Early the next morning, after completing his workout routine, Masashi eagerly ate breakfast, barely able to wait to get to school to witness the excitement that was about to unfold.
Just then, the doorbell rang. Kazumi went over to open it.
"Masashi, someone's here for you."
"What? For me? Isn't it just the newspaper delivery?" Masashi swallowed the last bite of his bread before heading to the door.
"Are you Mr. Masashi Hirota?" A middle-aged man in a branded suit asked respectfully.
"Yes, that's me. May I help you?"
"Our boss would like to meet with you."
"Who's your boss?" Masashi had a pretty good guess.
"Our boss is Mr. Lei."
"So, it's him. Could we make it in the afternoon? I have something to do now."
"But the boss instructed me to bring you over today, no matter what. Would you be able to make an exception?"
Still as impatient as ever, that guy hasn't changed all these years. Masashi sighed and said, "Fine, I'll go with you now."
He then turned to Kazumi and said, "Kazumi, could you help me request leave for today?"
"Got it."
"Alright, let's go."
"This way, please." The middle-aged man led Masashi to a luxury car, then took his seat at the driver's side.
Who is that guy acquainted with these days? Kazumi watched as the luxury car drove off into the distance.
An hour later, the car drove into a large estate. Inside, it looked like a tropical resort, with a grand, lavish eight-story building at the center—luxurious but not ostentatious. Below was a large swimming pool and a standard golf course. Various tropical fruit trees surrounded the estate, resembling a miniature tropical forest.
The driver parked the car and led Masashi to the building's main entrance. Two rows of men, dressed in black suits and sunglasses, stood solemnly like elite security forces.
Seeing this display, Masashi couldn't help but laugh. Did this guy really think he was a godfather?
As they entered, the air became naturally cool. Several attractive women dressed in slit qipao dresses or short skirts moved about, a pleasing sight to the eye.
Seeing Masashi in a school uniform with an ordinary appearance, everyone gave him curious looks.
Reaching the innermost courtyard door, the middle-aged driver said to Masashi, "The boss is inside; please go ahead." He then walked away.
Wondering what they look like now, Masashi took a deep breath and casually pushed open the door.
In the center of the courtyard sat four people—three men and one woman—with four others, likely bodyguards, standing behind them.
The four leisurely sipped tea, but when Masashi entered, they all looked at him in unison. The man in black casual wear, around thirty, in the center, had the most peculiar expression. He stood up as soon as he saw Masashi. Beside him was a middle-aged man in a white robe, unremarkable in appearance but with sharp, bright eyes, looking at Masashi with a scrutinizing gaze.
Masashi said nothing, only looked at the younger man, a faint warmth flickering in his eyes.
So, this guy finally grew up.
His upright and athletic physique, along with a confidence that seemed to radiate from within, resembled a panther, ready to spring, full of latent power.
Then he turned his gaze to the man in the white robe and smiled, saying, "Chang'an, after all these years, you still haven't changed. People might think you have no other clothes and wear that robe every day." Masashi spoke in the long-unused Chinese.
The man in the white robe flinched, looking at him with a mix of surprise and disbelief.
"Who on earth are you? Did you call me? And how did you know my phone number?" The man in black, oblivious to Chang'an's reaction, was the first to ask.
Masashi sighed, "So impatient, still the same after all these years. Do you not realize that bombarding someone with questions like that can make you annoying?"
Hearing this from a high school student barely reaching his shoulder, the man in black was about to lose his temper. But then, Masashi suddenly asked, "After all these years, have you gotten that… foreskin removed? Don't tell me you still kept it?"
The temperature in the room seemed to drop to sub-zero.
"Pfft!" The only woman in the room couldn't hold back her laughter, and even Chang'an wore a faint smile. The others, though restraining their laughter, wore strange expressions.
"You… all of you, get out!" The man in black's face flushed red as he roared at the others.
Soon, only Masashi, the man in black, and Chang'an remained.
"Who are you, really?" The man in black thought to himself, if this kid didn't start talking, he would KO him on the spot.
Masashi remained silent, walking calmly to Chang'an, then took the long sword that never left Chang'an's side from the table. The blade gleamed brilliantly in the morning light.
The black-clad man's eyes nearly popped out; he knew exactly how much that sword meant to Chang'an. People could barely touch it, let alone hold it. Yet, Chang'an didn't stop this brat and even looked on with a smile.
Before the black-clad man could react, the kid began performing a sword dance in the middle of the courtyard.
The more he watched, the more serious the black-clad man's expression became. This was impossible. Such a sword technique, such skill, only that one person could perform it—yet here was a high school kid, barely mature, executing it.
Chang'an was also deeply moved, though his reaction seemed unsurprised. Watching the display, he even began to shed tears, murmuring to himself, "My lord, you've finally returned."
"Little Black, pay attention. This is how you use this move." Masashi's words hit the black-clad man like a thunderbolt.
Masashi's sword technique suddenly changed. The movements became more expansive, as if he were cutting down waves of enemies, the atmosphere intensifying with a fierce, overwhelming aura that even made the two spectators feel a biting pain on their cheeks from the wind. This was no longer swordsmanship but had transformed into something akin to the strength of saber techniques.
At the peak of this power, Masashi flung the sword, and with a flash of cold light, it embedded itself in a tree up to the hilt.
"Little Black, did you see clearly?" Masashi asked the black-clad man, smiling calmly.
"Master!" The black-clad man rushed forward, dropping to his knees before Masashi, tears streaming down his face.