Edited by: Marethyu, Priapus, Old man of the mountain, UwU

– Mizuki –

"—Up next: The sudden and unsettling disappearance of the three color gangs of Hokkaido." The 3d anime model on her laptop said as she showed images of an office building, making Mizuki raise a brow. What's this? "Lots of my occult-loving fans have been sending me letters, messages, and even images about some terrifying event that happened earlier this Saturday. At three o'clock this morning, people heard screaming from all known White Edge, Blood Eye, and Blue Z bases."

Mizuki leaned forward from the couch with a frown. She knew of them— they used to be very prominent in Kamurocho back in 2005 before Kiryu wiped them out. She thought for sure that the Azure Dragon of Dojima had completely pulverized them into nothing. What were they doing in Hokkaido?

But that wasn't what got her attention. She couldn't care less about what a bunch of two-bit gangs were doing now. What was this about them screaming? What was that supposed to mean? They were making it sound like one thing obliterated all of them when it was more likely that they'd just destroyed themselves in some stupid turf war.

"How creepy! What's that supposed to mean?! What could've happened to them?" She continued. "A few people even investigated one of the buildings, and to make things even weirder, nobody was there! Just what the heck happened?!"

More images were shown, this time from the inside, and there was nothing. No bodies and no signs of struggle.

"What the hell…?" She muttered to herself.

"Could it be?!" The Vtuber said with an exaggerated tone. "Was it some monster or demon that got them? Could this be our first big clue about the existence of the supernatural?! How exciting!"

This… was a little concerning. This channel always showed the silliest 'proof' and 'evidence' that always got a kick out of Mizuki, but this time, this was most definitely the work of a supernatural creature. But why Hokkaido? And specifically targeting a couple of human gangs? Sure, the kidnapping or consumption of some humans did happen occasionally, but it happened to one, five, or, at most, ten people at once. Over a hundred people disappearing like this was too over the top.

The fact that this made it to the public before the yakuza could do anything about it meant that this wasn't their work, and they were completely caught off guard. They occasionally sent someone to wipe out silly gangs when they got a tad too destructive, but they were always way more subtle about it.

Plus, the Tojo had some control over the media, after all, primarily to hide supernatural activities from the public eye. Letting some tin-foiled nutjob theorize wasn't really harmful because they were always ways off from figuring it out anyway, and the mainstream would never take them seriously.

This wasn't their doing. This was definitely an outside party that had targeted something frankly worthless in the grand scheme of things. As far as she knew, the color gangs were just regular humans—nothing more and nothing less.

And assuming whoever it was killed them, then they were either an expert at getting rid of bodies or had the equipment to make a task like that trivial. What was their end goal, and who were they?

In all fairness, while they hadn't exactly done anything that was particularly damaging, this could be considered a terrorist attack on the yakuza grounds. And if an actual faction made this attack, it could lead to war.

Could this possibly be another attempt to sabotage the peace conference? Kokabiel couldn't be the only person against peace. There were probably others who agreed and shared his warmongering mindset. Even though Mizuki doubted they'd ever work together with a fallen angel, the Old Satans came to mind.

Whatever it was, Daigo needed to do something about this. There was a big chance that it could escalate if he didn't stop it from snowballing into a much bigger issue, whether it was an act of terrorism, a new monster, or an attempt to spark another war.

But she believed in him. He was probably sending some people to investigate by now.

"Isn't this the new Vtuber that's been blowing up recently?"

Mizuki squawked, startled at her daughter's sudden appearance behind the couch she sat on.

"Tatara Hisoka, huh…" Her daughter hummed, reading the channel's name. "I saw some of her videos some time ago. She's really, really obsessed with the supernatural."

"Yes, I know, and don't sneak up on me like that!" She complained, turning around to see her daughter in her usual red tracksuit. Her workout outfit. "Sheesh almost gave me a heart attack."

"Really? How sad." Akane snorted with a teasing grin. "If you were the best in your clan, then I guess I have nothing to worry about."

