The impact left everyone momentarily stunned, and a cloud of smoke poured out from the entrance, obscuring their vision.
When the smoke cleared, what remained was the image of Toji Fushiguro standing among the debris, holding a decapitated head in his hand. The head belonged to a man with black hair, whose face was marked by a horrifying X-shaped wound that stretched from his eyebrows to his jaw.
With a calm smile on his face, Toji walked steadily over the fallen door until he stopped next to Sawatari, who was to the left of Katana Man. His presence dominated the room, and his cold, penetrating gaze fixed on each of the people present.
But to everyone's surprise, Hiroshi smiled slightly, which puzzled both Sawatari and Katana Man for a moment.
"You're amusing…" were Toji's words as his smile shifted from calm to wild.
"You're interesting…" said Hiroshi, looking him in the eyes with an indifferent smile that grew slightly, appearing somewhat amused.
"Ready for the mission?" Hiroshi asked, still smiling, the smile never fading.
"Believe me, I'm ready for this shit," Toji responded with a bloody smile that only reflected his desire to kill.
"Perfect," said Hiroshi with a smile.
The two men stared into each other's eyes, each harboring the desire to kill the other.
As indifferent as Hiroshi might be, he didn't like Toji. He despised his presence and only wanted to destroy this annoying "worm," as he referred to him.
Katana Man and Sawatari had only heard the entire conversation, clearly noting the mutual desire between Toji and Hiroshi to kill each other. "This became personal a long time ago," Katana Man repeated in his mind with a triumphant smile, as a plan formed in his head.
Handing out folders to the people in front of them, Hiroshi smiled calmly, dramatically changing his demeanor.
"Here's the mission description," Hiroshi said with a smile, in true Makima style.
Taking their folders, the three individuals in front of him looked to him for more instructions. Toji, however, wasn't paying much attention, as he was simply stroking his Cursed Tool.
"There's a car waiting for you, a limousine…" Hiroshi, who seemed to be explaining the mission, was interrupted by Toji's bored voice.
Yawns
"They're all dead; you'll have to call others," Toji said calmly, surprising the others around him. "All of them," Toji said again, this time with a wild smile on his face.
Hiroshi sighed lightly, grabbed the phone next to his desk, and pressed several keys. Putting the phone to his ear with a stoic expression, he patiently waited for someone to answer.
Once they responded, Hiroshi was the first to speak.
"Bring me a new limousine with a new driver," Hiroshi said, his eyes now fixed on Toji, who just smiled calmly while continuing to stroke his Cursed Inventory.
While traveling in the limousine that Hiroshi had arranged, both Sawatari and Katana Man felt that something was wrong with the mission. They couldn't shake the feeling, and it was all due to the imposing figure sitting across from them, eyes closed, with an air of confidence surrounding him. His muscles, perfected through intense training, were accentuated by his tight black shirt, and he seemed disconnected from reality.
"Fear." Both Sawatari and Katana Man felt that dreaded and hated emotion. Katana Man, despite having a plan, couldn't shake the feeling that something didn't add up. It was as if something was eating away at the back of his mind, whispering phrases like, "Don't do it," "There must be a better option," and "This is suicide." He couldn't deny it; he was afraid. In fact, he feared for his life.
Since he felt that murderous intent back in the mansion, he couldn't help but feel weak, completely insignificant compared to this human. But his pride and mission wouldn't allow him to back down. He was already too deep in it.
Sawatari lightly hugged herself and glanced at her companion. "I hope you have a plan," she whispered to herself, her hope resting on her stoic comrade, who remained calm and calculating while watching their enemy and target.
As for Toji...
Well, Toji didn't care what happened to them. If he had to kill them, he would. He had no doubts that Hiroshi had informed them about the hunt for his head, but that didn't bother him either. He was excited; the thrill of being tested consumed him.
"I hope they don't bore me," Toji thought while starting to dive into other thoughts.
"Though I have my weapons, I'm missing one: The Split Soul Katana. The Split Soul Katana ignores all physical hardness to cut through the hardest substances and strikes directly at the soul of its target. Its full power can only be unleashed by those with eyes capable of seeing the soul of inorganic objects.
In short, this katana attacks the target's soul, regardless of its physical strength. It not only cuts through its hardness but also its soul.
Unfortunately, that katana wasn't in his Cursed Inventory, leaving only two possibilities:
The katana is in the Jujutsu Kaisen world, which is why it's not here.
