Far beneath the towering structure of Jin Corp, Basement Level 1 remained trapped in artificial night.
The underground prison corridor stretched endlessly through concrete and steel, dim emergency strips glowing faintly along the walls.
Cold air drifted through metal vents with a low mechanical hum, mixing with the distant buzz of security systems.
Silence ruled everything.
Cell 18 sat near the far end of the corridor.
Inside, Toyo remained seated calmly against the wall.
White mask.
Black suit.
Head slightly lowered.
At first glance, he looked almost relaxed.
But beneath the lower edge of the mask, a slow smile had already formed.
Not a smile of happiness.
A smile of certainty.
His fingers tapped once against his knee before he finally tilted his head upward slightly toward the ceiling.
Then quietly, almost affectionately, he whispered into the darkness:
“Time for Plan B…”
The dim light caught the edge of his white mask.
“Jin…”
A faint chuckle escaped him.
“This time…”
His voice lowered colder.
“It’s the end for you.”
The corridor remained silent.
No footsteps.
No alarms.
No suspicion.
Exactly how he wanted it.
Slowly, Toyo slipped one hand into the inner pocket of his suit.
From inside, he pulled out a tiny red device.
A trigger button.
Small enough to fit inside his palm.
The crimson surface reflected faintly beneath the weak prison lights.
Toyo stared at it silently for a moment.
Then his thumb pressed downward calmly.
PRESS.
Nothing happened immediately.
For one strange second, the entire underground floor became unnaturally still.
The air itself seemed to freeze.
Then the scene shifted farther down the corridor.
Cell 15.
Toro sat motionlessly against the wall exactly as before, black ninja mask hiding his face beneath shadows.
But now…
He was smiling too.
A tiny grin beneath darkness.
He lifted his eyes slightly toward the ceiling and whispered softly:
“Mission complete.”
And then—
BOOOOOM!!
The explosion ripped through Cell 15 with catastrophic force.
The concrete walls violently shattered outward as fire and pressure blasted through the corridor like a raging storm.
Metal screamed against metal.
Smoke exploded through the prison hallway.
The reinforced cell door bent outward from impact like crushed paper.
Concrete debris scattered everywhere.
Dust clouds swallowed the underground lights instantly.
Emergency alarms erupted throughout Basement Level 1.
RED WARNING LIGHTS ACTIVATED.
The once silent prison suddenly transformed into chaos.
“Explosion in Sector B!”
“Move move move!!”
Heavy boots thundered across the corridor as nearly twenty armed guards rushed toward the destroyed cell.
Weapons drawn.
Radios screaming with overlapping voices.
Smoke rolled violently through the underground hallways while flashing red lights painted the concrete walls in pulses of blood-colored illumination.
Every guard focused on Cell 15.
Every eye turned toward the blast.
Which meant nobody noticed Cell 18 anymore.
Inside the shadows of his untouched prison room, Toyo slowly rose to his feet.
Calmly.
Patiently.
Like a man standing after waiting for a train.
He glanced once toward the corridor outside.
Empty.
No guards remained nearby.
The distraction had worked perfectly.
A faint amused exhale escaped him.
Then Toyo reached into his pocket again.
This time pulling out a black security keycard.
The corners of his mouth curled higher beneath the mask.
“Thanks to Guard 137…”
His voice echoed softly through the dim cell.
“…for giving me this escape keycard.”
Outside, alarms continued screaming.
Smoke continued pouring through the basement.
Guards shouted over radios while racing toward the explosion site.
And quietly, almost invisibly beneath the chaos, Toyo stepped toward the scanner beside his prison door.
He slid the card across the panel.
BEEP.
Green light.
The heavy cell door unlocked instantly.
With a hydraulic hiss, the reinforced metal entrance slowly slid open.
Toyo stepped outside for the first time since capture.
No panic.
No rushing.
Only controlled movements.
Like this had already been rehearsed in his head a hundred times.
Nearby, against the corridor wall, sat a small security side-table containing confiscated prisoner belongings.
Toyo walked toward it casually.
His black shoes echoed softly against the concrete floor beneath the flashing red lights.
He reached down.
Picked up his confiscated phone.
Unlocked it immediately.
Then raised it calmly to his ear.
The call connected after only one ring.
Toyo’s voice turned cold again.
