[Hayata Saotome Arc 7] Proceeding with entry

—In front of the building, a quiet tension hung in the air.

“It’s taking too long. Let’s check it out. If the suspects are in there, detain them.”

At Shinozuka’s short command, the detectives and the mobile unit moved in unison.

Uniformed officers had taken position around the building’s entrances without anyone noticing.

Kaname gave Hayata a light pat on the shoulder.

“You stay here. It’s too dangerous.”

Hayata bit his lip hard, but gave a small, obedient nod.

—I’m counting on you.

Murmuring the words in his heart, Kaname took off at a light jog.

He moved quietly up the dark stairwell.

Second floor… third…

The target was the fourth floor.

—Here.

In the silence, faint sounds could be heard just beyond the door of the secondhand shop to the left.

Kaname held up a hand, signaling the team to halt.

(…Behind that door. They’re really in there.)

Shinozuka quickly spoke into his radio.

“Team at the target door. Proceeding with entry.”

In that instant—

Bang!

The door burst open with a kick, and the detectives and mobile officers poured into the room.

“Don’t move! Police!”

Shouts rang out as several figures inside sprang to their feet.

One tried to flee, another resisted.

But the detectives wasted no time bringing them down.

“Suspect secured!”

“Suspect secured!”

Their voices echoed through the dim room.

Outside the building, in the alleyway.

Hayata, fists trembling and clenched tightly, looked up without realizing.

He heard it.

A voice—someone yelling “Suspect secured.”

(—We did it.)

A feeling he’d never experienced before surged up from deep within his chest.

In the heart of Kabukicho’s night,

a quiet sense of victory settled into the air.