Hiro stood outside a dimly lit factory on the outskirts of the Shinjuku district, recalling the instructions Director Yumi gave him before he had left HQ. She had provided him with a swift but detailed briefing of the mission.


    <hr>


    “Now remember, Hiro,” she said, her tone firm, “Your objective in this, is to retrieve the original criminal organization documents related to the sales of illegal weapons. If possible, gather any valuable intel on the organization itself. But under no circumstances are you to directly engage the enemy, not unless it’s absolutely necessary.”


    “Fiiiine, whatever you say, boss. Jeez,” Hiro replied with a smirk under his mask, his tone casual despite the mission''s importance.


    Rei, standing beside Yumi, interjected. “The base is located within Shinjuku, and it’s heavily guarded. You’ll need to sneak inside, find the boss’s office, and retrieve the documents from a safe located inside. Easy, right?”


    Hiro rolled his eyes and removed his mask. “Yeah, you’re right it is easy. Easy to forget everything you just said, that is,” he muttered.


    Rei frowned, but before she could respond, Director Yumi cut in, her voice serious.


    “This isn’t a game, Hiro. Those documents could contain crucial information about their plans, motives, and allies. We can’t afford to let this slip by.”


    Seeing the gravity in her expression, Hiro met her gaze and nodded, his usual aloofness giving way to his resolve. “Alright, alright. Let’s just get this over with.”


    <hr>


    Back to the Present


    Hiro shook off the flashback and refocused on the mission on hand. Crawling through the factory’s ventilation system, he carefully navigated throw the narrow shafts. Below, he suddenly overheard two guards talking.


    “Can you believe it? They’re planning on expanding the operation overseas. Soon, we’ll be unstoppable,” one guard, whispered.


    “Yeah, and with the government contacts we’ve got, no one will even see it coming,” the other smugly replied.


    Hiro smirked in the shadows. ‘So, they’re widening their reach huh… Guess Yumi was right; this is bigger than we thought.’


    Continuing through the shafts, he found a grate above a corridor and silently slid it open. Dropping down, he moved swiftly through the factory’s lit halls.


    Suddenly, footsteps echoed from around the corner. Pressing himself flat against the wall, Hiro took a quick peek. Two guards were approaching his location.


    ‘Only two? Should I take them out?’ he wondered, feeling his inner demon’s temptation rise. “Just kill the both them,” it whispered.


    Hiro shook his head. “I better not take the risk.”


    As the guards approached, he took a few steps back, crouched low, and then sprinted forward. Timing his move perfectly, he ran up the wall and launched himself over their heads, landing silently behind them.


    One of the guards glanced back, puzzled. “Did you just hear something?”


    “Nah, must’ve been one of the pipes,” his partner replied.


    Moving swiftly down the hallway, he spotted two more guards stationed outside a door.


    “That must be where they’re keeping the safe and the files,” he whispered to himself. He considered his options, and then sighed. “Guess I’m done sneaking around.”


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    He stepped out of hiding and into view, charging straight for the guards.


    “What the—?! Where the hell did you come from?!” one shouted, raising his gun and aiming it straight at Hiro. But before he could fire, Hiro was already on him.


    Grabbing the guard’s arm, he twisted it, sending the gun clattering to the ground. With his free hand, he delivered a swift punch to the guard’s jaw, knocking him out. The second guard lunged, knife in hand, aiming for Hiro’s ribs. However, the blade did not pierce his body.


    “What the—stab-proof?” the guard stammered.


    “Surprised?” Hiro asked, grabbing the man by the collar and delivering a brutal head-butt. The guard slumped to the floor, unconscious.


    Stepping over their bodies, Hiro reached for the door handle. “Locked, huh?” Without missing a beat, he kicked it open. “Well, now it’s open.”


    Inside, he spotted the safe. And with practiced skill, he cracked it open, revealing a stack of classified documents. “Is this it?” he muttered to himself, grabbing the files.


