Inside a Government Building — Restricted Security Wing
The subordinates of the Numbers gathered around a massive oval table. Multiple screens displayed reports and footage of what had happened to the hunter teams.
Faces were tense.
The atmosphere was thick with anger and embarrassment.
One of them slammed his fist on the table.
"— A single creature… defeated multiple trained teams?! This is unacceptable."
Another replied firmly:
"— We are no longer dealing with an ordinary criminal. This is a national-level threat."
A medical report appeared on one of the screens:
"Permanent hallucination cases — no confirmed treatment so far."
Silence filled the room for several seconds.
Then the highest-ranking official among them spoke:
"— Enough. We will no longer rely on special squads or bounty hunters."
He looked at everyone in turn.
"— We're deploying Special Forces."
"— And we will activate every authority available to us."
"— I want full emergency powers authorized for his capture."
They exchanged looks.
Then, one by one, they nodded in agreement.
"— So be it…"
"— Let's end this farce."
Elsewhere — A Crowded Ramen Shop
Glober sat calmly before a steaming bowl of ramen, vapor rising in front of his face.
He looked completely ordinary.
But behind his eyes… dozens of perspectives flowed simultaneously.
His scattered clones across the city were feeding him everything they saw.
The plan was unfolding exactly as he intended.
As he lifted his chopsticks, he reviewed his thoughts.
Back at the hotel…
He had extracted a sample of his blood.
Analyzed it.
Identified the exact blood type.
Then he went to the black market…
And purchased massive quantities of matching blood.
Now—
He was no longer limited.
He could create numerous clones of himself.
Clones no longer bound to a fixed duration.
He divided them carefully:
• Defense Units —
Equipped with advanced military-grade weapons, stationed around strategic locations.
• Engineering Units —
Working on constructing the device whose schematics he had stolen from U.S. intelligence.
• Technical Units —
Continuing to develop software and sell it through multiple front channels.
The result?
A financial fortune exceeding fifty million dollars.
And still growing.
Glober finished his meal calmly.
Set the chopsticks aside.
Paid the bill.
Left without drawing attention.
In a Nearby Alley
The lighting was dim.
Humidity lingered in the air.
Glober suddenly stopped.
Without turning around, he said calmly:
"— You can come out now."
Moments passed.
Then—
A shadow shifted between the walls.
The ninja stepped out.
He held two sharpened iron rods, each roughly thirty centimeters long.
His eyes were steady.
He spoke in a low, clear voice:
"— You're bold… coming to a place like this alone."
Glober replied calmly:
"— And who are you?"
"— Another bounty hunter?"
The ninja's tone shifted slightly, as if offended.
"— Don't compare me to those fools."
"— I was hired specifically for you."
He paused.
"— And I'm curious… are you truly an alien?"
A faint smile crossed Glober's face.
"— Come closer… and you'll have your answer."
The ninja subtly adjusted his stance — clear preparation to attack.
"— Interesting confidence."
The moment he was about to dash forward—
He suddenly stopped.
A faint presence behind him.
Without hesitation—
He spun with astonishing speed and struck with one of the iron rods.
One of Glober's insects fell to the ground, twitching before going still.
The ninja said calmly, confidently:
"— If you intended to ambush me with that…"
"— You miscalculated."
"— We ninjas train our senses until we can feel an ant moving around us."
He glanced at the fallen insect.
"— Was that your way of testing your opponent?"
Glober replied without emotion:
"— Correct… I wanted to measure your reaction speed."
A brief silence.
Then—
Glober slowly slipped his hand inside his jacket.
He pulled out a strange black pistol — unconventional in design.
Not a standard firearm.
He said in a calm tone… laced with excitement:
"— It seems this encounter… will be entertaining."
The ninja tightened his grip on his weapon.
The air between them grew charged.
The distance was short.
But the feeling—
As if two worlds were about to collide.
They stood facing each other in the narrow alley.
One second of stillness…
Then the battle erupted.
Glober raised his strange black weapon—
A sharp flash burst from it, without the traditional sound of gunfire.
A laser beam pierced the wall behind the ninja as if it were paper.
The ninja leapt sideways at the last possible instant.
"— What is that weapon?! It's dangerous."
His movement was closer to sudden disappearance than a simple jump.
A second shot.
The beam sliced into the ground,
asphalt scattering like glowing sparks.
Instead of retreating, the ninja rushed forward.
He hurled one of his sharpened iron rods with deadly precision.
Glober shifted half a step—
The rod grazed past his face and embedded itself in the wall behind him.
"— I see… primitive weapons turned lethal. Interesting."
Glober fired three consecutive shots.
Walls were pierced.
Metal dumpsters split apart.
But the ninja never stayed in one place longer than a moment.
He tossed a small smoke bomb.
A silent explosion of thick smoke filled the alley.
Glober closed his eyes briefly…
Then smiled.
"— Smoke won't help you."
His vision was not ordinary.
He suddenly turned and fired directly behind him.
The ninja emerged through the smoke as if stepping from one shadow into another,
sliding beneath the beam by mere millimeters.
He closed in.
