Chapter 535: It’s Better to Hold the Dice in Your Own Hands!
Even now, Kamui remained unflustered, still squinting with a faint smile.
"Ladies and gentlemen! Observe closely!" Admiral Aho stood at the most conspicuous position around the execution platform, microphone in hand, glaring down at Kamui and shouting, "This is the fate of a rebel! To oppose me is to oppose the Senate! To oppose the Senate is to oppose all of Harusame! Even an iron army will become a mob if you step out of line!"
"Tch! Sounds good!" a Sky Pirate sneered quietly.
"Kamui, any last words?" Admiral Aho asked with interest.
"Hmm..." Kamui tilted his head, his antenna hair twitching and squinting; he smiled and said, "Then let me say one thing."
"Hmm." Admiral Aho nodded.
Kamui took a deep breath and then, squinting, he yelled out, "Idiot Admiral~"
"Kill him! Kill him now!" veins bulged on Admiral Aho's forehead as he bellowed.
Just then, Takasugi slowly approached, arriving behind the execution platform, and said, "No, wait, Idiot... Admiral Aho. May I do the execution?"
"Hmm?" Admiral Aho looked at the suddenly appearing Takasugi with a puzzled expression."Although it's a pity you won't let me duel him, at least let me be the executioner," Takasugi said, slightly curving his lips.
Meanwhile, Gorou quietly instructed the armed Sky Pirates surrounding the platform, "On my command, take down Takasugi as well."
Upon hearing this, a Sky Pirate nearby subtly nodded.
At that moment, Takasugi slowly stepped in front of Kamui, his face showing a hint of mockery, and softly said, "Being on this broken ship seems to have brought us luck, each other."
"Are you saying our goals are aligned?" Kamui asked with a squinted smile, "Earth's fighting expert."
Takasugi casually shrugged and replied softly, "At least neither came here for sightseeing."
"It is sightseeing," Kamui retorted, "just a journey to hell."
Hearing this, Takasugi couldn't help but chuckle.
"Exactly..." Takasugi said, his eyes suddenly widening as he drew his sword.
After several flashes of the blade, the heavy shackles binding Kamui's hands and feet shattered into pieces, and Kamui, due to inertia, fell forward face down.
However, no one was surprised or alarmed, especially Admiral Aho, who was on the viewing stand, now smiling with interest at Kamui and Takasugi on the execution platform.
Gorou, only a few meters from the platform, gestured with his hand. Understanding the signal, the Sky Pirates moved toward the platform with their weapons ready.
Takasugi showed no panic, softly saying, "At least... rest in peace in hell... the crew of the broken ship."
Turning his head, Takasugi's expression became fierce as he stared at the two Sky Pirates charging him with long spears.
The Sky Pirates, intimidated by Takasugi's gaze, stopped and swallowed nervously.
Immediately after, without hesitation, Takasugi raised his sword and swiftly dealt with one of the Sky Pirates.
Simultaneously, Kamui flipped up from the ground and leaped onto the back of another Sky Pirate, his legs tightly clamping around the pirate's neck, his hands gripping the pirate's head, and with a slight twist, the pirate screamed once before falling silent forever.
Seeing Takasugi eliminate another Sky Pirate, Kamui leaped into the air without hesitation, kicked out, and smashed the remaining pirate's head into the floor.
The entire execution platform broke apart under the force of Kamui's kick.
After finishing, Kamui rolled behind Takasugi, standing up and turning his back to him.
"Somehow, it feels a bit nostalgic," Takasugi remarked casually, glancing at the spot Kamui had just smashed.
"Is that so?" Kamui squinted, smiling, "But isn't there an Earth saying? 'The student surpasses the master,' so I guess I'm stronger than that NEET?"
"What... what?!" Admiral Aho clenched his teeth angrily, staring at Kamui and Takasugi on the execution platform.
