читать дальшеReturn of Kings ~ Prelude
Green chapter
Mission 2055
Green clansman1: The night wind grows chilly at this time of year, so how much longer does the bastard plan to make us wait on this wind-exposed pier?
Green clansman2: Forget about that and kill the bike’s engine first! We can’t draw attention to ourselves!
Green clansman1: Don’t talk back to me, you useless backseat driver. If I kill the lights, I won’t see anyth– Oh, deigned to show up at last. You the courier for mission 2055? Hiding from prying eyes and smuggling something you fetched somewhere in Southern Asia as sea mail into the country. Awesome job you got there, buddy.
Green clansman3: Run your PDA, not your mouth.
Green clansman1: Heh. I know. Here.
Synthetic voice: Check completed. Mission 2055, receipt confirmed, 200 jungle points added to 3 players.
Green clansman3: Alright then, this is the cargo. Handle it with care.
Green clansman1: Ughoo…!
Green clansman3: Don’t drop it. Hand it over to the next guy, and the total of 400 points for just one night is yours.
Green clansman2: Agh, more importantly, let’s get out of here already!
Green clansman1: Don’t rush me, dammit. If you didn’t tag along, me and that guy coulda earned 300 points each! Why the hell are two G-rankers needed to deliver one stupid trunk anyway?
Green clansman3: That goes to show just how important this mission is, I guess. Well, I’ll be off then. Don’t screw it up and cause an uproar. It’d get in the way of my getaway.
Green clansman2: It’s gonna be OK. We’ve arranged for intel about a decoy deal taking place tonight to be fed to the Blues.
Green clansman1: Even if they get wind of this, we’re 2 G-rankers, you know. It’ll be easy for us to beat up those fake polic–
*searchlights power on*
Awashima: Attention, Green clan, “jungle”, and confederates. We are Scepter 4. In accordance with Article 2 of the Supernatural Regulation Exemption Act, we are taking you into custody!
Green clansman3: You morons, you were followed?!
Green clansman2: N-No way!
Green clansman1: Shit!!!
Green clansman3: H-Hey?!
Awashima: Men, draw your swords! Apprehend them!
Green clansman1: Like hell I’ll let ya nab me at a place like this! We’re running until we pawn off this trunk to the next guy! Hey you! Outta my way if you don’t wanna die!
Green clansman2: Damn… now that the shit hit the fan, I’ll do what I can! *screams and uses his psychic powers*
Blue clansman1: Lieutenant, the perimeter got breached.
Awashima: That road is blocked by 2 security vehicles, so no problem.
Yukari: —or that’s what you think. *slashes with his sword*
*blue clansmen scream*
Blue clansman2: This is 4th squad. We have emergency! A new enemy from the Green clan appeared! That’s…
Yukari: Hm. Did we take care of all of them, Kotosaka-chan?
Kotosaka: All! All! No enemy! No enemy for Yukari!
Yukari: Oh. Why, thank you.
Green clansman2: Wh-What’s going on?
Green clansman1: Like I care! For now, we just need to get away!
Kotosaka: Get away! Yukari, get away, too!
Yukari: Indeed. Beautifully, out of heart, out of sight, like a bird taking flight.
Fushimi: I’ve arranged for the pursuit of the vehicle that escaped.
Munakata: Very well, thank you.
Awashima: I’m deeply sorry, Captain. Despite securing the site of the deal, I let them escape from right under my nose…
Munakata: I have looked through your report. I do not think that you made a mistake in the positioning of the troops. And what is more, the green clansman who broke the encirclement from the outside was the same perpetrator who raided Mihashira tower previously.
Awashima: Yes, sir. Mishakuji Yukari.
Munakata: I will not say that the situation could not exactly be helped, but let us accept this bitter result and learn a lesson from it.
Awashima: Yes, sir!
Fushimi: In any case, we caught one of them.
Green clansman3: Shit! Fuck you, Blues! You’ll pay for this!
Fushimi: I believe we’ll learn the gist of it from him.
Munakata: Hm… Since the Green clan’s policy is to immediately discard anyone who fails, the clansmen have no loyalty to the Green King nor would they stay tight-lipped to protect his secrets, therefore, putting them through questioning is an effective means… is that what you mean?
Fushimi: Yes. The Mihashira tower incident and the high-ranking–
Munakata: –Ninja! is what she is, correct?
Fushimi: …high raking clansman we arrested during it aside, this time we only caught small fry. We’ll have no problem questioning him, I believe.
