Read Online Against a Perfect Sniper by Shiden Kanzaki - Free Book Online Page B

I’m a Tendo, I’m me.” Rentaro closed in on Saitake until they were almost nose to nose and glared at him.
    Unexpectedly, the one who relaxed his mouth and stepped back first was Saitake. Apparently, Rentaro had passed for now.
    Looking at the Seitenshi, Rentaro saw that she had paled at the threats and stood holding her lace gloves.
    Rentaro wanted to hide his face.
Come on, Lady Seitenshi. Stuff like this is just a warm-up.
    Saitake jerked his chin. “Is that Buddha sculptor doing well, Rentaro?”
    Buddha sculptor
surely referred to Kikunojo Tendo. Sougen Saitake’s rival, Kikunojo Tendo, separate from his role as a politician, had an unexpected side as a Buddhist sculptor, carving images of the Buddha from wood. Kikunojo, who had been made into the youngest living national treasure of Japan at age sixty-two, was required to raise a disciple after receiving the title.
    When Rentaro’s thoughts reached that point, they dredged up bad memories, and he shook his head to get rid of them. “He hasn’t been carving much lately, ever since his incompetent disciple ran away.”
    “What, do you regret what you did?”
    Rentaro glared at Saitake, who was looking at Rentaro with unconcealed scorn. “Do you wanna fight, pal? You’ll look smarter if you keep your mouth shut a little, you know.”
    The Seitenshi blinked her eyes in surprise. “Satomi, you…were Kikunojo’s disciple…?”
    Apparently it was the first she had heard of it. “So what if I was?”
    Rentaro said it so distastefully that the Seitenshi hurriedly covered her face and said, “It’s nothing…”
    Saitake offered her a seat, and the Seitenshi sat down on the sofa on the other side of the glass table, and Rentaro stood behind her. Rentaro thought for sure that they would start political discussions now, but Saitake raised his gaze to look at Rentaro. “Rentaro, whenyou defeated the Stage Five Gastrea, you used the railgun module, destroying it beyond repair in the process, didn’t you? Do you understand how important that was?”
    “Huh?” said Rentaro.
    “In war, according to Sun Tzu’s
Art of War
, whoever is in a position of higher ground wins. The army who shoots arrows from the top of a hill wins, the army who drops bombs on an enemy from above wins, the army who figures out the enemy’s position using a satellite wins—so then, what’s next? That railgun you destroyed was a next-generation weapon that was supposed to be transferred to the moon to shoot down Gastrea on the ground from the surface of the moon. And you…”
    Rentaro frowned. “Wait a minute, old man. Even if you could get the railgun onto the moon, would you really just use it for Gastrea?”
    Saitake scoffed with contempt. “Of course not, idiot. It’s just as you’re imagining. It’s a next-generation deterrent as part of the groundwork to push Japan into becoming a great world power.”
    “Do you plan to threaten other countries with violence?” The Seitenshi couldn’t bear it any longer and interrupted.
    However, Saitake just laughed slowly and stood up, spreading his arms wide in an exaggerated gesture. “Lady Seitenshi, you have no vision. We must be thinking of the world after we exterminate all the Gastrea. Japan should reign as one of the world superpowers. I’m sure you have noticed as well. Ten years ago, right before the major powers of the world stopped functioning, many things were taken away and destroyed by the Gastrea. And now, ten years later, whichever country recovers from this unprecedented disaster first will have the right to be the leader of future generations. And Japan should aim for that. This is my grand strategic design! If I must, I will eliminate every obstacle, every incompetent, and everyone who will not do as I say!”
    Rentaro was at a loss for words. This could be taken as an implicit declaration of war against the heads of state of all the areas besides his own. There were many other heads of state who secretly plotted