This time, the voice of a middle-aged man appeared, causing an inexplicable chill to run down Sakunosuke’s spine. How could this voice resemble that of the current leader of the Port Mafia?

Sakunosuke denied this possibility; Chief Mori didn’t seem like someone who would be so accommSakunosuketing.

He spoke cautiously, “No need to be polite. May I ask if you know who Dororo is?”

The other person replied, “I know.”

Without giving Sakunosuke a chance to ask further, the middle-aged man said helplessly, “She’s my daughter. Hundred Demons and she are very close, but these two kids always clash. She smashed my clinic, and she won’t even let me see Hundred Demons.”

Wow, she’s fierce, smashing her own family’s clinic?

That was Sakunosuke’s first impression of the woman.

“However, Hundred Demons has a friend in Dororo named Nakahara. He knows Dororo’s whereabouts… Ah, I can’t say more. Kindly inform him on my behalf. It’s late, I wish you success. I have to continue working; it’s not easy to make ends meet these days.”

The call ended with the person claiming to be Dororo’s father hanging up.

Sakunosuke was puzzled; something didn’t seem right, but the person sounded sincere.

Later, Sakunosuke received the address of Leibo Street.

With no other choice, he bid farewell to Hyakki and hurried to Leibo Street, which was nearby, to find Hyakki’s friend and ask for help in taking care of the partially organ-deficient youth.

Upon receiving his notification, Nakahara became extremely agitated, his temper so fiery it seemed like he might break down the walls.

“What did you say?!”

He raised his voice, unconcerned about disturbing others. “I took that bluefish over there half a month ago, and that bastard abandoned Hyakki at the clinic, not bothering to take care of him?”

Just the thought of ignoring Hyakki for half a month, leaving him to wait anxiously at the clinic entrance, eating only freshly caught fish and murky river water every day, made Nakahara’s lungs feel like they were about to explode. The blue in his eyes ignited with anger, and the dark red glow of his supernatural power appeared on his body once again.

“Ta-i-za-i-chi!”

Sakunosuke discreetly took a step back, finally remembering the identity of the orange-haired youth.

At Leibo Street, there’s a Gravity Manipulator.

Wait, who is Dazai again? Why does he sound like someone prominent from the Port Mafia?

Without much thought, Sakunosuke asked, “Can you help him find Dororo?”

“Find…” Nakahara laughed furiously, walking out of Leibo Street, pulling down his hood. “I’ll take him to find Dororo during the day, I guarantee Dororo’s skull will hit the wall!”

Aggressive!

Seeing his friend’s desire for vengeance, Sakunosuke advised, “It’s not very kind to treat the person he likes like that.”

Nakahara replied indifferently, “It doesn’t matter. If he dies, I’ll help him find someone else.”

Sakunosuke: “…”

In his mind echoed the words from the first phone call, where the caller mentioned that Dororo had already been buried. Whether true or not, it might be time for her to be laid to rest during the day.

Ignoring Sakunosuke’s dilemma, Nakahara found Hyakki, carrying a large bag of food.

“Eat and rest, and I’ll take you to find her during the day!”

“Dororo…”

“No problem, I’ll help you beat Dazai Lolo!”

“?”

Hyakki looked at the vigorous flames of life burning within him and inexplicably felt a sense of peace.

[We’ll definitely see her, right?]

“We will.”

Nakahara understood his plea, his blue eyes softening, and the anger towards Dazai eased by Hyakki.

He couldn’t stand by and watch good people be bullied or Hyakki be mistreated.

Living wasn’t just about being alive!

In the morning, after the rain, Yokohama’s city center welcomed two people. Nakahara led Hyakki to the base of the Port Mafia’s Five Towers, let go of his hand, and cracked his knuckles, bones making a creaking sound.

The guards at the entrance looked warily at the two unfriendly individuals.

The indifferent face of Hyakki and the fierce expression of Nakahara deeply betrayed their intentions.

In the headquarters building, Dazai struggled to get up, his bones sore, his head spinning. He tore off the fever patch from his forehead, grabbed the phone placed by his pillow, and checked the surveillance footage.

The table in the clinic was littered with scattered food wrappers.

“Hmm?”

“Did he also buy food?”

Dazai rubbed his throbbing temples with his fingertips, leaning back on the pillow, contemplating whether the Armed Detective Agency accepted storage services. He wanted to move Hyakki, who might attract attention from   Mori, to a safer place. Surely, Ranpo, with his “Super Deduction” ability, would understand his intentions without him having to explain.

