Chapter 9

Rokudo Mukuro wore a smile on his face, but his mind was racing. "Am I supposed to save the world? Is this the treatment I get as a peace ambassador? I've appeared on a deserted island and haven't seen a single person yet."

What? Is he hiding something? Or do you want him to conduct a desert island rescue mission?

Smiling on the outside but cursing inside—that perfectly describes Rokudo Mukuro's state of mind right now.

The isolated island looked quite large; Rokudo Mukuro couldn't see its end as far as the eye could see, and it looked rather eerie. He was currently at the edge of the island, and he would have to walk around to search for any traces of anyone else.

He was in a very bad mood! Just recently, he and Chigusa and Inu had completed a huge deal and earned a substantial reward. Chigusa and Inu's strength had also improved dramatically at a visible rate, which gave him a great sense of accomplishment.

More importantly, he found a very delicious and rare chocolate in a chocolate shop today. This chocolate was discontinued in a few years, and he hadn't tasted it for many years.

Seeing this chocolate again was an unexpected delight for Rokudo Mukuro, who immediately filled a refrigerator with it.

He had planned to savor this delicious food after waking up, but who knew he'd find himself in this godforsaken place. Ugh, what bad luck!

Unable to eat chocolate, Rokudo Mukuro's resentment was as thick as the night on this small island.

"Well, what's done is done." Rokudo Mukuro carefully observed the island's vegetation and environment under the moonlight, as well as the buildings that were only vaguely visible through the trees. He then looked back at the beach he had walked on, and the cliffs and waves in the distance. The more he looked, the more familiar the island seemed, but he couldn't quite place it.

But what he was certain of was that a riot, or rather a war, was taking place on the island. Rokudo Mukuro smelled the faint scent of gunpowder in the air, his eyes deep and thoughtful.

Rokudo Mukuro discerned the direction and started walking towards the area with buildings. He figured he'd try his luck and see if he could run into anyone.

The island's terrain is mostly flat, but the roads are not smooth, especially the one Rokudo Mukuro is currently on. The road is rugged and occasionally has small slopes, which are quite troublesome.

After walking for a short while, Rokudo Mukuro stopped in his tracks. In front of him was a gentle slope, not high, but enough to obscure his view. But he clearly sensed that on the other side of the slope, a small group of people was slowly approaching him.

Rokudo Mukuro had no intention of hiding himself; he was looking for someone anyway, and now was the perfect time.

However, some disguise is still necessary.

He was adept at using illusions and acted with ease.

On the other side, a group of people were conducting their usual patrol. Although there were more than a dozen of them, they did not communicate with each other at all; there was only a deathly silence.

They thought this patrol would be over soon, just like any other.

But to their surprise, after climbing the gentle slope in front of them, they discovered something amiss. There was a small child on the island, which should have been free of enemies and their people.

Even though the little child was soaking wet and looked pitiful, squatting under the big tree, and was terrified the moment he saw them, it was still strange that this child was on the island.

This immediately heightened their vigilance, and they all raised their guns and flashlights, aiming them at the child.

Just as the suddenly appearing men cautiously pointed their guns at Rokudo Mukuro, Rokudo Mukuro was also secretly observing them.

The moon is big and round tonight, and its light is bright enough for Rokudo Mukuro to see clearly what's happening on the other side.

These people were holding guns, with serious and rigid expressions, and their obvious military uniforms made it easy to tell that they were a group of soldiers.

Among the soldiers was a little girl who looked to be about ten years old. As Rokudo Mukuro was observing, his eyes met those of the little girl. To Rokudo Mukuro's surprise, the little girl's face was expressionless, and her eyes were like a pool of still water.

"Who are you?" The leader of the soldiers questioned Rokudo Mukuro, gun in hand, his tone particularly cold and serious.

Japanese? So these people are Japanese soldiers.

Rokudo Mukuro wiped away non-existent tears from his eyes, cautiously looked up at them, and said in a tone of fear and helplessness, "I... my name is Mukuro. I'm from Italy. Our merchant ship had an accident, and I came to this island on a life raft."

He boldly looked at their military uniforms, clenched his fists in front of his chest, and his eyes gleamed with expectation: "You are Japanese soldiers! Can you...can you save me?"

Rokudo Mukuro opened his large, watery eyes and tried to find an advantage for himself: "I am of Italian and Japanese descent, an Italian of Japanese descent!"

The leading man, seeing that Rokudo Mukuro looked to be less than ten years old and disheveled, remained vigilant: "Do you have any identification on you?"

