After receiving Makima's approval, Denji left her office.
As he appeared, the Yamai sisters, who had been standing nearby, quickly walked over to him.
"Has Makima heard Denji's choice?"
"You'd better not mess this up!"
Facing the intimidating pressure from the two sisters, Denji quickly raised his hands to signal them to calm down.
He only had one choice, or perhaps none at all. Neither of the options was ideal for Denji.
If possible, he'd like to keep both Yamai sisters.
Although he had no idea how to do that, he had to find a way—he needed to ensure the Yamai sisters didn't become humanity's enemies and that the Public Safety Bureau wouldn't need to turn on former allies. Whatever he had to do, he had to make it happen.
The first step, however, was to buy himself more time.
"Makima said this is a very important decision, and I can't rush it."
Denji threw out a quick lie, hoping to stall. "So, Makima decided to give me one more day to think it over and make a decision after careful consideration."
"Hah? What's there to think about? Anyone can see the difference between me and Yuzuru!"
"Agreed, Denji doesn't need to think, just say one name!"
However, the Yamai sisters weren't swayed by Makima's name and kept the pressure on.
Their eyes glimmered with the threat of consequences if Denji chose wrong.
Denji's eye twitched violently.
Isn't being alive good enough?
Why are they so eager to die?
The one making the decision was him, not them. Do they have any idea how much pressure he's under?!
Thinking this, an unexplainable anger welled up inside him.
"I'm under a lot of pressure right now, so you'd better let me relax a bit!"
Denji narrowed his eyes, his tone now carrying a threatening edge. "You know, I'm a dumbass. If you push me too hard and I make the wrong choice, that wouldn't be good, would it?"
The Yamai sisters froze for a moment when they heard Denji's sudden firmness.
After a few moments of silence, their aggressive stance began to soften.
"You're such a troublesome guy. Fine, we'll give you one more day to think."
"Agreed, one more day is fine. Yuzuru can wait."
Denji sighed in relief when he saw them back down.
If they had refused to wait, there would have been nothing he could do.
Fortunately, his rash and careless personality had worked in his favor—since the Yamai sisters didn't want to push him too hard.
After receiving this valuable extra day of time, Denji let the Yamai sisters go do whatever they wanted.
He had to make the most of this day to come up with a solution.
After watching the Yamai sisters walk off in different directions, Denji immediately took out his phone and dialed a number from his contact list.
After a few beeps, the call connected.
"Help me!"
"Help you with what?" Hayakawa's voice sounded a bit irritated and resigned. "I'm still on patrol. If you make trouble and expect me to solve it for you, forget it. You need to learn how to clean up your own mess."
"This is really important! It concerns Tokyo's fate!"
Denji didn't have a solution, but that was okay. He just needed someone smarter than him to figure it out.
Unfortunately, he didn't have many colleagues in the Anti-Devil Division, and the few he did know weren't as reliable as himself. So, the only person he could think of to help him was Hayakawa.
Although Denji didn't like this nagging guy, it was undeniable that Hayakawa was much more composed and thoughtful than Denji.
More importantly, Denji trusted that Hayakawa wouldn't want to become enemies with the Yamai sisters.
"Drop what you're doing and meet me at the Big Explosion Burger shop. We'll discuss everything in person."
Denji hurriedly said.
"Oh, I haven't had breakfast yet! If you get there before me, order me a set meal!"
One hour later, at the Big Explosion Burger shop.
Hayakawa, with a cigarette in hand, was taking a deep puff as he processed the flood of information Denji had dumped on him.
When it came to the Yamai sisters, he only knew the basics: their goal was to merge, and their reason for joining the Anti-Devil Division was so that they could have an impartial judge from the Bureau.
He hadn't really paid much attention to the details.
What concerned him more was what would happen once the two Yamai sisters merged into one, and how the Anti-Devil Division would handle the Wind Devil afterward when it no longer needed to be constrained.
But after Denji told him that both Yamai sisters actually wanted the other to become the true Wind Devil, and that they had both threatened to destroy Tokyo if he didn't choose one of them, Hayakawa couldn't stop himself from chain-smoking.
Now the pressure was on him.
Denji was definitely unreliable, so Hayakawa had to figure out a way that didn't get anyone hurt.
He exhaled deeply and, looking serious, asked, "Denji, are you sure they're really willing to sacrifice themselves, putting the other ahead of themselves? They see each other as more important than themselves?"
"Yeah, I'm sure about that."
"If that's the case, it might not be impossible to find a solution..."
"Really? I'm so glad I came to you! You're way smarter than me!"
"Don't get too excited. My plan has one big condition."
Hayakawa paused and then asked seriously, "For them, is it more important to have the name Wind Devil, or is it more important that they stay alive?"
"That... "
Denji was stumped by this question. He couldn't answer right away.
Since the Yamai sisters had come into the human world, they had been fighting over the name Wind Devil.
It made sense that devouring each other to become the true Wind Devil would be very important.
But from Denji's perspective, it was clear that they also saw each other as very important.
So, he couldn't answer that question.
Seeing Denji's silence, Hayakawa immediately understood.
"Then, I guess it's a gamble..."
Hayakawa muttered to himself.
As a Devil Hunter, his mission was to protect humanity.
Normally, he should refuse to help Denji, side with Makima, and eliminate the Yamai sisters before the disaster struck.
But just like Denji, he couldn't bring himself to harm his comrades.
"It looks like I'll have to risk my life to help this idiot," Hayakawa said.
He crushed the cigarette in his hand and then said seriously, "I have a plan, but the success rate is low. I need you to make a promise."
"A promise?"
"If my plan fails, you have to turn into Chainsaw Man and attack them. Eliminate the Yamai sisters."
"But that still means we have to kill them!"
"At least I'll give you a chance to save them, don't you think?"
Denji's face was full of conflict.
But he had no other choice. He nodded reluctantly, agreeing to the request.
"Good. Now, I need you to meet with the Yamai sisters alone."
"I've barely escaped them! What do you want me to say?"
"Don't worry. I'll guide you from behind."
Hayakawa pulled out a pair of Bluetooth earphones from his pocket and handed them to Denji.
"Follow my instructions. Don't mess this up. Tokyo's fate and the Yamai sisters' lives are all in your hands now."