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Chapter 631 "Legally" Acquiring Green Leaf
🕑 Added 2025-09-08 00:18:08 +0000 UTCAt the Hamazou household, Akechi Hamazou smiled faintly. "I can't believe it—I'm actually being ordered around by someone," he muttered with a small chuckle. In his active Yakuza days, when he was known as the infamous Rashomon of Hamazou, no one would have dared to give him orders. Now, having transitioned into the role of a businessman—owner of the video game company Akaishidan and the security firm Aoshidan—he had grown more relaxed. Still, his responsibilities in the security world kept him sharp, alert, and well-connected to the shadows of the underworld.
Now, Akechi finally understood that clean money truly felt different from the dirty money he had grown so used to—and to his surprise, he found himself enjoying it. The satisfaction that came with earning money legitimately, without blood or fear staining it, was a new experience, and it carried a weight of pride that underworld deals never could. Still, Akechi's top priority was always ZAGE's well-being. So when ZAGE's CTO, who is also Zaboru's father, asked him for help, Akechi did not hesitate. If it concerned ZAGE's safety—even in the slightest—he would act, no questions asked.
“Time to clean up some trash. Oki Inc, huh? Back in the day, they actually had the nerve to sabotage Hamazou's loan shark territory," Akechi muttered with a smirk. "Their owner, Shiroki Toho, was cautious, though—he even had the audacity to bribe my captain back then. That makes this very personal.” Akechi grinned, his eyes gleaming with a mixture of nostalgia and menace.
Meanwhile, at Shiroki Toho's house, he was fuming with rage. "DAMN! Why does ZAGE suddenly know my true identity?! My role as Oki Inc.'s loan shark was supposed to be a tightly kept secret! Don’t tell me someone from the underworld..." Before he could finish his sentence, a heavy blow struck the back of his head. He collapsed instantly, unconscious. Within moments, Akechi's subordinates had quietly entered the house, dragged his limp body outside, and transported him to a nearby abandoned warehouse—the very same one where Hamazou typically conducted his intense and often brutal interrogations.
Shiroki Toho was now slumped, unconscious, in a metal chair with thick iron chains tightly securing his wrists and ankles. The cold clatter of footsteps echoed in the warehouse as one of Akechi's men approached with a metal bucket. Without a word, he hurled the ice-cold water directly at Shiroki's face. The shock of the freezing liquid jolted him awake, his eyes snapping open as he gasped sharply for air.
“Ugh... my head... huh? Where am I?” Shiroki groaned, disoriented as he blinked against the sting of cold water. As his blurry vision adjusted, he saw a shadowy figure taking a seat across from him. It was Akechi, calm and composed, with a cold glint in his eyes.
"Shiroki Toho. Age 46. Owner of Oki Inc., a loan shark front, and the puppet master behind a sprawling network of shell companies," Akechi said evenly, his tone devoid of emotion. "You've built your empire by deceit—forcing struggling companies into impossible debts, then acquiring them once they crumble under your predatory terms. Classic loan shark behavior hidden behind a thin veneer of legitimacy."
Shiroki Toho's face fell instantly as recognition dawned in his eyes—he clearly knew who stood before him. "A..Akechi-sama... Wh..what have I done to displease y-you?" he stammered, his voice trembling with fear.
Akechi grinned as he noticed the flicker of fear in Shiroki's eyes. "First of all, ZAGE is my client. Sure, you tried to scam them—but I suppose you thought that wouldn’t be a big deal, huh?" he said coolly. Then, leaning in slightly with a smirk, he continued, "You really shouldn't have messed with them in the first place. Now ZAGE needs Green Leaf, and this can go the easy way or the hard way."
Shiroki cursed silently, panic rising in his chest. Damn it! How was I supposed to know ZAGE had the backing of Hamazou—and the Rashomon, no less?!
Akechi continued, "First, ZAGE will officially purchase 100% of Green Leaf's shares from you for 10 million yen. Simple and clean, right? It's a fair market price, too." He paused, then flashed a wicked grin. "Or... next week, the news finds Shiroki Toho dead by suicide, with a conveniently written will stating that Green Leaf is to be returned to Kihito Midori—its former owner—and that in the letter, you confess your guilt as a predatory loan shark."
Akechi's eyes bore into Shiroki's with unsettling calm, letting the weight of the threat settle in the air. "Kihito Midori—remember him? The one you stole this company from."
Shiroki Tono was sweating bullets. Akechi's reputation was truly terrifying—and what made it worse was that any attempt to resist, retaliate, or even lie to him always ended in disaster. Shiroki knew this from the stories whispered in the underworld, and now he was facing that fear in the flesh.
“Akechi-san! I... I’m willing to sell Green Leaf to ZAGE for 10 million yen!” he stammered, his voice cracking from panic and desperation.
Akechi grinned, satisfied, and snapped his fingers. “Good. My lawyer is already prepared. Let me take care of everything—you’ll receive your money as soon as the paperwork is done.”
Without delay, one of Akechi’s subordinates stepped forward and untied Shiroki’s restraints. Shiroki rubbed his sore wrists before hastily leaning over the nearby table to sign the contract. His hands trembled, but he managed to scrawl his name across the document. Just like that, Green Leaf officially became the property of ZAGE for 10 million yen. On ZAGE’s end, the contract had already been signed in advance by Zanichi, the company’s Chief Technology Officer.
Akechi nodded with a satisfied smirk. "Good. You're surprisingly easy to negotiate with, huh?" But then, without warning, Akechi suddenly punch Shiroki across the face. Shiroki flinched, then hit the floor his eyes wide with shock.
"Why, Akechi-sama?! I already did everything you asked!" he protested, confused and afraid.
Akechi chuckled darkly, his expression shifting into something far colder. "For ZAGE, yes—it’s already settled. But do you remember what happened a few years ago? When you bribed my captain to cut my share of the loan money that Hamazou was supposed to collect?"
Shiroki Toho turned pale as Akechi stepped forward, voice low but laced with menace. "It's not entirely your fault," Akechi said, almost conversationally. "Here at Hamazou, even though we’ve operated outside the law, we still held our loan territories to a strict standard. We had rules—codes. We never let greed destroy our own turf like you did."
He paused, letting the words settle in, then added with a chilling calm, "You see, that captain you bribed—Sawashira Jihei—he’s already dead. And you know what that means next, don’t you?"
Shiroki turned pale and fell to his knees, begging, “Please, Akechi-sama, spare me!”
Akechi chuckled, his voice cold but calm. “Don’t worry, I’m not Yakuza anymore... but I still need proof.”
Without hesitation, Akechi drew a short knife from his coat and, with a swift motion, sliced off Shiroki’s pinky finger. Blood splattered across the concrete floor.
Shiroki screamed in agony. “AAAAAGHH!”
But then he froze. Akechi’s face was just inches from his, twisted into a grin that looked more demonic than human. His eyes blazed with a terrifying, quiet fury.
“You know the price for messing with me,” Akechi said darkly. “You’re lucky I’ve gone soft. A few years ago, I would’ve boiled you alive just for fun in ice water i make you freeze then make you cooked and then feed you to my dogs"
Trembling, sweating, and crying, Shiroki could only nod in horror—his body paralyzed by fear. Then, as the pain and terror overwhelmed him, he passed out.
“Well, that saves us some time,” Akechi said, standing and brushing off his coat. “Guys, throw him in front of his house.” Akechi sighs that he is actually really getting soft. He still doesn't know if this is a good or bad thing.
And with that, ZAGE officially acquired Green Leaf from the loan shark—"legally."
To be continue
