After effortlessly defeating him, Anne shrank the space back to her office.
Kuro lay exhausted on the couch, his body aching from the fight. Meanwhile, Anne calmly sipped tea with Brian, as though her battle with Kuro had been nothing more than a mere child's play.
"Well, I must admit, you're impressive compared to others your age," Anne remarked. "On your own, your strength is comparable to an A-ranker. With your shadow army, you'd be a peak A-ranker."
"Why do you say that?" Kuro asked, intrigued.
"Your shadow army gives you an advantage in fights, allowing you to take on multiple enemies with ease. It also makes one-on-one combat much simpler. However, against an opponent with strength similar to yours, the army can only serve as a distraction. While useful, it won't be enough against a skilled fighter. And it's even less effective against those stronger than you."
Kuro close his eyes, catching his breath and thinking about Anne's assessment.
"Still, for someone your age to be at A-rank level is impressive," Brian added. "Does this have anything to do with the reason you wanted to speak with us?"
"Yes," Kuro replied, his expression serious. "Do you know what the Tower of Heavens is?"
The moment Kuro mentioned the Tower, the temperature in the room seemed to drop. He noticed a shift in both Anne and Brian's expressions—especially Brian's.
"How do you know about the Tower of Heavens?" Anne's tone darkened. "Only S-rankers and above are aware of it. Are you with those trying to invade the lower floors?"
"Invade the lower floors? I don't know anything about that," Kuro responded quickly. "I'm not even from this tower."
"Not from the tower?" Anne and Brian spoke in unison, their eyes widening in surprise.
Kuro got up and straightened slightly, grimacing as the pain from their earlier battle flared. He locked eyes with them, his voice steady but his mind racing. "I'm not from here. I'm from a different world entirely. I came to the tower to grow stronger." He paused, gauging their reactions. "Some things happened where I come from, and I decided to use the tower's time dilation to gain strength as quickly as possible."
Anne's gaze softened just slightly, but her expression remained serious. She placed her cup of tea down on the table with a clink, her hands folding neatly in her lap. "A different world..."
Brian, on the other hand, was less composed. A mix of disbelief and suspicion crossed his face. "You're saying you came from outside? How is that possible? The Tower doesn't allow outsiders, and someone who knows enough about it to ask questions? Something doesn't add up."
Kuro sat up, grimacing slightly from the pain of his earlier fight. He met their eyes, trying to gauge whether they'd take him seriously. "I don't know how easy it is to enter the tower but I got a key that opened a door into the tower. Although the planet I ended up on would be random. Luckily, I ended up here and got to meet both of you."
Anne and Brian exchanged a look of relief, recognizing that Kuro wasn't lying.
"Well, that's a relief," Anne said.
"Why?" Kuro tilted his head in confusion.
"Do you know why our world has dungeons?" Brian interjected. "It's because dungeons serve as prisons for invaders from the higher floors of the tower. The tower has rules, but without a Tower Administrator to enforce them, it must passively protect the lower floors. One way it does this is by trapping invaders in dungeons, giving the natives a chance to fight back."
Anne nodded. "Right now, we know that the second floor was conquered by a traitor. The invaders were from the sixth floor, and the leader of the army is someone called the Photon Emperor."
Kuro's understanding deepened as he grasped why mentioning the Tower had caused such tension. They likely feared he might be a spy, sent to manipulate them into betraying their world in exchange for rewards.
"I don't realize that the tower would also not be immune to strife and war." Kuro shook his head. "Really. Whenever there is life, there is strife."
"Anyway," Brian cut in, "I've noticed that you sometimes carry yourself like someone older than your years. Does it have something to do with your world?"
"I was wondering the same thing," Anne added, nodding.
"Yes," Kuro finally said, his gaze distant, remembering the Naruto series. "Where I come from, people grow up fast. There's no time for childhood or innocence. From a young age, you're thrust into a world where survival is everything. In my world, there are constant wars between nations fighting for resources. Every day is a struggle to stay alive."
Anne and Brian listened intently, their expressions serious but not judgmental. They had seen enough of the world to know that pain could shape people in unimaginable ways.
"How young exactly?" Brian was curious after hearing Kuro.
"Well, kids started training by the age of five. During war, if you are from a big nation, you don't need to worry about getting drafted to be a cannon fodder. However, kids from small nations do not have that luxury. Many are out into the meat grinder; most did not live long."
For the rest of the day, Kuro, along with Brian and Anne, spend the time chatting away.
***
Kuro closed the door to his room and sat on the bed. He was exhausted after talking with Anne and Brian due to nervousness. Luckily, his bond with them strengthened.
"Now that I know where I stand in terms of strength, it is finally time to collect some debt." He mutters as he remembers the person who almost ordered his assassination if not for the intervention of The Harbinger.
"Tsk. Just remembering them and all their deeds remind me of Danzo."
Kuro took out his katana and unsheathed it. He saw his reflection on the sword. His face has grown a little and the baby fats are now gone.
"Although I am grateful to Brian and now Anne for their love, I must remember why I came here in the first place." Kuro remembers his near death experience when he got ambushed by the root ninja.
Kuro's fingers lingered on the hilt of the katana for a moment longer before he finally sheathed it and stowed it away in his inventory.
Taking a steadying breath, Kuro rose from the bed, his mind set. The shadow soldiers were already moving—slithering across the world, gathering like tendrils waiting to strike. He didn't need to waste time with elaborate plans or long battles. He had a singular goal: to dismantle the Hoyoshil Guild, starting with Dickus. With his shadows returning, it was only a matter of time before he would act.
"Time to make them pay," he muttered, his voice low and steady.
As Kuro moved toward the door, preparing to set his plan into motion, he allowed one last thought to pass through his mind.
'This is just the beginning.'