(Final chapter of Enro's first-person narration)
⸻
The dust hadn't even cleared yet.
But he was already gone.
Kaito moved so fast the air cracked. One moment the gang leader stood tall, and the next—Kaito was in front of him.
BOOM!
A punch straight to the gut sent the leader's body lurching.
He swung—
But Kaito was gone again.
Behind him now.
He spun around wildly—missed again.
Then—
"Too slow," Kaito said from above.
DU BLAST.
The shot landed point-blank. The leader screamed—
—cracking backwards across the ground.
He roared, rage taking over—firing DU blasts in every direction.
But Kaito wasn't there.
He moved like a blur—dodging every blast, weaving through them like they were slow-motion.
He closed the distance again—landed two sharp body blows, then snapped his opponent's chin upward with an uppercut, followed by a clean 360° spinning kick that launched the gang leader across the battlefield.
The leader hit the wall hard, barely moving.
Then—FWOOOM!
Kaito charged up a massive DU Blast and fired it.
The leader took the hit head-on.
Silence.
Dust.
Smoke.
Then—collapse.
The gang leader was out cold.
⸻
Kaito stood over him, chest rising and falling, fists still clenched.
"Is there any more of you?" he asked.
But the leader didn't answer.
He passed out—face-first in the dirt.
⸻
A Few Minutes Later…
Me and Renji, just got the ramen.
And then—I saw him walking up.
Kaito.
Bruised. Beaten. But still walking.
I smirked.
"Welcome back, bro."
He bumped my fist.
Renji looked at him, then scratched his head awkwardly.
"Hey. I'm sorry about how I act earlier."
Kaito chuckled. "You good."
The three of us stood there—shoulders heavy, clothes torn, wounds stinging.
But we were standing.
And in Kaito's hand?
Still warm…
The ramen.
⸻
We made it back to Genzō's place and dropped the bowl in front of him.
He slurped the noodles, then nodded once.
"Perfect temperature."
We collapsed face-first on the ground.
We were exhausted, broken, and still weak.
But for the first time… it felt like we were fighters.
⸻
Elsewhere…
The same gang leader Kaito had defeated now knelt on the floor, beaten and begging for mercy.
"P-Please… I can still be useful—"
But the man standing before him—Number 3—just stared down coldly, a dull glow building in his palm.
"You were useful," he said flatly.
Then, with a flick of his hand, he absorbed him into his body—like he'd done it a thousand times.
Ash scattered where the man once knelt.
The subordinates nearby bowed.
One of them stepped forward. "Number 3—should we locate the source of interference?"
Number 3 turned toward a darkened screen, where the faint image of Kaito's fight was still playing on loop.
"…Find them."
The subordinates nodded and scattered quickly, already setting to work.
A new darkness was rising.
⸻
Enro (Narration):
"Back then… I thought that power was enough."
"But I didn't know what was waiting for us just beyond the next hill."
—Enro Asanagi