Anime, but the Phantom Thieves of Heart

Before, they couldn't take action because the target was in the 'safe house'. Now that he has finally come out of the 'safe house' and appeared in the corridor, why haven't they taken action yet?

But unfortunately, there was a dead silence in the communicator, as if Gin had turned a blind eye to it...

Chapter 81: The trump card revealed?

Unlike Cohen and Chianti, who were on the rooftop aiming at the Arasaka Building, Gin, who was sitting in the passenger seat of a dark Porsche 356A parked in an alley about 3 kilometers away from the Arasaka Building, took a deep puff of his cigarette.

"Zi~"

The white cigarette burned rapidly, leaving only a layer of ash, and then Gin let out a long breath.

"Whoo~"

As the commander and direct participant of this operation, he was undoubtedly the one who wanted the plan to proceed smoothly the most. However, he vaguely felt that something was wrong from the beginning of the plan.

First, the cameras on the rooftops of the surrounding buildings, then the mysterious disappearance of the "Phantom Thieves," and now another target has appeared in the sniper's field of view...

A more reckless person in charge might have already ordered to open fire. After all, it would be best if they could kill the only two exposed members of the Phantom Thieves besides the main target at once. However, if the situation does not allow killing one of them, the plan can still be carried out. It's just that there will be one more target to deal with at that time.

But the battle-hardened Gin suddenly spoke.

"Aside from those two thieves, are there anyone else in sight?"

Gin's question caught Chianti off guard, but no matter how bad her temper was, facing the notorious Gin, who was also her direct superior, she still moved the scope and observed him attentively.

"Yes... huh?"

Seeing the 'Phantom Thief Leader' waving his cane like a dance in his field of vision, and 'Phantom Thief V' poised in the corner of his vision, Chianti realized something was amiss.

After all, she is impulsive, not really stupid.

It would be fine if there were only two people in sight, but the problem was that the 'Phantom Thieves Leader' was clearly 'fighting' with something, and it was unclear whether it was with the police, Arasaka security, or someone else.

But the person who fought with him didn't even show up, which was obviously wrong.

It was as if he was deliberately exposing himself to serve as a target for them while also protecting the person he was fighting with.

This behavior of not only treating them as fools but also having the leisure to protect others is simply a provocation to them!

Chianti, who had figured it out in an instant, felt her anger rising. She almost couldn't help but fire directly at the 'Heart Phantom Thieves Leader'!

She was very curious about what the other party relied on for being so confident! !

But fortunately, her remaining sanity kept reminding her that this time the target was not ordinary, it was the target assigned by the 'BOSS'.

If she killed an ordinary target for disobeying orders, at most she would be called back, reprimanded and locked up for a period of time. After all, as a "code member", as long as she did not betray the organization or expose her identity and might be arrested, it would generally not be so easy for her to be internally executed.

But if it affects the boss's plan...

Chianti couldn't help but shudder.

And it was at this moment that Gin's cold laugh without a trace of extra emotion came from the headphones.

"knew?"

"..."

Facing Gin's ridicule, Chianti bit his lip and said nothing. After all, from a certain perspective, this was actually a good thing. After all, the other party and the dead never talk nonsense.

As if he was quite satisfied with Chianti's attitude, Gin gave his order directly.

"Chianti, you and Cohen will return to the 'practice range' separately."

Unlike Gin who often "runs business" and Vodka who drives him, Chianti and Cohen, as snipers, stay in the organization's various safe houses and so-called "training grounds" when they are not on missions. The former is just a place to rest and hide, while the latter has some equipment to help them maintain their touch.

Cohen, who had been silent from the beginning, finally spoke again at this moment.

"receive."

"receive."

Listening to Chianti's muffled voice, Gin took off his headphones and said nothing more.

Cohen and Chianti are equally strong, but Cohen, who is slightly older, is not only taciturn but also calmer in his work. Chianti has more potential, but also has a more troublesome personality. Both of them are among the best snipers in the organization, and Gin has the responsibility and obligation to allow them to better serve the organization.

Besides the fact that Gin is difficult to get along with, there was also a reason why he said that on purpose.

