Seeing the students running out of Shuchi'in Academy, the police officers and Self-Defense Forces members who had completely surrounded the school were greatly shocked.
A team of Self-Defense Forces soldiers quickly stepped forward, shielding the students behind them while nervously aiming their guns at the school gate.
"Children, are you alright?"
Medical personnel hurried over to check on the students' condition.
The students who had run out were pale, their eyes vacant, as if their souls had left their bodies.
Yet within that dazed state, there was uncontrollable joy and lingering fear.
Several Self-Defense Forces officials stepped forward, forcing gentle smiles and soft voices.
"Children, it's alright. You're safe now."
"Do you know the situation inside Shuchi'in Academy? Are the hostages alright?"
They did not dare mention words like "terrorists," afraid of further traumatizing these students who had just escaped death.
They were not surprised that some students had managed to escape.
Shuchi'in Academy was too large. The terrorists could not completely seal it off. There would always be some who slipped through.
However, no one had escaped in the past twelve hours. They had assumed those people were either captured or hiding somewhere on campus, too afraid to move.
The few students from Shuchi'in Academy, still trembling with fear, gasped for breath and said with a mix of shock, joy, and terror,
"They're dead, they're all dead."
Hearing this, everyone present panicked.
What was going on? Were all the hostages dead?
The Prime Minister, who had just been revived by medical personnel, rolled his eyes and fainted again.
"Prime Minister, Prime Minister!"
The medical team panicked and immediately began CPR.
The students clearly did not expect their words to scare the Prime Minister into fainting.
Rei's expression darkened, his anger nearly overflowing.
If all those students were dead, he would make those terrorists pay. He would leave only a few alive for interrogation. The rest would be executed on the spot, no trial needed.
The students took several deep breaths and quickly added,
"...The terrorists are all dead!"
"What?"
"The terrorists are dead?"
"Didn't you just say the students were dead?"
The person who spoke slapped themselves immediately. How could they curse the hostages like that?
The students nodded repeatedly, fear still in their eyes, but excitement in their voices.
"We were hiding in a teaching building near the auditorium. The terrorists didn't find us."
"We didn't dare move. We hid in a locked classroom full of discarded desks, but we could see outside clearly."
"Fujiwara-Kaichou, Fujiwara-Kaichou used drones to kill all those terrorists."
"That's right, that's right. I also saw from the auditorium window that Fujiwara-Kaichou entered from the roof, then descended from the sky and shot the terrorists."
"We were too scared to watch what happened inside. We thought the terrorists in the auditorium must have all been killed by him. We felt it was our best chance to escape, so we ran out together through the path behind the building."
The students spoke incoherently, still shaken, trying their best to describe Toru's overwhelming strength, almost like a modern Iron Man.
Although their words were chaotic, the logic was clear enough for everyone present to understand the situation.
All terrorists were dead, all killed by Toru.
Everyone looked at each other in disbelief.
Of course, they all knew Toru. He was already a well-known figure in Japan.
But no matter how famous he was, how could he accomplish something so close to superhuman?
One person eliminating over a hundred terrorists and saving over a thousand hostages. Was this really not a movie set?
It felt completely unreal.
They did not even think about where those drones came from.
Only Rei felt pure excitement.
Among everyone present, he was probably the one who trusted Toru the most.
Rei immediately shouted, "Commander, continue the mission. Whether what they said is true or not, we must enter the campus now!"
The commander had already made his decision and no longer hesitated.
"The plan proceeds as scheduled!"
At this moment, his only hope was that the students were telling the truth. That the man named Toru had truly, like a superhuman, resolved over a hundred terrorists and saved everyone inside.
He desperately wanted that miracle to be real.
Shuichi glanced at Rei.
He also knew Toru's identity, but even he could not believe that Toru alone could defeat over a hundred terrorists and rescue over a thousand hostages without causing harm.
Reason told him this was impossible.
But if it were true, then that man could no longer be called human.
