A New Way of the Yakuza

“Those are some fancy digs.”

Ozaki whistled as he rolled up to a literal mansion on the coast of Yokohama, complete with intercom to request for entry. Ryuji stretched over Ozaki to press the button.

“Yamaoka here. Hope you aren’t pulling our legs.”

The gate promptly opened, letting the truck pull forward and down the long pathway. It already felt bizarre to take such a big vehicle down a fancy neighborhood. Regardless, they had been welcomed in.

Dr. Higashi stood at the front entrance waiting for them, a confident smirk as he waved. He looked different without his doctor’s coat on, sporting casual clothing befitting of a rich boy.

“Thought I smelled entitled brat on you, Doc. But this just proves it,” Ryuji joked.

“That’s what being the son of a tech company boss will do. But it comes in handy when I need a place to hide out when thugs come searching. Having access to the latest tech also lets me keep tabs on the outside world.”

Dr. Higashi tapped on the headset he had on, similar to what Samukawa had. A replay of the entire Tenjou succession debacle replayed as a hologram before them.

“This guy flew under my radar the entire time, and from the looks of it, he did for you as well.”

“Geez, Doc. And here, I was thinking that maybe you had a hand in it, too.”

“And here, I was hoping that you’d trust me enough to call me Haru by now. But that point aside, I’ve been unable to contact Grace since Honjou’s passing two days ago. Normally, Grace can freely travel between servers that I have set up in my research. But she went quiet all of a sudden. It wasn’t until activity in her main server happened at your event that I could track her once again.”

“Then, Samukawa is keeping her trapped somehow?”

“He is the main architect of Project Grace, after all. He has the lock and key to keep others out.”

Shirokawa stepped forward. “Then, this Grace, the new form of Honjou Miyabi – she’s being held hostage by Samukawa?”

“Correct. Even I don’t have the ability to access her at this time. But from what I can infer, I can safely say that her abilities are being made to serve him.”

A cold sweat formed on Ryuji’s brow. The abilities that Ryuji had observed first-hand, the very ones that were warned not to fall in the wrong hands, were now being used by Samukawa. He had always been a schemer. That was why he became Honjou’s assistant. Only, no one had dreamed that he would develop a project for over a decade for this sole moment.

“Who the hell is Samukawa?” Ryuji clicked his tongue. The man had always been a mystery to him.

“Megu and I did a background check. The name Samukawa Rentaro came up with no searches initially. The man has official records, but they are as thin as a ghost.”

Ryuji narrowed his eyes. The yakuza rarely cared about the background of most people. It was understood that many people had skeletons in their closet. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have turned to the underground. But not searching into someone’s past was one thing. Not having one on file was completely different.

“An image search of his face turned up something rather interesting instead.”

A hologram of Samukawa’s mug shot hovered before them. But the three members of the Tenjou Clan backpedaled in surprise at what surrounded it.

“A police uniform?!” Shirokawa shouted.

“Chief Inspector Masato Inui, Kanagawa division. Relieved of duties sixteen years ago.”

“Sixteen years, isn’t that when Samukawa joined the Tenjou Clan?” Shirokawa’s eyes lit up. It was like several pieces had formed together in his mind. “An undercover policeman as a mole in the largest yakuza organization in Japan – was he planted there to keep things in check?”

Ryuji grimaced at the thought. There was no rule that former policemen couldn’t become part of the yakuza. Certainly, there had been cases of corrupt ones renouncing their badges. In fact, that was the assumption made if it ever came up. And for him to follow his duties faithfully for over a decade, such a background would hardly have mattered anymore.

“That appears to be the case. Or rather, his connection to the police is finally coming back around.”

Haru pulled out his phone, which displayed a news article that was freshly uploaded.

“Japan’s largest yakuza organization backs cooperative initiatives with Tokyo Metropolitan Police. Newly selected Chairman of the Tenjou Group seeks preservation of tradition through official government channels…. What kind of bullshit is this?” Ryuji spat at the headline.

“It appears to be a coup of the underworld. The beginning of a cascade trickling from Tenjou to other organizations throughout the country. Taking over the Clan is only a first step.”

Shirokawa’s words made Ryuji reel.

Rentaro Samukawa had found a way to uproot the foundation of the yakuza way that had embedded itself so deeply into society. And with it, the organization’s future had become uncertain.

v

“Chairman Samukawa, would you care to give a statement on the Tenjou Group’s new policies?”

The main office was crowded with journalists rolling cameras at the newly-appointed head, policemen surrounding him for protection. For the first time, civilians were freely allowed through the doors of Kanto’s most secretive organization. Samukawa sat at the desk, looking every bit like a CEO settling into his cushy new role.

“For years now, the Gokudo has been on the decline. The new generation has found it difficult to join our ranks, leaving an aging population to fill out its branches. After all, modern times has made it difficult to keep our activities secret. Everywhere you go, phones are there to capture evidence. The internet exists to spread information to every corner of the map. The very nature of what we can accomplish has been severely limited. As such, even a highly-resilient organization such as the Tenjou Group has washed our hands often to thrive on legitimate businesses, following the rules that everyone else does.”

