10. A Guest from Japan
10. A Guest from Japan
If we were shifting our focus to the mercenary business, preparations for it were also essential.
For now, with no teacher to instruct them, Shingen decided to train the organization members himself.
Although there wasn't much to teach...
"Run! With that kind of stamina, how do you plan to do mercenary work!!!"
They demolished the buildings owned by the Doksahoe around the building and created an empty lot.
Soon, a training ground would be built here, but they couldn't wait until then.
Shingen followed the organization members sprinting across the empty lot with all their might.
If any of them were caught, he would mercilessly knock them out with a punch right then and there.
It was a training method steeped in the long-standing tradition of the Gurenkai.
If you can't do it, you just get beaten until you can.
It was a method that was far from unscientific—it was downright scientific.
Don't bones and muscles grow stronger by breaking and tearing, then recovering?
It's a similar principle.
Only after catching and knocking out every single one of them could the training end.
"Wow... this training is really damn unscientific."
A-young admired while looking at the completely knocked-out organization members.
Where on earth did he get such an unscientific training method?
I've never heard or seen anything about beating someone until they can do it.
"So, is it all over now?"
"The first training is over. They were all below imagination."
In Shingen's eyes, he couldn't help but be astonished by the stamina of these guys, who were worse than even the lowest members of the Gurenkai.
Even the lowest members of the Gurenkai were ordinary people, and these guys were also ordinary people, so he couldn't understand how there could be such a difference.
"They have the guts, but they lack skill. If this continues, they'll get their heads chopped off as soon as they go out on mercenary work."
"...If we want to grow the mercenary business, we need good skills, but it looks like we have a long way to go."
A-young let out a deep sigh and shook her head.
The mercenary business isn't something that can be solved by having more numbers.
Even if the numbers are small, it's fine if the skill is good, but if the numbers are large but the skill is lacking, it's useless.
"I knew the Doksahoe would be pathetic, but this is beyond imagination."
To express one's will, one must have power.
No matter how upright one's will is, without power, it's useless.
"But you can't keep teaching forever, right? We need to quickly hire new people."
"There were some bitches who came, but they all demanded ridiculous prices for their skills. I sent them all back. I beheaded the ones who resisted."
"...Is it okay to kill them so easily?"
"Since they were the ones who did wrong first, they have no justification to strike me. Even if they did... it wouldn't matter."
"......."
A-young looked at her brother speaking so nonchalantly and shook her head.
Both the organization and her brother seemed to have a long way to go.
After that, they spent time working the organization members to the bone.
During the time when he was directly guiding the training, Eom Pil-gu organized the documents that needed to be handled and acted as the acting chairman.
He was a person who was both skilled in martial and literary arts, as he worked on the front lines as well as handled paperwork proficiently.
Of course, A-young helped by his side, but most of it was accomplished under his hand.
"We discard all the businesses that should be discarded, and attract, merge, and transform the businesses that can be changed."
They severed ties with all factories and organizations related to drug or stimulant businesses and even demolished the factories.
Subsidiary organizations that didn't notice the changes in the Doksahoe strongly protested and came to the headquarters, but they too ended up kneeling equally under Shingen's fist.
'It seems I've grabbed a good line....'
Eom Pil-gu saw that scene multiple times and felt that he had made the right choice.
Look at that punch from that person.
I know from taking it myself—if you get hit wrong by that, it's a punch that can really kill you.
Even now, just seeing that punch, I can feel a throbbing in my solar plexus.
After all the fighting had ended, Eom Pil-gu cautiously approached Shingen.
"Chairman-nim."
"Ah, perfect timing. I was just about to ask you to have the bodies cleared away."
"...I'll tell the guys and have them clean it up."
Shingen wiped the blood off his fist with a handkerchief, appearing perfectly composed.
Seeing that, Eom Pil-gu still felt a slight chill, but didn't show it and continued speaking.
"And there's one thing I need to tell you... We have a guest scheduled to visit from Japan."
"A guest?"
"Yes. It seems among the organizations that dealt with Doksahoe for the Awakening Agents, there was a Japanese organization mixed in. When the supply suddenly got cut off, they started throwing such a tantrum, insisting they're coming no matter what..."
"Japan, huh."
Shingen became interested at the mention of Japan.
After all, the first country he set foot on in that other world was Japan.
What are the yakuza like in this world?
"My apologies. We should have somehow stopped them..."
"No. With Doksahoe fallen and its power lost, there was probably no way you could have responded."
With the boss and all the executives dead, there was no proper way to handle it.
This was absolutely not Eom Pil-gu's fault.
"Do you know which organization it is?"
"...It's an organization called the Hakuzaren-gou, which has built quite a large force in Japan's Hokkaido. It's a relatively new organization, but its influence across the archipelago is understood to be quite significant."
"The Hakuzaren-gou."
It was an organization he hadn't heard of, but Shingen wasn't afraid.
No, he was rather looking forward to it.
What kind of guys are the yakuza from this side of the archipelago?
"If a high-level guest is coming, it makes sense for the host to greet them."
"Meaning...?"
"I'll meet them myself. But arrange the meeting place somewhere with few people around."