The second, very unlikely option, which he still considered, was that the sword might be somewhere in the world of Chainsaw Man, and he simply needed to find it.
Toji believed the katana had stayed in the Jujutsu world, as it was the more probable option. But he still held some hope for the second option. However, the question was: "How would he find it?" If it was really here, why hadn't they given it to him along with his other weapons?
Sighing to himself, he relaxed his muscles. Like any assassin, he knew he shouldn't let his guard down, or he'd end up like the original Toji.
The trip passed without incident, at least for Toji, who remained in a meditative state. Sawatari was tense and alert, unable to relax or rest at all. Her fear that Toji might decide to finish them off left her terrified. Her fear was so intense that her eyes remained fixed on the muscular man who seemed unfazed by the presence of the two demons.
As for Katana Man, he was calm but somewhat apprehensive. He had noticed during the trip that Toji wasn't going to harm them for now, which eased his worries. However, he had to stay alert, as he knew, though he wasn't willing to admit it, that Toji could kill him at any moment.
The limousine arrived at an old hangar, somewhat removed from the city but clearly maintained despite its age. Upon exiting the limousine, Toji, Sawatari, and Katana Man were greeted by a middle-aged man who looked at them with an overly warm smile, clearly a façade. Behind him was a private jet, parked and ready.
"You must be the ones sent by the Great Hiroshi," the man said, referring to Hiroshi as though he were some sort of deity, displaying extreme fanaticism.
Noticing this, Toji remained silent, contemplating the possibility that Hiroshi might not be the leader, which seemed absurd considering Hiroshi had hired him and had the apparent image of a soulless and twisted leader.
However, from another perspective, these people often worked for someone else or were puppets because their bosses wanted to remain anonymous or were too cowardly.
Moreover, Hiroshi was too weak to be the leader of a religious cult; he was strong, but not to the level of Toji or a supremely powerful demon.
Katana Man's voice snapped Toji out of his contemplation, confirming the man's question with a dry, disrespectful tone, addressing his employer as an equal without honorifics.
The man's face darkened momentarily, veins appearing on his forehead. But as quickly as they had appeared, they vanished, and his friendly smile returned.
"Follow me, then," the man said, turning and walking toward the plane at a slow pace, expecting them to follow his lead.
Following his example, they observed how he stopped by the retractable stairs leading to the plane's door and extended his hand while bowing to Toji and his companions.
"Right this way," the man said, maintaining his bow.
As they climbed the stairs and crossed the open door, Toji, Katana Man, and Sawatari found nothing unusual, only two flight attendants—one with black hair and striking blue eyes, and the other with yellow hair and green eyes, both exceptionally beautiful.
Sitting on the comfortable leather seats as the stairs retracted, Toji, who had chosen a seat by the window, decided to look outside and seemingly lose himself in his thoughts.
Although he appeared to be lost in thought, he knew that the flight attendants were assassins.
"We've had a good start," Toji thought with a calm smile crossing his face.
The plane took off without delay, beginning its flight.
The middle-aged man, who had been watching everything with a friendly smile, instantly changed his expression to one devoid of emotion. Without changing his expression, he searched for a radio in his pocket and spoke into it.
"Great Hiroshi, the target is now on the move," the man said into the radio, awaiting a response from his boss.
"Perfect," came the response from the small radio.
In Hiroshi's office:
Hiroshi leaned back in his chair after what he had put Toji through. "I hope that man dies, and I have no more obstacles," he thought.
After two hours of flight, with only two hours remaining, Toji could no longer hold it in. Despite three failed attempts to poison him on this plane, which obviously hadn't succeeded and wouldn't succeed, he needed to go to the bathroom.
Getting up from his seat, he stretched a bit and lazily headed toward the back of the plane, trying to enter the bathroom. Unexpectedly, a hand touched his back. Turning around, he noticed the yellow-haired flight attendant looking at him somewhat lustfully, or at least that's what it seemed as she tried to use her ample chest to "seduce" him.
In his mind, Toji could only think of how bad a woman could be, or maybe it was just that he was used to these kinds of attitudes. As an assassin, he had been seduced and had seduced others in his life. He could easily tell when someone was lying to him, and this woman wasn't very good at it. It was clear she wanted to kill him.
"Hey, darling-" the woman began, but before she could finish, Toji interrupted her with a powerful knee to her abdomen. This caused the woman's eyes to widen as a burst of air and saliva escaped her, making her fall to the ground, clutching her stomach with both arms as she writhed in pain.
