My Name Is Tsukimiri Nagato (Kneeling for Recommendation Votes, Kneeling for Monthly Tickets!)

"He, they…"

It had only been a moment, yet the noise still rang in his ears, and everything before his eyes remained calm.

Those expressionless people who had been looking at them had already vanished without a trace, as though what they had just seen had merely been an illusion.

Yahiko instinctively turned to look beside him. Only after seeing Konan doubting herself as well did he confirm that what he had seen was not an illusion.

Only then did Yahiko suddenly understand something.

Why had they not seen anything resembling a "patrol team" from the city gates to the commercial district and now to the residential area?

Because, just as Yun Chuan had said, they simply could not see them.

That was all.

Some people hid in the dim shadows. Usually, they lived like ordinary people, with nothing unusual about their appearances.

But their true identities were those who bore different missions. After Yun Chuan’s targeted training in Assassination Art, their duties included, but were not limited to, secretly protecting these residents, as well as…

Monitoring and evaluation.

"Gasp!"

At that thought, the hairs all over Yahiko’s body stood on end. A chill ran through him as a terrifying image formed in his mind.

What if, someday, he did something to betray Yun Chuan? He might stroll through an alley, convinced that he had disguised himself perfectly.

Only to discover that the stray dog beside the trash can had been staring at him for who knew how long. And when it noticed that he had discovered it, that scruffy dog face would reveal the same indifferent expression…

That was what made them truly terrifying.

No one knew how they would appear or what identities they would use to hide among the crowd. Perhaps two people who greeted each other good morning on the road were both Dawn members who could not recognize one another.

Compared to the two guards at the city gates and the so-called household registration papers, the Dawn Yun Chuan spoke of was the truly unavoidable measure.

"How can they do this?" Having understood that, Yahiko anxiously sucked in a breath and blurted out, "Do they know they’re being watched?"

He could not explain what exactly felt wrong. After all, he had done nothing against his conscience and had no intention of repaying kindness with betrayal, but… something felt off inside him.

Especially when he remembered the construction workers who had been laughing and cracking dirty jokes. Just moments ago, they had suddenly looked at him with completely unfamiliar, indifferent faces before vanishing in an instant, who knew where.

When Yahiko looked again at the distant scene, still brimming with life and unusually harmonious, he suddenly felt as if everything beautiful had been covered by a thin veil.

"You…"

"Hey."

Just as Yahiko was about to speak, a somewhat gloomy voice suddenly came from behind him.

It was like someone had blown a cold breath against his ear, making Yahiko shudder involuntarily.

Then, before Yahiko could turn to see who it was, a hand suddenly reached out from behind and pressed down on his shoulder. Ruthless force flowed from that palm, spreading across his left shoulder, left arm, and neck.

"Cough!"

The suffocating feeling forced Yahiko to swallow the words in his mouth. His entire body was pushed forward without any chance to resist, and he was slammed to the ground.

"Who was it? Which bastard ambushed me?"

Yahiko’s cheek was soaked in a puddle on the ground, making him look utterly miserable. Even so, he dug the soft pads of his fingers into the ground, trying to crawl up as he angrily twisted his head, attempting to see his blind spot behind him.

But no matter how hard he strained, even scraping his fingertips open until red flesh showed, he could not make the hand pressing him down budge in the slightest.

It felt like steel rebar had pinned him firmly to the ground. All Yahiko could see were a few strands of hair as vivid as blood.

"Do you know who you’re speaking to?"

Seeing Yahiko still refusing to behave, the person increased the strength of his hand. In an icy tone, he said, "Do you think someone like you, who only knows how to say pretty words, can protect everything here and achieve the future we want?!"

"I hate people like you most, people who treat their own stupidity as a bargaining chip…"

"Enough," Yun Chuan said. "Don’t use too much force."

"…" The person behind him paused. "Yes."

Hearing that, Yahiko, whose face had already turned red from lack of oxygen, felt the force on his body suddenly ease.

"Gah! Cough, cough! Cough!"

He scrambled to his feet, gulped in air, and began coughing violently again.

Only then did Yahiko finally see the person behind him.

He was not the tall, powerfully built adult man Yahiko had imagined.

Instead, he was a red-haired boy with deathly pale, almost sickly-looking skin, his eyes wrapped in black bandages.

"You bastard…"

"Brother."

Ignoring the furious-looking Yahiko, not even lowering his head to look at him, the boy simply rose and walked over to Yun Chuan. In a soft voice, he said, "Welcome home."

"You really are…" Yun Chuan sighed. A smile returned to his face as he rubbed the boy’s cropped red hair. "You’ve improved quickly. Before you made your move, even I nearly failed to notice you."

At those words, the corners of the boy’s mouth lifted slightly, but they soon settled again. Shaking his head, he said, "You don’t need to comfort me. I still have a long way to go."

Konan helped Yahiko up at this point and stood to the side, taking in the entire scene.

"Big Brother." Jiyun looked at the boy before her, paying particular attention to his red hair. There was a trace of curiosity in her eyes. "This is…?"

Perhaps because of the way she addressed Yun Chuan, the red-haired boy suddenly turned to look at her. His brows furrowed slightly before gradually relaxing.

Jiyun instinctively narrowed her eyes. She felt a gaze sweeping over her from head to toe, examining every last detail so thoroughly that it sent chills down her spine.

There was no way to describe that feeling with words. It was as though someone had seen straight through her, inside and out.

But this red-haired boy was clearly blindfolded…

"Oh, let me introduce you."

Seeing the expressions of the little ones, Yun Chuan chuckled with interest. He looked at the boy with a meaningful glint in his eyes and said softly, "These children are like you. I brought them back from outside."

He pointed at the dark-faced Yahiko beside him and said teasingly, "The one you beat up without asking questions is Yahiko."

"She’s Konan… Look how badly you scared her."

Yun Chuan put on an annoyed expression and patted the red-haired boy on the head. Then he pointed at Jiyun and introduced her, "Her name is Jiyun, and this is her younger brother Jiyu. Tsukimiri Jiyun and Tsukimiri Jiyu. I gave them both those names."

"As for this bad-tempered red-haired brat, his name is…"

"Nagato." Before Yun Chuan could finish, the red-haired boy stared straight at Jiyun. A smile appeared on his pale face. "My name is Tsukimiri Nagato."

At the same time his voice fell, a hint of amusement flashed through Yun Chuan’s eyes.

With a thought, his consciousness sank inward.

Task Name: [Founding of Dawn]

Task Status: Completed