章 22: Chapter 20: Aftermath
"Help. Someone. Anyone."
"I can't breathe."
"Please."
A sea of rubble and debris laid scattered across a vast area, the cries of the injured called out in this newly decimated land filling the air with pleas of help.
"Urgh." A large pile of rubble was thrown a ways away revealing a disgruntled Dabi.
"That fucking clown." Dabi gritted his teeth while brushing off the dirt still lingering on his skin and clothes.
Dabi, like many others, was also greatly surprised at Atsuhiro's actions when he turned that marble in his hand into a trigger.
Dabi immediately booked it into the next room thinking that the bombs were only in the arena but was sorely mistaken hence the dissatisfied expression.
When Dabi's gaze fell forward all he saw was the destroyed wasteland, among the debris laid dead bodies mixed with half alive ones as weak flames littered the ground.
*Siren Noises*
"Great." Dabi sighed, scratching his hair with a dull expression seeing flashing lights of red and blue in the distance.
"Where did th-"
"Wow, my performance must have been really amazing since my audience was seemingly blown away!" Atsuhiro all of sudden expanded in the distance while making a pun.
Atsuhiro relished in his work seeing the art he personally created and couldn't be more happier.
"This really shows that art is an-woah!" Atsuhiro couldn't finish his proclamation as he dodged to the side, seeing a ball of blue flames only missing him by an inch.
"You blew me up! I could've been killed, you bastard!" Dabi furiously huffed, igniting more intense blue flames from his hands.
"Mmmmmm well I actually blew up the base and you were just caught in the crossfire, and I guess you could have died however I really doubted you would." Atsuhiro caressed his mask where his chin would be, nodding his head along with Dabi's statement.
"YOU MOTHER-"
"We're still on pause." Atsuhiro held out his hand signaling him to stop.
"Unpause." Numerous veins formed on Dabi's forehead as a burst of flames suddenly exploded all around him.
"Dabi, I understand your frustration, and I apologize but I don't think this isn't the right place." Atsuhiro saw Dabi's state and realized that he might have gone too far when not warning him though this didn't stop him from shaking his arms ever so slightly resulting in marbles to flow secretly down from his sleeves.
"ACK!" A sudden pain filled shout resounded from one of the survivors caught up in Dabi's flames.
"Tsk." This sudden yelp made him realize that starting something here wouldn't do him any good.
Taking some deep breathes the flames started to subside with Atsuhiro's rolling up his sleeve putting the marbles he had stealthy grabbed back into their original spots.
"Also Dabi could you ignite this place with your flames so the authorities will focus their attention on containing the fire?" Atsuhiro asked with no shame resulting in Dabi giving him a hate filled glare.
Dabi swung his arm to the left of him while maintaining eye contact with Atsuhiro, the flames hit the ground and exploded the surrounding area in blue flames.
"AHHH HELP!"
"Please help!"
"Someone!"
Screams instead of groans started to fill the air as the blue flames encompassed the area all around the debris as Dabi still maintained eye contact with Atsuhiro causing him to gulp.
"So we're good?" Atsuhiro chuckled nervously and Dabi walked past him.
"I'm going to make your death painful." Dabi hissed before walking past him.
"Oh come on, don't be a baby, I only blew you up." Atsuhiro tried to seem sincere though it only had the opposite effect.
'He's important for Shin's plans, don't kill him, don't kill him.' Dabi didn't know the plans that went around in Shin's mind however if Atsuhiro was brought into the fold then it was for a reason beyond him.
Dabi pulled out his phone from his pocket, moving the phone from side to side, he inspected all sides of the phone causing a frown to form on his face seeing the multiple cracks and damages distributed throughout it.
Atsuhiro stopped his incessant rambling while peeking at Dabi fiddling with his phone seeing a message form on the severely cracked screen.
*Beep*
We're done and I hate this clown - Dabi
*Buzz*
Alright, meet at the usual spot - Shin
"What did he say?" Atsuhiro tried to peek over Dabi's shoulder however he was immediately shoved away.
"Fuck off." Dabi angrily muttered picking up his pace.
"Alright, I guess I'll give you your space." Atsuhiro held up his hand in surrender following behind the angry Dabi.
