Chapter 5 (continued)

"Who on earth would dare attack the Port Mafia?" Hirotsu Ryūrō wondered. "The Guild has fallen apart, the Armed Detective Agency has never had much to do with us, and the Armed Detective Agency wouldn't do anything that could be used against them. What organization could it be?"

"Perhaps it wasn't an organization." Mori Ougai stood and walked to the window, looking out at the flames.

Hirotsu Ryūrō was even more puzzled. "But without an organization backing them, would anyone really do something like this?"

He simply couldn't imagine it. In Yokohama today, the Port Mafia ruled the night, and few dared challenge them. Even those who did wouldn't deliberately choose the Port Mafia headquarters, where the task would be exceptionally difficult. The few weapons thefts that had occurred had all taken place at outside warehouses.

So Hirotsu Ryūrō couldn't think of anyone other than an ability user from outside.

"More importantly, how do you think they threw a bomb into the warehouse?" Mori Ougai said with a smile. "They threw it inside without the guards noticing, escaped harm from the blast, and no one saw any suspicious person come to headquarters."

"I'm sorry, I don't know."

Mori Ougai smiled. "Please ask Chuuya and Lady Kōyō to come here."

"Yes, sir."

Hirotsu Ryūrō placed one hand against his chest and bowed to Mori Ougai, then turned and left the office.

It seemed the boss already had something in mind.

Mori Ougai remained in the same position until the office door closed.

"I hope it isn't an old friend."

At last, Mori Ougai murmured those words.

"The boss wants me?" Chūya Nakahara was a little surprised. He was near the exploded warehouse, where the cleanup team was dealing with the remains and the trading department was tallying the losses. Chūya had just looked over the department's figures, and the numbers had left him frowning.

The Port Mafia had grown to support countless members and had an enormous network of underground dealings. Weapons trading wasn't its only source of profit, but it was undoubtedly a major source of funds.

The explosion had destroyed more than the warehouse's weapons stockpile. It had also taken their recent financial transaction records with it.

"The boss has summoned you and Executive Ozaki. Executive Ozaki has already gone ahead."

"Even Kōyō went?" Chūya Nakahara was a little surprised. "Because of this explosion?"

Hirotsu Ryūrō nodded. "Yes. It seems something suspicious was found. The explosion wasn't an accident; someone caused it."

"What?!"

Chūya Nakahara immediately understood how serious the matter was and headed straight for the headquarters in the distance.

Everything around him was orderly, with every department working overtime because of the explosion. There were even intelligence officers from the information department nearby. Chūya Nakahara went around them and entered headquarters, then headed straight for the elevator to the top floor. As he waited for it, he found himself wondering the same thing as Hirotsu Ryūrō.

Who dared openly challenge the Port Mafia like this?

Chūya Nakahara still hadn't come up with an answer by the time the elevator doors opened. In his view, even Osamu Dazai, the former executive who had defected, wouldn't do anything so flashy as to be stupid. Besides, Dazai had been with the Armed Detective Agency for two years without taking any revenge on the Port Mafia.

That was enough to show that Osamu Dazai would never make such a public display of it.

Chūya Nakahara let out a long breath and stepped into the hallway, heading for Mori Ougai's office. Just as he was about to enter, he turned to look beside him.

The guard stationed outside the office stood silently. Sunglasses covered much of his face, and he held a gun with a solemn expression.

"Why are you alone?" Chūya Nakahara frowned. "This is the boss's office. There have to be enough guards here."

"I'm sorry." The guard hurriedly lowered his head, and Chūya Nakahara saw his white hair.

"My partner was reassigned to deal with the explosion and hasn't come back yet."

The explosion had happened at night, when the Port Mafia was active. Being caught off guard by such a serious incident would indeed leave them short-handed, but who had sent even the guard from the boss's office to help? Were they really that short of people?

Looking at the man's lowered head, Chūya Nakahara frowned slightly. He had a persistent feeling that the man looked familiar, so he reached out and took off his sunglasses. The next moment, he saw a pair of red eyes.

"Hey." Chūya Nakahara looked at him. "You look familiar."

"I met you during the Dragon Head Conflict, Executive Nakahara," the man explained nervously, with a hint of flattery in his voice. "You and Mr. Dazai were tracking down the person who started the conflict. I was sent there as reinforcement and took part in a small operation with you. If you remember, its code name was Gloomy and Tainted Little Dwarf."

"Huh?!" Chūya Nakahara exploded. "When did I ever give an operation a code name like that?!"

"Mr. Dazai named it."

