Gangs sound very impressive.
With hundreds or thousands of subordinates beneath them.
People on the street would hide when they saw them.
Shop owners would flatter them with forced smiles.
When trouble arose, a single phone call could summon a room full of people.
When he was young, Ishii also used to think this was power.
Later, as his position grew higher and higher and he met more and more people, he slowly came to realize that it was not like that at all.
The reason violent gangs were able to survive was simply because the truly big figures could not be bothered to look down at them every day.
Politicians had times when they needed them.
Corporations had matters that were inconvenient for them to handle personally.
Local society always had troubles that could not be solved by police and courts alone.
Everyone tacitly agreed to leave a space for each other.
That was how they managed to make a living.
If a day ever came when those people at the top decided not to give them even that space—
What could a gang do?
Go block the doors of a main bank's headquarters?
Go take knives and force the Ministry of Finance to change its policies?
Or lead hundreds of people to storm the main residence of a truly major financial clique?
When Ishii thought of this, he found it absurd himself.
All these years, he had thrown himself desperately into finance precisely because he understood this point.
Fists could only make people on the street fear you.
Money and connections were what made the people sitting upstairs treat you like a human being.
Therefore, he bought stocks.
Ran companies.
Got to know bankers.
Drank with securities firms.
And inched his way up from the streets bit by bit.
At the same time, he had always been very cautious.
He avoided provoking people whenever he could.
The truly major financial cliques, in particular, were to be kept as far away as possible.
Especially Saionji.
That family was somewhat different from other financial cliques.
No matter how strong old-established financial cliques were, they still adhered to many rules in their dealings.
Banks were banks.
Enterprises were enterprises.
And the political sphere was the political sphere.
Yet over the years, Saionji seemed to have twisted everything together into one.
Ishii had never entered The Club, but he knew of that place.
He could also be considered someone "engaged in finance," and he knew of that entity referred to by the investment community as "Japan's Wall Street."
Ever since Black Monday, even people in the underworld had begun whispering privately that many of the big figures who truly knew the direction of the wind in advance were drinking right there.
Later, the bubble burst.
Seibu bowed its head.
Hakusuikai fell.
More and more things that used to be mere rumors gradually became things no one dared to listen to as jokes anymore.
As for the yakuza themselves, the one they could least forget was the Black Dragon Society.
Ishii did not know Onizuka Toranosuke.
But he knew how that person met his end.
Saionji back then was still far from being as massive as it was today.
The S.A. Security Department had also only been established not long ago.
And the result?
A complete gang organization vanished just like that.
Its people were wiped out clean.
The political figures who protected them ultimately failed to stir up any waves either.
Later on, quite a few rumors circulated in the underworld.
Some said Onizuka was thrown into Tokyo Bay.
Others said not even a corpse was left behind.
No one could say for sure what was true or false.
The only thing everyone confirmed was—
Ever since then, there was no more Black Dragon Society.
Saionji back then was already capable of such things.
What about now?
Ishii looked out the window.
Today's Saionji had banks.
Companies.
Its own logistics, construction, finance, and intelligence systems.
Sitting inside The Club were a group of people, any single one of whom ordinary gangs were not qualified to provoke head-on.
Ishii suddenly realized that he had actually been thinking just now, "What should I do if Saionji really comes looking for me?"
This question simply had no answer.
His hand trembled again.
This time the amplitude was noticeably larger.
When Ishii saw this, his expression immediately sank.
He hated this.
He especially hated being seen like this by his own people.
He shoved the cigarette that had never been lit back into the cigarette case and picked up his wine glass again.
Drinking too hastily, a bit of wine spilled from the corner of his mouth and dripped down his chin onto his shirt.
"Tsk."
Ishii reached out to wipe it, but his movements were much heavier than usual.
Right at that moment, footsteps sounded outside the door.
A subordinate pushed the door open and entered.
"Chairman."
Ishii raised his eyes irritably.
"What is it this time?"
The man stood by the door and glanced first at the wine glass in Ishii's hand.
"The prefectural police are here."
"The prefectural police?"
Ishii's originally tense face relaxed slightly instead.
He put down the glass and leaned his body back against the sofa.
The police had been coming very frequently these past two days.
Either asking questions or looking for people.
Occasionally parking their cars outside and watching for half a day.
In the past, the prefectural police personnel came quite often as well.