“I almost drowned at sea, where would I get identification?” Rokudo Mukuro said, tears welling up in his eyes. “Could you take me back to Japan? I have family there. They can definitely prove my identity.”

Upon hearing this, the entire room fell silent, and everyone stared intently at Rokudo Mukuro, as if he had said something extraordinary.

"Ha, go back? I want to go back too! Who doesn't want to go back?!" One of the soldiers seemed to have an emotional outburst and said in a hysterical manner.

"Alright!" The leading man immediately interrupted the soldier.

Rokudo Mukuro, observing the scene before him, sensed something was amiss. As soldiers, these people were far too tense, as if their spirits were gradually crumbling.

"Tachihara-kun, let's take him back." The girl who had been silent in the group, like a human doll, finally spoke. "Leaving him here alone, he'll die."

The little girl had a lot of say in the group. As soon as she spoke, all the soldiers looked at her with fear and disgust in their eyes, but no one refuted her.

Rokudo Mukuro stared at the two men timidly, like a little animal: "Tachihara-nii-san, and this older sister, I will be very obedient. Don't leave me here, I'm scared."

The leader, Tachihara, thought for a moment and immediately agreed. As soldiers, protecting civilians was their responsibility. They had witnessed too much death these days, yet they still couldn't bear to see a child die.

"Thank you! Thank you all!" Rokudo Mukuro smiled through his tears. "Where is this? When can we go back?"

Having been rescued by these soldiers, Rokudo Mukuro immediately began dancing on their tense nerves again.

"Kid, you're both lucky and unlucky. You survived an accident at sea, but of all places you could have drifted, you had to end up on Tokyo Island." A soldier looked down at Rokudo Mukuro beside them, casually fiddling with his gun, his tone full of malice.

"What happened to Tokyo Island?" Rokudo Mukuro nervously tugged at the hem of his clothes with his dirty-looking little hands. So this was Tokyo Island; he'd never heard of it before.

"You'll find out later." The little girl coldly interrupted the soldier and Rokudo Mukuro, giving the soldier a warning look.

"Sister, my name is Mukuro. What's your name?" Rokudo Mukuro looked at the little girl's cold face, but she was the first person to speak up for him. She was a kind-hearted person who was cold on the outside but warm on the inside!

The little girl stared into Rokudo Mukuro's eyes. Her eyes were pure and innocent, as clear as blue gemstones. Her fingers, which were hidden in her sleeve, twitched slightly. "My name is Yosano, Yosano Akiko."

"Sister Akiko!" Rokudo Mukuro's face broke into a big smile.

The child's smile was radiant, as radiant as the sun she hadn't seen in a long time. She hadn't seen such a warm and radiant smile in a long time, and a wave of sadness washed over her, making her eyes sting. She could only quickly turn her head away and hastily reply, "Mm."

"Alright, shut up." A soldier beside Rokudo Mukuro saw that Rokudo Mukuro and Yosano Akiko had started talking and wanted to continue, so he whispered a reprimand. Rokudo Mukuro was startled by the voice and obediently shut his mouth, continuing to walk with the others.

The group returned to the base safely without exchanging a word.

When they parted, Yosano Akiko looked at Rokudo Mukuro as if she wanted to say something, but she didn't say anything and let the other soldiers take her away.

Rokudo Mukuro was taken back to his tent by the soldier Tachihara, who said he would change him into a clean set of clothes and then take him to see the officer there.

There weren't any clothes suitable for Rokudo Mukuro to wear at the base, so Tachihara could only give him his own clothes to make do with.

"I'll take you to see the officer here later. You must answer his questions carefully and not lie." Tachihara emphasized the last few words. Tachihara and the others had obviously noticed that Rokudo Mukuro was hiding something in his words, but they hadn't paid attention to it and still brought him back.

Rokudo Mukuro's eyes reddened, his face flushed with embarrassment at being exposed for his lie: "Tachihara-nii-san, I lied before. I was afraid you wouldn't save me. I didn't want to die..."

I cried, but I was faking it; my lie was discovered, and I did it on purpose :)

Li Yuan paused for a moment, his voice slightly hoarse: "Yes, I know." This is just a child, a child full of infinite possibilities and vitality.

"It's dangerous here. You could be in a war zone at any moment. If you can stay here, don't wander off. Be careful." Tachihara was like a responsible older brother, carefully instructing Rokudo Mukuro.

"I...I understand, thank you, Liyuan-nii-san."

Upon hearing the word "brother" again, Tachihara couldn't help but smile.

"Let's go, I'll take you to see Dr. Mori."

A note from the author:

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Ever Dark Island appears!