Santo Domingo, Rancho Coronado District.
1:24 AM.
Gunfire ripped through the darkness as Arasaka's security squads fought at full force.
"Fuck—Maelstrom, Scavs, 6th Street—whole damn zoo's here. Rare to see somebody herd this many trash-tier gangs together."
"Relax. Just bottom-feeders. Bought and paid for. That bitch must be long gone."
"Those gang bosses aren't stupid. They all came one by one to pledge loyalty. But hey—big forest, all kinds of birds. Any organization's got its share of dumbasses!"
"Cut the chatter! Kill them!"
Gunfire intensified.
The gang rabble were being shredded, bodies dropping left and right, forced to huddle behind broken concrete and rusted cars, barely daring to raise their heads.
Arasaka's side thought the fight was already won—
until everything went sideways.
A spray of blood erupted along the left flank—two Arasaka operatives took rounds straight to the head and dropped instantly.
"What the—?!"
Two more fell. Casualties rising.
"Optic camo!"
"Switch to infrared—now!"
"I see him. One target. Using dual Shingen Mark V smart SMGs!"
"Reform formation—encircle!"
Despite a brief moment of chaos, Arasaka's forces regrouped quickly.
Well-trained, perfectly coordinated, they tightened the noose, forcing the attacker into a kill box.
Click—click.
The hollow sound of empty magazines hitting the limit.
The assailant's dual Shingens ran dry.
The Arasaka operatives grinned, ready to finish the job—
—until a streak of red light flashed.
Three heads flew off in the blink of an eye, bodies collapsing like puppets with cut strings.
"Sandevistan!"
"Close-quarters specialist!"
With the optical camo cooling down, the attacker finally became visible.
He was short, masked with an Oni demon faceplate, clad in Arasaka combat gear.
Most notable were the twin thermal Mantis Blades unfurled from his arms—glowing crimson, like sakura petals made of blood and fire.
"A ninja!"
"Suppressive fire! Don't let him get close!"
Gunfire erupted again, tearing neon-lit arcs through the dark, but the ninja moved like liquid shadow—slipping and weaving between bullet paths, closing in within seconds.
He appeared before the squad captain, blades flashing—
Shlick.
Two Mantis Blades pierced the captain clean through the ribs.
"Guh—!"
Blood sprayed from his mouth.
"Pull your men back," the ninja said coldly. "V is Arasaka's traitor. She's not worth dying for."
The captain laughed, coughing blood in the ninja's face.
"Fuck you. V's the only reason we do fight."
And before the ninja could react, the captain clamped his arms around him, pinning him in place.
"Shoot! Kill him!"
The squad didn't hesitate.
Not out of lack of emotion—
but because of too much.
They understood their captain's choice.
If their positions were reversed, they would've done the same.
Everything for Deputy Chief V.
RATATATATATA—!
Bullets hammered into the ninja's tactical suit, rippling its surface with shockwaves.
"Bakayaro!"
Snarling, the ninja planted both feet against the captain's chest and flipped backward, tearing free.
Landing light and fast, he baited the squad into shifting their aim—then surged forward again, Mantis Blade raised for the captain's neck.
"You want death? I'll grant it!"
"Captain!!"
But the blow never landed.
The Mantis Blade sparked violently—
BZZZT!
—and retracted, short-circuited.
The ninja froze.
Then he saw her.
V stepped out from behind the captain, eyes glowing ice-blue, a storm of killing intent rolling off her like a physical force.
"You try to kill my people?" V said softly.
"Who the fuck gave you that courage?"
Even a hardened assassin felt his blood run cold.
He bit the inside of his cheek, forcing adrenaline to surge—then vanished with a hum of optical camouflage.
Useful?
No.
Useless.
Quickhack queue loaded—
Ping: Target Locked.
A red holographic silhouette lit up instantly.
The ninja was exposed, perfectly outlined.
A thermal Mantis Blade slashed down at V from the darkness—
One System Malfunction later, that blade died too.
How?
He had ICE shielding active—how could she breach him instantly?
Horrified, the ninja flipped back repeatedly, opening distance.
V didn't pursue.
She let him reload both Shingen magazines mid-air—a move requiring absolute precision.
Impressive.
But—
Useful?
No.
Still useless.
RATATATAT—!
The ninja opened fire.
