Inside the Charles Agency, the lights were on, and Wesley sat on the sofa, surveying the surroundings. Rock Lee and Uchiha Sasuke stood on either side, guarding to prevent him from escaping.
Since getting off the car, Wesley, they were tasked to protect had never been well-behaved, always attempting to flee from the place.
At this moment, Ginny had a conversation with Iruka for a while before approaching Wesley and initiating a conversation with him.
Meanwhile, Iruka dialed Charles's phone number.
"Master Charles, we've made contact with the mission target, Wesley, today."
"During the encounter, we came across an assassination attempt by the Assassin Brotherhood, but we managed to eliminate them. We've temporarily brought the mission target, Wesley, back to the agency."
Charles Doyle, who was still awake, listened to Iruka's report over the phone. He found it quite surprising to learn that the Assassin Brotherhood had dispatched assassins for Wesley.
In the original storyline, the Assassin Brotherhood sent Fox to take Wesley away and train him into a top assassin, then have him attempt to assassinate Cross.
There was no attempt on Wesley's life directly; he was taken away for training.
He speculated that the assassins sent by the Assassin Brotherhood intended to take Wesley away, which resulted in a conflict with his team. After all, the two sides had different objectives.
"Who were the attackers? Do you know?" Charles wanted to confirm whether it was Fox.
"Based on the information provided by Secretary Ginny, the attacker was Fox from the Assassin Brotherhood. However, he was punched to death by Lee, so we couldn't interrogate her further."
Having received this information, Charles calmly responded, "Alright, I understand. Make sure to keep Wesley safe during this time."
"We'll temporarily close down the agency. We don't have any available manpower to take on new missions right now."
"We can resume business as usual once my current mission is complete."
"Master Charles, please rest assured that Team Iruka will perfectly execute this protection mission."
After giving a brief instruction, Charles hung up the phone. He wasn't concerned about Fox's death; though Fox was described as alluring and capable in the wanted poster, she is just a mortal.
Being punched to death by Lee was a rather ordinary outcome.
Besides, considering that in the original plot, Fox died anyway, the timing of her death didn't matter much.
It was better dying now than dying after her faith was shattered.
At least this version of Fox firmly believed that his assassinations were for justice, for the future.
Charles retrieved Cross' phone number and dialed it. After a moment, the call was answered.
"Cross, the Assassin Brotherhood have made a move against Wesley. Fox died at our hands today."
After a slight pause, Charles continued, "How much longer do you need? Keep in mind that with one of their own dead, they might escalate their attacks. I'm not someone who likes to wait."
Hearing that the Assassin Brotherhood had sent Fox to attack his son, Cross was tense. However, upon learning that Fox was killed and his son was safe, he sighed with relief.
Taking a deep breath, Cross replied in a serious tone, "Let's meet tomorrow. I'll brief you on the battle plan and show you the layout of the textile factory."
"If everything is in order, we'll move as soon as possible."
Satisfied with Cross' intention to act promptly, Charles agreed. He shared his address with Cross before ending the call.
…
On the other side-
Inside the textile factory, Sloan, Gunsmith, Butcher and others gathered around a table, with the body of Fox lying before them.
Sloan's expression was heavy, and he began, "Today, our friend Fox has been killed."
"After Mr. X, Fox has left us as well. The instigator behind all this is the traitor, Cross."
"He betrayed his faith, his destiny, and even colluded with dirty assassins to attack us."
"Even Ginny, who had retired, was deceived by Cross and stood with him."
Sloan paused for a moment, setting the atmosphere, and continued, "All of this is because Cross' name appeared on the Loom of Fate. Cross went mad, wanting to destroy us."
"How should we deal with those whose names appear on the Loom of Fate?" Sloan's gaze swept across the people present.
"Destroy them!"
Several people spoke simultaneously. Although their voices weren't perfectly synchronized, their answer was unanimous.
Upon hearing their response, Sloan nodded in approval. While the Assassin Brotherhood had numerous members, only a few were genuinely formidable, including the deceased X and Fox. The rest were those present.
"Gunsmith, tell everyone about the group protecting Wesley."
Gunsmith then presented a stack of A4 papers with printed information. This information had been purchased from a black market dealer on their way back.
"On the papers you have, let's focus on one person, Charles Doyle!"
"Charles Doyle is a registered member of the Continental Hotel. He was ranked as the second to receive the Legendary title after Night Devil in the assassin world. His codename is 'Ninja.'"
"In addition to being a killer for the Continental Hotel, he has his own firm which mainly handles tasks such as retrieving lost items, reconnaissance, assassinations, escorts, and security."
"The firm's employees include Ginny, a former Brotherhood member."
"Umino Iruka, an Asian ninja."
"Uchiha Sasuke, Asian ninja."
"Rock Lee, Asian ninja."
As Gunsmith presented the information, the members' photos and descriptions were shown. When the others saw photos of Uchiha Sasuke and Rock Lee, they exclaimed in surprise.
Sloan continued, "Don't underestimate them just because they're young. In fact, they might be more dangerous than anyone else."
"The injuries on Fox's body were caused by Rock Lee."
Upon hearing that Rock Lee was responsible for Fox's death, everyone reframed their perception of the two young individuals. Fox's injuries were visible to all; could a single punch really cause such extensive damage?
Butcher hesitated for a moment and then asked, "Are they ninja from the Hand?"
It was a reasonable question. The Assassin Brotherhood had been around for over a thousand years, and during that time, they had clashed with the Hand, an organization based on an island nation in East Asia.
For some reason, their leader at the time, along with the leader of the Assassin Brotherhood, called for a truce, and the two factions hadn't crossed paths since then.
Gunsmith was uncertain, but Sloan clarified, "They are not ninja from the Hand."
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