CH 223

Chapter 223 – Neither Side Giving Ground

“Hah? What’s that?” (Kuzuhara)

“Come to think of it, Kuzuhara, you don’t know what this is, huh? This was given to me by Enjou… that arms dealer. It can be used as a mirror, but it can also be used as a means of communication.” (Otaka)

“Huuuh? A mirror as a means of communication? How does that work? I thought you had lost your mind and were about to start putting on makeup.” (Kuzuhara)

“Are you stupid?! Of course not! Whatever, just watch!” (Otaka)

What Otaka said was indeed correct. Right now, he was holding a [Writing Mirror], which I had also given to King Dragia in the past as a means of communication. It was a fantasy item. If you wrote on it, the letters would appear on the other paired mirror.

“Kaza, can you hear me?” (Torimoto)

“Yes, loud and clear, milord.” (Kaza)

Kaza was outside, keeping an eye on the surroundings as always. Incidentally, he had captured those people who had been spying. It turned out that they were from the Hosen Group, but unfortunately they did not have much information. Kaza had interrogated them oh so ‘kindly’, so there was no doubt about that.

“I had you hold onto the [Writing Mirror], didn’t I? They’ll be getting in touch with us there, so please check it.” (Torimoto)

“Understood. …Oh yes, they certainly have. There is a message from Otaka asking to meet immediately.” (Kaza)

“Then tell them that in the evening today would be fine. We’ll leave the exact time to them.” (Torimoto)

Kaza replied exactly as I instructed, and on my end I heard Otaka say, ‘oh, he responded, he responded’.

“Whoa, there are floating letters.” (Kuzuhara)

“Didn’t I tell you so? Let’s see, let’s see… Ooh, he said he’d be able to meet us tonight. Then I’ll tell him 9 PM at the usual place.” (Otaka)

“The usual place?” (Kuzuhara)

“That’d be a secret.” (Otaka)

“Tch, cheapskate.” (Kuzuhara)

“It’d be fine to tell you, but it’d be bad if they heard.” (Otaka)

Otaka turned his gaze towards Sayuri and her followers. Certainly, despite the fact that they had formed an alliance, they weren’t exactly on friendly terms. Sayuri herself said that they would only be working together temporarily.

So I could understand why they didn’t want to introduce the arms dealer to them when there was a possibility they might butt heads in the future. That being said, I didn’t mind them introducing me to them, since I would be able to make a profit either way.

Well, it was important to consider that if the Apostles of Peace and the Maiden’s Rebirth Order clashed and both of them were destroyed, it wouldn’t be great for my business.

That would be a problem for me because I would lose big business partners. It might be better to give preferential treatment to the Apostles of Peace.

“May I ask you one thing?” (Sayuri)

“Hm? What is it?” (Kuzuhara)

“Not you, Kuzuhara-san. I meant Otaka-san.” (Sayuri)

“Alright, then let’s leave the matter regarding weapons at that. As for the victory conditions, it would be the total annihilation of the other side, right?” (Kuzuhara)

So he said, but this was where the opinions diverged. Sayuri’s side naturally wanted the men to be completely wiped out. They wanted every one of them to be killed.

But Otaka was only aiming for the top brass. In other words, they voiced their intent to only defeat the key people in the war.

The war would continue until those at the top admitted defeat or until they were entirely wiped out. Which one was better depended on the situation at the time. If there was some merit in keeping the other side alive, then it was better not to wipe them out completely. But if there were going to be lingering resentment or grudges, it was better to cut things off before it caused problems in the future.

“But will the yakuza stop if we take out the top?” (Sayuri)

“I think it’ll come down to the negotiations. I don’t think they’ll wanna die for no reason. If their top brass falls, they should back down.” (Otaka)

“On what grounds?” (Sayuri)

“…Kuzuhara, what do you think?” (Otaka)

“My heart’s with you, boss. But it’s the yakuza we’re talkin’ about here, so if we leave any of ‘em alive, it’s totally possible they’d do something out of vengeance. Besides, the Hosen Group is a branch organization of the Higuchi Group. So even if we kill ‘em all, there’s a good chance the big boss’ll come crawling outta the woodwork.” (Kuzuhara)

“Nah, I doubt that.” (Otaka)

“What do you mean?” (Kuzuhara)

“This is the Hosen Group’s war, so to speak. The Maiden’s Rebirth Order started this fight, and those guys are taking the fight to them. Besides, with how awful the Hosen Group has been lately, they can hardly be called yakuza. The other yakuza groups wouldn’t find it worth it to pity them and put their lives on the line. So as long as the top is destroyed, the rest can be taken care of at any time.” (Otaka)

“But the yakuza value face a lot, don’t they? If an amateur group looks down on them, wouldn’t they think of that as defacing the value of their yakuza coat of arms and make ‘em wanna retaliate?” (Kuzuhara)

“It’s true that they clean up after the messes of their subordinate groups in order to maintain face. But ultimately, that was only until recently.” (Otaka)

“Recently?” (Kuzuhara)

“The times have changed completely. No matter which yakuza group it is, none of them have the leeway to push their influence around anymore. Even big organizations like the police and the JSDF are short-staffed, ya know?” (Otaka)

“Well… I guess that’s true.” (Kuzuhara)

Right now, the world was struggling just to survive. Even money, which the yakuza had always desired until now, was now worth as little as paper.

Many things could have been solved with money in the past, but not anymore. For the yakuza to survive now, they had to consolidate their foundation, which had been shaken by the world’s sudden change. Otaka was saying that the other yakuza groups had no room to take action.

Sure enough, it might be true that no yakuza groups would go to war over face and reputation in the current day and age. If they did, they would have to be blind to their surroundings.

These were the times we lived in. Making enemies now was a mistake, and Sayuri and her followers had made a big one. The Hosen Group, which was hurting upstanding citizens, was also in the wrong.

This was a clash between two groups who couldn’t be helped. It was best to leave them alone and to not get involved. This wasn’t the time for a battle with face and reputation on the line. It just wasn’t worth it.

In the end, Otaka and the others were only reluctantly lending a hand to protect the peace and safety of this city.

Thus, it was unthinkable that the Higuchi Group and the other affiliated yakuza groups would get themselves involved in such a foolish war.

“Regardless of what you say, we will choose to exterminate the yakuza.” (Sayuri)

In the end, it seemed that Sayuri wouldn’t budge.

This was a clash in beliefs between the two sides. No matter how much they discussed this, they wouldn’t reach an agreement.

In that case, I had no choice but to suggest a compromise.

“Then how about we do this?” (Torimoto)

When I wedged my way into the discussion, everyone’s gaze turned to me.