CH 229

Chapter 229 – Opinion of the Executives

“Hah? What do you mean?” (Kuzuhara)

“From the place where his corpse had fallen, we followed the trail back into the jungle and found some other bodies that appear to be the members of the yakuza. But they seemed to have all been killed by monsters.” (Sayuri)

“I see. In other words, he escaped from the office with his subordinates, but his subordinates fell one by one. He somehow managed to make it out of the jungle alive, but someone shot him from behind, huh…?” (Otaka)

Hearing Otaka’s deduction, Kuzuhara suddenly cut in.

“Oi, oi. Then doesn’t that mean the guy who killed him was in the jungle too? Was he ambushed?” (Kuzuhara)

“An ambush… Or a falling out?” (Otaka)

“Huh? What do you mean, boss?” (Kuzuhara)

“No, he must not have had his guard up if he had bullets in his back. If it were me, I would have been watching my back as I ran if I had monsters chasing me down. But Hosen fell forward as if he hadn’t been watching his back. That means that he was in a situation where he didn’t have to be on guard for whatever was behind him, no?” (Otaka)

“…Well, now that you put it that way…” (Kuzuhara)

Kuzuhara also seemed to agree with Otaka’s thoughts.

“But why was he walking forward without watching his back? Wouldn’t that be because he still had friends… or subordinates looking out for him from behind?” (Otaka)

“I’ve seen this kinda situation before. If you have a reliable comrade watching your back, you only need to look forward and keep going.” (Otaka)

“But that comrade was the one who shot him in the back? Is that what you’re sayin’, boss?” (Kuzuhara)

Otaka gave a big nod in response.

“Well, I’m just saying it’s possible given the circumstances. It might be that someone who originally had a grudge against Hosen Touya ambushed him in the jungle and shot him dead.” (Otaka)

Well, I wonder. The conclusion that Otaka had reached earlier was more plausible. No matter how you looked at it, the reasoning supporting the second conclusion was weaker. In the first place, it was hard to imagine that any ordinary person would sit in a dangerous place like the jungle for an ambush. It was a daring move that would have only worked if they knew in advance that Hosen Touya would arrive at a certain place.

“Hosen Touya was a radical, and I heard he made a lot of enemies. Some of the yakuza might have been aiming to take him out. Of course, even people within his own gang. But now things have become troublesome. What now, Founder-sama?” (Kuzuhara)

Kuzuhara scratched his head and looked at Sayuri with a grimace before continuing.

“Their boss is dead. I didn’t think it would happen right after what we talked about earlier, but you are the general of this war. How do you want to end this?” (Kuzuhara)

Kuzuhara looked inquisitively at Sayuri.

Would they go after the remnants of the Hosen Group and try to completely eradicate them, or would they stop here and not act out against them unless they moved?

Despite not saying anything, Otaka was also quietly waiting for Sayuri’s answer.

“…..Kanade-san, what do you think we should do?” (Sayuri)

Sayuri asked Aoyama, who was always by her side, for her opinion.

Aoyama looked a bit surprised, perhaps not expecting her name to be called here, but she immediately put on a serious expression and gave her response.

“I will move as Founder-sama wills it. I… We are just here to obey.” (Aoyama)

“…I see.” (Sayuri)

From what I could see, Sayuri seemed a bit lost. Rather than making a decision on her own, she seemed to be looking for a little push from behind…

“What about you, Kagaya-san?” (Sayuri)

Sayuri now asked the other blue bandana woman.

“I think we should seek out the remaining yakuza members and exterminate them so we can cut off any fear of retaliation.” (Kagaya)

It seemed that she was an extremist. As expected of the person who was in charge of the hunting faction.

“But that wouldn’t be a war anymore, would it?” (Kuzuhara)

“You keep your mouth shut.” (Kagaya)

“Haaah?” (Kuzuhara)

Kagaya coldly dismissed him, drawing Kuzuhara’s ire. A vein popped out on his forehead.

“Hey, you. I’m just giving my opinion here.” (Kuzuhara)

“I don’t want your opinion. Stop saying anything that might lead Founder-sama astray.” (Kagaya)

“What? Even if it’s only temporary, is that something you say to someone you formed an alliance with?!” (Kuzuhara)

“In the first place, it was decided that the first party to take the head of their boss would have the right to decide how things would proceed. We were the ones who found his corpse.” (Kagaya)

“You guys weren’t the ones who killed him!” (Kuzuhara)

“Calm down, Kuzuhara!” (Otaka)

“Kagaya-san, you should also be careful with what you say. Now is not the time to be fighting amongst ourselves.” (Sayuri)

“Amongst ourselves…. I understand.” (Kagaya)

Kagaya didn’t seem convinced, but she still backed down.

In the midst of the terrible atmosphere, Sayuri voiced her decision.

“Considering the current situation, we will refrain from going out of our way to act against them.” (Sayuri)

Sayuri’s decision was met with nods of understanding from Kuzuhara and Otaka, but Kagaya, who was still opposed, looked unsatisfied.

“Kagaya-san, I understand your feelings. There are victims of the Hosen Group among our ranks. But the surroundings of their office have turned into a jungle, and Hosen Touya was killed, most likely because of an internal betrayal. With this, the Hosen Group is already as good as ruined. Their subordinates also can’t afford to make us their opponents now.” (Sayuri)

“But…” (Kagaya)

“And to root out the Hosen Group would mean setting foot into the jungle and combing through it. The situation has changed. Doing more would only mean pointlessly wasting lives.” (Sayuri)

There were monsters in the jungle. In order to search for the remaining members of the Hosen Group, which could be anywhere, they would have to take a big risk. If they were unlucky, it would be easy for them to lose their lives in the jungle.