“Send ten reinforcements.”
A distant voice answered faintly through the speaker.
Toyo continued walking while speaking.
“…quickly.”
Smoke drifted through the corridor behind him now.
“From the roof.”
Click.
The call ended.
He slipped the phone back into his pocket without slowing down.
Then turned fully toward the basement exit corridor ahead.
Red emergency lights flashed rhythmically across his white mask while alarms screamed through the underground level around him.
Guards rushed in the opposite direction.
Smoke swallowed visibility.
Chaos spread everywhere.
And directly through the center of it all…
Toyo walked freely toward escape.
Plan B had officially begun.
And ..
The executive office on the first floor remained cold and silent.
Blue holograms floated above Jin’s desk in slow rotations while financial charts glowed softly across the dark room.
Sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows behind him, cutting sharp golden lines across the marble floor.
Jin still sat behind the massive executive desk.
Perfect posture.
Expression unreadable.
Only the faint hum of digital systems disturbed the silence.
Then suddenly—
FZZZT.
One of the CCTV holographic screens flickered violently.
Static crackled across the projection before the image stabilized again.
Smoke.
Flashing red emergency alarms.
Underground prison corridors drowning in chaos.
A damaged cell door bent inward from an explosion.
Guards running through clouds of dust.
Jin’s dark eyes narrowed instantly.
The atmosphere around him changed in a single second.
His fingers tightened faintly against the desk edge.
“Toyo…”
The name formed immediately inside his mind.
No hesitation.
No uncertainty.
Only Toyo could orchestrate something this calculated inside Jin Corp itself.
Jin stood abruptly from the executive chair.
The movement sharp and immediate.
His brown coat shifted behind him as he stepped away from the desk, already moving toward the office exit.
The two guards stationed inside the room straightened instantly.
But halfway to the door…
Jin suddenly stopped.
Completely still.
His narrowed eyes shifted slightly downward.
And then one thought struck him harder than the explosion itself.
Lily.
For half a second, the memory replayed inside his mind.
“I will keep you safe… Lily.”
The promise echoed clearly.
His jaw tightened.
Immediately, his priorities changed.
Without another word, Jin turned away from the office exit entirely and strode quickly toward the private elevator hidden along the side wall of the executive office.
The metallic doors slid open instantly.
Jin stepped inside.
Cold eyes.
Silent breathing.
The doors shut smoothly behind him.
Meanwhile…
Far below the upper floors of Jin Corp…
Toyo continued moving through the underground corridors.
The emergency red lights flashed repeatedly across his white mask while alarms screamed through the basement level.
Smoke still drifted through parts of the hallway from the explosion behind him.
Yet Toyo walked calmly.
Almost leisurely.
Not a single guard remained nearby.
Every security unit had been drawn toward Cell 15.
Exactly according to plan.
The polished marble corridor outside the prison sector stretched ahead of him empty and silent.
Toyo eventually reached an elevator near the basement junction.
The doors opened.
He stepped inside calmly.
Then slowly turned around as the elevator doors began closing.
The flashing red lights reflected against the smooth white surface of his mask.
That smile still remained.
High above the city skyline…
A black helicopter cut through the morning clouds.
Its blades roared violently against the wind while it approached the rooftop of Jin Corp from the eastern side of the city.
The aircraft descended steadily.
Closer.
Closer.
Toward the roof.
And strangely…
No guards waited there.
No rooftop security.
No defensive patrols.
The massive rooftop sat eerily empty beneath the cloudy sky.
Open.
Silent.
Almost like the building itself had unknowingly invited danger inside.
Several floors below…
The private elevator doors opened sharply on the thirteenth floor.
Jin stepped out immediately.
His pace fast.
Expression colder than before.
He reached his private room and opened the door without hesitation.
Inside, Lily sat comfortably near the bed, still in her soft pastel dress from earlier.
Her phone rested loosely in her hands.
She blinked in surprise the moment she saw him enter so suddenly.
“Darling?”
Her silver eyes widened slightly.
“What happened?”
“You’re early?”
Jin didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, he looked directly at her.
Cold outside.
Protective underneath.
“Lily.”
His voice remained calm but firm.
“Stay here.”
Before she could even ask another question, Jin turned and exited the room again.
The door shut behind him.
Click.
