Chapter 93: The Assassination Plot, The Student Discount, and the Plaza Accord

Yamagami Nobuo was not a magnanimous person.

Regarding the previous provocation by the Takada-gumi which caused so many casualties to the Yamagami-gumi, it was impossible for him not to hold a grudge.

Furthermore, the one blocking the Yamagami-gumi now was not the Changxing Society, but the Takada-gumi.

However, it came back to that same point: because the Changxing Society had weighed heavily on their heads throughout their youth, causing them to be breathless, these old men like Yamagami Nobuo felt fear as soon as they heard the name Changxing Society.

Under Seiko’s persuasion, Yamagami Nobuo partially agreed to the plan of “fake cooperation, real backstabbing.”

The reason it was “partially” was that Yamagami Nobuo made some modifications to the plan—he would represent the Yamagami-gumi in sincere cooperation with the Takada-gumi, while Seiko could independently plan to “kill” Takada Yamakiyo.

“So, you really want to assassinate Takada Yamakiyo?”

Sunday morning, just as Seiko got out of bed, Saori appeared at the Yamagami residence, already dressed in her standard outfit of a sailor suit, pleated skirt, and carrying a school bag.

Seiko stood in front of the mirror washing up, while Saori stood behind her helping to comb her hair.

While combing, Saori chatted with Seiko.

“Gurgle gurgle gurgle…”

Seiko spit out the mouthwash, and then spoke.

“It’s not that I absolutely have to kill Takada Yamakiyo. If he announced the dissolution of the Takada-gumi right now, I would be the first to suggest that Grandpa invite him to be a senior advisor at the Yamagami-gumi—the kind who gets paid for doing nothing.”

“Wishful thinking,” Saori laughed.

“Yeah, since it’s wishful thinking, there’s no other way.”

The relaxed smile on Seiko’s face gradually faded.

The Takada-gumi was too strong…

That was Seiko’s most intuitive feeling from her trip to Kawagoe City.

Except for Urawa and two or three surrounding cities, the Yamagami-gumi could hardly move a step.

In the last armed conflict, the Yamagami-gumi fought on home turf, backed by the support of the local government, and finally gained the upper hand, capturing Takada Toru and forcing the Takada-gumi to obediently surrender.

They chose to concede.

But with dozens of casualties on both sides, the Yamagami-gumi could not easily forget the hatred, and the Takada-gumi likely wouldn’t either.

Even the most naive Yakuza wouldn’t doubt that the Takada-gumi would launch revenge against the Yamagami-gumi as soon as they had the chance.

For instance, no one could guarantee that the current Saitama Democratic Alliance would still hold the advantage in the 1987 elections.

Once the LDP successfully struck back, the Takada-gumi would certainly not mind letting the Yamagami-gumi taste what it was like to be crushed by administrative power.

Therefore, weakening or even directly eradicating the Takada-gumi was something the Yamagami-gumi inevitably had to do on its path to transformation and rapid expansion.

Now, an opportunity seemed to be delivered right before their eyes…

Originally, following the logic of “vertical and horizontal alliances,” facing the powerful Takada-gumi, the weaker Yamagami-gumi and the Japan branch of the Seven Star Gang should be natural allies.

But looking at the attitudes of Takada Yamakiyo and Yamagami Nobuo, Seiko knew—cooperate with Kwon Se-hoon? Impossible!

Since they couldn’t find helpers, they had to do it themselves.

“Takada Yamakiyo isn’t easy to kill,” Saori laughed while braiding Seiko’s hair. “I heard from Dad and Grandpa Yamagami that the Seven Star Gang used at least seven hitmen this time, divided into two waves to assassinate him, but Takada Yamakiyo only suffered minor injuries.”

Seiko didn’t find this strange; Takada Yamakiyo had been a Yakuza boss all his life.

If he had no vigilance or guard, he would have been killed long ago.

“So how do you plan to kill him, Seiko-chan?” Saori asked again.

