Leading his patrol squad, Horawaki Takuya walked out of the palace with a look of disdain.
Looking at Lin Que and Tendo Kisara standing in front of him, he made no effort to hide his annoyance and spoke to drive them away.
"I remember Saint Empress-sama has no appointments today. If you two don't have any proper business, hurry up and get lost."
"If you keep loitering here, I…"
Bang—!
Before he could finish his sentence, Horawaki Takuya's entire body suddenly exploded, turning into a cloud of blood mist that drifted in all directions.
"Captain!"
The surrounding guard members let out cries of surprise, not understanding what had happened.
But in the very next instant, the bodies of these guard members also exploded one after another, turning into clouds of blood mist.
"Mere clowns."
A gentle breeze swept through, carrying the blood mist towards the distant sky.
Lin Que, who had stood still the entire time, once again took a step, walking into the palace without looking back.
"…It's over just like that?"
Tendo Kisara, who had just reacted, regained her senses and jogged a few steps to catch up with Lin Que.
"How did you do that? I didn't see you leave your spot."
"Or did you rush over, blow them all up, and then return to your original position?"
Lin Que glanced at her. "Do you take me for some vampire who stops time and then moves people downstairs?"
"I just released a bit of my aura and crushed them to death. It's that simple."
After obtaining Conqueror's Haki from the One Piece World, Lin Que had already mastered the ability to turn his aura into a tangible attack against enemies.
For example, in his last battle with [Perseus], he used this move to directly stun everyone except Luos.
Of course, at that time, it was because White Yasha was present, and the members of Perseus were not weak, so there were no casualties.
But if the target were ordinary people like Horawaki Takuya, who only relied on others' power, the outcome would be different.
Lin Que didn't even need to be serious; just releasing a tiny bit of the aura he usually restrained would be enough to crush them to death.
"So, you can do something like that?"
Tendo Kisara exclaimed, "As expected of you, you always manage to do unexpected things."
"You're exaggerating; it's not that difficult."
Lin Que replied, looking at the palace guards who were running from all directions after hearing the commotion.
"As long as you get a little stronger, you can do similar things too."
Bang—! Bang—! Bang—!
A rich smell of blood slowly began to permeate the immaculate Saint Empress's Palace.
...
"Hmm? Why is it so noisy outside?"
In the deepest part of the Saint Empress's Palace, a young girl with a delicate face and fair skin, dressed in a pure white dress like a saintess, looked up.
Temporarily stopping her work of approving documents, she shifted her gaze to Tendo Kikunojo, who stood not far away.
"Kikunojo-sama, could I trouble you to check on the situation?"
"Of course."
Tendo Kikunojo stood up and walked towards the nearby exit, preparing to push the door open.
But just as his hand touched the door, a loud sound echoed in his ears.
Boom—!
The room's door was forcefully opened from the outside by a huge external force.
The door panel, along with Tendo Kikunojo who was standing in front of it, slammed against the room's wall.
"Kikunojo-sama!"
Facing this shocking scene, the Saint Empress instinctively let out a cry of surprise.
Then, as if realizing something, she shifted her gaze from Tendo Kikunojo, who was embedded in the wall, to the two figures, one male and one female, at the doorway.
"You are… Tendo Kisara?"
As the ruler of the Tokyo Area, the Saint Empress knew many secret things.
Naturally, the Saint Empress also knew Tendo Kisara, a somewhat special member of the Tendo family.
"Why are you here?"
"That has nothing to do with you."
Tendo Kisara stood still, her gaze fixed on Tendo Kikunojo not far away.
"You can just watch from the side."
The Saint Empress frowned slightly, realizing what Tendo Kisara wanted to do: "You want to kill Sir Kikunojo?"
"Not us, Kisara wants to kill him."
Lin Que leisurely walked in front of the Saint Empress, a smile on his face: "As for me, I'm here for you."
"Nice to meet you, Saint Empress."
"To save time, the methods were a bit crude, it didn't scare you, did it?"
"For me?"
She glanced out of the corner of her eye at Tendo Kisara, who was just watching and didn't immediately make a move.
After slightly relaxing, the Saint Empress asked, "What do you want from me?"
"Nothing much, I just want you to help with some promotion."
Lin Que pointed to himself: "I'm about to say something, can I trouble you to broadcast it?"
...
"Cough... that Tendo guy really hits hard."
Inside Tendo Civil Security Company, Satomi Rentaro struggled to get up from the ground.
.... . 0
Although he had argued with Tendo Kisara several times about their ideals before, he didn't think he had broken ties with her.
In Satomi Rentaro's view, the current Tendo Kisara was just led astray by hatred and the strange man's instigation.
As long as he could defeat Lin Que and then persuade Tendo Kisara, their relationship could return to how it was before.
"If only there was an Initiator right now."
After painstakingly tending to his injuries alone, Satomi Rentaro left the company and came out onto the street.
As a person with strong execution, Satomi Rentaro would act immediately once he had an idea.
Next, he prepared to immediately go to the Saint Empress's palace to find Lin Que and Tendo Kisara, who had set off earlier.
Then, according to the plan he had just thought of, he would defeat Lin Que and persuade Tendo Kisara.
However, just as Satomi Rentaro was halfway through his journey, a cry for help suddenly came from not far away.
"Help! Someone save me!"
Following the direction of the sound, Satomi Rentaro saw a middle-aged man dragging a little girl, preparing to enter an alley.
Behind him were several young men holding weapons and with hatred on their faces.
"This is..."
Satomi Rentaro's body stiffened, and he instantly understood what had happened.
"Damn it! Why now of all times!"
...several.