The War Between Gangryonghoe and Katsuyama-gumi Begins

The Aotsuki Japanese restaurant had descended into chaos. The yakuza were stumbling blind through the impenetrable smoke screen, unable to see even an inch ahead. Inside the haze, Itsuki strained his hearing to its limit and slowly swept his pistol across the room.

(They blocked our vision with smoke. The sound of the door opening doesn't fit if this was meant for escape...)

A soft chime rang out. The moment he heard it, Itsuki fired two or three rounds toward the source. He then barked orders to the subordinates beside him.

"Follow me. We need to confirm that bastard is dead."

His men gripped their pistols and blades, trailing cautiously behind him. Suddenly he halted and pointed at one of them.

"Move forward a little and check if that guy's body is there."

"Yes, sir."

While the subordinate searched the area, the smoke gradually began to thin. A corpse came into view—bullet wounds to the torso and head. But it wasn't Robert. It was another yakuza.

"What the hell? Kuroba! That son of a—!"

In that instant, Robert emerged from nearby, drove a knife into the man's lung, and shoved him toward the wall where the smoke still lingered. Itsuki whipped his gun toward the sound and fired.

(He deliberately made the door sound to make us think he was fleeing that way?)

Itsuki and his remaining men aimed their weapons outward, bodies taut with tension. Then a suppressed gunshot hissed—thup—and one yakuza's head exploded, spraying blood and brain matter in every direction as he collapsed.

Itsuki spun, gun raised, and backed toward the wall until he could feel it against his spine. He kept the muzzle sweeping the room.

(No presence at all. For someone that big wearing combat boots to hide his movements this well... he's definitely undergone rigorous training. Rushing in blindly will get me killed.)

He remained frozen in place, gun steady, but Robert offered no further response.

(Did he slip away in the meantime? Wait. What if this is another trap?)

Itsuki stayed motionless, convinced it was another of Robert's ploys. Soon the smoke cleared enough to restore visibility, yet Robert was nowhere to be seen. Only the open doorway stood before the surviving yakuza.

(Damn it... he's already gone. That cunning bastard.)

Meanwhile, Seongjun was speeding toward the Crown Hotel in the car driven by Byeong-sik. Jaehyuk glanced at him.

"Director, are you all right?"

Seongjun flashed him a cocky grin.

"I'm fine, kid. Your hyung doesn't die from something like this."

Guess he really is okay...

Seongjun leaned back against the seat, letting his body go slack, then pulled out his phone.

"Jaehyuk. Call Kim Jongtae, the manager of the Busan branch. Tell him to meet us at the first floor of the underground parking garage."

"Understood."

"I'll give you the number."

Jaehyuk jotted down the digits Seongjun recited and dialed Jongtae.

"Hello?"

"Manager Kim Jongtae? Director Ha Seongjun has been attacked by yakuza."

Jongtae practically jumped out of his skin.

"What?! The director?! Is he safe?!"

"Yes, the director is safe. He asked that you meet us at the first floor of the underground parking garage."

"Got it. I'm heading there right now."

Jongtae hung up. The car carrying the four men continued racing along Busan's streets. A short while later, as it pulled into the first floor of the hotel's underground parking garage, Manager Kim Jongtae was already waiting with several subordinates.

When Jongtae saw Seongjun step out covered in blood, he asked in alarm.

"Director! What on earth happened?! Are you all right?"

"I'm fine. For now, call Representative Seo, Cha Jun-kyung, and Baek San to the conference room."

"Understood."

As Jongtae moved to carry out the order, some of the gang members tried to help support Seongjun. He waved them off.

"I'm okay. Did Jongtae send you?"

"Yes, sir."

"Were you worried I'd be badly hurt?"

"Yes. He ordered us to support you properly when you arrived."

"Sigh... he's always overdoing it..."

Seongjun gave a small chuckle as he watched Jongtae's back disappear into the elevator. Soon they all entered the hotel proper.

The moment Seongjun stepped inside, gang members swarmed toward him.

"Director! Are you okay?!"

"We heard the yakuza bastards attacked!"

"We'll kill those Japanese sons of bitches right now!"

"Just give the order and we'll go immediately!"

Jaehyuk watched them with a look of disdain. Seongjun calmed the men down.

