This is the worst possible outcome. I can't get away from here. I need to take some drastic measures now.

  The thought cut through Kazama's mind with crystal clarity despite the chaos. He was surrounded, exhausted, facing a man who could turn into literal rock and now cornered with no clear escape route.

  "Wait! Everyone, just wait!" Kizuki's voice cracked through the tension, desperate and raw. "It could still be Hiro. He has fire powers. Real fire powers. He's been throwing fireballs at us this entire time. Who else could do that?"

  An older gang member stepped forward from the shadows and the others instinctively made way for him. He was in his fifties, weathered like old leather, with a jagged scar running down his left cheek from his forehead to his jaw. His eyes were cold.

  "Kizuki," the older man said, his voice carrying authority. "We can't waste our time with this. The shipment is going to arrive at this port any minute now. The message from the higher-ups was absolutely clear. No delays."

  "But this could be Hiro," Kizuki insisted, though his voice had lost conviction. "My friend….."

  "Hiro or not," the older man cut him off. "We need to get rid of him. He's seen our faces. He knows where we are. He probably knows exactly what we're doing here." He turned his scarred face toward Kazama. "Otherwise, why would he be here? At this specific port? At this specific time?"

  Kazama didn't wait for consensus. His hands moved to his vest, withdrawing multiple pieces of flash paper mixed with lycopodium powder. He threw them in a wide arc, creating an instantaneous combination of blinding light and thick smoke that billowed outward in seconds.

  "Where did the bastard go?" someone shouted through coughing.

  "There he is!" another screamed as they spotted his silhouette running through the dissipating smoke. "Toward the warehouses!"

  Kazama ran with everything he had, his lungs burning. Each step took more effort, each breath came harder through the mask's filters.

  Didn't know this Kizuki would be so handy today, Kazama thought grimly as he rounded a container. His hesitation just bought me thirty seconds.

  "Enough." Rico's voice boomed across the port like thunder. "We do this my way now. Vamos!"

  Kazama glanced back and his blood ran cold. Rico's entire body was covered in rock-like exoskeleton now. He charged forward like a freight train, crashing straight through warehouse walls. Each impact sounded like an explosion tearing metal.

  CRASH. CRASH. CRASH.

  He's going straight through. No obstacles. This is really bad.

  Kazama spotted the electrical junction box ahead. Old building, old wiring and lots of wood. It was dangerous but he had no choice.

  He ripped off his gloves and channeled massive amounts of electricity through his arms, thrusting both hands against the junction box. The surge flooded the old system instantly. The box exploded in sparks and electrical fires sparked everywhere frayed insulation met dry wood.

  The warehouse ignited with horrifying speed. Within seconds, flames raced up support beams and across the ceiling. The building groaned as fire consumed everything. Black smoke poured from every opening, rising in thick columns.

  Rico burst through the final wall and stopped, silhouetted against the inferno. Even his rock form couldn't protect him from being cooked alive inside that heat.

  Of course you'd stop, Kazama thought, already backing away from the intense heat. But now I need to get out too or I'll get cooked myself.

  He spotted a loading door blown off its hinges and dove through, rolling on the concrete outside. He finally exhaled, gasping for clean air….

  BOOOOOOM.

  The massive explosion lifted the warehouse roof like a giant had punched it from below. Something inside had chain-reacted. Flaming debris shot into the night sky like fireworks, spinning and tumbling. Burning wood and glowing metal rained down around him as thick black smoke rose in a column visible for miles.

  This would definitely get a lot of attention, Kazama thought, shielding his head. Police, fire department, heroes... everyone's coming. I need to disappear….

  ************************************************************************************************************************

  On the wedding yacht Eternal Promise, anchored three hundred meters offshore now with the celebration in full swing. The deck sparkled with thousands as waiters distributed champagne.

  Then the explosion hit. The shockwave reached the boat as a deep thump people felt in their chests. The yacht rocked. Champagne sloshed. A plate shattered on the deck.

  Stunned silence, then panic.

  "Did you hear that?" a woman in silk asked, gripping the railing.

  "That was an explosion!" another guest rushed to look. "Look at that smoke!"

  "Are we going to be alright?" someone called nervously.

  "Is this common in Japan?" a guest asked with concern.

  David Mitchell, the groom was a tall American in his thirties wearing a custom tuxedo. He found his friend John staring toward shore with binoculars.

  "What the hell was that?" David demanded.

  "Some kind of explosion near shore," John replied, not lowering the binoculars. "Major one."

  "We plan a million dollar wedding and a literal explosion happens?" David's voice rose. "This is supposed to be the happiest day of my life!"

  "Don't worry. I had connections. Got one of the top heroes assigned to this boat," John said, trying to calm him.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  "Is he any good?"

  "He's in the top 50."

  "That's not good enough," David said dismissively.

  Kujou Tanaka, standing fifteen feet away, overheard every word. Currently ranked 47th in all of Japan, the comment stung hard.

  This is embarrassing, Tanaka thought, jaw tightening.

  "Have him check it out," David said. "Isn't that what we're paying for?"

  "Then what if something happens here?" John asked reasonably.

  "Tell the captain to stay away from shore then," David said while looking at his watch.

  Before John could respond, guests at the railing erupted in shouts.

  "Look at that!" someone called excitedly, phone recording.

  "A fight is going on!" another added. "Is that fire?"

  "This is insane!"

  ************************************************************************************************************************

  Back at the port, Kazama was surrounded again. He alternated between fireballs and hand-to-hand combat. Each fireball drained him. Not much individually but it was adding up.

  A gang member rushed him with a baton. Kazama threw a small fireball at his face. The man flinched and Kazama delivered a running knee that folded him.

