Seeing a lone Fatui soldier with his back turned.
Arataki Itto decided he was the lucky one to be dealt with first!
With his target confirmed, Arataki Itto hid his Great Bat behind him, tiptoed, and stealthily approached the lone Fatui soldier.
Ten meters away.
Five meters.
...
One meter.
Using the tall rocks around him to conceal his form, Arataki Itto suddenly sprung up and brought his Great Bat down on the Fatui soldier's back!
"Hey, Joseph, you alright? What's happening on your end?"
Even though Arataki Itto tried his best to be careful, the brief sound of him knocking out the Fatui soldier was heard by other patrolling Fatui soldiers nearby.
"N-nothing, I just slipped and fell."
Arataki Itto quickly dragged the Fatui soldier behind a large rock, and using the rock as cover, he pretended to be the knocked-out soldier to answer the question.
While speaking, Arataki Itto changed into the Fatui soldier's uniform, preparing for the second phase of his plan.
Fortunately, the Fatui soldier he knocked out was a Scout of the Anemoboxer Vanguard, who was quite tall, and the uniform fit him well enough.
If it had been a Geovishap anemo or a Hydro Homa soldier, disguising himself would have been impossible.
Arataki Itto put on the Anemoboxer Vanguard's uniform, but he encountered another problem when putting on the hat.
His Oni horns were too long, making it impossible to wear the hat. In desperation, he had to pierce through it.
Arataki Itto put away his Great Bat, covered his face, and walked with a hint of shame towards the group of Fatui soldiers.
"Hahaha, Joseph, you actually fell? That's too funny!"
Seeing Arataki Itto approaching with his face covered, the Fatui soldiers thought Joseph was too embarrassed to show his face and started teasing him.
"Everyone, come quickly, I have a major discovery!"
Arataki Itto waved his hand and said in a deep voice, gathering all the Fatui soldiers around him.
"Joseph, are those decorations on your head? They look quite interesting..."
"We'll talk about that later, just look up at the sky, isn't it interesting?"
When asked about his Oni horns, Arataki Itto panicked and quickly changed the subject, pointing a finger at the clouds in the sky and saying.
"What's wrong with the sky? Besides the clouds, there doesn't seem to be anything special..."
"Joseph, hurry up and tell us, what is this major discovery?"
The Fatui soldiers followed Arataki Itto's pointing finger and looked up at the sky, but found nothing unusual. They continued to observe the sky while urging Joseph to reveal his major discovery.
"The major discovery is... you've all been fooled! I am the number one Arataki Itto in the world! Take this Great Bat!"
Upon hearing this, the Fatui soldiers turned their heads in horror towards Arataki Itto, only to see a thick, long Great Bat with sharp stone spikes sweeping towards them, enlarging in their vision, leaving them no time to defend.
*Bang bang bang...*
Arataki Itto displayed his might, swinging his Great Bat wildly. In just a few breaths, all the Fatui soldiers present were heavily injured on the ground.
"Hahahahahahaha... Who said this great me doesn't use his brain? My brain was just on vacation! When I decide to use it, no one can match me!"
Arataki Itto felt that during the grilled Sumeru melon party tonight, he absolutely had to tell the Arataki Gang members and that annoying Shinobu how he cleverly defeated these Fatui soldiers.
At least three times... No, such heroic deeds can't be recounted just three times! It should be at least thirty times!
Arataki Itto was already envisioning how he would be adored by his Arataki Gang brethren that night.
"Boss Feng Yi, see? Am I reliable? All enemies have been defeated by me!"
Arataki Itto, seeing Feng Yi and the Raiden Shogun approaching, carried his Great Bat and said proudly, as if 'seeking praise' was written all over his face.
"Amazing! When you're not doing your proper job, you're truly reliable!"
Feng Yi gave him a thumbs-up and exclaimed.
It was rare for Arataki Itto to be this clever, and Feng Yi was a little worried that his pig brain might overload.
He planned to give Arataki Itto a leave after this matter was resolved, letting him finish early and rest, to cool down his overheated CPU.
"Is... is this a compliment? Ah, forget it, let's just assume it's a compliment! Fighting is my specialty, hahahahahaha..."
Arataki Itto scratched his head, feeling that Boss Feng Yi was praising him, but for some reason, the compliment felt a little strange.
"Let's go, let's hurry up and don't let the bigger Fatui fish below hear the commotion and escape!"
Feng Yi urged them a couple of times, then, leading Arataki Itto and Aying, they entered the Vision Factory. After quickly dealing with the few guards on the upper level, the group took an elevator down to the more important underground workshop.
"Are these all materials for making Visions? It looks like crystallized bone marrow? I heard Shinobu say that the Kanjou Commission seems to be actively acquiring these things..."
Arataki Itto looked at the materials piled up in the underground workshop, frowning and falling into thought.
He heard from Shinobu that the Arataki Gang's commissions were also greatly affected by the overall market turmoil.
Among them, many merchants had commissioned the Arataki Gang at high prices to find or excavate crystallized bone marrow. They would then hand over the obtained crystallized bone marrow to the Kanjou Commission, which would be used as funds for merchants.
However, much of the crystallized bone marrow was imported from outside. Now that Inazuma was closed off and prohibiting maritime trade, this business was controlled by the Kanjou Commission at the port, and Shinobu could do nothing but reluctantly give up the generous rewards offered by the merchants.
"It seems the Kanjou Commission has indeed betrayed the Shogunate and colluded with the Fatui! How bold! Is this how they repay my trust?!"
A terrifying cold light flashed in Ei's eyes. The thing she could not tolerate the most was betrayal. She never expected that after Tenryou Commission's Kujo Takayuki, the Kanjou Commission would also betray her trust and the Shogunate.
In the years she spent sealed in the 'Sea of Consciousness', was Inazuma, which she and her sister protected with all their might, truly so corrupted?
Ei's brows furrowed. Under the rule of such a corrupt higher-up, what suffering must the people of Inazuma be enduring?
Ei suddenly felt a surge of annoyance and anger in her chest, wanting to leave immediately and go to the port to make the Kanjou Commission, who had betrayed her trust, pay the price.
But the matter at hand was not yet concluded. Although Arataki Itto's strength was decent, his speed in dealing with enemies was too slow. Thus, Ei drew her blade and personally joined the fight...