Chapter 133: Bait

Heisuke fills Nagumo and the others in on Kumanomi and apologizes for Hyo's death, convinced that greater strength on his part would have spared his friend the sacrifice. Shishiba and Osaragi wave this off, dismissing Hyo as simply too weak. Shishiba then declares that Heisuke will be held hostage to punish Sakamoto for meddling in JAA affairs.

Sakamoto reaches out to Nagumo with an offer: Heisuke's freedom for details on Uzuki's next strike. He tells Nagumo that Uzuki means to destroy the Okutabi New National Museum of Art during the exhibit in order to kill chairman Sei Asaki. Rather than call off the event, Nagumo prefers to dangle the chairman as bait and trap Uzuki.

With the talks collapsed, Sakamoto resolves to move before the Order and Uzuki's faction turn the exhibit into a massacre. To secure entry, he donates his old firearm to the exhibit in return for an exhibitor's pass.

The JAA takes Heisuke hostage to pressure Sakamoto, and negotiations between Sakamoto and Nagumo break down when Nagumo chooses to use chairman Sei Asaki as bait for Uzuki. Refusing to let the exhibit become a bloodbath, Sakamoto engineers his own way in by submitting his old gun for an exhibitor's pass.

Part of the Assassin Exhibition of the Century Arc and Volume 15, the nineteen-page chapter appeared on September 4, 2023, in issue 40. It aligns the JAA, the Order, and Sakamoto's family on a collision course toward the museum. Shishiba, Heisuke, Nagumo, Osaragi, Sakamoto, Shin, Lu, Piisuke, Kashima, and Amane appear, with Kumanomi, Hyo, Kamihate, Uzuki, and Sei Asaki referenced. The cover lines up Kumanomi, Shishiba, Heisuke, Nagumo, and Hyo.