Chapter 169 : Echoes and Consequences

The roar of the wind in his ears slowly faded, replaced by the familiar sound of the waves as the villa's coastline appeared on the horizon. Tatsumi landed heavily on the cliff from where he had departed, his silver wings disappearing in a tired flash of energy. The adrenaline from his escape began to recede, leaving behind a cold, bone-deep exhaustion and the bitter taste of failure.

He limped into the villa. Hawks and Akame were already waiting for him in the war room, their expressions unreadable. No one said anything until Tatsumi dismissed his armor, revealing his pale, weary face.

"Report," Hawks said, his tone flat.

Tatsumi recounted everything, from beginning to end. He played the recording from his helmet on the holographic table, showing the camp's layout, the guards, and most importantly, the brutal scene at the second training arena. He explained about the commander with the keen sense of smell, how he was almost discovered, and how the sirens finally blared as he fled.

"I failed to maintain secrecy," Tatsumi concluded, his voice heavy with self-disappointment. "They know someone is watching them now."

Hawks stared at the recording, his finger tapping his chin. He didn't look angry. On the contrary, he looked... interested.

"You didn't fail, kid," Hawks said after a moment of silence. "You succeeded in the most important objective: you got out of there alive with invaluable intel. And you followed the order to not engage."

He pointed to the recording where the camp commander, Kageyama, exited his tent. "The fact that you were detected is, in itself, valuable data. We now know they have at least one individual with a high-level sensory Quirk. We know the approximate range of his senses. We know their response time and their air defense protocols. Your failure in maintaining secrecy has actually given us a much clearer map of their defenses."

Hawks looked at Tatsumi, and this time, there was a faint smile on his face. "You made a tough choice back there, not helping that kid. That was the choice of a strategist, not a reckless rookie. I'm proud of you."

Akame, who had been silently analyzing the recording, finally spoke. "That commander, Kageyama. His sharp sense of smell is a weakness for the next infiltration, but also a target that can be exploited. Aromatic disinformation, airborne poisons, or a strong-smelling decoy could be used to divert his attention in the future." She saw every problem from an assassin's perspective, looking for an opening to exploit.

Hearing their analysis lifted some of the weight from Tatsumi's shoulders. His mission may not have gone smoothly, but it wasn't in vain.

After the intense debriefing session, Akame found Tatsumi sitting alone on the terrace, staring at the dark ocean. She placed a bowl of warm soup on the table next to him.

"Eat. You need to recover your strength," she said softly.

Tatsumi took the bowl, its warmth slightly soothing his troubled soul. "It felt wrong, Akame," he admitted in a low voice. "Watching that kid get beaten and doing nothing... it felt like a betrayal of everything I believe in."

Akame sat across from him, her gaze distant. "Back in Night Raid," she began, her voice almost a whisper, "we often faced choices like that. Bypassing a village being extorted by an Imperial garrison to reach a more important general. Sacrificing one person to save a hundred. It's a poison that slowly eats away at your soul."

She looked at Tatsumi, her eyes reflecting the moonlight. "Wars aren't won by winning every small battle. Sometimes, the greatest victory is knowing which battles to skip. By not acting today, you protected this mission, protected this alliance, and ensured we have a chance to go back and destroy their entire organization later. You made the choice of a leader, Tatsumi, not just a soldier. Never forget that."

Akame's words, born from her own scarred experience, provided a painful but necessary perspective. Tatsumi nodded slowly, the bitterness in his heart lessening slightly, replaced by a heavy understanding.

At the PLF training camp, Commander Kageyama stood stiffly before a video screen, receiving a reprimand from his superior, Geten.

"An unknown 'bird' managed to fly over your head for nearly an hour and you only noticed when it was escaping?!" Geten's cold voice crackled from the speaker, filled with disappointment. "You've embarrassed us, Kageyama!"

"My apologies, Lord Geten! The intruder had no body heat or Quirk energy signature that our sensors could detect!" Kageyama tried to defend himself.

"I don't care about your excuses! Tighten security! Install long-range Doppler radar and air patrols with sensory Quirks immediately!" Geten ordered. "And one more thing... I saw the footage from the internal security cameras. That sadistic instructor you hired. His treatment of the new recruits creates weakness, not strength. We need loyal soldiers, not victims harboring a grudge. Get rid of him. Quietly."

The call ended. Kageyama clenched his fists in anger. He had been humiliated, and now he had to clean up the mess. Ironically, Tatsumi's intelligence had indirectly saved other recruits from further torment, albeit in the cold, pragmatic way of villains.

Back in the war room, after a few hours of rest, Hawks summoned Tatsumi and Akame again. The map on the holographic table now showed a bigger picture.

"As I expected, they're doubling the air security at that facility," Hawks said, pointing to the camp in the mountains. "They'll be focused on the sky now. That's good. It means they'll be lax against threats from other directions in the future. We'll leave that camp alone for a while."

He swiped the map, displaying another marked location. An industrial port near Hosu City.

"Our intelligence reports that in two weeks, a 'special' PLF cargo will arrive at this port. A shipment of experimental weapons from an overseas supplier," Hawks explained. "This is our chance. Before we strike their facility again, we'll cut off their supply line. We need to create a disturbance here, to draw their attention and resources."

Tatsumi stared at the map. He was starting to see it now. Every mission, every piece of intel, was a step in a complex dance. His "failed" mission had created an opening elsewhere. This shadow war was being played across the entire chessboard, and he had just completed his first move.

"Get ready," Hawks said. "Your next reconnaissance mission will be far more complicated than just flying over a mountain."