The Paper Eagle arrived at another boarding station, an open area where several other eagles stood in a row.

It gradually slowed the beating of its wings and gently landed.

Once it had fully landed, the ramp at its chest opened, and Gotan, Mania, and Kubo descended. The ramp then closed again, and the eagle’s eyes lost their glow and stopped moving.

They began walking calmly. The streets were busier, and the area more developed. Gotan and Mania admired the view of the Capital, their faces full of awe.

“Welcome back to the Capital,” said Kubo, chewing his gum and blowing bubbles.

“Sensei, what’s that gum you’re always chewing? Is it tasty?”

“Ah, this? It’s not really food… Well, you guys should know that soldiers live in their own homes. The Headquarters is just for work. That means you’ll have to rent a room or a house, depending on your financial situation.”

“My dad left me a lot of money. I’m rich. She’s the broke one.”

“For now! Once I join the Special Unit, I’ll be swimming in cash,” Mania shot back.

“Alright, so… where are you two planning to stay?”

“Actually, my dad left a house here when we moved away. I’ll stay there. What about you, Mania?”

“My parents sold their house before we left.”

“You can move in with me, if you want,” Gotan offered, casually.

“Hey, kid! You can’t just invite a lady to live with you like that,” Kubo said, clearly flustered.

“A lady? Come on, it’s just Mania,” Gotan replied matter-of-factly.

“What are you two even talking about!? Next time the captain calls me a “lady”, I’ll headbutt you in my Red Mode. And the next time you, Gotan, call me “not a lady” I’ll headbutt you too,” Mania snapped.

The two looked at each other, confused. So… should they treat her like a lady or not?

“Anyway… unfortunately, because of your father’s death, we ended up staying an extra day. That means no day off. Tomorrow is Arena Day.”

“Sensei… what if we don’t pass?”

The mood immediately turned tense. Everyone stared at each other seriously…

Then suddenly, all three burst out laughing at the same time. Kubo laughed loudly with his hands on his hips, looking up. Mania was holding her stomach, leaning on Gotan’s shoulder, and Gotan was gasping for air, unable to stop laughing.

“Sensei, what if we don’t pass?” Mania repeated sarcastically. “Yeah, right!”

“Well, you both lived here before, so you won’t get lost. I’ve got to file the travel report and attend a meeting, and I’m already late. I’ll see you both back here first thing tomorrow morning.”

“See you tomorrow, Sensei.”

“Bye, Captain!”

Kubo walked off.

“Gotan, before you head home, help me look for a room to rent.”

“Sure, let’s go!”

And the two of them left together.

 

***         

 

Gotan and Mania were walking, looking around as they searched for something. Suddenly, Gotan spotted it. From his reaction, he had clearly found what he was looking for.

“Look!” he pointed. “I think we’ve found a place.”

There was a small establishment with a row of rental rooms. They headed toward it.

But someone was walking straight toward them — it was Sagato, serious and mysterious, his aura intense.

The moment Mania saw him, she looked intrigued. Something about that boy clearly caught her attention.

The two locked eyes briefly. But Sagato turned his gaze away, indifferent.

As they passed each other, their shoulders bumped. Mania immediately turned around, annoyed, and shouted:

“Watch where you're going, you idi…!?”

But Sagato was gone.

She looked around, confused, and saw him already far off in the distance, walking calmly as he disappeared from view.

She turned to Gotan to see if he had noticed anything, but he was focused on reaching their destination.

So they simply kept walking.

 

***         

 

At the service counter, Gotan and Mania stood before an older woman.

“We’d like to rent a room!” Gotan said.

“For the two of you? This is a family place,” the woman replied with a disapproving look.

“Aahh! Do I look like some girl who cares about that kind of thing?” Mania snapped.

“Hmm. You do look like a troublemaker, actually,” the woman shot back.

“Just give me the keys before I split you in half.”

“You need to pay two months in advance,” said the woman, handing over the keys.

“Two months!? That’s robbery! You’re charging me for time I haven’t even stayed here yet? What if I die before that!?”

“You don’t look like someone who’s dying anytime soon.”

Mania snatched the keys, clearly annoyed.

“Gotan! Pay for me, I’ll pay you back later. Excuse me!” she said as she stormed off.

“She’s not going to pay you back, is she, boy?” the woman asked, knowingly.

“She never pays me back,” Gotan replied with a defeated tone, making a victim face.

The woman shook her head, lamenting Mania’s behavior.

 

***        

 

In the hallway, Mania unlocked the second-to-last door. Gotan approached from behind.

“Mania, I’m heading home. See you tomorrow.”

“Did you pay already?”

“Yep. Paid for five months upfront.”

“Five months? I only told you to pay for two. Now I really won’t be able to pay you back.”

“You were never going to pay me back!” Gotan shouted.

“Byeee!” Mania replied with an awkward smile, she quickly entered the room and then slammed the door shut.

Gotan sighed, rolled his eyes, and walked off.

 

***         

 

Inside her room, Mania stared longingly at her bed.

“Man, the bed is calling. Do I really need to shower first? Wish my Green Mode, besides regeneration and recovery, could clean body fluids too… But life isn’t perfect. Fine, let’s shower.”

She headed to the bathroom.

 

***          

 

Meanwhile, in the meeting room at Headquarters, everyone was already seated in their usual spots. But Kubo still hadn’t arrived.

