CHAPTER 111: SYNCHRONICITY
"Synchronicity?"
At those words, Hideki Nogi and his secretary, Kaede Akiyama, both instinctively swallowed their tea.
Even if they didn't fully grasp the philosophical weight of the term, the man who had delivered this intelligence to Metsudo Katahara was a name that echoed with absolute authority in both the political and corporate sectors.
Mitsunari Tokugawa.
The 13th Head of the Tokugawa Conglomerate. A direct descendant of the legendary Mito Komon.
Unlike Metsudo Katahara, who had built his empire from the ashes of the war, the "Old Man Tokugawa" was born into the highest tier of Japanese nobility. His family's wealth was ancient, their influence so deep that even high-ranking ministers bowed to them in private.
Rumor had it that since the Edo period, the Tokugawa family had operated a secret arena known as the "Rear Garden," where masters of every style from across the globe gathered to trade blows. Today, that garden existed as the Tokyo Dome Underground Arena.
Nogi Hideki knew the "Urban Legend" was a cold, hard fact.
Unlike the Kengan Matches, the combat in the Dome was "Pure Struggle." No corporate stakes, no weight classes, no gender divisions—nothing but two souls in a pit, permitted to use any forbidden move short of a firearm to settle the question of who was stronger.
Is the Bushin, Doppo Orochi, a regular at the Dome? Nogi wondered, glancing at the one-eyed master. And why would Tokugawa reach out to the Kengan Chairman now?
The sheer volume of potential implications made Nogi's brow sweat.
Seeing his colleague's tension, Metsudo Katahara waved a hand dismissively. "Relax, Nogi-kun. This is tea time. If you overthink it, your brain will turn into a brick."
Metsudo gestured to his bodyguards, who quickly laid out a silk picnic mat for the group. Once everyone was settled with hot tea and pastries, Metsudo reached into his kimono sleeve.
He pulled out a small, rectangular solid object wrapped in heavy, reinforced plastic.
Ren Shiroki watched with narrowed eyes. Doppo remained stoic. Nogi and Kaede took a cautious sip of their tea.
"This," Metsudo said, holding up the object, "is Nitroglycerin. Or, as the kids call it, 'The Boom-Boom Juice.'"
"!?!"
Nogi and Kaede nearly choked on their tea. They swallowed hard, their faces turning a frantic shade of red as they stared at the high-explosive material sitting inches from their snacks.
"Why... why would you bring that here?!" Kaede gasped.
Metsudo ignored the question. "Don't be fooled by its crystalline state. A hundred years ago, nitroglycerin was a notoriously unstable 'Liquid.' No matter how much you heated or cooled it, it would never crystallize."
"However, in the early 20th century, a massive shipment of liquid glycerin was traveling from Vienna to London. The ship was caught in a freak, record-breaking hurricane in the Bay of Biscay."
"As you know, liquid nitro explodes if you even look at it wrong. The sailors prepared for death."
"Miraculously, the ship reached London safely. When the crew pried open the barrels to inspect the cargo, they found something the world had never seen: The Nitroglycerin had completely crystallized."
"But here is the 'Flavor' of the story," Metsudo smiled, his eyes twinkling. "From that day forward, liquid nitroglycerin all over the planet—in labs, in mines, in storehouses—began to spontaneously crystallize as well."
"Substances, organisms, even ideas... they can trigger a global shift without any physical contact."
"This phenomenon is called Synchronicity."
Metsudo paused, letting the silence hang.
"Recently... a group of very 'Special' individuals escaped from prison."
Doppo grumbled, "Escaped convicts? Ren-kun and I already dismantled one today at the park."
"That little 'Fanatic'?" Metsudo chuckled. "He was just a ripple in the pond, Doppo. The hurricane is still coming."
He gestured to a bodyguard, who opened a high-end laptop and positioned it so the group—minus Arisa, who had been ushered inside to 'do her homework'—could see the dossiers.
"These are the records Tokugawa-kun gave me. Five synchronized escapes from five of the world's highest-security prisons."