The walk to the abandoned building was a long and silent one, seeing them arrive Shin raised an eyebrow upon observing the murderous aura Dabi was constantly emitting.
*Sigh*
"What happened?"
20 minutes of Dabi explaining what happened later.
"Wait! Dabi grossly over exaggerated a lot of things while not acknowledging the great aspects of my performance!" Atsuhiro stepped forward asking for a chance to defend himself.
*Sigh*
"Alright, then what happened?." Shin gestured to Atsuhiro while rubbing his forehead.
20 minutes of Atsuhiro explaining what 'really' happened while subtly making it as dramatic as possible.
Shin expected them to not get along in fact their personalities were almost the exact opposite of one another, which would obviously lead to conflicts so he expected everything that coincided within their stories, and was glad they at least finished the task.
Closing his eyes for a second, the explanations started to circulate in his mind while comparing each and every word while simultaneously intertwining their statements then factoring each of their over exaggerations and under exaggeration before reaching a subtle conclusion.
"Dabi, let's start with you first." Shin gestured to Dabi who flinched.
"Mostly minor things; Let's start with the first hideout, when you fought those three you barely even used confession. I can certainly speculate that those three knew a great deal of information concerning the inner workings of their gang but instead you judged whether their quirks were useful then killed him. Then afterwards you didn't even check the surroundings of the building to make sure the coast was clear, and even left the loot to burn." Shin calmly explained what he expected of Dabi who seriously listened without any interruptions.
Atsuhiro's ear twitched after hearing 'confession' as his brain started to work fast trying to figure out what 'using confession' meant.
"Though you did good in judging whether a quirk was useful for me and somewhat keeping intact their remains. I do expect more things from you, however I understand that you're not perfect and how you're starting to do tasks on your own instead of with me so you are bound to make some mistakes."
When criticizing people, Shin had always found it easier for a person to understand their shortcomings if you also complimented them afterwards.
"Another good thing to note about your performance was how you put aside your personal grudges and listened to Atsuhiro, and you have also started to implement kinetic into your combat which is showing that you're really trying to improve yourself." Hearing Shin's words, Dabi's body became a little less stiff.
"You could say your fighting is becoming a little reckless now that close-quarters combat fighters don't have a full edge over you but that is bound to happen when adjusting to new things." Shin's words were an underhanded compliment though Dabi didn't read too much into his words and genuinely took his constructive criticism.
"Now Atsuhiro." Shin's gaze shifted to Atsuhiro who shivered under it.
Shin knew that an underhanded compliment wouldn't work with someone like Atsuhiro as only the cold hearted truth would really reach him.
"Honestly the only flaw you really have is your need to entertain everyone with your excessive showmanship." Atsuhiro wanted to refute Shin, however the words became stuck in his throat.
"You can quickly adapt to a situation and to foreign environments while thinking of decent plans though at a certain point your lone flaw starts to overshadow your achievements."
"Your constant need to show that your previous efforts as a professional entertainer weren't in vain has become your single greatest flaw, at the other five hideouts it wasn't a big concern as you were dealing with grunts however once you got to the ring, only the thought of performing on the big stage in front of countless people enthralled your sense of duty and caused Dabi, your comrade, to be caught in the crossfire." Atsuhiro lowered his head at Shin's words, truly understanding how right as Shin's words really hit home.
"However I won't ask you to change yourself since it wouldn't work well for both of us if your morale dropped." Atsuhiro looked up at the stone cold Shin who was emitting an authoritative aura.
"Listen Atsuhiro, you work for me now, the days of you performing alone are in the past. If you decide to do something drastic like blowing up the building then you need to consult your comrades. I consider incompetence to be worse than ignorance, and I know you're not either of those things. Do you understand?" Atsuhiro nodded his head before Shin closed his eyes.
He felt like a parent lecturing children and it annoyed him to a certain degree that he needed to tell them these things.
Dabi, Shin could understand since he wasn't even eighteen but Atsuhiro was in his twenties and was an adult.
"Now bring out what you recovered from the hideouts, I'll copy the quirks afterwards." Shin couldn't stop the smile from forming on his face thinking of the loot they reaped and Atsuhiro nodded.
Pulling out a signal marble he enlarged it into a bag then upon opening it was revealed to be filled to the brim with marbles as he started to spread them out across the building.
