I Became a Black Market Tycoon with an Inventory - Chapter 196

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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196 – Annihilation
196.
“What? You’re saying there’s no contact?”
Kuroda’s grip tightened around the phone without his realizing it.
The voice on the other end came through with a slight delay.
– I apologize.
The caller was the Manager from Arata Consulting.
Arata Consulting was a front company operated by the Cabinet Intelligence Bureau.
When you commissioned Arata Consulting for consulting, they presented the optimal course of action tailored to your situation.
They selected the team suited to the mission, handled all the paperwork for deployment to the target country, arranged travel routes, and even laundered identities.
They were the support division handling miscellaneous tasks,
and simultaneously the headquarters orchestrating everything.
Kuroda leaned his chair back as far as it would go.
Exhaustion suddenly washed over him.
Sending Kagero to South Korea had been quite a burden for Kuroda as well.
Arata Consulting had said a slightly lower-ranked operative would suffice, but Kuroda had specifically designated Kagero.
Because I wanted to guarantee success.
Because Kagero had never failed before.
If Ana were to die,
Japan would inevitably come under suspicion.
They were the source of the most recent and severe conflict.
Japan had suffered massive losses because of Taerim Insurance.
Even without concrete evidence, the circumstances pointed clearly in that direction.
No one could help but suspect Japan.
But if the architect were to disappear instead,
I judged that such suspicion was an acceptable cost.
Suspicion alone couldn’t accomplish anything.
With that calculation, I sought to eliminate Ana.
I never considered the alternative.
I never imagined Kagero would fail the mission.
It wasn’t even a difficult mission.
It was simply removing an insurance company CEO with no security detail.
For Kagero, it was beneath the dignity of even calling it a mission.
And yet.
“What? Complete annihilation?”
“I sincerely apologize.”
This was no mere operational failure.
A powerful asset—Kagero—had been completely eliminated.
And more than that.
It had become proof that Japan’s last card was utterly powerless.
There was no other way.
I’d even attempted to eliminate Ana by force, but that too had failed.
It was tantamount to declaring to myself that I had no cards left to play.
So Kuroda waited.
He waited for Kagero to complete the operation.
But the result was total annihilation.
Kuroda couldn’t move from the shock.
The air seemed to press down on him with tremendous force.
“Say it again.”
“Kagero—all personnel confirmed eliminated at the scene. Biometric signals are unresponsive.”
The report was concise.
So concise it felt unreal.
Kuroda slowly leaned back in his chair.
He pressed his forehead with his hand.
Could it be…
Was this also part of her design?
Reviewing the sequence of events, it seemed to fit.
A bitter expression crossed Kuroda’s face.
Now I understand.
Ana had been waiting from the beginning.
She knew Kagero would come.
She knew they would attempt to eliminate her.
She minimized her movements to pinpoint the operation’s focal point.
I was played.
“… I’ve been completely defeated.”
A low laugh escaped Kuroda’s lips.
The defeat was so complete that laughter came more readily than anger.
Even if we fought again, I couldn’t imagine winning.
I wanted to run.
My will to fight had been shattered.
*******
Tokyo, Japan.
“This is my first time in Tokyo.”
Scott spoke while eating two dango at a time from a skewer.
Scott is definitely a strange one.
We didn’t come to Japan as tourists.
And certainly not for a culinary tour.
We came to Japan to commit an act of terror.
Yet even with the terror imminent, Scott casually munches on dango.
It’s not just dango, either.
Takoyaki, yakitori, taiyaki—the usual suspects.
Whenever something appetizing caught my eye while walking the streets, I’d grab it on the spot.
I’d lost some weight, and just when I thought I was finally returning to my former self,
had the yo-yo effect caught up with me?
“Aren’t you nervous?”
“Being nervous doesn’t make impossible things possible anyway, does it? We’ll deal with it when the time comes. And you’ll handle things just fine, Young Boss.”
Could I really trust this bastard to work with me?
Should I replace the Secretary?
These thoughts crossed my mind several times a day,
but whenever I watched him work, he never made any major mistakes.
He stepped up when needed too.
For now, we’d continue together.
“Ah. And Young Boss. Ana is safe.”
Was this really the time to mention it while eating dango?
He should have told me before eating the dango.