There’s no more time to waste; the longer it’s delayed, the more likely things will go wrong.

He didn’t intend to abandon Hyakki, nor did he want Hyakki to misunderstand him. The best solution was to find a safe place and send him there until he found someone to treat Hyakki.

Dazai retrieved Fukuzawa Yukichi’s business card information from his mind and dialed the number of the President of the Armed Detective Agency.

“Hello, this is Dazai…”

Before long, Fukuzawa’s phone was snatched by Ranpo, who happily exclaimed, “You want to send Hyakki to us? Great idea! Hurry up!”

Dazai’s smile stiffened. Why was the other party so proactive?

He’s for storage!

Not for you to take Hyakki!

 

Ranpo said naturally, “Of course, this detective knows what you’re thinking. We don’t mind if you see the Armed Detective Agency as a place to leave unwanted children. As long as Hyakki is willing to join the Armed Detective Agency, the President and I will find ways to contact medical ability users both domestically and internationally.”

Dazai remained expressionless, having already guessed his follow-up arrangements.

Why did he feel particularly reluctant?

Once Hyakki interacted with others—especially] Ranpo—he would further understand this world, rather than remaining outside of it like Dazai, drawing warmth only from wandering.

“Okay…”

If he couldn’t clean it up himself, then let Hyakki interact with clean people.

Suddenly, the alarm in the building blared!

Dazai widened his eyes, rushing towards the window, pulling open the curtains to observe the chaos downstairs.

He saw the commotion happening at the base of the building with his keen vision.

Someone… invaded the Port Mafia!

A mumble from Ranpo came from his phone, “Well, he’s here to see you.”

Inside the Armed Detective Agency, the renowned detective who stubbornly remained in the president’s office set down his phone with a regretful expression. It was so close, he could’ve easily recruited a new member.

Maybe even a buy-one-get-one-free deal, ah… missed the promotion.

“President.”

 Ranpo leaned on the chair with both hands, looking expectantly at the silver-haired Fukuzawa Yukichi.

“What is it?”

 Ranpo, afraid that the world would not be chaotic enough, said, “How about we go to the Port Mafia to snatch another person!”

Fukuzawa tapped his head, knocking some sense into him.

“Everyone has their own choices.”

He heard the entire conversation and, unlike Dazai and Ranpo, didn’t possess a lonely mind, but he understood the importance of respecting others’ opinions more than these two immature brats.

Even in the face of darkness, they would forge ahead and create a path of light!

Justice and evil were about people, not things!

In the office of the Port Mafia’s leader, Mori held his head in his hands and unplugged his landline.

“Damn brat!”

Dazai, unable to reach the leader’s phone, exclaimed urgently, forgetting about his illness and fever. He dialed Nakahara’s number at the fastest speed, not giving him a chance to speak, “Take Hyakki away!”

Without hesitation, Nakahara replied, “You come down!”

Dazai said, “Are you trying to trap Hyakki in the Port Mafia? He doesn’t belong here…”

From Nakahara’s end came the sound of punches landing, along with the clash of blades, making Dazai’s scalp tingle. He deduced that Tazaki Hyouzou of the “Golden Yaksha” had already gone down.

Nakahara arrogantly responded.

“Your thoughts are in chaos, Dazai. Come down to see me and Hyakki!”

“Otherwise—”

“I’ll bring Hyakki up to find you!!!”

Ignoring risks didn’t mean they lacked intelligence; it meant they had enough confidence to survive!

Dazai hung up the phone, covering his forehead. “It must be Mori trying to trick me… taking advantage of my fever, he added sleeping pills to my IV, making me completely unaware that Nakahara went to see Hyakki. No, Mori wouldn’t tear his face with me for no reason. What is he trying to achieve?”

These two people rarely met, but they were particularly good at causing trouble when it mattered most.

Dazai selectively forgot that he was the one who caused the most trouble and harbored a grudge against Mori.

Meanwhile, Mori was also troubled.

Mori looked at the second letter in his hand, this time from Natsume, where his teacher harshly criticized his teaching methods, questioning if he wanted to go back to the drawing board.

“Teacher Natsume… I didn’t intend to trick them. Sigh, why doesn’t anyone believe me?”

In front of him, Elise burst into laughter.

The blonde girl clapped her hands on the table. “You’ve been caught by Teacher’s attention again! The corner that Teacher valued, you’ve been scolded!”

The Port Mafia faced its greatest crisis since the leadership change.

—They’ve been visited.