"Maybe in another life," Toji said with a disdainful look as he turned and opened the bathroom door, closing it behind him to do his business, leaving the battered flight attendant behind.
The journey continued without problems, especially after the 'incident' Toji had with one of the assassin flight attendants; none of them dared approach him again.
Although he knew this wouldn't be the last attempt on his life, he frankly didn't care. Even though the butlers lacked the necessary skills, he felt somewhat disappointed, as he had expected more from his potential assassins.
But they hadn't even arrived in China yet; they had just landed in the hangar.
Once the flight was over, the three assassins decided to disembark from the uncomfortable plane.
Toji, who was the first to get off, started stretching his muscles. After taking a deep breath and conditioning his lungs, he quickly surveyed the area, his sharp eyes looking for any anomalies.
After scanning the barren landscape, he turned his head and saw his companions talking to a man with an unusual Chinese hairstyle, dressed in an elegant suit, who had an axe on his back.
The Chinese man, who seemed like the typical traditional, tough individual from those parts, noticed Toji's calculating gaze but decided to ignore it.
Toji approached and noticed that his companions had somewhat strange smiles, smiles that were very unusual for them. However, Toji didn't pay much attention to it; after all, they would die if they tried anything against him.
As for Katana Man and Sawatari, Sawatari was excited and relieved by what the Chinese hunter had told them, and even Katana Man couldn't help but feel relieved.
This Chinese hunter, Ki Yieng, was known for his skill with his cursed axe, which he had obtained through a contract with the Axe Demon, a demon that had terrorized China for a long time. Even after being defeated, Ki Yieng had chosen to make a servitude contract with the Axe Demon, who would transform into his weapon and only obey him. In exchange, the Axe Demon wouldn't be killed or sent back to hell by stronger Chinese hunters.
The hell in Chainsaw Man was one of the most unlikely places where even Toji himself would have no chance of surviving, no matter how strong he was. Toji was strong, both Sawatari and Katana Man knew that, but Hell was a place where new demons appeared every day, including the Primordial Demons, the most powerful in history, far surpassing the Gun Devil.
However, what Ki Yeng had told them left them in a state of euphoria, at least for Sawatari, while Katana Man maintained his stoic and restrained behavior.
What Ki Yeng had said was that they were going to bring a team of hunters from the United States, including the famous number one hunter from the US, "Divider." That was his nickname, as it was said that he could cut anything with his katana, even attacks with the highest density of cursed energy. According to many, he wasn't even 30 yet and was called a prodigy due to his incredible skill. He was similar to Toji, except that he didn't have a contract with a curse that allowed him to store and retrieve items.
The only interest Divider had was Toji's Storage Demon, or at least that's how Divider referred to it. There were also rumors that the number two hunter from the US would join, but not much was known about him except that he used a type of spear called a Nanigata—or so it was rumored, they couldn't quite remember—said to be extremely powerful, and the type of contract he had was a mystery.
From the Chinese Assassin Association, it wasn't clear what kind of assassins the Chinese would bring, but it was confirmed that the number one assassin from China, Dai Shiong, would come. He had an unknown contract that allowed him to manipulate weaker demons. It was a rather powerful ability, as he could store them in his body and even replace lost limbs with those of the demons under his control, giving him the abilities of those demons in exchange for draining his vitality and, in extreme cases, taking years off his life.
Katana Man felt relieved; he knew they would have a chance. However, something didn't sit right. Why were the Americans getting involved in something like this? While Toji was a threat, he wasn't such a major threat that the best hunters from one of the strongest regions would be involved in a region that had been competing for the strongest hunters since the appearance of demons.
This intrigued Katana Man, but he pushed that thought aside for later.
Ki Yeng, who was talking to the now semi-enthusiastic Sawatari, noticed that Katana Man seemed lost in his thoughts, and Toji... well, Toji was still Toji, simply yawning and absentmindedly staring at the sky.
"Nice to meet you; I'm Ki Yeng and I'll be your guide to the hotel," said Ki Yeng, fixing his gaze on Toji's face, who returned the stare.
"Toji Fushiguro," Toji replied lazily, gripping Ki Yeng's hand with overwhelming strength.
Ki Yeng's face twisted slightly from Toji's oppressive grip, but he remained mostly stoic in response to Toji's action.