Not only the Allied Forces received the news of Peleliu Island's fall.
The Emperor, far away on the Japanese islands, also received this unpleasant report.
In a narrow meeting room, two Japanese soldiers stood guard at the door, occasionally hearing the roars of their great Emperor from inside.
"Baka! Army fools! You all should die!"
"You should all commit seppuku!"
In the confidential war room, a row of ceramic cups sat on a dark green conference table. The Emperor at the head, red-faced with rage, grabbed a cup and hurled it to the floor.
Bang!
The ceramic cup shattered upon impact, its sound echoing through the room. All the officers present lowered their heads.
The Emperor took a deep breath, his chest heaving. He fixed a cold stare at the officers on his right, all in khaki uniforms.
"Ten thousand! Ten thousand sons of the Showa era were killed by one man?"
The Emperor was venting his fury at the Army. On the other side of the table, officers in white uniforms struggled to suppress their glee.
They were the Navy. The bitter rivalry between the Japanese Army and Navy ran deep. Seeing their old rivals take a loss made them secretly delighted.
"Your Majesty! It wasn't that we were incompetent, but that fellow is genuinely superhuman!"
The lead Army officer, unconvinced, gathered his courage, took a stack of photographs from the table, strode over to the Emperor, bowed, and presented them.
The Emperor glanced down, his icy gaze sweeping over the officer before accepting the photos.
On the black-and-white images, a towering figure floated in mid-air. A flying human?
"Perhaps we have evidence to suspect they have truly created a superhuman!"
The Emperor rubbed his chin, squinting thoughtfully at the photos.
"A superhuman?"
Looking at the tall figure in the photograph, his expression contorted with fury again.
"Whether he's superhuman or not, this man dared to slaughter the great Empire's soldiers. He must pay the price!"
"Go and summon the leader of the Hand! I have a task for him!"
The Emperor sank back into his chair, a cold smirk on his lips. It wasn't just America that possessed supernatural beings; their great Japan had them too!
Merely minutes later, as the room fell into an uneasy silence, a man clad in ninja garb, his entire body shrouded in black cloth, materialized within the chamber.
He rose slowly, his gaze settling on the Emperor. His cold eyes seemed to urge the Emperor to issue his command.
"Hmph, I need you to kill someone for me!"
The Emperor tossed the photograph toward the ninja. The ninja stared at the figure in the photo, then silently held up three fingers.
"Baka! I will prepare the gold, but you must bring his body back to Japan."
The Emperor slowly clenched his fist. "I need his body to create superpowered beings for Japan!"
The ninja nodded, then formed hand seals and vanished in a puff of black smoke.
"...."
The night was dark as ink, all things hushed.
On the non-industrialized island, Jeno looked up silently at the star-filled sky.
His plan was progressing smoothly. Rescuing wounded soldiers had earned him the troops' admiration; single-handedly wiping out the Japanese forces on the island had successfully built his reputation.
The system's voice promptly chimed in:
[Mission completed: Capture Peleliu Island and earn the soldiers' affection.]
[Reward: Double Super Speed stacked.]
Every cell in his body seemed to stir. Jeno only felt an all-over itch, but the sensation came and went swiftly.
With a slight shift, Jeno reappeared, now standing on the opposite side of the island.
"Speed has noticeably improved, clearly much faster."
Jeno clasped his hands behind his back. If he were to attempt the flight from New York to Canada again now, it might only take 10 minutes.
"Next, I need to await the Pentagon's decision."
Jeno stood impassively, hands behind his back. But then, his super-hearing picked up distinctive sounds moving beneath the ocean's surface. Ordinary fish wouldn't create such deliberate noise.
"Oh? Still have night raiders? Coming for me?"
Jeno looked toward the sea not far away. Through his X-ray vision, he saw several black-robed ninjas emitting a sinister, cold aura swimming toward him through the water.
They were wrapped head-to-toe in black robes, only their eyes visible, each carrying two katana on their backs, using an efficient stroke to approach.
"Whoosh!"
The next instant, the ninjas broke the surface, instantly turning into afterimages as they materialized before Jeno, their sharp long blades thrusting toward his chest in a coordinated lethal strike.
Facing the onslaught, Jeno couldn't be bothered to dodge. How could such laughable mortal metal harm his body of steel?
The blade tips struck his chest, but the assassins immediately met immense resistance.
"Clang!"
As if striking indestructible meteoric iron, several long blades shattered on impact.
Despite their weapons shattering, the well-trained ninjas showed no panic. They kicked off Jeno's body, using the recoil to leap back, creating distance.
Jeno frowned, brushing dust from his clothes, his expression displeased as he stared at these ninja-clad assassins. These men had no heartbeat.
"Are you from the Hand?" he speculated aloud.
He sneered mockingly, "Do you have Sharingan?"
While simultaneously recalling information about the Hand. It was an ancient evil organization whose members worshiped a demon known as "The Beast." Some members drew upon its demonic energy, transforming into beings that were neither fully human nor ghost.
The only reply Jeno received was several smoke bombs emitting green mist.
These ninjas seemed devoid of emotion, hunched over, grabbing smoke bombs and hurling them at Jeno's feet, followed by a volley of shuriken.
The shuriken tore his clothing, revealing his muscular torso. The sharp blades struck his skin, producing only bursts of sparks.
"Boom!"
The smoke bombs at his feet detonated, dark green smoke enveloping Jeno.
Taking a deliberate breath, Jeno's face twisted in disgust. The smoke likely contained some sort of nerve agent. But it was useless against him; it instead smelled like rotten eggs, merely nauseating.
His eyes began to glow red. Jeno dismissed the thought of capturing one for interrogation, coldly stating, "If you want to fight, then fight. But throwing stink bombs to disgust people—that's just wrong!"
Jeno instantly appeared before one ninja, seizing the man's neck and squeezing slightly. The black-robed ninja exploded into a cloud of black mist, vanishing, leaving only a ninja gi fluttering slowly to the ground.
Jeno turned his gaze to the remaining ninjas, the red light in his eyes intensifying.
Bare-chested, Jeno slowly rose into the air.
"All of you, die!"
The next moment, a beam of red light sliced through the night sky. The searing red beam passed through the bodies of several ninjas before plunging into the distant sea. The intense heat instantly vaporized the seawater, sending up massive plumes of steam.
The instant they were struck by the heat vision, the black-robed ninjas exploded into puffs of black mist. A breeze lightly blew, carrying the remnants away to scatter on the wind.
Having completely annihilated the assassins, Jeno descended slowly.
He picked up the tattered ninja gi from the ground, examining it closely.
"Things from the mystical side are truly strange."
But it would be good if he could learn magic too. Jeno decided he would visit Kamar-Taj sometime to see if he could seek out the Ancient One and learn some magic.