Chapter 165: Koji Hattori (Part One)

“Oh? A loyal dog bodyguard’s personal story?”

The woman in his mind clicked her tongue, showing no interest in this kind of side character tale, and fell silent for a while.

[Front row!]

[Why is it OVA again? Where’s episode twelve?]

[Ban this week!]

[Hattori-san? Who wants to watch an old man, hey!]

[Hattori-san is the number one hero of the Emi faction, show some respect!]

[Just arrived, love Xiang today too?]

[Why did it suddenly become a personal story? Don’t tell me….]

The screen lit up.

The opening scene wasn’t an intense battle, but an old Japanese room marked by the passage of time.

Light filtered through the washi paper sliding doors, casting gentle but slightly lonely patches onto the worn tatami mats.

The camera moved slowly, carrying a near-archaeological stillness.

On the wall hung a kendo uniform, faded and slightly frayed at the edges from washing.

Beside it, several award certificates were framed, the paper yellowed, the gold lettering dulled by time, but words like “Champion” and “Progress” could still be made out.

The most eye-catching was a family portrait hanging above a low cabinet.

The colors were a bit off, the background the same aged wooden structure.

In the center stood a stern-faced, straight-backed middle-aged couple.

The man’s face was square, exuding an unshakable authority; the woman had tightly pressed lips and eyes that hid a deep worry.

Between them stood a boy, hair cut short and neat, his gaze stubborn, lips tightly set with a trace of defiance.

“Hattori Koji…”

Jiang Jian Yue looked at the youthful face in the photo, unable to connect it for a moment with the uncle she knew now.

The narration began, the voice of Hattori Koji himself, hoarse but calm:

“I was born in a small coastal town in Kyushu. My father was the master of the only dojo in town.”

“The dojo wasn’t large; the wooden floor shone from countless feet, the air always filled with the scent of sweat and tung oil.”

“My mother was a traditional housewife, managing the dojo’s logistics and our small family.”

“It was quiet there, the sea breeze blowing all year round, bringing salt and dampness.”

“According to my father’s plan, my future was as clear as the wall scrolls in the dojo–graduate high school, inherit the dojo that carried generations of Hattori family beliefs, marry a virtuous girl from town, have children, and live a steady life amidst the sound of shinai slicing the air and the shouts of disciples… just like him, just like my grandfather.”

[This kind of flashback opening, no way]

[I have a bad feeling]

[Hattori….my Hattori…]

Seeing the warning radar going off in the comments, Jiang Jian Yue felt an unexplainable anxiety too.

After all, previous content had hinted at Hattori Koji’s death.

“Heh, what are you so worried about?”

The woman’s voice sounded at the worst possible moment.

“Shut up! Meiguan!”

“Me…Meiguan?”

The voice paused, then fell silent again.

The scene changed.

The tone darkened, time rewound to a dusky evening.

In the old dojo, light slanted through high windows, illuminating dust floating in the air.

The young Hattori Koji, wearing kendo protective gear, hair drenched with sweat, was fiercely sparring with his equally armored father.

The crisp clash of shinai echoed in the empty dojo, each block and strike full of power.

Yet, the boy’s movements were clearly impatient and resentful.

“Stop!”

The father’s harsh voice came through his face mask.

He abruptly lowered his sword, ripped off his own mask, revealing a face filled with anger and disappointment.

“Restless! Where is your ‘Qi Ai’? Where is your ‘Zanxin’? Koji! Your sword today is weak!”

The boy tore off his mask too, chest heaving.

His young face was full of unwillingness and long-suppressed fury.

“Weak? You only see the flaws in my swordsmanship, but can’t see the desire in my heart!”

“I don’t want to be trapped in this tiny town my whole life, repeating your life day after day!”

“Is the meaning of wielding a sword only to protect a dojo?”

“Bastard!”

The father roared, raising his hand. Before the mother could rush over to stop him, there was a sharp ‘pa’—a slap landing hard on the boy’s face.

The boy’s head snapped to the side, a clear handprint blooming on his cheek.

[Repair Palm]

[My dad never hit me!]

[No, this time he really did]

[The new generation refuses to be ordinary, the old generation is stuck in the past]

[Classic plot]

“Meaning?”

The father’s whole body trembled with rage, the shinai slamming into the floor.

“Do you even understand what meaning is?”

“This dojo is the root of the Hattori family! What do you think the outside world is? A paradise where you can do whatever you want?”

“With your half-baked resolve, what can you do out there? Put away your unrealistic fantasies!”

“I…”

The boy covered his face, but his eyes grew even more determined.

“I want to…see a bigger world! I want to do…something more meaningful!”

“You…!”

The father’s hand shook as he pointed at him, his face turning ashen.

“Fine! Fine! You have ambition! Then get out! Get out of the Hattori dojo! Get out of this house!”

