The moon hung high above Wano.
Silver light washed over forests, mountains, and ruined villages alike.
Most of the country slept.
Kousei did not.
He stood alone atop a cliff overlooking the distant lights of Bakura Town.
A cool breeze swept through his black hair.
Below him, Wano continued to suffer beneath Kaido's rule.
Factories polluted rivers.
Families starved.
Children disappeared.
Just another ordinary night.
Except now...
Kousei could see things differently.
Feel things differently.
His eyes slowly closed.
The world around him seemed to expand.
Every rustling leaf.
Every shifting shadow.
Every heartbeat within a surprising distance.
His senses stretched far beyond what should have been possible.
Hyper Intuition.
Even now, he was still adapting to it.
The ability felt less like a skill and more like an extra sense.
A natural awareness that simply existed.
When a rabbit moved through nearby bushes—
He knew.
When a wolf changed direction deeper within the forest—
He knew.
When several armed men laughed around a campfire kilometers away—
He knew.
The sensation was overwhelming.
Yet strangely familiar.
As though it had always belonged to him.
The System suddenly appeared.
Emergency Mission
Target Location Confirmed
Distance Remaining: 3.2 Kilometers
Children Detected: 11
Status: Imprisoned
Threat Assessment: Low
Kousei frowned.
"Low?"
[Enemy forces incapable of threatening Host.]
That was a dangerous statement.
One he wasn't willing to trust blindly.
Power made people careless.
Careless people got children killed.
So despite the System's confidence...
Kousei remained cautious.
His hand clenched.
Orange flames ignited across his fingertips.
Gentle.
Warm.
Pure.
The Sky Flames illuminated the darkness.
For a brief moment, a familiar feeling surfaced.
A memory.
Not his own.
A man standing proudly before countless allies.
A cape fluttering behind him.
Eyes filled with conviction.
Hands engulfed in brilliant flames.
Giotto.
The First Vongola Boss.
The memory vanished as quickly as it came.
Yet the knowledge remained.
Kousei instinctively understood how to control the flames.
How to strengthen his body.
How to move.
How to fight.
Twenty percent.
It wasn't much.
Yet even twenty percent of a legend was extraordinary.
A moment later—
Kousei disappeared.
BOOM!
The cliff cracked beneath his feet.
A shockwave erupted outward.
Birds scattered into the night sky.
His body shot forward.
Fast.
Far faster than any ordinary human.
Trees blurred past.
The wind roared around him.
The ground became little more than a streak beneath his feet.
Kousei's eyes widened slightly.
Even he hadn't expected this level of enhancement.
The Guardian Physique strengthened his body.
The Sky Flames amplified it further.
Combined together...
The result was terrifying.
Within minutes he reached Bakura Town's outskirts.
And immediately smelled despair.
The village looked worse than he remembered.
Families huddled around weak fires.
Starving children slept beneath damaged roofs.
Adults wore expressions devoid of hope.
Kousei's jaw tightened.
His previous life had taught him something.
Children suffered most when adults lost hope.
The people here were already approaching that point.
His gaze shifted.
Toward the mission marker.
A warehouse.
Several transport wagons.
Multiple guards.
And three large cages.
His expression darkened.
Inside sat eleven children.
Some were injured.
Some cried quietly.
Some simply stared into nothingness.
The oldest couldn't have been older than twelve.
The youngest looked around five.
One little boy hugged his knees.
Trembling.
Trying not to cry.
Something inside Kousei twisted painfully.
For a moment he remembered another child.
Another world.
Another life.
A little girl who had hidden beneath a bed after being abused.
Terrified of every adult who approached her.
The memory sharpened his resolve.
"No child should have to look like that."
The System responded.
[Host emotional state elevated.]
"Of course it is."
Because this wasn't a game.
These weren't quest objectives.
These were children.
And children came first.
Kousei crouched atop a nearby rooftop.
Studying the camp.
