Inside the cafe, Oda Takikage lowered the reading glasses on the bridge of his nose and glanced at Xia Pingzhou across the counter.
He then slowly lowered his head to read the newspaper, speaking in a warm, deep voice:
"Tonight, the remaining three mbers will arrive in Tokyo. If you want to find soone to spar with, you can look for Number 5. Her na is Lan Duo Duo... she is relatively soft-hearted."
"No," Ji Minghuan shook his head, cutting him off. "I only want to spar with you. Forget about the other mbers."
According to the official data provided by Sakura Bud, mber No. 4 of the brigade, Oda Takikage, was classified as a Dragon-tier peak Esper.
The Japanese authorities might have so margin of error in estimating the strength of the other mbers, but Ayase Origami and Oda Takikage were individuals who had fled from a yakuza family. The Japanese governnt's understanding of them was undoubtedly far superior to their knowledge of the rest.
Even if there were discrepancies, they would not be far from their true strength.
Therefore, Ji Minghuan wanted to try fighting the Dragon-tier peak Oda Takikage...
To see with his own eyes exactly how vast the gap was between them.
There was another reason as well. Although Oda Takikage appeared tall, bulky, and heavily built, he was the type of enemy that Host Body Two struggled with the most: a speed-type ability user.
"Apologies, but I still have no desire to exchange blows with you. I do enough fighting and killing on a regular basis, it's rare to have so downti..."
Oda Takikage kept his eyes lowered on the newspaper, his voice earnest and calm. "Number 12, why don't you calm your mind as well, sit down, and drink so coffee? You don't need to worry about the auction house operation. We will take responsibility for killing them all."
Despite claiming to be weary of slaughter, Oda Takikage was completely unruffled when he uttered the words "killing them all". To this ninja butler, taking a life was like clocking in for work—he couldn't be bothered to do it, but he was accustod to the routine.
"Kitten, you're hissing."
Ayase Origami spoke indifferently, withdrawing her gaze from Xia Pingzhou's face to continue reading her Haiku Collection "Four-Leaf Clover".
Seeing that Oda Takikage remained unmoved, Ji Minghuan turned his head and looked at Ayase Origami with a blank expression. He stated solemnly:
"Not only is the kitten hissing, but he is also running away from ho."
Pausing for a mont, he added, "I might as well go follow that long-lived Vampire Old Lady."
Ayase Origami looked up from her haiku collection and stared motionless at Ji Minghuan, just watching him for a while.
Her eyes were indifferent and hollow, giving off the sa eerie feeling as a traditional Japanese doll sitting on a shelf in the dead of night. However, Ji Minghuan remained completely unfazed, quietly returning her gaze.
A mont later, Ayase Origami lowered her eyes back to the haiku collection and, without lifting her head, spoke to Oda Takikage:
"Takikage, be a cat teaser wand for a bit."
Although it was a distinctly vague phrase, Oda Takikage instantly understood the Yakuza Young Mistress's aning. Without hesitating for even half a second, he slowly set his newspaper down on the table.
"Understood, Young Mistress," he replied in a flat tone.
"It isn't quite appropriate to exchange blows here. We can find a secluded, abandoned building nearby."
Ji Minghuan spoke without looking back, stepping out of the quiet cafe first. The bright sunshine rushed against his face, carrying the sumr heat and causing a montary daze.
Ten minutes later.
Ji Minghuan and Ayase Origami arrived near Tokyo Bay at a building whose construction had been halted halfway due to uncontrollable circumstances, and ascended to its top floor.
Last night, this was the exact spot where the legendary bandaged man fought a grueling battle against the terrifying clock tower figure. As a result, one could see that the already ssy abandoned building had suffered even further, its walls riddled with horrifying craters.
It must have been an evenly matched battle.
Among them was a massive human-shaped crater, as if soone had been forcefully hamred into the wall like a nail. Just looking at the lingering scars on the building was enough to make one gasp in shock. One did not even need to think to know just how intense the battle had been.
Ayase Origami cast a sweeping glance over these marks, though she did not pay them much mind.
"Where is he?" Ji Minghuan asked aloud.
Too lazy to answer, Ayase Origami simply threw a glance at the ground not far away.
Imdiately after, a puddle-like shadow drifted over from that spot, and a giant-like silhouette slowly surfaced from within the darkness.
By this ti, Oda Takikage had changed into his pitch-black masked ninja attire, carrying a sword hilt on his back. His exposed eyes were sharp and frigid; compared to the earnest older gentleman in the cafe, it was as if he were an entirely different person.
"Young Mistress, it seems soone fought here," Oda Takikage said, turning his head to survey their surroundings.
"It doesn't matter. It won't affect anything."
Saying this, Ayase Origami raised her hand. Sketchbook pages shot out from the cuffs of her ochre-red kimono, sealing all the windows in the blink of an eye. This ensured they would not cause too much of a commotion, but it also instantly plunged their surroundings into darkness.
In the pitch-black environnt where one could not even see their own fingers, Ji Minghuan and Oda Takikage locked eyes from dozens of ters apart.
Inside this abandoned building, a major ethical incident involving a "father viciously beating his son" had just occurred last night. If this place accidentally devolved into a large-scale "cat abuse scene" today, the sight would be simply too tragic to bear.
If both host bodies were damaged here, it would thoroughly prove that this location was an ominous place, making it unsuitable to ever set foot in again.
At this thought, Ji Minghuan suddenly turned his head to look at the gaping holes left on the walls. A mont later, he turned back to et Oda Takikage's gaze.
As if viewing Oda Takikage as Ghost Bell and turning his grief and indignation into fighting spirit, his expression turned icy. He took a step forward.
Amidst the distinct sound of footsteps, a Celestial Drive was unleashed from Xia Pingzhou's body.
Black and white halos swirled around him, forming a M??bius strip. Along the ring, chess shadows orbited him like satellites, emitting a faint glow that illuminated their surroundings like fireflies.
At the sa ti, a perspective akin to a chess player looking down at a chessboard appeared in Ji Minghuan's mind.
This overhead view allowed him to clearly see everything within a thirty-five-ter radius centered on himself. As Host Body Two's ntal attributes increased, the range of the "chessboard" seed to have faintly expanded as well.
Oda Takikage remained unmoved, standing silently in place like a statue, seemingly wanting to let the newcor make the first move.
Extending his right arm, Ji Minghuan raised his hand to touch the chess shadows on the black and white ring.
Imdiately after, one chess piece after another was fully summoned, standing around him like a formidable legion, while he was the commanding general upon the battlefield, exuberant and bold.
Two Rook chess pieces, three Ironclad Soldiers, one Queen Colossus, and one King Colossus—this was the entirety of the combat power currently at Xia Pingzhou's disposal.
The three Ironclad Soldiers wielded greatshields and tightly gripped longswords, forming an imposing human barricade at the forefront.
The two black iron Rook chess pieces loaded their ammunition with a chanical "Clack-clack
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