Prelude

Half a month later, Oboro returned to the Republic of Padokea from another continent.

Things... had gone more smoothly than expected.

He had met two of the Ten Dons... one was a woman, while the other was an elderly man.

The woman was the one among the Ten Dons who got along worst with Brown... as for the other old man, he was greedy... once the Fills Family's plan succeeded and Oboro became one of them, a separate territory would have to be carved out from his jurisdiction, along with the surrender of some businesses.

Oboro naturally agreed... because he did not care about the power of the mafia at all. He only wanted to make use of the Ten Dons' status and intelligence.

Besides, once he became one of the Ten Dons, some of the things decided now might not necessarily still count in the future as time passed. He could erase Brown with his current strength, and in the future, he could likewise change the balance among the Ten Dons...

It all depended on whether Oboro was interested...

And for those two Ten Dons, bringing another person into their little group of ten would undoubtedly give them a greater voice.

Of course, that was if the Fills Family failed.

If that happened, those two would cut ties with him and... help Brown wipe out the remnants of the Fills Family.

So... everything depended on the Fills Family succeeding! The two had also revealed some useful information... after some time, the Ten Dons would have to handle an important matter, and Brown would leave his territory. The two would do their best to hold him off for the Fills Family and buy them some time.

Fills Family headquarters.

Oboro arrived at the top floor.

Fills Lily already knew the outcome. Though she could not see, she seemed able to sense his cheerful mood.

"Are we starting?"

The woman was still seated in her wheelchair, 'gazing' at the cityscape as usual, her slender fingers brushing the glass.

"Yeah... we can begin..."

Oboro replied with a smile.

Trouble had broken out again! The organizations within the territory had only been peaceful for a few days before another upheaval occurred, and this one was rather serious.

This time, it had nothing to do with the Fills Family. It involved the Gabriel and Badim families... at first, it was merely some friction between insignificant underlings from both sides. Then it escalated into conflict between family cadres. The heads of both families even came forward and said some formal words... but they seemed useless.

The situation gradually spiraled out of control... escalating into gunfights.

Even the Ten Dons were alerted and personally intervened... only after all the ringleaders and related personnel causing trouble were eliminated did things finally calm down.

But before long... two more families began fighting viciously.

It had also started with conflict between low-ranking thugs before gradually turning into a brawl among lower-level cadres.

For a time, the underground forces within the territory were in chaos, with everyone on edge.

Inside the estate of Brown, one of the Ten Dons.

In the office, he puffed on a cigar, his entire body shrouded in smoke, his brow tightly furrowed.

Of the eight men under him, the Badim and Gabriel families had some grudges from years ago, but that had long passed. They operated in the same circle and had climbed their way up bit by bit; it was impossible for there to have been no friction.

But what happened back then had long been put behind them.

The fact that the fire had started among the lower ranks showed that Badim and Gabriel had managed their people poorly... which left Brown very dissatisfied.

Still, the situation had been brought under control, which was a good thing.

Yet Stan and Jose's families had stirred up trouble again, making the whole affair somewhat strange.

The businesses of those two families overlapped heavily, and there was competition between them. But after his warning, the heads of the two families had stayed out of each other's way... one involved old grudges, the other business interests. Both were easy points to exploit.

Brown narrowed his eyes.

He had not reached his current position by being some brainless fool. On top of that, he was deeply versed in the ways of the mafia. Instinctively, he smelled a "conspiracy"! Someone was causing trouble! Whoever could pull off something like this needed to know a fair amount about the four families... and also be quite familiar with the personalities and methods of their bosses. In other words, the mastermind was one of the eight people under him! Brown picked up a stack of documents. On the white pages were photographs, backgrounds, and collected intelligence on the heads of the eight families. Among them... was Oboro!

"Look into what the Fills Family has been doing lately... Investigate the cadres involved in the Jose and Stan families..." Brown ordered without even raising his head.

"Yes."

The subordinate standing before him nodded and left the room.

The territory under his control had always been peaceful. Ever since the Fills Family started rising, something had felt off... Oboro had kept a low profile lately, and Brown had thought that even if the latter had ambitions, he was someone who understood the times and was worthy of being valued.

The people under him had all been well-behaved... yet not long after Oboro joined, signs of them turning on one another had appeared.

All of this made Brown suspicious of Oboro.

But suspicion was only suspicion... he needed evidence.

Though Brown stared at Oboro's photograph on the paper, his heart told him that this young man was highly likely the culprit... he still could not directly order the Fills Family uprooted. The mafia had its rules, and besides... he could be wrong.

Even if Brown felt that his intuition could not be mistaken...

The question was... what gave a mere Fills Family, a mere Oboro, the nerve to oppose him? And what was his purpose? Oboro should know very well how strong he was... doing this was like smashing an egg against a rock. He was courting death!

