Chapter 44: Ni Hao, Thank You, Xiao Long Bao
"Eh?!"
"No, wait... EHHHH—??!!"
The three women at the table dragged out the sound, their eyes wide with disbelief.
What did they just hear?
"I have ten million yen in cash, and I don't know how to spend it"?
Wasn't that a rich person's problem?
What happened to the "Losers' Alliance"? How did a traitor appear in their midst?!
"Hsss..."
Iori Ichika spread her arms, pulling Tenma Nozomi and Mitani Hana close, and the three began to whisper.
"Hey, who is this Shiraki Kei guy?" Ichika stared at Nozomi, astonished. "Where did you find him?"
"At the Valkyrie Opera match..."
Nozomi, mostly sobered up now, rubbed her temples. "He's an underground fighter, too. His skills should be decent, but I heard he doesn't have a fixed affiliation."
"Skilled but unaffiliated—so, a freelancer? A guy like that must be a big deal!"
Ichika tried to analyze. "I heard the top-tier underground organizations—like Kengan or Purgatory—don't always sign contracts with fighters. There's no need. Those guys just take whatever fights they want."
Hana's eyes widened. "Wait, you're saying he's a fighter from a 'Cloud-tier' organization?"
"Maybe... There are a lot of weirdos among the top masters..."
Nozomi swallowed hard, looking back at Kei. She laughed dryly. "Yo, bro... no, Boss?"
Shiraki Kei: "..."
Thanks to Kure Fusu, every time he heard the word "Boss," he felt like he owed money.
But clearly, these three self-proclaimed "losers" were the ones who desperately needed a large sum of money to turn their bad luck around.
"..."
Seeing Kei unmoved, Iori Ichika—the corrupt cop always looking for a side hustle—got ideas.
She grinned slyly, nudging Hana with her elbow. "Hey, skank, didn't you used to be a hostess? Go figure out a way to snag the sugar daddy!"
"I'm pure-hearted! I'm not a skank..."
Hana protested weakly. She turned to look at Kei, actually considering Ichika's suggestion for a moment, before waving her hands frantically.
"No, no, no. I've seen a lot of customers. I can tell at a glance. Shiraki-san... is absolutely the type you 'can't hook'..."
Ichika had to give up.
She sized Kei up carefully. "So, are you one of those martial artists whose whole life is just training?"
"...No, not really."
Kei thought about it seriously and shook his head.
"There are martial artists who follow the path of 'walking, sitting, and lying down' as training, only breaking from that state a few times a day... but I can't do that."
"Drinking, wandering around, worrying about money, being happy about spending money—these messy, trivial things probably don't help with getting stronger."
"But if life was nothing but efficient training... I don't think that's the right way either."
"To experience and feel, and finally throw my punch—that's the key."
"..."
Hearing this, Ichika and Hana looked at each other, impressed but confused.
Only Tenma Nozomi—the "fighter" still active on the front lines despite her eye condition—understood him to some extent.
"As expected... that mindset is genuinely 'top-tier'..."
Nozomi stretched lazily and pulled a few more beers from under the table. "But tonight doesn't matter! Let's drink till we drop first!"
...
...
Train hard when it's time to train; live well when it's time to live.
Another round of drinks.
These four people were all connected to the underground world, each focused on a different area, so they had plenty to talk about.
Recent police movements, yakuza territory shifts, intel on underground fighting groups... and so on.
High on alcohol, Ichika picked up an unopened beer bottle. Without a bottle opener, she just tapped the cap lightly with a chopstick.
Pop!
The cap flew off, landing somewhere nearby.
"..."
"...Hey!"
A shout from the next table interrupted their chat.
The four turned to see a girl wearing a beret, a long-sleeved shirt, and a pleated skirt. She had long black hair and was eating at the adjacent table.
She was wolfing down her food, clearly starving.
But before she could finish, a beer bottle cap had fallen from the sky, landing right in her plate of Mapo Tofu.
Bam!
The girl slammed her chopsticks on the table. Without turning her head, she gritted her teeth. "Watch where you throw your trash! Are you the only people eating here?"
