Chapter 37: Convergence
It was February 15, 2027.
The Golden Chronicle office had become an unlikely gathering place for people who, under ordinary circumstances, would never have occupied the same room.
For several minutes, the room remained tense and quiet.
Then the final members of the group entered.
Tetsuya stood from his chair.
His eyes immediately settled on Kenzo.
"Kenzo. You memorized all the freshman students, correct?"
Kenzo smirked.
"Yeah, I did."
"Then give me the names of every student witness in the room, along with the two unknown anomalies you and Ren brought."
Kenzo stretched casually before pointing around the room.
"With pleasure."
He pointed toward the first student.
"Obviously, that's Kei Fushimiya."
Then toward the others.
"That's Rika. That's Naoki Shirayuki. That's Hina. And that's Reina Kuro Aihara."
Finally, he pointed toward the two people standing near Ren.
"And the two people Ren and I brought are Fumiatsu and Natalie."
Kenzo's grin widened.
"Natalie was sent to spy on us by the FBI. She was involved in a certain case. And Fumiatsu was the one who sent the Neo Sun Tzu files to Sota. He was part of the project."
Merrin slowly rose from his chair.
His expression had hardened.
"Why are we bringing children here?"
Tetsuya turned toward him.
"They're our witnesses."
"You said you were bringing witnesses, not innocent teenagers."
Merrin's voice became colder.
"We're in a war right now. Kids like them are exactly the people we're supposed to be protecting from Toshiro Sobu."
Sota immediately intervened.
"But in order to protect them, we have to release the article. We can put Sobu on the run."
Merrin turned toward him.
His stare was cold enough to silence the room for a moment.
"I used to work for Toshiro Sobu."
Sota's expression changed.
"I was his personal mercenary. He hasn't even realized that I've betrayed him yet. We still have the element of surprise."
Merrin paused.
"If you publish that article, remember something: Sobu will have nothing left to lose."
His eyes narrowed.
"He has a thousand plans."
Kenzo responded with a slight grin.
"Which is why we come with one thousand and one."
Merrin stared at him.
"Is this some kind of joke to you?"
Kenzo's expression remained relaxed.
"Do you even realize what we're going up against?"
"Yeah."
Kenzo shrugged.
"Part of the CIA, the FBI, the police force, serial killers... hell, probably even part of the SWAT team."
Nobody laughed.
Kenzo continued.
"And the worst part? Even the good part of the government thinks we're the bad guys."
Aoi stepped forward.
"Even if we defeat Sobu, we would still have to deal with the corrupt elements of the United States government."
Ren rolled his eyes.
"Corrupt, not corrupt. It's all the damn same. Just greedy, scared old men who aren't suited for power."
He folded his arms.
"Why don't we just obtain the secret files Sobu has? Then we can prove our innocence, and the government will stop hunting nearly half the people in this room."
Ren's expression hardened.
"Then we kill Sobu."
Fumiatsu immediately interrupted.
"No."
Everyone looked at him.
"Killing Sobu is my job."
His voice was firm.
"He's my responsibility. Not yours."
Natalie looked at him in disgust.
"What the hell is wrong with you people?"
Her eyes moved across the room.
"Since when was murder even an option?"
Tetsuya nodded.
"She's right."
His voice remained calm.
"We arrest Sobu. Nobody is killing anyone."
Kei barely reacted.
To him, the entire operation already looked doomed.
He leaned back slightly.
"Sobu has too many connections. I can already tell."
His eyes moved across the room.
"Simply having evidence against him won't be enough."
Sota answered.
"We have the evidence. But if we release it, there will be unintended consequences that all of us will have to deal with."
Rika turned toward Kei.
She had been listening silently, but one question had been bothering her since she entered the room.
"Also... why did that guy refer to you as a Fushimiya?"
Kei didn't answer.
He continued staring forward.
Rika waited.
Nothing.
Then Naoki stepped forward.
The room's attention immediately shifted toward him.
"Tell me why I'm here."
His voice was composed.
"What exactly did you hope to accomplish by bringing a bunch of high schoolers here?"
Naoki's eyes settled on Tetsuya.
"I've heard of you, Tetsuya Tadashi. The media calls you the Tool of Justice."
His expression became slightly more serious.
"You're a wanted man."
He paused.
"So tell me. Are you using NIFL students as bait?"
Naoki's eyes narrowed.
"Or are we simply pawns in this little game of yours?"
The room became silent.
"What's stopping me from calling the government and having you arrested?"
Naoki's expression remained calm.
"This isn't my fight."
Ren's right hand moved toward his pocket.
His fingers wrapped around the syringe hidden inside.
Before he could pull it out, three people reacted simultaneously.
Kenzo seized his arm.
Fumiatsu grabbed his shoulder.
Merrin stopped him with a single look.
Merrin's eyes were merciless.
"Don't even think about it."
Ren froze.
For a moment, the tension in the room seemed ready to snap.
Eventually, Ren relaxed his hand.
The three men released him.
Naoki watched the entire exchange.
Then he smiled.
It wasn't a friendly smile.
It carried a faint trace of mockery.
"By all means, try to knock me out."
His eyes remained fixed on Ren.
"It won't end well."
Ren clenched his fists.
Hina watched the exchange with a soft smile.
"My, my."
She tilted her head.
"It seems this adult has quite the temper."
Tetsuya's expression hardened.
"Enough."
The room fell silent.
"All of you."
He looked around at everyone.
"We don't have time for this. Not in the slightest."