"Not funny." Mizuki huffed. "They're too ruthless to be taken lightly."

"Yeah, yeah." She rolled her eyes. "So, you think Amons did it?"

"Oh, you saw?"

"I've been standing here for three minutes." Her daughter deadpanned before sitting next to her. "God, are you sure you used to be an assassin?"

…When Mizuki had told Akane about her background, her worst fears had been her daughter showing distrust, anger, and perhaps hate. Now she knew that she had been overly dramatic because all Akane had done so far was mock her for being incompetent.

It almost hurt her dignity. She might've sworn off killing unless absolutely necessary, even still abhorring the notion, but she was proud of some of her skills, damn it. She worked too damn hard to get this good at stealth.

"I'm joking," Akane said.

"You better be," Mizuki grumbled.

"I better be what?" Her daughter challenged. "What did you just say?"

"No, I don't think it's the Amon doing it." Mizuki returned to the prior topic, tactically retreating from getting into a fight with the scariest – and cutest – person alive. "If it were them, they would've tried to hurt the yakuza somehow. A move like this is pointless."

Akane smirked in satisfaction, as if she won an argument or something. This brat better not underestimate Mizuki— if she really wanted to, she could easily embarrass her daughter without even trying by bringing up how cute she was when she was a little kid.

She still had an entire album of tiny Akane pictures, and she would gladly show it to her friends if she kept this up.

Thankfully, her daughter didn't try to gloat openly and instead continued the conversation.

"Could be them trying to draw attention away from Kanto." She offered. "Since most of the yakuza would be coming over to Kuoh for the conference soon."

"This is why it's pointless," Mizuki argued. "If I were them, I'd wait until after the conference to be making a move. Or, better yet, in the middle of it. And you must remember, unless they're looking for something else, you are their priority right now."

"Hmm…" Akane put a hand on her chin. "So then, who do you think it is?"

"I don't know." Mizuki shook her head. "Barely anyone would want to fight the yakuza. It's just a waste of resources on every side. Could be bad luck with some yokai beast or stray devil, or at worst, an attempt to stop the peace conference from happening."

"Others like Kokabiel…" Akane grinned. "I guess after I killed that bastard, they're too scared to be taking us head-on."

Mizuki wasn't very sure if she was comfortable hearing her little girl talking about killing someone so casually, but she let it slide. Defeating someone as strong as he was at her age was still a remarkable feat of strength, even if she didn't do it alone.

"Possibly." Mizuki nodded. "Still, I think it's safe to assume that it's the work of a stray devil. A powerful and old one."

"A stray devil?" Her daughter blinked. "Didn't think you'd give those stupid monsters so much credit. I mean, the work is a little too clean to call it a stray devil attack, no? I'd expect some signs of their attack here and there."

"That's why I said an old stray devil." The older woman reminded with a sigh. "Not all stray devils are dumb monsters, y'know."

"They aren't?" Akane raised a brow.

"Why is that so surprising to you?"

"No, but I… thought I heard someone say they're corrupted devils?" She said, looking confused. Mizuki was about to ask what the hell she was saying before she continued. "I dunno, something about the evil pieces doing that or whatever."

"What? No, who told you that?" Mizuki blinked. "I know the evil pieces system is fucked up, but that would make it completely, inherently, and politically inexcusable. Everyone would declare war against the devils if that were the case."

"I mean, the two stray devils I killed looked like monsters," Akane said, surprised at her misinformed idea. "Forgive me for thinking that was the case."

"They looked like monsters because they already looked like that before reincarnation, Akane." She corrected.

"You're saying some devils were just born looking that fucking ugly?"

"Not necessarily," Mizuki shrugged. "Could just be a regular monster that got reincarnated. I hate devils and their shitty system as much as the next person, but they don't exclusively look for humans to recruit, y'know."

"Is that so…"

There was a moment of awkward silence between them before Mizuki spoke.

"You do know that 'Stray Devil' is just a social title, right? It isn't some weird magical/biological condition."