He should have told me the moment he heard.
Ana had taken a backseat to the dango.
I really did need to replace the Secretary.
“Any injuries?”
“She never even left the car.”
“Good work. What about the Japanese?”
“Allen handled it cleanly. He left just one alive.”
“Tell him to keep that one uncomfortable until we finish here. If they get too comfortable, they start acting up. Just keep them breathing.”
“Understood.”
We were planning to orchestrate terrorist attacks on three major ports in Japan, including Tokyo Port.
The initial plan was simply to shake up Japan’s customs system by placing items that couldn’t pass customs at Japanese ports—nothing more detailed than that.
But when containers entered the inventory, the operation changed.
The revised operation required additional preparations.
That’s why it took longer.
Fortunately, Dennis, Simon, and Sandro helped, making the preparations smooth.
“But how do we get into Tokyo Port? Scale the walls like last time?”
“That’s what I was planning, but it turned out we don’t need to.”
“Sir?”
“He’s here.”
At that moment, Kurokawa, the Boss of the Yakuza Alliance, made his appearance.
“Welcome, sir. It’s been a while.”
Kurokawa was no longer a fugitive.
He carried an air of dignity now.
He was reclaiming the presence of a yakuza boss.
“You came? Drop by more often. I’m starting to forget your face.”
“Why do you keep looking at my face like we’re close friends? We can just get along well enough.”
“Because I regret it.”
Kurokawa smiled and let the words slip away.
“So how do we get into Tokyo Port?”
“I have some connections from my Yakuza days, but I don’t need them anymore.”
“Really?”
Don’t need them?
Does that mean we can’t get in?
Do we have to climb over a wall?
“We handle Tokyo Port’s waste disposal now. We can just drive in comfortably in our own vehicle.”
Already at that level?
I’d dismissed him as an old Yakuza, but how did he manage to establish business with Tokyo Port?
It couldn’t have been easy.
“······”
“You’ll have enough time while we’re loading the waste, right?”
Regardless of my curiosity, Kurokawa was asking whether I could do it.
“There should be plenty of time.”
It doesn’t actually take long if I just pull the containers from inventory.
But I can’t just leave them anywhere,
so I need to move to a suitable location while avoiding CCTV, then place the containers.
Yet Kurokawa’s expression was remarkably serene.
“Old man, aren’t you worried?”
“About what?”
“I’m not going to Tokyo Port to do anything good, yet you’re just pushing me in like this? If something goes wrong, you could get arrested too.”
“If you go, you go. I’m not at an age to fear prison anymore···.”
Kurokawa paused for a moment.
His expression showed no fear or anxiety whatsoever.
Rather, he looked refreshed.
“You know what? I’m grateful to you. In all of Yakuza history, we’ve never united our strength. We’ve fought over trivial things, over the smallest matters, but we’ve never joined forces. And only now, old and weakened, have I learned how to live together. You taught me that. That’s why I’m grateful. I have no regrets left.”
“What if I end up terrorizing Tokyo Port? Aren’t you angry? I’m Japanese, after all.”
“Why would I be? That has nothing to do with me. I prefer you, who recognized me, far more than Japan, which made my life miserable.”
Kurokawa’s eyes seemed to glisten slightly.
.
.
.
6 AM.
We headed toward Tokyo Port in a waste disposal truck.
A simple task—load the special waste generated at Tokyo Port onto the truck and bring it back.
But entering Tokyo Port wasn’t easy.
Looking at it again, the structure made it difficult to climb over the wall and get in.
I made the right call recruiting Kurokawa.
Vehicle registration verification, driver identification check, schedule confirmation.
Once complete, a brief wait.
Following protocol, radiation and chemical detectors sweep across the vehicle.
That interval feels unusually long.
“Phew~”
The moment we slip into Tokyo Port without incident, the breath I’d been holding explodes out in one rush.
As we head toward the waste disposal zone, our vehicle slows momentarily.
A blind spot invisible to the CCTV cameras.
“If you exceed thirty minutes, it becomes dangerous. Come before then, without fail.”
Kurokawa issues the warning.
“Understood.”
I respond perfunctorily, then quickly slip out of the vehicle and disappear between the containers.
I immediately call Scott over the microphone.
“Scott!”
“I’ve been waiting.”