A second later came the sound of the lock engaging from outside.
Inside the room, Lily stared quietly at the closed door for a moment.
No panic crossed her face.
No fear.
Only confusion… and trust.
She slowly lowered her gaze.
Then nodded softly to herself.
If Jin said stay here…
Then she would.
Outside in the corridor, Jin moved quickly again.
This time toward Haruka’s room.
He opened the door slightly.
Inside, Haruka slept peacefully beneath soft blankets, completely unaware of the danger slowly rising through the building around her.
Her breathing remained calm.
The room quiet.
Jin watched silently for one second before gently closing the door again.
Ensuring she remained undisturbed.
Then he walked away.
The luxurious corridor stretched silently before him while the distant city sounds barely reached the upper floors.
His coat shifted softly behind him with each step.
No hesitation remained in his movements now.
Only focus.
Only calculation.
Only readiness.
Eventually, Jin entered the massive living room area at the center of the thirteenth floor.
Dark marble flooring reflected the daylight pouring through enormous glass windows that covered nearly the entire wall facing the skyline.
Modern furniture sat perfectly arranged across the elegant room, untouched and pristine beneath the cold natural light.
The city beyond the windows looked peaceful.
Cars moving.
Buildings glowing.
Clouds drifting slowly.
Completely unaware of the storm entering Jin Corp.
Jin walked toward the center of the living room.
Then stopped.
Silent.
Waiting.
Above him:
The helicopter finally descended toward the rooftop.
Below him:
Toyo continued ascending through the building floor by floor.
And behind locked doors on the thirteenth floor:
Lily remained safely inside his room.
The silence inside the living room deepened further.
Heavy.
Still.
Like the final breath before violence.
And in the exact center of that silence…
Jin waited alone for the enemy to arrive.
The private elevator ascended smoothly through the silent tower of Jin Corp.
Inside the moving metal chamber, only one sound existed.
The faint mechanical hum of the lift climbing floor after floor.
Then:
DING.
The doors slowly slid apart onto the luxurious thirteenth floor corridor.
Toyo stepped out calmly.
His polished black shoes touched the marble flooring without hesitation.
The white mask covering his face reflected the dim golden lights lining the hallway walls, making him appear less human and more like a ghost wandering through somebody else’s kingdom.
Despite escaping prison only minutes earlier, his black suit remained strangely neat.
Only a few wrinkles near the sleeves betrayed the chaos underground.
Behind him, the elevator remained open for a brief second.
Then shadows emerged.
Ten masked ninjas silently stepped out one after another like black smoke spilling into the corridor.
Tactical armor.
Sharp katanas.
Emotionless masked faces.
Every movement disciplined and controlled.
The elevator doors closed behind them.
Soft footsteps echoed through the corridor as Toyo began walking forward again.
Toward the living room.
Toward Jin.
The luxurious hallway remained eerily quiet.
Paintings lined the dark walls.
Soft ambient lighting illuminated polished marble floors beneath their feet.
Expensive silence filled every corner.
And yet beneath that silence, danger crawled invisibly through the air.
Toyo reached the entrance first.
He stepped into the vast living room calmly.
Immediately, the city skyline spread behind the room’s enormous glass walls like an ocean of steel and light.
Morning sunlight poured through the windows in long golden lines across the dark marble flooring.
At the center of the room stood Jin.
Still.
Motionless.
Arms resting naturally at his sides.
Brown luxury coat perfectly straight.
Expression cold.
Sharp.
Unshaken.
The ten ninjas slowly spread outward the moment they entered, surrounding him from every direction.
Their movements were silent and practiced.
Katana blades glimmered beneath the city light filtering through the windows.
Any normal person would have panicked.
Jin did not even blink.
For several long seconds, nobody moved.
Then Toyo suddenly began clapping.
Slow.
Mocking.
The sound echoed sharply through the enormous room.
“Poor Jin…” Toyo laughed beneath the white mask.
“Finally caught, huh?”
The ninjas tightened their circle around Jin.
Still, Jin remained unmoving.
Toyo slowly walked forward while speaking, voice filled with poisonous amusement.
“You thought earlier…” he said, “…when I came with only two ninjas…”
He spread one arm dramatically.
“That I actually believed I could kill you?”
A laugh escaped him.
“Of course not!”