*Snap*
At the snap of his fingers the marbles expanded into all the goods they both collected from their adventures.
Crates, boxes, bins, and jumbled up bundles of goods littered all around the formally empty area filling almost every inch completely with illegal items.
Walking up to the first nearby crate he opened it revealing a bundle of teddy bears, grabbing one he ripped off the head while reaching into the bear.
Shin rummaged around until he pulled out his hand, instead of stuffing he pulled out a couple clear bags filled with clear crystals.
"Methamphetamine." Shin instantly recognized the distinct illegal drug before putting the bags back into the bear.
"Where did you obtain this crate from?" Shin asked while neatly assembling the crate back to when he first opened it.
"The ring's warehouse formerly operated by the Sukowa." Atsuhiro quickly answered, causing a corresponding frown from Shin.
"This is unexpected, so their intention is to capitalize on a market that isn't even here." Shin knew what illegal drugs were rampant in Japan and Meth, like in many other countries, was always at the top of the concern when it came to the country's consensus.
Shin had been constantly reading the yearly government consensus as well as having Dabi keep an eye on anything new that flows into the ecosystem of Mustafa.
The problem with the sudden arrival of Methamphetamines was that Mustafa the capital of heroes is very good at regulating criminal activity including drugs, which in turn results in the most hardcore illegal products being heavily regulated in this city.
Things like automatic rifles, and human trafficing are almost non existent in Mustafa let alone a hardcore drug like meth in fact the biggest drug in Mustafa is LSD.
'Yet through all of this they somehow trafficked Meth.' Shin understood that criminal activities would start to ramp up a little bit with All Might starting to slow down because of his injury, however he truly didn't expect this.
*Tap*
*Tap*
*Tap*
Shin tapped the crate while thinking, his head swiftly turned to Atsuhiro who was quietly waiting for Shin to finish.
"Did you bring anyone prominent from the ring?" Shin inquired and Atsuhiro immediately pulled two marbles.
"The boss and his personal bodyguard." Atsuhiro threw both marbles in front of Shin before enlarging them.
"What th-'' Gold confusedly rubbed his head before Shin grasped his face.
'Heal.'
The influx of memories immediately appeared in front of Shin, and as more time passed the frown on his face deepened.
*Muffled noises*
Shin didn't want to be interrupted and immediately restrained Gold in his own mindscape so that he could focus easier without any disruptions.
'They already bribed multiple heroes in the top 100 stationed in mustafa.' Shin didn't think the influence of the Sukowa gang would be this prominent in fact he thought their resources were only a little better than the Yukuza however he grossly underestimated them.
'Dammit.' The frown on his face turned into a scowl after finding that Gold didn't even know where half the Sukowa fronts located in Mustafa were since he was purposely kept in the dark.
The information on the residences and hideouts in Yokohama and other prefectures were of use however right now it was imperative to focus on pushing all the other gangs out of Mustafa before expanding his sights.
'And this is only the Sukowa, I have almost no information on the Inwaga who are probably on the same level or even greater than the Sukowa.' The more Shin learned, the more he felt he needed to quickly quell the rising power of Sukowa along with the rising prominence of the other gangs like the Inwaga .
'It's a good thing that he has a habit for surviving.' Shin thought knowing he could use this as the perfect excuse for his survival when he made him an insider for his personal benefit.
Shin retained the information he gathered from him before making his way to the tied up Gold who had been fiercely struggling this whole time.
Gripping his face he started to mess with his limbic region, Shin had learned his lesson with Yu Hojo.
Even though Gold and the head were related, it didn't mean the head wouldn't kill him or question him if he started to exhibit suspicious behavioral patterns and Shin didn't want to risk it.
Essentially Shin was turning Gold into a sleepwalker; sleepwalking is caused when the limbic region stays awake while the other parts of your brain remain asleep.
Using overhaul he started to reconstruct this region of the brain while implanting false memories that would lead Gold to having a sort of secret secondary personality that was barely cognizant.
This secondary personality's purpose would be constantly observing what occurred in Gold's daily life.
Then when Gold went to sleep it would take control of his body and would notify Shin of his activities as well as what had transpired.
This second personality would not activate when it judged that the surroundings could compromise its mission and would only awake once it judged the coast was clear.