With the mission coming to an end, Chianti and Cohen, who served as snipers, went back, but Vodka, who was waiting for an opportunity, could not leave.

Feeling the temperature in the car getting lower and lower, Vodka thought for a long time before he asked carefully.

"Brother, where are we going next?"

Looking at Vodka who was cautious beside him, Gin did not make things difficult for him. Instead, he took out his notebook and glanced at it before speaking again.

"Go and collect the debt according to the previous plan."

After hearing what his elder brother said, Vodka sighed that his elder brother was worthy of the title of "model employee" while silently starting the engine and driving towards the agreed location with the target.

At first glance, Gin's behavior of taking on one task after another seems a bit unreliable?

But in reality, there is enough redundancy between tasks. If you really have to be late... then you will be late.

Anyway, how could such an unlucky guy who was targeted by the organization dare to resist?

Gin, who was sitting in the passenger seat, was thinking more about Lan Ke.

He was naturally very unhappy that the mission ended in failure, but he was not too disappointed. After all, it was not surprising that a target assigned by the boss himself was difficult to handle, and they also collected enough intelligence.

The first thing that is certain is that the Phantom Thieves of Hearts possess a network of personnel that is no less capable than the Organization, and this will be taken into consideration when setting up traps next time.

Secondly, he might have guessed why the boss targeted the 'Heart Phantom Thieves Leader'.

Although everyone is a "code member", Gin, as the head of the action team, is undoubtedly superior to everyone else in status. He knows information that many people don't know, such as the fact that there are many "things that cannot be explained by common sense" in this world.

"The leader of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts dared to use himself as a 'fishing', so he probably also possesses something similar, right?"

Thinking of this, Gin couldn't help but sneer on his face.

It wasn't just because he anticipated that he had collected something useful for the 'BOSS', but also because he already had some ideas.

Although they don't know what effect the other party has "that thing", as long as they know that the other party has "this thing", they will naturally be on guard.

After all, the most terrifying thing about a trump card is not the moment it is used, but the deterrent effect of not knowing when the enemy will use it.

Knowing that he probably couldn't handle it tonight, Gin retreated with great decisiveness.

Lan Ke, who had been "forging iron" with Saeko Busujima before, quietly moved to the aisle near the window after noticing that the "audience" had arrived, in order to attract the "sniper hiding in the dark to shoot at him and expose his position."

In this way, Lucy can calculate the distance of the shooter based on the bullet hole and trajectory, and then Shirou Emiya can directly capture the sniper.

It’s a pity that Lan Keyi didn’t know that although the enemy’s primary target was himself, they intended to capture him alive. No matter how realistic his performance was, Gin couldn’t just let his subordinates open fire directly.

But after acting for a while, he realized that something seemed wrong.

In fact, it was not just Lan Ke, even Busujima Saeko noticed Lan Ke's abnormality.

After all, in terms of swordsmanship alone, Lan Ke is slightly inferior to her opponent. She can only suppress her by relying on "numbers". Now that he is distracted by thinking, there is a flaw in Lan Ke's suppression.

“Swish~!”

As Busujima Saeko performed "Iai", the sharp and mournful sound caused by the friction between the blade and the scabbard seemed extremely harsh, and also brought Lan Ke's consciousness back.

Facing Lan Ke who blocked her attack with her sword, Busujima Saeko suddenly jumped back to retract her weapon while assuming an upper stance again.

This is a posture that Lan Ke rarely sees. After all, Busujima Saeko also knows that although her strength is far beyond her peers, she has no advantage in strength when competing with the opposite sex who is also proficient in kendo, so she prefers to use "Iai" or "Mid-range".

"Although you are a Phantom Thief, you seem to be much stronger than I imagined. If you can block this attack, then I will lose, and I will be worthy of the "Famous Sword" gifted to me by Arasaka Yorinobu."

Looking at 'Bujima Saeko' who was pretending not to know him and getting ready, Lan Ke seemed to be motionless, but in fact, he showed an expression of sudden enlightenment.

In fact, he was also quite curious about why Busujima Saeko appeared here.

Originally, he thought that the other party came to block him because he saw the notice letter he sent, but now it seems that "Arasaka Yorinobu" took the initiative to hire the other party?