Tetsuya took a breath.
"Listen carefully. I know most of you NIFL students don't know this."
His expression became more serious.
"But your school is a massive conspiracy with international collaborators."
Rika's eyes widened.
"Can someone explain what the hell is going on here?"
She looked between Tetsuya and Aoi.
"What do you mean NIFL is a conspiracy?"
Then she looked toward Kei.
"And why have you all been referring to Kei as a Fushimiya?"
Kei finally sighed.
"Because I am a Fushimiya."
Rika froze.
For a moment, she could only stare at him.
But before she could respond, Tetsuya continued.
"Because of the information Aoi, Fumiatsu, and Natalie have provided us, we can finally establish a partial timeline."
He looked around the room.
"It's a long story."
"In 1945, a man named Eiji Fushimiya and a man named Chimpei Sonomori were friends and rivals."
Tetsuya continued.
"Eiji conducted illegal experiments in an attempt to create a genius capable of leading the world. He considered most existing leaders incompetent."
He paused.
"In a sense, he had a God complex."
"No."
The interruption came from Aoi.
Tetsuya turned toward him.
Aoi adjusted his glasses.
"According to my family members and the people who knew Eiji, he was kind."
Aoi's voice remained composed.
"He genuinely believed what he was doing was right. He was trying to change the world."
Tetsuya looked at him.
"Just because you believe something is right doesn't always make it right, Aoi."
Aoi didn't immediately answer.
"Maybe."
Then he continued.
"But that doesn't mean Eiji was evil."
He glanced around the room.
"Over a month ago, my brother and I met Kyou, also known as Subject Negative, before he died."
Aoi's expression became solemn.
"He told us that Eiji genuinely wanted to do good."
Reina looked toward Aoi.
"And you believe what a senile old man told you?"
Aoi turned toward him.
"He wasn't senile."
Tetsuya raised a hand.
"Stop."
The room quieted again.
"Now, as I was saying."
He continued.
"Chimpei Sonomori eventually created NIFL to prove Eiji wrong."
Tetsuya's voice remained measured as he moved through the history.
"In 1993, an unknown Japanese man created the Neo Sun Tzu Project."
"He copied some of Eiji's work, but he had no idea what he was dealing with."
"In 1995, Toshiro Sobu was born."
Tetsuya continued.
"A year later, Fumiatsu was born."
"Then, in early 2004, my mentor, Mr. Yamada, who was still an FBI agent at the time, uncovered the Neo Sun Tzu Project."
"He shut the project down."
Tetsuya's expression darkened.
"But he didn't tell the United States government the full story."
Kei scoffed.
"So he's a coward. Great."
Tetsuya ignored him.
"Earlier that year, Toshiro Sobu's family died."
He paused.
"But there's something you need to understand."
Tetsuya's gaze swept across the room.
"Toshiro Sobu isn't actually who he claims to be."
Confusion spread throughout the room.
"The real Toshiro Sobu died as an infant."
Nobody spoke.
"The man we've known as Toshiro Sobu is an impostor."
Tetsuya continued.
"We don't know his real name."
He paused.
"Actually, we're not even certain he has one."
Several of the students exchanged uneasy glances.
"We originally believed Mr. Yamada was Sobu's uncle."
Tetsuya's expression became increasingly grim.
"Eventually, we discovered that wasn't his real identity either."
"He is Sobu's step-uncle."
Kei frowned.
"But his last name is Yamada, not Sobu."
Kenzo answered casually.
"He changed his last name when he moved to America."
Tetsuya continued.
"In 2004, Taro Fushimiya befriended Toshiro."
He paused.
"They revived Eiji's projects."
For the first time, his voice faltered.
Not because he had forgotten what came next.
Because something had interrupted his thoughts.
Ren leaned toward him and whispered something.
Tetsuya's eyes shifted slightly toward the windows.
Only for a fraction of a second.
Then he looked away.
But that was enough.
Ren had seen something.
Something no one else in the room had noticed.
Tetsuya immediately changed course.
"Listen to me very carefully."
Everyone focused on him.
"We're going to separate into groups."
He began assigning them.
"Group One: me, Kenzo, Ren, and Natalie."
"Group Two: Sota, Fumiatsu, Merrin, and Aoi."
He paused.
"Group Three is just the students."
Merrin calmly looked toward the window.
His expression changed.
"Hm."
Tetsuya nodded.
"I see."
He looked toward the others.
"They found us."
The room went silent.
"There is an armed SWAT team coming to capture some of us. They've most likely already boarded the roof."
Tetsuya moved toward the rear of the office.
"Groups One and Two are leaving through a secret back entrance."
He looked toward the students.
"Group Three stays here."
Naoki's eyes narrowed.
"Why?"
"To avoid suspicion."
Tetsuya's voice was firm.
"They'll question you briefly. That's all."
The students had barely processed his words when something came flying through the room.
A flash bomb detonated.
The office erupted into blinding light.
Several people staggered.
Before anyone could react, Ren and Kenzo threw smoke bombs into the room.
A thick cloud rapidly filled the office.
Voices became indistinguishable.
Footsteps echoed through the smoke.
Then, almost as quickly as it had begun, it was over.
When the smoke finally cleared, Tetsuya, Kenzo, Ren, Natalie, Sota, Fumiatsu, Merrin, and Aoi were gone.
Only the students remained.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Kei looked toward the empty doorway.
Then he sighed.
"Well."
His expression remained completely flat.
"This doesn't look good."
END OF VOLUME 4