"Inspector Megure..."
Takagi and the others, seeing the many corpses scattered around, felt a mix of anger and fear. They couldn't help but call out.
Although Megure was also shaken, he was a seasoned detective. Having already seen the video, he had mentally prepared himself and stayed calm.
Holding his revolver with both hands, he ordered with a stern expression, "Everyone, stay alert. The attackers might still be nearby!"
The officers nodded gravely, their expressions tense. Believing the assailants were still in the area, they moved cautiously, glancing over their shoulders every few steps, afraid the criminals might ambush them from the rubble.
One young officer said worriedly, "Inspector Megure, if we keep moving this slow, and the attackers are still killing people upstairs, who knows how many more will die before we arrive."
The officer was inexperienced but full of passion. Unlike veterans like Inspector Megure, his first concern was not their own safety, but that of the civilians.
Inspector Megure's expression shifted. He realized that his so-called experience had dulled his instinct.
The young officer was right. If they remained this cautious, the casualties upstairs would only increase.
Megure gritted his teeth and said, "Move up. If we encounter the suspects, be careful when opening fire. Avoid hitting civilians."
The officers nodded firmly and prepared to move out with him.
Miwako Sato, being more observant, quickly noticed that among the people lying on the ground, some were still breathing. She immediately said,
"Inspector Megure, some of them are still alive. They need emergency medical care!"
Megure cursed under his breath for being so tense he hadn't noticed. He immediately gave the order,
"Leave a few officers here. Contact the medics outside and have them come up. The rest, follow me. We're moving!"
A group of experienced officers, ready to charge in even if it meant getting hurt, followed Inspector Megure to the next floor.
But contrary to their expectations, there were no sounds of fighting upstairs. Instead, they found only the injured groaning on the ground, with several already lifeless.
There was no ongoing violence.
What surprised Megure and the others even more was that the survivors didn't cheer or show relief upon seeing the police. Instead, many looked at them with resentment, their eyes full of distrust and reproach.
Megure awkwardly held his gun forward, surveying the scene as he asked, "Can anyone tell us what happened here? Where are the attackers?"
A middle-aged man, kneeling on the ground with red, swollen eyes, wiped away his tears and pointed toward the corpses and injured attackers on the floor. "They're the ones."
"This..."
The officers exchanged puzzled glances.
This wasn't the scenario they imagined. What had happened to these people?
Megure coughed and asked, "Then... who took them down? How did they end up like this?"
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone's eyes subconsciously shifted toward Toru, who was sitting calmly on a nearby chair, resting.
Unlike the cold looks they'd given the police, the crowd looked at Toru with admiration and gratitude.
Megure and the officers followed their gaze. It was clear now that this young man had taken them all down.
Megure holstered his gun and approached with a friendly smile. He asked, "Young man, can you tell us what happened here?"
Before Toru could respond, a petite girl squeezed her way through the crowd and said, "Officer, I have a video of what happened."
As she spoke, the girl glanced at Toru, her eyes full of admiration and awe.
Megure's eyes lit up at the mention of video footage. "What's your name, young lady? Can we take a look at it?"
She nodded quickly. "Shiroishi Keiko. I'm a first-year at Tsukinomori Girls' Academy. Here's the video I recorded."
She handed her phone over to Megure. She had already backed it up by sending it to her X account and email, though it was still under review and hadn't been posted publicly.
Megure took the phone. Miwako, Takagi, and a few others leaned in, eager to see what had happened.
Miwako seemed to recognize her voice and asked, "Were you the one who posted the rescue video on X earlier?"
Shiroishi Keiko nodded. "Yes, that was me."
They began watching the video. It was short, less than two minutes.
In those two minutes, Toru used precise, brutal swordsmanship to kill the attackers' leader. Then, with clean, powerful Karate moves, he dispatched the rest.
His movements were sharp, almost like the video was sped up. Even the officers watching couldn't keep up with the speed of his swordplay.
Several officers looked up at Toru from time to time, their expressions shocked and disbelieving. If it weren't for the bodies and injuries on the ground, they might have thought it was a movie shoot.
Miwako's eyes sparkled. She whispered under her breath, "That's incredible..."
