After dealing with Masamune Tachibana, otherwise known as Jung von Herzog, Jovian met with the remaining patriarchs of Hydra.
A cigar hung between his lips as he blew out thick clouds of smoke, his gaze slowly sweeping across every person present.
"You have already accomplished everything you came here to do. May we ask why you are still here?"
The patriarchs stared at Jovian with open hostility.
Although Jovian had helped them eliminate their greatest enemy, he had crushed all of Hydra's pride at the same time. Their feelings toward him were extremely complicated. They hated him for destroying their dignity, yet reason told them that they should be grateful.
At the same time, the instinctive respect and submission they felt toward overwhelming strength made them unconsciously treat him with deference.
"Your 'father' is dead. He was nothing more than a remnant of the Third Reich."
"Now you can have a new 'father.' I will guide you toward a new age of glory, just as General MacArthur once did."
Jovian spread his arms toward the patriarchs, clearly intending to take complete control of Hydra and all the power it possessed.
"You…"
The expressions of the patriarchs changed dramatically.
They had not expected Jovian's ambition to be so enormous.
"Follow me, and I will lead you toward far greater rewards!"
"Follow me, and I will make you great again!"
"As for what happens should you refuse, you can consider the consequences yourselves."
A confident smile remained on Jovian's face.
Hydra would belong to him by the end of the day. Not even a Dragon King could stop him.
"We…"
One of the patriarchs glared angrily at Jovian.
They were the heirs of Hydra, the descendants of noble samurai. How could they so easily bow their heads to someone else?
"Please give us one day to consider your proposal. We will provide you with an answer in twenty-four hours."
Before the patriarch could voice his objection, Katsu Inuyama covered his mouth and stopped him.
Katsu looked respectfully at Jovian and requested a single day. He was certain that after twenty-four hours, they would provide Jovian with the answer he wanted.
Jovian did not respond immediately.
He pulled back the sleeve of his military uniform and checked the time on the elegant Patek Philippe around his wrist.
Then he looked at the gathered patriarchs.
"I'll give you eight hours. When I wake up, your answer had better be ready."
Katsu remained silent for several seconds before nodding.
"Very well."
"Now prepare a clean room for me. I need a proper rest."
With his hands clasped behind his back, Jovian coldly issued his instructions to Katsu and the others.
"Of course."
The Hydra patriarchs nodded together and prepared their finest room for him.
Outside Genji Heavy Industries, the sky was gray and overcast.
Rain fell one drop at a time, striking Chisei Gen's cheeks before running down his face and neck.
As the rain grew heavier, Chisei appeared to be standing beneath the storm and silently weeping.
He was completely alone, surrounded by nothing except loneliness and despair.
"Patriarch…"
Inside the building, the beautiful, curvaceous female ninja who served as one of Chisei's closest retainers watched him standing beneath the pouring rain and prepared to go outside.
"Let him clear his head alone."
Before she could leave, however, a shrewd-looking man wearing glasses stopped her.
The bespectacled man silently watched Chisei's lonely figure in the rain.
What a lost and uncertain soul he had become.
Perhaps Chisei no longer knew whom he could trust or what he was supposed to do.
The female ninja looked at the figure enduring the violent rain. Her heart ached, yet she was powerless to do anything.
All she could do was remain where she was and quietly watch that solitary figure from a distance.
Sometimes she wondered about something.
He had once saved every one of them by himself.
Now that he was the one who needed salvation, who could possibly save him?
The rain continued to fall, growing heavier with every passing moment.
Chisei remained outside until his entire body was soaked and he looked like a drowned rat.
Then a white umbrella suddenly appeared above him, blocking the dark clouds and the torrential rain.
Chisei froze in surprise and lowered his head.
A beautiful shrine maiden with long red hair stood beside him. The adorable girl struggled to control the umbrella with one hand while taking out her small notebook with the other.
She waved it repeatedly in front of Chisei.
