"No matter what his endgame is, we have to intercept him at Tokyo Bay," Chisei Gen said, his voice cold and steady. "We cannot allow him to successfully revive a Dragon King on Japanese soil."
Even if Herzog's underlying strategy remained obscured in the dark, the fact that the monster had openly stepped into the Shadow Eight Families' territory meant the Execution Bureau could not stand idly by.
"Sakura, has Cassell College responded to our priority transmission?"
"Principal Anjou confirmed they have dispatched an elite field squad," Sakura Yabuki replied, her fingers swiftly running over a handheld terminal. "However, their flight from Chicago will still take several hours to enter Japanese airspace."
Hearing Sakura's report, Chisei let out a quiet, measured breath. Everyone in the room understood that relying solely on the strength of the Japanese Branch to confront a fully realized White King was nothing short of suicidal.
"Transmit our unredacted telemetry and field logs to them immediately," Chisei ordered. "They need full visibility on the board. Facing Herzog without their firepower is a gamble we can't afford."
"Understood."
Sakura executed the transfer through Kaguya-Hime. Although Kaguya-Hime and Cassell College's supercomputer, Norma, maintained an active data-sharing protocol, both factions had always kept their core intelligence compartmentalized. But with an apocalyptic threat looming over the Pacific, there was no longer room for political maneuvering. Chisei held nothing back.
[Cassell College — Principal's Office]
"Well, well," Fingel von Frings gasped, staring at the holographic feed projected onto the glass table. "Looks like our proud High Patriarch is genuinely sweating bullets. He actually sent the raw, unencrypted files."
"It appears our initial strike team won't arrive in time to secure the perimeter," Principal Hilbert Jean Anjou murmured, his tailored suit pristine as he adjusted his pocket watch. He glanced up, his blue eyes locking onto the tall, disheveled student sitting across from him. "Fingel... how about you take a direct flight out as the vanguard?"
"Huh?! Principal!" Fingel nearly choked on his coffee, his eyes wide in theatrical horror. "I came in here to submit a formal medical leave request! How can you press-gang a poor, defenseless senior like this?!"
Fingel threw his hands up in despair. "Big Boss, that's the White King we're talking about! Are you trying to get me murdered? I'm just a measly B-rank slacker! Sending me against a resurrected dragon monarch is like throwing a level-one novice at a raid boss right after the tutorial!"
A fierce, loud round of haggling and theatrical begging echoed through the mahogany-paneled office.
Ten minutes later, a tall, slender young man with unkempt blonde hair dragged his feet dejectedly out of the office, clutching a first-class ticket to Tokyo. Through the crack in the heavy double doors, Anjou sat in the dim light, a faint, razor-sharp smile playing across his lips.
[Tokyo Bay — The Industrial Docks]
A sleek black sedan slid to a halt near the edge of the water. Chisei Gen stepped out into the damp sea air, flanked by Yasha and Sakura.
"This is the exact coordinate where the surveillance tracking cut out," Yasha barked, stepping ahead toward the perimeter guards. "Did you find physical tracks?"
The public docks had been completely cordoned off. Dozens of burly Execution Bureau enforcers in black suits combed the concrete piers and rocky coastline.
A squad leader rushed forward, bowing low. "Master Yasha! We found anomalous imprints near the low-tide line. Someone breached the water from this platform."
Chisei walked over to the edge, his sharp eyes scanning the wet sand. Several sets of distinct footprints led straight into the dark waves. A few paces further out, a massive, rectangular depression was stamped deep into the seabed silt.
"A mini-sub," Chisei deduced instantly. "They went directly into the ocean trench."
The Shadow Eight Families maintained an arsenal of deep-sea exploration vessels; Chisei recognized the ballast displacement marks immediately.
"Why the deep ocean?" Yasha muttered, scratching his scarred neck. "Smuggling?"
"No," Chisei's eyes narrowed into icy slits. "Deploying a high-pressure submersible means their destination is thousands of meters beneath the surface. And they were carrying the Bone Reliquary Jar... Could it be...?"
Connecting the scattered puzzle pieces in his mind, a chilling conclusion surfaced.
'Herzog hasn't just secured the Dragon King's remains... he holds the exact spatial coordinates to an undersea Nibelungen.'
With Cassell College's modern firepower actively suppressing dragon incursions globally, even Herzog would want to avoid an open, terrestrial conflict until his ascension was absolute. An isolated, high-pressure dimensional pocket beneath the Pacific was the perfect sanctuary to hatch a god.
'But why did he leave such an obvious breadcrumb trail?' Chisei questioned internally.
If Herzog wanted to resurrect the Dragon King in absolute secrecy, slipping into the ocean undetected would have been trivial for an operative of his caliber. Why intentionally expose his face to Tokyo Bay's harbor cameras and leave the black-market broker alive to talk?
"I don't know what trap he's setting," Chisei said, his voice tightening. "But we cannot allow that ritual to conclude. Yasha, prep our deep-sea submersible. We are going down after them."
"High Patriarch... isn't that far too reckless?" Sakura asked, her brow furrowing with genuine concern. "Entering an unmapped trench without Cassell's heavy artillery..."
"If Herzog revives the Dragon King beneath Tokyo Bay, the resulting tectonic rupture will sink the entire prefecture," Chisei replied flatly. "We don't have the luxury of waiting. Leave a tactical team on the surface to guide Cassell's vanguard the moment they land."
[The Tokyo Hotel]
Simultaneously, back in the luxury hotel dining lounge, the tense standoff between Crow and the Avengers finally reached a temporary ceasefire.
After reviewing the classified bio-data Hawkeye had retrieved, Tony Stark had dialed back his open arrogance. He recognized that the Execution Bureau possessed the raw biological capability to turn the city into a war zone if pushed. Following a calculated exchange of diplomatic concessions, Natasha was smoothly returned to the team.
BUZZ.
Crow's encrypted burner phone vibrated against his palm. He tapped the receiver to his ear.
"If you're finished playing diplomat with the Americans, get to Tokyo Bay immediately," Chisei's stern voice came through the speaker. "We have a critical breach."
The line went dead. Crow's relaxed posture froze for a fraction of a second, his carefree expression hardening.
Though he quickly masked it with his trademark cynical grin, the momentary shift in his eyes did not escape Tony Stark's sharp observation.
"Mr. Saeki," Tony said smoothly, adjusting his smart-glasses. "You found your thief, didn't you?"
Crow remained silent, offering a slow, unreadable look.
"Your private security forces are mobilizing heavily around Tokyo Bay," Tony continued, tapping his wrist to project a live satellite feed. The holographic display showed Chisei, Sakura, and dozens of black-suited enforcers prepping heavy maritime equipment by the docks. "Need a few extra hands?"
Crow stared at the projection, his icy mask suddenly melting into a broad, amused smile.
"If the mighty Avengers are volunteering for deep-sea duty... who am I to say no?" Crow chuckled, clapping his hands together. "We're partners, after all. Let's take a little field trip."
The sudden, effortless pivot left the Avengers on high alert.
Following Crow out to a convoy of idling black sedans, Natasha watched his car through the rearview mirror as they sped toward the coast.
"Keep your weapons prepped," Natasha warned over the private comms channel. "That man didn't invite us because he wants backup. He's leading us straight into a slaughterhouse."
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Give me powerstones.
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