[MORNING – SCHOOL GATE]
The spectacle was causing a traffic jam.
Twenty men in black suits lined the school wall. They weren't dancing. They weren't yelling. They were just... looming.
Parents dropping off their kids were terrified. The crossing guard was hiding behind a bush.
Noah stood in front of Daisuke Tanaka.
"Daisuke," Noah said, rubbing his forehead. "This is too much."
Daisuke bowed low. "Too much? Or not enough, Boss? I can get a marching band."
"No marching band," Noah said quickly. "And no standing here."
He looked at the men. They looked scary. But also... bored.
(They must be skipping work to be here, Noah thought. Nana says idling is the devil's playground.)
"Don't you guys have jobs?" Noah asked.
The men exchanged glances.
"Technically... we work for the Organization, Sir," one man said.
"Right," Noah said. "So go do that."
Daisuke straightened up. "Sir?"
"Go to work," Noah clarified. "You can't just stand around here all day. It blocks the sidewalk. Nana hates it when people block the sidewalk."
He waved his hand vaguely toward the city—specifically toward the darker, grittier side of town (District 9).
"Go do... whatever you usually do. Be productive."
(Go file reports. Or fix cars. Whatever men in suits do.)
[THE INTERPRETATION]
Daisuke's eyes widened behind his sunglasses.
He looked at the Token in his pocket. Then at Noah's vague wave toward the criminal district.
Go do what you usually do.
Be productive.
Daisuke interpreted this through the lens of a Yakuza action movie.
Translation: "Return to the Underworld. Reclaim the territory. Expand the empire."
The Boss wasn't dismissing them. He was deploying them.
Daisuke turned to the men. His face was grim.
"You heard the Boss!" Daisuke barked. "Move out! Sector 9! We have 'work' to do!"
The men snapped to attention.
"YES SIR!"
They scrambled into their black sedans. Tires screeched. Engines roared. Within thirty seconds, the school gate was empty.
Dust settled.
Noah nodded, satisfied.
"See?" he told Lilly. "They just needed a reminder to be responsible employees."
Lilly stared at the retreating cars.
"Noah," she whispered. "I don't think they're going to an office."
"Maybe they work in construction," Noah shrugged. "They looked strong."
He walked into school, happy the sidewalk was clear.
[CONTROL ROOM – TACTICAL FEED]
"Movement!" the analyst shouted.
"The Yakuza faction at the school has dispersed," the Commander noted. "That was fast."
"Where are they going?"
The analyst pulled up the GPS tracking on the sedans.
"They are heading straight for the Northern Syndicate's territory."
The room went silent.
"He sent them to war," the Commander whispered. "He stood at the school gate, drinking a juice box, and ordered a turf invasion."
The President leaned back in his chair.
"Efficient," the President said. "He didn't want them loitering, so he weaponized them."
[CLASSROOM 3B – LUNCH]
Peace had returned to Noah's life. Mostly.
He was eating his bento.
"Hey, Lilly," he said. "Do you think I was too harsh? Sending them away?"
Lilly looked at her phone. The news feed was already reporting 'Unexplained Disturbances' in the warehouse district.
"I think," Lilly said carefully, "you gave them a sense of purpose."
"That's good," Noah smiled. "Everyone needs purpose."
He looked out the window.
Far away, smoke was rising from the industrial sector.
"Looks like a fire over there," Noah commented. "Hope everyone is okay."
Lilly closed her laptop.
"Eat your rice, Noah."
[MS. MAI – HALLWAY]
Ms. Mai watched Noah through the door window.
He looked innocent.
But she knew better. The Token was gone from his pocket (Daisuke had it). But the command structure remained.
She tapped her earpiece.
"Control."
"Go ahead, Observer."
"Sato has delegated field operations to a proxy," she reported. "He is maintaining a civilian cover while running a remote offensive."
"Understood. Unit Zero is monitoring the proxy."
Ms. Mai looked at Noah one last time. He was laughing at something Lilly said.
He separates the violence from his daily life perfectly, she thought. Just like a true operator.
She walked away, terrified of the day he decided to stop pretending.
(Meanwhile, Noah was just happy he didn't have to share his erasers.)