Only one sentence was written on the page.
"Let's go home!"
Those few simple words pierced directly through Chisei's heart.
He first wiped all the "rainwater" from his face, then pushed his soaked, disheveled hair back.
Finally, he gave the young shrine maiden a bright, refreshing smile.
"Let's go home."
Masamune Tachibana might be dead. Strictly speaking, apart from the blood running through their veins, neither Chisei nor Erii could truly be considered members of Hydra.
Even so, the building behind them was still their home.
Countless members of their family were still waiting inside.
Chisei took the umbrella from the adorable shrine maiden. His expression regained its usual cold composure as he held the umbrella over her and escorted her into Genji Heavy Industries.
Once inside, he addressed his waiting subordinates.
"We're going back to work. Do not lower your guard. The true test of Hydra begins now."
"After this upheaval, countless opportunists and monsters will start crawling out of the woodwork. It doesn't matter who or what stands in our path. We will cut them down with a single strike."
"Understood!"
His subordinates bowed their heads and shouted in unison as they looked at the commanding presence Chisei had regained.
They knew that the patriarch of the Gen family had returned.
Eight hours later, Jovian opened his eyes precisely on schedule.
The first thing he saw was an adorable shrine maiden carrying the fresh scent of body wash and playing with a yellow rubber duck.
"What are you doing here? Didn't I tell you to wait for me at the base?"
Jovian looked at the girl sprawled across his bed while playing with her toy.
"I ran away!"
The girl picked up the small notebook beside her and used it to communicate with him.
"You ran away?"
Jovian frowned.
So many soldiers had failed to keep watch over a single girl. That was completely unacceptable. It appeared that his men needed far more intensive training.
With that thought in mind, Jovian picked up his phone from the bedside table.
The number of messages on his screen made it look as though the device was about to explode.
The first messages were from his second in command.
"General, Miss Erii escaped. We didn't dare stop her…"
"General, we tracked Miss Erii to Genji Heavy Industries!"
"General, Miss Erii appears to have entered your… Ahem…"
"Please pretend I never said anything. I didn't see anything either…"
Jovian fell silent after reading the messages.
Then he opened the message sent by Hydra's representative, Chisei Gen.
"We have reached a decision."
Chisei's response was brief, clean, and direct, just like the man himself.
"Heh."
"A wise choice."
Jovian sneered after reading Chisei's answer.
He tossed the little shrine maiden lying across him to the other side of the bed, climbed to his feet, and put on his military uniform.
Only then did he look at the girl, who was rubbing her sore backside with a pained expression.
"Come with me. It's time to meet my new subjects."
Erii stared at him with her huge, sparkling eyes and nodded repeatedly.
When Jovian and Erii entered the enormous conference room, every patriarch of Hydra was already waiting inside.
Led by Chisei Gen, they all dropped to one knee before Jovian.
"Greetings, High Patriarch!"
"Heh."
Jovian looked at the kneeling patriarchs without the slightest surprise.
Before absolute authority and enormous profits that were already within reach, even these people who considered their bloodline superior had no choice but to submit.
"Excellent."
"From now on, I'll have the Japanese government, the police, and American forces cooperate with your efforts to expand and strengthen your families."
"Do not disappoint me."
"Remember, I can make you great again, but I can just as easily cast you down into the dirt."
Jovian confidently addressed the patriarchs before him.
"We will remember your words!"
None of Hydra's patriarchs objected.
Just as Jovian had said, as long as he remained the Supreme Commander of U.S. Forces Japan, he could turn Hydra into history whenever he pleased.
"Chisei Gen, come with me."
After completing the formalities, Jovian approached Chisei.
"What are your orders?"
Chisei looked respectfully at Jovian, as though he had genuinely submitted.
"Nothing important."
"There's merely a personal matter I want to discuss with you. Erii, you should come as well. There's something I want both of you to see."