Oboro had led the Fills Family to stand out, which showed that he was no fool... even an ordinary person could foresee such an obvious outcome.

"I was a little careless... even if it wasn't you, once this is over, I'll find a way to make you disappear..." Brown lit Oboro's dossier on fire with his cigar, his tone icy.

He had realized something.

Oboro was different from an ordinary mafia boss. He was a Nen user, and his strength seemed quite decent.

Even if Oboro was innocent... having someone like that at his side, someone who would understand and become increasingly familiar with him over time, was still a hidden danger. So Brown had made up his mind... if Oboro cleared himself of suspicion, the greatest mercy he would receive was that the Fills Family would remain, though it would need a new leader.

With the Ten Dons personally giving the order, the investigation naturally proceeded with astonishing efficiency. The next day, a subordinate reported to Brown.

"They're all dead?"

"Yes... their whereabouts are unknown. They should be dead, silenced by someone."

"Then it means someone really is stirring things up... the other side reacted quickly."

Brown's voice was low.

"The Fills Family has been very quiet lately... their head, Oboro, has also kept a low profile and rarely shown his face. Some small family and group leaders have tried to build connections with him, but they seem to have been turned away... he apparently does not want to form factions and create unnecessary misunderstandings."

"He covered his tracks so cleanly..."

Brown leaned back in his chair, eyes fixed on the ceiling as his mind raced. "He isn't truly behaving himself... it's very likely he's misleading me, confusing my line of sight, making me lower my guard and shift my attention..."

"When all the potential culprits have been ruled out, then the last remaining person, no matter how impossible it seems, even if there's only a one percent chance he's suspicious... must be him!"

"Better to kill wrongly than let one go."

By the end of his muttering, Brown's gaze had turned frigid.

There was no need for evidence anymore. He would find an excuse and make him disappear...

This was his territory. Whoever he wanted dead would not live.

"Call the Fills Family and tell Oboro to come see me!"

"Yes."

A moment later, the subordinate returned.

"The Fills Family replied that... their boss is unwell and recuperating. They said... he will need some time before he recovers..."

"..."

Brown fell silent.

Was this... an open declaration?

It really was him?! "Should we act now?"

At that moment, an emotionless voice came from within the room.

It was Sato, hidden in the shadows.

Brown did not need to spell it out. He understood his boss's thoughts.

One of the Ten Dons raised a hand. "No rush. He'll die sooner or later... we'll deal with it after I return. In a few days, I'll leave to handle something. Keep the Fills Family under full surveillance. The news of my departure must not be revealed to anyone either. Make the others think I'm still here so they won't dare act rashly... As for Oboro, whether it was him or not, I want to see him die with my own eyes and hear... what he has to say..."

Sato said nothing.

"No one from the Fills Family is allowed to leave the country."

"Understood!"

"Move quickly... the target has already taken off..."

The next day, Oboro received a message.

The other party merely said one sentence before hanging up.

Oboro put down his phone and looked toward David at his side.

"There's no news of Brown leaving..."

"He's creating the illusion that he's still around... what a pity..." Oboro smiled faintly.

Then he glanced at the woman in the wheelchair.

"If we fail, your Fills Family will cease to exist..."

"We've come this far. Do I still have a choice?"

Fills Lily smiled softly.

"What about your side?"

"The number of cadres whose weaknesses we found and whom we bribed is limited... they can reduce the trouble by around thirty percent, as expected." The Old Butler said solemnly.

"It doesn't matter... I only wanted to save some time. Even without their interference, it won't be much of a problem."

As Oboro spoke, he grabbed the suit jacket tossed on the sofa, slung it over his shoulder, and walked toward the door. He waved a hand. "You two stay here... don't go out. Quite a few rats have already slipped into this building... I'll clean them up first. Once I'm done, relocate to the safe house we prepared in advance and direct the arrangements remotely..."

"Yes."

David bowed toward his retreating figure.

Lily had a smile on her face the entire time.

After Oboro left, the woman took the butler's hand. "David... one last time, describe the scenery outside for me..."

"Of course."

The Old Butler nodded.

The moment he stepped outside, Oboro saw a maid cleaning the hallway.

The instant she saw him, she lowered her head and bowed.

"An unfamiliar face... are you new here?"

Oboro asked pleasantly.

"Yes, Head."

The dark-skinned woman with curly hair and a large bust answered cautiously.

"You're quite pretty..."

Oboro complimented her.

"What did you just hear?" Then, his tone abruptly shifted.

"Ah?"

The maid pretended to be utterly confused.

"You act pretty well too..."

The moment he finished speaking, before the woman could react, he lifted his foot and walked past her.

Almost at the same time, the woman's delicate body was sent flying as if struck and crushed by a locomotive. She slammed into the wall with a bang, spiderwebbing it with cracks.

Amid falling stones, her mangled body slid to the floor and became a pile of ruined flesh.

"Just... not well enough to fool me."