Chapter 141: Kuki
Chapter 141: Kuki
The power of the Murakami Group in this city was mainly in the hands of the Iwamoto Group and the Sunao-gumi. These two groups shared a close bond and were extremely intimate; moreover, the previous leader was basically the adopted son of the old man Wakabayashi.
The current leader, Higashi Yuantai, was a man as cunning as a fox. The Takaha Group had suffered many losses at his hands before.
Therefore, this “Wakadoshi Advisor” of the Takaha Group was exceptionally wary of this man.
Furuta was one of the core executives of the Takaha Group. Within Yakuza organizations, there were strict notions of seniority and hierarchy.
In a large-scale group like the Takaha Group, the internal structure was mainly composed of three key positions: the leader, the second-in-command, and the second-in-command’s advisor.
Below them, the executives were divided into the elder manager, elder advisor, executive advisor, elder, and underlings.
Currently, Furuta, who held the position of “Wakadoshi Advisor,” was desperately flattering and carefully currying favor with this bald man. He knew very well that this guy was one of the combat specialists sent by the Black Devourer Syndicate and could be considered the leader of this group.
The bald man seemed to be called “Da Cha,” though it might be a fake or alias. He didn’t look like a local but rather like a foreigner from the Southeast Asian region.
“It’s fine, Furuta. As long as Higashi Yuantai, the leader of the Sunao-gumi, is in our hands, the problem shouldn’t be too big.”
The bald man’s Japanese was not very good, but fortunately, Furuta could still understand what he was saying. Among this group, there were also some—
Da Cha chuckled darkly. “As for that old bastard Wakabayashi, he’s easy to deal with too. Here, take this thing.”
He tossed out a large glass bottle, which the Takaha Group executive hurriedly caught.
A pungent smell of formaldehyde filled the air.
“What… what is this?”
Inside the sealed glass bottle was a mass of bloody, mangled flesh.
“Dug out from the belly of that dead old man Wakabayashi’s wife. But his wife isn’t dead yet. Find a way to deliver it to the Iwamoto Group. Tell them… it’s a little gift, nothing much, but if they want her to live, they should come surrender on their own.”
The bald man laughed loudly. “Also, I had a lot of fun with his wife.”
But Furuta was so shocked that his hand nearly trembled, almost dropping the sealed glass bottle.
He had heard that the captured woman, Matsuko—the woman of the Iwamoto Group’s old man Wakabayashi—was pregnant. But he never expected this bald man named “Da Cha” to be so vicious.
(Damned bastard! This means we’ve completely torn face with the Iwamoto Group and the Sunao-gumi… Shit! Maybe bringing these people to the city in the first place was the worst decision.)
Furuta deeply felt that this “League of Nether Ghosts” from the Black Devourer Syndicate was completely uncontrollable. No one could predict when these people would go on a rampage.
He had a bad feeling. This time, the Takaha Group wasn’t just inviting a wolf into the house—it was more like storing an unexploded bomb in their own warehouse. No one knew when that bomb would go off.
He furrowed his brow tightly, feeling a physical disgust toward Da Cha and the League of Nether Ghosts’ cruel actions.
“Hey, hey! Furuta, don’t you dare break this thing. If you drop it on the ground, I’ll make you shove what’s inside into your own belly—”
Noticing his trembling hand, Da Cha seemed to catch his expression. His eyes gleamed with a cold, sinister light, revealing his sadistic nature as he threatened Furuta in a menacing tone.
“Of course not.”
Furuta could only force a fawning smile.
“Hahaha, don’t take it so seriously. I was just joking.”
The bald man straightened up. He had a large, bulky build and was a full head taller than Furuta.
“Just take the thing back properly. With the Sunao-gumi’s leader Higashi Yuantai in our grasp, I doubt the others can cause much trouble!”
Clang!
The iron door of the warehouse was pushed open, and a man in a trench coat walked in.
“I’m Haijima. No need to be so tense.”
The newcomer was another leader of the League of Nether Ghosts, a direct subordinate of the high-ranking executive Kuki Muen, and one of his disciples.
“Haijima, why are you back now?”
The bald man Da Cha was somewhat puzzled. He remembered that Haijima had been acting alongside Kuki Muen during this period.
“The teacher sent me back to check on the situation. There’s been some trouble.”