Akane said nothing, but for whatever reason, she did look really embarrassed. Mizuki didn't think her daughter was stupid for not knowing this, but it didn't mean she wouldn't tease her about it.

"Uh-oh, looks like Ms. Know-It-All didn't know this simple and well-known fact." She snickered. "How embarrassing!"

"Be quiet," Akane growled adorably.

"Aww, you're so precious! The cutest in the world!" Mizuki hugged her tightly but then paused as she slowly processed Akane's words. "...What do you mean you killed two stray devils?"

Before her daughter could answer that funny question, her other unofficial daughter walked down the stairs, sporting the same outfit that Akane wore, only blue instead of red. Asia shuffled shyly as two pairs of eyes landed on her, giving them a small smile.

"I hope I didn't make you wait for too long." The blond said.

"Not at all!" Mizuki responded enthusiastically, closing her laptop and getting up from the couch. "You look great, Asia! Ready for training?"

"Yes!" Asia pumped her fist excitedly. "I promise I'll do my best!"

"She's training?" Akane questioned in confusion. "Like, real training?"

"She is, and she'll be paired up with you from now on," Mizuki pointed at her. "You'll be teaching her everything."

"I hope that's okay, Akane-san." Asia bowed respectfully.

"I mean, I'm fine with that." She glared at Mizuki. "But I would've appreciated being told earlier."

"It came as a little surprise to me, too." The older woman patted the blond on the head. "We talked last night, you see. And you weren't there."

"Is your phone useless?"

"Please, you never respond to my messages."

"But I read them, you idiot." Akane groaned, standing up. "Whatever. It's fine. If Asia is up for it, then I don't mind."

"Thank you so much!" The nun hugged her tightly. "I won't disappoint you, Akane-san! I promise!"

"I'm sure you won't." She reluctantly returned the embrace.

Watching this adorable scene before her eyes made the smiling Mizuki wonder how things would have turned out if she'd had another child. Either way, if it were anything like her relationship with Asia, Akane would be the best big sister ever.

Par for the course for the scariest and cutest.

– Akane –

It took me less than ten minutes to eliminate the three gangs. Around two hundred twenty people were gone before either yakuza organization realized it. I was able to hide all the evidence in my inventory easily, from dead bodies to weapons to even the bullets shot at me. I made sure to eliminate whatever could be left to be used as a lead. I didn't have to worry about blood since Devour doesn't inflict physical wounds.

However, what's scary is how that high I felt while devouring their souls made it feel like only seconds had passed. Honestly, if Lucifer wasn't there to keep me in check at certain times, I would've made some really dumb mistakes.

I was completely consumed by the continuous urge to eat more. Gamer's Mind did nothing to help like it was pretending nothing was wrong, even though my newfound hunger was maddening, nearly driving me insane.

It's terrifying.

And at the same time, nothing has ever felt this good. Taking and consuming someone else's essence brings an indescribable feeling of euphoria. I've never taken any drugs before, but I imagine that's how it feels.

But unlike drugs, the benefits are real and instant. Ten minutes and two hundred regular, powerless humans netted me around 750-ish points distributed across mostly the three physical stats. I got this much from just average people.

This single test session giving me so much power is more than just motivating me to do more. I fully understand Lucifer's warnings now. Getting addicted to this would ruin me completely. It would destroy whatever humanity I have left, and while that sounds tempting so I can stop being so constrained by the morals of those I unfortunately care about, I wouldn't be 'me' anymore.

If I'm going to turn into a monster, I'll do it on my terms. I won't let anything control me.

I still can't just ignore this. Devour isn't some kind of boogeyman; it's a tool. A tool I'm willing to use to its full potential. This was the first time I've ever used it, so it caught me off guard. I know I can build up a resistance the more souls I eat.

I think I'll have to work my way up there, though, from normal humans to low-class to mid-class, and so on. I nearly went on a mindless spree after I killed the last gangster, only barely stopping myself from doing something utterly brain-dead.

