Midgar Sector 7. Seventh Heaven had already closed for business.
Using her familiarity with the streets of Sector 7, Tifa quietly led the group into the bar through a hidden passage.
And now, the atmosphere inside the bar was rather delicate.
Bang!
That was the sound of flesh struck by a blunt impact, followed immediately by the heavy thud of something hitting the floor.
"Guh—!"
This time, even stomach acid came up.
The other members of Avalanche watched the scene, their lips twitching, then gave up trying to persuade him.
It was not that they had not tried. Barret simply would not listen.
Tifa had brought several people with her, and after one of them explained a few things, Barret could not accept it.
So he said that if they wanted him to agree, they should first show him the man's strength and make him submit.
What followed could not even be called a fight. It was Barret being beaten one-sidedly.
The man Tifa had brought stood in place without moving, holding a device in one hand and reading through some information on it. His other free hand was all he used to deal with Barret's attacks.
The result was Barret being knocked down again and again.
Sometimes he was thrown over the man's shoulder. Sometimes he was dropped by an elbow strike. Sometimes he was put down by a punch.
At most, it took no more than three moves before Barret was struck. Every hit made the others' eyelids twitch. It looked as if the man was not holding back much at all, and dozens of blows had nearly pushed Barret to the edge of unconsciousness.
But the fact that he was using only one hand against Barret was already an enormous amount of restraint.
This time, the man twisted his waist with a bit more force and drove his fist straight into Barret's abdomen, sending his entire body flying. Barret spat up gastric fluid—no, judging by the blood foam, he had probably suffered internal injuries as well.
After that blow, even standing became extremely difficult for Barret.
"If you people truly want to destroy Shinra, then can you tell me what your plan is afterward? Can you explain it clearly? If Shinra is destroyed to the extent you want, then the following consequences will appear. Economically…"
The man Tifa had brought began laying out what would happen after Shinra collapsed.
"In other words, just for Midgar's population alone, what is your plan for food supply? Can you arrange it properly? If you can't, once people run out of food, after more than…"
He described what people would become after losing access to food. Neighbors who had once lived together in relative harmony would begin seeing one another as enemies.
"…And as for food production, once Shinra collapses, do you know how to operate the machinery involved? Do you know how to manage the systems? Don't tell me there are people in the world who know how. Can they take over the moment they arrive? You need to understand that once Shinra falls overnight, who wouldn't covet its legacy? Who wouldn't fight over those assets? Do you have enough power to stop them?"
"That'd just be temporary chaos. Once the time comes, everything will get better."
"Don't talk about what might happen 'once the time comes.' Give me a concrete plan. How exactly will things get better? And during that period, when people die in all the chaos your actions set off, can you take responsibility for them? Barret, you hate Shinra, don't you? Because they destroyed your hometown and killed your family. Then what do you think the surviving families of those who die in the chaos caused by Shinra's collapse will feel about you? If they know you still have family and friends now, do you think they won't seek revenge?"
At that, everyone's expressions changed again and again.
Because was that not just another vicious cycle?
"On top of that, when you blow up a mako reactor, you only think about destroying it. Have you considered how to handle the aftermath? Once it's destroyed, the energy supply is immediately cut off. Then the systems used to produce…"
The man Tifa had brought continued describing the consequences of their actions.
With no energy, certain machines would no longer be able to run. And those machines were tied to people's basic livelihoods. Food, clothing, shelter, and transportation for ordinary people would all be affected.
By then, a lack of medical resources would cause even more problems.
If a plague broke out, the results would be even more catastrophic.
"Go on. Tell me. After you destroy it, how do you stabilize all the problems that follow? Have you prepared enough resources in advance? Will you distribute relief supplies when the time comes?"
At that, everyone remained silent.
Hearing all this, Tifa also came to a clear realization.
Many of Avalanche's actions had been shortsighted. They had not properly considered the long-term problems that would follow.
She realized that if Avalanche continued acting as it had before, it would not be saving the world at all. It would only be making things worse.
"So you want us to forgive Shinra?"
Barret was still unwilling to accept it, no matter what.
"So you weren't listening from the start, were you? When a person gets sick, and you want to prevent the illness from infecting others, your first thought is to kill the patient outright instead of surgically removing the tumor?"
"Barret, that's the point. We…"
Tifa noticed that Mr. Kain was getting impatient and hurriedly stepped in to explain things properly.
Barret had been too busy getting angry earlier and had not had the patience to listen. He definitely had not understood clearly.
Now that Mr. Kain had beaten some sense into him and left him speechless, he could finally listen properly.
"Then what do we do? What's the operation plan?"
Barret, now convinced, asked the question.
If they were going to infiltrate Shinra, surely they had prepared a battle plan.
And the timing was tomorrow. Were they going to attack in broad daylight?
"The operation plan is simple. We launch a direct assault."
"A… direct assault?"
"You mean attack Shinra head-on?"
"This has to be a joke."
It was not just Barret. The others were stunned as well.
With so few people, they were going to force a frontal attack on Shinra?
"Do you have anyone else helping? Someone as strong as you, for example?"
Jessie, who had always been in charge of explosives in the team, asked the question.
If the man Tifa had brought had others as powerful as himself, then maybe a direct assault really might work.
"No. It's just me. In fact, your main task is simply to protect Aerith."
Jessie's cheek twitched slightly at that.
She could more or less tell now. This man had not expected anything from Avalanche's combat power at all. He was simply having them serve as caretakers for the moment.
Was he planning to attack Shinra alone?
Was this really not a joke?
Shinra might look like a company, but it was the most powerful force in the world. It had even defeated nations.
For one man to launch a direct assault meant he intended to break through a nation's power all by himself. That was far too absurd.
No matter how she thought about it, it did not seem possible.
If Avalanche followed him, would that not just be walking to their deaths?
Unless he had some kind of trump card.
(End of Chapter)
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