Chapter Text
Dust still lingered in the air.
Chunks of shattered concrete were scattered across the plaza.
At the center of the battlefield—
Uzuki was kneeling on one knee.
His breathing was heavy, his head lowered. Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth, staining the ground beneath him.
Standing opposite him, Nagumo remained motionless, a knife loosely gripped in his hand.
His clothes were torn, his left arm soaked in blood, yet his sharp eyes never left Uzuki for a single second.
"..."
Neither of them moved.
For the first time since the battle began, silence settled over the ruined amusement park.
From a narrow alley behind them—
A lone figure slowly emerged.
"..."
Shin.
His clothes were just as tattered after his fight against one of the Order members. After forcing himself to rest for a few moments in the alley, he had finally regained enough strength to return.
The first thing Shin saw...
Wasn't Nagumo.
It was Sakamoto.
The man lay motionless on the cracked pavement.
Blood had completely soaked through his shirt.
His breathing was so faint that it was almost impossible to notice.
"..."
Shin's pupils trembled.
"...Mr. Sakamoto..."
He rushed over and dropped to his knees beside him.
"Mr. Sakamoto!"
No response.
Only the faint rise and fall of Sakamoto's chest.
Shin clenched his teeth.
"No..."
"It can't end like this."
At that moment—
A single thought echoed inside his mind.
It wasn't Nagumo's.
It wasn't anyone else's nearby.
It came from...
Uzuki.
"Shin..."
"Don't let this end here."
That voice...
Calm.
Steady.
Familiar enough that Shin could never mistake it.
"...Mr. Sakamoto."
Shin shot to his feet.
He sprinted toward Nagumo.
"Hey!"
He grabbed Nagumo by the front of his jacket with both hands.
"What do you even know?!"
Nagumo frowned slightly.
"...What's gotten into you?"
"I heard him."
Shin looked him straight in the eye.
"The one who just spoke to me..."
"...was Mr. Sakamoto."
Nagumo remained silent.
Shin continued.
"It wasn't Uzuki."
"At least... not just now."
"I can't read memories."
"I only read thoughts."
"And those thoughts..."
"...belonged to Mr. Sakamoto."
His grip tightened.
"He's still in there."
"I'm sure of it."
"We can still save him."
Nagumo slowly closed his eyes.
"...No."
His voice was calm.
"There's no way to save him anymore."
Shin froze.
"...What?"
"He was stabbed through the heart."
Nagumo glanced at Sakamoto lying on the ground.
"Even Sakamoto..."
"...can't survive that."
"No!"
Shin shook his head violently.
"I read his thoughts!"
"I know I wasn't wrong!"
"He's still in there!"
Before Nagumo could answer—
A chill ran down his spine.
"...!"
His pupils contracted.
Behind them—
Uzuki had stood up.
Nagumo didn't even turn around.
His instincts as an assassin told him everything he needed to know.
The killing intent...
Had changed.
The person standing behind him...
Was no longer the Uzuki he had just defeated.
Stronger.
Sharper.
Far more dangerous.
"Damn it..."
"The timing couldn't be worse."
Nagumo caught only a brief glimpse.
Uzuki's eyes.
There was no confusion left.
No hesitation.
Only the cold, calculating gaze of a master assassin who had already mapped out every possible move.
His first target...
Was Shin.
There wasn't a second to spare.
Nagumo spun around.
THUD!
His foot slammed into Shin's stomach.
"Kh—!"
Shin's body was sent flying backward.
"...Nagumo?!"
In that same instant—
SLASH!
A blade tore through the air.
Blood sprayed across the pavement.
Nagumo's body froze.
The sword had driven deep into his abdomen.
"...Gh!"
Blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.
Uzuki pulled the blade free.
Nagumo staggered back three steps before managing to stay on his feet.
One hand pressed tightly against the wound.
Yet his eyes...
Never left Uzuki.
"...I see."
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"I guessed wrong."
The man before him tilted his head slightly.
The way he held the blade.
His stance.
His breathing.
The distance he maintained.
Everything...
Was painfully familiar.
Nagumo muttered under his breath.
"...This isn't Uzuki."
"...It's Sakamoto."
"...Sakamoto at his absolute peak."
In the distance—
Shin struggled back to his feet.
His stomach still throbbed from Nagumo's kick.
But when he saw the blood pouring from Nagumo's wound...
He understood immediately.
Nagumo had just saved his life.
"...Idiot."
Shin clenched both fists.
"If I rush in..."
"I'll only slow him down."
"I have to use the one thing only I can."
Shin slowly closed his eyes.
His awareness expanded.
The sound of the wind.
The crunch of broken concrete.
The pounding of his own heartbeat.
Everything faded away.
Only one mind remained.
Uzuki's.
Immediately, countless thoughts flooded into Shin's head.
"Nagumo is injured."
"Aim for his left side."
"Finish him after that."
A sharp pain exploded inside Shin's skull.
Blood trickled from his nose.
But he refused to break the connection.
"Nagumo!"
Shin shouted.
"Left!"
Nagumo instantly leaned away.
The blade barely grazed his sleeve.
"Two steps back!"
"Don't counterattack!"
Nagumo obeyed without hesitation.
A split second later, Uzuki's blade cut through the exact spot where Nagumo would have been if he had attacked.
Had he ignored Shin's warning...
That strike would have landed.
Nagumo's lips curled into a grin.
"...Nice."
Shin never looked away from Uzuki.
His eyes had turned bloodshot from the strain.
Blood continued to drip from his nose.
Yet his voice never stopped.
"Three o'clock!"
"Horizontal slash!"
"Feint!"
"Coming from below!"
For the first time—
Nagumo wasn't fighting with only his own eyes.
He was fighting...
Through Shin's eyes.