Munakata: That being the case, low rankers like him are not usually let into the full particulars of a mission, but still, it should be possible to narrow down their objective to a certain extent with information from several routes. Fushimi-kun, join the interrogators and investigate the objective behind this incident. Awashima-kun, concentrate your efforts on finding and arresting the two perpetrators that escaped. Also, make sure to closely monitor the Green clan, “jungle”, as a whole.
Fushimi&Awashima: Yes, sir!
Munakata: *sigh* Even within the increased number of incidents “jungle” has been causing, I feel like the present incident pursued a special objective… Although it is only a gut feeling of mine.
Awashima: Huh…?
Yukari: I’m back, Nagare-chan.
Hisui: Welcome back, Yukari. Good job backing up those two’s escape. I’m grateful.
Kotosaka: Grateful! Delightful!
Sukuna: *loses a game* Ouch, crap! Nagareee, why are you keeping me grounded? During the Gold clan mission, and yesterday, too, you’re only letting Yukari have all the fun.
Yukari: Hm. Sukuna-chan, are you jealous? How cute.
Sukuna: I’m not! I just want to let loose already, too!
Hisui: Sukuna. Jungle’s J-ranker is a trump card that should not be revealed carelessly. Even with Yukari, I resorted to using him very reluctantly only because our opponents were the Gold clan. It is by no means a wise move to let Scepter 4 know about your existence on top of that. Restrain yourself for the time being.
Sukuna: Che!
Iwafune: Right, right! For now, just get ready on the sidelines and wait for your cue. You’ll get your chance to go on a rampage soon enough, no doubt.
Sukuna: Unlike you, Iwa-san, I’m a working man. Ahhh, compared to how things are now for me, I had more freedom to do what I pleased before I became a J-ranker.
Hisui: That was the result of me recognizing your outstanding talent and paying special attention to you by assigning you missions that gave you the opportunity to rampage to your heart’s content but simultaneously ensured that your existence would not become conspicuous.
Sukuna: Outstanding talent? Hmm…!
Iwafune: Is that what’s described as “no child knows how dear he is to his parents”? Hahah!
Kotosaka: Hahah! Hahah! Ungrateful child!
Sukuna: Shut up!
Yukari: That aside, Iwa-san, what were you clattering with in the back?
Iwafune: What, you ask? Was wiring up something for this time’s mission. Since you guys hate this sort of thing, all the chores at this secret base became my job, dammit.
Yukari: I can’t stand greasy and stinky jobs.
Sukuna: I like using devices, but making them? Not so much.
Iwafune: That attitude is precisely what I’m talking about. Nagare, next time you bring here another J-ranker, make sure you choose a more cooperative guy. All the better if they will be good with ma… chines! How do you like it?
Hisui: I shall check it then. Hm. Check, finished. I find no problem. With this, all the necessary preparations for mission 2055 are complete. Thank you, Iwa-san. Well then, let us play a flashy game and put on a show that will entertain our bored audience. A game between the Fifth and the Green king, Hisui Nagare, and the Fourth and the Blue king, Munakata Reishi…
Yukari: Heh.
Sukuna: Hehe.
Kotosaka: Game, start!
Awashima: HQ, 1041 hours. We have ambushed and apprehended the two culprits that escaped from the pier earlier. Only, as was expected, the trunk they got from the other perpetrator was no longer in their possession.
Munakata: A baton relay race, in which the Green clan specializes, huh… Even if we manage to pin down the person they handed the trunk over to from their testimony, the trunk has already been handed over to another 10-20 people after them… Do they know what they were asked to deliver?
Awashima: No, sir. They don’t seem to have been informed of that.
Munakata: Fushimi-kun, any progress on your end?
Fushimi: I tried backtracing their hidden roundabout route, and it led me to a factory in Indonesia mass producing electronic parts. The line was reserved under a fictitious name, the personnel disappeared without a trace, only used it for a short time, and at present no one can get in touch with them.
Munakata: Hmm… while we are pushing our way through the overgrown green in fruitless search, they use this time to cause some kind of trouble… this is the present situation, I take it. Good gracious. If we regard the Red clan as our fated enemy, then the Green clan is our natural enemy, huh. Hehehehe.
Awashima: Captain…?
Munakata: Oh, I beg your pardon. Our duty as Scepter 4 remains the same, regardless of their modus operandi. If someone disturbs tranquility of the world, we shall subjugate them and restore peace.
Fushimi: So what are we going to do, exactly?
Munakata: If they were generous enough to leave us hints, it is only proper manners to make the best possible use of them.
Awashima: Hints?
Fushimi: Electronic parts, and the Green clan is going to cause some incident with their help, see?
Munakata: Even if we do not know their exact target, from their clan’s general nature we can glean a rough idea of what they are going to do. Due to the estimate being only approximate, countermeasures will be a power play, but, with the future confrontation in mind, it is worth a try. What will be required is a prompt and competent response. This is the time to demonstrate the strength of the Blue clan, Scepter 4.
