Ashura was his strongest combat power, the ace that intimidated Tokyo’s underworld.
Yet now, in that remote Arakawa Ward, he had been swallowed up by a nobody little girl.
This wasn’t just a loss of combat strength—it was his face being ground into the dirt.
“Boss, should we gather all the brothers and bring heavy weapons…” the secretary asked timidly.
“Idiot!” Toudou Daigo roared.
“With all that commotion last night, the dogs in the Management Department must have caught the scent by now! Bringing heavy weapons there now? Are you trying to get me thrown into prison faster?”
Just then, a soft laugh came from the broken door of the office.
“President Toudou is indeed a man of reason. This is certainly not the time for more conflict.”
Toudou Daigo’s head snapped up. “Who?”
The shadows at the entrance twisted for a moment, and Liu Ming’s figure slowly materialized.
He still looked sickly, like a severely internet-addicted youth who hadn’t slept in days.
“You again, you persistent little brat.”
Toudou Daigo’s eyes narrowed, murderous intent radiating around him.
“Come to laugh at me? The Inferior Breed Mutual Aid Society… Hmph. So that woman called Gluttony is one of your people now?”
“Please don’t misunderstand, Mr. Toudou.”
Liu Ming wasn’t intimidated by the killing intent. He found a chair that was still intact and sat down.
Liu Ming smiled, spreading his hands. “I came this time hoping to act as a mediator.”
Toudou Daigo let out a cold laugh but said nothing.
“If you’ll forgive my bluntness, is it truly wise to start a war with us at this critical juncture? Your demolition crews still need to operate, your underground fight rings still need to turn a profit. If you shift your attention to Arakawa… won’t those people in Kansai take the chance to invade? If the movement is too large, won’t you attract the Management Department’s attention?”
Toudou Daigo fell silent. If he really forced a confrontation with Gluttony, he might end up seriously hurting his own organization.
“What are you getting at?”
“Reconciliation.” Liu Ming spat out the word.
“Is that woman really that strong?”
Toudou Daigo sat back down on the sofa, casually picking up a new cigar but not lighting it.
“She is a natural predator.” Liu Ming smiled. “If you can turn hostility into cooperation, Kyokuto Construction will gain a powerful ally instead of an immortal enemy.”
“Hmph.” Toudou Daigo’s expression was dark and uncertain.
“Fine, I understand. You can go now.”
Liu Ming knew his goal had been achieved and didn’t waste any more words.
“A wise choice, President Toudou.”
He gave a slight bow, then his figure merged back into the shadows and disappeared.
The office was left with only Toudou Daigo once more. He looked at the traffic outside the window and lit his cigar.
Although his reason told him Liu Ming was right, as a boss who had been in the underworld for decades, if he swallowed this humiliation, how could he lead his men in the future?
‘Can’t just let it go, but can’t fight head-on either…’
Toudou Daigo stroked the rough stubble on his chin, a glint of cunning flashing in his eyes.
‘Since we’re allies, I need to meet her face to face.’
“Secretary!” Toudou Daigo bellowed.
“Yes!” The secretary hurried in.
“Go write me an invitation.” Toudou Daigo grinned, showing his white teeth. “Tonight, at Paradise Pavilion, I’ll host a banquet. Invite that Miss Gluttony… to have dinner with me.”
……
Evening, Arakawa Ward, Fuze Cleaning Company.
Gluttony looked at the gold-flecked black invitation in her hand.
The time and place were written in a flamboyant script, with the signature: “Kyokuto Construction, Toudou Daigo.”
“Paradise Pavilion?”
Jiang Jian Yue, who was controlling her remotely, raised an eyebrow.
That was the most exclusive private club in Minato Ward.
It was said that only true power brokers and Yakuza bosses could enter.
“Boss, this is Xiang Yu inviting Liu Bang!” Master Fuze was pacing anxiously nearby.
“That madman Toudou definitely has five hundred axe-wielding assassins hidden in ambush, waiting to drop a cup as a signal…”
“Five hundred axe-wielding assassins? Where would you find that many axes these days?”
Gluttony temporarily ignored the Chinese historical reference coming from this man from Serys and casually stuffed the invitation into her pocket.
This was indeed an opportunity. She had been worrying about how to get in touch with higher-level forces, and now, just as she was getting sleepy, someone delivered a pillow.
Although Toudou Daigo was a gangster, his gang had been successfully legitimized.
He surely held many legal resources and channels.
More importantly, through him, she might be able to get her hands on the “legal card” she had been dreaming of.
“Get the car ready.” Gluttony stood up.
“Huh? You’re really going?”
“Of course. Why wouldn’t I go if someone’s inviting me to dinner?”
……
Under the night sky, Minato Ward glittered with neon lights.
Paradise Pavilion was nestled in a quiet courtyard, a typical Japanese dry landscape garden.
A beat-up bread van parked among the luxury cars, looking completely out of place.
The door slid open, and Gluttony jumped out, wearing a cheap gray hoodie and a half-face mask.
The hostess at the entrance, dressed in a kimono, showed a hint of surprise in her eyes but maintained a professional smile.
“Welcome. Are you Miss Gluttony? Mr. Toudou has been waiting for you at Tenshukaku for some time.”
Passing through winding corridors, Gluttony arrived at a spacious Japanese-style room.