Twenty-three guards.
Two watchtowers.
Three patrol routes.
One warehouse.
The inherited combat instincts immediately began analyzing everything.
Weak points.
Blind spots.
Threat priorities.
Optimal routes.
Kousei blinked.
The information simply appeared.
Natural.
Effortless.
This was part of Giotto's inheritance.
Not overwhelming power.
Experience.
The ability to assess situations instantly.
"Let's make this quick."
The first guard never noticed him.
A flash of orange light.
A precise strike.
The man collapsed unconscious.
No wasted movement.
No hesitation.
The second guard suffered the same fate.
Then the third.
Then the fourth.
Kousei flowed through the camp like a shadow.
The combat instincts were incredible.
Every movement felt efficient.
Every action purposeful.
Within three minutes...
Ten guards were unconscious.
Then disaster struck.
A careless pirate turned around unexpectedly.
"WHO'S THERE?!"
The camp exploded into chaos.
Weapons were drawn.
Torches lifted.
Men shouted.
"There!"
"INTRUDER!"
"GET HIM!"
Kousei sighed.
"So much for stealth."
Dozens of pirates rushed forward.
Orange flames erupted across his arms.
The ground cracked beneath his feet.
BOOM!
He vanished.
The pirates froze.
Too fast.
Far too fast.
The first pirate flew backward.
The second collapsed.
The third crashed through a crate.
The fourth hit the ground unconscious.
One after another.
Precise.
Controlled.
Efficient.
Kousei deliberately avoided killing anyone.
Children didn't need to witness slaughter.
They needed safety.
The fight ended almost as quickly as it began.
The remaining pirates stared in horror.
Monster.
That was the only word they could think of.
A man engulfed in orange flames standing amidst fallen enemies.
Then Kousei looked at them.
The pirates immediately took several steps backward.
"Leave."
His voice was calm.
Dangerously calm.
"Now."
They ran.
None dared stay.
Silence returned.
Kousei approached the cages.
The children flinched.
Of course they did.
To them...
He probably looked just as frightening as the pirates.
So Kousei extinguished his flames.
Knelt down.
And smiled gently.
"It's okay."
No response.
Several children shrank back.
The fear in their eyes hurt more than any injury.
Then a small girl spoke.
"...You're not with them?"
"No."
"...Really?"
"Really."
The girl stared at him for several seconds.
Then pointed toward the broken cages.
"You came for us?"
Kousei nodded.
"Yes."
The little girl's lips trembled.
"...Nobody's ever done that before."
Those words nearly broke his heart.
Nobody's ever done that before.
Such a simple sentence.
Such a terrible reality.
Kousei reached out his hand.
"Let's go home."
This time...
The children accepted it.
One by one.
And somewhere above the camp...
Unseen by everyone present...
A pair of eyes watched from the darkness.
A towering figure stood atop a distant cliff.
Arms crossed.
Expression unreadable.
One of Kaido's Headliners.
He had witnessed the entire battle.
The mysterious man.
The strange flames.
The impossible speed.
Most importantly—
The fact that he risked everything for children he didn't even know.
A slow grin spread across the Headliner's face.
"Interesting."
Very interesting.
For the first time in months...
Something unexpected had appeared in Wano.
And Kaido would definitely want to hear about it.
Meanwhile, Kousei led eleven rescued children back toward the hidden orphanage.
The little boy who had been trembling in the cage slowly grabbed the edge of Kousei's sleeve.
Kousei looked down.
The boy hesitated.
Then quietly asked:
"...Are we really safe now?"
Kousei stopped walking.
His answer came without hesitation.
"Yes."
Orange flames flickered softly around him.
Warm and reassuring.
"As long as I'm here..."
His gaze shifted toward the distant factories.
Toward Kaido's territory.
Toward the countless children still suffering.
"...you'll be safe."
And for the first time since arriving in Wano...
The children believed him.