Having entangled with each other for decades, they could all be considered "old friends."
"It is those guys from Division 4, right?"
Ishii waved his hand.
"Serve them tea first; I do not have time to waste with those fellows right now."
The subordinate did not move.
"Uh…"
Ishii had already picked up the cigarette case again, and seeing that the person was still standing there, his brow furrowed immediately.
"What else?"
"It is not the usual ones who come."
"Detectives from headquarters are here too."
Ishii's movements paused for a moment.
"Detectives?"
"Yes."
The subordinate's expression was clearly somewhat unnatural.
"And…"
Saying this, he stopped again.
Ishii was already tormented and upset by the events of these past few days, and seeing him stammering and hesitating, the fire in his chest flared up instantly.
"What else?!"
He stood up abruptly from the sofa.
Moving too hastily, his knee struck the edge of the coffee table, causing the wine glass on the table to sway.
The subordinate's body tightened in fright.
"Also… people from Saionji have come as well."
As the voice fell, the air seemed to freeze for that instant.
Ishii stared at him.
For a full two seconds, he did not even react.
Then that already gloomy face suddenly flushed red.
"What did you say?"
"Saionji—"
Before the subordinate could finish speaking, Ishii had already rushed up to him in a few strides and grabbed him by the collar.
"Can not you bastard tell what is important?!"
The subordinate's body leaned forward as he was choked.
Ishii's voice exploded right beside his ear.
"Saionji's people are here, and you fucking told me about the prefectural police first?!"
"V-Very sorry! Chairman!"
The subordinate instinctively grabbed his own collar with both hands, yet did not dare to actually pry open Ishii's hand.
"They just arrived too, I originally thought the prefectural police—"
"Where are they?!"
Ishii had no interest in listening to his explanation at all.
"Where have they reached now?"
"They have already entered the courtyard and are heading this way."
"Then what are you still standing here for!"
Ishii let go of his hand fiercely.
The subordinate stumbled back two steps, coughed a few times while clutching his throat, but did not go out immediately.
"Chairman, there is one more thing…"
Ishii looked at him abruptly.
"What else?!"
"We just confirmed the person leading them."
The subordinate caught his breath.
"Her name is Saionji Maki."
Ishii frowned.
He had no impression of this name.
But the next sentence the subordinate immediately uttered made the words he was just about to use to urge him stop right on his lips.
"She is a person from the Saionji Main Family Residence."
"..."
The anger on Ishii's face froze.
"The Main Family?"
"Yes."
The subordinate nodded.
Ishii slowly loosened his clenched hands.
People from the Main Family.
If it were merely the president of some company under Saionji coming over, that could be business.
If a lawyer came, it could be debts.
If people from a bank came, it could be financing.
But for the Saionji Main Family Residence to dispatch people to visit in person, the nature of the matter was completely different.
Especially at a time like this.
Ishii suddenly recalled that phone call.
—You have been targeted by Saionji.
The friend's somewhat hoarse voice echoed in his mind, and his chest felt as if it had been heavily pressed down by something.
His breathing suddenly grew rapid.
"How many people did she bring?"
"From what can be seen now, there are around a dozen."
"What kind of people?"
"Saionji's own guards."
The subordinate paused slightly.
"And the prefectural police."
Ishii raised his head abruptly.
This time, he finally heard the true problem in that initial sentence.
"Wait."
His voice dropped noticeably.
"You are saying the prefectural police personnel… are together with Saionji?"
The subordinate nodded.
"Not long after Saionji's cars arrived, the prefectural police personnel were right beside them."
"Those detectives did not say they came for us either, only that an important figure was visiting here today, and they were responsible for perimeter guarding and security assistance."
Security assistance.
Ishii's lips moved.
He almost laughed out loud.
But in the end, not a single sound came out.
On the surface, the police were simply there to ensure safety.
Completely reasonable and logical.
The securities scandal was fermenting nationwide.
A main family figure of a large financial clique was entering the residence of the former chairman of Inagawa-kai, and the prefectural police, worried about trouble, sent a few people over to stand guard.
No one could find any fault with that.
Yet Ishii had never dreamed in his wildest dreams that one day prefectural police personnel would stand outside his door alongside Saionji.
"Chairman?"
The subordinate watched his increasingly ugly expression with some unease.
Ishii snapped back to his senses abruptly.
"Hurry up and prepare!"
"Yes."
