The organization behind Mino Hisashi?
At this, Kojou Yuna and Nissho Taro both fell into a brief silence.
Yuna hadn't expected Fujiwara Shunsui to get such crucial information one step ahead of her; usually she handled all the "logistics" work herself.
What Taro couldn't figure out was why, in this day and age, anyone would dare to openly challenge the Sankou-gumi.
Back then he'd joined the Sankou-gumi precisely so he wouldn't be bullied.
Growing up, he'd more or less achieved that goal.
But he'd discovered that the jianghu isn't about brawling—it's about people and favors.
Thinking of this, Taro sighed inwardly; the other side dared to declare war on the Sankou-gumi management so openly on the Dark Web—without approval from higher-ups, he wouldn't believe it.
"So what do we do?"
Nissho Taro's question was direct and to the point.
"Wait." Fujiwara Shunsui leaned back on the sofa, still smiling at Kojou Yuna; he truly hoped she wouldn't be angry at his little stunt, even if clever tricks do tend to annoy people.
"Wait for what?" Taro didn't quite understand. "Isn't waiting for them to come to us too passive? This is tantamount to declaring war on the Sankou-gumi. Although you've left the core management, your status is still there—there's no need to let these people off."
Fujiwara Shunsui glanced at Taro; the kid was as impatient as ever.
But he'd forgotten he'd once been the same.
Shunsui kept looking at Kojou Yuna, ignoring Nissho Taro, until Yuna felt his gaze and snapped, "Taro asked you what you're waiting for—why are you staring at me!"
Right now Yuna felt half-amused, half-annoyed.
It wasn't exactly exasperation with Shunsui—more a deadlock of not knowing how to handle the situation.
The key was that Shunsui-kun was the one who'd given her that feeling.
Shunsui didn't look away; he kept gazing at Kojou Yua and said earnestly,
"We searched for ages and found nothing on them; this time they jumped out and put a bounty on my info—something's off."
"On one hand, I'm waiting for their next move."
"On the other, we can only wait. If we act too much, contact too many people, we'll look flustered. If we panic, the enemy gets more openings."
"Sigh—" Fujiwara Shunsui exhaled, then said helplessly, "I know it's the clumsiest method, but it's all we've got. That's why from the start I had everyone live together—so we can watch each other's backs if anything sudden happens."
Fujiwara Shunsui had wanted to wait for things to calm down so he and Taro could resume normal work; only by appearing normal would the hidden enemies get another chance to surface.
But clearly, the other side no longer needed that chance.
"You considered all this long ago?" Kojou Yuna looked at Fujiwara Shunsui in disbelief. "You had us live close because you thought they'd still come after us?"
By now Kojou Yuna had caught on.
Sure enough, when emotions spiral, keeping a clear head is tough for anyone.
Only now did Kojou Yuna fully come back to her senses.
So Fujiwara Shunsui's earlier attitude had been deliberate teasing—the man really deserved a smack. Thinking this, Kojou Yuna unconsciously pouted and quietly cursed him in her heart.
Though she'd cursed Shunsui-kun a little, her mood had improved a lot.
At least the man in front of her took responsibility for his life and thought several steps ahead; that set her mind at ease.
Looks like her view of Shunsui-kun would have to change. Although Big Sis Kiko said Shunsui-kun matched exactly what she'd told her, that seemed to refer to other aspects… awkward.
Seeing Kojou Yuna's attitude soften, Fujiwara Shunsui hurried to sit beside her and, putting on airs, began massaging her legs while explaining,
"I did think about your safety early on." Shunsui paused, glanced at Nissho Taro, then continued, "Taro's great in every way, just has a little hobby of 'jungling'; keeping him close reassures me—if anything happens I can be there instantly."
Hearing that, Taro said, "I do have some hobbies, but Lord Shunsui, what does 'jungling' mean?"
Fujiwara Shunsui glanced at Yuna beside him and decided not to explain "jungling," to avoid unnecessary trouble.
He then squeezed Yuna-chan's full thigh; the plump flesh almost filled the gaps between his fingers, and those yoga pants she hadn't had time to change into became the MVP of this relaxation session.
"Such soft thighs," Shunsui thought; how blissful it would be to lie on these legs for a while every day.
The more he thought about it, the clearer it became: the happier the life, the more someone must toil silently behind the scenes, bearing the pressure for you.
Feeling the alternating soft and firm pressure on her thigh and still getting no explanation, Kojou Yuna spoke up again: "I asked you a question! Why go silent again?"
At her urging, Miya Harukiko behind them couldn't help giggling.
Shunsui was satisfied; this was the attitude a normal woman should have. Wasn't he just trying to make her happy? No need to be so tense every day—he could be the one secretly stressed; when they were together, light and happy was enough.
But considering Yuna-chan's earlier mood, Shunsui turned his hands into "little hammers," lightly and quickly tapped her legs a few times, then immediately turned serious and said,
"Keeping you close is also because I worry about you—of course, not in that way."
Fujiwara Shunsui glanced back at Miya Harukiko; she probably didn't understand the bond between the three of them, so she cooperatively stayed silent.
Of course, Kiko-chan had no clear definition of the danger they spoke of.
If she knew that kind of danger could really cost lives, she probably wouldn't be laughing, and her situation might not be much better than Yuna-chan's.
"The other side dares to act so blatantly; I think they're very confident—and indeed, so far we haven't found any information about them."