His voice bounced through the living room walls.
“It was all a plan to get arrested in your cells…” he continued smugly, “…only to catch you off guard later.”
Jin listened silently.
Cold eyes fixed directly on Toyo.
Unreadable.
Toyo’s confidence only grew stronger from the lack of reaction.
“Hahaha!”
He spread both arms wider now like a victorious actor standing center stage.
“Finally…”
“I will kill you!”
“The Jin Corp…”
“And the bloodline of Kurotsuki…”
“…comes to an end by one and only me!”
The ninjas shifted their stances instantly.
Katanas raised slightly.
Ready.
One command away from attack.
And then…
Jin smirked.
Small.
Cold.
Dangerous.
The atmosphere changed instantly.
Toyo’s laughter slowly faded.
The ninjas hesitated.
Something about that expression felt wrong.
Very wrong.
Jin finally spoke.
Calmly.
“You know why…” he said quietly, “…there were no guards on the roof?”
Toyo blinked beneath the mask.
The ninjas glanced at each other uncertainly.
Jin’s smirk widened slightly.
“Because…”
“…I wanted to test my new toy.”
Jin casually pressed a button resting on the nearby living room table.
For one second, nothing happened.
Then:
BOOM!!
Hidden vents exploded open across the walls and ceiling.
Thick green gas burst violently into the room.
The ninjas instantly staggered backward.
Smoke-like clouds spread rapidly through the luxurious living room, swallowing furniture, windows, and bodies alike.
Coughing erupted everywhere.
One ninja dropped to one knee immediately.
Another stumbled blindly into a table.
Jin stood untouched inside the spreading gas.
Completely calm.
Completely immune.
“Since the day you managed to enter my room…” he explained coldly, “…I installed emergency gas vents.”
Another ninja collapsed.
A katana clattered loudly across the marble floor.
“It faints anyone who inhales it…”
A second body hit the ground.
“…except those with vaccine immunity.”
Another ninja tried rushing forward but collapsed mid-step.
“…like me.”
Within moments, unconscious bodies littered the massive living room floor.
Katanas scattered everywhere with metallic crashes echoing sharply across the room.
Toyo staggered violently.
His vision blurred.
The room tilted sideways.
“Tch… Jin… bastard…”
He gritted his teeth desperately and forced himself forward one final time, weakly raising a fist toward Jin.
Jin simply grabbed a nearby chair with one hand.
And swung.
SMASH!!
The chair slammed brutally into Toyo’s body.
Toyo flew backward across the room before crashing heavily against the marble floor.
Silence.
The white-masked man lay motionless.
Unconscious.
Defeated.
The green gas still lingered faintly throughout the luxurious room as Jin calmly exhaled through his nose.
Then sighed.
“…Idiots.”
He stepped over unconscious bodies casually and walked toward the exit door.
Not hurried.
Not angry.
Just mildly inconvenienced.
He opened the door.
Exited.
Closed it behind him.
Inside the corridor outside, the air was clean again.
Jin pulled out his phone while walking.
One of the guards answered instantly.
“Yes, sir?”
Jin replied in the calmest voice imaginable.
“Come clean the mess.”
Then he ended the call and slipped the phone back into his pocket.
As if he had merely asked someone to organize furniture.
Meanwhile…
Inside Jin’s locked room…
Lily sat peacefully on the bed,completely unaware of the battlefield only walls away.
She hummed quietly to herself while scrolling through her phone, occasionally kicking her feet lightly beneath the blanket.
Then the door opened.
Jin stepped inside calmly.
Lily immediately looked up.
“Jin?” she asked softly.
“All okay?”
Jin closed the door behind him.
“Yeah,” he answered casually.
He walked toward the bed.
“Just some mosquitoes.”
Lily relaxed instantly.
“Ooh…”
She smiled softly in relief.
Jin sat cross-legged on the bed calmly.
Immediately, Lily scooted beside him like gravity itself pulling her closer.
She gently nuzzled into his shoulder without hesitation.
Warm.
Trusting.
Comfortable.
Outside the room, the luxurious living room remained filled with unconscious ninjas, broken chairs, scattered katanas, and lingering green gas.
Inside the room?
Only silence.
Soft warmth.
And Lily peacefully cuddling against Jin while he calmly allowed it, hiding the violent battlefield he had created mere moments earlier.The room had become quiet again.