Not dwelling on it further, Shuichi followed Rei and led an elite team into the campus.
An FBI tactical unit led by Shuichi also joined the operation.
"Megure, what's going on? Where did those explosions and gunshots come from?"
Kogoro's eyes were bloodshot as he asked with a grim expression.
By now, the scene was under full control of the Self-Defense Forces and the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's high command. Even officers like Megure did not have access to detailed frontline information.
This was also to prevent sensitive information from leaking to the media and causing further trouble for the government.
Although Kogoro was a famous detective, he had no authority in this situation.
He could only rely on Megure to find out anything.
Megure hesitated.
He had heard some information, but it was not something to casually share.
Kogoro clasped his hands together and pleaded,
"Inspector, please just tell me. My daughter is all I have. I can't let anything happen to her."
Seeing his former capable subordinate looking so distressed, Megure softened.
Kogoro had not slept for a full day, staying here just to get updates.
"Mouri, you must not spread this."
"Okay, okay, Inspector, please tell me."
"I heard that, for some reason, a batch of drones appeared inside Shuchi'in Academy. The Self-Defense Forces, the Security Department, and the FBI have decided to launch a forced assault."
"What? How can this be? There are so many terrorists. If we rush in, what if the hostages get hurt?"
Kogoro was shocked and immediately objected.
He could not accept such a situation.
At first, he had been the one insisting on rushing in, but after Megure persuaded him, he understood that doing so would only provoke the terrorists into harming the hostages.
Now, hearing that a forced assault was planned, he became terrified.
If a firefight broke out and the terrorists killed the hostages, or if crossfire caused casualties, he could not accept it.
Ran was the only family he had. If anything happened to her, he would not be able to go on living.
What he hoped instead was for the authorities to meet the terrorists' demands, hand over the gold, and secure the hostages' release.
"Mouri, calm down!"
Seeing Kogoro about to rush forward, Megure quickly stopped him.
"I have some good news I haven't told you yet."
"What good news?"
"I heard that all the terrorists have been eliminated, and the hostages are not in danger."
"Huh? Which unit did that? Is the information reliable, Inspector?"
"I heard that Fujiwara Toru eliminated all the terrorists by himself."
Even as he said it, Megure looked doubtful.
He knew Toru was a capable young man with great potential.
His karate skills were strong, and he had a strong sense of justice.
But saying he single-handedly wiped out a fully armed group of terrorists and saved thousands of hostages, was that not absurd?
Even Hollywood would not go this far.
No, this sounded more like something out of a Bollywood movie.
Kogoro did not believe it at first either. He blurted out,
"Megure, what kind of joke is this? How could that brat Fujiwara do all that? He's just a liar."
Megure replied,
"I'm only repeating what I heard. Whether it's true or not, I don't know."
Kogoro fell silent. After a moment, he muttered,
"If it's false, I hope it's true. If that brat really saved my daughter, I'll never scold him again."
Megure asked curiously,
"Mouri, why do you have such a strong opinion of him?"
"That brat clearly wants to seduce my daughter. I've seen all kinds of people. That kid is definitely a scumbag, not a good person. Of course I have a problem with him."
In the distance, Eri and Yukiko stood together.
Eri could not help but take out a cigarette and smoke one after another.
Their situations were similar.
Although their feelings for Kogoro and Yusaku had faded, they both deeply loved their children and feared for Ran and Shinichi.
And knowing that Toru was also inside Shuchi'in Academy, they were praying for him as well.
Their lover, their son, their daughter, all trapped within the terrorist siege.
The fact that these two women could endure without breaking down showed their strength.
Meanwhile, the team led by Rei and Shuichi rushed into the academy.
At first, they advanced cautiously, wary of terrorists hiding in the shadows.
But soon, they realized this pace was too slow and accelerated.
If the terrorists were still alive, every second wasted could cost another hostage's life.
And when they finally reached the auditorium, the sight before them left the elite team completely stunned.
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)