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Fujiwara Tetsu put his phone back in his pocket.
Getting separated from the Yukinoshita sisters in the crowd was also unexpected. He could only blame the sheer number of people at the time; many were desperately pushing and shoving to escape, making it very easy to get split off from those nearby.
However, after confirming via his phone that the Yukinoshita sisters were unharmed, Fujiwara Tetsu felt relieved.
The sound of fire trucks could already be heard outside. The fire would gradually be brought under control. All they needed to do now was wait patiently for the fire department to extinguish the flames and rescue them.
But just then—
"Help!"
"Murder! Lots of people died, so many died downstairs!"
"Run, everyone run!"
"..."
All sorts of panicked shouts echoed through the building. The chaotic noise made it impossible to discern what exactly was happening.
Some people, seeing others run past them, were confused and couldn't help but wonder.
"What murder? Lots of people died?"
"Could it be that many people died in the fire?"
Fujiwara Tetsu's expression shifted. He looked towards another corridor nearby. Several familiar figures appeared in his sight—it was Conan and his young friends.
The three children, Genta, Ayumi, and Mitsuhiko, were running while wailing loudly. However, seeing their exhausted, panting state, they likely wouldn't be able to run much further.
Conan followed behind the children, also panting, inwardly cursing how troublesome kids' bodies were—even his stamina had dropped so much.
He saw many people standing around dumbly, completely unaware of what was happening, and shouted urgently, "There's a group of madmen behind us killing everyone they see! Run!"
Unfortunately, no one believed the words of a first-grader like Conan. One person thought he was joking and said, "Don't talk nonsense, little friend. I know the fire downstairs scared you, but you can't make jokes like this."
Conan was exasperated, but the very next moment, someone proved his words weren't wrong.
A thin, dark man suddenly appeared. He revealed a bloodthirsty smile, and the claw knife in his hand directly slit the throat of the person who had just accused Conan of joking.
The man, in his forties, showed terror. He clutched his slit windpipe, fresh blood pouring between his fingers. Finally, due to lack of oxygen and excessive blood loss, he collapsed to the ground, completely breathless.
"Ah——————"
After 0.3 seconds of silence, terrified screams erupted from the surroundings again. Those still standing there quickly started running, just like the people who had been shouting and fleeing earlier.
"What are you doing!? Hurry up and run!" Conan also saw Fujiwara Tetsu standing motionless in place and shouted anxiously.
Although he was annoyed at Fujiwara Tetsu for 'deceiving' Ran, Conan's nature was driven by direct observation ('seeing is believing')—he wouldn't assume Tetsu would simply abandon someone without clear evidence.
'Seeing' Fujiwara Tetsu 'spacing out' and not moving, he urgently reminded him.
Fujiwara Tetsu stared intently at the thin, dark man with the bloodthirsty smile, his gaze fixed on the weapon in his hand.
"A claw knife?" This type of weapon wasn't common. It was a weapon circulated in some regions of Southeast Asia, shaped like a tiger's claw.
Seeing Fujiwara Tetsu didn't run, the thin, dark man tilted his neck, grinned wide—like a monkey—and shot forward directly, his speed exceeding imagination.
Swish——————
A glint of the blade flashed. Fujiwara Tetsu retreated one step, dodging the strike by a hair's breadth.
Missing the first strike, the thin, dark man didn't get angry. He let out a strange cry, and the claw knife once again swung continuously towards Fujiwara Tetsu.
However, Fujiwara Tetsu seemed to predict every trajectory of the blade. Whether ducking his head or turning sideways, like bullet time in The Matrix, he actually dodged all of the opponent's strikes.
The thin, dark man finally froze, stunned.
And Fujiwara Tetsu had obtained the answer he sought.
"Traditional martial arts from Luzon... So it is that group!"
With that said, Fujiwara Tetsu stepped forward, launching a straight punch towards the thin, dark man's chest.
That 'Fei Hou' reacted extremely quickly, hurriedly trying to intercept with the claw knife in his hand, the blade aiming straight for Fujiwara Tetsu's wrist tendons.
Who knew Fujiwara Tetsu would change tactics mid-way, his smashing fist transforming into a hand chop.
His hand chop was sharper than a scalpel, tougher than a steel knife. With a single chop, he actually sliced through the steel blade of the 'Fei Hou's' claw knife!
Watching the severed blade fly away, the 'Fei Hou' was completely dumbfounded.
And just that moment of stunned pause was already a huge opening for an expert!
