Chapter 71

Mission 71 (: 71) is the seventy-first chapter of the SPY x FAMILY manga, written and illustrated by Tatsuya Endo. It was released on November 14, 2022.

Summary
At SSS Headquarters, the Lieutenant reports to his superior about the hijacked buses. According to the information they received from the Blackbell Company, they discovered that members of the Red Circus are behind this and know where the buses are going. The superior officer orders that suppressing the suspects is their top priority and to cover up everything. Afterward, Yuri approaches the Lieutenant, asking about the bus Anya is on. The Lieutenant orders him not to come with them, as Anya might recognize him, and not to tell City Hall about this. Yuri is initially apathetic about Anya's situation, but after imagining Yor grieving her, he rushes after the Lieutenant and the others, telling them to wait for him.

At the Blackbell Company, Becky's father worries for his daughter's life and recklessly orders every tank and fighter jet in their storage dispatched to secure her. However, Martha Marriott stops him and rationalizes that he would only provoke the kidnappers. She decides to go there herself, then hopes for Becky's safety.

Inside the bus, the students are shocked by Billy Squire's revelation that the device on Anya is a bomb. As Anya realizes her imminent doom, the other students back away from her, and Becky starts tearing up for her friend. Billy's thoughts confirm that the bomb is a fake, as he only needed it to be real enough to trick the children. Relieved to hear this, Anya casually plops back to her seat and says she is hungry. Becky and Damian are shocked by how carefree Anya is, making Damian wonder if she was raised by an assassin. Anya hears his thoughts and imagines him inviting her over to meet Donovan. Anya proceeds to taunt him by whacking on the bomb with her smug smile, scaring everyone, and their frightened thoughts make her dizzy. Damian then assumes that Anya was just doing it for show and did not want the others to be scared.

Damian decides to approach Billy and asks him to attach Anya's bomb to him instead. Damian reasons that because he is Donovan's son and popular among the kids, he is the perfect hostage. Damian then tells himself that he is the scion of the Desmond Family that will one day become a politician and protect his country. He adds that Donovan fought all kinds of enemies during the war and says he can fight too. Billy acknowledges Damian's courage, and decides to honor it by also putting a bomb on him. Damian is shocked by this and nervously chuckles while Ewen and Emile worry for him. On the other hand, Anya happily says they match, which annoys him. Damian wonders why he was trying to save Anya the way he did but tells himself that those who lead must protect their compatriots, saying that Donovan must have done the same.

Damian tries to think calmly but starts to fear for his life, thinking about his future dreams and his mother and father. To his surprise, Anya holds his hand, assuring him that it will be okay and not to be scared. She then whispers to Damian that she overheard the terrorists saying the bombs were fake. Damian quickly denies his fear and yanks his hand away from hers. Becky calls Anya mature for this, which makes her so happy that she knocks on her bomb. This scares Becky and Damian, who start calling Anya an idiot. Suddenly, they are interrupted by a loud pop, and the bus starts to swerve around. The bus makes a stop, and the students are surprised to be unharmed. Billy asks the bus driver, Vadim, what happened, and Vadim says they got caught with a spike strip. Police surround the bus shortly after, and the children are relieved to see them.

Trivia

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