Shin wanted to test if using this method was more efficient than the normal method of just turning a person instantly onto his side by using false memories while making them believe that they always worked for him.
Either method would bring the same result so Shin wanted to see if this method would bring a different outcome than the one he used on Yu Hojo.
*Thump*
Gold's body became limp when Shin finished, his body hit the ground hard, Shin then placed a hand on his chest while using overhaul to form the ground around him so as to keep him still.
*Boom*
A small explosion made Gold's body convulse though he remained unconscious, Shin was using the quirk explosion (Bakugo's quirk) to cause injuries to his body that might occur if near a blast.
Using Dabi's flames he controlled them by enveloping certain parts of his suits before canceling them, rubbing his fingers on the burnt parts of the suit a black substance started to gather on Shin's hands.
Smearing his hands on Gold's face and exposed skin caused by the burning of his clothes, he started to make Gold seem like he was a victim caught in the fire.
"Atsuhiro, after I dismiss you, bring Gold to an alley nearby the ring." When Shin was done painting Gold as a survivor he ordered Atushiro who quickly nodded his head.
Atsuhiro walked up to Gold and tapped his forehead turning him into a marble before tucking him into his front pocket.
"Shin do want to inspect the other's or-"
"Not yet, I first want to mentally memorize all the contents of the stolen goods first. I was just anxious at the Sukowa being more than I expected, causing me to become hasty." Shin interrupted Atsuhiro before instructing him to wait.
Shin walked towards the other crates inspecting each and every one of their contents making a mental catalog of everything acquired.
Items acquired:
Low-grade trigger; estimated around 850 vials
Medium-grade trigger; estimated around 160 vials
Methamphetamine; estimated at 1.5 kilogram
Oxycotens; estimated at 2.5 kilogram
Heroin; estimated at 2.5 kilograms
Benzos; estimated at 3.5 kilograms
LSD; estimated at 5 kilograms
Cannabis; estimated at 7.5 kilograms
9mm pistol; estimated around 30
P9 pistol; estimated around 15
SFP9 semi-automatic pistol; estimated around 5
M16; estimated around 10
M4 carbine; estimated around 5
Stolen Artwork; estimated around 30 paintings
Stolen Crude Oil; estimated 5,000 barrels
Shin could guess most of the prominent items were from the ring and didn't even flatter the thought of it being from the lower gangs.
Shin understood the overwhelming amount of crude oil since there was currently a shortage in Japan right now and that meant the blackmarket could make a pretty penny overcharging it.
The low amount of firearms was expected as well since Japan heavily regulated gun control as per 400 people in Japan there is one gun, and that number greatly increases with automatic rifles are factored in.
The trigger was to be expected and no presence of the high-grade stuff was also expected since it is hard to come by since the higher ups in the underworld monopolized it.
"Atsuhiro please give me the ledger." Hearing his words Atsuhiro took out a marble and threw it at Shin who caught it as it expanded in his hands.
Opening the small book immediately he started to read the contents, the frown on his face reappeared and never subsided even when he eventually shut the book.
The profited money they had been making has been turned in and re-distributed to five places where it was washed, then what he can only assume to be reinvested back into themselves to grow their foothold in Mustafa.
'The past six months they have been slowly increasing the amount they sold after hearing of Kai's disappearance.' Shin knew something like this would happen after he told Dabi to spread rumors of Overhauls disappearance so it's not like he didn't expect it, however what he didn't expect was they had five locations where they washed it.
'They must have been preparing for a while.' Shin could only assume that the Sukowa had been preparing for some time for them to already have that many firm locations that looked legit in the eyes of the government.
"We need to put more pressure on the Yakuza to ask for our aid." Shin came to a conclusion after assessing and analyzing all the new information he received.
"If in three days that red stripe isn't painted on that warehouse then I want to destroy a couple of Yakuza hideouts." Shin didn't want to destroy any manpower the Yakuza could offer as he would in turn be lowering the future power at his disposal but this was urgent.
Both of the two nodded their heads at his proclamation, then Shin started turning all the goods back into marbles before placing them in the bag he received from Asuhiro until even that was turned into a lone marble.
"Please bring out the people you brought with useful quirks." Shin put the marble in his pocket before asking Atsuhiro for the people.
"At once or?"
