After receiving Kawasaki's order, the Japanese agents immediately began searching for Kameda.
They searched until the middle of the night but still couldn't find him. In the end, it was Kameda himself who woke up in a flowerbed.
"Bakayaro! Ahhh!"
"Damn Kaitō Kid!"
As soon as Kameda's memory pieced itself back together, he roared in rage.
Meanwhile, Itō Itsuki was already in Kawasaki's office, and he had also been informed of the British Royal Family's notice.
"Kawasaki-kun, they may have banned the Japanese agents from carrying out operations in Britain, but I am a ninja of the Itō clan. I can continue pursuing Kaitō Kid."
Itō Itsuki spoke coldly. "Besides, Kameda and the others could never catch Kaitō Kid anyway."
In Itō Itsuki's eyes, it didn't matter whether Britain allowed Kameda's team to act or not.
Especially after gaining a new understanding of Kaitō Kid's strength, Itō was even more certain.
"Harrison's and Kameda's failure wasn't by chance."
"Kaitō Kid is a formidable opponent."
Itō's arrogance left Kawasaki feeling utterly helpless.
Now that the British Royal Family had banned the embassy from any further action, all Kawasaki could do was place his hopes on Itō Itsuki.
"Itō-kun, if you need any support, just say the word."
Kawasaki spoke in a low voice, "We will provide whatever help you need."
Without a word, Itō Itsuki turned and walked out of the office.
Kawasaki sat there, staring blankly at his retreating figure, not snapping out of it until the door closed.
Orders from the Japanese government pressed down from above, Kameda and his team screwed things up from below, and stuck in the middle was this stiff Itō Itsuki... all while Kawasaki had to bow and scrape to the British Royal Family.
At this point, Kawasaki seriously considered committing seppuku to get it over with.
And public opinion online was one-sided. Everyone was pinning the failure of the island operation squarely on Itō Itsuki and the Japanese agents.
[If you missed the livestream, too bad. In the blink of an eye, that ninja from Japan got caught the moment he set foot on the island!]
[Hahaha! He probably thought he could play at being Kaitō Kid, but he got caught in under ten minutes!]
[Shit! If it weren't for those Japanese idiots, Harrison's team definitely would've caught Kaitō Kid!]
[Is it really that hard to admit someone else is stronger?]
[You guys might as well give up. Even without the Japanese dragging them down, Harrison still couldn't catch Kaitō Kid. How many times does it have to happen before you get it?]
After Kameda and his team returned, Kawasaki didn't bother scolding them anymore.
The British Royal Family had already made it clear—they weren't allowed to carry out any more missions.
"Bakayaro! That sly Kaitō Kid!"
"He made me sleep in a damn flowerbed! Bakayaro!"
Kawasaki took a deep breath and, with a dark expression, delivered the Royal Family's official order.
The moment Kameda heard it, he exploded.
"Our Dragon Head was stolen by Kaitō Kid! Why aren't we allowed to act?"
Truth be told, Kawasaki was just as furious.
But if the Japanese embassy wanted to run operations in Britain, they had to report it—and get approval.
"Kameda-san, go check the internet."
"This operation's failure? Everyone's blaming it on you."
Kameda frowned and pulled out his phone.
By now, Zhang Yang's theft of the Nine-Dragon Cup from the Red Coral Palace was blowing up across the web.
There were countless posts and comments.
[Itō Itsuki only showed up when he got caught—and then poof, vanished. Absolutely hilarious!]
[Fuck! Itō Itsuki joined the operation without even filing a report with Director Harrison!]
[Oh my god! They're just dead weight. Hopefully next time, they won't let the Japanese participate at all!]
[But without them, we'd miss out on so much comedy!]
[Uh-oh, Kaitō Kid's undercover mole has been exposed!]
When Kameda saw the mocking comments in the forums, he completely lost it, screaming hysterically.
"Bakayaro! They're talking nonsense!"
"The situation was way more complicated! They have no idea what was really going on!"
Kameda and Kawasaki were soon arguing so fiercely in the office that the walls almost shook.
Meanwhile, Zhang Yang received a new system mission.
Ding!
New mission received: Return Kangxi's Nine-Dragon Cup to the Dragon Nation Embassy!
Mission reward: either one hundred skill points or thirty thousand points, choose one!
Of course, the rewards came with a catch—the skill points and points were not equal in value.
"The entrance of the Dragon Nation Embassy... should be unwatched by now, right?"
Zhang Yang thought to himself.
After carefully packaging the Nine-Dragon Cup, he drove out toward the Dragon Nation Embassy.
At night, traffic was much lighter, and when he reached the embassy gate, he saw that not a single car was parked across the street.
"Looks like they really pulled everyone out?"
Just to be safe, Zhang Yang circled around the embassy once.
"Interesting. They really did withdraw."
Since they had cleared the area, Zhang Yang wasn't going to be polite about it.
He drove straight up to the embassy's entrance, opened the car door, and placed the box carefully on the ground.
Then he hit the gas and sped off.
The gate guards rushed out, scooped up the box, and sprinted straight to the director's office.
"Reporting!"
"A car just dropped off a box—it might be from Kaitō Kid!"
The director instantly stood up and grabbed the box himself.
"Did you give Kaitō Kid the item we prepared?"
Instead of immediately opening the box, he first asked whether the item had been delivered to Kaitō Kid.
The Dragon Nation had specially prepared a satellite phone for Zhang Yang—a one-of-a-kind line.
No matter where he was in the world, as long as he dialed the number, the Dragon Nation could answer.
Because it operated on a dedicated satellite line, ordinary signal jammers couldn't block it.
The guard shook his head.
"No. He just dropped the box and drove off!"
The director took a deep breath, his heart pounding, his hands trembling with excitement.
He hadn't blinked once while watching Harrison's livestream from start to finish.
"Kangxi's Nine-Dragon Cup..."
The director was so overwhelmed he nearly suffocated.
"Kaitō Kid's sense of honor... I don't even know how we can thank him enough!"
"The long-lost Sword of Emperor Qin Shi Huang... and now Kangxi's Nine-Dragon Cup. These were relics thought lost forever!"
These priceless national treasures had now reappeared—delivered voluntarily, without any conditions, by Kaitō Kid, straight to the Dragon Nation Embassy!
When Zhang Yang got home, he finally saw the private message from the Dragon Nation Embassy.
"Dear Mr. Kaitō Kid, we sincerely thank you for your assistance. The Sword of Emperor Qin Shi Huang and Kangxi's Nine-Dragon Cup have been safely secured, and at the appropriate time, they will be escorted back to the Dragon Nation."
"In addition, we have prepared a satellite phone for you. Should you ever need it, the Dragon Nation will do everything possible to assist you. The satellite phone has been placed in a temporary locker on the second floor of Hama Mall. The pickup code is the last four digits of your account ID."
"Finally, thank you again for your help and support to the Dragon Nation. If you ever need anything, feel free to contact us. Wishing you all the best and continued success!"