The air was still humming from the impact.

  Watari could barely contain himself.

  He had just watched a massacre.

  No, not a massacre—

  A mismatch.

  His hands were on his head, his mouth agape, eyes darting between his squad.

  What the hell was that?!

  His heart was still pounding from what he had just witnessed.

  “Ren,” Watari exhaled, practically beaming.

  “You—you got stronger. No, not stronger. You’re—what the hell, man?”

  Ren just blinked at him, his usual composure unwavering.

  “Did you think I was scking? We can’t let you be the only one getting stronger around here.”

  “No, but—”

  Watari whirled to Ryuko next, pointing a shaking finger at him.

  “And you! You’re still terrifying! I swear, it’s like… you’ve always been like this, but now it’s just different.”

  Ryuko’s smirk didn’t change.

  “Good. Terrifying is what I consider elegant.”

  “And Mii-chan.”

  Watari csped his hands together in admiration, eyes sparkling.

  “Mii-chan, you were—you’re—you’re just the best. Absolutely peak. Stunning. Gorgeous. A mastercss in ass-whooping. Unmatched.”

  Bonk.

  A sharp flick to his forehead snapped him out of it.

  “Shut up, idiot.”

  Yumi stood in front of him, arms crossed, though the smallest hint of a smile pyed at her lips.

  “Quit gawking and focus.”

  Watari rubbed his forehead, still grinning.

  “Sorry, sorry, it’s just—damn.”

  He exhaled, finally grounding himself.

  The realization set in.

  They really had leveled up.

  ELSEWHERE…

  A low chuckle reverberated through dimly lit corridors.

  Kuroda sat in the shadows, fingers tapping idly against his armrest, his golden eyes glinting as Yasuke kneeled before him.

  “They’ve arrived, just as predicted.”

  Yasuke’s report was calm, calcuted.

  “Jin, Raigo, and Katsuro were already stationed since their return st month. They engaged immediately.”

  Kuroda exhaled through his nose.

  “How fascinating.”

  Yasuke’s gaze flickered upward.

  “Should I intervene?”

  A smirk curled at Kuroda’s lips.

  “Not fully.”

  He leaned forward slightly, his voice lighter, almost amused.

  “But I do think it’s time for a little… exercise.”

  He stood up, stretching his arms as he strolled through the room’s dim glow, approaching a reinforced containment chamber.

  The very walls of it seemed to shudder, as though whatever was inside was too violent, too unstablefor even its prison to contain.

  Yasuke remained still as Kuroda stopped before the trembling cage.

  The aura emanating from within was visceral—raw, unchecked destruction.

  The air felt wrong just being near it.

  A low, guttural growl resonated from behind the steel bars, shaking the very foundation of the roomitself.

  Kuroda pced a hand on the cage.

  Instantly, the growling stopped.

  The beast inside froze.

  The sheer control was terrifying.

  Kuroda’s voice was light, almost amused.

  “Calm.”

  A whimper.

  He smiled.

  “Good boy.”

  He reached into his coat and withdrew a small vial—

  Its contents glowing with a deep crimson light.

  The liquid inside pulsed, almost alive.

  “This is for me,” Kuroda murmured, turning the vial between his fingers.

  “But…”

  He gnced back at the cage.

  “I doubt I’ll need all of it.”

  He tilted the vial ever so slightly, allowing a single drop to fall between the bars—

  ?The reaction was instant.

  A piercing beam of light shot through the sky, an eruption of sheer force shaking the very foundations of the facility.

  The howl that followed wasn’t human.

  It wasn’t even beastly.

  It was something other.

  Something beyond.

  Yasuke’s muscles tensed instinctively, but Kuroda simply chuckled, watching as the energy poured off Tenzan’s form in violent, uncontrolble waves.

  The very air shredded around him.

  Kuroda took a step back, nodding in satisfaction.

  “He is now ready for his walk.”

  He turned to Yasuke, smirking.

  “Go on. Show me your skills as a dog walker.”

  Yasuke rose to his feet, expression unreadable.

  “Understood.”

  Kuroda exhaled, running a hand through his hair as he strolled back to his seat.

  “Let them see it,” he mused.

  “Let them feel despair.”

  ?

  Back in the field…

  Watari was still gushing, though his voice was growing steadier now.

  More serious.

  “No, but really. You guys—”

  The wind shifted.

  A hum echoed through the air—

  distant at first, but unmistakable.

  The rhythm of rotor bdes slicing through the sky.

  The distant thrum of an approaching presence.

  Ren’s eyes sharpened immediately.

  “We have company.”

  Watari gnced up.

  A helicopter loomed in the distance, slicing through the horizon, moving with purpose.

  And standing at its open door—

  his coat billowing in the wind,

  one hand resting zily on the hilt of his weapon—

  Yasuke.

  His gaze swept across the battlefield—

  impassive. Calcuting.

  Then, ever so slightly—

  he smirked.

  Cut to bck.