Asakusa was celebrating. Its people were drinking, dancing, shopping, and having fun as if there were no tomorrow. The colorful lights of the stalls reflected on the river, laughter erupted in the air like fireworks, and the smell of hot food hung over the streets. However, above all that euphoria, the starry sky seemed to tell another story—silent, melancholic, almost foreboding.

Benimaru gazed at the vast blue, as if he could hear something coming from there. Of course, he felt something. He missed you. He had spent the whole day solving problems in Asakusa, putting out fires—literally and figuratively—and now that his people could finally celebrate in peace, the least he wanted was to be by your side, away from the noise, away from the obligations. Even with the great festival roaring behind him, his only desire was to find comfort in his wife's arms.

For Benimaru, looking at the sky was like looking at you: tranquil, sincere, beautiful. His thoughts wandered, intertwining with each other, warmed by the urgent desire to be reunited with your presence. Each step he took towards the tent where you awaited him made his heart ache in an unusual way—as if his body knew something before his mind.

But the worst happened when he finally stopped before the door.

Silence. Extinguished candles. No trace of you.

"Damn them," Benimaru growled, his deep voice trembling with anger.

And that's why he now found himself there, on top of that building, next to a man who called himself "the hero of darkness." A stranger with a heavy presence, a gaze too sharp for someone who appeared out of nowhere. He had appeared before Benimaru at a very peculiar moment: exactly on the day you disappeared. And, unlike the others, he seemed to know something. He spoke of the Temple of the Holy Sun. Of secrets that supposedly no one should know. Of suspicious movements. Of names that should not be pronounced. Benimaru's interest skyrocketed—like a flame fueled by pure fuel—and he barely hesitated to follow that mysterious man. Any clue that led to you was enough.

Now, with narrowed eyes, Benimaru surveyed the Temple of the Holy Sun from a distance. It was to be expected that the temple would try something against him; after all, Benimaru had never bothered to hide his contempt for their beliefs. But kidnapping his wife?

That wasn't just provocation. It was a low blow. It was a declaration of war.

And Benimaru was ready to respond.

"I want to see if those bastards have the guts to repeat that in front of me." He practically spat out the threat.