"It seems that gamble was useless," Kamui continued, "Regardless of the outcome, neither of us will die. I'm impressed with him, but it's a bit of a pity; I thought I could catch the tail you mentioned."
"The precondition is that you could fight a thousand like him," Takasugi chuckled softly, raising his glittering sword, "And... about that tail, haven't we already caught it? That fox..."
"Huh—?" Kamui dragged out his words, turning his head with a look of surprise, "Really? Is that fox one of that man's people?"
"Maybe not before, but now... it's hard to say," Takasugi replied, the corner of his mouth curving slightly.
"It's getting more interesting," Kamui remarked with emotion, "It makes me want to hurry to the prison to see that fox; it was supposed to be my gift."
"Rarely do we agree, but I feel the same now," Takasugi responded, "But... it's probably too late, isn't it? That kind of meticulous guy wouldn't let someone exposed continue under our watch."
"But he doesn't seem like the type to deal with that kind of woman casually, right?"
"Ah, but women always seem to give up everything for him; you know that too, right?"
"Ha ha ha, I'm shocked by him managing to turn that fox into one of his own in just a few days," Kamui couldn't help but laugh.
"Whether it is true or not might never be proven," Takasugi casually replied, "But now... you might understand a bit; that man is a more hopeless case than even me."
"Indeed, but in my view, you are beyond hope."
"You too..."
"But between two hopeless idiots and one hopeless entity, who do you think would win?" Kamui asked with interest.
"Who knows..." Takasugi scoffed.
"Takasugi—!!" Admiral Aho, holding a microphone and veins bulging on his face, shouted, "You are now useless props! Vanish into the cosmic dust!"
Just as he finished speaking, all the surrounding pirates aimed their rifles at Kamui and Takasugi.
"It's you who are useless," Takasugi's eyes twinkled mischievously, "Didn't I say? I'm in charge of the mistakes here. In this execution ground, I am the only executioner; this is your guillotine!"
As soon as Takasugi finished speaking, the doors on both sides of the execution platform were blown open, and members of the Ghost Squad, wielding swords, charged in.
Bang bang! After firing two shots in the crowd, Yatsu addressed Takasugi on the execution platform, "Lord Shinsuke! It's indeed befitting of a Joi patriot! Yatsu will follow you all her life!"
"Have you all gone mad?" Takechi shouted, "How could so few people stand a chance against Harusame? Rather than this, what we can do now is..."
Takechi was cut off, suddenly crushed under the body of a Sky Pirate Takechi had just killed.
"Hmph," Takechi, still maintaining his sword-wielding stance, snorted, "How can you oppose the world if you remain sober?"
A chaotic battle began.
"You bunch of damn monkeys!" Admiral Aho, clenching his fists, yelled furiously, "What are you doing?! Kill them!"
Boom! As he spoke, the door on one side of the execution ground was blown open again, and then the members of the Seventh Division, all Nightowls, rushed in and joined the brawl.
Slowly walking in, Abuto looked at Kamui on the execution platform, pretending to complain, "What the hell, I was worried to death, even paddled here with my hands, and you're more lively than usual—this damn kid!"
"The Seventh Division!" a pirate exclaimed in shock, "Impossible! Why are they still alive..."
"Admiral!" Gorou called out to the high platform, "It's bad! I heard the Seventh Division is still alive, and the guys from the other divisions are turning their coats one by one! The... situation has completely changed..."
But just as he finished speaking, Gorou suddenly noticed something. Admiral Aho had already turned and sneaked away alone, "Eh? Admiral—!!"
...
"Damn it!!" Admiral Aho stood in front of the electronic door of a spaceship, cursing loudly while pressing the side switch, "Kamui! Takasugi! Unforgivable!"
"Admiral!" Gorou, who had somehow caught up, complained, "You were planning to run away alone! Take me with you, you idiot admiral!"
"Ah! You finally said it!" Admiral Aho turned around, gritting his teeth, "I pretended not to hear before, but you finally said it! You're also to be executed!"