Weapon Glitch.
Both Shingen Mark Vs blew their own smartlink modules, rounds scattering wildly into the sky.
Cursing, he ditched the guns and threw a knife.
Optics Restart.
V's vision went black for an instant—
the knife veered off like a malfunctioning missile, missing its mark by kilometers.
A bead of sweat rolled down the ninja's forehead.
He threw a smoke grenade, detonating a thick cloud—
Sandevistan—engaged!
But when the smoke cleared—
he was still standing right where he'd been.
Cripple Movement.
V smirked.
"All your tricks are done? Good. Try mine."
Her neural processor kicked into overdrive—blue eyes burning red.
Cyberware Overheat.
Cyberware Overheat.
Cyberware Overheat.
Short Circuit.
Short Circuit.
System Failure.
System Failure.
"GYAAAH—!!"
The ninja's entire body erupted in a blinding electric cascade.
Every implant exploded simultaneously.
Superheated metal ignited his fat and muscle.
His screams mixed with the crack of burning hardware—
the perfect funerary song for the soon-to-be dead.
The security team extinguished the flames.
When the fire died, he was a melted heap—barely human.
"An Oni? Pathetic," V muttered, ripping off the mask—
revealing a familiar face.
"Oda Sanda-bayashi. Hanako Arasaka's personal bodyguard."
V's voice turned ice-cold.
"Didn't expect the quiet dog to be the one who bites the hardest."
"Do… not… insult… Miss Hanako…" Oda gasped.
"This… was my own decision… Miss Hanako… has nothing… to do with it…"
"Oh?" V tilted her head.
"So what's your motive? Revenge for Takemura? Master-disciple loyalty? And I'm supposed to believe that?"
Oda's eyes twisted with hatred.
"Arasaka… will never… forgive… your betrayal…"
"Just you?" V scoffed.
"...I'm not your match. But… he is."
Oda's voice rasped.
"He is… the true legend… He will kill you…"
"He?"
V froze—
then a name surfaced.
"Kenshin Saburo."
"Yes… Lord Kenshin… world's strongest lone wolf… no one defeats him… not even you…"
"Get fucked."
V's eyes flashed.
A System Collapse quickhack knocked Oda unconscious.
V opened comms:
"Update—correction. The threat isn't one Arasaka heir. It's multiple. They're working together. Stocke—Kenshin Saburo is heading your way. Abandon the factory. Evacuate with Xu Zhong—now!"
Static.
No response.
V's heart dropped.
"Stocke? Stocke?!
Fuck—Meredith Stocke, ANSWER ME!"
Fragmented audio finally came through:
"Do…n't… come… V… run…"
V was already moving.
"Security squads—patch yourselves up, leave enough to defend this location. The rest follow me to the underground factory!"
She sprinted onto the street.
Security teams needed time—she didn't have any.
V glanced up at a traffic camera—
her eyes flashed blue—
and a Nazare motorcycle roared to life behind her, AI override engaged.
She vaulted onto it, removed the speed limiter, twisted the throttle—
Twin exhausts belched flame.
The Nazare shot toward the northern battlefield like a beast unleashed.
Underground Factory
What awaited her…
was a massacre.
Militech and Kang Tao's combined 322-person force—
annihilated.
Limbs, heads, shredded torsos—
a mountain of corpses dripping red across the metal flooring.
Meredith Stocke's face—half of it—had been carved clean off.
She lay in a pile of bodies, barely alive.
Xu Zhong knelt before her, clutching his Nodachi, blood pouring from a dozen wounds.
Standing opposite him—
Kenshin Saburo.
Black suit.
Sunglasses.
Idly tossing a knife from hand to hand.
"I hear you're only nineteen," Kenshin said, amused.
"Impressive. Give it time, and you might've surpassed even me."
Xu Zhong steadied his breathing.
"Hanako sent you?"
"No."
Kenshin snorted.
"Miss Hanako is too kind. She chose to step back and avoid family conflict. So Arasaka Rin will soon become CEO."
He curled his lip in contempt.
"She won't fight for herself. So I'll fight for her."
Xu Zhong's eyes narrowed.
"You freed Takemura… and armed him."
"Yes. And what did he accomplish? Nothing."
Kenshin shrugged. "What a waste."
"You plan to retake Night City?"