"Are they still alive?" Shin countered his question with one of his own while walking over to the unconscious Osaeru.
"Well not currently." Atsuhiro chuckled knowing what Shin meant, throwing all the marbles on the floor before enlarging them to show 13 bodies.
Shin started to copy these people's quirks while simultaneously sifting through their memories, each and every person was confused at what was happening; however it was only momentary since Shin returned them to the land of the dead quickly.
Retrain: If the user has greater mental strength than the target, it allows the user to restrain any person completely though pain or any disruptions can break its hold.
Naga: Allows for the user to turn into the mythical beast known as Naga.
Fire Manipulation: Allows the user to shape, and manipulate fire, while also controlling the rapid oxidation of the flame in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, various reaction products, and flames that are visible to the user.
Bulk: Allows the user to increase the muscle density in their body.
Anatomical Accelerating Regeneration: Users can re-collects body parts after said parts have been dismembered or removed from the body allowing for reattachment, and increases the speed of regenerative power each time they are wounded.
Fortify Object: Allows the user to increase the defense properties of any object.
Emotion Projection: Allows the user to increase a certain emotion in a person greatly.
Organ Rearranging: Allows the user to shift any internal organ in their body freely.
Scream: Allows the user to project their voice at higher volumes and at unnatural frequencies.
Bison: Allows the user to exhibit qualities of the animal bison including the appearance.
Pain Infliction: Allows the user to project their pain upon another.
Metal spikes: Allows the user to form metal spikes from their body at any size and any length.
Shin saw the use in every single one of them, especially fire manipulation and anatomical accelerating regeneration.
'I'm surprised that these quirks would be found in such low quality gangs.' Shin thought after really reading into those two quirks.
Gazing upwards he saw the look in Dabi's eyes knowing full well he wanted the quirk fire manipulation.
"Later, first Atsuhiro." Dabi understood the meaning in Shin's words and sat back down knowing he needed to be patient.
"Me?" Atsuhrio had a speculation however it was only that.
"You did good work in your task so I feel I should reward you." Every step Shin took made the anxious feeling in Atsuhiro increase.
"Lay down." Shin ordered and Atsuhiro hesitated, his gaze turned to Dabi who had a smile on his face.
"Y-yes." Atsuhiro laid down and Shin took off his mask before placing his hand where it used to be.
'Heal'
"ACK!" Atushiro's body suddenly convulsed though before he could make any sudden movements, Shin mended the floor around all his limbs and also around his neck.
Atsuhiro's eyes widened while his pupils condensed, every muscle in his body tensed feeling the internal structure of his body being rearranged.
"AHHH!"
30 minutes later
*Huff*
*Huff*
Atsuhiro laid on the ground panting with some remnants of drool still on his face, everything became clear when a sudden influx of knowledge suddenly appeared in his head knowing exactly what was happening.
'So that's how Dabi suddenly became stronger.' Atsuhiro thought in his head, finally closing the mystery that had been haunting his mind for so long.
"What did you give him?" Dabi questioned Shin before laying on the floor knowing the drill.
"Larceny, barrier, restrain, shock resistance, and anatomical accelerating regeneration," Shin answered calmly, putting his hand on Dabi.
"I'm only giving you fire manipulation and anatomical accelerating regeneration since you need to focus on increasing the might of your flames." Shin informed him, causing a corresponding nod.
"Urgh." Dabi immediately grunted though after experiencing it twice already he didn't have such a vast reaction like Atsuhiro did.
5 minutes later
"Alright that's everything." Shin dusted his off his hand, turning around and making his way to the still panting Atsuhiro.
"If you can modify my internal instructure then why didn't you just cut off the pain or limit it?" Atsuhiro had the expression 'why' on his face, and Shin nodded knowing someone would eventually ask this question.
"Well for starters I do limit the pain however I keep your nociceptors active so I can monitor your vitals since manipulating your genetic structure while implanting quirks acquires my full focus as of right now." Shin explained to the severely tired Atsuhiro.
"I could cut it off entirely however that would mean I could accidentally kill you, and even though I could still put the quirk into your body then revive you. Doing this might lead to physiological problems in the future resulting in the possibility of you disregarding the value of your life." Shin could always bring people back to life as long as he had a single part of them however this also created issues.
