway, her mission was already completed...
'Inspector Iori, quickly!'
'The Americans are here, move the target quickly!'
??