Aisha crossed her arms.
"Looks like we're going with Leon's plan."
Benjamin frowned. "I thought we weren't."
Aisha shrugged. "Now we are."
Ryo turned to Sulaiman. "Thank you for looking after Salma while I was away."
Sulaiman smiled. "Of course. I even taught her how to fight a little—just like you asked."
Ryo looked at Salma. "Is that true?"
Salma nodded shyly. "Yes…"
Sulaiman added, "Oh, and big brother—she told me her birthday is tomorrow."
Ryo paused, then smiled softly. "Really? I have the perfect present."
Zain leaned in. "Ooh, what is it?"
Ryo smirked. "It's a secret Captain."
Abraham, Rimazu, and Scarlet all laughed. "Wow… what a softy."
"Whatever," Ryo said, brushing it off. "Let's get some rest."
He stopped suddenly. "Wait… what about the people?"
Ruqqaya waved it off. "We were too fast. They didn't see us. When they wake up, we'll already be in our rooms."
She glanced around. "Ali and Salma can sleep in the storage room."
Ryo looked at it, then nodded. "That's enough for a family. I'll sleep there too… I've got a bounty on my head."
No one argued.
That night, they all slept.
Morning came.
Ryo and Ali burst out of the window together, landing hard on the ground.
"I got him!" Ali shouted, grabbing Ryo and tying his hands.
Samurai guards rushed in.
The King of the Samurai, Ravia, stepped forward.
"Well done, Ali. And on such an important day."
Ryo was dragged to the execution site.
He sat in silence, waiting.
It was a public execution.
Crowds gathered from everywhere. The higher-ups of both the ninja and samurai clans sat above them, elevated—watching like gods. Their personal guards and slaves stood beside them.
Ryo's mind drifted.
A memory.
"How does your mom look?" he had asked Salma.
"I… I can't remember clearly," she said. "But… she wore a purple scarf."
Back in the present, Ryo scanned the crowd.
Then he saw her.
"There she is…"
Near the head of the ninja, Manal, and beside Kival—the samurai king's younger brother—stood a woman with a purple scarf.
One of the guards heard him.
A samurai guard stepped forward and kicked Ryo hard.
"How dare you speak!" he shouted. "You're the reason my sister died in slavery!"
Ryo looked up, calm despite the pain. "I'm sorry."
The guard kicked him again.
And again.
And again.
"You think that'll bring her back?!" the guard yelled.
Ryo met his eyes—cold, colorless.
"I'm sorry."
A ninja guard stepped in. "Stop. You can't kill him yet."
The samurai guard scoffed. "Fine."
Ali stepped forward, facing the crowd.
"Fifty years of suffering…" he shouted.
"Fifty years of pain… ends today!"
He raised his blade toward Ryo—
Then, suddenly, shattered Ryo's chains.
Before the guards could react—
Ryo activated Stage One of his Raiki.
A wave burst out, knocking everyone around him unconscious.
Ali remembered Leona's words:
If the higher-ups react… they're the cause.
Manal and Kival's eyes twitched.
Ali saw it.
Ryo began walking—step by step—on the air itself.
The crowd gasped.
He stopped in front of Manal.
Manal remained unfazed.
Kival stepped forward. "Do you realize what you're doing? Lay a finger on him, and you declare war on the entire nation—the ninja and the samurai."
Ryo didn't even look at him.
"Ali will take care of you."
Kival froze. "What?"
Manal smiled slightly. "I see… everyone behind us is unconscious. Your Raiki is impressive."
Before he could say another word—
Ryo punched him.
No Raiki.
No Damik.
Just a raw, brutal strike.
His fist slammed into Manal's face, driving him straight into the ground.
The entire crowd went silent.
"What just fell?"
They looked down—
And saw Manal.
Shock spread like fire.
"That boy just declared war—"
"Is he insane?!"
Team Z looked up.
"That idiot…" they all said—except Sulaiman and Salma.
"That's so cool!" the two of them said together.
Ali blinked. "...This wasn't part of the plan, right?"
Kival stared at Ryo in disbelief.
"Do you even understand what you've done?"
Ryo looked at him, his fist still stained with blood.
"Your friend talks too much."