Toudou Daigo was seated at the head, with a large calligraphy scroll behind him reading “The Way of the Outlaw Reigns Supreme.”
Today he wore a black montsuki haori and hakama, like an old-school boss from a Yakuza film, exuding authority.
“You’ve arrived.” Toudou Daigo lifted his eyelids, his gaze scraping across Gluttony’s face. “Sit.”
Gluttony didn’t stand on ceremony; she walked straight to the seat across from him and sat down.
“I heard the sashimi is good?” Gluttony’s first words were about food.
Toudou Daigo’s eye twitched. He waved his hand. The kimono-clad hostess immediately brought out the kaiseki meal that had been prepared in advance.
Toudou Daigo poured himself a cup of sake, his tone indifferent.
“That waste Ashura was outmatched. His death was his own doing. I, Toudou Daigo, accept the loss and pay the price. Since young brother Liu Ming has vouched for you, I can let bygones be bygones.”
That was the so-called face-saving step.
Gluttony picked up her chopsticks, took a piece of fatty tuna belly, and slipped it under her cracked mask.
She chewed a few times, then swallowed. Her voice grew a little deeper.
“This dinner isn’t just about making peace, is it?”
“Of course.” Toudou Daigo set down his sake cup and leaned forward.
“Since the past is settled, I’ll speak plainly. That cleaning company you set up in Arakawa is interesting. I can inject capital into it, even outsource part of Kyokuto Construction’s business to you. But I have conditions.”
“What conditions?”
“Those people from the Inferior Breed Mutual Aid Society are no good.” Toudou Daigo’s eyes glowed with a strange light. “You shouldn’t stand with them. I can give you something better.”
Gluttony didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she picked up another piece of sea urchin.
Silence stretched through the air. Just as Toudou Daigo’s patience was about to run out, Gluttony suddenly set down her chopsticks.
“Last night, someone was watching.”
Gluttony didn’t respond directly, but said calmly, “Yuki Asahi.”
At the name, the two bodyguards behind Toudou Daigo visibly tensed, their hands instinctively reaching toward their chests.
But Toudou Daigo only furrowed his brow slightly, then relaxed.
“You mean that Executioner? Hmph. So what if he saw?”
“Seeing means the Management Department knows too.”
“Do you think, since he witnessed the battle last night, he’ll report it to his superiors? Right now, the Management Department’s eyes are probably locked on Kyokuto Construction and you.”
Gluttony’s voice carried a hint of mockery.
“President Toudou, are you sure you still want to take on this trouble of mine?”
This was actually Jiang Jian Yue’s test. She wanted to find out where Toudou Daigo’s confidence against official power came from.
Unexpectedly, Toudou Daigo showed no panic at all. Instead, he threw his head back and laughed. “Hahahaha! The Management Department? Report?”
He laughed so hard he bent over, as if he had just heard the biggest joke in the world.
“Young lady, you’re still too naive.”
Toudou Daigo stopped laughing, shook his head contemptuously, and said, “Do you think you know who’s really in charge of Japan now? First—those who dominate the Pacific Treaty, in short, the current people from Serys. Second—the Americans. They’re the second-largest entity within the treaty. Third—the Liberal Democratic Party. As for the People’s Coalition Party… heh. There are things the Management Department can’t control even if they want to.”
He pointed upward. “Yuki Asahi is indeed powerful. His eyes can see through people’s hearts, his perception can cover all of Japan. But… what if I make him see nothing at all?”
With that, Toudou Daigo pulled a black device that looked like a remote control from his pocket and slapped it on the table.
“What’s that?” Gluttony squinted.
“This is a Quiet Field Generator.” Toudou Daigo looked smug.
“A shielding device developed specifically for spiritual perception types like Yuki Asahi. As long as this thing is on, to his eyes, this place is a void—he can’t even read a fly’s emotions. As for the Management Department? Hmph, as long as Yuki Asahi can’t produce solid evidence, not even Imai Yayoi would dare to storm my building with a search team!”
Jiang Jian Yue’s heart stirred.
‘This kind of device absolutely can’t be made on the black market, and even most research institutions couldn’t produce it—at least not without the level of resources from the EU held by the Police Association.’
Gluttony picked up the device, pretending to examine it curiously.
“Something like this… can’t be made by just anyone, right? Even the Management Department doesn’t dare to touch you. So the origin of this thing… is it someone on the opposite side of the Management Department?”
In today’s democratic Japan, the Coalition Government was in power.
The Management Department was the core division of the People’s Coalition Party—in fact, its entire division.
The structure of that department was the original consensus of the Coalition Government: superhumans should be confined to a single department.
If it wasn’t the People’s Coalition Party, then it was their ally and rival—the Liberal Democratic Party.
Although the two parties had formed a political alliance to deal with the post-war crisis, their behind-the-scenes struggles had never stopped.
And within the Liberal Democratic Party… Jiang Jian Yue recalled the information she had found online.
After the Serys purge, the original right-wing magnates had long been subjected to physical criticism.
Now the LDP’s largest faction was the pro-China Hatoyama Faction, advocating gentle development.
There were a few small factions that had merged from the left wing.
And then there was the Takami Faction—the one most deeply cooperating with the People’s Coalition Party and leading the Heavenly Ladder Project, headed by Gaojian Zongyilang.