With that level of martial skill, he could be the chief instructor of the Imperial Guards—no, the instructor for the entire national police force.
Megure immediately sent some officers to search the rest of the floor for any hidden suspects.
At the same time, he relayed instructions to bring in more officers and medical staff to assist the wounded.
He didn't know the exact number of casualties, but just from a glance, the severity of the injuries was obvious. His scalp tingled at the thought.
This was no minor incident. The senior officers would definitely get involved. The lower-level staff might only get warnings, but for something this big, heads could roll.
He hoped Commissioner Hakuba wouldn't be forced to resign over this.
Megure had always admired Commissioner Hakuba, a diligent and responsible leader.
"Inspector Megure, over here for a second."
Miwako, wearing gloves and inspecting one of the attackers' bodies, called him over.
He walked over and crouched beside her. "Miwako, did you find something?"
She pointed to one of the bodies. "This guy doesn't appear injured on the outside, but I checked. His sternum is completely broken, and I think his spleen is ruptured too."
Miwako wasn't a forensic expert, but she could judge the basics.
Megure frowned. "What's wrong with that?"
She took a deep breath. "Did you forget the video we just saw? This guy was punched by that student."
"One punch crushed his sternum and ruptured his spleen. Don't you think that's a bit much?"
Megure paused, then gasped.
Was this guy even human? How heavy was that punch? It had to be over a ton.
Even Tyson wouldn't survive that.
He and Miwako then checked the other bodies. Most had been killed with a single punch or kick.
The worst one was the leader. His chest was torn open, organs exposed, half his face shredded.
Two or three had miraculously survived, but judging by their condition, they were completely crippled.
This young man wasn't just highly skilled in martial arts—his attacks were ruthless, always aiming for vital points. He clearly had an incredible amount of real combat experience.
Megure and Miwako exchanged looks, then walked toward Toru again, this time with clear caution.
But for Miwako, as a woman, there was also something else in her expression when she looked at him.
Toru had only killed criminals and saved many innocents. In Miwako's eyes, that kind of ruthlessness wasn't cold-blooded, it was justice.
Seeing the hesitation on Inspector Megure's face, Toru stood up and smiled politely. "Fujiwara Toru, first-year in the Faculty of Politics and International Studies at Tokyo University."
"First-year? Tokyo University?"
Megure's eyes widened. When did Tokyo University start producing monsters like this?
Still, he quickly recovered and smiled. "Well done."
"Without you, I don't even want to think how many more people would've died."
He glanced at the corpses. It was clear how brutal these attackers had been.
Out of curiosity, he asked, "Fujiwara-kun, where did you learn all this?"
Toru replied with a smile, "I lived in Florida for a while. You know how it is there. If you don't have any skills, you can't survive."
"I didn't formally study martial arts, just practiced Karate. I'm currently in the Karate club at Tokyo University."
Conan, who had been following quietly, also inspected the attackers' bodies. Seeing the injuries, the corner of his mouth twitched.
This guy was basically a walking Gundam.
Florida doesn't allow people without skills?
Bullshit.
Conan muttered internally. This level of power isn't something regular Karate 3.7 can produce. And his combat instincts… they weren't for show. They were honed through real life-or-death fights.
This Toru guy… he definitely has a complicated past.
Megure, unlike Conan, wasn't overthinking it. He noticed the knife wound on Toru's arm and asked, "Is your injury alright?"
"It's not serious."
"You should still have it looked at in the hospital later."
"Of course."
Megure then added tactfully, "Fujiwara-kun, we'll probably need to take a statement from you later. We hope you'll cooperate."
Even though Toru had killed so many, Megure knew he was completely innocent.
In fact, he'd probably become a national hero. The Prime Minister himself might shake his hand.
So even as a police officer, Megure didn't dare to act high and mighty. He had to give him a heads-up, in case Toru misunderstood.
If someone like Toru became displeased, especially with how bad the police's reputation was lately, a small-timer like him couldn't take the heat.
Toru smiled. "No problem. Cooperating with the investigation is my duty."
His calm, friendly demeanor was completely different from his previous cold, lethal aura.
At that moment, both Megure and Miwako found him incredibly likable.
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)