The Challenge to Battle

One of the eight masked men paced two steps forward and answered, "Kitagawa discovered us halfway and shook us off. We've investigated it and it turned out that he has other subordinates in the capital. They were also the ones who intercepted us."

"And those people?" asked General Fukuda with a grim expression and surging killing intent in his eyes.

"We killed some of them, whereas the rest committed suicide by poison," answered the masked man respectfully. "They should be… dead."

General Fukuda's expression drastically changed. Training and grooming trusted confidantes were easy, but to train people to be ready to die for you was as difficult as ascending to heaven. How did Kitagawa achieve it? He turned out to have trained his death squad without him aware of it?

A short while after, General Fukuda and the red-haired man appeared on the camp's outer ring, and the scene of 19 dead bodies there caused their eyes to fill with murderous intent.