A swift strike with the iron rod aimed at Glober's neck.
Glober raised his forearm and blocked.
Metal collided with human bone—
But nothing broke.
The ninja's eyes widened slightly.
"— Your body is human… but not natural."
They stepped back.
Glober fired at close range.
The ninja kicked a metal container to use as a momentary shield.
The beam pierced through it —
but it bought him a fraction of a second.
It was enough.
He charged.
A rapid sequence of blows—
Elbow.
Side kick.
Low spinning strike aimed at the leg.
Glober blocked the first,
caught the second,
but took the third and slid half a meter backward.
"— Impressive…"
Glober suddenly concealed his weapon.
"— Let's make this more exciting."
He assumed a Kung Fu stance.
The ninja tilted his head slightly, concealed his weapons, and adopted a ninja combat stance.
"— You're starting to excite me."
He advanced.
Now—
The fight became hand-to-hand.
Fists clashed at high speed.
Kicks tore through the air.
Glober moved with inhuman discipline,
each strike calculated with precision.
The ninja relied on fluidity —
transitioning seamlessly between different martial arts:
A karate strike.
A judo throw attempt.
Ninjutsu evasions.
A Taekwondo-like spinning kick.
Close engagement.
Their hands locked.
Each tried to break the other's balance.
Their feet slid over shattered asphalt.
Face to face now.
The ninja said in a low voice while pushing him:
"— You're stronger than a normal human…"
Glober replied, restraining his arm:
"— Because I enhanced this body after merging with it."
A powerful shove.
They separated.
"— When I took over…"
"— I reshaped the muscle fibers."
"— Increased bone density."
"— Accelerated neural response speed."
The ninja lunged again.
They exchanged ten strikes in barely two seconds.
Both attacked and defended.
Both adapted quickly.
The ninja grabbed Glober's shoulder and attempted a shoulder throw—
But Glober reversed the motion,
Nearly slamming him down —
if not for the ninja twisting mid-air and landing on his feet.
They paused briefly.
Breathing heavily.
The alley was filled with laser holes and destruction marks.
Glober smiled faintly.
"— You're close to my level, even so."
"— For a human… that's impressive."
The ninja replied, eyes burning with focus:
"— And you…"
"— Are better than I expected."
A short silence.
They stood facing one another again.
Breathing hard.
Light sweat glistening under the streetlight.
The ninja smirked.
"— Alright… I've finished warming up."
Glober's eyebrow rose slightly. He gave a cold smile.
"— Good… because now I'll fight seriously."
Slowly, the ninja drew a short sword — sleek, resembling a compact katana.
Its blade gleamed under the light.
Then — with a single step — he entered the shadow beside him.
Glober froze briefly.
The shadow… swallowed him.
"— Wait… what is this?"
Suddenly—
A presence behind him.
He turned—
The ninja emerged from Glober's own shadow, blade thrusting toward his back.
Glober bent at the last second.
The sword sliced past his shoulder.
He leapt away.
"— This makes no sense… these techniques exist only in comic books."
"— Is this some trick?"
The ninja returned to a ready stance, half his body submerged in shadow.
"— Not a trick."
"— These are secret techniques… known only to first-rank ninjas."
He vanished again.
The shadows around Glober became living threats.
Iron rods launched from multiple shadows at once—
Right.
Behind.
From the ground.
He blocked the first.
Twisted to avoid the second.
Caught the third with difficulty.
But the fourth grazed his side.
He exhaled sharply.
"— This… is annoying."
Suddenly—
He turned and ran.
Leaping over a car, sprinting toward the main street.
The ninja watched briefly, then said coldly:
"— Disappointing…"
"— You flee just as the fight truly begins."
He flowed into the shadows, pursuing through unseen pathways.
On the street, Glober ran through civilians.
Screams.
Chaos.
People scattering.
Then—
One person collapsed behind him.
Then another.
Then a third.
No visible wounds.
The ninja had drawn a fukiya — a slender blowgun.
He blew.
A thin dart shot forward almost silently.
Another.
And another.
One struck Glober in the neck.
He staggered.
Touched the wound.
A heaviness spread through his limbs.
His vision blurred slightly.
"— A sedative… strong."
He tried to accelerate, but his steps became unstable.
He turned into a narrow alley.
Stumbled.
Fell to his knees… then to the ground.
The ninja approached slowly, shadow stretching ahead of him.
Fukiya in hand.
He stood over him.
"— It's over."
Glober struggled to lift his head.
Eyes half-closed.
His hand moved slowly toward his pocket.
The ninja didn't notice.
A small click.
Then—
An explosion of light.
Not sound—
But a flood of blinding white radiance.
The alley became a field of pure brightness.
The ninja shut his eyes instinctively, stepping back.
Seconds passed…
The light faded.
He opened his eyes cautiously.
Glober had been lying above a partially open manhole.
Using the flash grenade, he had bought himself enough time to escape.
The cover was displaced.
No sign of him.
The ninja rushed forward.
Looked down.
Darkness…
And the faint sound of someone running.
The ninja tightened his grip on the fukiya.
"— You won't escape me…"
Then he followed swiftly.