Shifting Attention

"The stew tastes off today."

In the somewhat empty living room, the two siblings ate as if nothing had happened. Akiyu Sora set down her chopsticks and commented on dinner.

"Yeah, a little."

Even with a great deal of cooking knowledge in his mind, Akihi Yu needed some time to get used to it before he could make food that tasted like it used to.

But Sora believed there was another reason.

"Brother, are you... okay?"

In her memories, the girl normally would not call him "Onii-chan."

They knew each other too well, and there was no third person in the house.

But if Akihi Yu had not suddenly displayed such incredible power today, some kind of "adults-only" scenario would undoubtedly have played out. Their futures would have been utterly ruined!

"What could be wrong?"

"Don't worry. I'll handle it."

Akihi Yu set down his chopsticks and calmly rose to his feet.

"I need to go out for a while."

Those four pieces of trash had already been Live Burial dozens of meters underground.

Even if Sherlock Holmes, Shinichi Kudo, and Kindaichi all gathered together, they would only be left grasping at straws, much less ordinary police officers.

But Akihi Yu was not the type to sit around waiting for trouble to come knocking, so he decided to make the first move.

"Sora, why don't you go play at Nao's house?"

Class Monitor Ai Nao's home was less than fifty meters from the Akihi House in a straight line.

The three of them had once been childhood friends, but later, for certain reasons, Nao and Sora had fallen out.

"I don't want to!"

Sure enough, the girl shook her head without even thinking.

"I'm not going anywhere. If Brother is going to deal with those people—"

Akiyu Sora was not a child. As an outstanding student of Ousakura Girls' School, she had already guessed what her brother intended to do.

Dispose of the bodies!

The girl did not know that ninjutsu existed. In Sora's understanding, her brother had temporarily hidden those people in the yard and would definitely need to destroy the evidence.

Setting aside Yamamoto and the thug who had held her brother hostage, the bald brute whose lower body had been stomped into mush, as well as the thug whose brain had been pierced by a dagger, were probably dead.

As for why her brother had been able to slaughter them all—did a brother need a reason to erupt for his sister's sake?

"I can help too—"

Sora abruptly stood up and looked at Akihi Yu with a serious expression.

"We're accomplices."

"It's the thought that counts,"

"But with those skinny arms and legs of yours, leave the physical work to me."

Akihi Yu waved a hand. Never mind that he had already dealt with the bodies; what came next was completely unsuitable for children.

"Then I'm heading out."

"Be careful."

With his sister's reminder behind him, Akihi Yu walked out the front door.

"Next up,"

As he stepped outside, his body suddenly shrank out of thin air. He dropped down onto all fours as black fur spread over him, replacing his clothes.

"Meow~~"

He shook his neck and revealed tiny sharp fangs.

It was a little inconvenient, but he would go like this.

Having made up his mind, Akihi Yu, transformed into a jet-black kitten, nimbly leaped onto the wall and raced south.

E-rank Ninjutsu: Transformation Technique

As one of the most basic Three Body Technique,

This technique might only be E-rank, but it was a powerful tool in countless classic comeback tactics!

Whether in battle, espionage, or luring enemies in, it was an important ninjutsu.

Prince had once transformed himself into a Fuma Shuriken and used his opponent's carelessness to break Zabuza's Water Prison Technique.

Akihi Yu transformed himself into a black cat, racing along rooftops and walls while carefully avoiding the ever-present cameras. Precisely because he understood the power of modern technology, he needed to act with even greater caution.

Killing in a fit of rage was certainly satisfying, but if the police came knocking, it would be troublesome no matter what. So Akihi Yu—

Planned to give Tokyo's police something to do!

Speaking of Tokyo's sex industry,

Almost everyone thought of Shinjuku Kabukicho.

Especially Tokyo Kabukicho Tower, completed just a year ago. This 225-meter mixed-use commercial building contained hotels, cinemas, restaurants, and entertainment facilities, welcoming tourists from every country. It would not let you leave until it had emptied both your wallet and your body.

