Upon hearing these words, there was no need for Ninomiya Jino to pass judgment; Master Ei Shikuu simply tossed his gun aside.

"Can we start now?" Master Ei Shikuu asked in a muffled voice.

Kazama Tatsuya nodded, and Ninomiya Jino called out once again for everyone to take their positions. Watanabe Shun's palms were sweaty as he nervously fixed his gaze on Master Ei Shikuu, rubbing his palms together.

"Begin—"

As soon as Ninomiya Jino's voice fell, gunshots rang out.

Watanabe Shun thought he was merely firing a signal shot to liven things up, and with a backhand, he slapped Master Ei Shikuu hard across the face.

With a crisp sound, he caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye of Ninomiya Jino collapsing straight to the ground.

Huh?

Realizing something was wrong, Master Ei Shikuu took a step back, but before he could do anything, another shot rang out, and a bloody hole appeared on his forehead, sending him tumbling backwards to the ground.

This time, Watanabe Shun heard clearly that it was Kazama Tatsuya who fired the shot.

"Where'd you get the gun from... huh?" Watanabe Shun looked down and saw Kazama Tatsuya twisting open his prosthetic limb, revealing a cavity that held a revolver, which he had just pulled out from there.

Previously, when Kazama Tatsuya's PDST was severe, he bought a gun for self-defense on the black market. Later, when his mood improved, he didn't sell the gun, instead hiding it in the prosthetic limb just in case he needed it for self-defense.

Honestly, having a missing hand does have its advantages.

"Got it from the black market. Keep your mouth shut and don't tell anyone else," Kazama Tatsuya advised, bending down to retrieve the bullet from the corpse's forehead, picking up the shell from the ground, and pocketing them both. He then picked up the rifle and fired a few more shots at the two corpses.

"Brilliant, boss!"

Watanabe Shun gave a thumbs-up, thinking his boss was indeed worthy of being the boss, always prepared for anything. If it were him, he'd only have to endure the slap unhappily.

"Let's go, quickly meet up with Tamako and the others." Kazama Tatsuya tucked the revolver back into the prosthetic limb, cradled the rifle in one arm, and headed towards the designated meeting point.

Watanabe Shun hurriedly followed, occasionally glancing at his boss's prosthetic limb, finding it rather cool. Prosthetics do have their allure for men, though, unfortunately, he couldn't use one.

"You shouldn't keep staring," Kazama Tatsuya couldn't help commenting, "If you keep staring, others will become wary. Even Tamako can tell that something's up."

"Oh, oh, then I won't look anymore."

Watanabe Shun turned his head, but his eyes still glanced sideways, using the corner of his eye to peek at the boss's prosthetic limb.

"..."

Kazama Tatsuya kicked him and continued walking toward the depths of the dense forest.

...

Due to Uesugi Shion's broadcast revealing the plan, the Cat Island manager decided to initiate a controlled burn ahead of schedule. The security team cleared a firebreak circle in the woods and set it aflame along the perimeter, soon illuminating Cat Island.

Afterward, Kujo Yua was permitted to bring people inside, allowed to scout the outer areas of Cat Island to apprehend or shoot the fugitives but was not allowed to enter the core area of Cat Island.

With permission granted, Kujo Yua immediately led a team onto the island, consisting of over a hundred fully armed tactical personnel.

Among the team were tracking experts who could discern traces on the deserted island. They circled the perimeter and confirmed the invaders' route, advancing towards the center of the island along their path.

Minamoto Tamako and the others were on their way to the meeting point to rendezvous with Kazama Tatsuya and his companion.

Fushimi Roku led the way, clearing the path; Minamoto Tamako followed closely behind, cradling a rifle and keeping a vigilant watch on her surroundings. Her speed wasn't fast, but her endurance was significantly improved, at least she wasn't falling behind anymore; Moriyama Yasurou brought up the rear while recording the course, as requested by Minamoto Tamako, though she didn't know why, but did it anyway.

After about twenty minutes of traveling, Fushimi Roku suddenly halted, signaling Minamoto Tamako and the others to stop.

"What's wrong?" Minamoto Tamako released the rifle's safety, "Danger?"

Fushimi Roku said nothing, drawing a short sword and leaning forward to part the grass ahead revealing a nearly transparent line strung low to the ground.

"There's a trap, but unsure if it's real or fake," Fushimi Roku said.

Laying fake traps in the jungle is an effective tactic, capable of exhausting the enemy both physically and mentally and significantly slowing their progress.

"Let's bypass it," Minamoto Tamako quickly decided, "Retrace five hundred meters along our previous route, and circle around from there as the center..."

Before her words fell, a twang was heard, and a crossbow arrow shot forth, followed closely by two gunshots!

Fushimi Roku glanced out of the corner of his eye to see someone dashing out from the woods, but he couldn't stop them. With his left hand, he flicked the blade to deflect the crossbow arrow while his right hand grabbed Minamoto Tamako, rolling her into the grass for cover.

The intruder pinned Moriyama Yasurou to the ground, deftly flicking away the rifle from her hand and shackling her; immediately another person darted out to assist the assailant, together they carried Moriyama Yasurou away.

During the struggle, Moriyama Yasurou attempted to resist but was futile, her forehead was struck with a gunstock, causing a bloody flow.

Minamoto Tamako lay in the grass, just regaining her senses, prepared to assist, but found Moriyama Yasurou missing.

"They were targeting her," Fushimi Roku whispered, "The attackers were aiming to abduct."

"Then what do we do?" Minamoto Tamako was momentarily flustered and instinctively relied on Fushimi Roku, "How did they know we'd pass through here?"

"Probably thermal imaging, I noticed they were wearing bulky gear on their heads, likely using infrared to spot our trail."

Fushimi Roku was troubled; he could follow and kill the attackers, but doing so would leave Minamoto Tamako unattended; if he didn't pursue, Moriyama Yasurou's fate would remain uncertain, and he'd be left helpless on the spot.

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