『 I see, so you say that you are the father of Takakura Tsukiko-kun over here? 』
Jii-chan looks down on Oodori across the bulletproof gla.s.s in the VIP room.
「 That’s right! But if you don’t trust me, then I don’t mind going for a DNA test!! 」
I can see Tsukiko’s face of fear as Oodori smiles at her.
Yomiko and Luna are trying to support their sister.
『 What can we discover if we have a DNA test then? 』
Jii-chan asks.
「 That would prove scientifically that the lady over there and I are parent and child! 」
Oodori speaks, looking amazed.
「 I thought that Kouzuki-san already knows about it? If I bring this up to the court, the DNA test will become perfect evidence. And as the law states, Tsukiko and her sisters are still minors, and this would become a kidnapping case. The priest and the shrine maiden of Takakura shrine recently died and so Tsukiko, and her sisters should’ve gone to me, her parent 」
He looked up at Jii-chan and said.
『 If I recall, it was Oodori-kun. If I were to hand over the sisters to you, what will you do to them? 』
「 That’s not something you need to know. They belong to the Yakuza’s world 」
Oodori retorts confidently.
「 Hey, Oodori, you’re being rude to Kakka 」
Sakagami, the old man in the southern side scolds Oodori.
「 I’m not the wrong one here, wasn’t he the one who poked his nose into the problem in our world? Are you not feeling frustrated that someone who doesn’t belong in our society tries to intervene? Sakagami Oyabun? 」
Oodori snaps back at the witnesses.
It seems that he’s confident he’s taken the pace of the conversation by declaring that Tsukiko is his daughter.
「 He’s not someone you can pa.s.s through with that hoodlum level reasoning 」
Sakagami glares at Oodori.
「 Hey, Oodori, Do you intend on making all of us your enemies?! 」
A skinny old man next to Sakagami speaks up.
「 That’s not what I intend to happen. To a Yakuza like me, I couldn’t endure someone looking down on men of honor! I don’t care if it’s Kouzuki-san or whoever! This is a problem within Yakuza, a problem within our world, is it not? 」
Oodori points at Jii-chan in the VIP room.
「 You’re showing off from a high place and even covered in gla.s.s. Do you find it filthy to breathe in the same air as us?! Having so many guards around, thinking that you are above us because of money, do you think you can make us yield?! We are the Yakuza!!! 」
Oodori’s speech continues.
「 He’s trying to speak logically, but in the end, he lost to Kouzuki-san’s pressure 」
Margo-san tells me.
「 Remember this, someone bursting in emotions cannot understand the logic behind words. If it’s someone trying to smooth-talk you, then a.s.semble the logic right away and make the justification. Besides, if you show that you are impressed, you’ll get dragged into whatever they want to happen. Don’t try to understand the contents of what they say but look at their emotions. “Why is this person so emotional?” Concentrate on that question 」
I see. If I only look at the content of his speech, Oodori has a point.
However, looking at him sweating from his forehead, I see him only as someone desperately talking.
I can see that he’s trapped in Jii-chan’s heavy pressure.
Thinking that this can’t go on, he shouts in his speech.
I see that Oodori’s speech is hollow.
「 Hey! Oodori! 」
Sakagami interrupts Oodori’s speech.
「 How long are you going to talk to Kakka about honor? 」
Oodori’s startled.
「 No, but he’s not Yakuza, is he? Either way, “honor” is used by all the people wherever they come from 」
「 But without honor, Yakuza will not exist 」
Sakagami said.
「 Kakka, is a much more fearful man than us, the Yakuza 」
「 W-What?! 」
Oodori looks surprised. Jii-chan speaks.
『 I still haven’t received a reply from my question earlier. Oodori-kun, if you have the Takakura sisters, what will you do with them? 』
Oodori.
「 I-I, I’m from Yakuza!! No matter how down my luck can be, this Oodori is a Yakuza!! I-I will keep the tradition and customs of Yakuza!!!! I-I-I-I’m Yakuza after all 」
『 So, what do you plan on doing because you’re from Yakuza? 』
Jii-chan’s pressure puts a mental block on Oodori.
He speaks out the plan he has inside his head.