He pointed at the dojo entrance, his voice hoarse.

“If you dare step out that door, don’t ever come back! The Hattori family has no unfilial son like you!”

The boy bowed deeply.

“…I’m sorry, Father.”

His voice trembled.

He didn’t look at anyone again.

With his already packed bag, he resolutely opened the dojo’s heavy wooden door.

The dazzling light of the sunset flooded the dim dojo, stretching the boy’s shadow long and thin.

It separated two worlds.

Then, without looking back, he walked into the blinding gold, the wooden door closing heavily behind him, shutting him off.

[So cool]

[What’s cool about it, being able to live a peaceful life is better]

[Hattori-san already beats us in so many ways, at least he had a dojo to inherit]

Hattori Koji… so he broke with his parents so early? Never returned home since?

“Something more meaningful….”

The scene fast-forwarded—a montage.

Hattori Koji cut his long hair, changed into camouflage, shouting in a muddy training ground.

Shooting targets, hand-to-hand, tactical drills… he worked harder than anyone.

The narration continued:

“I joined the Self-Defense Force…. I thought this was the meaning I sought.”

The camera froze.

Hattori Koji wore a blue United Nations Peacekeeping Forces helmet, standing on a foreign street.

The caption read South Sudan.

[Japan really did send peacekeeping troops to South Sudan, though they left later]

[But seriously, why is a defeated country like Japan allowed to send peacekeepers?]

[Overseas deployment and peacekeeping forces are different concepts, though Japan didn’t handle this well either]

A local girl, shy and small, handed him a wrinkled wildflower.

His face, roughened by wind and sand, cracked into a clumsy smile.

“I realized, maybe ‘meaning’ is just being able to reach out when someone needs you.”

“But…”

The narration darkened.

The scene shifted to a retirement ceremony. He took off his uniform, changed into a suit, standing lost among the crowds of Tokyo.

“I had no qualification to rise higher in the Self-Defense Force, so I retired. Once again, I lost my direction.”

[Crying]

[Respect]

[Respect for what?]

[Is it me or are there more rare comments here?]

The video went on.

Hattori Koji entered a Security Company.

Boring patrols, cold bento, numb shifts.

His eyes grew from lost to hollow.

“I began to doubt if leaving my hometown was a mistake.”

“Until that day…”

[It’s here]

[Ikebukuro!]

[The big one is coming!]

[So Hattori-san joined DRG later?]

In the video, Morita Ao’s voice sounded:

“This time, the opponent might be a superhuman. Be on your guard.”

“When Morita—the new task employer at the time—said this, my colleagues and I all laughed.”

“Another chuunibyou employer.”

[“Another”]

[Hattori-san sure has a story]

[So this was before the Ikebukuro monster incident?]

The screen cut suddenly to a Devourer G soaring into the sky, then crashing into an open-air restaurant.

“Later, I realized not only do superhumans exist, so do the monster villains from stories.”

Next came a replay of the Devourer G battle from Hattori Koji’s perspective.

Of course, his brave act of smashing a chair at the Devourer G was included.

[Bro, that’s clearly not enough to break through its defense]

[But the spirit is strong!]

[-1]

[-1? -0!]

Before the Apache strafed the terrace, he’d already retreated with his colleagues, then helped evacuate the crowd.

The scene changed again.

Hattori Koji stood in the first-floor lobby of the Jiang Jian Apartment.

That was his first time seeing Jiang Jian Yue—the girl walked over expressionlessly, scanning the batch of newly hired bodyguards, then pointed directly at him.

“You. Good.”

At that moment, Hattori Koji’s heart melted.

[Who gets the master-servant group]

[Isn’t pointing at people considered rude in Japan?]

[It’s different when it’s a beautiful girl]

[Emi: iwant you (points)]

[Fell for Emi at first sight]

–Why does that sound like he’s dead already!?

“The Missy recognized me, needed me, and I needed the ‘meaning’ bestowed by the Missy. I was no longer lost—this was my new home.”

“I hope… it lasts.”

The screen darkened.

The background beep faded into a long, continuous tone.

[This is…]

[Shit!]

[Heartbeat monitor sound]

[Why is there nothing after this?]

[When you see this comment, you’ll realize the latter half is missing]

—The OVA ended.

The latter half really was cut off.

Jiang Jian Yue took off her headphones, leaned back in her chair, and didn’t move for a long time.

So, that “you’re good”—just praise for his bravery during the Devourer G fight—meant that much to him?

“Hey.”

In her mind, Meiguan’s voice rang out again, this time with less disdain.

“Still, not a bad soldier.”

“Mm.”

Jiang Jian Yue replied softly—why did this guy suddenly become less annoying?

“So…”

The woman’s voice held a hint of amusement.

“Now you feel like…you really can’t let him die?”