Chapter 186: 21F
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 186: 21F
The 16th and 19th floors.
With the help of the Vice President, who had been with me until now, and the reliable support of Ryuji, I had managed to ascend without having to fight the formidable enemies blocking my path.
But now, I truly had to overcome all adversities on my own.
Steeling my resolve, I headed for the 20th floor. Through the door, I could hear the clamor of guests attending the engagement ceremony.
'The security here is supposed to be tight.'
Following the Vice President's advice, I skipped the 20th floor and went straight to the 21st.
Creeak!
As I opened the emergency stairwell door and stepped onto the 21st floor, the hallway was dead silent.
I never expected such a stark difference with just one floor between them.
I closed the door carefully and took a step.
Clack—
Perhaps because I was wearing dress shoes, my footsteps echoed loudly.
But I didn't sense anyone approaching.
'I guess I'm safe for now.'
I let out a sigh of relief and moved forward.
'She said there was a staff elevator here that goes down to the 20th floor.'
I decided to first find the elevator, wherever it was on this floor.
There wasn't much time left.
'This place is unnecessarily spacious.'
It might not be a bad thing for the hotel guests, but for me, who needed to find the elevator as quickly as possible, it was just an annoyance.
It was then, as I was quickly scanning my surroundings and walking down the empty hallway.
Ding—
I heard the sound of an elevator stopping not far away.
I turned my head reflexively.
The doors of an elevator, which seemed to have come down from an upper floor, slowly opened. A middle-aged man in a black suit with a stern expression walked out.
His appearance and aura were anything but ordinary.
When his eyes met mine, the man spoke in a dry, toneless voice.
"Are you the infamous Vajra Yaksha?"
The fact that he knows that embarrassing nickname means he's definitely someone from the underworld.
"...What if I am?"
"This area is off-limits. If you turn back quietly, I won't lay a hand on you."
As he spoke, the man drew a shuriken from his thigh and aimed it at me.
Gulp—
I swallowed nervously without realizing it.
I knew it instinctively.
This man is strong.
Of all the opponents I've fought so far, the only one who might be as strong as him is Ivan.
But I had my own reasons for not backing down.
"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I can't do that."
As I replied, raising my fists into a fighting stance, the man muttered quietly.
"Yes, that's more like it."
The next moment,
Swoosh!
The man lowered his body and lunged at me like a predator.
'Fast!'
Even with my superior kinetic vision, I almost lost track of his movement for a moment.
The man in black, who had rushed in like the wind, twisted his body and threw a spinning back kick.
"Kuh!"
I managed to block it by a hair's breadth, but the impact left my left arm tingling.
I hastily enveloped my body in ki and tried to back away.
But a relentless storm of attacks came at me, as if determined not to let me go.
Keeping his body low, the man in black moved like a spider.
While dodging his attacks, I tried to counter with a soccer kick, but he entangled my leg with his arm as if he'd been waiting for it.
Thinking on my feet, I blasted Yang Energy from my leg to forcibly pry his hands off.
Annoyed that his surprise attack had been thwarted, the man clicked his tongue and retreated.
I breathed an inward sigh of relief and fixed my disheveled stance.
Meanwhile, the man slowly rose to his feet and said,
"You're not a complete amateur, I see."
Instead of wasting words, I simply beckoned him with my finger.
"......"
Whether he fell for the taunt or not, the man in black charged again in the same stance.
But I won't fall for the same trick twice.
I stomped my foot and powerfully thrust both fists, which I had gathered in front of my chest, forward.
Rushing Hammer.
A basic Baji Quan technique I learned directly from Li Meiling last summer vacation.
Perhaps because I stomped the floor with all my might, the hallway shook for a moment. The man's stance crumbled, and his upper body lost its center of gravity, pitching forward.
I didn't miss the opening and drove my awl-like fist into his face, which was now in the perfect position.
BAM!!
'It landed!'
I felt the solid impact.
But the fight ended so anticlimactically, far from what I expected. Thinking something was strange, I looked at my opponent's expression.
'He's smiling?'
The man was glaring at me with a crazed smile.
Poof!!
Immediately after, a huge cloud of smoke erupted from the man's body.
