Years went by in the blink of an eye.
Shuuji was now ten years old. But unlike other children, he looked like a boy haunted by death every single day. He was always covered in new and old thick bandages. His skin was covered with deep scars beneath them. It also served as silent reminders of his violent upbringing.
Every morning began the same way for the past years.
There was no rest or pity for him.
Only orders.
Only cruelty.
Only pain.
The Colonel never went easy on him. Even when Shuuji could barely stand, he would throw him across the training room again and again. When Shuuji fell, he would simply got up, wiped the blood from his lip and waited for the next strike.
The boss watched everything from behind a glass wall. Everytime he saw Shuuji like this, he was always smiling in amusement.
"Training him is the best thing I've ever done." the boss often said. His voice was filled with strange excitement. "This boy will bring a new golden age for the Port Mafia!"
Every time Shuuji succeeded whether it was assembling a gun in under a minute or hitting all targets blindfolded, the boss would laughed. It wasn't the kind of laugh filled with joy. His laughter always made the whole room cold.
"Yes... Yes... Yes! This is what I wanted. The new era is coming!"
His eyes were gleaming as if he was looking at a treasure instead of a child.
In those moments, Shuuji just stood still with a blank expression on his face. Deep inside, he did not understand what kind of 'golden age' the boss was talking about. All he knew was that his hands were shaking from exhaustion and his body was screaming in pain.
But if Shuuji wanted to live, he had to keep going.
Over the years, the boss changed the way he handled things. He stopped letting anyone see Shuuji. At first, some people in the Port Mafia wondered where the little boy went. But soon, the questions stopped. No one dared to ask too much.
Only a few knew the truth.
Shuuji was being trained in secret and hidden from everyone. The boss ordered it himself.
"No one must see him." he coldly said. "Not until he is ready. Not until he becomes perfect."
The boss often muttered about 'fixing his past mistakes'. He said he had been too proud of Gen'emon before and showing him off to the world. And that pride had made Gen'emon weak. It made him wish for a normal life that had led to his downfall.
"I won't repeat that mistake again." the boss said one night as he stood beside the glass wall and watching Shuuji collapse after another brutal session. "This boy will not be like his parents. He will not dream of peace or light. He will only know darkness and power."
And so, Shuuji lived hidden away from the rest of the world. His days were only filled with the sound of fists and weapons striking his flesh, the snapping clicks of firearms and the snarls of attack dogs.
The Colonel, who had once looked at Shuuji with indifference, was now looking at him with something like respect but mixed with fear.
"You are no longer human, kid." he muttered once after a training session where Shuuji managed to disarm five grown men alone. "You are now turning into a weapon."
Shuuji did not answer. He simply stood there with his chest rising and falling. His eyes looked empty.
Shuuji no longer knew what it meant to be human. He was alive but hollow deep inside.
He was the boss's secret project.
The Port Mafia's hidden weapon.
The child born from blood, raised in pain and shaped to bring the golden age of darkness.
Aside from his brutal physical training, Shuuji's life was also filled with lessons that no ordinary child could ever endure. When other children were learning how to write stories or play games, Shuuji was learning how to manipulate political systems, how to read market trends and how to predict human behavior through small gestures and expressions.
He studied politics, finance, war strategy and psychology. Every morning after his combat training, Shuuji would be brought to a room filled with books, documents and ledgers. There was an instructor who would sit across from him and test his memory and logic.
"What would happen if a powerful leader fell in debt to another nation?"
"How can you destroy a company without touching a single building?"
"How do you make a man obey you without force?"
Those were the kinds of questions Shuuji answered daily. At first, his answers were shaky and unsure. But soon, he learned to think like the people he studied. He gave them cold and sharp answers without hesitation.
Shuuji started analyzing every situation like a chessboard. He made every move and sacrifice on purpose.
The instructors would sometimes exchange nervous looks while teaching him.
"He's too smart..." one of them whispered once. "He was learning too fast."
And every time they reported his progress, the boss only smiled wider.
"Excellent!" he said. His voice was filled with quiet excitement. "He is becoming perfect. The more I see him, the more I realize that Gen'emon was only a shadow compared to this boy!"
But there was something else that made the boss even more obsessed with Shuuji.
The boy had a special ability. It was a one-of-a-kind power that could erase the abilities of others. Shuuji could nullify it no matter how strong an opponent was. Even the Colonel was shocked when the first time this ability showed itself to him.
One of the sub-executive members who was known for his destructive ability had been called to test Shuuji's endurance. The moment the man activated his ability, it vanished like smoke blown away by the wind when Shuuji made a contact with him.
The room went silent after that. Then, the boss started laughing.
"A real nullifier!" he said in awe. "A weapon that renders every other abilities useless. Perfect!"
From that day on, Shuuji became more than just a project. He became the boss's treasure. The boss even banned anyone from mentioning Shuuji's name outside his office.
But despite all this, Shuuji endured everything silently. He did not do it for glory or power. He did it for one reason.
For his twin sister.
He still remembered the day the boss told him about her.
Mariko was still alive and hidden somewhere safe under the mafia's control. But the boss made sure Shuuji never forgot who held her life in his hands.
"You are a clever boy, Shuuji." the boss had said. "I know you will obey me. Because if you don't, then she will be the one to suffer."
The boss leaned closer with a cruel smile on his face.
"I would kill that child even if I adored her especially since she doesn't seem to have any special abilities. She is weak. But she is useful to me as long as you behave."
Those words burned into Shuuji's mind. From that day, he made a deal with the devil.
"I will do everything you want." Shuuji had said. "I will follow every order. I will become what you need me to be. But in return, you must promise me one thing."
The boss raised an eyebrow. He was amused this little boy was still making a deal with him.
"And what is that?"
"Let my sister live happily. Don't hurt her. Don't involve her in this world."
For a moment, the boss simply stared at him. Then laughed softly.
"How noble." he said. "Just like your father. But fine. I will grant your wish as long as you keep your end of the bargain. You obey and she lives untouched."
And so, the deal was sealed.
Since then, every punch, every scar and every sleepless night Shuuji endured had meaning. Every lesson he memorized and every command he followed was all for her. The thought of his sister smiling somewhere safe and living a life free from this darkness became his only light.
He never saw her again. Not even from a picture. But sometimes, he would imagined her laughing and living a happy life in a good environment.
That tiny spark of warmth was all that kept him from breaking.
Even when the boss molded him into a weapon.
Even when they turned him into something inhuman.
Even when his hands became stained with things he could never wash away.
Shuuji would always remind himself.
"It is for the best. It is better if one of us can live in peace."