Jovian then prepared to leave Genji Heavy Industries with Chisei and Erii.
"Understood."
Chisei nodded to the other patriarchs before following Jovian and Erii outside.
A brand-new Cadillac One was waiting for them at the entrance.
Jovian and Erii sat in the back, while Chisei took the position normally occupied by Jovian's bodyguard.
"There's someone I want you both to meet."
"Now that I think about it, he's actually related to you."
Jovian addressed Chisei and Erii.
"Related to us?"
Chisei and Erii exchanged glances. Both could see the curiosity in the other's eyes.
The vehicle traveled through the city and eventually arrived at a secret base.
When Jovian and the others stepped out, the soldiers stationed there saluted in unison before opening a set of massive reinforced doors.
Beyond them was a highly advanced laboratory.
Researchers in white coats constantly moved through the facility.
"The greatest biologists in the world work here."
Jovian walked ahead of Chisei and Erii with his hands clasped behind his back, introducing the facility as they moved deeper inside.
"And the organisms they study are dragons."
"Did you bring us here merely to show us this base?"
Chisei looked at Jovian in confusion.
"Of course not."
"I brought you here to see this person."
Jovian led Chisei and Erii into the deepest section of the laboratory.
Inside a massive tank filled with liquid floated a beautiful young man whose delicate appearance almost resembled that of a woman.
He lay completely still, as though sleeping eternally, untouched by the outside world.
"He's…"
Chisei's pupils contracted violently when he saw the young man inside the tank.
The boy floating silently before him was none other than his younger brother.
His younger brother, Chime Gen, whom Chisei had supposedly killed with his own hands.
"Surprised?"
"Your brother never died. However, Jung von Herzog tampered with his mind."
"To completely purge the violence and cruelty inside him, I helped set him free."
"I erased all of his memories and created an entirely new identity for him."
Jovian stood with his hands behind his back, speaking coldly as he faced the young man inside the tank.
"Can you please let him go?"
"I'm begging you."
Chisei stared at his brother inside the tank.
After a long silence, he turned toward Jovian and bowed deeply.
"You're making it sound as though I'm the one who hurt him."
"Remember this clearly. You were the one who 'killed' him, not me."
"Jung von Herzog was the one who controlled him, not me."
"I was the one who freed him from his past, severed every chain restraining him, and gave him a new identity so he could live peacefully in this world and enjoy a quiet old age."
"Compared to me, aren't you the one who should finally let your brother go?"
Jovian looked calmly at Chisei.
Chisei's body trembled.
He did not answer, but he seemed to finally understand something.
"Perhaps he'll be able to fulfill your dream someday and sell sunscreen on Montalivet Beach in France."
After speaking, Jovian clasped his hands behind his back and began walking away.
Without looking back, he continued speaking.
"Spend what little time remains with your brother."
"When he opens his eyes again, he will bid farewell to Hydra forever."
"He will also sever the tragic and brutal destiny that has haunted Hydra for generations."
"Thank you…"
Chisei bowed deeply toward Jovian.
He remained bent forward until Jovian's figure disappeared at the end of the corridor.
Only after Jovian had completely left did Chisei straighten again.
He gently placed his hand against the enormous tank surrounding his brother and stood there in silence.
One month after Japan's Great Gas Leak Incident, everything appeared to have returned to normal.
The blazing summer sun hung high in the sky, and countless students had returned to their comfortable homes to enjoy their long-awaited vacation.
Lu Mingfei, Cassell College's strangest and most hopeless S-rank student in history, was no exception.
He had experienced far too many incidents overseas during the past year.
Now he wanted nothing more than to spend his entire vacation playing computer games to his heart's content.
Meanwhile, at an international airport in China, a group consisting of two men and one woman disembarked from an ordinary passenger flight arriving from Japan.
Although all three wore hats and sunglasses, they still attracted considerable attention.
Sometimes being too attractive was inconvenient.
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