“Hah? All of the people on surveillance were killed?”
Hosen Touya, the acting boss of the Hosen Group, frowned when he heard Akagiri give his report upon entering the office.
“They were all armed, weren’t they?” (Touya)
“Yes. They were positioned around the Maiden Rebirth Order’s base for surveillance, but they all disappeared last night.” (Akagiri)
“You mean to say they disappeared, not that they were killed?” (Touya)
“Most likely… No, I’m more or less certain that it was the work of the Maiden’s Rebirth Order.” (Akagiri)
“Good grief, so they were done in by the likes of those women. Those thugs really are just disposable. Akagiri, this is your mess up, no?” (Touya)
“I’m sorry. I’ll take responsibility for this mismanagement.” (Akagiri)
“….Well, whatever. It’s ‘cause of you that I was able to take over my father’s position. I’ll close my eyes to it just this once. There won’t be a next time, ya hear me?” (Touya)
“Are you sure it’s okay?” (Akagiri)
“I won’t repeat myself a second time.” (Touya)
Hosen glared at Akagiri.
“…Thank you. Then about the surveillance…” (Akagiri)
“Sigh. I was talking ‘bout you. Either way, you didn’t give those thugs much information, did you? It shouldn’t matter if they were kidnapped and tortured. How about you get on it and go massacre them all already?” (Touya)
“But I did hear that there are some slightly unsettling movements taking place.” (Akagiri)
“Unsettling movements?” (Touya)
“Yes. Based on what I’ve heard, they made contact with a community called the Inochi-shirazu the other day.” (Akagiri)
“The Inochi-shirazu? The hell’s that?” (Touya)
“Don’t you remember? Ryudou Jin’ichi?” (Akagiri)
“Ryudou…? …Ah, right, there was a guy like that. He was that brat that you recommended, wasn’t he?” (Touya)
(TL: Eiichi → Jin’ichi: I found out recently that Ryudou’s first name is actually Jin’ichi. I already went back and changed it accordingly. My apologies for any inconvenience this may cause.)
Ryudou was a well-known name in these parts. Of course, not under the public eye, but in the underworld.
He was skilled and smart, and because of his twisted personality, the yakuza also had their eyes on him. Some of the crime syndicate groups even tried to directly scout Ryudou and recruit him.
One of those happened to be the Hosen Group… in other words, Akagiri here.
They decided that if they used Ryudou, the Hosen Group would be able to make enormous profits.
“But that guy never went under us in the end, did he?” (Touya)
“Yes. He said he’d rather commit suicide than work under someone else. But he was also such a crazy guy that he really looked like he’d pull the trigger. Still, his connections and business acumen and such were worth making use of. The boss gave his permission, so I personally interacted with him for some time.” (Akagiri)
“What happened to that guy?” (Touya)
“For a while, Ryudou operated an organization that called themselves the Inochi-shirazu.” (Akagiri)
“Hoh…” (Touya)
“But Ryudou isn’t in this city anymore. After looking into it, it seemed that there was a good chance someone had killed him. And now, there are a bunch of guys that are carrying on the torch of the Inochi-shirazu.” (Akagiri)
“No, it seems that Ryudou and his organization were only posing as the Inochi-shirazu. The one that’s currently active is the real Inochi-shirazu.” (Akagiri)
“Posing? …Could Ryudou have been killed by the real guys?” (Touya)
“Most likely. The current head of the Inochi-shirazu, Kuzuhara Saito, is as manly as it gets, but this guy isn’t the upright kind. He has a prison record.” (Akagiri)
“Never heard of him.” (Touya)
“The Maiden’s Rebirth Order and the Inochi-shirazu made contact then. Don’t tell me the two of ‘em are tryna work together?” (Touya)
“It’s not exactly fitting for the Maiden’s Rebirth Order, a group that promotes the extermination of all men, but we can’t deny this possibility.” (Akagiri)
“But even if their boss is strong, there’s a limit to that. They don’t have many people, right?” (Touya)
“About a dozen or so people, I’d say.” (Akagiri)
“Then that won’t be a problem. We have 500 people, and that’s only right now. We’ve only got more coming.” (Touya)
“But this Kuzuhara guy is such a powerhouse that he can single-handedly destroy monsters that even the police are reluctant to deal with. I think we should come up with some countermeasures.” (Akagiri)
“Akagiri, you bastard. Don’t tell me you’re feelin’ intimidated by him?” (Touya)
“No, it’s just that you can’t get careless against any oppo—?!” (Akagiri)
At that moment, Hosen kicked him in the jaw, causing his head to lash backwards.
“Bffwaah…! Y-Young mas—” (Akagiri)
“Oi, Akagiri! You bastard…! We’re the Hosen Group, bearing the crest of the Higuchi Group, the best yakuza group in Japan! What are you worrying ‘bout? The hell are you chickening out for, huuuh?!” (Touya)
“I-I apologize!” (Akagiri)
Akagiri, who now had a trail of blood dripping from his mouth, could only get down on his knees and bow his head.
Hosen stepped on his head and angrily pressed it into the ground.
“The Maiden’s Rebirth Order and the Inochi-shirazu are a bunch of riffraff who don’t even have the yakuza’s crest of arms on their shoulders. What is there to be scared of? No matter how strong Kuzuhara is, if you put a bullet in his head, he’s a dead man, ain’t he?” (Touya)
“That’s right.” (Akagiri)
“If that’s the case then there are no problems. If you just surround him and shoot him up with bullets all at once, it’s the end for him. I could even put that bullet in his forehead myself.” (Touya)
“…You’re exactly right, young master. I spoke poorly.” (Akagiri)
“Yeah, you better watch yourself. Is that all you have to say?” (Touya)
“For now. What will we do about surveillance in the future?” (Akagiri)
“I’ll leave it to you. Don’t keep repeating your mistakes. I’m goin’ to my uncle’s now. I’m gonna ask him to be my witness when I officially inherit the position of boss of the group.” (Touya)
“I understand. Please take care.” (Akagiri)
Hosen left the office alone.
Akagiri, who had been bowing neatly as he left, slowly raised his head and let out a sigh.
After wiping the blood from his mouth with a tissue, he lit a cigarette and let out a big puff of smoke.
He happened to look down from the window of the office at that moment and saw Hosen getting into his car. Akagiri gazed coldly at him and spoke in a voice that sounded fed-up from the bottom of his heart.
“Good grief. It really is tiring dealing with people who only know violence. But you’ll see. I’ll make you realize just who is the real backbone of this damn group. Kukuku… the light of your life is about to be extinguished… Hosen Touya.” (Akagiri)
A bold smile rose to Akagiri’s face as he watched the car drive away from his position at the office window.