Chapter 161 - Has the Boss Already Fallen Deep into the Perverted Mire and Finally Degenerated?
"Mmhm, so should our phantom thief group unify our attire? After all, Renji's outfit from the last operation didn't match us, and that ugly mask too!"
"Hey hey hey, my outfit last time wasn't good-looking?"
That was the Akatsuki robe with black background and red clouds, how could it not look good?
Although even Renji himself felt that the mask was somewhat ugly.
"The mask was indeed ugly, though the outfit was fine. Still, it didn't fit us."
After Kato Megumi finished speaking, Eriri beside her also nodded in agreement.
Clearly, Renji's sense of aesthetics seemed somewhat problematic.
"Then let us handle making the costumes, including the outfits and the masks for our upcoming actions."
"Fine."
Renji thought about it and felt that imitation indeed wasn't proper. They should design their own unique emblem.
The Akatsuki of the Naruto world was someone else's symbol after all. Since they were to establish their own phantom thief group, they naturally needed a symbol of their own.
"Sorry, I shouldn't have hidden this from you before."
Kato Megumi suddenly lowered her head, as if admitting fault, not daring to meet the eyes of the three.
Because this matter was too outrageous, she actually did want to conceal it. She hadn't known how to tell them.
And since it had shocked even herself, she couldn't guarantee she could hide it well, which was why she decided to take leave and stay at home to calm herself.
But now that it had already been exposed, aside from the lightness she felt in her heart, Kato Megumi also felt a trace of guilt for wanting to conceal it in the first place.
They were friends, so why hide things from friends?
"The one who should apologize is this guy!"
Kasumigaoka Utaha moved her lips and cast her gaze toward Renji.
Kato Megumi had only recently awakened her special ability. Not telling them was understandable; she needed time to digest it.
Upon reflection, Kasumigaoka Utaha thought that if she herself had awakened such a special ability, she too would likely need to think it over carefully.
But Renji was different.
Renji had clearly awakened long ago.
He had shown no intention of saying anything. If not for Kato Megumi's situation today, Renji might have continued hiding it.
"Perhaps Renji had his own concerns and didn't want to drag us into it!"
So there was a reason she was called Saint Megumi.
Renji had been thinking about what excuse to use to bluff them.
But before he even made a move, Kato Megumi had already given him a reason.
"As expected of little Megumi, you even thought of this!"
Tch! He actually muddled through with this.
Kasumigaoka Utaha, although knowing this was Renji's excuse, didn't press further. She wasn't a forceful woman.
Only Eriri, from being dazed at first to now, felt as if she had just experienced a lot but also felt like nothing had happened. Looking at the others, she suddenly said without reason, "How about we go eat?"
"I'll cook."
Since they were already at her house, there was no reason to go out to eat.
Kato Megumi was also skilled at cooking. As an ordinary girl who had often been overlooked by her parents since childhood, she had long since learned to cook for herself.
"It should rain, right? Then can I stay here tonight?"
Kasumigaoka Utaha glanced at the weather outside. It had already started raining when she came.
Now the rain was heavier, looking like a storm would come tonight. She hadn't brought an umbrella, only one extra umbrella. Originally, she thought that since Eriri wouldn't be here today, her plan would succeed, and she wouldn't need to consider going back.
"Sure. Eriri, will you be staying here too?"
Kato Megumi didn't refuse. Instead, she looked at Eriri to ask if she wanted to stay.
"Sure."
"Ahem, you know, walking at night is dangerous for boys. Especially on rainy nights, it's easy to run into perverts!"
Boys also had to protect themselves outside.
After Renji finished speaking, he looked at the three with anticipation. Kasumigaoka Utaha smiled slightly at the corner of her lips, teasingly glanced at Renji, and asked, "How about the four of us stay together? You sleep in the middle, so we can protect you better!"
"Can we?"
"No way!"
Before Kasumigaoka Utaha could reply, Eriri outright refused.
What kind of joke was that!
They were actually going to stay together!
"See, someone's unwilling!"
Kasumigaoka Utaha felt a bit disappointed. She hadn't really minded. In her view, if Renji agreed, she would simply rest leaning against him. She didn't care about such small things.
She was already prepared to give everything, and that wouldn't scare her.
"If Renji wants to stay, I can prepare a room for him."
Kato Megumi spoke up at the right moment.
"Forget it, haha. I still need to go back tonight."
He had just recruited a female ghost at home, so Renji needed to check on things. Even though he had repeatedly warned her, he was still afraid the new hire would eat the old one.
Sadako currently only ate souls, but Renji felt he needed to find something to feed her. He liked Sadako's attitude, a very hardworking employee.
But not one he could trust.
After all, the reason Sadako seemed easy to handle was only because of the Soul Summoning Banner. With it there, Sadako didn't dare to move. But if he wasn't there, who knew if she might act?
After all, Sadako had killed people before.
Of course, if they had agreed to this matter just now, Renji felt that the old employee, Jianzi, should be able to survive today.
"So you're going back to accompany a certain little girl? Speaking of which, it seems your fish pond still has plenty of fish! Right, aren't we the fish?"
Such an aggressive statement, truly worthy of Kasumigaoka Utaha.
"Utaha-chan, if you insist on thinking that way, I can't help it."
Hm.
The standard line of a scumbag.
A trace of grievance flashed through Kasumigaoka Utaha's heart. Although she knew Renji's entanglements with other girls, she now carried two thoughts.
First, she truly liked Renji and hoped to make the scumbag reform.
Second, she felt that if she could make him settle down, it would give her a strong sense of conquest. At the same time, she knew she had already fallen into a trap and was being played by this scumbag.
That was her unwillingness. At the same time, she thought, since so many were willing to be fish, there must be a reason. It was better than finding someone nobody liked.