「 T-T-T-T-T-That’s to resolve the dispute between Satake and me, we will conduct the arbitration ritual of the Takakura shrine, an old tradition 」
『 So what is this arbitration ritual? 』
「 That’s. About that. The Takakura shrine maiden will have s.e.x with the bosses who caused the dispute, and then, they’ll become men who slept with the same woman, and things will end peacefully 」
Oodori’s purposely hiding the Miko power.
The part where having s.e.x with the shrine maiden will make them read one’s mind.
『 However, Takakura shrine doesn’t have a shrine maiden currently. Their mother was killed, I heard 』
Jii-chan said. Tsukiko trembles.
「 That is why we need the girls you have there to become the shrine maidens! 」
『 These girls will become the shrine maidens? 』
「 T-That’s right! It’s natural!! The fate of the daughters of Takakura shrine is to inherit the shrine maiden t.i.tle! 」
Oodori’s voice is getting louder.
It’s also equal to the amount of sweat he’s producing.
Perhaps, his heart is beating hard right now.
「 Isn’t that your intention?! You’ve made Tsukiko, and the two wear the shrine maiden clothing!! Am I wrong?! 」
Oodori points at Tsukiko and the girls.
「 Oh, that’s right! I had a good idea. How about you join us in the arbitration ritual? What do you think, Kouzuki-san? I think it’s a good proposal 」
He’s trying to invite Jii-chan to the arbitration ritual.
「 Luckily, there’s three of the Takakura sisters. If you want, we can swap with the three while at it. Kouzuki-san, you can pick which one you take first, either way, we’ll enjoy the three of them 」
『 So you plan on gang-raping your own daughter 』
Jii-chan speaks in a low tone.
「 Tsukiko is a successor of the Takakura shrine maiden t.i.tle before being my daughter!! She knows her fate since childhood, and I think she’s ready for it. Isn’t that right, Tsukiko? Yomiko and Luna will come and help and take off Oodori-otchan’s clothes. You girls were cute back when you were little, and now!!!! 」
Oodori’s blood is congesting on his face.
He’s already on the brink of insanity.
「 I’ve been longing for the day I take your virginities!!! 」
Then.
『 I see. That’s a problem 』
Jii-chan speaks gently.
『 You’ve just increased the reason to take you out by another one 』
Jii-chan said. The Yakuza in the hall shook.
『 I wonder why humans only have one life. If only you had three lives, then I could kill trash like you three times. That is, indeed, the cruelty of nature. However, unfortunately, I only have to kill you once 』
「 W-What do you mean by “kill?!” 」
Oodori’s face looks like he’s cooled down with water.
「 W-What the h.e.l.l are you talking about?! 」
Jii-chan ignores Oodori for now.
『 Now then, Sakagami-kun, Arai-kun, Uegi-kun, Morishige-kun, and Hagimoto-kun 』
The witnesses from the southern side stand up right away.
『 This is my minimum requirement to reach peace with you 』
Sakagami Oyabun bows his head to Jii-chan respectfully.
「 Yes, both Oodori and Satake’s lives and organization will be dismantled. We will fulfill that certainly 」
So it’s settled that Oodori and Satake are going to die?
『 Umu, it’s troublesome if you go that far. How do you call it on your side? Ah, yes, this is for the “deal” 』
Jii-chan’s making a deal with the old men, not with Oodori and Satake?
『 Just the two of them won’t be enough, you must dispose of all of their subordinates as well 』
Jii-chan?
「 W-W-W-W-What are you talking about, are you an idiot?! 」
Oodori screams.
『 If you hadn’t talked about the arbitration ritual of the Takakura shrine, then you could’ve lived 』
Jii-chan said.
『 I desire for those who know the secret of the Takakura shrine maiden to be erased 』
「 Certainly, “Kakka” 」
Sakagami bows as the representative of them.
「 W-W-W-What!? Takakura shrine belongs to us, the Yakuza!!! Outsiders shouldn’t interfere with us!!!! 」
『 I do know that the Takakura shrine maidens have a strange power in them 』
Jii-chan said.
「 C-Could it be?!! B-b.a.s.t.a.r.d!! Do you plan on monopolizing the Miko power!!!!!! 」
Oodori screams from the bottom of his lungs.
『 That’s not my intention. My plan is… 』
「 D-D-D-D-Do you think I’ll believe you!? 」
『 I don’t need for such power. And it’ll only bring trouble if that kind of power exists in this world I live in!! 』
Jii-chan.