Not long after, Shingen headed to the promised location with just Choi A-young.
"Is it really okay for just the two of us to go...?"
"Eom Pil-gu is busy, and the organization members' skills are still lacking, so there's no choice."
He had no intention of putting organization members who hadn't fully grown yet on the front line.
Their time to shine will be when preparations are complete.
Arriving by car at the location Eom Pil-gu mentioned, the two entered an abandoned factory located in a remote mountain valley and waited for the guys to arrive in the hollowed-out, empty space.
"Why did we set the meeting in such a creepy place...? It seems like we could have just grabbed them anywhere."
"We don't know what might happen. Honestly, it's not like we're meeting for a good reason, right?"
"That's true..."
When crime organizations from the underworld meet, it wouldn't be strange at all if blades were drawn the moment their eyes met.
Moreover, the guys coming now paid money but couldn't get their drugs, so it's even more likely.
"They're here now."
"...They're already here?"
While they were talking, the presence of several dozen people could be felt outside the abandoned factory.
Screak!
At the same time, one side of the factory wall was sliced through like tofu, the wall toppled over, and the guests entered.
Led by a woman in a black kimono, men in black suits followed.
Despite slicing through the wall like tofu with a drawn katana and entering, the organization members showed no sign of agitation.
As if they were just seeing an everyday occurrence.
"...So, s-so the guest coming to visit is that woman?"
Seeing her appearance, A-young stuttered and panicked.
"Is she famous?"
"She's the oyabun of the Hakuzaren-gou. She's a heavyweight you can't even compare to someone like the Doksahoe Chairman...!"
I thought maybe an executive would come, but did the head come over here herself?
"Do you roughly know how strong she is?"
"...I don't know the exact details, but it's a big shot who recently took down two S-class hunters from Japan simultaneously. She's absolutely not someone we can ignore."
Two S-class hunters.
Shingen had never faced an S-class hunter before.
Because of that, he couldn't comprehend just how remarkable of a feat that was.
'Whether she's a Returnee or not, I don't know... but who the hell cares about that.'
Nevertheless, he wasn't afraid in the slightest.
It was possible because he believed in the power he possessed.
"Wait here. I'll finish this quickly and be right back."
"...You have to be careful! If you can resolve it through dialogue, then resolve it with dialogue!"
A-young poured out worried words to Shingen, but he let them go in one ear and out the other as he moved forward.
Seen up close, her hair was black and cut short, and her pupils were a vivid red, as if rubies had been embedded in them.
Shingen stopped right in front of her and lowered his gaze, the woman naturally raising her head as they looked at each other.
"You must have had a hard journey all the way to this distant, foreign land."
"......"
"I've heard the rumors drifting over from the Japanese archipelago. I hear your illustrious reputation is quite something—"
"Drugs."
He showed off fluent Japanese and paid a compliment, but her answer was succinct.
"Ah, you're quite impatient too. We'd like to give you the drugs as well... but we've decided to quit the narcotics business and the awakening agent business this time around."
Shingen offered up a friendly smile.
"The remaining stock has all been disposed of, so it's a situation where we can't give you any. Instead, we have a new business we're preparing, and regarding that part, we'd like to offer you priority—"
Whoosh!
Shingen's words were cut off once more.
Because the woman before him suddenly swung her sword, he had no choice but to instantly bend his waist backwards to avoid it.
"One chance. Hand over drugs. Or die."
Is speaking weirdly part of her concept?
She's an interesting woman.
"...You're more hot-tempered than you look. But I think you might have misunderstood. I said there are no drugs anymore, didn't I?"
"You damn Joseon bastard!"
When he said there were no drugs again, this time the yakuza behind her drew blades from their clothing.
Just as they were glaring, ready to charge at any moment—
"Stop."
The red-eyed woman commanded them.
"He. My prey. I handle."
"......"
At that single statement, the yakuza who had drawn their blades all meekly sheathed them and followed the order.
"You've really got your subordinates' discipline down pat. Wouldn't you mind sharing some tips on how you did it?"
"Anyway. You die. Not needed."
An explosive surge of energy erupted from her body, showing a momentum on a completely different level than before.
"Seems like trying to end this through dialogue is a bust."
"......"
"Before we fight, at least tell me your name."
Shingen always asks the name of someone who piques his interest.
Because he wants to remember the name, at least, of those with real skill.
"...Tsukumi Kaede."
After a moment of contemplation, she gave her name.
"Tsukumi Kaede... Right, I'll remember it. My name is Iwamoto Shingen."
If the opponent gives their name, he reveals his own in return.
"You. Japanese origin?"
Upon hearing the name, Kaede tilted her head.
Perhaps she felt doubtful about a Korean organization's head being Japanese.
"There are circumstances. Well, if you're curious, I'll tell you later."
Shingen clenched his fist and took a stance.
Kaede also pointed her katana and took a stance, and—
KWAANG!!!
There was no telling who went first; almost simultaneously, they charged toward each other.
One side used a fist and the other a sharply honed katana, but as if such a thing didn't matter at all, they collided with all their might.
KAANG!!!