"Hah!" Fujiwara Tetsu let out a low shout. His left hand formed a tiger claw. Like a fierce tiger bursting from its cage, there was a sudden explosive sound as the vibrating air seemed to crackle. The giant claw struck the 'Fei Hou's' chest.
CRACK——————
That claw strike seemed as if a Siberian tiger weighing hundreds of kilograms had truly lashed out. The sound of ribs shattering completely even reached Conan's ears.
While Conan watched dumbfounded, he only saw Fujiwara Tetsu, with just a single claw strike, actually send the terrifying assailant flying, crashing against the wall behind.
Looking closely, even the wall showed cracks. And that 'Fei Hou', who had been acting so aggressively moments before, now slid down the wall with vacant eyes, as dead as one could possibly be.
'D-Dead?!' Killing someone with just one claw strike, and shattering their bones in the process—this seemed utterly unbelievable, like an Arabian Nights tale, to Conan.
He knew human bones weren't that fragile. But the power of Fujiwara Tetsu's claw strike made Conan suspect that even if a real tiger were here, Tetsu could probably take care of it.
'This guy... is he really human?' Conan's expression was terrified, increasingly suspicious of Fujiwara Tetsu's identity.
If he really was a member of the Black Organization, then he was way too strong—practically superhuman!
He had seen how formidable Mouri Ran was; several sturdy men were usually no match for Ran.
But although Ran was strong, she was still within human limits. There were even people stronger than her at the national karate championships.
However, this Fujiwara Tetsu before him—he had already surpassed the scope of humanity!
"So... so cool!"
"Kamen Rider! Fujiwara-oniichan, you must be Kamen Rider!"
"..."
Ayumi, Genta, and the other children couldn't comprehend the power behind Fujiwara Tetsu's claw strike. They only saw that Fujiwara Tetsu made a move and defeated the bad guy who had been chasing and trying to kill them moments ago. Each one was excitedly shouting loudly.
"Ah——————"
Terrified screams still came from upstairs. This led Fujiwara Tetsu to conclude that the attackers were organized, and there were quite a few of them.
He glanced at Conan, then at Ayumi and the others, and said, "Conan, take them and hide."
As his voice fell, Fujiwara Tetsu's expression turned cold and stern. He started running rapidly towards the upper floors.
It was true he didn't like annoying kids, but he wasn't so cold-blooded as to watch children come to harm right in front of him.
"Conan, do you know that big brother? How does he know your name?" As soon as Fujiwara Tetsu left, Ayumi and the others, eyes sparkling, surrounded Conan.
"Ahaha, he's Fujiwara Tetsu-niichan. He's Ran-neechan's friend. I've met him before."
"Alright, let's listen to Fujiwara-niichan and hide quickly."
He blocked the children's line of sight, preventing them from seeing the thin, dark man collapsed on the floor.
Perhaps to Genta and the others, the man had just fainted. But Conan, having seen many dead bodies, knew he was already dead!
Genta and the others now worshipped Fujiwara Tetsu completely. Hearing Conan tell them to hide in Fujiwara Tetsu's name, they all nodded repeatedly.
After getting the children settled safely, Conan, taking advantage of their inattention, also ran towards the upper floors.
'Who exactly is that Fujiwara Tetsu?' He trembled all over, both excited and terrified.
Fujiwara Tetsu, having run upstairs, drew a pistol from his waist. However, there were simply too many people here; using a gun carried a high risk of ricochets causing unintended injuries.
Accidentally injuring others didn't matter much, but accidentally hitting the Yukinoshita sisters would be bad.
He put the pistol away.
The surroundings were noisy, people everywhere as far as the eye could see. But amidst the chaotic sounds, Fujiwara Tetsu clearly heard Yukinoshita Yukino's crying shouts.
He pinpointed the direction of the sound. Like a martial arts master, he forcefully kicked off the wall, leaping high, and clearly saw what was happening ahead.
His expression hardened. Stepping on the shoulders of several people, he leaped directly towards the location of the Yukinoshita sisters.
...
"Boss! Too many people here, can't find the target!"
A 'Fei Hou' stood before his boss, speaking softly in the 'Fei Hou language'.
The boss, the one who had been sharpening his knife earlier, merely nodded slowly, his icy eyes continuing to search the crowd.
"Boss, those Nihon police might be useless, but if there are too many people, we won't be able to escape either."
"We need to find the target quickly and eliminate her, then retreat while it's chaotic!"
As soon as his voice fell, this man, with extremely sharp eyes, spotted Yukinoshita Yukino and exclaimed excitedly, "Boss, over there!"
