My Son Is Addicted to Studying!

"Boss! I've already lost two hundred thousand at the pachinko parlor!"

"Me too! I lost one hundred thousand!"

"My life is over! The one hundred fifty thousand I just got my hands on is all gone!"

"There's no way to go on living. I really thought our Black Bear Gang would be able to make a huge profit from those machines."

"Damn it, our entire savings are gone, and all we have to show for it are a few packs of free tissues!"

"Why don't we just go and smash that place up! Boss!"

"Yeah! Smash that pachinko parlor! Get our money back! Otherwise, the three of us will be sharing a single cup of instant noodles!"

"Get lost! Are you eyeing the last six hundred yen I have left!?"

"I won't accept this! Boss! I don't get why we keep losing! I'm going back to smash my son's piggy bank and give it another shot!"

"Don't be such a piece of trash! You'd take a kid's money? That's got no honor at all!"

"What does it matter! If my son finds out, I'll just tell him Santa Claus took it!"

"Shut up! You useless idiot! Someone like you isn't allowed to call yourself a member of the Black Bear Gang!"

"Then what do you suggest? What kind of plan do you have? Tell us then!"

"How should I know? If I were that smart, would I have ended up like this?"

"..."

Akimoto Yosuke was surrounded by a group of burly men. The bento box on the table had long been finished, and even the beer in his fridge had been drunk dry.

Listening to the bickering of his underlings, he leaned back against the sofa, smoking a cigarette in distress.

The scarred face visible beneath his sunglasses looked out with a world-weary expression at his empty wallet; he had lost everything too.

At the pachinko parlor, he had wagered every last cent of his own assets as well.

And the result? The result was that it had all been devoured by those man-eating machines.

"Boss Yosuke! Say something! If things go on like this, the Black Bear Gang is finished! Everyone is going to have to go become adult film actors!"

The afro-haired second-in-command walked up to Akimoto Yosuke and spoke.

The other underlings gathered around as well.

Although the Black Bear Gang was a small yakuza outfit, they had at least managed to maintain their territory across three shopping streets, but now, every single member had lost their pants to pachinko.

"If this continues, there's no way to pass the Black Bear Gang down to young master Yoichi. Boss, we have to think of something."

"All the protection money we collected this month is gone. Should we smash that pachinko parlor, or do you have another idea?"

"Boss, the Black Bear Gang is at a critical juncture! Are you really content to just let it die? Over a dozen of us are going to go hungry!"

Facing the expectant gazes of the group, Akimoto Yosuke stubbed out his cigarette with his fingers.

He swept his gaze over them and suddenly roared, "I lost over 1.8 million yen! You bastards!"

Who was the most broken? Akimoto Yosuke was the most broken of all.

Because he had lost the most!

As the boss, he had put in the most and lost it all. Seeing their leader like this, the members of the Black Bear Gang felt a little better.

"The Black Bear Gang cannot end. It must be passed down to Yoichi." After venting, Akimoto Yosuke calmed down slightly.

"Our Black Bear Gang has reached the fifth generation, and Yoichi must become the sixth."

"No matter what, I will not let the Black Bear Gang dissolve on my watch!"

Hearing Akimoto Yosuke say this, the members of the Black Bear Gang immediately felt relieved.

Though they were called underlings, everyone was actually around thirty-five years old; they were all middle-aged men.

At this point, it was impossible for them to return to normal society and find regular jobs.

"As expected of Boss Yosuke! The boss is the boss!"

"The boss definitely has a plan!"

"I knew it! As long as we follow the boss, we won't have to worry about missing meals!"

"I will follow you forever! Boss!"

"In this life, I only trust the boss!"

"..."

Ignoring the shouts of these idiotic underlings, Akimoto Yosuke lit another cigarette.

He took off his sunglasses, his fierce, unmistakably yakuza face now wearing a calm expression.

Under the gaze of everyone, he said slowly, "So, I have decided to pass the Black Bear Gang to Yoichi right now! That way, the Black Bear Gang won't dissolve on my watch, but will instead dissolve on Yoichi's watch."

Then, Akimoto Yosuke exhaled a deep breath, as if he had instantly set down a heavy burden.

Witnessing such a declaration from their boss, the underlings were stunned for a moment.

It took a few seconds before they finally reacted.

"Big Brother! Aren't you just forcing the brothers to eat grass with this move?!"

"Exactly! Big Brother, how could you just hand over the Black Bear Gang to such a young master so casually?"

"Isn't the young master just a high school student? He should at least graduate high school first, right?"

"I've even heard some bad rumors. They say the young master has been studying really hard lately, right? If he doesn't practice how to cut off his own fingers, how is he supposed to survive in this business later on!"

"That's right! The young master definitely won't be able to lead our Black Bear Gang!"

"Shut up!" Akimoto Yosuke barked, his fierce gaze sweeping over the crowd as he said, "Can't I just make Yoichi drop out of high school!? Besides, that brat was just nagging me the other day about needing over a million yen for tuition! It's the perfect time to make him drop out and take over the Black Bear Gang!"

"What kind of nonsense is studying? I didn't send him to school so he could actually learn anything."

"I went through all that trouble to get him into a good high school just so he could bully those rich kids!"

"Since the Black Bear Gang is about to go under anyway, I'm passing the buck... I mean, passing the Black Bear Gang to him! The Black Bear Gang needs fresh blood!"

Faced with such a declaration from Akimoto Yosuke, the afro-haired second-in-command and the underlings all nodded in agreement.

Indeed, Akimoto Yoichi was the inevitable successor.

Because of this, the Black Bear Gang had managed to continue to this day without any internal power struggles, as it was a hereditary system.

They all knew Akimoto Yoichi quite well.

After all, they held meetings at the Akimoto residence all the time. Since the Black Bear Gang was too small to afford a mansion with a traditional Japanese garden like the big-time bosses, they had to make do with a single-family house.

Everyone had watched Akimoto Yoichi grow up, and they had all poured their hearts into teaching him their own specialties, ranging from the physiological knowledge of women to how to mooch tissues from pachinko parlors.

With everyone's collective effort, Akimoto Yoichi had indeed been raised into a piece of trash.

However, that same little piece of trash, Akimoto Yoichi, had suddenly decided he wanted to study.

Whenever he saw these uncles of his, he no longer asked them for cigarettes like he used to; instead, he would hold his English vocabulary books and Japanese literature, reciting them diligently.

This left everyone very disappointed; their young master had actually turned over a new leaf.

Originally, everyone had already had their reservations about Akimoto Yosuke sending his son to high school, and now that Yoichi had caught the "studying bug," they were even more dissatisfied.

Now, hearing that Akimoto Yosuke intended to get the young master back on the right track, the underlings were naturally very happy.

Even though the Black Bear Gang was broke and about to go under, seeing Akimoto Yoichi turn back into a piece of trash before the end was something worth celebrating.

"Shut up, old man. Who said anything about dropping out?" Just as he reached the front door, Akimoto Yoichi heard the conversation coming from inside.