Page 99 of Dragon 7

Kenji lifted Totoro, held it across his chest, and raised his voice for all of the Claws and Fangs to hear. “Now I’m truly ready!”

The men snickered, excited to see Totoro’s flames tear through Akiro’s flanks.

A piece of me that had stayed loose for hours finally settled.

Now it begins.

And that was when Akiro’s and my father’s plane began to land. . .right in front of us.

“Finally.” I put my focus back on death and sneered under my mask.

Chapter fifteen

A Masterpiece of Death and Color

Hiro

The plane finished its landing.

The engines wound down with a long mechanical exhale.

The hatch opened.

Men poured out and kept pouring.

I counted them in groups of ten because counting men one at a time was how a soldier lost his mind before a battle. Ten. Twenty. Forty. Sixty. A hundred. A hundred and fifty.

These men were different than the ones that had already been cheering on the field. Heavier gear. Body armor under their jackets. Disciplined ranks. They formed up outside the plane and that told me that they had drilled this exact arrival a hundred times.

Quiet.

Fast.

Expertly trained.

Then I saw the men racing out of the plane holding rocket launchers.

I counted twenty rocket launchers.

Fuck.

Reo's traps suddenly felt much smaller.

My stomach dropped. “We’re going to have to take out the men with those rocket launchers first, or that’s going to cause a lot of damage on our side.”

With that declaration, the Silent Ones stepped in closer and took in the scene with us.

Through the Gozu, Satoshi spoke. "We should attack now."

Kenji shook his masked head. "No. My Roar's plan is perfect. They're still comfortable and secure right now. Let's wait for all the players to come outside. Akiro has a tendency to run at the first scent of his losing."

I pressed my palm against my vest until I felt the locket through the fabric.

Stay alive, my Tiger. I pray you are safe.

Akiro’s men kept coming and forming various units all over the field. Then, the pouring out slowed until it completely stopped.

At least three hundred men in disciplined ranks stood on the open field with their weapons up. Twenty rocket launchers anchored the flanks.