1. ALCATRAZ PRISON (Off the coast of Washington State, USA).
Statute 29, Section 3: Following a hanging, the prisoner shall remain suspended for ten minutes until a physician confirms death.
A massive, muscular Caucasian male survived ten minutes of strangulation through unknown anatomical control. When the doctor stepped onto the trapdoor to check his pulse, the prisoner 'woke up.'
Casualties: 15 guards and medical staff.
Message left in the victim's blood: "Ladies and Gentlemen, see you in Tokyo."
Name: DORIAN.
2. CARIOS PRISON (Glasgow, Scotland).
A tall, slender man with red hair was sent to the electric chair. Despite vomiting foam and bleeding from his eyes, he manually tore through his restraints after the current stopped.
Casualties: 8 guards dead, 12 critically injured. He escaped via a friend at Milburn-Force Airbase. Destination: Tokyo.
Name: DOYLE.
3. EVANS PRISON (Siberia).
A converted ICBM silo. The cell was a 100-meter vertical launch tube with mirror-smooth metal walls. Climbing out was deemed a physical impossibility.
A male inmate weighing over 100kg used microscopic rust-pits and scratches to scale the wall with his bare fingers. On his way out, he encountered the legendary wrestling 'Hero,' Alexander Gallen, and beat him into a state of near-death.
Message left in frozen blood: "To taste defeat, I travel to Tokyo."
Name: SIKORSKY.
4. LEVEL-5 UNDERWATER PRISON (Florida, USA).
A death-row inmate entered the ventilation ducts, murdered a psychiatrist, and used the man's prosthetic teeth to pick the lock on the emergency hatch. He swam 200 meters to the surface without gear.
Casualties: 5 guards in the shore observation tower.
Medical Note: He held his breath for over five minutes while performing high-intensity swimming.
Name: SPECK.
5. KYOTO UNDERGROUND DETENTION CENTER (Kyoto, Japan).
A middle-aged man of short stature shattered a wall of reinforced, rocket-proof explosion glass with his bare palm.
Casualties: 2 guards killed instantly.
Message left in calligraphy: "Seeking my own downfall, I depart for Tokyo."
Name: YANAGI RYUKO (The Poison Hand).
"There you have it," Metsudo said, closing the laptop.
"Synchronicity."
"Five men with no connection to each other, all leaving the same message, all heading for one city."
Metsudo looked at Ren, Doppo, and the vacant Marco.
"Every one of these men murdered dozens of people inside the most secure cages on Earth. They are the apex predators of the dark. Do you understand the implication?"
"They can all kill with their bare hands. In short... they are Martial Artists."
Metsudo sipped his tea. "These men represent 'Black Martial Arts'—styles practiced in the dark, fueled by murder and chaos."
"And you lot—Ren-kun, Doppo, Marco... you represent 'White Martial Arts.' You are the masters of the 'Legit' underworld—the Association, the Dome, the established schools."
"This isn't just a crime wave. It's a total war between the Light and the Dark."
Ren Shiroki was the first to raise his hand. "Quick question, Chairman. Do the Kengan matches and the Underground Dome actually count as 'White' martial arts? We hit people for money."
Metsudo: "..."
Metsudo: "...Pfft!"
"The distinction isn't about 'Morality,' Ren-kun. It's about Legitimacy."
The Kengan Chairman gave a shark-like grin. "As long as you have the political power to make it legal, it's 'White.' The Association, the Dome, even the Kakerou Club... in the eyes of the Metropolitan Police, we are 'Legitimate Businesses.'"
Ren: "..."
Metsudo tapped his cane. "But perhaps because of this Synchronicity, a much darker group has noticed our 'Legitimacy.' They want our status. They want to swallow the 'White' and turn it 'Black.'"
"IDEAL."
"And the Secret Service Division within the police."
Metsudo's eyes turned cold. "The unhinged elements of this city are moving to dismantle our world. And the first shots have already been fired."
☆☆☆
-> 30 Advanced chapters Now Available on Patreon!!
-> https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Hollowborn
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to access patreon normally)
If you like this novel please consider leaving a review that's help the story a lot Thank you