Putting on a whole damn show.

"Don't worry about me. Go rest for now. I'll tell you what to do when the time comes."

Seongjun disappeared into a room. Pi Jin-cheol, standing among the gangsters, asked Jaehyuk.

"What about that Japanese bastard's head? Did you smash it?"

"No. He's not dead."

Next to Jin-cheol, Woo Sang-kyu spoke up.

"If they attacked Director Ha, doesn't that mean war is coming soon?"

"Obviously. This is a declaration of war."

"Is that why Executive Director Baek San is here too?"

Now that I think about it, Seongjun did tell us to call Baek San. In my previous life, he had already left the organization before I joined Gangryonghoe... and that was because Ji-hoon got addicted to drugs.

Baek San had treated Ji-hoon like his own nephew and firmly believed the young man would become the next boss of Gangryonghoe. When Ji-hoon fell ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠into drug addiction after hanging around clubs, Baek San left the organization in despair. That was why Jaehyuk had never crossed paths with him in his past life.

But now that Ji-hoon is fine, he's still here?

"By the way, who's Executive Director Baek San?" Jin-cheol asked, scratching his head.

Sang-kyu explained.

"He was the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠former action leader of Gangryonghoe. The one before Director Ha. Within the organization, he's one of the top ten in pure fighting strength. Since you're with Holdings, you probably haven't seen him much. I've only seen him in person once myself."

"Ah, really? I had no idea."

In the meantime, Jeonghan had received a call from Colonel Jin Seho of the command center.

Jeonghan glanced around and gave the prearranged code phrase indicating it wasn't safe to talk openly.

"I'm full, so I didn't eat."

"Understood. Slip out the hotel's back door right now and meet Sergeant Namgung."

Seho ended the call. Jeonghan snuck out the rear entrance, avoiding the gang members. A voice emerged from the shadows.

"Penguin."

"......Candy."

At Jeonghan's reply, Namgung-chan stepped forward. Behind him, a masked man appeared.

"Who is this person?"

"He's from the agency. He'll be joining us for the operation."

The masked man explained the mission to Jeonghan and Chan using a voice modulator.

"Your objective is to assassinate Haneda Shinichi of Katsuyama-gumi. Gangryonghoe will soon begin recruiting men to attack the yakuza. If either of you ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠is not selected, slip away quietly and assist with the operation. If you are selected, carry out the mission as part of their forces."

Jeonghan asked Salmusa.

"Does it matter if we don't kill him ourselves?"

"It doesn't matter much. It would be better if he dies as previously instructed, but injuring him enough to take him out of action is also acceptable."

"Understood."

Salmusa gave a polite bow to Jeonghan and Chan.

"Then I wish you both luck."

He vanished into the darkness. Chan and Jeonghan slipped back into the hotel through the rear door.

"Are you really planning to attack right now?" Jun-kyung asked Seongjun.

Seongjun loaded his Beretta 92FS pistol and answered.

"That's right."

"It's only been an hour since you fought those yakuza. Rest and recover before you go charging in."

"He's right. If you're not in good shape, stay here and rest. We'll take care of crushing those bastards."

Jun-kyung and Baek San spoke with concern. Seongjun looked at them.

"What kind of director hides in the back sucking his thumb just because he got a few scratches?"

He turned to Representative Seo.

"Representative Seo, please manage the men here at the hotel with Manager Kim. I'd also appreciate it if you could lend me a few people from the entertainment side."

"Understood. Take about five."

"Thank you."

Baek San drew the uchigatana he had brought, inspected the blade, then slid it back into its sheath. Jun-kyung asked Seongjun.

"So who's taking the vanguard?"

"San will lead the vanguard. I'll be second, and you'll be third, Jun-kyung. Each of us will take twenty men and storm the motel where the yakuza are staying."

Baek San, Japanese sword at his side, asked.

"How many yakuza are we talking about?"

"Roughly thirty were mobilized in the fight earlier. More than half were wiped out. They caused that much commotion in a restaurant right in the middle of the city. No matter how much they greased the right palms, they'll still be feeling the heat from domestic authorities."

Seongjun walked toward the door as he continued.