Fushimi&Awashima: Yes, sir.
Dog mascot: New store opening campaign. Please take a flower.
Random girl: Oh, pretty.
Dog mascot: New store opening campaign. Please take a flower.
Random guy: Thank you.
Random kid: Hah, I got a flower!
Dog mascot: New store opening campaign. Please take a flower.
Hisui: What that costumed Dog distributes serves as pieces in this game.
Iwafune: That’s Ganp-kun, HardBank’s mascot.
Sukuna: “What he distributes”… those flowers, you mean?
Hisui: To be precise, miniature data chips inside the flowers. Order made special type manufactured at a foreign factory.
Sukuna: Ah, that’s what you smuggled into the country yesterday.
Hisui: Correct. Inside each flower that our jungle clansmen, who were called for mission 2055, accept from the right hand of, um, Ganp…-kun, there is such a chip. But there is nothing in the flowers from the left hand. They are only dummies.
Iwafune: In the slits of Ganp-kun’s costume, there is a built-in display to allow him to recognize the clansmen who took up this mission. The suit is equipped with everything, from the GPS module that gives directions pertaining to the place of distribution depending on the situation as a whole, to the self destruction device in case he gets caught. It’s a gorgeous masterpiece.
Sukuna: What’s with the smug face, Iwa-san?
Hisui: Easy, easy. Anyway, concerning those chips. Inside, they are mostly empty save for a homing device. That is, even if Scepter 4 seized one of them and examined it, not only would they not track us down, they would not even know what the chip is used for.
Sukuna: Hm?
Hisui: On its own, such a chip has no meaning for as long as I, the Fifth and the Green King, do not reach out for it.
Sukuna: Uh-huh! “The contents of mission 2055: connect the chips to a database within an hour. More points if the place you do it at is not connected to the internet, or is secluded or peculiar”, huh… I see now.
Hisui: The scattered chips will become my receivers, allowing me to alter any and all databases, becoming control points for my clan. This is my plan.
Sukuna: That sounds like fun! No matter how much the Blues run around, they won’t be able to remove every single chip! That’s gonna be a one-sided game, hands down.
Iwafune: Well, I have to wonder about that.
Sukuna: What’s with you, Iwa-san? Are you siding with the Blues?
Iwafune: No way. It’s just that I like me some furious fighting better than a one-sided game. And I wanna get my hopes up a little when it comes to the Blues’ boss, is all.
Sukuna: Hmph.
Hisui: Well then, let us wait at leisure while the chips are being spread around. Iwa-san, some juice for me, if you would.
Sukuna: Sure, sure! I’ll bring you some right away.
Yukari: My, my. It’s so inconvenient not to have Douhan-chan around. Now I have to do everything myself, from spying to arranging for cleanup. Even though I, too, wanted to sit around at our secret base and polish my nails.
Kotosaka: Kaw! Blues! Blues again!
Yukari: Yes, yes. If you mean that big crowd, I can see them perfectly. It’s odd, if you ask me. The Blue clansmen I caught a sight of are all just doing their independent rounds and nothing more. They didn’t even arrest our Doggie who’s distributing the flowers. Nagare-chan didn’t inform me of any mass round-ups either. And the chip spreading is going all too well… What is the Blue King up to…?
Munakata: Fushimi-kun, were you able to grasp the whole picture?
Fushimi: Yes. As we suspected, this time’s leader’s location is a place closest to the estimated center… Are you really going to do that?
Munakata: Oya, are you worried about me?
Fushimi: Tch, that’s not what I mean.
Munakata: I know. And I assure you I am fully aware that with the Gold King in abscentia, I am the only one in the position to support the nation. You would not want to serve under a reckless and thoughtless king either, would you?
Fushimi: *sigh*
Munakata: That being the case… please stay here and watch how the Blue King does things.
Iwafune: One hour is almost up.
Sukuna: No problem with the spread rate. The wards of Tokyo metropolis are blanketed for the most part.
Hisui: Very well. Well then… let us begin, shall we? All things entwined around my Green Sword, be devoured, be consumed, become part of “jungle”! *roars and activates his power*
*alarm sounds*
Sukuna: What’s wrong?!
Iwafune: The feedback from all the chips is disappearing.
Hisui: Oh dear, what on earth is…?
Yukari: Nagare-chan, do you hear me? The Blue King’s Sword of Damocles has manifested.
Hisui: Huh…?
Yukari: I’m observing it as we speak, and the Blue King is in the middle of pulling off something quite unthinkable.
Hisui: Such as?