"Ha?" Ichika's cop temper flared up. She was about to go argue, but Hana held her back.
The Tokyo underground was turbulent lately. It was best to avoid trouble.
Hana got up, apologized to the girl, and ordered her a fresh plate of Mapo Tofu, plus a few side dishes.
"...Fine. It's okay."
Seeing their attitude, the girl let it go and went back to eating happily.
But at the same time, Kei and Nozomi saw the girl's face. They exchanged a look, both surprised.
The girl was Yuzuha.
She must have finished her match, gotten paid, and ducked into this Chinese restaurant to eat slowly until now.
"Oh? It's you!"
Yuzuha looked up, saw Kei, and recognized him as the man who had advised her from ringside.
"Why didn't you say so earlier? It's an acquaintance. What a coincidence."
Yuzuha remarked casually, using a Chinese idiom for the last sentence.
Hana blinked. "Foreigner?"
Ichika, digging deep into her limited vocabulary, waved her hand. "Yo! Ni hao, thank you, xiao long bao!"
Yuzuha: "..."
She was used to this, so she didn't react. Besides, she owed Kei a huge favor.
...
...
Since they knew each other, they combined tables.
The table for four became a table for five, and more drunken chatter ensued.
Since they were all in the underground fighting circle, there was nothing to hide. Yuzuha recounted her string of bad luck.
It matched what Kei had heard.
The Grisly Tooth Gang dissolved, Death Fight collapsed, Yuzuha's investments vanished, and she lost her savings on horse racing.
"Damn it!"
Yuzuha slammed the table, blaming everything on what she saw as the source—the collapse of the Grisly Tooth Gang.
"They say the Grisly Tooth boss—Inoue Kan'ya—got involved in a troublesome gamble and lost everything."
"So stupid. Don't gamble if you can't afford to pay!"
"..."
Hearing this, Kei offered a gentle reminder. "Didn't you lose your remaining savings on horse racing?"
Yuzuha retorted righteously, "But I paid!"
Shiraki Kei: "..."
Shiraki Kei: "Ah, right, right."
Compared to Yuzuha—and these three other hardened women of the gray zone—his little sister Sakurai Arisa was much less worrisome. He wondered if she was having fun with Maruko.
Hsss... with Maruko... with Maruko...
It should be fine, right?
While Kei's thoughts wandered, Nozomi looked confused, recalling something.
"The Grisly Tooth Gang was destroyed by a gamble too? Strange..."
She told the group, "The group I was with before—Valkyrie Opera—is about to go bankrupt for the same reason. The yakuza backing them got played in a gamble, lost big, and people even died."
"Two different yakuza groups, destroyed by 'gambles' at the same time. Could it be the same mastermind?"
"..."
Kei frowned. "That is strange!"
"Oh?" The others were surprised. Kei shouldn't be so certain. Did he know something?
Kei took a sip of beer and analyzed seriously, "I only destroyed the Grisly Tooth Gang. Who did Valkyrie Opera?"
Everyone: "..."
Everyone: "...Huh?"
Because the statement was too bizarre—and frankly, terrifying to think about—everyone just assumed Kei was drunk.
As for the topic at hand, Iori Ichika, being a cop, clearly knew more.
"Since I need to warn Hana anyway, I'll just say it. Don't spread this around."
Ichika's face grew serious.
"According to internal police intel, a criminal group codenamed 'IDEAL' has smuggled members into the country. Their goal seems to be swallowing up other underground organizations."
"Although the chances of them targeting a small group like the Jinguji-gumi are low, it's best to be careful."
Ichika lit a cigarette and sighed.
"The yakuza world hasn't been peaceful lately..."
"So, Shiraki-bro, if you want to invest in underground business, finding a few partners isn't a bad idea!"
"..."
Kei nodded casually, not giving a definite answer.
But to be honest, he did need to invest in something, especially after becoming a "Kengan Association Member."
After all, Kengan matches were essentially business competitions.
"Kengan Membership" was for business owners. If Kei really joined, he needed a company to his name. Being too perfunctory wouldn't do.