Chapter 42: The Second Cut of Transformation

Having reached a peace agreement, Takada Yamakiyo left with his men from the Takada-gumi, but the Yamagami-gumi temporarily stayed behind.

Accompanied by Doan Hiroshi, Seiko toured the “Black Cat” nightclub.

The “Black Cat” nightclub had a total of five floors.
The fifth floor was a rooftop garden and a high-end club open only to VIPs, the fourth floor housed offices and staff lounges, while the first to third floors were the nightclub’s main business areas.

Overall, the “Black Cat” was quite a substantial asset, and a legal one at that—legal on the surface, which showed a degree of sincerity in the exchange for the Yamagami-gumi’s drug business.

However, since it was only superficially legal, there were certainly illegal aspects beneath the surface.

The nightclub’s basement level contained a warehouse, an equipment area, and staff dormitories.
In one of the dark and cramped dorm rooms, Seiko saw three iron cages, each imprisoning a scantily clad, wound-covered, and emaciated young woman.
Upon seeing Seiko and the others enter, they scrambled in terror to the corners of their cages, but they only hid—they didn’t scream or cry out, as if they no longer dared to make a sound.

“They were bought by the Takada-gumi from some Koreans, on Entertainer Visas…”

The nightclub’s original manager explained cautiously to the members of the Yamagami-gumi.

The manager’s words were a rather euphemistic way of putting it.

The “Entertainer Visa,” with its lenient application requirements—one could apply with just a forged performance contract—its restrictions on the holder’s identity and mobility, the absolute control it granted to the sponsor, the superficial official review process, and even its impressive-sounding name… had gradually, since the 1980s, become a common criminal tool for gangs to traffic young foreign women into Japan.

The manager’s brief mention of “Entertainer Visa” was enough for everyone to tacitly understand that these three girls had been trafficked from abroad by the Korean mafia and then resold here.

Seiko couldn’t help but furrow her brows as she looked at the festering, pus-filled wound on one of the girls’ legs.

“Miss Seiko, perhaps you should leave this to me to handle?” Doan Hiroshi spoke up, a bit embarrassed.
It was self-evident what the Takada-gumi had bought these three girls for.

Doan Hiroshi was no stranger to this kind of business, but it still felt awkward to discuss it in front of two high school girls like Seiko and Saori.

Seiko shook her head slightly and said, “From now on, the Black Cat is not to organize its own prostitution.
I don’t care if the hostesses who work here take clients out on their own, but the company itself will no longer be involved.
You can earn that little bit of money back by just selling a couple more bottles of foreign liquor.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Doan Hiroshi had heard that the Yamagami-gumi’s drug business was actually cut off by Seiko, and he quickly realized that the young lady’s second cut was aimed at the flesh trade.

However, Doan Hiroshi agreed immediately because, as Seiko said, for a nightclub this large, the commission from direct prostitution accounted for a small percentage of the profits; the real money came from drinks and private room fees.

While Seiko’s decision to cut the Black Cat’s flesh trade was certainly to promote the Yamagami-gumi’s further transformation, there were other reasons as well: “I might as well tell you directly, the organization wants to plant its flag in Omiya City, and we need a stable foothold.
This nightclub is that foothold.
Therefore, you must ensure as much as possible that the nightclub’s business is legitimate, so you don’t give the police a reason to raid the place every other day.”

Plant its flag?!

Doan Hiroshi’s eyes lit up at these words.
The Yamagami-gumi had been the top yakuza in Urawa for over a decade and had long wanted to expand.
But in the past few years, Yamagami Nobuo had stepped down, Yamagami Akira succeeded him, there was a power transition, and then Yamagami Akira fought with Takeuchi Toshio, leading to internal strife.
Thus, they had stumbled along, always confined within Urawa City.

Now, the Yamagami-gumi was finally going to expand again!

If the Yamagami-gumi could truly establish a firm foothold in Omiya this time, then the Doan-gumi, as the “vanguard,” would undoubtedly be the greatest contributor.

Thus, Doan Hiroshi readily agreed, “Understood.”

“As for these three…”

“Why don’t you let me handle them.”

As Seiko was contemplating the girls in the cages, Saori, who was standing behind her, suddenly interjected.

“You’ll handle it?” Seiko looked at Saori strangely.

These three girls were actually quite a thorny problem.
Seiko had no intention of making them work in the flesh trade, but letting them go directly would be asking for trouble; if these three became a social scandal, it would be more than the Yamagami-gumi could handle.
Sending them back to their home country would also be extremely difficult, a thankless task, and seeing how young they were, it was possible they had been sold to the Korean mafia by their own families.
Tossing them back to the Takada-gumi to deal with would undoubtedly be a death sentence, and the Takada-gumi might not be willing to take them back obediently…

“Yes, I’ll handle it.”
Saori nodded earnestly, clenched her small fist, and smiled.
“Trust me.”

“Alright.”
After a moment’s hesitation, Seiko nodded.
Saori wasn’t one to boast; she wouldn’t say something if she wasn’t sure.

“You go handle other matters first.Leave this to me.”

“Fine.”

Seiko left the dormitory with the others, leaving Saori behind alone.

The dormitory door closed.
Saori held up the key to the cages and dangled it, the clinking sound attracting the attention of the girls inside.

“Now then, from today on, everything you are belongs to Seiko.”
In the dim light, Saori said with a smile.

Around noon, Urawa City Councilor Yoshida Shoichi rushed to the Black Cat nightclub.

“You’ve made peace with the Takada-gumi?!”

Yoshida Shoichi questioned Yamagami Nobuo the moment he saw him.

“You’re late.We’ve already finished our talks.”

Yamagami Nobuo replied.

“Who allowed you to make peace with the Takada-gumi?”

Yoshida Shoichi seemed overly agitated.

“Do we need approval from the city council or the municipal government to make peace?”

Yamagami Nobuo retorted.

“What approval? To save you, we used so many connections and put in so much effort to remove the former Urawa City Police Chief…” Yoshida Shoichi said.

Seiko cut him off, “You have it backward.
It was the Yamagami-gumi that cooperated with you to take down the police chief.
That should be considered a great gift to Mayor Kiuchi, shouldn’t it? Why does it sound like we were the ones who benefited?
Besides, isn’t your goal to ensure the smooth start of the Katakura Danchi project?
Now that we’ve made peace with the Takada-gumi, can’t the Katakura Danchi project begin as planned?”

Yoshida Shoichi was stunned into silence, momentarily at a loss for words.

“Mr. Yoshida, you seem so dissatisfied with our peace talks.
Could there be another reason?” Seiko pressed.

Yoshida Shoichi hesitated for a long time before muttering vaguely, “The people above are still in a standoff with their rivals.
We, the people below, shouldn’t be shaking hands and making peace with the enemy behind their backs.”

“In a standoff with whom?” Seiko said suddenly.
“The Prime Minister?”

Yoshida Shoichi’s head snapped up, his eyes widening.
“You already know?”