In the outskirts of Tokyo's Setagaya district, not far from the hospital, there was a family restaurant.
Inside, customers all wore nervous expressions as they glanced toward the center of the dining area.
Sitting there was a towering man, well over two meters tall. His bulging muscles stretched his suit tightly, and even from a distance, the sharpness of his gaze exuded pressure.
An aura of "don't come near me" radiated from him constantly, as if getting close meant certain death.
Yet what those scared onlookers didn't know was that this beast of a man was also tense.
He was on guard against the blond teenager sitting opposite him, who was only about 175 centimeters tall and looked rather slender.
"It's been four years, hasn't it, Kanoh Agito?"
"…"
The man's name was Kanoh Agito. With monstrous physique and honed instincts, he was the personal gladiator of Dainippon Bank's president and the Kengan Association's chairman, Katahara Metsudo. He was known as "The Fifth Fang of Metsudo."
A man born for battle, undefeated in his lifetime.
And yet, he was more cautious of Takamine Rinji than anyone else.
"Mr. Takamine... Are you here to see Lord Katahara?"
"More or less. Haven't seen that old man in a while. I just called him, and he invited me to drop by. Sounds like he's still full of energy."
Rinji sipped from his drink on the table and smiled at Kanoh.
"You're here to escort me?"
"Yes."
Kanoh, whose expression was always cold and stern, wasn't a talkative type. As he stared at Rinji, he remembered the day they first met.
Flashback: Four Years Ago
"I don't know why Chairman Katahara asked me to fight a kid like you, but I guess I have no choice. Sorry."
In an open-air training ground, suited bodyguards formed a ring.
At the center stood the shirtless and muscular Kanoh Agito, facing off against a twelve-year-old boy.
He didn't understand why, after all the battles and victories he'd had, he was suddenly being ordered to fight a child.
He glanced at the old man watching from the side with a cane. The elder nodded with a smile. Kanoh stepped forward toward the young Rinji.
"Sorry, kid. Bad luck."
As soon as he finished speaking, Kanoh's eyes narrowed.
He threw a punch so powerful it split the air and aimed directly at Rinji's head.
Clang!
The black-suited men around them all gasped in shock—except the old man, who wore a faint smile.
Kanoh felt pain shoot through his fist. The boy had taken the punch head-on without even moving.
"You're called Kanoh Agito, right?" the young Rinji said calmly, his red eyes void of emotion.
Those eyes... didn't seem human.
"Let me ask... If I said I didn't feel a thing from that punch, would it hurt your pride?"
"!?"
Kanoh instinctively took two steps back.
In that instant, he had felt a chill—his entire body screaming at him to run.
"I'm... afraid? Me? The strongest sword of the Dainippon Bank? The Fifth Fang of Metsudo? Afraid of a child?"
"Aaahhhh!!"
Consumed by shame, he roared and delivered a roundhouse kick toward Rinji's head with all his strength.
Crack!
A moment later, searing pain flooded his leg.
His right shin had been shattered, twisted 90 degrees, the bone piercing through the skin as blood poured out.
"Ugh..."
"When you fought me, you treated it like a game."
Rinji stepped forward, staring coldly at Kanoh, who was drenched in cold sweat but hadn't screamed from the pain.
"Baring your fangs at your prey—that's amateurish. It'll get you killed."
That day, Kanoh understood something.
This child before him...
Wasn't human.
Back to Present
After that, Kanoh's leg was treated thanks to Katahara's efforts. Since then, he had trained obsessively to erase the shame of not just defeat—but fear.
Now, after four years, Rinji was back in Japan, seated right in front of him.
"Kanoh... I really hate to say this here, but I think I need to bring it up."
Rinji lowered his head slightly, hair covering his eyes. Kuroki tensed immediately, unsure what this terrifying figure had in mind.
"I..."
"…"
"Forgot my wallet today."
"...Huh?"
Seeing Kanoh's dumbfounded face, Rinji scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "I rushed out to the hospital after getting a call. Forgot my wallet at the president's place."
"…"
"I ordered a cola and an omurice while waiting for you. But now... well, turns out I can't pay. So, uh, Kanoh, did you bring money?"
Of course, he did have money—Yamashita Kazuo had returned his check—but it was for several million yen. Using that to pay for lunch would be insane.
"…"
"No way… You didn't bring any either?" Rinji widened his eyes.
"...I'll pay."
"Big-hearted guy!"
Rinji gave him a thumbs-up.
"Mr. Takamine, back to business. Why did you come to Japan to meet Lord Katahara?"
"You know what I did four years ago, right?"
"Yes. You dealt a heavy blow to the Shinomiya family. Chairman Katahara also made a fortune off that." Kanoh frowned. "Did someone find out?"
"Yeah, but it's not a big issue."
Rinji smiled.
"Then you must know what happened right before I made my move."
"...President Amano of Amano Pharmaceuticals committed suicide."
"That's right. Before his death, Uncle Amano told me that work had caused a rift between him and his wife. It was his biggest regret. He always cared about his family... supposedly had a son and a daughter."
"You want to..."
"I want to restart Amano Pharmaceuticals—and find his family. But to raise funds quickly, I need the old man's help with a little matter."