"Even if they try to gather more men, they'll only be able to pull together the bare minimum from the closest locations. The authorities are watching. At most, I'd say ninety to a hundred. And since they already made that much noise with firearms, they won't be able to turn the place into a shooting gallery with automatic weapons like they would back home. That raises our chances of victory even more."

"What if they decide they have nothing to lose since they're leaving the country soon and just open fire indiscriminately?"

"Their original departure was scheduled for the early morning of December tenth. Today is the eighth. If they want to change the schedule, they'll have to bribe the relevant agencies again and swap out the personnel who are willing to look the other way. Trying to move the schedule up would actually work against them."

Meanwhile, just as Seongjun had predicted, Shinichi and the yakuza were struggling to rearrange their return to Japan.

"(What the hell do you mean we can't secure a boat today?!)"

"(To change the schedule again, we'd need to pay off the managers even more. I can't cover that out of my own pocket, can I? And even if we pay, getting everyone to coordinate their stories isn't easy. Some of them won't take money.)"

"(Then what the fuck do you want me to do?!!!)"

"(I think it's best to lie low and stick to the original schedule. Only two days left until departure, right? I'll hang up now. Staying away too long will draw attention.)"

"(What?!! Hey! Hey!!!)"

When the call ended, Shinichi hurled his phone to the floor with a furious roar.

"(These fucking Joseon bastards!! Aaaargh!!!)"

"(Haneda-san, for now it might be best to stay quiet until the tenth and return home as...)"

"(What if Gangryonghoe attacks us in the meantime?!! And it's too late to request reinforcements from back home! The best we can do right now is pull in more men from the nearby businesses.)"

Shinichi took a deep breath, sat on the bed, and let out a long sigh.

"(At this point, I'm starting to think the ones who killed Honda are from Gangryonghoe.)"

"(I agree. Perhaps they heard that Hakuro attacked their own businesses and decided to act.)"

"(Sigh... What about our firearms? Only pistols?)"

"(We have about five shotguns prepared for emergencies.)"

"(Automatics? Uzis, Ingrams, anything like that?)"

"(Haneda-san. Even if we have them, using them would be far too dangerous. We could end up in direct conflict with this country's authorities.)"

"(Damn it... Next time I come, I'll ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠make sure to bring automatic weapons.)"

With that, Shinichi lit a cigarette. After smoking in silence for a while, he exhaled a plume of smoke and asked Itsuki.

"(How many men can we mobilize right now?)"

"(Pulling in everyone, roughly eighty.)"

"(Huu... For now, you'll temporarily take command of Team Six. When we return home, I'll speak to the chairman and have you officially promoted to team leader.)"

Itsuki bowed to Shinichi, who was still smoking.

"(Yes, sir. Understood, Haneda-san.)"

A short while later, in the quiet predawn hours, several vans pulled up near the shabby motel where the yakuza were staying. The men who stepped out carried steel pipes, blades, and other weapons. They gathered silently around the building.

Among them were Jaehyuk and Jeonghan. Jaehyuk was armed with a Glock 19, Jeonghan with an H&K VP9. Those carrying firearms had attached suppressors to minimize noise near police or residential areas.

Soon, vanguard leader Baek San, Japanese sword in hand, gave the order to the gang members in a low voice.

"Move in."

The men advanced on the motel. When they found the door locked, they smashed it open with a sledgehammer.

"(What the hell!! It's an ambush!!)"

"(Gangryonghoe bastards...!!)"

The yakuza shouted to alert the others. But their cries were cut short as Gangryonghoe weapons crushed skulls, shattering bone and spilling blood and brain matter. Others were mercilessly stabbed, their bodies split open so that blood, fat, and tangled intestines spilled out as they fell. Those who survived the initial blows had their heads pulped by sledgehammers until flesh, bone fragments, and gore merged into unrecognizable pulp.

A few yakuza charged at Baek San. He drew his Japanese sword in a flash, severing one man's neck. The severed head tumbled to the floor in a spray of blood. Jaehyuk blocked an attack from a yakuza rushing him, stabbed the man repeatedly in the abdomen, then dodged another attack, sliced off an arm, and finally took the head.

Outside, someone watched the noisy motel in silence. The figure studied the building for a moment, then slipped a white wolf mask over his face. He drew an H&K VP9, pulled the slide slightly to check that it was properly loaded, returned the pistol to his pocket, and began walking toward the motel.