    Then he suddenly, sensed someone behind him. “Well, well… look what we have here,” a voice sneered.


    Hiro felt the cold barrel of a gun press against the back of his head. The unmistakable click echoed in his ear. “Now, play nice and put your hands in the air.”


    He slowly began raising his hands, a calm smile on his face. “Do you really think you can pull the trigger fast enough?”


    The gunman hesitated. And in a flash, Hiro pivoted on his heel, dodging the line of fire. He seized the guard’s wrist, twisting it, and wrenched the gun away before delivering a powerful elbow to the man’s face.


    The guard crumpled to the ground. As Hiro pocketed the documents in his bag, and turned to leave, the factory erupted with the blaring sound of alarms.


    Clicking his tongue in annoyance, he muttered, “Guess it’s time to go.”


    He slipped on his mask, and sprinted towards the back exit, weaving through the hallways. Just as he rounded a corner, three guards appeared in his path.


    “There he is!” one of them shouted, raising his gun.


    Hiro barely had a moment to react before a bullet came flying straight for his face. Instinct taking over—he twisted his body just in time, the bullet grazing past his mask. Without missing a beat, he lunged forward, closing the distance in an instant.


    Before the first guard could fire another shot, Hiro grabbed the barrel of his gun, twisting it out of his grip. In one swift motion, he fieldstripped the weapon, dismantling it in mere seconds.


    The guard’s eyes widened in shock. “What the—how the hell did you—”


    Hiro didn’t give him time to finish. He drove his knee into the man’s gut, knocking the wind out of him, then delivered a crushing elbow to the back of his head, sending him crashing to the ground.


    Before he could react, another guard grabbed him from behind, locking him in a full nelson, restricting his arms.


    “Tch—how annoying,” Hiro muttered under his breath.


    The third guard wasted no time, raising his dagger high in the air before bringing it down, aiming straight for Hiro’s head.


    Thinking fast, Hiro yanked his legs up, using the force to lift himself off the ground. With his feet pressed against the second guard’s legs, he kicked off with full strength, sending both of them tumbling backward.


    As they hit the ground, Hiro twisted his body mid-fall, landing on top of his captor. He wrenched free of the hold and slammed his elbow into the man’s temple, knocking him out cold.


    The last guard, still recovering from the failed stab attempt, lunged again—but Hiro was faster. He caught the man’s wrist, twisted it sharply, forcing the dagger from his grasp, he then spun and drove a sharp kick to the side of his head, knocking him unconscious.


    The remaining guard, who had grabbed him earlier, groaned and pushed himself up. “You little shit—”


    Hiro cut him off by raising his knee and driving it straight into the man''s groin. The guard let out a strangled gasp, his entire body seizing up in pain.


    “Night-night,” Hiro muttered, delivering a final spinning kick to the side of his head, rendering him unconscious.


    He exhaled sharply, rolling his shoulders. “What a pain… so much for keeping a low profile.”


    Rushing to the back entrance, he froze. As a sudden vision struck him, a foresight of himself getting shot twice, once in the leg and once in the head.


    “Shit.” He muttered, as he quickly sprang himself backward just as two bullets pierced the floor where he had been standing moments ago. His eyes shot up, scanning the area. On the factory’s overhead catwalk, a sniper adjusted his aim, already preparing to fire again.


    “Damn, looks like they were expecting me.” Just then, he found himself surrounded by a large group of heavily armed guards. The leader of the group then stepped forward, clapping his hands mockingly.


    “Well, well, look what we have here. A little rat sneaking around our turf,” he sneered. “A little birdy told me you’d be coming, so we prepared a warm welcome. Oh, and by the way, you can lose the mask, kid.”


    “What?” Hiro muttered, taken aback.


    The man grinned. “That’s right. I know exactly who you are… Hiroshi Yamaguchi.”


    Hiro slowly pulled off his mask, clicking his tongue in irritation. “Well, this sure got a whole lot interesting.”


    End of the 11^th Chapter.