It was one of the reasons Shin truly desired something akin to regeneration as Dabi started to disregard injuries since Shin could heal him, so now that they had something like regeneration, Shin wouldn't heal them any more so they could understand their own new limitations.
Shin had also truly started to think about the prospect of accidentally killing Dabi back when he started to give Dabi more quirks.
He was still understanding overhaul and how to utilize it to its highest proficiency, and when it came to giving quirks it helped greatly.
However he was still a novice when using it this way since it required practice as he couldn't just copy how to perfectly integrate quirks.
Shin also didn't want to just straight out give them a quirk since if it wasn't properly balanced within their bodies then it might lead to drastic side effects.
This was why Shin also questioned how All For One's ability to give quirks worked, he didn't know if he could give quirks like him or if he just forced quirks to work in a person's body, though he was leaning towards the latter.
"For now, start to comprehend the quirks I gave both of you, and also monitor the warehouse though if nothing happens in three days we're going to pressure them like I said earlier." Shin instructed both of them.
"Dabi starting today we will move your location since you compromised yourself." Shin had already known what alias Dabi used and if the Sukowa went around asking about a tattooed man going by Ren, Shin speculated it wouldn't be too long until someone came out of the woodworks and identified Dabi along with Arata.
Dabi immediately stood up, clearly wanting to say something though he never managed to properly speak out even a single word.
"What?" Shin raised an eyebrow seeing Dabi not immediately agree to one of his orders.
"Shin I......…what about the old man." Dabi tried to keep an unbothered face however Shin immediately saw through his intention.
"I will dispose of him, of course." Shin said as if it was obvious, causing Dabi's mouth to open before closing silently without the uttering of any words; this kept repeating multiple times with Dabi not knowing what to say.
*Sigh*
"Please don't tell me you got attached, Dabi." Shin pinched the bridge of his nose already knowing the answer.
Dabi remained silent not answering Shin, his silence spoke volumes and Shin could understand why Dabi started to become attached to the old man.
In short, Shin knew that Dabi had a need to feel appreciated and it was obvious coming from a household that never acknowledged his efforts causing the desire of acknowledgment to form in his subconscious.
"Dabi none of that was real, it was all fake, an illusion, something that I conjured, and every interaction you two had stemmed from the memories I forced upon him." Shin explained though he doubted his words would even truly reach Dabi.
"I know it's just......can I ask for something?"
Shin made a deadpan expression already knowing the outline of the favor he was going to ask, and started to contemplate.
'He has never asked me for anything other than power; however, that boosted his firepower to better aid me.' Shin rubbed his chin, truly giving it some thought.
"Fine, what is it that you want?"
In a undisclosed location in Yokohama
In a traditional Japanese style tatami room sat eleven people each appearing at an old age, in front of each of these men was a single low table.
Each one of them sat on the tatami mats in different positions, some sat in the traditional way known as seiza, some sat flat on their bottom raising one leg into the air treating it like an arm rest, and others sat cross legged.
What all of them had in common except for one was the constant flow of words projecting from their mouths at high volumes.
"We need to retaliate! Whoever dares mess with the Sukowa must feel our wraith!" One old man shouted aggressively
"Against who? We don't even know who was responsible! We need to wait!" Another shouted countering his words with concise reasoning.
"It's obviously the work of the Yakuza." One chimed in resulting in another to scoff.
"The Yakuza are too weak for something like this, it must be the Inawa." The man scolded, resulting in another increase of shouting to counter that sudden statement.
"Enough." A man who wore a traditional kimono spoke.
Hearing this authoritative voice everyone stopped talking and all gazes gathered at the individual showing him the respect his words were owed.
The man was sitting crossing his arms and legs with his eyes closed, he was of middle age with a medium large build, along with this his physical features stood being a well trimmed beard that corresponded well with his trimmed hair.
This man was known as Noritaka Sukowa the leader, and head of the Sukowa gang as well as the head of the Sukowa clan.
"Elder Yuji, please give the report again." Noritaka calmly asked, opening his eyes exhibiting an overwhelming authority.
"Yes head, from our intel in Mustafa the ring has recently been compromised by a large explosion followed by an array of blue flames, and along with the destruction of our base there were also the destruction of five other hideouts owned by lesser gangs." Elder Yuji, the one who blamed the Yukuza earlier, answered politely.
