"I said give them a month."
Meeting everyone's gaze, Zenkichi spoke calmly.
"Even if they have evil intentions?" Tony Stark asked.
"So what if they have evil intentions? They simply don't have the ability."
Looking straight at the other side, Zenkichi continued, "Within this month, I won't do anything to them. But if a month passes and I still don't get what I want, if they dare to resist, I'll make them pay a heavy price—one they'll regret for the rest of their lives. That's enough."
"Go back to bed. It's late already."
He glanced at the time. It was two, maybe three in the morning.
---
Meanwhile, at a military base in the States, tension filled the command room. Many high-ranking officials stood in silence, their faces grim. They were discussing the failure of today's operation.
They all knew their plan had collapsed.
"I told you, we shouldn't have done this. Sending a handful of killers with some explosives to eliminate him? Ridiculous! All we did was expose ourselves!" one of the senior executives snapped, his face red with anger.
He hadn't supported the idea from the start.
Everyone else remained quiet, but they knew he was right. Unfortunately, they hadn't had a choice. The order had come from that Man himself, and disobedience meant certain death.
They exchanged uneasy glances, all sharing the same thought—speaking against Dragon Man was a death sentence. And indeed, he was observing them even now.
"Boom!"
The sound split the air as a flash of force exploded across the room. In an instant, the outspoken executive was hurled against a steel wall, his body embedding deep into it. His life force flickered and then went silent. Dead.
"What I hate most," the Dragon Man said coldly, not sparing the corpse a glance, "is being criticized behind my back."
The room froze.
"What should we do next?" someone finally asked cautiously.
"He didn't even notice me," Dragon Man said, frowning in thought. "Or rather, he didn't care. To Arakawa Zenkichi, you're nothing but ants. Now, listen carefully—lure him toward the coastline. Don't resist until then. Once he's there, leave the rest to me. The location will be the Hong Kong Bay. Don't make mistakes."
His gaze swept across them like a blade. "If you fail, you'll pay with your lives."
The temperature in the room seemed to plummet. The senior officials shivered as if they had been thrown into an ice cellar.
Without another word, Dragon Man turned and left. He had delivered his orders; wasting more time here was beneath him.
"Lead him to the beach?"
The officials exchanged baffled looks once more. Why the seaside? At their level of strength, shouldn't the battlefield environment make little difference? Wouldn't that only give Zenkichi more of an advantage?
Confusion hung heavy in the air.
---
Sorry for the short word counts, not my fault 😔