"Clean out the reception room and replace the tea with new ones. And those bastards outside, tell them all to shut their mouths; today, if anyone dares to cause trouble for me—"
Halfway through his sentence, he suddenly looked down at his own clothes.
The collar of his shirt had been pulled somewhat crooked earlier by himself.
The wine liquid had also left a small, darker-colored stain on his chest.
Ishii's expression changed, and he hurriedly used his hand to wipe it.
The more he wiped, the more obvious it became instead.
"My clothes."
He turned and walked a couple of steps inward.
"Get me a jacket."
Just as the subordinate was about to agree, footsteps already sounded in the hallway outside.
Ishii's movements stopped.
Too fast.
"Have the people already come in?"
He turned his head back.
The subordinate was also somewhat panicked.
"I—I asked them to wait a moment at the entryway first…"
The next second, the door was pushed open from the outside.
The first to enter were four plainclothes detectives.
They were not wearing uniforms.
Their dark suit jackets were not fully buttoned, and at their waists, it seemed intentionally arranged so that people could clearly see the outline of their service weapons.
Ishii had even seen one of them before.
Back when the prefectural police were investigating the Inagawa-kai case, that person had once sat here at his place for two hours.
Their gazes collided.
That detective merely gave him a slight nod.
Then retreated to both sides of the room.
Ishii stood in place, unmoving.
The footsteps outside continued.
The few people who entered next, Ishii did not recognize a single one of them.
They wore uniform pure black combat uniforms, with protective vests layered over them, communication equipment secured near their shoulders and collars, and black gloves worn on their hands to facilitate movement.
Although guns could not be seen at their waists, they hung baton-like warning sticks and several pieces of equipment whose uses Ishii could not immediately distinguish; just this whole outfit was already completely different from the bodyguards in regular companies who wore suits and followed cars.
What concerned Ishii even more were their actions after entering the door.
The two at the very front merely glanced around the room before naturally separating; one stopped by the door, another stood at a position close to the hallway, and the remaining people each found a spot and stood firm.
Looking at them, the unease in Ishii's heart that had just arisen because of the prefectural police's appearance sank down another notch.
He suddenly thought of the Black Dragon Society again.
That matter from several years ago popped into his head without any warning.
His fingers started trembling again, and this time they simply could not stop.
Ishii hid his hands behind his back, wanting to grip his other wrist.
The footsteps outside gradually dwindled down, leaving in the end only the sound of high heels stepping across the hallway floor.
The sound was neither hurried nor heavy, just approaching bit by bit with a very steady rhythm, which instead made Ishii's heartbeat, which he had only barely managed to suppress just now, speed up again.
He raised his head to look toward the doorway, and soon saw a young woman walking in from outside the hallway.
The newcomer was much younger than he had expected, looking to be only in her early twenties.
She wore a neatly tailored pair of black suit trousers, paired only with a very light-colored shirt underneath; no superfluous jewelry was visible on her, her long hair was neatly tied back behind her head, and in her hand she held an inconspicuous black folder.
Ishii stared at her for a few seconds.
This was Saionji Maki?
If they had merely met on the street, he would probably find it very hard to connect the young woman before him with that entire array of battle array just now.
Maki stopped at the doorway of the room, glanced inside, and walked straight toward Ishii, her pace consistently unhurried.
Only then did Ishii realize that he was still standing beside the coffee table, the collar of his shirt pulled somewhat crooked earlier, and there was even a bit of uncleaned wine stain left on his chest.
He instinctively raised his hand to tidy up his collar, and when his fingers touched the buttons, he discovered that his fingertips were still trembling slightly.
Ishii's expression changed slightly, and he immediately withdrew his hand.
But Maki had already walked up in front of him.
She stopped at a distance of less than two meters from Ishii, glanced at him first, and then swept her gaze over the wine glass on the coffee table that had not been cleared away in time.
No disgust could be seen on her face, nor did she deliberately put on any threatening expression; she was simply calm to the point that Ishii momentarily felt even more at a loss as to how to respond.
He opened his mouth, originally intending to greet her first.
"Miss Saionji…"
Having only spoken a few words, his voice was somewhat hoarser than he had anticipated.
Ishii had to clear his throat, and before he could continue with the rest of his words, Maki looked at him again.
"Mr. Ishii."
Her tone was very cold.
"Our eldest miss has words for you."