"Damn it, that bastard Dazai..." Chūya Nakahara ground his teeth, struggling to suppress his urge to curse Osamu Dazai. "You don't look very old. You were in the Dragon Head Conflict?"

"I'm twenty-four."

So he was older than Chūya.

Chūya Nakahara exhaled. "All right. From now on, no matter who comes, don't leave this post. Your job is to protect the boss, understand?"

"Yes, sir!"

Chūya Nakahara pushed open the door and entered the office. He didn't see what happened the moment he closed it: the guard smiled and tossed his gun to the floor. He unbuttoned his clothes, amusement in his red eyes.

"After four years, Mr. Chuuya is still just as easy to fool as I imagined."

Kamiki Yūhaku tossed the black suit jacket onto the floor. "The plan worked. Time to leave."

Meanwhile, Chūya Nakahara entered the office, where Kōyō Ozaki had arrived long before him. She sat in a wooden chair, her neat clothes and elegant updo showing that she hadn't been resting. She had arrived properly dressed, without a trace of disarray.

"Boss, Kōyō."

Kōyō Ozaki nodded to him, and Mori Ougai smiled at him as well, so Chūya Nakahara took the empty chair beside Kōyō Ozaki.

"I should have called you to the conference room, but it's a little chaotic outside, and this isn't anything major, so I thought it would be better to meet here." Mori Ougai smiled. "I'm sorry for calling you both here at this hour, Lady Kōyō, Chuuya."

"There's no need to be so polite. You're the boss, after all; what you say goes." Kōyō Ozaki looked at Mori Ougai. "So why did you call Chuuya and me here? Because of the explosion outside?"

Mori Ougai kept smiling as he looked at them. "I'd like you to think back. Is there anyone who hates the Port Mafia enough to do something like this?"

"Do you mean Dazai?" Kōyō Ozaki hid her smile behind one sleeve. "As I see it, the only person who could hate the Port Mafia to the bone is the former executive who defected, Osamu Dazai."

"But this is also something Osamu Dazai would never do."

"The person Dazai dislikes is me, not the Port Mafia." Mori Ougai was well aware of that. "So it must be someone else."

Chūya Nakahara listened to them, then spoke after a moment. "Could it be an outside organization like the Guild?"

"Unless they enter illegally, outside organizations have to get past the Armed Detective Agency before they can enter Yokohama," Mori Ougai said. "Besides, this doesn't quite fit their style."

Chūya Nakahara understood what Mori Ougai meant.

The explosion had been far too unexpected. Besides the culprit's boldness, there was also their knowledge of the Port Mafia. Only with that knowledge could they have infiltrated the place without arousing the slightest suspicion, and even blown up a weapons warehouse by a method unknown to the Mafia itself.

"Could it have been the seriously injured member?" Kōyō Ozaki suggested. "The blast covered too wide an area. Even if someone really did throw a bomb, they must have been caught in the explosion. The only people injured at the scene were the guards. It's not as if the culprit could fly, is it?"

"Fly?" Mori Ougai frowned slightly. When Kōyō Ozaki said the word, he suddenly felt he had grasped something.

But before Mori Ougai could sort out his thoughts, a distinct knocking suddenly came from behind him.

Mori Ougai jumped and immediately stood up. Beside him, Kōyō Ozaki and Chūya Nakahara went on alert at once.

"What was that?"

"It sounded like it came from outside the window."

Mori Ougai looked at the window. Soon, the knocking came again.

The office had been built with exceptionally sturdy materials; even a bomb couldn't shatter the glass. It was also very well soundproofed, which meant someone outside had to be striking the glass hard. Only then could they make a sound loud enough to hear.

With that thought, Mori Ougai reached out and pressed a button on his desk. The shades covering the glass and blocking the light began to rise.

As the shades slowly lifted, they saw a man.

Kajii Motojiro hung upside down in front of the glass, his hands and feet bound. He was banging against the window with all his strength, and the moment his eyes met theirs, they lit up.

"Kajii Motojiro?!"

"How did he get here?" Kōyō Ozaki frowned, watching him sway back and forth in the wind. "Boss, I remember you mentioned when I arrived that Kajii Motojiro was missing."

Chūya Nakahara froze at Kōyō Ozaki's words, his blue eyes slowly narrowing. "Wait. Kajii Motojiro went missing. Is it likely that whoever caused the explosion was behind his disappearance?"

"He's hanging here, which means that person came here..."

So Kajii Motojiro was hanging outside, and this was the top floor. Whoever had hung him upside down must have gone to the roof.