Chapter 188: But then, a ninja appeared.
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 188: But then, a ninja appeared.
The 20th floor of the Kyoto Continental Hotel.
Here, an engagement ceremony was being held for a young man and woman from the Fujiwara and Saionji families, who could be called the representative noble houses of Kyoto.
Despite having invited only close friends and relatives, all 500 seats were already filled.
Every single one of them was eagerly awaiting the appearance of the day’s main couple.
"For the two families to reconcile after fifty years... this is truly a historic moment."
"Young Master Sai... I hadn't seen him since he was a child, but he's grown up so splendidly."
"And Kumiko is more than ready for marriage, isn't she?"
"This is truly the birth of the couple of the century."
The banquet hall buzzed with the chatter of the guests.
Amid the clamor, someone at the entrance of the hall shouted in a loud voice.
"The President is now entering!"
Silence.
The moment those words were spoken, the hall, which had been as noisy as a marketplace, fell unnervingly quiet.
The President.
There was no need to explain who that title referred to.
Saionji Harunobu (西園寺 晴信).
The head of the Saionji Group, who had held his position for nearly fifty years since first becoming chairman at the age of thirty-four.
He was also the current head of the Saionji family, a noble house with a long and proud history.
As Harunobu slowly walked across the carpet, the members of the Saionji family rose in unison and bowed their heads.
"Yes, yes, it's been a long time, everyone."
Waving his hand with a gentle voice, Harunobu made his way to a seat prepared in the very front row.
Waiting for him there was Fujiwara Yoritomo, the father of Fujiwara Sai and the head of the Fujiwara Group.
As their eyes met, he was the first to bow.
"It has been a long time, Chairman Saionji."
"Indeed, it has. Yoritomo. Was the last time we saw each other at the previous chairman's funeral?"
"We met once, three years ago, at the Japan-Korea Business Council meeting."
"Ah! Right, right. So we did."
Harunobu clapped his hands as if he had just remembered and agreed with him.
‘Pretending not to know when he clearly does. The sly old fox.’
Thinking this to himself, Yoritomo shook Harunobu's hand and sat down at the same table.
"Still, I am glad we could meet again on such a joyous occasion. To be honest, I never thought our two families would reconcile in my lifetime."
"I once thought the same. But isn't it true that one can never predict what lies ahead in life?"
"Of course, that's true. I also never imagined I would be sitting side-by-side like this with you, President, a friend of my father's."
"Hahahaha, you still have a long way to go."
After exchanging such barbed pleasantries, they began to ask about each other's recent affairs as if nothing had happened.
Of course, it wasn't out of genuine curiosity.
It was merely a formality, a way to maintain the decorum and etiquette appropriate for the occasion.
It was while the two family heads were chatting and laughing.
Without any warning, all the lights in the banquet hall suddenly went out.
"Oh..."
"It seems to be starting."
Immediately after, the emcee standing on the podium grabbed the microphone from its stand and spoke.
"Ladies, gentlemen, and children, thank you for making the journey to be here today! You've waited long enough! It is time for the stars of today's engagement ceremony, the couple Fujiwara Sai and Saionji Kumiko, to make their entrance!"
On the emcee's cue, a dazzling spotlight shone down on the red carpet in the center.
With it, a man and a woman dressed in white appeared.
"Waaaaaah!!"
A thunderous cheer erupted, and applause poured in from all directions.
Fujiwara Sai and Saionji Kumiko, who had been waiting in the wings, finally revealed themselves and stood side-by-side at the entrance.
Perhaps it was due to their superior genes, but both were handsome and beautiful, making them a well-matched pair even to a stranger's eye.
Fujiwara Sai spoke with a gentle smile in his eyes.
"Shall we?"
Saionji Kumiko replied, her face stiff and hard.
"...Let's."
When she extended her right hand, clad in a white cotton glove, Fujiwara Sai took it and escorted her.
The two slowly began to walk forward.
‘Yoo-Sung...’
The stage drew closer.
Saionji Kumiko naturally thought of the face of the man she adored.
The promise they had made last summer on a deserted island where no one ever came.
‘I’m sorry.’
