With preparations complete, Akira stepped out of the safety of the penthouse and led his highly specialized scouting team onto the main streets of the city, bringing them out of the Domain and the expanded room.
The girls were instantly confronted by the grim aftermath of the global collapse and the recent cleanup. The contrast with the perpetually clean, expanded penthouse and the lush, magical island was horrifying.
The faces of the entire team turned pale as they took in the devastation: widespread wreckage, smashed infrastructure, and the eerie, desolate silence broken only by the wind moving through the ruins.
The most acutely affected were those with enhanced sensory perceptions: Kuroka, Koneko, and Tsunade, who were attuned to Senjutsu (natural energy) or possessed profound medical and life-force insight. They could sense the lingering death, the abrupt disruption of the world's natural flow, and the pervasive trauma etched into the very environment.
Koneko, her voice uncharacteristically shaken, managed to ask, "Is... is this the condition of your world, Akira-sama?"
Akira nodded grimly. "Yes. This is the reality now." He then offered a small, terrifying piece of perspective. "In fact, Pekalongan is lucky. At least no planes crashed directly into the city. The destruction is purely on the ground."
The grim scene served as a confirmation of the urgency of their mission, instantly tempering any remaining amusement or skepticism among the team and driving them true gravity of their task.
Koneko, still visibly shaken by the devastation, followed up on her initial question, probing the personal cost of the collapse.
"What about your family?" she asked, her concern focused on the human element amidst the ruins.
Akira's expression remained neutral, but the answer was simple and final. "I am an orphan and a single child," he replied. "No family left, only a few people who can be genuinely called friends."
Koneko paused, processing the loneliness inherent in that statement. "And what is the condition of those friends right now?"
Akira gave a faint, rare smile, a genuine moment of relief piercing the pragmatic facade. "They'll do just fine," he assured her. "I have no doubt because on our chat group they is still on fire about everything. They're more than capable of handling this chaos."
Akira and his assembled team arrived at the Gate's coordinates in Pekalongan after approximately thirty minutes of utilizing their combined mobility skills. The location was stark: an abandoned shopping mall, its structure already bearing the signs of neglect and chaos.
Akira, prioritizing stealth and strategic positioning, guided the girls to hide in a nearby abandoned house, providing immediate cover and a vantage point.
Akira immediately tasked his surveillance experts with checking the perimeter for any non-hostile human presence that might complicate the mission.
By Using her Byakugan, Hinata reported that the military presence was already established, focusing on securing the area.
"There are some officers starting to take control of the immediate area, about two blocks from our current hiding place. They are setting up a perimeter."
Hanabi's Byakugan revealed a more worrying threat lurking in l. "It's not just a few people sneaking around. There are a lot of people converging on this location, approaching from outside the officers' perimeter. They are coming in groups and individually, and many are carrying various items used as weapons."
This indicated that the it had already birthed opportunistic looters or desperate survivors converging on the unknown Gate for perceived treasures or resources.
Akira processed the report: the military was a known variable, but the other Candidate were an unpredictable element. He needed to avoid a skirmish with either group before the Gate opened.
"Alright," Akira instructed, looking at his team. "The military is securing the perimeter; the candidate are gathering outside it. We are not engaging either group right now. We will maintain absolute silence and stealth until the Gate opens. We will only go in after the others have already entered."
This plan ensured that any initial chaos would be contained, allowing Akira's stealth-based team to move in and complete the mandatory defense.
The tension in the air was palpable as the countdown clock in Akira's left eye finally ticked down to zero.
The abandoned shopping mall began to warp, its reality bending until the epicenter of the structure was replaced by a shimmering, ominous purple gate. The color was unnaturally vibrant and nasty, confirming its hostile, otherworldly nature.
Seeing the Gate fully materialized, the civilians Candidate began rushing the entrance from various directions, eager to stake a claim on whatever resources lay inside. They were quickly swallowed by the purple glow.
Following the initial rush, the military personnel near the two-block perimeter started to move in, their training evident as they deployed in an organized manner. A few soldiers, however, remained outside to maintain the outer perimeter and establish a makeshift command post.
"Now," Akira whispered, seeing the opportunity he had waited for. Leveraging his integrated stealth abilities (Veil of Silence and Silence Step), Akira led his team rush out of the house. Moving with perfect silence and coordination, they slipped past the outer military cordon and the few remaining guards without detection.
Akira and his team moved toward the Gate, vanishing into the swirling, purple light to begin their mission of defense.