  Two more attacked from different angles. Kazama ducked under a wild swing and caught the second with an elbow to the jaw. The first came back and Kazama swept his legs, finishing with a controlled burst of fire to his shirt.

  Three down. But there are still too many, Kazama thought, breathing hard. Six? Seven? Plus Rico.

  Heavy footsteps. Rico was charging again, body covered in rock armor.

  Kazama tried the same sidestep that had worked before. He waited until the last second, then stepped right…..

  But Rico had learned. His massive rocky arm shot out sideways mid-charge, catching Kazama around the waist.

  "Got you," Rico growled in Portuguese-accented English.

  Rico lifted him effortlessly off the ground, spun like an Olympic hammer thrower and then hurled Kazama toward the water with tremendous force.

  Kazama sailed through the air, spinning. Two seconds of flight to think this is going to hurt before impact.

  The heavy gear immediately dragged him down. The mask created a small air gap letting him gasp for breath but the weight pulled him under fast.

  No. Not like this. I can't drown here.

  He kicked hard, fighting the weight, fighting exhaustion and fighting the cold. The yacht glowed in the distance. The port behind was hellfire.

  On the yacht, guests gasped in unison watching the distant figure get thrown into water.

  "That rock man just threw him like a ragdoll!" a woman screamed, hand over mouth.

  "We should help him!" a man called, moving toward the ladder.

  "But he seems dangerous," another said hesitantly.

  "You're gonna let a person die?" a woman whirled on him.

  "Turn around! Get us out of here!" David shouted toward the bridge.

  "David!" Maria, the bride, grabbed his arm. "We can't leave that man to die!"

  "Maria, I cannot risk our wedding for this," David said firmly.

  "So you're just going to let him die?" Maria's voice broke.

  David's jaw worked. He saw anguish on his bride's face.

  "Fine. John, make that hero save that guy in the water."

  I need to save this guy now? This job is getting harder for some reason. Got no choice though. Well, I am a hero after all, Tanaka thought, already moving.

  Without hesitation, Tanaka dove off the boat in a clean arc. He swam, grabbed Kazama in the classic rescue hold and within minutes reached the yacht's ladder. Willing hands pulled Kazama over the railing onto the deck.

  Kazama collapsed in a puddle of seawater, his gear completely drenched, water pouring off in streams. The mask had kept him breathing so he hadn't removed it.

  But now he was trapped on a boat full of civilians, unable to run, face to face with a hero he'd fought weeks ago.

  This is very, very bad.

  ************************************************************************************************************************

  Back on shore, the older gang member approached Rico at the port's edge, watching the rescue.

  "Rico," the older man said quietly.

  "Yes, senpai," Rico replied. His transformation was reverting, stone receding to reveal skin.

  "You see that?" He gestured toward the yacht.

  "Yes."

  "The shipment boat is close to that wedding boat. Too close. This leaves us only one choice."

  "You don't mean..." Rico's eyes widened.

  "That is exactly what I mean. We can't have delays. I just made a call to delay hero deployment here. That buys us thirty minutes. We sink that party boat and it becomes a rescue operation. Everyone rushes to save drowning civilians while we escape with the shipment."

  "But there are civilians on that boat," Rico said slowly. "Women. Children maybe……."

  "That is how the Kurotsuki Mafia works," the older man said firmly. "I've told the other guys to offload shipment while you sink that boat as a distraction. Do not waver. This is exactly why we brought you here."

  Rico looked at the yacht, then back. His jaw worked.

  "How many people?"

  "Does it matter?"

  "Yes."

  The older man sighed, checking his phone. "Eternal Promise….. Lemme check…… It can have up to a hundred people and it gets packed everytime"

  A hundred lives. A hundred people who had never imagined they'd be fighting for survival before the night ended.

  "Do it," the older man ordered. "Direct order from the bosses. You refuse, you're done. With everything. Understand?"

  Rico stood motionless for a long moment. Then, slowly, he nodded.

  On the yacht, everyone surrounded Kazama as he sat on the railing, water still dripping.

  "Who are you?" David demanded. "What's going on?"

  "I am a hero on an undercover mission," Kazama lied smoothly despite exhaustion. "Deep undercover. Those men are criminals engaged in smuggling operations."

  "And who are those guys?" Tanaka asked, stepping forward and displaying his hero license. "My name is Kujou Tanaka. I am ranked 47th in all of Japan."

  What is this guy doing here? Kazama thought, recognizing him immediately. Of all the heroes. This piece of shit who attacked me weeks ago?

  "They are Kurotsuki Mafia goons," Kazama said. "Smuggling operation. I've been tracking them for weeks."

  "We need to get out of here," Kazama added urgently, pushing himself to his feet. "Those men are dangerous. You need distance from shore immediately."

  "I've told the captain to leave," David said, gesturing toward the bridge. "We're going."

  The crowd gradually dispersed, reassured the boat was moving away from danger.

  Can't put these people in danger, Kazama thought. I need to disappear before we dock. Before Tanaka starts asking questions.

  Tanaka pulled his badge closer. "I have some questions for you about your 'undercover operation.' I'll ask them once we safely make it to shore. Official hero business."

  "Of course," Kazama replied neutrally.

  I know exactly who you are, you piece of shit, Kazama thought venomously. And I need to get off this boat before you unmask me.

  Tanaka studied the masked figure carefully. Maybe he's that masked vigilante Shirai-san was looking for? If I catch him, I can get back in Shirai-san's good graces.

  In the distance on shore, Rico cracked his knuckles and began his transformation again. His orders were clear. Sink the boat. Create chaos. Allow the shipment to escape.

  And he always followed orders.