The Feudal Lord, who was reading some papers, finished up and set them on the table.

“I’ve finished reading the reports. Suji, you write too much. There’s way too much unnecessary info. Try being more concise next time.”

“Or maybe the Feudal Lord just doesn’t want to read that much,” Suji replied and the Feudal Lord gave him a stern look. “Fine, I get it. But instead of critiquing my writing skills, shouldn’t we be focusing on Kubo, who isn’t even here?”

“As you know, due to the death of Rino Amazo, he had to stay longer in the village. His delay is probably because of that.”

“Speaking of which… we need to catch the killer as soon as possible. How’s the investigation going?” Hiro asked with a sad expression.

“Kubo is now in charge of the investigation, so we can only wait for him before moving forward,” the Feudal Lord replied.

“What happens to our nation without its strongest clan? The purple blood clan was what kept our military strength above the other nations. Without them, we’ve fallen to the level of other nations, or possibly even lower,” reflected Minata.

“True! We all know each nation has spies disguised as tourists or diplomats. By now, the other nations must already know we’ve lost our greatest weapon,” added Suji.

“I believe our last hope is the Kamui Clan, but only if they can awaken their black blood again,” suggested the Feudal Lord.

“But the Kamui Clan hasn’t awakened black blood in three or four generations, not since the war ended. Sure, they’re prodigies, but without black blood, they can’t be our main weapon,” Suji said provocatively.

Hoshino Kamui was clearly fuming at the comments about black blood.

“I am the most qualified to speak for my clan. And I say: in the absence of the Amazo Clan, we are the most capable of being this nation's primary force,” Hoshino responded, deadly serious.

“Did I hear that right? You think your clan deserves to be our trump card, even without black blood?” Minata asked, incredulous.

“Our black blood only awakened under war pressure and the bloodshed of enemies. That makes it almost impossible to awaken in peacetime. But once the Great War begins, I’m confident it will awaken and so will the ‘square’ level.”

“So you want your clan to be designated our main weapon based on the possibility of awakening black blood in a future war?” Suji asked in a provocative tone.

“And all past awakenings of black blood happened before age 21. That’s the peak of elemental power, because after that, it’s almost impossible to evolve further. So you can’t awaken it anymore, not even in the Great War,” added Minata.

“That’s why my son, Kurochi, is training hard. The responsibility to awaken black blood is his now. And I believe he might even awaken it before the war,” Hoshino said, full of hope.

“Kurochi’s a dedicated and disciplined kid. I believe in him. And his sister is impressive too. That’s why your children will enter the Special Unit without going through the Arena,” the Feudal Lord stated.

Then came Kubo’s voice:

“Lucky them! Because my candidates would wipe the floor with them.”

Everyone turned toward him as he walked in, report in hand.

“You’re late,” said Hoshino.

“Well, you all probably know the reason. Here’s my report,” he said, placing it on top of the others and heading to his seat. “So, where were we?”

“Your reports are always too short. Just half a page?” the Feudal Lord asked, surprised as he glanced at Kubo’s report.

“Regarding Rino Amazo’s death, I already sent a detailed message. What else is there to write, besides informing you that I recruited two very strong candidates?”

“Well, Kubo and I will sit down later to discuss Rino’s death, it’s urgent. As for the other matter we were just discussing, let’s leave that for another time. I think we can move on to the main point of this meeting. Any objections?”

“The assassination of the Amazo Clan is a pressing matter. But since you’ll be handling it later, we can now focus on the main point: the Arena,” said Hiro.

“So, according to your reports, Kubo recruited two candidates, while the others recruited three each.”

“Was I the only one to recruit just two?”

“Well, you were assigned to Kraft Village, the only one with just one academy. The other villages have more academies,” replied Hiro.

“Doesn’t matter. Since the rule is that two candidates must qualify, I’m confident both of mine will make it through.”

“Moving on… candidates who win their first-round fight will join the Special Unit. Then, in the following rounds, we’ll assess which ones are worthy of entering the Blood Tournament, which only has three slots. Only the Arena champion will be guaranteed a spot. Understood?”

“Crystal clear!” said Kubo, brimming with confidence.

“Now, excluding Hoshino’s candidates, who are his own children and will be automatically approved to make room for others, we’ll have 14 candidates competing in the Arena.”

“Sixteen!” said a sensual female voice.

Everyone turned, and they were stunned.

It was Aoi Momoa — a stunning 23-year-old woman with light-orange hair. She had a seductive figure, but there was something even more eye-catching: her large breasts.

Her ninja tunic fastened at the neck, but had a wide open slit between the breasts — a daring cleavage — and closed again around her abdomen. The lower part of her tunic was split open, revealing her ninja trousers and a strapped tool pouch on her thigh.

She was holding a bottle of wine and was clearly drunk.

“You!?” Minata said with contempt.

“What are you doing here after disappearing for so many years, Aoi?” asked the Feudal Lord, confused.

“I’ve got two candidates of my own for the Arena,” Aoi said, walking closer with a swaying, unsteady stride.

“Aoi!?” Kubo called out, his eyes filled with emotion.

“Hey, idiot!” she answered coldly, her voice heavy with anger.

Then came a tense silence as the two of them locked eyes.

Aoi’s gaze was full of pain and fury.

Kubo’s held guilt and sorrow.