The 'Fei Hou' boss's gaze focused. Dodging and weaving, he quickly charged towards Yukinoshita Yukino.
Since this group of 'Fei Hou' had reached this floor, they had already cut down over a dozen people, something the Yukinoshita sisters had witnessed.
Yukino had tears in the corners of her eyes, her face pale. Her slender legs were stiff; for a moment, she couldn't even run.
Yukinoshita Haruno was calmer. Although she was also afraid, as a university student, she was after all more 'worldly'.
She forced herself to remain rational, overcome her fear, grabbed Yukino's arm, and urged anxiously, "Yukino, follow me!"
Yukinoshita Yukino had already lost her own judgment, merely nodding blankly as Haruno pulled her away by the arm.
But this very movement exposed them to the eyes of the 'Fei Hou'.
Haruno felt her vision blur as an agile black shadow leaped before them.
It was a man with dark skin and facial features strongly resembling an ape.
But the Yukinoshita sisters only needed to meet the man's eyes for a moment before a chill ran straight through them, feeling as if they were pork on a cutting board.
Those were icy eyes that had killed at least several dozen people—and not simply killed with firearms, but directly hacked to death with cold weapons.
The killing intent generated by killing with a blade versus a gun is completely different.
And facing that cold, ruthless killing intent, the Yukinoshita sisters' consciousnesses darkened, their entire nervous systems seeming on the verge of collapse.
The 'Fei Hou' leader gazed intently at Yukinoshita Yukino for a moment, confirming she was the target.
He quickly moved forward, the claw knife in his hand slashing towards Yukino's neck.
Killing such a weak woman was like slaughtering a chick!
"Ah——————"
Yukino let out a terrified scream. Haruno, however, gritted her teeth and spread her arms to shield Yukino.
She was the older sister; she had to protect her younger sister!
Yukinoshita Haruno closed her eyes tightly. But after waiting a moment, the expected sharp pain didn't come.
She quickly opened her eyes and saw Fujiwara Tetsu, who had appeared before her at some unknown time, raising his left arm, blocking the claw knife with his forearm.
"Fujiwara-kun!"
Seeing the claw knife embedded in Fujiwara Tetsu's arm, Haruno cried out with tears in her eyes, believing Tetsu had been seriously injured protecting her and her sister.
But only the 'Fei Hou' leader's expression changed drastically. His right hand was actually unable to pull the knife out of this guy's arm.
He could actually control the muscles in that part of his body!
Clamp the blade itself?
This guy... is he human?
Making a split-second decision, the 'Fei Hou' leader abandoned the claw knife in his right hand, thrusting the claw knife in his left towards Fujiwara Tetsu's throat.
Fujiwara Tetsu likewise raised the claw knife in his right hand to meet the attack—it was the one he had taken from the 'Fei Hou' he killed earlier.
The two claw knives clashed, emitting the clang of metal striking metal, sparks flying everywhere.
Fujiwara Tetsu blocked the strike, then immediately switched from defense to offense. The claw knife in his right hand instantly slashed out over twenty times. The 'Fei Hou' leader retreated step by step, parrying all twenty-plus strikes with equally extreme speed.
Below, the fire raged; above, the crowd jostled and screamed. In this narrow terrain, the two exchanged over twenty moves in an instant, fast as galloping thunder and flashing lightning.
'He's an expert!' Fujiwara Tetsu concluded.
The 'Fei Hou' before him was considerably strong, his skill with the claw knife reaching a superb level.²
However—
'No matter how skilled, he's not better than me!'
Fujiwara Tetsu's technique changed, his knife movements becoming several degrees faster. This speed and reaction ability, exceeding the limits, were already beyond what a human could contend with.
A single slash flashed past, slicing the tendons in the 'Fei Hou' leader's left hand. Under the intense pain, the leader's left-hand knife dropped to the ground, and his entire body staggered backward.
At this moment, his center was wide open. Fujiwara Tetsu seized the opportunity and stepped forward.
"Swish-swish-swish————"
Within a single second, the claw knife in his right hand slashed continuously more than ten times. Fresh blood splattered, bits of flesh flew. Over ten wounds, deep enough to reveal bone, were left directly on the 'Fei Hou' leader's chest.
The blade flashed again. Fujiwara Tetsu executed an uppercut slash. The sharp, curved claw knife, like an iron hook used to hang pork in a freezer, directly pierced through the 'Fei Hou' leader's chin.
Fujiwara Tetsu, using the knife in his right hand, lifted the man's entire corpse high into the air!