As the electronic door opened, Gorou and Admiral Aho rushed in, racing each other.
"Hurry up and start it! What are you doing?!" Admiral Aho yelled.
"Stop nagging!" Gorou, frantically pressing various buttons, yelled back, "Subordinates usually do this kind of thing; I don't know how!"
"Aren't you the hook-handed one?!" Admiral Aho, also trying various buttons, retorted, "You're like a captain!"
"Aren't you the admiral?!" Gorou shot back without thinking.
Just then, Gorou suddenly noticed that the large screen in front of him had lit up, showing Kamui waving and smiling on the screen.
"Hmm? Hey, what's that?"
Admiral Aho, seeing this, instantly broke out in a cold sweat: "Kam... Kamui!"
"Don't call me Kamui, you idiot admiral..." Kamui said as he ran straight towards the spaceship, leaping up as he neared and kicked the spacecraft, "From today, please call me 'Idiot Admiral'!"
Boom!!
The spaceship exploded instantly from Kamui's kick, and then, ignoring the destroyed spaceship, Kamui approached Takasugi and said, "I owe you a big favor, so I guess our duel will have to be postponed, but I enjoyed our journey through hell with you."
Takasugi chuckled softly, then turned his gaze outside the window.
"But now, it turns out he's right under my nose," Kamui squinted, smiling refreshingly, "It's exciting; maybe we'll find his eyes soon."
"It seems your calculation was wrong," Takasugi, looking at a departing Harusame spaceship through the window, chuckled lightly, "The opponent reacted much faster than us."
"Ah, well, we did some useless work, huh?" Kamui pretended to be troubled.
"How could it be useless? Isn't there still an 'Idiot Admiral' identity?" Takasugi responded lightly.
"Speaking of which, shouldn't we now go check on that fox? If it's really as you say..." Kamui hinted.
...
It was still that dim dungeon, but now, the corridor's end cell was utterly silent.
Kamui crouched down, looking at a strangled neck, the head hanging lifelessly, still clutching a screw and nut in its hand, showing a hint of regret.
"Ah la, already committed suicide~," Kamui remarked softly, "But... to die clutching dice, it seems he was quite satisfied. But then again, that man is becoming more and more exciting to me, to think he could make this woman, who had no previous ties, sell her soul for him in just a couple of days; what's the term? Charisma?"
"I don't recall that idiot having that," Takasugi chuckled from behind Kamui.
"But the fact that he so easily reclaimed that fox remains, doesn't it?"
"Captain found nothing," Abuto approached slowly, "That segment of surveillance footage is gone, and... there's something even stranger."
"What is it? Ghosts on the pirate ship?" Kamui stood up, smiling.
"Ah, indeed, it's like a ghost," Abuto's expression grew somewhat serious, "After matching the bodies from the fight and all the registered crew and staff of this ship, we found... not a single person is missing! That means..."
"That means, the ship that ran away didn't have any Harusame people on it, or maybe... there was no one on it at all..." Kamui picked up, raising a finger.
"If there were no people, how could we possibly not catch up?" Abuto shrugged.
"It's really... getting more impressive; I'm inquisitive about how he managed to place people..." Kamui suddenly realized something, his expression changing instantly, "That bastard, placing people all in that mixed-up prison! No wonder we could never find..."
"It's really... getting more interesting," Takasugi couldn't help but laugh, "I'm becoming increasingly curious about what you want to do, Jiang... Cheng!"
...
Earth, Edo, Yoshiwara.
Kawaki, sitting in front of a computer, suddenly sneezed and tucked his phone back into his pocket.
"Caught a cold?" Kawaki muttered to himself.
"Idiots don't catch colds," Tsukuyo's voice came from behind Kawaki.
"What's wrong? Can't sleep again?" Kawaki asked casually.
Reminded of something, Tsukuyo blushed and replied incoherently, "It's... it's not that!"
"That's good then," Kawaki shrugged, not turning back.