Even from behind, The Shadow can tell how tense he is, and already anticipated that sense of being overwhelmed. Were Ichi to take a swing at him now, it would simply be lightly intercepted. He can feel the fear that underlies the blind man's body language.

"It's only sound, and scents. No one here means you any harm." This time he speaks in English, but pitched low and quiet in a way that somehow cuts through all the background noise. His voice carries a calm the din outside cannot vanquish.