The heavy oak doors of principal Kenjiro’s office shuts out the distant, rhythmic chanting of the cadets down the hall at the Shinjuku Academy of Elites Arts .
Inside, the room smells of burning incense, expensive leather and old paper .
Principal Kenjiro sits beside a massive obsidian desk.
He is a man in his late forties, possessing a razor-sharp, imposing look that commands immediate submission.
He’s posture is perfectly rigid.
A testament to decades of discipline.
He wore flawless bespoke charcoal-Grey tailored suit designed to hide the lean, muscular built of a trained combatant.
A deep crimson tie , the exact shade of dry blood, was knotted tightly at his throat.
He’s hair is pitch-black, touched with silver at the temples , and slicked out neatly without a singles strand out of place .
He’s eyes, cold and calculating , fixed on the figures on his digital tablet.
Standing across is his secretary, Ms. Sato.
She adjusts her glasses, holding a slim folder close to her chest .
“The evaluation reports for the primary candidates are complete, Principal Kenjiro “.Ms.Sato says, her voice steady but respectful.
“The top tier is showing exceptional progress in structural extortion tactics and psychological warfare”.
Kenjiro didn’t look up immediately.
He scrolls through the data, his sharp feature illuminated by the blue glow of the screen.
“And their spiritual sync rates? A mafia leader is useless if they can’t command the entity bound to them.”
“Remarkable, sir” Ms.Sato replies, open the folder to her references notes.”Hong-kung successfully manifested his shadow- beast during the interrogation drill.
The boy didn’t hesitate to break his target resolve.
However, the emotional suppression inhibitor are wearing thin in some of the others.”
Kenjiro finally raises his eyes.
The cold intensity in them makes Ms.Sato pause for a fraction of a second.
He leans back crossing his hands over his chest.
“Empathy is a birth defect in our line of work.” Kenjiro says softly, the quietness of his voice more threatening than a shout .”We’re not running a traditional academy.
We are shaping the future global syndicate .
These children must control their demons, or the demons will consume them-and our empire along with it.
”
“I understand sir.”she bows her her slightly.” We’ll increase the stress testing levels on them to ensure total compliance.”
Kenjiro stands up, walking to the floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the courtyard, where a group of small children in dark uniforms are practicing martial forms in perfect unison.
He adjusts his silver cufflinks, his reflection staring back at him in absolute certainty.
“Don’t let the them soften. Stick to the motto:Bring out the demon in every child.”
The training ground smells of ozone and charred earth.
Hong-kung stands in the centre of the ring, his wooden practice staff resting lightly against his shoulder.
Opposite him, the advanced students shifted their weight, their faces tight with concentration.
They charge at him simultaneously from different angles .
He did not step back ,spinning his wooden practice staff in a blinding blur of motion to deflect the first lunging sword.
Using the heavy momentum of that block, he instantly sweeps the legs of the second student.
The fallen attacker hit the mat hard but rolls away to regain footing .
Taking advantage of the chaos, a quick-footed youth, named Ren leaps over his classmate and brings down his practice blade in a fierce overhead strike.
Hong-kung catches the heavy blow directly at the center of his staff, letting the vibration ripple through wood.
Ren immediately unleashes a furious flurry of rapid, blinding thrusts to press his advantage.
Hong-kung parried each strike with minimal effortless movements that frustrates his opponents.
By then,the other two students recovers their footing and rejoins the fray to flank him.
Sparks of training aura begins to flicker around their weapons as the pace accelerates to a dangerous speed.
Hong-kung smiles as a rare spark of competitive fire lit up in his eyes.
“Is that all you got ?”.He quickly transitions from pure defense to aggressive, counter-strikes.
He taps an exposed shoulder and a deflected wrist , forcing the trio into a desperate defense retreat.
The air grew incredibly heavy with tension as the three students pushes past their limits just to remain standing.
A sharp, clear voice suddenly slices through the loud sound of clashing wood.
“That’s enough!”
The sheer authority in the voice is absolute.
Hong-kung freezes mid-strike, his staff hovering an inch barely away from Ren’s chest.
The students immediately drops their weapons and steps back to bow while gasping heavily for air.
Ms.Sato steps into the arena, her sharp eyes scanning the sweat-drenched students and the unbothered instructor.
She calmly adjusts her glasses, her expression remaining unreadable but firm.
“This is a controlled training session, not a battlefield,”Ms.Sato speaks, her gaze lingering intently over Hong-kung.
“Save your energy for the class tomorrow. Class dismissed. ”