"Night City?"
Kenshin laughed.
"No. My target from the beginning—was V."
"You want to kill V-jie?"
"Kill her? Don't be stupid."
Kenshin shook his head.
"You Chinese have a saying:
Lose land and keep people—people and land remain.
Lose people and keep land—people and land are lost.
Hanako said it as well. Talent is the foundation of everything."
He smirked.
"V is talent among talent. Genius among geniuses. At first I didn't believe it—but after seeing her work, I had to bow in admiration. If I could obtain her… I could burn Night City to ashes. She'd rebuild ten more."
Xu Zhong spat blood.
"做你妈的青天白日梦."
"That's not dreaming." Kenshin motioned to the corpse piles.
"That is execution.
When I roamed the world, you were still a glint in your father's balls. And you dare raise your voice at me?"
He pointed at a nearby terminal.
"I found something interesting.
Degenerative neural atrophy, yes?
Another leash around V's neck.
Nanite neuro-regeneration? Prototype serums?
Every path she opens, I close.
She will never escape the hell she was born into."
"休想."
Xu Zhong tightened his grip.
"V-jie is the world's other choice. I will NEVER hand her to you."
"You?" Kenshin sneered.
"In that half-dead body?"
Xu Zhong didn't answer.
He simply raised his Nodachi…
and bowed toward the east.
"Ancestors above…"
Kenshin took one step back.
"For Xu Shiming's sake, I'll let you walk away."
Xu Zhong's reply was a single word:
"杀."
He launched himself forward—
becoming a streak of motion, a beast with nothing left to lose.
"Courting death."
Kenshin drew an Arasaka Tamayura—
a relic handgun from the 2000s.
Old, incompatible with modern mods—
but when its bullets hit flesh, the result was absolute.
BANGBANGBANGBANG—!
Xu Zhong didn't dodge.
He couldn't.
He had one chance.
Everything he had was bet on this moment.
His blade met bullets head-on—
Shearing five, deflecting three.
Of the three returned, Kenshin dodged two.
One struck his left arm—
blood spraying.
The strongest lone wolf bled for the first time.
"Beautiful. Again."
Kenshin flipped his knife to a reverse grip.
Xu Zhong ignited his ankle boosters—
leaping skyward—
striking down with everything, mind empty, breath steady—
A perfect cut.
"Aaaaaaah—!!"
CLASH!
Knife met blade.
Light sparked.
The first to break—
was the legendary Nodachi.
Cracks spiderwebbed—
then shattered.
"What—?!"
"Every one of my bullets hit the same spot." Kenshin grinned.
"Young man—you're too green."
He grabbed Xu Zhong midair, slammed him down—
and drove the knife into his chest.
Twisting—
shredding heart muscle—
Xu Zhong spat blood and collapsed.
V arrived in time to see his body fall.
Kenshin Saburo turned toward her.
"You're late."
"Kenshin Saburo!!!"
V screamed, firing both Arasaka Kuro-mura and Arasaka Shingen wildly.
Kenshin dodged effortlessly, weaving through every bullet.
She ran dry.
Kenshin surged forward—
—but V had already thrown her guns aside.
Her brain interface surged to full overclock, blue eyes blazing red.
Quickhacks flew like a storm:
Cyberware Failure
Short Circuit
Meltdown
Kenshin's implants detonated one after another—
even his top-tier ICE cracked under the overload.
But it wasn't enough to kill him.
V had expected that.
She snatched the broken half of Xu Zhong's Nodachi—
and slammed it down on Kenshin's head.
CRACK—!
Sunglasses shattered.
Artificial skin split—
metal skull beneath.
Kenshin grinned again.
He holstered his knife—
and punched V across the face.
BOOM—!!
She flew like a cannon shell—
through two reinforced walls—
before crashing to the floor, blood streaming from her skull.
Vision fading.
Body failing.
Consciousness slipping loose.
Kenshin's voice echoed:
"V, you are nothing.
You will always be Hanako's dog.
If you wish to surrender, come to the top suite of Sapphire Tower.
If you want revenge—come to the same place.
I will break you again."
He tossed aside his shattered sunglasses—
and walked away.
V, in the haze of bloodloss, saw Joanne Koch rushing toward her—
panic, fear, desperation on her face—
Then darkness swallowed everything.