Chapter 13: Death by Poison
[Squad #64323 has entered the world.]
Kaito sat in the restaurant's kitchen. The portly driver, Boro, sat outside, his head bowed as he shoveled food into his mouth. He was regretting not leaving earlier with his cab today. Why did he have to get mixed up in this mess?
Kaito looked at the notification that had appeared before him. He knew that [Trial Mission II] had officially begun.
The system had only informed him of the squad's entry time, providing no coordinates or location data. This was likely another form of difficulty balancing. By letting a "weaker" participant like himself know when a stronger team was arriving, it forced him to choose a faster method to complete his mission. But if it had also provided their coordinates, it could have created a situation where the first arrival could use the world's resources to set up a deadly ambush. For example, in an ideal scenario, if Kaito had maxed out his reputation, he could have teamed up with Mercenary Tao, Master Shen, Tien, and Chiaotzu to lay a trap that very few Reincarnator squads could have survived.
Kaito's expression remained calm. He had no intention of facing that squad head-on.
"Besides…" he murmured to himself.
"The key to victory has been in my hands for a long time."
A distinct smile played on his lips. In his hands, he fiddled with a ten-centimeter-long switch.
[Omni-Capsule Controller - Car]
[Quality: Blue (Rare)]
[Description: A unique fantasy-tech item from the Dragon Ball world and its derivatives. Press the button to release or store the capsule's contents.]
[Effect 1: Press the button to release the car from the capsule.]
[Effect 2: Press the button to return the car to capsule form.]
[Note: This item cannot be taken out of this world.]
At that same moment, in the dimly lit inn, Mercenary Tao sat at the dining table, chopsticks in hand.
He picked up a slice of fish and sniffed it. It was very fresh, with no bad smell. Yet, his chopsticks stopped just short of his mouth.
"Hachidan, are you nervous?"
Toguro Hachidan, who was standing respectfully to the side, bowed his head. His pupils had shrunk to the size of pinholes. His heart suddenly began to hammer violently, pumping so much blood to his brain that the excess oxygen made him feel faint.
His reaction drew Tao's gaze. The assassin frowned, looking at his "business partner" of many years.
"Your heart is beating like a drum in my ears, Hachidan."
At first, he had assumed the fish wasn't fresh, and that was why Hachidan was so tense, his heart rate nearly double its normal pace. But after smelling the fish, he knew it was fine.
Therefore… the problem was with the man!
Tao's hand was perfectly steady, but his gaze was like a sharpened sword, poised to run Hachidan through.
Hachidan's composure wasn't nearly strong enough to fool Mercenary Tao. Just being stared at by him sent his heart into overdrive, and his legs gave out.
"Master Tao… mercy!" he whimpered, collapsing to the floor.
"Mercy… it was him… it was all that Kaito Shirogane's idea!"
The hand holding the piece of fish remained frozen in mid-air. But at the mention of Kaito's name, Tao's eyes narrowed dangerously. He had been about to kill Hachidan with this very slice of fish, but now he was curious to hear more.
"Kaito Shirogane…"
He hadn't even bothered to remember the boy's name. Tao rarely took an interest in anyone who wasn't a direct mission target.
Hachidan's clothes were now soaked with sweat. He had felt it—in that instant, Tao's killing intent had been like a dagger piercing his heart. The feeling of death had never been so terrifyingly real.
He immediately cast aside all thoughts of vast fortunes and Kaito's threats. Trembling, he confessed the entire plan.
"He gave me the poisoned weapons from that woman, [Green Snake], and told me to…"
Mercenary Tao's face darkened. Although he didn't truly consider Kaito his disciple, it was a fact that he had taught the boy a few things. And this whelp had the audacity to try and poison him?!
It was the ultimate betrayal. Tao was used to being the one who killed others without a second thought. This was the first time he had personally experienced such capricious treachery.
As he mentioned the poison, Hachidan's face grew even paler. He subconsciously clutched at his pocket, his heart beating a frantic rhythm.
Tao's eyes immediately caught the small movement. He let go of his chopsticks, and the piece of fish fell onto the table.
"Where did you put the poison?!" he roared.
He had assumed, from Hachidan's frantic heartbeat, that the poison was in the fish. But given his current reaction, it was likely…
Hachidan went completely limp, losing the strength to even hold himself up. He lay sprawled on the floor, snot and tears streaming down his face. He knew he was going to die.
"Kaito said… that Master is cunning… and cautious… so he told me to… to put poison in the tea, the rice, the dishes, the soup… even on the utensils…"
Tao's pupils constricted. He looked at the tea he had already drunk, and a powerful surge of killing intent rose within him. He hadn't expected that, in his desperation, Hachidan had poisoned everyone in the inn, including himself. He, too, had drunk the tea.
Hachidan knew he was a dead man. His heart filled with a deep hatred for Kaito, who had dragged him into this mess. But at the same time, he harbored a bitter resentment for Tao, the man who held his life in his hands. None of them… not a single one of them… had ever treated his life as if it mattered.
He suddenly reached for the pocket at his waist. Kaito had left him an antidote there. Hachidan planned to swallow it before Tao killed him. That way, after Tao eventually killed Kaito, he might still succumb to the poison. It was the greatest revenge he could manage.
Thwack!
A chopstick flew from Tao's hand, pinning Hachidan's right hand to the floorboards.
"AAAAH!"
Hachidan howled in pain. Tao walked over unhurriedly and, with two fingers, gouged into his pocket.
RIP!
Along with a large chunk of bloody flesh from Hachidan's waist, Tao ripped out what was hidden inside.
It was a black, pigeon-egg-sized pill that gave off a rich, medicinal aroma. It was imperfectly shaped, and one could faintly see the marks of it being rolled by hand. This was likely [Green Snake's] homemade antidote. Tao knew that second-rate assassins who coated their weapons in poison sometimes had the misfortune of poisoning themselves. Many of them carried a personal antidote just in case.
He looked down at Hachidan, who was still screaming in agony, with an expression of pure contempt.
"Did you really think this poison could kill me?"
"Did you think swallowing this antidote would let you live?"
"No. I would have simply cut open your stomach and taken it back out."
Tao placed two fingers on Hachidan's forehead. Hachidan's body went rigid. He felt as if his skull had already been pierced and that he was a second away from death.
A foul stench suddenly emanated from beneath him.
Tao frowned. Just as he was about to deliver the final blow, the temperature behind him rose dramatically.
"FIRE DRAGON'S ROAR!"
BOOM!
A massive fireball, its core swirling with compressed, magma-like flames, smashed through the wall of the inn and detonated.
KA-BOOOOM!
A violent tremor shook the small town as a huge mushroom cloud rose into the sky. The entire inn had vanished.