…I'm still feeling its effects. I've been weirdly cold and shaking the entire time since I made it back— I couldn't even sleep like I'm going through some fucked up withdrawal. It hasn't been as bad after the first few hours, and I've been able to hide it relatively well, even from my mother, but it's something to consider for the future.

All this from ordinary people, too. If I had succeeded in stealing Kokabiel's soul, it could've done me more harm than good. Maybe I really was lucky that Akiyama interrupted me. It would've been impossible to explain anything clearly if I was so goddamn high.

This is really fucked up. I understand why something like this is considered forbidden. Besides stealing someone's pure essence, it's legitimately just fucking drugs, but everyone around you is your potential next hit.

And, in a way, it made me think just how powerful I would be if I theoretically devoured the souls of the entire population. Would I gain billions of stats? Or does it not work that way? If the power of souls really was that strong, then why am I not seeing more people doing this kind of stuff? It's taboo, obviously, but not everyone will care about that, right?

I'm getting ahead of myself. I'm pretty sure a single high-class individual is worth, like, probably millions of regular humans. Now that I know what I should be expecting. Hopefully, next time, I don't get completely fucking delirious.

Sadly, this is slowly becoming the only way I can reliably grow in power. Training quests with my mother and the others are showing fewer and fewer results, and the only way to unlock the new dungeon is to level up—a lot. And to level up, I need EXP. To get EXP, I need to either kill strong things or complete quests.

…Well, shit. Devouring really might be the only reasonable method available at the moment. That's both scary and tempting. After all, I perfectly avoided the yakuza the first time, didn't I? I can probably do it again.

But overconfidence is a trap I'm not falling for. Being careful and prepared has served me very well so far, so I'll only take risks if necessary. I'll lay low for some time before striking again; maybe this time, I'll go in the opposite direction and hit Okinawa instead.

Name - Akane Amamiya

Level - 225

Title - Undead Slayer

Primary Class - Juggernaut - LVL 25/100 [9%]

Secondary Class - Illusionist - LVL 34/100 [86%]

Race - Human

Rank - Mortal

Alignment - Neutral Evil

HP - 31,965 [4262 per minute]

MP - 77,550 [34,440 per minute]

SP - 31,965 [4262 per minute]

STR - 3012

END - 2131

DEX - 2479

INT - 3102

WIS - 2870

CHA - 1846

LUK – 1106

A few more people and I would've gotten the DEX essence… shame. More idiots should've joined their silly after-school club.

Hmm, with stats like these, I wonder what 'class' people would consider me right now? I should be Ultimate, at least. My physical stats seem to be catching up to my magic/mental-based ones, so that's good. I don't have the luxury of my magic strength being directly related to how strong I can punch.

Which is weird. Pretty sure people are starting to notice it, but I like this system stuff better anyway. As long as I keep everything close to each other, others won't see much of a difference.

Speaking of punching…

"L-like this?" Asia shows me her fist.

"Yes. You don't tuck your thumb inside your hand when punching. That's how you end up breaking your finger." I explain before pausing. "...Though, to be honest, I'm not sure if that still applies when you're superhuman, but we'll assume that it does. Anyway, start hitting this."

I point at the punching bag in the facility's indoor gym. Everyone else is training outside, but since Asia is still too weak to play with them, I thought I'd take her inside to teach her the basics. I don't like that I'm pretty much wasting time here, but perhaps making our healer able to fight in the frontlines with us will be worth investing in.

She did not help one bit in the Kokabiel arc, and if she had tried to get involved, she would've gotten crushed immediately. Everyone knows you always target the healers first, so making her capable of defending herself is required if I actually want to use her.

I've been a bit too neglectful regarding Asia because of everything I've had on my plate. Not anymore, though. I still had to check her overall strength beyond just using Observe, because 50 in strength doesn't tell me how strong she punches or how much she can bench press.

The answer to the latter question is around a thousand kilograms. So yes, even someone like Asia can casually break human world records—the reason being her Sacred Gear, of course. The difference between normal humans and anything remotely supernatural is this massive.

