"Thud." Snake Mound George fell to the ground, sucking in a cold breath.
He bit his teeth, trying not to cry out in pain, but he still couldn't hide the "ooh ooh" sound in his throat.
He tried to straighten up, dragging his difficult-to-move body to escape.
But Hayato didn't give him a chance.
Thirty people had already fallen in a heap.
Hayato now squatted down, sweeping like wind and falling leaves, severing the thighs of the people attacking him with a slash.
In an instant,
Just like flowers blooming.
These five or six people surrounding him all fell backward to the ground.
Hayato ignored their wailing, sheathed Quick Blade Ichimonji, and walked towards Snake Mound George.
Of the only two remaining standing people.
Hayato first walked past Miyajima Sosaku, who was closer to him.
He hadn't run far not because he was particularly brave, but because he was too timid, and he already had a disability in his leg.
In his daze at that moment, he couldn't even take a single step back.
Hayato didn't speak.
He didn't turn his head.
He simply reached out and gently pushed his forehead.
The force was not great at all.
Miyajima Sosaku, however, directly fell to the ground.
Then, with a bottom-up look of fear, he stared at Hayato, as if he had seen something unclean.
His teeth chattered continuously.
Hayato, however, still ignored him.
He just walked straight towards Snake Mound George.
The flames on his body had extinguished just as he stopped.
But in Snake Mound George's pupils, it was as if a raging fire was still approaching him.
... 'Bringing trouble upon oneself'.
Snake Mound George thought of this phrase.
"Caught you," Hayato said with a smile, "It wasn't easy... If it weren't for Miss Tsubaki, I really don't know how long it would have taken to catch a slippery bastard like you."
"...You."
Snake Mound George indeed possessed more courage than Miyajima Sosaku.
At this moment, he quickly raised his pistol, aimed it at Hayato's head, and was about to pull the trigger—
Beyond seven steps, the gun is fast.
Within seven steps, the gun is accurate and...
Then a silver light fell.
The sword returned to its sheath again.
Snake Mound George's hands were empty.
Just like the shovel man.
His hand and the gun.
Both were gone.
Snake Mound George looked at his right hand, which lay quietly on the side not far away.
...As expected, he truly is the Master of Breakups.
"Gah ah ah ah ah—" After a moment of daze, intense pain shot through Snake Mound George's hand, but just as he was halfway through his scream, Hayato pulled out the wakizashi that was plunged into his thigh.
Snake Mound George was even less able to steady himself and fell to the ground, blood mixing with dirt.
And he thrashed on the ground.
Then,
Hayato stepped on Snake Mound George's chest.
He held the hilt of the unsheathed katana with both hands.
The tip of the sword pointed straight down.
Aimed at Hayato's throat.
"One question."
"...You, you want to kill me?" Snake Mound George asked, gritting his teeth.
Hayato didn't like answering questions with questions, so he simply ignored him.
"Why did you send people to smash my house that day?" Hayato asked, "Where did Mr. Hayashi go?"
'Didn't you kill him?'
—Snake Mound George wanted to say this, but he held back. This was one of his few bargaining chips, and he tried to maintain a mysterious, cold smile:
"Do you want to know? Let me live, and I'll tell—"
Snake Mound George believed he at least had a glimmer of hope, at least he could parley with Hayato, at least he could...
But he couldn't.
Hayato's sword blade fell directly, piercing his throat, then was decisively pulled out.
One of his worries, Snake Mound George's life, vanished completely on this unremarkable afternoon, under this obscure bridge.
Hayato casually walked around, then kicked the thigh of one of the fallen men.
"Hey, still alive?"
"..." The man said nothing.
Hayato lifted his foot, continued to step on the chest, sword tip down.
"...St-still alive!"
The unlucky guy, in pain, immediately answered.
"Same answer," Hayato said.
"...Huh? Huh? According to what Brother Serpent Mound revealed, Mr. Hayashi seemed to have gone to your house and never returned. He thought you had taken care of him...?" the subordinate said.
His tone carried uncertainty, but it was precisely this uncertainty that made Hayato believe this guy wasn't lying.
Hayato took his foot off.
The unlucky man breathed a sigh of relief, about to congratulate himself on not haggling, when he suddenly saw a silver, sharp blade.
After his throat warmed, he couldn't see anything anymore.
His wide eyes seemed to be wondering, 'Huh? Why am I still killed after answering?'
'As long as I have no morals, no one can morally restrain me.'
Hayato thought to himself.
He casually looked at the corpses lying around, and after checking a few, he let out a breath.
The case was serious, but it shouldn't leave any clues.
The rule of this world is 'only investigate serious cases with clues'... both conditions are indispensable.
He casually breathed a sigh of relief.
Then he looked back at Miyajima Sosaku, whose face was ashen.
Hayato didn't speak to him, just took out his phone and dialed a number.
"...Hello, I'm done here. Hmm... You can pick me up at the bridge when you get here. Oh, bring the truck too," he said, smiling, "Thank you for your trouble."
As he spoke, he approached Miyajima Sosaku.
As soon as the call ended, he kicked the latter to the ground.
"Be grateful your last name is Miyajima."
Hayato said faintly, "Come with me."
He single-handedly carried the bicycle and Miyajima Sosaku with his right hand, which was infinitely stronger than an ordinary person's, and walked up the bridge's uphill ramp with slightly tired steps.
Then he pushed up the glasses he had just put on.
Not long after, through his x-ray vision, he saw a truck approaching.
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