Brother Okamoto frowned the moment he saw them.
"You again?" he snapped. "Who are these two? Do you think Lord Gato's whereabouts are something you get to ask about?"
"Easy, easy," the burly man said with a grin, stepping closer and whispering a few words into Okamoto's ear.
Okamoto's expression didn't change.
"Where's the proof?"
"Right here."
The man pulled out the portrait of Gato.
Okamoto glanced at it, then nodded once.
"Do it. Take them."
The guards surged forward immediately, weapons drawn. Blades, clubs, talisman-wrapped knives. Faces twisted with hunger.
The burly man finally dropped the act. His smile turned sharp, cruel, as if he were already savoring the sight of Shinji Akagi and Hidan being carved apart.
Neither of them reacted.
From the start, the performance had been obvious. Who shows up looking for work while carrying a boss's portrait? That wasn't recruitment. It was bait.
Everyone involved knew it.
They had simply all believed they were the hunters.
Now the moment had arrived to see who was prey.
A kunai slid out of Hidan's sleeve.
He stepped forward, then paused.
Without realizing why, he glanced back.
Shinji met his eyes and gave a slight nod.
That was enough.
Hidan's face split into a grin, feral and ecstatic, as he charged straight into the densest cluster of enemies.
The shift was subtle, even to him.
On the road here, Shinji had broken his habits little by little. Sometimes with threats. Sometimes with reason. Sometimes by letting him loose just enough to keep him cooperative.
Control wasn't built by chains alone.
It needed slack.
Hidan collided with the guards like a living calamity.
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
His laughter rang out as he slit one man's throat, kicked another aside, then seized a third by the head. The kunai punched in again and again until the body went limp, torn open like a ruined sack.
"Too weak," Hidan spat, tossing the corpse down. "You're not even worth using as offerings."
The remaining guards froze.
Okamoto roared, veins bulging. "What are you afraid of?! There are only two of them! Surround them and cut them down!"
The men snapped out of it and rushed in together, blades striking from every direction. Those who couldn't reach stayed back, sealing off escape routes.
Hidan didn't dodge.
He didn't retreat.
He slaughtered the three in front of him, then let the rest stab straight through his body.
Steel pierced flesh.
Blood sprayed.
Okamoto exhaled in relief.
A suicidal lunatic. Cost him seven or eight men, but at least it was over.
Then Hidan spoke.
"Hey. Stop twisting the knife," he said casually. "That actually hurts."
Panic exploded.
Hidan wrenched the blades out of his own body, tossed them aside, and drove his kunai into the hearts of those closest to him in one smooth motion.
Metal clattered to the ground.
He rolled his neck once and grinned.
"No one's getting out. I'm turning you all into a mess."
What followed wasn't a fight.
It was execution.
He didn't block. He didn't evade. You stabbed him once, he stabbed you back. Fair exchange.
The difference was simple.
They died.
He didn't.
The guards collapsed under the terror. Screams echoed through the forest.
"Monster!"
"Help me!"
"I don't want to die!"
"Run!"
"I'll kill you first!"
Shinji didn't interfere.
This was necessary.
But when he saw the burly man and Okamoto trying to slip away in the chaos, he moved.
In a blink, he was in front of them.
"Leaving already?" Shinji asked calmly. "Taking me to Gato, perhaps?"
Okamoto's face went gray.
What he thought was an achievement had turned into a death sentence. The bald man alone was a nightmare. This one, quiet and composed, felt worse.
If he'd known, he would have strangled that idiot himself.
"Misunderstanding," Okamoto forced out, smiling stiffly. "I was tricked too. I don't even know where Gato is."
"Brother Okamoto, you—"
"Shut up!" Okamoto snarled. "Who's your brother?! Clean up your own mess. I'm leaving."
The burly man snapped.
"When you were chasing my sister, what did you promise, you bastard?! Now you turn on me? Fine. Don't blame me for talking. You think I don't know about you and the butler's daughter? You don't know where Gato is? Liar!"
"Spreading nonsense," Okamoto growled. "I'll cripple you first!"
They lunged at each other.
Shinji watched, mildly surprised by the sheer mess of it.
Then he crushed a small blood pack in his palm.
Crimson liquid burst outward, shaping into two hardened cords that snapped forward.
The burly man was yanked off his feet and slammed to the ground, bound tight.
Okamoto twisted away at the last second, leaping back with abnormal speed.
His hands formed signs instantly.
Shinji's eyes narrowed.
A sorcerer.
Interesting.