Makes it even more absurd that I managed to get anything out of those dumbass gangsters.

"Um, sure." Asia nods.

Asia throws a very pathetic punch, making me swallow back a groan.

"Don't worry about holding back," I say patiently. "This was custom-made to be able to absorb the shock from punching and kicking. It can withstand physical attacks from high-class and below."

"Oh, okay." Asia blinks.

This time, she focuses and hits as hard as she can, but even with that, the bag barely even moves an inch. I grimace as the blond turns to look at me with an expectant smile, preventing me from making a snarky quip.

"How did I do?!"

This is gonna take a while…

"Good enough, I suppose," I respond, crossing my arms in thought.

Her strength and speed, as her status page said, are absolutely fucking abysmal. I can quite literally flick her in the forehead hard enough that she explodes, no different from what I can do to the average guy.

I will say, though. Her stamina is way higher than everything else. With HP barely reaching a thousand and MP literally less than five hundred, her SP is fifty thousand due to continuous use of Twilight Healing.

This could help accelerate her growth tremendously. Sure, she can't restore her own stamina like she does ours, but she doesn't need that as much as we do. The stronger she gets, the more she can do and the longer she lasts.

…You know what? Even with everything else going on, like my tech and using Devour, I'm positive I can get her in shape before the peace conference and invasion. Nowhere near as strong as me and Ichi, obviously, but I can make her helpful by then. Maybe that battle will get her to unlock her Balance Breaker, which I want to see.

Quest added

[Private Angel] - Quest

Objective: Get Asia to level 100 before the Peace Conference

Bonus Objective: Get Asia to level 200 before the Peace Conference

Rewards: +100 CHA, Massively increase reputation with Asia Argento

Bonus Rewards: +150 CHA, [Ki Healing] Skill, unlock affection for Asia Argento

Challenge accepted. Getting her from level 25 to 200 would be a piece of cake, especially with that funny teaching perk I have.

"Alright!" I say suddenly, startling her a little. "I've decided that I'm going to turn you into a physical powerhouse."

"Y-you will?" Asia blinked in surprise.

"Indeed. I think I see a lot of potential in you." I nod sagely. "By the end of your training, I want you to be able to destroy this stupid bag with a single punch. Are we clear?"

"Yes, ma'am!" The blond answers just enthusiastically. "I'll do my best!"

"Good." I smile. "I'll be pushing you to your limits every single day, so I better not hear a single complaint. Now, let's start by weightlifting until everything here becomes too light. Then we'll use the gravity belts."

To my delight, this doesn't intimidate her one bit. If anything, it serves as some sort of motivation for her. Setting a goal can be really motivating, so I get it. Heh, you know, this might actually turn out to be fun after all.

I can only do so much to get her to level 200, so half of the work will have to be on her, but seeing her so excited makes me think she can do it. As long as I keep her this fired up, she might even go beyond the initial goal.

This and working on my new armor will be good distractions. Plus, an independent healing skill will come in handy. We'll see. Hopefully, there won't be any nasty surprises when the invasion happens.

But knowing this fucking world, I would have better luck seeing my dad dig out of his grave.

– Asia –

"C'mon, Asia. You've gotten this far; you can do this." Akane said encouragingly. "Just one more."

Asia, soaked in sweat and red from exhaustion, listened to her trainer and pushed herself harder, squatting down with one and a half tons of weight before slowly lifting it with gritted teeth. Thankfully, her best friend was there to help when her legs became a little too wobbly for her liking, and effortlessly held up the bar for her as she finally finished the set.

"Good job!" Akane praised as Asia fell down on her butt, panting heavily.

"I'm so tired." The blond responded, lying on her back.

But, at the same time, it felt so rewarding. Was this how they felt after a long day of training? She started to understand the appeal and why Ichi, Akane, and everyone else always laughed and smiled afterward. This was an incredible experience.

