Taro continues walking down the lonely street. The silence is heavy.

Taro (thinking): “I must stay in the shadows… if they find out the truth, everything will fall apart.”

A noise behind him makes him stop.

Taro: “…”

Suddenly, a hooded figure appears and throws a knife at him.

Taro quickly dodges, the knife sticking into a lamppost.

The figure slowly approaches, with a sinister smile.

Assassin: “You’ve become careless, Matsumoto.”

Taro frowns and adopts a defensive stance.

Taro: “Who sent you?”

The assassin laughs as he pulls out a knife.

Assassin: “I’m just a message. Someone wants you dead.”

Taro sighs.

Taro: “There’s always someone wanting to kill me.”

The assassin lunges for the attack.

Taro dodges easily and hits the assassin in the stomach with his elbow.

The assassin staggers, but smiles.

Assassin: “Not bad… you’re still a monster.”

Taro grabs his wrist and slams him into the wall.

Taro: “Tell me who sent you. Now.”

The assassin spits out blood and laughs.

Assassin: “It’s too late, Matsumoto… they’re coming for you.”

Suddenly, a gunshot rings out in the distance.

The assassin falls dead, a hole in his head.

Taro looks up at the buildings, but sees no one.

Taro (thinking): “A sniper. This is bigger than I thought.”

Before he leaves, he checks the corpse and finds a card with a strange symbol on it.

His face hardens in recognition.

Taro: “The Asakura…”

With the card in his hand, Taro walks away, while in the shadows, someone watches him.

In a luxurious hall, several suited men sit at a large table. One of them, his face covered by darkness, places a cigarette in his mouth.

???: “He failed.”

Another man crosses his arms.

Man 1: “We knew it wouldn’t be easy.”

The leader smiles coldly.

???: “It doesn’t matter. There are many ways to hunt a wolf… and sooner or later, Taro Matsumoto will fall.”

Meanwhile, Taro continues walking through the city, with the card in his hand.

End of chapter.