Anyway, everyone was almost at the same starting line now, and she was even prepared to cheat ahead.
By the time she carried a child to force marriage, she didn't believe Renji would refuse.
"Hmph!"
The moment she thought of herself as one of the fish, Eriri instantly felt miserable inside.
No, that wasn't right!
She didn't like Renji at all!
"Renji, that was an extremely dangerous remark. I've heard some guys get cut down by a cleaver for less."
Kato Megumi spoke as if it were a reminder, though only she knew what her own feelings were right now.
"You're right."
What nonsense are you agreeing to!
If you agree, then act on it!
The three of them could not help but grumble in their hearts. They were already used to Renji's behavior.
But there would be plenty of opportunities later. While Renji pulled on them, they pulled on him as well. Love itself was a game of tug-of-war, and the question was only who would break first.
Thus, the four of them carried their hidden thoughts as they began cooking in the kitchen.
"Sherry, your sister was a traitor. You know the organization's rules, don't you? If you keep resisting, it will do you no good."
Across the iron bars of the cell, Gin spoke coldly, a trace of mockery flashing in his eyes.
This woman was actually so naïve as to think hunger strike could oppose the organization?
Indeed, Sherry's value to the organization was immeasurable, but that was no reason she could threaten it.
If a mere researcher could change the Black Organization's ways, to the point they dared not punish traitors, then Gin felt this organization had no reason to exist. Once you chose to join the Black Organization, you could not dream of leaving safely.
Still, with talent like Sherry, Gin hoped she would behave. Back when Akemi Miyano was alive, she had focused on her research. Now that Akemi was gone, this woman seemed harder to control.
It was troublesome. Why did that woman insist on leaving the organization?
Back then, if not for her sister, she would have been eliminated during the Shuichi Akai incident. Yet afterwards she still lived well. Hadn't the organization treated her well enough?
She truly didn't know how to cherish it!
"Heh, what was it the organization promised me back then?"
Sherry raised her head, cold light flashing across her face. The organization had sworn not to harm her sister, yet they had let Gin kill her with his own hands. And now they still shamelessly demanded she continue her experiments.
How could she possibly comply?
"That foolish woman not only wanted to leave herself, but also to take you with her. Do you think the organization would allow that?"
Vodka added on from the side.
If it had been just Akemi Miyano wanting to leave, the organization might have considered it.
After all, with Sherry in their grasp, Akemi would not dare act recklessly. But that woman insisted on taking Sherry away. How could that ever be allowed?
She might not have known much, but Sherry knew far too much.
The APTX4869 the organization was studying was her work, after all.
"So you've decided to starve yourself to death?"
Such a method would never threaten Gin.
If she wanted a hunger strike, then let her starve.
After those words, Gin did not wait for further response. He knew she likely wouldn't say anything more.
He gave Sherry one last look, then left with Vodka. If she wished to show her resolve in death, then he wanted to see if she truly dared to starve herself.
Besides, he had a hundred ways to keep her alive.
A hunger strike?
Who would that threaten? Just another foolish woman, like Akemi Miyano.
Bang!
The laboratory door slammed shut. Only then did Shiho Miyano raise her head toward it, despair flickering in her heart.
The freedom the two sisters yearned for seemed forever out of reach.
When her sister was killed by Gin, and she herself was unable to escape this hell, Shiho Miyano's heart grew heavy with thoughts of death.
She would never allow herself to continue researching for the organization.
Taking out the hidden APTX4869 from her pocket, she swallowed it at once.
She would gamble!
She would gamble that what she had seen and guessed at in Shinichi Kudo's house was real!
If she was wrong, then joining her sister in hell would not be so bad.
"What is—!?"
Pain!
Shiho Miyano felt a searing agony surge through her body, flooding her brain. The intensity toppled her instantly.
With a thud, her oversized lab coat now wrapped the frame of a tiny girl.
She raised her hand in disbelief. The drug… it had actually worked?
Yet the pain was unbearable, nearly enough to make her faint at once.
Glancing toward the air duct, Shiho knew this was her only escape.
She had shrunk, proving the drug was effective. If she remained here, the organization would surely discover her, rendering everything meaningless.
Since the drug hadn't killed her, it meant fate was giving her another chance.
Climbing through the air duct, she emerged into the pouring rain outside, thunder rumbling across the sky, filling her with grief.
She dragged her weakened body forward, heading for Shinichi Kudo's house.
At least it was safe there.
If she could shrink, then Shinichi hadn't died either. The last time she had checked his home, all his childhood clothes had vanished—he must have shrunk too.
As a "similar kind," Shiho now knew she could only seek him.
But with the drug's effects worsening, and the rain chilling her child's body, she collapsed on the street.
As she fell, a voice faintly reached Haibara Ai's ears: "Oh? To meet such a cute little girl after dinner, how lucky."
"Boss, what you're doing is a crime!"
Inside the office.
Miko frowned, glaring at Renji. She wiped the rainwater from her body, muttering complaints. She had already finished work, but Renji had forcibly summoned her.
And upon arrival, seeing a little girl inside, Miko's eyes toward Renji grew strange. She even considered whether to call the police.
"Hey hey hey, that's slander! I was just walking home from dinner and saw a little girl lying on the ground. With such heavy rain, how could a good citizen like me ignore it?
So I brought her back. Then I realized—I'm a man, she's a girl—so I called you over!
Look at how law-abiding I am. I'm practically the best man in the whole world!"
Slander!
Pure slander!
Although finding Shiho Miyano had shocked Renji, after bringing her back, he had considered his own position as a man and promptly called Miko. See how considerate he was?
But look at Miko!
Why did she have such a deep prejudice against him?
Was it just because he was a little perverted that she doubted him?
(End of Chapter)
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