Chapter 8: Demons in the Darkness

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

The demons had arrived, and now was the time for the ghosts to parade the streets.

Nishikiyama Heita was one of the many “demons” that walked under the bright lights under Tokyo’s night sky. This was because he had just had a huge demon face tattooed on his back a few days ago.

Of course, he had established the name “Heita the Demon” for himself first before he had this demon face tattooed.

At the moment, he was wearing his favorite floral suit with a fiery red shirt inside. This outfit was unorthodox, but the style was consistent with those successful people who graduated from top schools.

There was a family emblem on the collar of his floral suit. This was an honor that Nishikiyama had earned after years of hard work.

The moment he put on the emblem, he became the boss of the Kanto Alliance’s Nishikiyama Family.

He was no longer a loser.

The Nishikiyama Office was a two-story building, and the first floor was a restaurant. When they needed to gather people, a restaurant was the most suitable venue.

The second floor was where they did their business. Nishikiyama Heita’s office table sat in front of the north wall. Two cheap sofas were arranged in the shape of an L before the desk. On the cheap-looking coffee table, there was a Nio guardian figurine and an ashtray.

On the wall behind Nishikiyama, there was a piece of calligraphy that was requested from a Sakra abbot Master Kukai, which bore a single word, “Victory.”

Typically, yakuza family heads would hang calligraphy works that read “Justice” or “Duty,” but Nishikiyama only cared about winning. He did not want anything else.

To him, only the winners could be treated as human beings, while the losers were mere animals.

If one failed, no amount of justice or duty could give them mercy.

This was the greatest lesson that Nishikiyama had learned over the years.

In fact, Nishikiyama had originally wanted a piece of “Asura,” which would showcase his determination to achieve whatever he wanted even if that meant he had to oppose the gods.

However, Master Kukai stared at him for a while before declining his request. Then, he wrote him the word “Victory.”

“You can’t walk on the path of Asura,” the master asserted.

Nishikiyama was not a Buddhist, so he did not pay much attention to the master’s judgment.

However, he still hung up the calligraphy work for the aesthetics. Besides, it was also quite in line with Nishikiyama Heita’s life philosophy.

Seated in front of the huge “Victory,” Nishikiyama looked at his subordinate who had just returned to report. “So, the dojo’s ‘young master’ beat up the Tsuda Family?”

“Yes, absolutely. I’ve confirmed it with a few witnesses!” The underling nodded repeatedly.

“Witnesses?!” A bald man hit the coffee table and roared. He was the same person who’d hung the dead chicken outside Kazuma’s dojo that same morning. “You’re acting like a cop!”

“Shut up, Bandō,” Nishikiyama said coldly.

“I’m sorry!”

As the Nishikiyama Family’s underboss, Bandō was responsible for disciplining the underlings. Scolding was actually part of his “job scope.”

But Nishikiyama did not like this kind of fiendish yakuza manner.

However, it was popular to be fierce in the yakuza because it was useful.

Unlike the American yakuza, which used the Alcohol Prohibition Act to make their first fortune, the Japanese yakuza rode the wave of real estate development and thrived. Their main job was to force people to leave with threats and lures and then sell the land.

A large yakuza syndicate would buy the land in redevelopment areas at a low price and force the residents away. Then, they would piece the land together and sell it to the real estate developers as “unoccupied land.”

Therefore, most of the yakuza organizations described themselves as “real estate companies” on the surface.

It was the same for the Nishikiyama Family.

They even paid taxes like normal companies.

That was why being fierce was necessary to the yakuza.

A fiendish underboss could help to set the tone and make sure the underlings behaved themselves. That was essential to the survival of a yakuza syndicate.

“Did the snack shop owner move away in the end?” Nishikiyama asked the underling who came to report.

“Yes!” This time, his underling answered loudly under the underboss’ instructions. This made Bandō nod in satisfaction.

“So the Tsuda Family took all the credit after all. However, knowing Tsuda, he will not let it slip. The dojo siblings are in trouble. The Tsuda Family will probably cross the line into our territory.”

Bandō was surprised. “I thought we’ve already agreed on the territory allocation at the last Kanto Alliance Committee Meeting.”

“Tsuda is a mad dog. He doesn’t care so much. We have to take the dojo immediately. Don’t let the Tsuda Family take the advantage.”

Nishikiyama Heita raised his chin. He looked at the ceiling and slowly puffed out a smoke ring. “Push forward the original plan. We are doing it tomorrow. It will not be easy when the Tsuda Family has sealed the deal. This way, we can also show those ignorant neighbors the consequences of not accepting our offers.”

“Tomorrow?” Bandō asked to confirm. “Are we really going to do it?”

“Of course. Kidnap Kiryuu Chiyoko and force Kiryuu Kazuma to sign the contract. That’s it!”

The underboss Bandō led all the underlings in the office to shout “Yes, sir!” together. He was like a general during the Warring States Period.

***

At the same time, Tsuda Masaaki gave a hard slap to his underling Shima Sanpei’s face.

“You do know judo, don’t you? How dare you be defeated by a frigging high schooler?”

Shima’s face was bruised and swollen now. He explained, “They had bamboo swords…”

“But you had a frigging baseball bat too!” Tsuda slapped him again and waved at the person behind him. “Bring the bat over.”

A baseball bat was immediately handed over to Tsuda.

He swung the bat and smashed it on Shima’s head.

“This is how you use a bat! Do you understand?”

Shima nodded profusely.

“You failed to complete your task. Cut a finger to atone for your mistake.” Tsuda stood up and threw the bat to the person behind him.

Shima was stunned. “A finger?”

“Yeah. Have you never seen a yakuza film before? Cut a finger!”

Shima was almost in tears. “Please give me another chance, Boss…”

Tsuda shook his head. “See? A coward! He has disgraced our family by losing to a high school student. Now, he’s become a crybaby just because he’s about to lose a finger. You shouldn’t have joined the yakuza, you should have stayed on your farm to feed your cows!”

“My father has lost the farm. I have to stay in Tokyo…”

“Who cares?!”

Tsuda slapped Shima’s head again.

At this moment, the Tsuda Family’s underboss, Tani Naoto, stepped forward and asked, “Should I bring a few brothers to beat up the dojo siblings tomorrow?”

“Are you an idiot? That is outside our territory. The demarcation was decided by those Cuban-cigar-smoking big shots from affiliate families at the Committee Meeting. We are just a small side family. Even if we want to step in, we have to wait for the Nishikiyama Family to fail in the acquisition of the dojo first!”

Tsuda Masaaki was interrupted by Shima Sanpei’s bloodcurdling scream as his finger was cut.

He rolled his eyes impatiently.

The underboss Tani ordered the underlings at once, “Quick, get him out of here and tend to his wounds. Don’t go to a proper hospital. Find a clinic!”

Blood was still spewing from Shima’s severed finger. After the underlings carried Shima Sanpei away in a flurry, Tani turned around and said to Tsuda, “Are we just going to wait? Nishikiyama Heita is not someone who will fail so easily.”

“Isn’t it better this way?” Tsuda asked. “If Nishikiyama Heita is able to do it, doesn’t that mean that the siblings will move away from their current home? Wouldn’t that mean that they will come out of the Nishikiyama Family’s territory? Hmph, when the time comes, it’s entirely up to us what we want to do to them.”

As he spoke, a malicious smile appeared on his face.