It was challenging but delightful, for sure. Learning how each machine was used, with Akane teaching her all the basics, was part of the fun. Now, Asia wasn't new to lifting. She always had to pick up heavy objects at the orders of the elder nuns and priestesses working in the church, but those were chores. This was for the sake of exercise.

"Yo, you girls still in there?" Ichiban said as he peeked from behind the door. "Sheesh, you've been at it since forever. Everyone else already left, you know."

"Hi, Ichi…" Asia waved weakly.

"Doesn't concern us." Akane shrugged.

"I mean, that's true." Ichi scratched the back of his head. "Xenovia got pretty pissed, though."

"So?" She snorted. "She can bang her head against the wall. I don't care."

"I suffered the brunt of it." He deadpanned. "She thought I'd do as a 'replacement'. Her word, not mine."

"Haha!" Akane laughed. "Don't tell me you took that lying down?!"

"Of course not. I kicked her ass." He said. "Anyway, you okay down there, Asia?"

"Everything hurts…"

After Akane's sudden promise, she'd set aside standard martial arts training in favor of growing her strength and muscles. Asia wondered and asked why, but her trainer responded that knowing how to throw a punch was great, but it wouldn't matter when everyone was so much stronger and faster.

Asia had agreed after hearing that argument and listened intently to everything Akane had told her. Prioritizing physical growth right now would probably make her a lot more helpful on the battlefield because even though she wouldn't know how to fight directly, she could still help by healing everyone else in case they got injured.

And they spent a lot of time training together. From 8 AM to 2 PM, in fact, spread across several exercises like lifting, squats, running, and so much more. Akane was also with her the whole time, positively cheering her on with every step.

Asia appreciated that intensely, but it made her feel bad. Akane was always giving her things and helping her out, and all Asia could do in return was cook food. It didn't feel like she was doing enough.

But that's why she was training in the first place. To make herself helpful to her and their friends.

"That's how it is," Akane said. "I hope this isn't giving you second thoughts."

"Not at all." Asia grinned in satisfaction. "I really enjoyed it. It was hard but so fun, too."

"Good. This attitude will help you out a lot later." The red-eyed girl nodded approvingly. "Good job, Asia. You've done really well today."

"We're done?"

"We are," Akane confirmed. "Normal people only need an hour or two at most in the gym, y'know? We've been at it for six hours. Any more than that is torture, not training."

This was surprising to the blond. She thought they'd be at it until 4 PM, at least. These past hours went by like lightning. It did make sense, though. Too much work wouldn't be giving her body the rest it needed. She wouldn't benefit from extra training at all.

But still…

"I don't feel any stronger, though." She said.

"Of course not." Ichi quipped. "You need to give it time before you start noticing the difference."

"I see…" Asia sighed.

That was a little disappointing.

"Don't give me that look." Her trainer rolled her eyes. "Trust me, what you accomplished is nothing to scoff at. You will see the difference tomorrow."

"You think so?"

"I know so." She said confidently. "I mean, look at me. Yokai blood or not, I got this powerful in just a little over a month. That doesn't happen with normal people."

"I guess that's true." Asia stood up, having rested a little. "But what do we do now that we're done with training?"

It was relatively early to be going to bed. The sun was still high and it was a Friday, so they had no school to worry about. Asia didn't know what else they should be doing today. Would they be training in other ways?

"Now we get food." She replied, offering her a hand. "I already made a reservation in some pretty expensive steakhouse. We're going to eat until we burst."

Oh, right. Food. Asia forgot that she was starving.

"Seriously?!" Ichi's eyes sparkled in excitement. "Holy crap, thank you so much! Oh man, I haven't had a good steak in forever."

"If you want to thank anyone, thank her." Akane playfully elbowed his side. "She seriously surprised me with her resolve today. She deserves it."

"Y-you really didn't have to." The blond said, a little embarrassed. "I'm okay with homecooked meals."

"Too bad." She shrugged. "You're going to need as much protein as possible. It's simply part of your training."

"Well…" Asia shuffled shyly. "If you insist."