"Oh, right!" Shunsui remembered something and added, "We do have a lead. This morning Nagasawa Kawa just told me that the group behind Mino Hisashi uses a [Black Dragon] as their avatar on the Dark Web."
"Pretty stylish."
Shunsui didn't actually want to snark like this, but he couldn't help himself; he had no idea how things had turned out this way—probably some mysterious force was meddling.
There was already quite a bit of information like this; at the very least, they could be more certain about several things.
Kojou Yuna listened to Fujiwara Shunsui without saying much, lowering her head to tap something into her phone.
"What are you doing?"
Shunsui was sitting right beside her; every move she made was in full view.
"I'm getting someone to dig up every user who's traded with this ID on the Dark Web in the past five years—someone always leaves a trail." Yuna's answer was decisive, giving Fujiwara Shunsui no chance to reply.
After all, intelligence-gathering was Yuna-chan's specialty.
"All right." Shunsui naturally wouldn't say anything like "you don't have to"; their shared experience had long since done away with such pleasantries.
Of course, Fujiwara Shunsui's own wisecracking didn't count—that was pure provocation, and Yuna-chan's irritation was understandable.
Meanwhile, Nissho Taro felt he should do something too, and said to Shunsui, "Lord Shunsui, we can't just sit here waiting; I'll put a bounty on the guy."
"Stop, stop, stop." Fujiwara Shunsui hurriedly cut Taro off. "Don't spam that in every group chat—it's a generational gap in communication tools."
"But what if…" Taro's voice lacked confidence; Lord Shunsui's words made perfect sense.
Even now he had no idea what this "Dark Web" they were discussing actually was.
Sure enough, the pros should handle the professional stuff.
"Don't bother; just stick to keeping the apartment building secure."
Work security? I'm great at that!"
Hearing he could return to his old trade, Nissho Taro's face lit up; it was right up his alley. Back when he'd first joined the Sankou-gumi, he'd been a bouncer at a karaoke bar, always the first to charge in when trouble started.
Later he realized he could never be first again—under Fujiwara Shunsui, the boss always rushed out ahead of everyone.
Fujiwara Shunsui pulled out his phone to text Nakamura Aoi; the girl seemed quite worried about him.
"Ding-dong~"
The doorbell rang. Nissho Taro counted heads—every familiar face was present; he couldn't imagine who'd show up now.
Taro jogged to the door. When he opened it, he found Kojima Bin, dripping with sweat.
"Lord Taro, you're here too?"
Kojima Bin was startled; he'd expected Fujiwara Shunsui or Kojou Yuna to answer.
"What's wrong? Why wouldn't I be here? I live next door!"
Nissho Taro replied coldly, putting on his "superior" air; the sudden change in attitude surprised the other three inside.
"N-no, no," Kojima Bin hastily explained, catching his breath. "I texted Lord Shunsui this morning that someone on the Dark Web is offering a bounty for info on him, but he didn't reply, so I came to check if something happened."
While speaking, Kojima Bin spotted Fujiwara Shunsui, who had already positioned himself nearby just in case.
"I got too many messages this morning to answer. As you can see, I'm fine—thanks for your concern."
For some reason, Shunsui felt an instinctive resistance to Kojima Bin's excessive enthusiasm.
Although the guy had made a decent first impression, repeated contact had worn that goodwill away.
He might be a model employee, but Fujiwara Shunsui still wanted to keep his distance.
Kojima Bin stood awkwardly in the doorway until Kojou Yuna called from the living room, "Is that Kojima Bin? Let him in!"
Shunsui inwardly objected, but Yuna-chan was the "sky" of this household—her preferences came first.
Kojima Bin knew who really called the shots in the Syndicate; even after hearing Yuna call his name, he kept smiling at the threshold, not daring to step inside.
Only when Fujiwara Shunsui said, "Come in. You've come a long way—have some tea," did he nod to Nissho Taro, bow slightly to Shunsui, and say, "Thank you, Lord Shunsui."
Neither Fujiwara Shunsui nor Nissho Taro had expected Kojima Bin to come straight to the apartment, let alone bypass Taro and text Lord Shunsui directly.
In any Syndicate, going over your immediate boss to reach the higher-ups is a dangerous, generally forbidden move.
Yet Kojima Bin didn't seem embarrassed—maybe he thought Yuna-chan was easy to talk to, or simply didn't care—leaving Nissho Taro lost in thought.
He'd seen far too many of this type in Chuo Ward; from this moment on, he resolved to keep a close eye on Kojima Bin.
Such men often turned traitor in the Syndicate, stabbing their bosses in the back when least expected.
Kojima Bin remained impeccably polite, standing in the living room without sitting. Even when Yuna-chan handed him a cup of hot tea, he held it steadily, wordless.
The awkwardness made him regret coming uninvited; he hadn't expected Kojou Yuna to be in Lord Shunsui's home.
Perhaps his last private errand for Fujiwara Shunsui had convinced him he might become the boss's "favorite."
"Thanks for your concern. Since you're here, I'll pass on a message so we don't need to call later."
Fujiwara Shunsui settled onto the sofa and turned to Kojima Bin.
"Please speak, Lord Shunsui." Kojima Bin bent forward respectfully.
Watching him, Shunsui thought: You're too smooth, kid—way too smooth. Did Qin Shi Huang actually hate Zhao Gao?
"Tell every member of the Shinjuku Syndicate to maintain status quo, ignore outside rumors, and report anything unusual up the chain."
He emphasized the words "up the chain," clearly reminding Kojima Bin.
"I understand my mistake, Lord Shunsui."