However, not everyone was willing to spend money in a place like that. Naturally, Adachi Ward had its own "Kabukicho."

Takenotsuka Town.

This neighborhood lay in the northern part of Adachi Ward, a true "remote backwater."

Rather than being Tokyo territory, it was closer to Saitama, the "big brother of the suburbs."

There were no seductive urban neon sights here, no mouthwatering culinary temptations, and certainly no so-called historical heritage. But both sides of the pedestrian street were filled with love hotels packed with suggestive implications, places where countless Tokyo men came to release their desires.

Adult establishments?

No, no, no. They merely provided customers with a place to "fall in love."

And since they were lovers, doing that sort of thing was perfectly legal and reasonable. As for how long that "love" lasted, who cared once their pants were back on?

Compared to the elegantly dressed, well-spoken hostesses in Ginza's upscale clubs, there were no twists and turns here. Once you met and paid, there was only one word:

Fuck!

But that did not mean there were no "high-rise buildings" here. A newly built structure in 2-chome looked particularly imposing.

Broken Tooth Finance—a huge sign was pasted across the fifth-floor windows. Besides a phone number, the words were accompanied by a logo of an elite in a suit and glasses.

It looked respectable and impressive, but the people who "worked" here were no ordinary salarymen.

"I heard you got Watanabe's debt collected the day before yesterday?"

"Yeah. It took some effort. One got sent onto a ship, while the other sold his house and barely paid it off."

At the building entrance, two men in open suits that revealed patterned shirts talked about work as they entered. Yet the content of that work made passing pedestrians detour around them. If this building had not been located on a major thoroughfare, local residents would not even have wanted to pass by it.

What?

Yakuza organizations helping with disaster relief?

Come on. Surely no one took that kind of performance seriously, right?

The first reason the Broken Tooth Gang did not prey on ordinary people in this area was that they were poor.

And the second reason?

"This month, the Metropolitan Police Department has already caused us trouble three times."

In an office on the eighth floor, a man in a striped suit set down his coffee cup.

Judging only from the office's simple yet imposing decor, along with the man's clothes and appearance, it was hard to believe this refined middle-aged man was the leader of the Broken Tooth Gang: Inoue Sugaya.

"I've stressed repeatedly that violence is the last resort."

The man who had set down his coffee raised an index finger and adjusted his exquisite gold-rimmed glasses.

"Do not use it lightly."

"Yes!"

Before the leader seated behind the desk, a gang executive bowed at ninety degrees, trembling with fear.

Behind him, two underlings were also sweating profusely. They wished they could bow ninety degrees as well, so they could lower their heads and pretend not to see.

The only reason the two underlings were still standing was because they were holding up a young man.

"Kid, why put yourself through this?"

Inoue Sugaya, seated behind the desk, looked at the bruised and swollen young man and questioned him in a mild tone.

"We're a legal designated violent organization. You keep calling the police and making trouble for us again and again. That makes things difficult for us too."

"You animals."

The young man held between the two underlings struggled to open his swollen eyelids, his teeth grinding audibly.

"You... you killed Akemi. I... I won't let you get away with this!"

"Hey, kid."

Leaning back in his executive chair, Inoue Sugaya, wearing a striped suit, red tie, and gold-rimmed glasses, laced his fingers together.

"Talking nonsense can get you charged with defamation."

"I'm also deeply saddened by your sister Akemi's death. Such a diligent employee passing away hurts me deeply as her boss."

"You bas—"

Bang!

The Broken Tooth Gang executive turned and drove his fist hard into the young man's face, cutting off his words as blood splattered.

"Kid, it seems you've misunderstood."

Adjusting his gold-rimmed glasses, the refined leader of the Broken Tooth Gang behind the desk spoke again.

"I truly hate violence, and I'm also grateful to the old man for sending me to study law at Kyoto University."