“But sir, if that is the case, why not continue the course? Why come out publicly now?” A reporter waved at him with the question.

“It’s simple. The public sees the yakuza as a ‘bad group’. They hesitate to work with us. Some even flee when our names are mentioned. For many, society has turned their backs on us and our members. We have no choice but to be branded with challenges that legitimate businesses do not face. We live in a gray area that struggles to survive on scraps.

“But by working together with the police – the Japanese government – we seek to rebrand our image. The Gokudo will henceforth be a sanctioned organization that reforms the bottom of society, doing the dirty work that the police shy away from, but keeping in line with the laws.”

A swarm of shutter clicks, all capturing what appeared to be the candidness of the struggles of someone skirting the laws. Samukawa knew exactly what to say. He had prepared this speech in his mind for years. Just as he had capitalized on shooting to the top of the Tenjou Clan, he would now boost his image before the public.

“I hear of resistance to this change in your ranks. How do you propose to resolve this?” someone asked in the crowd.

“There will always be conflict. There will be internal strife. Our men will get physical to work out their qualms. That is the nature of the yakuza. But our nature is also to honor the strong. To follow their lead. In time, the transformation of the Tenjou Group will make waves to other prefectures. In time, they will follow suit.”

A burst of murmurs erupted from the crowd. The head of the Tenjou Group had essentially called out to other yakuza organizations, making a stand towards a new future.

In many ways, yakuza patriarchs were like politicians. Their actions rippled through the underground, creating factions that either supported or denied them. Samukawa smirked at how politicians also held unfair advantages at times.

In his case, he had a hand wrapped around the National Police Agency, who had assigned him the task of investigating the development of yakuza factions. He was given free reign to manipulate Japan’s largest organization from within.

He had kept such ties a secret for many years, blending in with the crowd to gain Chairman Honjou’s trust. With that power in his hands now, he could finally take the next step.

His hand brushed against the headset laid on his desk. A wide grin formed on his lips. He would have Japan’s yakuza and police force work under him.

v

Ryuji and the others stared at the news report with wide eyes. The takeover of the Tenjou Clan had only been the start. Samukawa sought even bigger goals in the distance.

“Criminal mastermind with a sentient virtual helper that performs mind control. Is anyone else getting the same vibe?” Shirokawa was the first to break the silence.

“How do we stop him?” Ryuji immediately replied.

“Ryuji, this is not something your fists can solve.”

“Actually,” Haru interjected, “there may be a need for some muscle to fight back. Particularly, if we are to recover Grace. Take her back from his grasp, and we stand a chance in unhinging his whole operation.”

“And where exactly is she?” Ryuji cracked his knuckles, wondering if he was ready to bust through some offices.

“The headquarters of the NPA. Given that Samukawa used to be a high-ranking policeman who suddenly quit, the chances are high that he was recruited into the National Police Agency which is responsible for deploying the SAT units that surrounded the Tenjou headquarters.”

“Jail time is gonna be the least of your worries if you bust up a government office, Aniki. At least, I can be forgiven for driving a truck through Tenjou grounds if you manage to take back the reins.”

“You’re more of a getting tased sort, aren’t you, Ozaki?”

“I’ve gone a few rounds with my girls,” Ozaki beamed with confidence.

Ryuji no longer had the backing of his clan to depend on. But for something as blatantly illegal as this, it would be treated as all-out terrorism and countered with deadly force. No one would go along with it.

Haru held up a hand to cut off any further thoughts.

“Actually, what I need is a distraction. Something to draw out the NPA and SAT, while I sneak in and hack the computers. A data transfer is all I need to pull Grace free from their clutches.”

“A distraction, eh?”

Ryuji’s head turned toward downtown Tokyo. The sights of Shinjuku were too far away, but he could still picture them in his mind. And right by Shinjuku was the little district known as Kakushicho.

“There’s no better choice. I’ll have to strike Samukawa on our turf. If Samukawa can’t control the heart of the Tenjou Clan, then no one will ever recognize him as the next Chairman. But to do that, I’ll need some way to block out his control over me.”

Haru tossed Ryuji a tube of pills at that moment, which he promptly caught.

“I figured that this would come in handy. Grace has a tendency to overpower some people with her thoughts, so the best solution that I could come up with is medication to scramble your brainwave frequency. We give that to our patients after treatment to cut their connection to Grace. Lessens any kind of dependency or withdrawal symptoms. Our patients can get rather attached.”

Ryuji chuckled at the idea of Grace being treated as a drug or being pined after like an ex-girlfriend.

“So, I just pop some of these pills and no more mind control?”

“Yes, but it also means that you’ll no longer be able to connect with Grace anymore.”

Ryuji’s grip on the tube tightened. Memories of his time with her flashed before him before Grace’s smile melted into Miyabi’s. He unscrewed the cap and tossed back a few with no hesitation.

With that, he ripped off his shirt and proudly displayed the dragon tattoo on his back.

He didn’t need to be chained to her anymore. Miyabi had found her place again in this world, and he would be damned if some double-crossing punk kept his hold on her.

“Doc, or rather, Haru, I leave Grace to you. I’ll show Samukawa that the spirit of the Gokudo can’t be tamed by modern gimmicks.”