“Haven’t decided yet,” Seiko thought for a moment and said. “Anyway, I’ll send someone to secretly monitor Takada Yamakiyo’s daily activities for a while first…”

“How about letting me go?”

Sakura, who was behind them helping Saori braid, suddenly spoke up.

“You?”

Seiko looked at Sakura in the mirror; this was the first time Sakura had volunteered herself.

Perhaps because of Saori’s training and requirements, Sakura and Tsubaki rarely spoke when around Seiko, let alone actively making requests or suggestions.

“Mm.” Sakura nodded vigorously, confirming, “I speak Japanese very well, and I’m a girl. Compared to other Yakuza, I attract much less attention.”

“Takada Toru has seen you,” Seiko raised an issue.

“He only saw me once; he might not remember me. Besides…”

Sakura took out a pair of full-rimmed glasses from her skirt pocket and put them on.

She immediately looked a bit more nerdy, and her appearance, originally an eight out of ten or above, was significantly suppressed.

“I can use makeup. With makeup, someone who has only seen me once definitely won’t recognize me.”

Seiko took off Sakura’s glasses with some surprise, then put them back on her.

She thought about it and warned, “This could be very dangerous.”

Sakura bit her lip and said firmly, “I’m not afraid of danger. If there is a chance, I just want to… kill Takada Yamakiyo with my own hands.”

Seiko looked at this girl who had been rescued from the Takada-gumi’s basement and finally nodded.

“Alright, I’ll leave this matter to you then.”

It took about half an hour for Saori to braid Seiko’s long hair into countless small braids.

“Making trouble out of nothing.”

Seiko sat at the dining table, shook her head full of braids tied with colorful ribbons, complained with a smile, casually turned on the TV in the dining room, and listened to the news.

Saori also sat down beside Seiko, took a document out of her school bag, and handed it to Seiko.

“What is this?”

“The Kouga Ninja Scrolls authorization letter.”

“Hmm?” Seiko took the document in surprise. “How did you get this?”

“When you went to Kawagoe City, I went to visit Mr. Yamada Futaro,” Saori explained with a smile. “I told Mr. Yamada Futaro that I planned to use the story he wrote to make a computer game, and I got it just like that.”

“Just like that?”

“Just like that.”

“How much did you pay?”

Saori held up one finger.

“Ten million yen?”

Saori shook her head.

“One million yen.”

Saori shook her head again.

“It can’t be just one hundred thousand yen, right?” Seiko said in disbelief.

“I told Mr. Yamada,” Saori laughed, “that I was still a high school student and didn’t have money to pay him royalties, but I could add a special thanks to him in my work. So, Mr. Yamada authorized the work to me for the price of one yen.”

Seiko was speechless.

“Isn’t this just ‘I’m a student, give it to me for free’?”

And Yamada Futaro actually agreed!

“‘I am a student’ actually works!”

Seiko hurriedly flipped through the authorization letter in her hand seriously.

Although this authorization was not exclusive, it had no time, geographical, language, or other restrictive clauses.

In other words, Saori could rely on this authorization letter to produce and sell countless PC games of The Kouga Ninja Scrolls in any country at any time in the future.

Seiko was finally convinced that Yamada Futaro probably really hadn’t seen a personal computer and couldn’t imagine how big the future computer game market would be.

Old Man Yamada, you can’t just sign your name randomly…

“How is it? Is this authorization letter useful?” Saori asked.

“Mm…”

Seiko nodded, and just as she wanted to say “it’s too useful,” her attention was suddenly attracted by the news broadcasting on the TV.

“Five countries reach agreement on depreciation of the US dollar; pressure for yen appreciation intensifies further. The Ministry of Finance states: The magnitude of yen appreciation will be controlled within 10% to 12%…”

The host on the TV was broadcasting the latest economic news, and the headline displayed at the bottom of the news screen read: Plaza Accord Signed, Will the Japanese Economy Face a Turning Point?

“It’s finally here.”

Seiko couldn’t help but sigh softly: “You really can’t just sign your name randomly…”