Not the cold silence from earlier.
Not the dangerous silence from the living room battlefield outside.
This silence was warm.
Soft.
Safe.
Jin sat cross-legged on the large bed beneath the dim golden room lights, his brown coat now slightly loosened after everything that had happened.
The faint scent of Lily’s strawberry shampoo lingered gently in the air, blending strangely well with the sharp metallic atmosphere that always seemed to follow him.
Beside him, Lily rested comfortably against his shoulder beneath the blanket, completely relaxed as if chaos simply could not exist near him.
Outside the room, unconscious ninjas still littered the luxurious living room floor.
Inside?
Only warmth remained.
Lily blinked slowly before peeking upward from his shoulder with a small pout.
Silver eyes shining expectantly.
“My strawberry milkshake?” she asked softly.
Jin looked down at her for a quiet second.
The pout.
The hopeful eyes.
The way she somehow asked for things like a spoiled princess while still sounding unbearably cute.
A small smile appeared on his face before he could stop it.
Then suddenly:
Clap.
He clapped once calmly.
Almost immediately, the bedroom door opened.
One of the guards entered respectfully carrying a polished silver tray with a tall strawberry milkshake resting on top.
The glass shimmered faintly beneath the room lights, pink cream swirled perfectly beneath whipped topping.
The guard approached the bed silently like this was the most normal thing in the world.
Which, inside Jin Corp, honestly probably was.
He carefully handed the milkshake to Jin.
Bowed slightly.
Then exited the room without saying a word.
The door clicked shut behind him.
Jin took the glass calmly before turning toward Lily.
He handed it to her.
And gave a tiny wink.
That was enough.
Lily’s entire face instantly brightened like somebody had turned on sunlight inside the room.
“You’re the besttt!!”
Her happy giggle filled the air.
Then before Jin could react properly, she suddenly leaned forward and planted a tiny kiss against his cheek.
Quick.
Warm.
Soft.
“My sweetheart,” she whispered.
Jin froze for half a second.
A faint blush immediately appeared across his face.
He looked away slightly at once, trying to rebuild whatever remained of his dignity after the last few weeks.
“Tch…”
Lily giggled again, completely victorious.
Then she happily began sipping the milkshake through the straw while still leaning warmly against his shoulder.
Every few seconds her eyes softened further like she genuinely believed this was the happiest place on earth.
And honestly?
For her, it probably was.
Jin glanced sideways at her quietly.
Then asked in his usual calm tone, “What did you do while I was out?”
Lily swallowed another sip before answering softly.
“I texted Yumi a bit…”
“…looked at some sketches…”
“…and read my novels.”
Jin nodded once.
Simple.
Quiet.
Domestic.
The room slowly settled again into peaceful silence.
Only tiny sipping sounds occasionally broke the calm atmosphere while sunlight from the windows stretched lazily across the bed sheets.
Time itself almost felt slower inside the room.
Like the world outside had temporarily stopped existing.
And gradually…
The scene darkened.
The warm bedroom faded softly into shadow.
Then another room emerged.
Haruka’s bedroom.
Soft moonlight filtered gently through partially opened curtains as night breeze moved them slowly back and forth.
The elegant room remained quiet, untouched, peaceful.
Haruka still lay calmly beneath her blankets.
Eyes closed.
Still.
For several seconds, nothing moved.
Then suddenly…
Her eyes slowly opened.
A faint knowing smile appeared on her lips.
“Sometimes…” she whispered quietly into the darkness, “…it’s better if a mother doesn’t interrupt.”
The curtains fluttered softly beside the windows.
Haruka stared silently upward at the ceiling.
Then sighed.
“No one can change time…”
“…what is destined to happen…”
“…will happen.”
For one brief moment…
A faint cyan glow flickered inside her eyes.
Tiny.
Unnatural.
Gone almost instantly.
The darkness inside the room deepened again afterward as if swallowing the strange light whole.
Silence returned.
Mystery lingered quietly in the air like invisible threads tightening somewhere beyond human understanding.
And elsewhere inside Jin Corp…
Jin and Lily remained together peacefully beneath warm lights and soft blankets.
Completely unaware…
That something far older and far deeper than either of them had already begun moving around their lives long ago.