Chapter 72

Mission 72 (: 72) is the seventy-second chapter of the SPY x FAMILY manga, written and illustrated by Tatsuya Endo. It was released on December 12, 2022.

Summary
Billy and his squad are surprised to see that the Berlint City Police found them. The children, noticing the police cars outside, excitedly get up from their seats, but Billy stops them by shooting his pistol at the ceiling, threatening that if anyone tries to leave, he will shoot them. The woman begins to wonder how they got found since none of the children could have known where they were going. At that moment, the hijackers turn to the students, and Anya gets scared as she found out the address.

Over a megaphone, the Berlint City Police tell the Red Circus members to surrender. Billy asks Vadim if they can break through, but he replies that it will be impossible with their flat tires. The woman then warns Billy that the SSS is coming from the other side, so with no other choice, he grabs black sheets from his bag and orders the students to cover the windows. The police notice this and worry, as they will not know what will happen to the hostages. Then, Billy walks out with Damian and tells them that if they plan on doing anything, he will blow up everyone inside the bus. Billy states his two demands: to free all his comrades in prison and to give all of them safe passage to the country of Nortica. He adds that he will release five students for each comrade the police free.

The Berlint Police Commander worries about their situation, and at that moment, the SSS arrive and ask him to withdraw his forces, as they plan to storm the bus. The commander opposes this as there are children inside the bus, but the SSS captain states that their duty is to protect the country and that a few dead children would not be as bad as starting capital terrorism. Angered, the police commander says they will not decide anything until the ministry gives orders. The captain agrees and looks to the bus, saying that several of the comrades Billy wants to be released are already dead.

Back in the bus, Vadim scolds Billy for not making a bigger threat to the kids, but Billy says that as soon as they give the police a deadline, the SSS will start storming the bus, so what they can do now is stall for time, which would cause parents to start putting pressure on the government. Damian walks back to his seat and recalls how embarrassing it was to have everyone see him like that, worrying that it may cause problems for his father. Bill cheers him up, saying that while they are still kids, he did a great job keeping it together and that their only hope is to wait for their parents to do something. Emile and Ewen agree with Bill and also try to cheer Damian, but he calls Bill a 40-year-old grade-schooler, offending him.

At WISE HQ, Sylvia talks with the WISE Agent over the phone about the other missing bus. The WISE Agent tells her it was spotted heading through a route school buses do not go, so Sylvia decides to leak that information to the police. Meanwhile, at the State Security Service HQ, an SSS agent receives Sylvia’s leak and tells two other agents about the possible location of the missing bus, Demforest District. Yuri, who was tied to a pillar by his captain to prevent him from getting involved in the case, overhears them and begs to be released to investigate since he has informants in the district that can get him the location. Yuri gets released and quickly gets to work searching for clues. He asks for some information about a school bus passing through suspicious areas. Yuri knows it would be a problem to ditch a bus and then transport forty kids in cars, so he decides to scour the area where the bus is probably hidden.

Outside the bus, an SSS agent informs the captain about the new lead on the other missing bus, while Division 1 has also entered the situation to argue against taking any drastic measures. This irritates the captain, as he says they are in for protracted warfare. Inside, Billy notices some of the students squirming, so he orders anyone who needs to go raise their hand as they will go outside to do their business at the shrubs, one at a time. Emile is the first to raise his hand, saying that he needs to go. Billy reminds him not to run away, which Emile will not plan on as Damian has the neck bomb. The two go outside, and an SSS agent asks if they should have their snipers fire, which the captain refuses as it is better to get all the culprits at once. After Emile does his business, he admits being embarrassed at having to do it outside like this, and Billy says he has led a charmed life and to thank his parents for that.

Becky’s father and Martha Marriott arrive at the scene, where some guards stop Mr. Blackbell from seeing his daughter. At that moment, Henderson and another teacher also arrive. Henry is surprised to see Martha, and both of them share their concern for the well-being of the students inside the bus. Inside, many kids start feeling dizzy as they are tired, thirsty, hungry, and scared, and their thoughts overwhelm Anya. Billy gets off the bus and asks the agents for the council’s answer, where they reply that they are still deciding but in the meantime, would like to bring food and water to the students. Billy agrees as long as a teacher is the one who delivers the food, so Henry offers himself to go and give the supplies to the children.

As Henry gets escorted to the bus, the kids are relieved to see their housemaster. He asks if they are all right and tells them they should keep the dignity of Eden Students, assuring them that they will be rescued. The dorm tutor, still injured from the electric shock, apologizes to Henry for not being able to help, but the housemaster worriedly tells the hijackers he needs to go to a hospital, but Billy denies it. Henry says that they can have him in exchange for releasing the dorm tutor, and Billy agrees. He ties up Henry and releases the tutor, and Martha is confused by Henry's decision. As Henry sits down, he notices both Anya and Damian have a neck bomb, so he angrily stares at Billy, deeming him a despicable coward. Then the housemaster asks the kids if all of them have food and water supplies, and Anya says she is so hungry she could eat an entire horse. Henry gets shocked by Anya’s nerves of steel, remembering the words Anya told back in the interview.

As they start passing around the Blackbell company’s emergency food, Damian, Emile and Ewen talk about its poor flavor, Bill and Becky tell them not to complain, while Anya says she has tasted better and worse meals. Henry is shocked by how composed the children are in this situation, then notices Billy staring at them with a tender look. Henry asks him if he has children, to which he replies a daughter. Henry tries to appeal to Billy's parental side to make him free the students, but Billy reveals that his daughter was murdered by the state, as she was also a member of the group. He explains how the Red Circus was originally a student movement asking for peace and equality, but the state went violent against them. He tells Henry that he will not take any criticism from a member of the establishment, and will make sure the state will reap what they have sown.

At Demforest District, Yuri finds bus tire tracks, which lead him to a warehouse hiding the missing bus.

Trivia

 * In the top left panel of page 9, the bomb around Damian's neck is missing.