Just now, when Natsu stopped attacking, the woman thought Kaizen hadn't noticed her.
But just as she tried to slip away quietly, Natsu stepped in front of her again.
She froze.
From the look of things, he wasn't here to kill her—only to hold her back.
She couldn't understand it.
"Even if you wanted to keep me alive... this doesn't make sense."
The guards had either fled or been killed.
Only Kaizen's group remained.
Natsu kept the woman contained.
Ponzu monitored the bee radar.
Kaizen, meanwhile, opened his laptop.
On the screen were surveillance feeds from inside the manor—whatever cameras still worked.
There were three intruders in total.
One had already been pinned down by Natsu.
Of the other two, one was clashing with Tucker.
The last was cutting through the regular guards like paper.
The one facing Tucker appeared to be a Nen user—who had materialized a full suit of armor to enhance his defense. He wielded a long spear in one hand.
"This ability's a bit like Susanoo from Naruto, isn't it?" Kaizen muttered, half to himself.
Tucker and the armored intruder were evenly matched, at least for now.
As for the third intruder—a woman wielding an oversized pair of scissors—she tore through the crowd of guards like she was mowing a lawn.
Total domination.
"This isn't a conjured weapon," Kaizen noted. "It feels more like... raw destructive power."
...
Suddenly—
BOOM!
An explosion rocked the estate.
A silent strike team emerged from the shadows. Each one was a Nen user, fully geared up with elite weaponry.
In terms of aura, none were especially powerful.
But their arsenal was top-tier. Combined with Nen, it was more than enough to threaten anyone without strong defensive Hatsu.
The explosion's shockwave forced the intruders to retreat.
Then—
Da-da-da-da-da!
A rain of bullets tore through the air toward the intruder with scissors.
Temporarily, she was suppressed.
A figure stepped into the open.
It was Karoo.
He bared his teeth in a grin.
"Dark Night, huh?"
"You trying to kill me?"
"Then come on!"
"I'm standing right here—come and take your shot!"
"Trying to make me your target... You're dreaming."
...
Meanwhile, Tucker began gaining the upper hand.
His ability made him stronger the longer a fight went on. The more damage he took, the harder he was to hurt.
At the start, he had to dodge with caution.
Now? He could tank a few hits without flinching.
The armored intruder's face twisted in frustration.
"What's going on with Nessley?"
"Why hasn't she restrained Tucker yet?"
"Did something happen to her?"
"Tucker shouldn't be strong enough to beat her… Nessley is stronger than I am."
Tucker glared at his opponent, his voice calm and firm.
"This country's falling apart because of people like you. One by one, I'll wipe you out... and this nation will be saved."
"Face judgment!"
A brilliant light surged across Tucker's body.
BOOM!
A powerful blast struck the armored intruder squarely.
CRACK!
A visible fracture split across his armor.
The force launched him backward—straight into a nearby building, which immediately began to collapse around him.
He was buried in the rubble.
BOOM!
A moment later, he burst out again.
But his armor was still cracked and failing to regenerate.
He charged at Tucker once more.
Their battle resumed.
...
Elsewhere, the scissors-wielding woman ducked behind the building's edge. The firepower Karoo's men laid down was too much to endure head-on.
In terms of defense, she was nowhere near the level of Uvogin from the Phantom Troupe.
Karoo's grin widened.
"So that's all Dark Night's got?"
"I didn't expect an assassin to look that good... what a waste. Once I catch you—I'll enjoy breaking you."
"You'll make an excellent plaything."
But then—
CRACK!CRACK!CRACK!
A series of sharp sounds rang out.
The woman dashed forward with sudden speed, dodging bullets with agile footwork.
She held her scissors in front like a shield.
The cracking came from the stone pillars and walls of the old castle around them.
Karoo's smile vanished.
Something was wrong.
BOOM!
The castle trembled violently.
Chunks of stone rained down.
One block. Then another. Then dozens. Then hundreds.
The entire roof caved in.
Walls buckled and gave way.
The armored intruder looked up, stunned.
"Nice one," he muttered.
The entire castle collapsed into ruin.
...
Debris buried Karoo's guards, stewards, and servants in moments.
To ordinary people, escape was impossible.
The collapse was too sudden.
Only a few—Tucker, the two intruders, Karoo, and a dozen or so men with strong aura or sheer dumb luck—managed to survive.
Tucker's expression darkened.
His whole body trembled.
"This... this is too much."
"Unforgivable!"
"Innocent people were buried here!"
"You monsters are the cancer of this country!"
"I will judge you all!"
...
Karoo's face was so grim, it looked as if it could drip water.
This castle was his.
His pride and joy.
He designed every inch of it, from the upper halls to the underground vaults.
It was his soul given stone.
And now... it was gone.
"Dark Night...!"
"I'll never forgive you!"
"I'll see you dead!"
...
The two intruders regrouped.
"Not sure what happened to Nessley... maybe she couldn't make it. That Tucker guy really is a beast," one said.
"I'll try to hold him off as long as I can."
"But I won't last."
"You need to kill Karoo—fast."
The other nodded grimly.
"I'll do my best."
...
Due to the castle's collapse, surveillance signals had dropped sharply.
Only a few roadside cameras were still transmitting.
Kaizen stared at the screen. The footage was grainy and sparse.
But just enough to make out what was happening.
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