Maeda Ōkawa's pupils suddenly contracted.

He stared intently at that face, his voice sharp with shock.

"Sato?!"

The rain grew heavier.

Rainwater streamed down Maeda Ōkawa's stiff face, mixing with cold sweat.

He couldn't believe that the one blocking his way, saving the traitor, was actually Sato Shin'ichi.

The man who always followed him in the Three Mouth Gang, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, looking refined and scholarly.

The subordinate he trusted most, who offered him advice and handled countless dirty jobs.

"Sato, what do you mean?"

Maeda Ōkawa's voice trembled, filled with the anger of betrayal.

"Could it be... even you are from the Great Xia Country?"

Sato Shin'ichi adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, the lenses reflecting the light.

He did not answer.

There was no expression on his calm face.

He just stood there in the rain, holding his sword, without a word.

This silence was an affirmation.

Maeda Ōkawa felt his heart being squeezed, burning with rage.

"Good... good indeed!"

He laughed in anger, his face contorted.

"All of you, one by one, treat me like a fool!"

He took a step back and roared at his only two remaining subordinates.

"What are you waiting for?!"

"Kill him for me! Chop both of them into mincemeat!"

The two killers exchanged glances; although confused, they still carried out the order.

They growled, swinging their katanas from left and right, rushing towards Sato Shin'ichi with a whoosh.

Maeda Hanami's heart tightened.

She tried to struggle up, but the sharp pain in her leg made her fall back into the muddy water.

Mr. Sato appeared, but he was just an advisor; how could he be a match for these two professional killers?

However, what happened in the next second completely stunned her.

Facing the two incoming blades, Sato Shin'ichi didn't even move.

He merely shifted his body slightly.

The rainwater beside him instantly converged into a water curtain.

"Clang! Clang!"

Two crisp sounds.

The two katanas were actually blocked by that thin water curtain.

The blades could not advance an inch further.

The faces of the two killers were filled with horror.

What kind of ability was this?

They had no time to think.

Sato Shin'ichi moved.

His figure in the rain was so fast that only an afterimage remained.

Maeda Hanami only saw a flash of water.

"Pfft!"

A line of blood burst open on the neck of one of the killers.

He clutched his throat, looking at Sato in disbelief, and fell down.

The other killer was greatly alarmed and instinctively wanted to retreat.

But the accumulated water under his feet suddenly turned into a hand, grabbing his ankle.

He lost his balance and fell forward.

What greeted him was Sato Shin'ichi's cold blade.

The tip of the blade pierced through his back and emerged from his chest.

Clean and precise.

Blood gushed out, then was washed away by the rain.

The entire process happened in an instant.

The alley became quiet again.

Only the sound of rain and Maeda Ōkawa's heavy breathing remained.

He stared wide-eyed at Sato Shin'ichi, who stood between the two corpses.

His mind was blank.

Instant kill... two professional killers in their thirties, instantly killed by him?

How was this possible?

Sato Shin'ichi had always been the strategist in the Three Mouth Gang.

He had never shown his strength in front of others.

Everyone thought he was just an ordinary person with a good brain.

But now... Maeda Ōkawa felt a chill rise from the soles of his feet.

This confidant who had been by his side for five years, offering him advice... his strength was actually this terrifying!

"You... who exactly are you?"

Maeda Ōkawa's voice carried fear.

Sato Shin'ichi slowly raised his blade, its tip pointing at him.

Rainwater slid down the blade.

He still didn't speak.

But the eyes behind the lenses looked as if they were looking at a dead man.

Maeda Ōkawa was enraged by that gaze.

He was the leader of the Three Mouth Gang, the king of Takamagahara's underworld!

How could he be intimidated by a subordinate!

"I don't ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) care who you are!"

Maeda Ōkawa let out a roar and charged forward.

The ground beneath his feet shook, and he shot out like a cannonball, his katana descending with immense force!

With this strike, fueled by anger, he intended to cut the traitor in two!

Facing this attack.

Sato Shin'ichi's response was casual.

He raised his left hand, spreading his five fingers.

The rainwater gathered again.

This time, it formed a rapidly spinning water shield.

"Boom—!"

The blade collided with the water shield, emitting a huge sound.

The shockwave spread, cracking the walls on both sides of the alley.

Maeda Ōkawa felt a tremendous force transmit from the blade, his tiger's mouth aching intensely, and the katana almost slipped from his grasp.

But Sato Shin'ichi stood his ground, unmoving.

A trace of horror flashed in Maeda Ōkawa's eyes.

His own strength was so easily neutralized by him?

He had no time to think, using the force to retreat half a step, changing his sword strike from a chop to a thrust, aiming directly at Sato's heart.

This thrust was both fast and ruthless!

However, a strange scene occurred.

As the blade tip was about to touch Sato's body, Sato's chest actually turned into a mass of flowing liquid.

Maeda Ōkawa's sword passed right through.

There was no sensation of hitting a solid object.

It was like stabbing into water.

Maeda Ōkawa's pupils contracted to pinpricks.

He clearly saw his sword pass through Sato Shin'ichi's liquefied chest!

What kind of monster was this?!

He wanted to pull back his sword and retreat, but it was too late.

Sato Shin'ichi's lips curled into a cold smile.

His liquefied chest suddenly contracted, tightly "biting" Maeda Ōkawa's sword.

At the same time, the tachi in his hand swept upwards at a tricky angle.

"Puff!"

Blood splattered.

Maeda Ōkawa's right arm, which held the sword, was severed at the shoulder!

"Ah—!!!"

A heart-wrenching scream echoed through the rainy night.

Maeda Ōkawa clutched his severed arm and retreated, his face filled with pain and fear.

He looked at Sato Shin'ichi's chest, which had returned to its original state, feeling his understanding completely overturned.

Water-elemental Swordsman... assimilating his body into water elements?

What a terrifying ability this was!

Just then.

Dense footsteps came from the alley entrance.

Followed by the piercing sound of police sirens.

"Gang Leader!"

"Gang Leader, are you alright?!"

Dozens of Three Mouth Gang members swarmed in from both ends of the alley.

When they saw the gruesome scene in the alley and their Gang Leader with a severed arm, everyone was stunned.

And when they clearly saw the person confronting their Gang Leader, their expressions became even more spectacular.

"Mr. Sa... Sato?!"

"How can it be you?"

Immediately after, teams of Patrol Team members in black combat uniforms also arrived.

They quickly sealed off the exits, and searchlight beams pierced through the rain curtain, illuminating the area as if it were daytime.

Sato Shin'ichi, however, seemed not to notice the enemies around him.

He put away his tachi, walked to Maeda Hanami, took off his trench coat, and draped it over her.

Maeda Hanami looked at him, her lips moving.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Sato..."

"It's me... who implicated you..."

Sato Shin'ichi reached out and helped her up, a gentle smile appearing on his face.

He shook his head, showing a look of shame.

"Please don't say that."

"Everything was my own choice."