『 That is why I will cut off the tradition of the Takakura shrine maidens from now onwards. The shrine maidens with that power no longer exist, and I will erase all of the records of it ever existing 』
「 D-D-D-D-D-D-Don’t f.u.c.k with us!!!! Miko power is ours!!! 」
「 That’s enough! Oodori!!! 」
Sakagami stops Oodori with a murky tone in his voice.
「 Even we didn’t know how to use that power that it’s beyond our control. In the end, we only used it for the arbitration ritual as a form of a punishment 」
「 No, but the Miko power is ours, and we should have control over it 」
「 You’re going to die anyway and so don’t think of the future. Just be quiet and die for us 」
「 Kuh, Sakagami-oyabun! No, I’d like to ask all the other bosses in here! Why are you selling off the tradition of Yakuza to that b.a.s.t.a.r.d!! Where did your pride as Yakuza go?!!!! He’s looking down on all of you!!! 」
In the end, Oodori starts snapping back at the heavyweights of the Yakuza.
「 Yakuza’s pride? Tradition? That isn’t something as big as you think 」
Sakagami said and turns to Satake on the west side.
「 Hey, young man. Was it Satake? 」
Satake’s fl.u.s.tered.
「 Were you from Shennong-sama? Or from Amaterasu Oomikami?! 」
Satake thinks for a while and then whispers to Kinzou’s ears.
「 H-H-H-He doesn’t understand what you meant. Chairman said! 」
Kinzou’s voice is trembling.
「 The Meiji era Yakuza has two lineages, the gamblers and the stall-keepers parting from each other. After the Great Kanto earthquake and the loss in war, during this period of mayhem, it was the gambling stall-keepers dominating the black market. Since the Edo period, the gambling dens that have opened up and earned income revere the Sun G.o.ddess. And the former stall-keepers formed an autonomous organization and revered the G.o.d of Trades, Shennong. Therefore, if you see which G.o.d the Yakuza reveres, you can tell their origins. Are they the lineage of former gamblers, or the stall-keepers 」
Sakagami said.
「 As mentioned by Kakka earlier, us, the Yakuza played a significant role in the mayhem during the postwar period. During the time when the j.a.panese government isn’t complete yet, we were the group that fought off the undesired aliens and Americans. Thus, our power expanded. But what’s after that? We return on making income through gambling. The stall-keepers started various trades. Our groups unified and enlarged the organization. Then, the gamblers wanted a sure method of income, and so they started making a move on the stall keepers business, the stall-keepers got their eyes blinded with money, and so they started making a move on the administration in the territory of the gamblers. The two mutually invade each other’s land, and that is the origin of Yakuza’s disputes. Not belonging to a bloodline makes the Yakuza treat which boss they have as the most important 」
Sakagami sighs.
「 However, the young ones no longer know about it. There’s no interest either. You’re too focused on money-making that you don’t care about the past and the traditions at all 」
「 I-Isn’t that why we have to protect the arbitration ritual of the Takakura shrine?! 」
Oodori screams with his eyes opened wide.
「 If you protect just that, what else can you do?!! 」
Sakagami rebukes.
「 Did you not hear Kakka earlier? Yakuza currently is in a position where it’s questioned whether we should still exist or not. It’s possible that at this age, Yakuza’s no longer necessary 」
Then.
「 That’s not the problem b.a.s.t.a.r.ds!!!! 」
Wait, was that Satake himself?
Satake stands up and shouts using his voice.
「 No matter what age we’re in, there would be dropouts from the society!! There will always be guys who can’t live unless they do evil as they love it! Do you get it? Huh?!! Only Yakuza accepts those people!!! 」
But.
『 Indeed, there will always people like those no matter what age we’re in. Not all people have the virtue of a commoner. However 』
Jii-chan said.
『 Are all the dropouts of modern society going to Yakuza? Will the Yakuza obese in power still accept young drop-outs from the community? 』
「 T-That’s! 」
『 Fraud distress phone calls, ah, they’re called “Help me mom scam” now,. Will you accept the young perpetrators who commit such scams? 』
「 T-The young ones all try to survive in whatever way they can! 」
Satake said.