But no matter what the reason is, since the other party has challenged him, he will not avoid it.

After all, he is no longer 'Narukami Lan', but 'Doctor of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts'!

As a phantom thief, he won't run away from the battlefield!

"Then let me experience your great skills~!"

Busujima Saeko held the knife high above her head with both hands, while Lan Ke held the cane with one hand and pointed the tip of the sword at Busujima Saeko as if fencing.

As the conversation between the two came to an abrupt end, the space in the entire corridor seemed to freeze.

When Lan Ke and Busujima Saeko were "working together", there were some hot-blooded young policemen who tried to take advantage of the opportunity to arrest Lan Ke, but they were grabbed by their seniors nearby.

It’s not that he didn’t want to catch Lan Ke, but looking at the ground and walls around him that were broken by the aftermath of the two people’s weapons, rushing in at this time would be simply seeking death.

As for shooting directly?

No one had the courage to do so, after all, Busujima Saeko and Lan Ke were entangled with each other.

It would be okay if he hit Lan Ke, but if he accidentally hurt Busujima Saeko, it would be a big deal.

The two confronted each other for a moment, and Busujima Saeko seemed to be the first one who couldn't bear it anymore.

"Clap~"

He stomped his forefoot on the ground suddenly, and the tiles that had been shattered before were instantly stepped on, splashing up a cloud of dust.

At the same time, the 'Jue' in her hand slashed towards Lan Ke with unstoppable momentum.

"Dragon's Nest Flash!!"

Hearing the familiar name of the sword move, Lan Ke was stunned but instinctively swung his sword to try to block, but what he didn't expect was that Busujima Saeko's sword bounced back at the moment of collision.

"Ok?"

Lan Ke realized that something seemed wrong.

Because the power of the sword just now seemed to be not as strong as before...

Chapter 82: There is an insider, but... it’s the opponent’s.

'Dragon Nest Flash'

This is a move from the "Flying Sword Style" that Lan Ke had just talked about with Busujima Saeko not long ago. Compared with other moves, it is also the easiest move to replicate. Busujima Saeko even demonstrated this move to Lan Ke not long ago.

So when he heard the other party shout out the name of the move, Lan Ke instinctively raised his sword and tried to block.

The key to this move is continuous attack, using the force of the weapon's rebound to strengthen the next attack, and forcing the enemy to reveal flaws during the continuous attack.

So there are generally only two ways to crack it.

One is to attack the opponent head-on. After all, the weakest part of this move is the first hit, and it will become stronger and stronger afterwards.

The second is defensive counterattack. Although each move is faster and more powerful than the last, there is a gap between each sword, and counterattack can be carried out taking advantage of the gap when the weapon bounces.

Lan Ke naturally chose the second option because he now has a stronger physical fitness.

But when the swords of both sides collided, Lan Ke realized that something was wrong. The power of the sword was weaker than before!

Unfortunately, as Busujima Saeko's attack was bounced back, he wanted to retract his cane which he had instinctively thrust out, but it was too late.

"boom!!"

The tip of the stick pierced Busujima Saeko's shoulder, and the opponent was also stabbed backward by Lan Ke's move.

Looking at the other party's exaggerated movements, Lan Ke's first reaction was - didn't I hold back in the end?

But when she saw Busujima Saeko's eyes, which seemed painful but actually contained a hint of smile, he instantly realized the answer.

The other party was just acting!!

It was only then that Lan Ke finally realized that Saeko Busujima was actually the 'traitor'?!

Although... it's the other party's!

Even though she had just intercepted Lan Ke, it was actually because of her that the police could not use their guns. Lan Ke even suspected that if the situation got bad, the other party might take the initiative to act as a "hostage".

But why would the other party do this?

Is it just to 'repay a favor'?

Thinking of Saeko Busujima's mysterious smile after school, although I don't want to admit it, the answer seems to be about to come out...

Where did I expose myself?

He thought that his appearance, personality and speaking style were all different from usual. Even Kudo Shinichi didn't notice his problem. How did Busujima Saeko notice it?

But there was no time to worry about that now, because after Busujima Saeko was "defeated", the police who had been watching before finally came over.