The trench-coated man Haijima threw a bloody object onto the ground. It was a woman’s head.
“Nai Na was killed. I retrieved her head before the police arrived. No matter what, members of the League of Nether Ghosts cannot die outside—”
At that moment, all noise in the warehouse ceased. The previously scattered aura in the warehouse also abruptly stopped.
Furuta couldn’t help but take a step back. He could sense the bone-chilling killing intent emanating from this “League of Nether Ghosts.” The abandoned factory warehouse seemed to be swept by an inexplicably cold breeze. He shifted his feet slightly, feeling extremely uncomfortable.
The bald man calmly asked, “Haijima, do you know who did it?”
“When I arrived, Higashi Yuantai of the Sunao-gumi had been rescued, and the second-in-command’s advisor Shiota was also killed.”
Haijima sighed. “The teacher has other matters to attend to. I’ll leave this issue for you to handle.”
Shiota was killed too.
Standing nearby and overhearing their conversation, Furuta’s heart sank, a chill rising within him.
The bald man nodded and said in a deep voice, “Just leave it to me. By the way, does Shishidōmaru know about his sister yet?”
“He’s with the teacher. I didn’t tell him.”
Haijima said quietly, “His temper is too impulsive, and when his old condition flares up, no one can control him. Without the teacher stepping in, if he goes berserk, who knows how many people would have to die before his rage subsides.”
“I understand.”
The bald man Da Cha sneered and said, “We originally planned to act a bit later, but it seems there’s no need to wait now.”
His gaze turned to Furuta, his eyes flashing with the sudden ferocity of a leopard or wolf pouncing on its prey.
“Whoosh!”
Before Furuta could react, the bald man Da Cha lifted him into the air with one hand.
“Furuta, one of our people is dead. This matter can’t end like this. From now on, I don’t care about underworld rules. Whether it’s the Sunao-gumi, the Iwamoto Group, or even your Takaha Group—if I don’t get a satisfactory explanation, I’ll make all of you disappear by tomorrow.”
His cold, harsh voice hissed close to Furuta’s ear.
“Get the message to the Sunao-gumi. Tell them… they can’t escape…”
After leaving “X-Baseball,” several black luxury cars soon arrived to pick them up.
Fang Jing sat in the passenger seat, watching Higashi Yuantai in the back continuously dialing his phone while receiving treatment from a female doctor.
His face was bruised and swollen, and he held an ice pack to his face. The female doctor beside him was also helping tend to his wounds.
Forty minutes later, Higashi Yuantai finally let out a relieved sigh and gave a bitter smile to Fang Jing in the front seat. “Sorry you had to see that, Nishizuka.”
“You’re quite busy with work, huh!”
“There’s a lot to handle. Just dealing with the few people who died at ‘X-Baseball’ requires negotiations with the local police.”
“The Yakuza actively negotiating with the police.”
“Yes… sounds strange, right? But that’s the reality. This time, the Takaha Group lost a high-ranking executive because of you, plus our two sides are constantly fighting. If we don’t have a unified story, it’ll become very troublesome externally.”
“Does the media not get involved in these incidents?”
“Haha, you’re still too young. In this country, there are no political media with critical ability. As for the smaller media outlets, there are many ways to make them shut up…”
“How dirty.”
Fang Jing curled his lip slightly in mockery.
“Sorry, but we’re the Yakuza after all. In the eyes of certain powerful figures, this kind of internal gang warfare—no matter how many die—is just dogs biting dogs. But if it gets too big, it’ll affect their political achievements, approval ratings, and local crime rates…”
Higashi Yuantai shrugged. “In this country’s society, people like us and the homeless on the streets are non-existent classes. It’s best if we disappear without a trace. You see, at least upstanding citizens like you mostly know nothing about us, right?”
“…”
“Alright, let’s not talk about that. I’ll tell you what I know.”
Higashi Yuantai took out a bottle of sherry from the back seat, along with a glass, intending to have a drink.
“Brother Sakaki Tetsuhei was captured; I’d guess it’s nine times out of ten related to a past incident of your Huanzang Style. But before that, I want to ask if you’ve heard of someone.”
“Who?”
“Kuki Muen, the traitor of the Huanzang Style.”
Higashi Yuantai drank a glass of wine, then finally caught his breath. The fatigue and pain in his body eased a little.
“Everything starts with this man…”