『 Then, will those young people have a future? No, if they’re in their late teens or 20s, they still can re-do their life. But what about you, those in their 30s, in their 40s, do you have a plan for 10-20 years? What will you do when you’re too old? 』
「 T-That’s for them to think, they can’t be Yakuza once they’re too old 」
『 If you were just a gang of young toughs in the old days, then that answer could’ve been okay. However, times have changed. You’re now too big of an organization. In my eyes, the current age doesn’t need a Yakuza organization 』
「 How dare you say that, without us, the big enterprise would be wiping their own a.s.ses right now! 」
Jii-chan.
『 I cover all aspects when going into business. Kouzuki SS is created for that reason 』
Satake’s taken aback.
『 We are much more fearsome, much stronger than you. Furthermore, we don’t ask for maintenance protection money. We’re also in an equal and friendly relationship with the police 』
Shou-neechan said.
「 S-So what!? 」
『 Do you still not understand? We’re saying that all the business you’re doing until now, defending from crime syndicates, dealing with hostiles, smoothing out the interests between parties, are all possible with our group as well 』
That means?
「 Y-You’re saying that you want to eradicate the Yakuza itself? 」
Satake’s in panic. Shou-neechan said.
『 Oh? We do plan on letting free those who can contribute to us. We will only deal with those no longer useful. In the end, the current status is illogical. There’s too many of you sharing the same portion of the business, instead of providing services to the public. We only want to balance the demand and supply chain. Naturally, we will be supporting the drop-outs too. Those who can’t work on the backside then has to work on the front side, right? You can’t introduce them to a job on the surface, but Kouzuki house controls multiple enterprises, and once the deal is done, that is an increase to our reputation 』
Kouzuki SS intends to take away all of what the Yakuza’s doing now.
「 T-That’s not possible 」
『 Oh? Why do you think so? 』
Shou-neechan smiles.
「 No, but, we’re different from you. We Yakuza 』
『 So what’s the difference? 』
「 We have our resolve! We will shoot if we need too! That’s why we!!! 」
『 Is that something you should say to someone who already used a gun? 』
Shou-neechan says.
『 That reasoning will only cause trouble to the ordinary citizens who don’t hold weapons. If you like it that way, then go to some unpopulated island and kill each other there 』
「 I-I!! 」
Satake hesitates to speak.
『 By the way, why did you take over the Takakura shrine? 』
Shou-neechan asks Satake calmly.
「 Huh, no, that’s 」
『 Why did you kill the priest and the shrine maiden? Takakura shrine isn’t your territory but Oodori-san’s. Well, the shrine itself should belong to the whole Kansai yakuza, but it’s substantially under Oodori-san’s control for nearly 20 years 』
「 Uuugh 」
『 You should know that, right? Yet, why did you try to take over the Takakura shrine? Could you tell us the reason? 』
Shou-neechan smiles.
「 That’s right, I wanted to ask the same thing 」
Oodori speaks to Satake.
「 Satake, I know that we weren’t close, but we’re not hostile to each other either. And yet, why did you try to take away the Takakura shrine from me?! 』
「 Ugh, Ugh 」
Satake sits down on his chair and whispers to Kinzou.
「 Err, the chairman doesn’t know. He doesn’t understand why he says 」
He doesn’t know it himself?
Yet, he still took over the Takakura shrine.
Then he killed Tsukiko’s parents.
Wait, could this be?
「 It’s the Miko power? 」
I mutter unconsciously.
Miko power includes the ability to make someone obey the user’s will.
『 You don’t know it yourself, I see. And right now, you never had the doubt why you did it 』
Shou-neechan’s voice echoes.
『 Please close down the bamboo blinds 』
Shou-neechan said.
A shutter comes down on Jii-chan’s VIP room’s gla.s.s box.
Tsukiko and everyone is soon covered.
I can see them looking confused.
「 As expected, Kouzuki-san can’t afford to make a direct contact 」
Margo-san said.
「 With who? 」
I asked.
「 Huh, you know it already don’t you? 」
Nei tells me.
「 Okay, look over here 」
Then, Kinos.h.i.ta-san brings us a small-sized monitor to watch on.
「 You mustn’t look at her directly from now on. We will be watching from the monitors of the security camera as well 」
Nei said.
That means.
「 Miko power needs a certain distance, and they don’t affect those who watch through the cameras 」
Michi said.
I see.
『 Well then, let’s introduce her 』
Shou-neechan turns her back and looks at the monitor.
『 Our last character, Takakura Kiyomi-san, please enter!! 』