THE 7TH

As he went further inside, he could see an upset-looking man, who almost looked exactly like him, sitting at an old chair adjacent to a circular table. The only major difference on their looks was the goatee that made this man a bit more mature version of himself. He was a scary figure.

"You are late," said Shinzo in a sharp glance. "I've been waiting here for three

minutes…"

"Kwa-ha-ha! Unlike you, moving around, for me, needs extreme caution at all times. So, trifling matters aside, why did you call me here out of the usual schedule?" He dipped into his pocket and proffered a pack of chocolates to him. "Here, this is for you… So cut me some slack this time, okay?"

"Jeez. Next time, you better not be late. Otherwise, I'll beat the shit out of you!"

Shiba knew that his brother loved this specific type of chocolate. So when he knew that he'd inevitably be late, he then took a detour to buy some at the shop in order to appease him. He was well aware how a single tardiness would easily cause displeasure to him. And based on his past experience, his brother, when awfully furious, was like a unstoppable, starved beast.

"Yes, yes. I apologize! So, what is the issue this time?"

"Listen to me carefully. We have a problem. The government…"

Shinzo started filling him the details of the next mission that they needed to tackle. Shiba knew this problem would be more wearing than the previous ones because everything was written all over his worried face. His amazing older brother had never feared anything before. He was a very powerful figure in his eyes. Nonetheless, his courage seemed not evident today.

After talking about the issue for a couple of minutes, he began to understand and commiserate with his anxiety. Actually, based on the intelligence collected by the government from another whistleblower, a smuggling and human trafficking organization in England named "The Hawks" had just secretly made ties with one of the five organizations here in Japan. And a few hours from now, one of this organization's executives would be meeting in Hiroshima in order to sign an agreement.

"So, the Prime Minister wants us to intervene in the agreement…?"

"Yes. He is asking us to deliver something personally to The Hawks. You see, the government has warned this western organization not to tie itself here lest the balance of power be recklessly disturbed. In lieu with this warning, the boss wants us to be the messengers…"

"Well, if that's the only solution to this crisis, then I think we should just agree, no?"

"You're right. Let us meet at the airport this afternoon. Written here are further details about the operation." He extended a folded paper.

"I'll read this later." He swiftly stood, "I'm going now. My men are now growing agitated outside if I stay long."

"Wait a second—"

"What—!"

When Shiba was about to turn around, Shinzo called him out. Without a sense of prior warning, he threw a heavy kick and then fired five shots on his head. However, even without directly looking, Shiba easily parried the assault and evaded elegantly the series of bullets as if he envisioned it beforehand.

"Too slow, Brother…"

"Hmm? You've improved, huh…?"

"What? Are you worried I might get killed or something?" Shiba asked him while evilly grinning. "Kwa-ha-ha! Don't worry, I'm as cautious as always…"

"Don't be complacent. Even if you've ascended in an executive position now, I've received a tip that some members of your wing have suspicion of you." "Yeah... I'm well aware of that. In fact, I'm already in the hunt for them…"

"I'm glad that you're not as easy as I thought you are. You've gotten sharper. But, still, you cannot defeat me in actual combat."

"H-Huh? What are you saying? We were 66-65 last time, right? I'm a point higher. You even admitted it yourself."

"Shut up! It's 45-2, in my favor."

"What…!?"

"You're still a novice. You better practice more. We're not kidding here. We're betting our lives on this…"

"Well, you're right. Tch, next time, I'm gonna beat you and make you admit.

That's a promise."

"Fine. Bring it on."

He was just tested whether he was good enough to protect himself lest a potential assassination plot might happen in the future. Recently, their potential enemies had grown quite in number. They needed to be extra cautious now more than ever. Once he witnessed his brother's quick response to threat, Shinzo became satisfied.