Yukari: The same thing you do with Kotosaka-chan. Ah, no, not quite.
Kotosaka: Kaw?
Yukari: Using the blue clansmen stationed at various spots as antennas, he simultaneously forcefully shuts down the power of alternation you are trying to deploy and restores previous order. Something along these lines.
Hisui: Hoo…
Yukari: Even if he can’t remake things as he pleases, he can restore to the proper form whatever is being altered through supernatural power. That’s the power of the Blue King who embodies order that sustains the foundations of the world as orderly and undisrupted as they’re supposed to be. He’s not half-bad, I admit.
Sukuna: Nagare! Why are you just standing there and letting him work you over?! The likes of him, you can easily…!
Hisui: No. I shall stop here. This is as far as mission 2055 goes.
Sukuna: But why?!
Iwafune: Come on, Nagare can’t just up and let his Sword of Damocles float in the sky!
Sukuna: Uh…
Hisui: That is correct. An all-out contest of strength seems like fun, but if I did engage him, a mark like no other would hang right above this secret base. It is a pity.
Sukuna: Damn it! Even though if only you got serious, the likes of him…!
Hisui: Indeed. But not now, and that is all there is to it.
Sukuna: I got it… But, um, Nagare…
Hisui: Yes?
Sukuna: I’d like to participate in the next big mission, you know? But it’s not like I’m asking to put me on the frontlines, okay?
Hisui: All right then. I promise you will. But first, we need to clean up after this one. Yukari?
Yukari: I’m already on it.
Blue clansman3: Lieutenant, we have found the relay server for the chips and the transportation vehicle in there.
Awashima: Good. Seize them. Watch out for an ambush by the Green clansmen.
Yukari: Dear Lord. The Blue King is way too guarded and completely lacking charm. Did he examine the chip he took away from our people and identify this location? Or did he trace back the route of the Doggie that was in charge of chip distribution?
Awashima: Both!
*fight ensues*
Yukari: If you’re doing this anyway, could you aim for this thing instead of me? You will save me a lot of trouble that way.
Blue clansman3: Crap! The server…!
Yukari: With this, I will excuse myself for today. Be sure to tell the Blue king for me that we’re looking forward to playing with him again.
Awashima: Damn him!
Munakata: I see. As I thought, they will not let us grab them by the tail so easily.
Fushimi: They owned us this time.
Munakata: We managed to prevent the damage from being done. Besides, the Green clan is extremely cautious, so they will not attempt the same trick twice. Succeeding in crushing the enemy’s tactics one by one is significant to us, since, by necessity, we are on the defensive.
Fushimi: Isn’t that statement highly subjective and dependent on your viewpoint?
Munakata: Hmphehehe. Maybe.
*leaves*
Munakata: This plan’s only goals were just distribution and takeover…? It does not ring true to me somehow. There may have been some other hidden objective…
Iwafune: So? How was it, Nagare?
Hisui: What do you mean?
Iwafune: The Blue King’s response, what else. The wall that’s currently standing in our way ain’t the baby chick girl, nor the missing joker. It’s that 4-eyes boss. That’s why you wanted to gauge his abilities by squaring off with him once on a large scale, no?
Hisui: I cannot hide anything from you, it seems, Iwa-san. Nothing less from you.
Iwafune: Hahaha. I may not be much, but I’m still something of your foster father.
Hisui: His response was quite satisfactory. I was able to not only estimate with precision own strength of the person in question, but also his application of his clansmen. For a rookie, his style and results are impressive. Most commendable.
Iwafune: Ohh. Hearing that gets my hopes up even more!
Hisui: However, at the same time, I also found out his weaknesses. The fact that I made him manifest his Sword of Damocles and use enormous power especially is the most valuable reap.
Iwafune: His Sword of Damocles… it’s really in a bad shape, after all?
Hisui: Yes, it is. He seems to maintain his presence of mind for the time being, the best he can, in any case.
Iwafune: Hmmm.
Hisui: That said, since he is so praiseworthy, we should tighten our guard to compensate for it. Also, we will need to revise our anti-Scepter 4 strategy to avoid launching thoughtless cyber attacks on them since that is their field of expertise, and instead apply more physical, more direct sabotage means.
Iwafune: So we’ll just swap one type of harassment for another.
Hisui: In plain terms, yes, that is correct.
Iwafune: You look like you’re having fun, Nagare.
Hisui: Yes, a lot of fun. As I wait, moment by moment, for the time to rise and take action to come, my heart is throbbing with the rhythm of conviction that the power of change that I govern will become the symbol of dream and future.
T/N: HardBank is the obvious parody of SoftBank (which has a dog mascot, as well)