The reason the Doma Family was called the fifth of the Four Great Zaibatsu rather than one of the Five Great Zaibatsu was partly due to tradition. The Four Great Zaibatsu had ruled this country for decades, and most prestigious families and powerful clans recognized their status. Even if the Doma Family had risen to prominence, many still saw them as nothing more than nouveau riche.
They had wealth, but no foundation. As for the Kondo Group and the like—come on, this was a peaceful era. So what if they were number one in the world?
So what if they had driven out the Yama x Group and the x Dragon Association? Try touching them if they had the guts. Would the government really just stand by and watch?
Of course, that was what they thought, but if they were actually asked to provoke the Doma Family, those prestigious families and powerful clans still did not dare. They could only keep their distance respectfully—after all, their lives were their own... Unfortunately, force could inspire fear, but not respect. Although those prestigious families and powerful clans did not dare provoke the Doma Family, they also refused to acknowledge that the Doma Family stood on equal footing with the Four Great Zaibatsu. Thus came the saying that the Doma Family was the fifth of the Four Great Zaibatsu.
It was precisely because of this consideration that the families in Chiba had tentatively tried to arrange a marriage alliance for Umaru. They wanted to bolster the Doma Family's foundation and turn the Four Great Zaibatsu into the Five Great Zaibatsu—being those who backed the rising power, they would certainly receive plenty of benefits.
What they did not know was that neither Sogo Doma nor Keiryu Doma cared much about whether there were four