Even though she had confessed first, she couldn't even wait half a year and was now holding an engagement ceremony with another man.
She couldn't blame him if he despised her, calling her a fickle woman.
It was something she had been prepared for long ago.
From the moment she was born as the child of a prestigious family, wanting to date someone of her own choosing and hoping for a love marriage was a luxury.
Since ancient times, marriage and engagements had been one of the best political tools for the powerful.
"Miss Saionji."
Just then, Fujiwara Sai, who was walking beside her with his arm linked through hers, suddenly spoke.
"What is it?"
"Smile. There are many eyes on us, are there not?"
"...I'll handle that myself."
A fake smile.
Normally, she could conjure one up anytime, but today, for some reason, it wouldn't form properly.
It was probably due to her troubled heart.
But as he said, if she maintained a blank expression in such a public place, she could tarnish her family's name.
So she forced a smile.
Watching Kumiko from the side, Fujiwara Sai finally turned his head with a satisfied expression.
When the two came to a stop before the podium, the emcee, a former comedian, began to run his mouth.
"Wow~ Today's stars are both so handsome and beautiful. If my girlfriend looked like this young lady, I'd carry her on my back every day!"
Hahahahahahaha!
As the audience roared with laughter, the emcee, gaining confidence, started to jest even more.
"When did you two first meet? Five years ago? Ten years ago? Twenty years ago? Ah, twenty years ago, you probably weren't even born yet."
Hahahahahahaha!
The emcee wore a proud expression as laughter continued to erupt from the guests.
After livening up the atmosphere with a few one-liners, he began to proceed with the event in earnest.
"Now, for the first part of our engagement ceremony, we will hear a congratulatory speech. The speaker for today is Japan's Minister of Finance, Fujiwara Hatsuhiko! Everyone, please welcome him with a round of applause!"
At the emcee's call, an old man in a neat suit who had been sitting in the front row stood up.
Even if they were relatives, the fact that not a vice-minister, but the Minister of Finance himself was giving the speech was a clear testament to the prestige of the two families.
"Ah, ah, mic test."
The Minister of Finance, having ascended the stage, expertly checked the microphone before beginning his speech.
"We are now in the season of autumn, when the sky is high and the horses are fat. I would like to begin my address by expressing my sincere gratitude to Chairman Saionji and Chairman Fujiwara for inviting me to such a joyous occasion..."
It was at that very moment.
CRASH!
An incredibly loud noise suddenly came from the ceiling of the banquet hall where the guests were seated.
"Kyaaaaaaah!"
"Is it an earthquake?!"
"What's going on?! Someone check right now!"
The guests fell into a collective panic.
And it was the same for the security guards who had been meticulously guarding the 20th floor.
CRASH!!
But before they could grasp the situation, another deafening roar echoed.
There was no time to figure out what was happening; thinking only of protecting the VIPs, the security guards rushed into the hall all at once.
Saionji Kumiko hastily grabbed a passing guard and asked.
"What's happening?"
The guard answered, flustered.
"I'm not sure myself. I heard our captain say something about going down to the 21st floor..."
KWA-AANG!!!
The moment the third mysterious boom sounded, a large hole, like a sinkhole, finally tore through the banquet hall ceiling.
Fragments of stone rained down like hail, and a cloud of dust billowed up.
"Protect the President and the VIPs!"
"Kyaaaaaaah!"
The sudden disaster threw the hall into a state of pandemonium.
"Cough! Cough!"
Coughing incessantly in a situation where she couldn't see an inch in front of her, Kumiko tried to figure out the cause of the hole in the ceiling, only to be startled.
And for good reason—over the debris of the collapsed ceiling, she could see the shadows of two people.
As the dust cloud settled, the people in the hall could identify the two figures, and several guests gasped in shock at the sight.
Hattori Hanzo, known as the strongest man in Japan since Fuma Kotaro's disappearance ten years ago, was lying there like a corpse.
And standing next to the unconscious man, a stranger in black slowly walked down from the debris and spoke.
"I've come to save you, Kumiko-senpai."
At that moment, the people there did not yet know.
That the man standing before their eyes would later be called the 18th Fuma Kotaro, the Nio, and the Strongest in Japan.