"Your sister went to my establishment on her own to have fun, then decided to 'work' there. I never withheld a single yen from her wages or benefits. I even paid health insurance for them—"

"Ptooey!"

A bloodied tooth flew from the young man's mouth onto the desk, carving a long streak of blood, just like his sister's leap from the building.

"Shut up, you animal!"

"You people lured Akemi to a bar, got her drunk, and then..."

After the practiced process of taking photos and recording videos, the girl who had been too afraid to face her family swallowed her humiliation and sank deeper step by step, becoming an employee at an adult establishment.

"You even got her hooked on drugs!"

The young man held on both sides suddenly struggled violently, veins standing out on his neck. He wanted nothing more than to pounce forward and bite the man before him to death!

In just two years, the once youthful girl had turned into a monster the young man did not dare recognize through her debauchery.

Even after their mother had been so angered that she severed their mother-daughter relationship, Tanimura Wataru, who had been studying away from home, never gave up on his sister. He sought help from the police and forced her into rehab, hoping that one day she could become a decent person again.

However—

He had still underestimated the power of drugs.

"Akemi was so obedient, Akemi was so timid..."

Whenever her addiction flared up, she became a crazed monster. With tears and snot covering her face, she begged Tanimura Wataru, her brother, to let her take just one hit, promising she would do anything! She even tried to seduce her own brother, all for one more hit, just one more hit.

In the end, no miracle happened. When she was lucid, the girl ultimately chose to jump from the rooftop, ending her endless torment.

Even police officers and soldiers with wills of steel almost never succeeded in quitting drugs!

How could a timid girl possibly manage it?

"What a shame, but—"

Facing the young man's tearful, blood-soaked accusations, the man behind the desk asked calmly,

"What does it have to do with me?"

?!

"What's wrong with working in my establishment? You can make money lying down."

"What I provide is all high-purity stuff. Earn money in the shop, spend it in the shop—what's wrong with that?"

"You animals, you animals!!"

Faced with Inoue Sugaya's "righteous" words, Tanimura Wataru had no means left beyond angry curses.

After Akemi's death, he had tried every possible method to expose the Broken Tooth Gang's darkness, but achieved very little. Now the impatient Broken Tooth Gang had directly captured him. Otherwise, as a college dropout, he would not even have been able to enter this building.

Risk his life?

With what?

A kitchen knife against guns?!

"I won't let you go even as a ghost—"

"Ghost?"

Leader Inoue looked as though he had heard a joke.

"Sorry, this world believes in science. Those fantasies weak people use to deceive themselves have never existed."

Having said that, Inoue Sugaya's face darkened.

"The one who won't let you go is me!"

"Pour this guy into cement and dump him in Tokyo Bay."

When ordinary people got angry... they merely got angry.

Could they really hope to fight a yakuza organization alone, one whose numbers, equipment, and influence were a hundred times greater than theirs?

"Yes!" x3

At the leader's command, the three Broken Tooth Gang members answered in unison, preparing to drag this blind fool away and dispose of him.

As long as there was no body, the police could at most treat it as a missing-person case. Besides—

Given the Tanimura family's circumstances, no one would report him missing. The case would not even be opened.

"Go."

With a dismissive wave, Inoue Sugaya no longer cared about the young loser's wails. He lowered his head, picked up a document, and considered where to acquire more "staff."

He truly felt pained over Akemi's death. She had clearly been a money-printing machine that could have been "used" for several more years, yet because of her naive brother, she had tried to escape the control of drugs?

What a joke. As leader, Inoue Sugaya's hidden standard for choosing executives was that they had never used drugs!

No one understood better than Inoue Sugaya how thoroughly that stuff could destroy a person's mind.

"Hmm?"

The sound of footsteps returning interrupted Inoue Sugaya's thoughts.

"What are you—?!"

The dissatisfied Broken Tooth Gang leader looked up and froze, because:

At his office door, women with lowered heads, long hair covering their faces, and ragged clothes filed in one after another, forcing the three gang members to retreat again and again.

Had ghosts appeared?