"Earlier you said it was the result of the Yakuza, can you give clarification for that assumption." Elder Yuji immediately nodded his head at his words.
"Yes head, all of those hideouts were located in close quarters with operations run by the Yakuza, I suspect that the Yakuza have begun their retaliation to quell the sudden loss in their power from the eight bullets disappearance." Elder Yuji laid down all the facts that he had obtained and gave a concise reasoning.
"Head if I may." The elder known as Kame interjected and Noritaka gave a slight nod signaling him to speak.
"As we all know the Yakuza have been losing their power at rapid speeds with each year, and judging from the previous knowledge we obtained recently there is also a sudden power struggle internally." Elder Kame reasoned, resulting in the others to agree with his words.
"There is no way that an organization being so divided in so many areas along with the prospect of infighting would be able to cause this attack, since if they did have this sort of power then the sudden internal fighting would be unwarranted as whoever owned this power would have forcefully quelled the discourse in the organization." Elder Kame's conclusion caused some more elders to nod seemingly agreeing with this.
"Through all of this we should look at the Inawa rather than the Yakuza, or even look at the association." Elder Kame concluded before waiting for a response.
"Elder Jurou, why did you say that we need to wait." Noritaka gestured to Elder Jurou who bowed.
"Head, the lack of knowledge of the attack remains unknown. Right now I believe we need to stay on course with the original plan which is to slowly increase our growth while adding more locations to strengthen our place in Mustafa." Elder Jurou proposal was also met with a few nods since it seemed too hastily to do anything from one attack, let alone change their operations since they don't know if they were the main target or caught in a crossfire.
"Elder Hiroyuki, please state why we should retaliate." Finally Noritaka asked the last of the four dominant opinions between the elders.
"Of course head, one of our biggest operations suddenly crumbled and now other gangs as well as the Inawa and Yakuza will think that it does not take much to foil our operations. So what we need to do right now is find the people responsible and show them the full might of Sukowa!" Elder Hiroyuki passionalty spoke from his heart resulting in less nods from the elders compared to the previous opinions.
Noritaka became silent, all the paths were acknowledged by him and reasoned with before a firm conclusion formed in his mind.
"Order a stop on the expansion." Noritaka spoke, causing the elders to have a look of shock.
"Head-"
"I know what you are all thinking but listen to my reasoning." Noritaka spoke out, interrupting Elder Jurou.
"As you have all said, we do not know what organization is responsible nor do we have any information on the attacker that wields blue flames." Noritaka words flowed calmly into the ears of the elders resulting in them tensing their expressions.
"Acting in the dark will only result in us being blind, right now holding and strengthening our acquired territory should be the priority." All the elders nodded agreeing in the reasoning that the top priority should be maintaining their current territory.
"The Sukowa have a chance to increase our strength by controlling the Mustafa underworld now that All For One has disappeared, that is our final goal, however now with this sudden variable we cannot predict appearing, right now we shouldn't be hasty with manpower since our numbers our most precious resource."
"Carelessly thinning our manpower could result in the Inwaga gaining a greater foothold leading to us becoming unable to catch up."
"We already have numerous markets monopolized with the help of some prominent heroes in Mustafa through our countless efforts to bribe them, so getting goods in won't be too much trouble as of now."
"So in conclusion we need to pull back and fortify while strengthening what we already have under our control." Noritaka orders were well received by the other elders, knowing it was most likely the best course of action.
"Elder Yuji."
"Yes Head."
"Gather all information about the events that transpired at the ring that day, I want to know every detail down to what clothes the gamblers were wearing, and also keep tabs on the sighting of the blue flames." Noritaka ordered wanting to know everything that happened that day.
"Yes, head." Elder Yuji bowed in compliance
"Elder Hiroyuki."
"Yes, head."
"Send more manpower to our bases of operations, that includes everything under our control, not just warehouses, even places that we wash our yen." Noritaka ordered, resulting in Elder Hiroyuki bowing.
"Yes, head."
"Elder Kame."
"Yes, head."
"Have our eyes focused on the movements of the Inawa and Yakuza, even if they suddenly change the color of their socks I want to know."
"Yes, head." Elder Kame bowed in compliance.
"Duties will be altered to fit what I just ordered, resume operations from there." Noritaka announced.