"Alright, when's the reservation?" Ichi asked. "Do we have time to get ready?"

"Yeah, it's in two hours." Akane nodded. "Though you make it sound like we're going somewhere formal."

"We aren't? I mean, you said it's expensive, didn't you?"

"Yeah, to commoners like you." She said. "I'm a billionaire, you peasant. I can literally buy the restaurant's entire franchise."

"Oh, here we go again with this bullshit. Your mother is the billionaire, not you."

"And she's a complete pushover. The money is basically mine."

Asia watched the two get into their usual banter, and her smile widened. Between these two and Mizuki, she never thought she'd find people as kind as them. No, not just 'people', but a real family. Before coming across the Amamiya family, she had never felt warmth like this.

It only served to strengthen her faith in the Lord. This couldn't have been a coincidence but a reward for her unwavering belief and perseverance.

May God bless and shower them with the same kindness and love they showed Asia.

Though, was it her, or was Akane shaking?

– Daigo –

"Have you found anything?"

"Unfortunately, no." His captain responded with a professional tone. "This 'terrorist' is no slouch. They know what they're doing."

Daigo's frown deepened at this. This… could be bad for them. An unprovoked attack like this so close to the conference was worrying. Some kind of a warning shot? He had voiced his concerns to Mizuki just a few minutes ago, asking if this was something the Amon would do.

But if it wasn't them, then who could it be? Why Hokkaido? Why some ordinary human gangs? If it was some intimidation tactic, why kidnap the victims or hide the bodies? It's not like they were going to be gaining anything from that. If intimidation was the point, then leaving the corpses inside would've done the trick.

More importantly, how could they have stayed hidden for so long? Avoiding detection so effortlessly like that?

The fact that they had struck so suddenly could lead to problems. Not knowing who it could be made it even worse, as Daigo knew he was still missing a lot of information. He'd never find the answer to 'who' and 'why', not right now, at least.

But even though he needed to prepare for the conference, he wouldn't just stay there and do nothing about that. It'd be a sign of weakness and could be taken advantage of if he wasn't careful enough.

He had gotten this far and would not ruin what he had strived to build.

"What's our move?"

"Position the Hamazaki Family in Hokkaido. Tell them to remain on standby until further notice." He ordered. "If the situation proves too dangerous for them to handle, inform Kashiwagi-san."

"Of course." Mine nodded, then paused. "Hamazaki Family, huh… So you're sending a weaker family to handle it while the rest of the clan will stay with you in Kuoh."

"Yes," Daigo confirmed. "It's merely a show of power. Leaders can throw pleasantries and goodwill left, right, and center, but none is as effective as that simple act."

Individually, sure, they might be decent and honest people, but kindness could only get you so far as a faction leader. At the end of the day, you'd want powerful allies to help you prosper and thrive. Only being nice wasn't going to keep his loved ones safe.

The moment he was done with this conference, he was going to focus most of his attention on bettering the Tojo's tech. First, he had to worry about the Amon clan breaking in. And now there was another possibly hostile entity poking them for unknown reasons.

Which reminded him to keep an eye out for Tatsu's daughter. As far as he was aware, she hadn't made anything else after her armor, but she was seemingly too focused on her training. He still planned to invest some of his resources into her creations.

The kid was talented, and he looked forward to seeing what she'd make. Making power armor, even as crude as that, was significant enough to be kept track of.

But beyond helping her refine her crafts, her safety was still top priority. He could only hope this unknown threat wanted nothing to do with her because there was a real possibility that they were simply another of Tatsu's old enemies that had come out of the woodwork now that news of Akane's achievement of defeating Kokabiel was spreading through the supernatural scene.

If you couldn't get revenge on him directly, then, well, there was no better way to piss him off than to hurt his daughter.

Here's hoping Akane could handle herself when that eventually happened.

Tatara Hisoka is an actual yakuza character, by the way.

Money site, five chapters ahead with the last two being a little spicy if you know what I mean.