Night was about to leave; dawn was about to arrive.
"I'll blend in with Wenide's people and go to the East District with you."
Amos's voice pulled Kisho's nearly scattered consciousness back together—the poison flaring up had left him barely lucid.
"...Mm-hm."
Kisho paused for a moment before answering lazily. The dull ache throughout his body made him too lazy to think and too lazy to talk.
"I left five people in the East District earlier; they didn't come with me. By now they've definitely been sent to the firefight zone as cannon fodder." Amos said calmly. "I don't know if they're still alive. I'm going to look for them."
"...Mm-hm."
"Even though I hate socializing, if I want to take my things back, I still need some manpower." Amos stared at the languid Kisho.
"First, set a small goal. Within one month, take care of the White Eagle Association, put Wenide in the chairman's seat, and then do our best to get the White Eagle Association into Chelsea Taber's line of sight."
"...Mm-hm."
"If everything goes smoothly, when Chelsea Taber attends the Elders' Council in early May, we can blend in with the entourage and go together."
Kisho opened his eyes, curious.
"And then?"
"Why aren't you saying 'mm-hm' anymore?" Amos frowned.
"Mm-hm."
"..."
Ever since it was the Elders' Council, my bargain-bin older brother would definitely be there."
At that moment, Kisho clearly felt the surging killing intent erupting from Amos's nen.
He smiled, two small fangs biting lightly into his lip.
"Then I kill my brother, and I become an elder."
Kisho: "..."
...
In the early morning, the garbage mountain was at a pleasant temperature, and the air smelled better than it would after the sun fully rose.
Amos and Kisho crawled out of the trash heap, facing the faint light as they climbed to the top of the garbage mountain.
"Speaking of which..." Kisho turned his head to look at Amos and asked,
"You know so much about the White Eagle Association—did you have your subordinates investigate it? You'd already wanted to make use of the White Eagle Association's power, hadn't you?"
"Mm." Amos nodded. "At the border between District Nine and District Five, only the White Eagle Association's influence is worth a look. There wasn't really any other choice."
Kisho was puzzled. "Aren't those two of yours nen users?"
"The two elders of the East District and West District have never gotten along, so I came to the West District. That way, my brother's hand can't reach over too obviously."
Amos explained calmly. "Nen users attract attention the moment they make a move. My brother can't easily send too many nen users over. But at the same time, if the protection is too obvious and the West District elder notices my identity, I won't end well either."
Amos stared at his own hand and said softly, "Besides, even without all that, I don't feel comfortable letting other people protect me so casually."
Kisho said, "Something wrong with those two?"
Amos replied, "They were sent by my father's butler."
"On the surface it's protection, but the meaning of surveillance is just as obvious. It's just that the butler's stance is relatively neutral. Even though he's heavily relied on by my brother now, whether because of my father's last orders or some other consideration, he doesn't want me dead."
Amos sneered as he summed it up.
"So he'll go to some effort to maintain the situation where 'I can't use nen and can't leave, but I also won't be killed by my brother'—that's the 'balance' he wants."
Amos fell silent for a moment, then asked,
"You're asking me this because you want to learn more about nen from those two, right?"
Kisho smiled slightly. "Of course. Half-baked understanding leads to huge losses—I've already paid a heavy price once. If I don't get something like nen completely clear, I really won't be able to sleep peacefully."
"Really? I thought you slept pretty soundly last night."
Amos put on a puzzled look.
"Honestly, the first time I saw someone in Meteor City sleep that deeply at night."
Kisho: "...That was from the pain. Don't talk nonsense."
"Heh." Amos laughed disdainfully, his face clearly saying, "Do you think I believe that?"
His expression darkened slightly as he said slowly,
"For those two, keeping me from contacting anything related to nen is a standing order. But after I got rid of my brother's people, they should already know I've learned nen."
Kisho tilted his head slightly and asked, "Will they report it to that butler?"
"I don't think so. After all, that butler isn't exactly a good person either."
Amos laughed coldly. "If they let me die, that's mission failure. If they fail to watch me and let me learn nen, that's also mission failure."
"Mission failure either way means a dead end. In that case, they might as well follow you all the way?" Kisho said in understanding. "Who knows—maybe they'll even rise to power later."
Amos nodded. The two looked at each other and shared a knowing smile.
"Ha." Amos stood up. "Let's go. First we'll find Wenide. The lessons can wait—after I get back from the East District tonight."
Kisho stood up as well. Side by side, the two sped toward District Five.
...
The two arrived outside Wenide's base.
Amos gestured that he would hide in the shadows. Kisho nodded, walked to the entrance of the base, and looked inside.
Wenide stood in the middle of the open ground. Behind him were his subordinates and a group of minor leaders, facing off against a burly man.
That burly man was one of the hall masters Kisho had seen when he secretly watched the White Eagle Association's meeting.
There were plenty of people standing behind him as well. The man grinned viciously, clenching his fists until his knuckles cracked.
"Wenide, I'm doing you a favor by borrowing people from you. Don't be so fucking ungrateful."
"I'm putting this out here today—whether you want to lend them or not, you're lending them."
Wenide glared at him with an iron-blue face, but his gaze slipped past the man and landed on Kisho standing by the door.
Kisho gave him a slight nod, signaling that he could leave this guy to him.
Wenide's expression immediately eased, the heaviness in his eyes dissipating.
"Hall Master Beyer, we're all from the same gang. Helping you out is naturally no problem."
Wenide smiled politely. His words made his subordinates and those minor leaders' expressions change abruptly—none of them were originally Beyer's people. If Wenide 'lent' them to Beyer, their only fate would be being pushed to the front as cannon fodder.
Beyer also dropped his smile, the mockery in his eyes retracting somewhat.
This acting hall master he had always looked down on had refused to cooperate just a moment ago, then suddenly changed his tune—the contrast made him feel something was very wrong.
"It's like this. I've only just taken the position, and the people under me aren't very convinced. So—if Hall Master Beyer, you can make them submit from the heart, and they're willing to work for you, I absolutely won't say a single extra word."
Wenide stepped back half a pace politely. "How about it?"
As Wenide spoke, Kisho slowly walked into the courtyard and lifted his eyes toward Beyer. In the man's suddenly darkened gaze, he curled his lips and gave him a friendly smile.
He really did look friendly—but Beyer didn't see it that way.
"Wenide! Are you fucking messing with me?!"
Beyer stared at Kisho. This kid who might not even be ten years old yet, not even reaching his chest in height, was standing there so brazenly in front of him. He felt an unprecedented humiliation.
He cursed angrily, strode toward Kisho, raised his arm, and smashed a heavy punch straight at him.
Along with the rush of his fist, the group of minor leaders and lackeys behind him flashed bloodthirsty light in their eyes—impatiently waiting to see the scene of the ignorant brat's head being smashed to pieces.