[Rust Iron Hell, Lower City, District 4]
If District 12, known as the safe zone, was merely an old, rough-and-tumble district with outdated exteriors and tough locals, then District 4, controlled by the Blood Skulls, was a genuine living hell. In this place, perpetually shrouded by steam clouds, where sunlight rarely reached, not only were the New Federation's overt laws meaningless, but even the peculiar local rules of Steam City struggled to take root in this hell.
As the notorious lawless zone of Rust Iron Hell, criminals from the Upper City and exiles from other places quietly converged here by unspoken agreement. This led to a large number of vicious crimes occurring daily, making it a place most people wouldn't dare to step foot in.
But today, two figures who shouldn't have been there were slowly walking through the streets of District 4.
"Mr. Ink Wash..."
Feeling the eerie, wary gazes of the District 4 residents, little Danica immediately felt uncomfortable. The eyes of these people... were simply too dangerous! If she had to describe them, they were like jackals lurking in the shadows. If she and Tendo showed any weakness, those who were already hostile towards the Upper City would instantly swarm out from the darkness like bloodthirsty monsters, savagely tearing at them, completely devouring the two of them, clad in Star Emissary uniforms.
While this might bring considerable trouble to the entire District 4, it wasn't them who were breaking the rules now, but Tendo and little Danica. This was because, according to the unwritten rules between the Lower and Upper Cities, people from the Upper City, especially Star Emissaries, were not allowed to casually appear in the Lower City. If such a situation occurred, it would be considered a provocation to the Lower City. Therefore, even though Tendo and little Danica were merely strolling through the streets of District 4, some people immediately went to inform the controllers of District 4, the Blood Skull gang.
[Rust Iron Hell, District 4, Two Cries Ramen Shop]
"Gentlemen, here are your orders of Rust Iron District's specialty—Spring Ramen."
The ramen chef's hand, holding the tray, trembled slightly as he carefully placed two bowls of noodles in front of Tendo and Danica. Unlike ordinary ramen's light brown, clear broth and pristine white, chewy noodles, the Spring Ramen's broth had a dark, rusty yellow hue. The noodles themselves were coiled like spiral springs in the bowl, faintly glinting with a metallic sheen, making one question their heavy metal content.
"This ramen won't cause the newly appointed Fifth Squad Captain and the little girl beside him to be hospitalized, will it?"
"It hasn't been long since Chen Kong and Vivian resolved the Blood Skull trouble, and then their arrest warrants were issued from above. If there's no problem here, you can kill me and I still wouldn't believe it."
"I wondered why only Vivian came down before. It seems she was set up, someone wanted to use this opportunity to get rid of her."
"No wonder Old Jack from the Rusty Nail Bar said that conscience is useless in the Rust Iron District. Chen Kong was caught in this trouble because of his momentary kindness."
Tendo watched the dense barrage of comments on the dimensional screen, collecting the latest 'intelligence' while continuously stirring the steaming bowl of special ramen in front of him with his stainless steel chopsticks.
Because the new character, 'Ink Wash,' appeared before the dimensional audience simultaneously with Chen Xing's arrival at the Steam Branch, coupled with the fact that several branch-level squad captains had fallen in the Ember Base at the end of the first season, the dimensional audience now considered so-called branch-level squad captains to be mere minor figures in the early stages. They had some prestige, but not much. Hence, they didn't pay too much attention to the character Ink Wash.
Thanks to Tendo's 'edit and delete privilege' for the series, the current second season of the series did not feature the conversation between Tendo and Chen Xing in the villa a week ago. This led the dimensional audience to still believe that 'Ink Wash' was just an ordinary Fifth Squad Captain. They didn't associate him with the mysterious masked man, let alone connect him with the name 'Tendo.'
As Tendo continuously stirred the noodles in front of him, the previously entangled ramen finally separated. However, Tendo did not immediately start eating. Instead, he analyzed the major events that had occurred in Steam City within the past week.
First, within the Gear Church, the Saintess, Euphemia, was unable to gain the 'divine' approval, which prevented her from completing the handover ceremony and succeeding the old bishop, Cleavy, who was supposed to retire soon, to become the new bishop of the Gear Church.
Second, the former Silver Knight of the Gear Church, Vivian, was accused of stealing a holy relic from the Church, leading to her being wanted by both the Gear Church and Steam City's Star Emissary Association. Under these circumstances, the Rusty Nail Bar in District 12, which had previously sheltered Vivian, was raided by the Church's Holy War Knight Order three days ago. Fortunately, Chen Kong and the others were powerful enough to fight their way out with the heavily injured Vivian and hide somewhere in Rust Iron Hell. If not for the Lower City's usual feigned compliance with the Upper City's directives, Chen Kong and Vivian would probably have been captured already.
Even so, the situation for these two was still not good. They either had to find a way to escape Steam City or find a way to clear their names. And certain individuals clearly wished to see Vivian exiled. Therefore, they tightened the channels leading to the Upper City while discreetly relaxing the conditions for leaving the city, clearly intending to completely expel her.
Thinking of this, Tendo couldn't help but sigh inwardly. It's really hard to be the protagonist of a shonen anime. Because shonen anime primarily focuses on the 'growth' and 'friendship' of the protagonist. To highlight 'growth,' the protagonist is bound to endure a lot of hardship, and along with it, the people around him will also suffer.
It's a good thing Tendo chose the persona of a 'popular villain' for himself. So, as long as he's immune to the protagonist's 'talk-no-jutsu' attacks and rejects any form of 'whitewashing,' he can always stand at the top of the food chain, enjoying the sweet without the bitter! After all, there's an unwritten rule in anime: whitewashing weakens by three points, while blackening strengthens by three times.
After his contemplation, Tendo picked up some spring noodles with his chopsticks and put them into his mouth. Instantly, a strange metallic tang exploded in his mouth. But when Tendo's peripheral vision caught little Danica's eager, curious gaze, he suppressed the urge to frown and continued chewing expressionlessly.
Suffering, this stuff is only enjoyable when shared with others! And this was Tendo's way of finding joy in hardship.
Seeing Tendo eat so happily, little Danica immediately put aside her concerns and, imitating Tendo, grabbed the stainless steel chopsticks that were longer than her forearm. She painstakingly rolled up some spring noodles and stuffed them into her mouth with a big bite.
But the next second...
"Ugh!"
Feeling the inexplicable bitterness in her mouth, little Danica instantly trembled wildly as if she had been electrocuted. Seeing this, Tendo's lips curved slightly. Ah, finally, the suffering has been successfully shared!