"Now that the ring situation has been decided, what is the report on the joint attack with the Inawa against the Yakuza base?" The atmosphere immediately became tense at his words.
"Head, there still has been no word about the attack." Elder Yuji stated and Noritako nodded, showing a serious face.
That attack was imperative to greatly decreasing the head of the Yakuza power while gaining a great hold in the slums.
"Head if I may, what about Gold?" Elder Jurous inquired and Noritaka smiled, breaking away from his previous serious mood.
"If I know my cousin then he should have survived, there's a reason he's known as the golden cockroach, and if he didn't survive then we will discuss that at a later date." All elders agreed with Noritaka's statement knowing full well Gold's capabilities.
"That has concluded the meeting, you're dismissed."
In a undisclosed location at Tokyo
"What of the recent joint attack with the Sukowa?" The head known as Jiro inquired and the elders before him had an uneasy face.
Jiro was a man with already graying hair nearing the age of his elderly counterparts, he had a long beard with no hair, and was sitting cross legged while stroking his beard.
"We have not heard any reports of the aftermath, head." An elder known as Taemon spoke dryly.
"Damn, and what of the report stating the ring has fallen along with five other minor gang hideouts?" Jiro asked and this time he was met with a confirming nod showing the truth in his words.
"Hmmmmmmm." Jiro stroked his beard in contemplation.
"Has this affected operations in any way?" Jiro asked the elders in front of him.
"Head, this will minimally affect sales for the other gangs though it will only be a fraction of total profit." An elder chimed in with the answer.
"We will continue with our plan, we will keep supplying the minor gangs located in the Yakuza's territory around Mustafa so as to cause more conflict and simultaneously weaken their control until they are weak enough for us to move in." Jiro's words caused the corresponding agreements in all the elders present.
"How is the progress with bribing the hero's?" Jiro inquired and the elders remained quiet upon his words.
*Sigh*
"Damn Sukowa bastards." Jiro clenched his fists knowing that the Sukowa were trying to pull as many heroes into their hold as possible since they were monopolizing the government aspects.
"The progress of the government officials and the association?" The mood lightened greatly at this, making Jiro sigh in relief.
"Head, everything is going smoothly in terms of pulling the officials into our hold. The majority of the councilors operating in Mustafa are cooperating and we're making huge leaps in the association thanks to him." The elder known as Botan responded, making Jiro's mood lighten.
"Good, after we arm the other gangs enough we'll start the next phase, everyones dismissed."
At the main Yakuza residence of the Oyabun
"Asashi, are you positive that what you saw that day was blue flames?" A man in a traditional black and white kimono asked with a voice resonating like a clear summer day.
This man was known as Shie Hassaikai, the current head of the Yakuza, a man whose beliefs stem from the idea that gangsters would only follow a boss with a code and morals.
"Yes oyabun, the images of that day are still burned into my mind, I will never forget the destruction that I witnessed." Asashi seriously spoke while bowing, not daring to raise his head.
"That man asked to speak directly to me, and promised to restore the Yakuza's glory?" Shei Hassaikai calmly surmised, making Asahi nod his head at his boss's words.
"I'm assuming then that those recent attacks on those hideouts were his doing." Shie Hassaikai muttered to himself.
"Asashi, what do you think? You're one of my most trusted subordinates, I would like to hear your opinion on this matter." Asahi raised his head upon hearing his boss's words, a serious look appeared in his eyes.
"Boss, with Kai's disappearance your strength within the Yakuza has decreased exponentially, right now we need a powerful aid, I'm not saying to trust him but I think we should hear his request." Once his words finished Asashi continued his bow.
Upon hearing the word 'Kai' a look of sadness fell upon Shie Hassaikai's face, he treated Kai like his own and cared deeply for him but suddenly he disappeared without a word which was unlike him.
The room filled with a solemn silence, Shie Hassaikai contemplated for a long time until he reached a decision.
"Paint the red stripe like he instructed, the yakuza will hear him out." Shie Hassaikai's grandiose voice reached Asashi's ears before he hit his head on the tatami mat.
"YES OYABUN!"
Author's note: This chapter is my longest one yet and it is designed to basically get a run down for the future while also explaining the current structure of Mustafa along with clarifying some things from the comments I saw.
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