After the luxurious lunch at the upscale restaurant, we wrapped up by enjoying sweet desserts while chatting.

Most of the conversation revolved around Sasha.

It made sense, as this was likely the first time she had been apart from her parents for such a long time, so they had a lot to catch up on.

Sasha enthusiastically described everything that had happened during her six months in Japan as an exchange student.

But even though Sasha’s Japanese was excellent, her vocabulary was still limited compared to a typical high school student, so she mixed in some Russian words that we couldn’t understand.

Naturally, this led Sasha’s parents to start speaking Russian as well, and before long, we all found ourselves lost, wondering, “Where are we? Who am I?”

Realizing this a bit late, Sasha’s mother cleared her throat and said,

“I’m sorry. Here we are, talking only among ourselves after inviting Sasha’s friends.”

Startled, Rika, who had been daydreaming, quickly waved her hands.

“No! No! You haven’t seen each other in a while! We understand!”

Finding Rika’s reaction quite cute, Sasha’s mother chuckled and said,

“Rika, you’re such a thoughtful child.”

“Hehe…”

Rika scratched the back of her head, looking a bit embarrassed.

In any case, thanks to Sasha’s mother’s timely intervention, Ivan, who had been deeply engrossed in conversation with Sasha, stood up and said,

“Sasha, why don’t you go up and have fun with your friends? We have somewhere to visit for a while.”

“Okay. See you at dinner.”

After seeing her parents off as they left the hotel, Sasha returned with an excited expression and said to us,

“Shall we go up too?”

The Class President asked Sasha,

“Aren’t we getting in the way of you spending time with your parents?”

“It’s fine. They said they’ll be staying in Japan for a week.”

“That’s a relief, then.”

As the Class President nodded in agreement, Sasha suddenly strode over and linked her arm with mine.

“?!?!”

Startled by the soft sensation against my arm, I tried to pull away, but Sasha tightened her grip and looked up at me.

“Just come quietly, Kim Yu-seong. I know your weakness.”

“What?”

My weakness?

I was momentarily taken aback by her sudden remark, but then a thought crossed my mind.

Could it be that Sasha somehow found out about my relationship with the President?

“…Let’s go.”

As a result, I had no choice but to let Sasha lead me away, unable to put up much resistance, despite the questioning looks we received from those around us.


Meanwhile, as Kim Yu-seong and the others headed to Sasha’s suite—

Ivan and his wife, Yelena, who had left the hotel, were traveling through downtown Tokyo in a large sedan.

“Lena, it’s been a while since we’ve come to Japan together, hasn’t it?”

“Yes, the last time I came to Japan was ten years ago.”

As Yelena mentioned, her last visit to Japan was in 2008.

She had come to Japan to watch the finals of the 4th GOF, which had been held annually since 1999.

2008 was also a year that Ivan could never forget for many reasons.

It was the year he solidified his position as the world’s strongest by achieving a Grand Slam with three consecutive GOF victories, only to experience his first official defeat.

The Black Yaksha, who had lost every time but won once, disappeared afterward, leaving the debate over the greatest fighter of all time unresolved among enthusiasts.

From Ivan’s perspective, it was quite frustrating.

He had been caught off guard by an unfamiliar technique, but he was confident he would win if they fought again.

‘Black Yaksha… What on earth are you up to?’

The intelligence of the Easter Egg Company, which Ivan commanded, rivaled that of his country’s SVR or the U.S. CIA.

That’s because they had absorbed many former KGB members from the Soviet era.

Boris, Ivan’s right-hand man, was one of them.

But even with such overwhelming intelligence, tracking down the reclusive Black Yaksha had proven impossible.

They had received numerous reports of sightings in Japan, but the man was as elusive as ever. Unlike Russia, which was mostly flat, Japan’s mountainous terrain made it the perfect place for someone to live in seclusion away from prying eyes.

“Boss, we’ve arrived at our destination.”

The driver’s voice snapped Ivan out of his thoughts.

Clunk!

As the door of the large sedan opened and Ivan and Yelena stepped out of the back seat, the yakuza, who had been waiting at the entrance of the mansion, all bowed their heads in unison.

An ordinary person might have been overwhelmed by their disciplined display, but this was the “strongest man in the world.”

“Welcome, Boss Ivan.”

He was greeted by a yakuza with blood-red hair and a distinctive cross-shaped scar on his face.

“It’s been a while, red-haired brat.”

“…These days, they call me ‘Sea of Blood’.”

Tojo Naoto.

The 6th leader of the long-standing Tojo Clan.

He and his right-hand man, Takeyama, were known as the “Mountain of Corpses and Sea of Blood,” the worst yakuza duo, but they were no match for Ivan, who controlled Russia’s underworld at will.

“Well, what you’re called doesn’t really matter, does it? We’re here to talk business, after all.”

“Please, come inside. I’ll show you the way.”

“Alright. Lead the way.”

Beyond the wide-open gate, hundreds of yakuza were lined up in the courtyard.

It was nothing more than a show of power by the Tojo Clan, but Ivan didn’t even blink.

He calmly took out a cigar from his coat, placed it in his mouth, and lit it himself.

“Fwooo.”

Ivan exhaled a mouthful of smoke and spoke as if he had just remembered something.

“By the way, I ran into your daughter before coming here.”

“…My daughter?”

For a moment, Tojo Naoto, who was walking ahead, tensed up, thinking Ivan was threatening him with his family, but it’s important to hear people out.

“My daughter is in Japan as an exchange student right now. It seems the two of them are friends.”

“I… see.”

Naoto already knew this since she had visited his home before, but he felt like he might have misunderstood something, so his response was somewhat vague.

“I can’t stay in Japan for long, so I’d like you to keep an eye on my daughter.”

“…Understood.”

Realizing that even a man as ruthless as Ivan could worry about his daughter, Naoto felt slightly relieved and decided to let go of his unnecessary tension.

After all, making a mistake during negotiations would only hurt him.


At the same time.

“Kim Yu-seong, was it?”

Having escaped his daughter Fuma Yukika’s wrath, Fuma Kotaro stood atop a utility pole, extending his senses across Tokyo.

In truth, finding someone this way was nearly impossible in most cases.

Searching for a single person in a city of millions was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

However, the story changed if there was a clue to go on.

The Kim Yu-seong he was searching for had recently defeated Ivan Romanov and Hattori Hanzo, two of the world’s top fighters, earning the title of Japan’s strongest.

A man like that would possess immense internal qi, and sensing such a powerful presence was a simple task for a ninja like Fuma Kotaro.

1 km.

2 km.

5 km.

His range of detection expanded steadily.

Soon, his senses picked up on two powerful qis.

One radiated heat like the sun, its body seemingly burning with a mirage-like intensity.

The other was a cold, refined qi, like the wind of Siberia, condensed as solid as Arctic ice.

The latter presence was familiar to Fuma Kotaro.

After all, they had faced each other four times on the international stage.

‘Ivan Romanov… Why is he in Japan?’

The last time they had met was ten years ago.

After raising his worth to the maximum with that final battle, Fuma Kotaro left his village.

He believed that only then would the village elders truly feel his absence.

‘Damn, this is no time to get distracted.’

Fuma Kotaro quickly cut off his detection to avoid being sensed in return and began moving toward the sun-like qi he had found to the east.

But at that moment, he couldn’t have imagined…

…that Ivan had already detected his presence in Tokyo.

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