37

Rumors circulated that the infamous Oni Masked Killer had met his demise, a belief widely accepted by the populace of the underworld. Kenzo grappled with uncertainty regarding the safety of sparing Miles, one of the select individuals privy to his true identity.

Understanding Miles' cautious nature, Kenzo hesitated to tamper with his memories, wary of triggering repercussions should inconsistencies be detected. The prospect of rectifying potential loopholes loomed dauntingly ahead, a task he anticipated would consume valuable time.

Intrigued by Akujin's undisclosed intentions, Kenzo sought clarity, their prior discussion on the matter left unresolved because Akujin made no mention of this.

Departing the vicinity, his attention was abruptly seized by a strange light illuminating the sky.

Despite this grand display, Kenzo noted a lack of reaction from the surrounding crowd, prompting him to draw a conclusion that they couldn't see it.

Driven by duty, he prioritized his mission over unraveling this supernatural occurrence exuding the same dark energy he had experienced, dismissing it as a secondary concern for the time being.

Kenzo dialed a number on his phone, he entertained the possibility that Miles had installed a bug on his phone.

"Where are you, Akujin?" Kenzo seized the initiative upon Akujin answering the phone.

"I have returned to the mansion. Why do you ask?" Akujin's response was met with a foreboding declaration from Kenzo.

"They know..." Kenzo's statement hung in the air, met with a puzzled silence from Akujin, who struggled to decipher the cryptic warning.

"What do you mean?" Akujin's confusion was evident, he didn't know what Kenzo meant but he also knew it was in his best interest to give him a listening ear.

"The dons, they know you're working with me," Kenzo pointed out but there was no way he could have made this connection but Akujin didn't dismiss it. 

Akujin knew that there was a reason he was so feared and how survived this long, no one could do that with skills alone, his instincts had to be as sharp as they come. 

"I'm listening…" This was all Akujin said. 

"The dons know we're working together. Even for someone as skilled as you, there is no way that you could have killed me without sustaining injuries yourself but that isn't the only thing that didn't add up," Kenzo said, pausing as he steered the car elegantly. 

"The gangs have been quiet until now, the only thing to gain from starting a war with the Yakuza is only if they had a chance at victory, something or someone big must be backing them…" Kenzo pointed out. 

This was a thought that Akujin had entertained but he knew exactly what Kenzo was insinuating.

"The dons wish to replace me," Akujin muttered under his breath. 

It would make sense, Akujin had become troublesome and the Yakuza had grown too big and powerful for him to remain at the helm. 

"That is my assumption as well so keep your head down," Kenzo warned.

He wasn't concerned, he didn't care what happened to Akujin but he knew that he needed him alive long enough for him to get rid of the dons. 

"What will you do now?" Akujin asked. 

"What do you mean? The plan remains unchanged, I'm headed to the Triad's territory," Kenzo responded. 

"That is insan-!" Kenzo cut the call before Akujin could air out his thoughts.

He knew that this could very well be a suicide mission, he was driving in a car directly linked to the Yakuza. 

Akujin had nothing to worry about, Kenzo had yet to fail a mission and he wasn't going to begin now.

He entered the territory in little to no time, he could see that all eyes were on him.

Kenzo was surprised by how easy it was to enter their territory, he expected to be stopped by someone or something. 

The glasses were tinted so there was no way anyone could tell who was in the car or how many there were. 

And just like the Yakuza, the Triads had an HQ where they based their operations. 

It was no secret where it was located either but it didn't take long before a truck rammed right into his car, sending it tumbling.

And with it, the total car was surrounded by multiple cars, this was no doubt the Triad.

The condition of the car would make it a miracle if Kenzo did survive, the front side was completely crushed and anything within should have been crushed.

The fact that they attempted to take his life in broad daylight showed that they were no longer worried about retaliations from the Yakuza.

"Damn, that was cold!" A member of the Triad joked about the situation and the others laughed.

There was no way that whoever was inside wasn't already dead or fatally injured.

"Should we burn the car?" Another suggested but that idea was soon shot down.

"We cannot, we need to send a message to those fuckers!" Another random member of the Triad suggested.

They moved towards the car but the door was jammed. They couldn't access Kenzo but they could see from the broken glass that there was only one man inside.

This was strange, why would they send a single person out here?

This only infuriated them as they felt insulted by this and they hoped that Kenzo wasn't dead so they could have some fun with him.

"Are you dead, you fucker!?" One of the gang members screamed.

The citizens around knew to leave the area, they didn't want to be involved in what was about to happen, be it as witnesses or anything.

As far as they were concerned, this never happened and this meant that Kenzo was not only surrounded by up to twenty Triad members, there was no way in hell he was receiving any help from anyone.

"Drag him out already!" The man's hand made contact with Kenzo but there was something about him.

"Shit, he is alread-!" The man couldn't complete his words as Kenzo's eyes immediately shot open, his pupils were dilated.

He blew the jammed door open with a single punch, and the speed at which the door was ejected slammed right into the person who had his hand in the window.

It shattered his ribs and damaged almost all his internal organs in the process but what killed him was the force with which he slammed against the wall more than fifty meters away; like a squashed bug.

"W-What!?" One of the people there exclaimed, not only had this man survived but he had just displayed strength that shouldn't be possible.

They thought that their eyes were playing tricks on them but that wasn't the case, Kenzo was slowly evolving into a creature that couldn't be explained, not even by the demons themselves.