"What!"
I raised my voice in alarm.
And for good reason—the man who had been right in front of me just a moment ago had vanished as if by magic, and in his place lay a log.
"Ninjutsu, Substitution Jutsu."
Startled by the voice right behind me, I tried to turn around, but the man was a step faster.
"Ugh!"
A sudden blow to the back of my knees made my legs give out, and I fell to my knees.
He immediately twisted my arm behind my back to restrain me and pressed the shuriken he'd been holding to my neck.
The situation had been reversed in an instant, just when I thought I'd won. I was dumbfounded.
The man in black whispered from behind me.
"Looks like those old geezers from the Fuma Clan didn't teach you this trick, huh?"
"...Who are you?"
I've never told anyone that I went to the Fuma Clan's village with Fuma-senpai.
It's reasonable to assume, then, that the information was leaked from within the Fuma Clan.
As if sensing my suspicion, the man's lips twisted into a smirk.
"Hattori Hanzo. A man who has a bit of a bad history with the name you inherited, Fuma Kotaro."
*
Hattori Hanzo (服部半蔵).
The name of the leader of the Iga (伊賀), a ninja group famous for its activities during the Sengoku period.
The name Hattori Hanzo, practically synonymous with 'ninja,' is actually a hereditary title used only by the head of the Hattori family. In official history, the line ended with the 12th head, Hattori Masayoshi.
However, the bloodline of the Hattori clan left behind in the underworld has continued to the present day, and their techniques have not waned.
And this man, the 13th Hattori Hanzo, was said to be the most suitable man to revive the Hattori clan, whose lineage had once been broken.
His moniker: Onigumo (鬼蜘蛛).
The Hanzo who inherited the name of a demon.
That was the true identity of the man in black who called himself a vassal of Fujiwara Sai.
*
Hattori Hanzo and Fuma Kotaro.
Both are names of famous ninjas from the Sengoku period.
But they were also names that definitely existed in the modern era.
I don't know if it's because the industry is small or because Japan itself is small, but from the looks of it, Fuma-senpai's father and this man were rivals.
'And I've been dragged into it by chance.'
The deal was supposed to be that I'd only inherit the techniques, but somehow I'm being treated as if I inherited the name too.
Honestly, it felt incredibly unfair, but I didn't think explaining the situation now would change anything.
After all, this man came down here to stop an intruder.
With my arm twisted behind my back, I asked the man,
"Are you Hattori's father?"
"If you're talking about the girl who carries a sparrow on her shoulder, then yes. She is my daughter."
"Why did you have me watched? Surely you didn't foresee this situation."
"You're sharper than you look. That's right. At first, I had Ayame watch you because I thought the previous Fuma Kotaro would appear around you. I never imagined it would lead to this, though."
"So it's like a blind squirrel finding a nut."
"Something like that."
Honestly, now that I knew the full story, I was a little pissed.
To think that all the effort the Vice President and I put in could go up in smoke for such a trivial reason.
With my arm still twisted behind me, the man, Hattori Hanzo, spoke.
"The engagement ceremony should be starting soon. It looks like you've failed anyway, so why not just give up?"
"No."
"If you don't give up, I'll break this arm. You don't want to live the rest of your life as a cripple, do you?"
"No."
"...This is why I hate dealing with youngsters."
CRACK!
"—!"
As he forced it, my arm began to twist in a direction it wasn't supposed to go.
It felt like my muscles were about to tear.
But I gritted my teeth and endured.
If I give up now, there will be no one left to save the President.
That's why I can't give up.
Not even if all my limbs are broken. Never.
「You're such an idiot.」
Just then, a familiar voice whispered in my ear.
Startled, I lifted my head.
A single spirit, with only its head poking up from the floor.
Chiaki, who was supposed to be on the 19th floor, was right in front of me.
"How did you get here?"
「The Egyptian geezer seemed to have things covered downstairs, so I came up to play for a bit. You look like you're having a tough time, though?」
CRUUUUNCH!
The overwhelming pain made my teeth chatter.
In that state, I said to Chiaki,
"Help me."
Chiaki smiled brightly and reached out her hand to me.
「That's why I came here in the first place.」