“The CCTV?”
“Secured.”
Scott’s screen displays the entire Tokyo Port CCTV network.
“From your current position, enter between the green containers at the ten o’clock direction.”
“Roger.”
“Two blocks further, then right.”
“Hold position. The camera will guide you. Twenty seconds remaining.”
“One more block, then four o’clock direction.”
“That area is obscured by containers—completely invisible. A perfect blind spot.”
“Roger.”
I sweep my gaze across the surroundings.
Ground condition, container spacing.
This is the optimal location.
The place Scott selected.
I take a deep breath, then summon my inventory to mind.
Countless containers materialize in my thoughts.
I extract the containers I’d prepared, one after another in sequence.
The order cannot be disrupted.
Whoosh, whoosh—the containers emerge.
The sight of containers bursting forth.
Even I have to admit it looks genuinely magnificent.
I can hardly believe I’m the one doing this.
I pull container after container from my inventory.
I extract four containers and stack them neatly.
The containers were stacked perfectly, as if a crane had done the work.
“How does it look?”
“The CCTV won’t catch a thing.”
“Good enough.”
I examined the neatly stacked containers and made my way back to the garbage truck.
By then, the waste had already been fully loaded.
Kurokawa caught my eye and offered a subtle smile.
“Let’s move out.”
I climbed into the vehicle naturally.
And so we slipped out of Tokyo Port without incident, as if nothing had happened.
.
.
.
10 p.m.
I held the detonator in my hand.
The container I’d left at Tokyo Port was rigged with explosives.
But that wasn’t all.
Weapons, counterfeit currency, drugs, fake luxury goods—the container was packed with contraband.
Everything that shouldn’t exist in a port was crammed inside.
One press of this detonator, and it would all detonate.
My carefully prepared materials would scatter across Tokyo Port.
A burning container,
weapons scattered around it, counterfeit bills burning in the flames, luxury goods consumed by fire.
Perhaps I’d orchestrated all of this just to witness that spectacle.
Yet I didn’t detonate it. I simply held it.
The container was rigged at 6 p.m., but there were several reasons I hadn’t triggered it yet.
First, I didn’t want Kurokawa to come under suspicion.
If the bomb detonated immediately after our truck left, Kurokawa’s garbage truck could become a target of investigation.
I wanted to keep Kurokawa as far removed from suspicion as possible.
That required a time gap.
Even a few hours of distance
could redirect suspicion elsewhere.
Second was timing.
6 p.m. was too early.
Few people would witness the incident,
and direct observation would be limited.
In other words, the Japanese government could easily suppress and control the situation.
I didn’t want my carefully orchestrated event to be buried.
I wanted it to happen when Tokyo Port was most crowded,
when there would be as many witnesses as possible.
The third concern is the risk of discovery.
Leaving it too long creates problems.
If an unidentified container occupies space, someone will inevitably grow suspicious.
Ports are far more sensitive than one might think.
So I’d planned to wait at least six hours before detonating, but I want to trigger it sooner.
I don’t want to wait any longer.
I want to press the detonator now.
I ordered room service.
They said it would take about thirty minutes.
The timing is perfect.
If it explodes now, won’t breaking news be airing by the time room service arrives?
Can’t I leisurely enjoy my meal while watching the breaking news?
Now is the moment.
I removed the safety pin from the detonator in my hand and pressed it.
Click.
A few seconds later.
Rumble, boom boom.
The sound of the explosion reaches me, accompanied by a faint tremor.
Over three kilometers from the port to here, yet the sound comes through crystal clear.
Did I pack too much explosive?
I did use more than necessary to draw attention, but was it excessive?
Or perhaps mixing in ammonium nitrate alongside the explosives was the problem?
Regardless, I’ve succeeded in capturing everyone’s attention.
Shortly after, sirens begin wailing.
Fire trucks and police cars all rush toward the port.
I stand by the hotel window, watching the emergency vehicles mobilize.
Knock knock.
Someone taps at the door.
Room service has arrived.
As the food is set and I sit down, breaking news begins broadcasting.
[Breaking News] Explosion at Tokyo Port Container Storage Yard.
I quietly begin my meal.
Now, everything truly begins.
I became a major player in the black market through my inventory.
196 – Total Annihilation
E-book Publication
/ February 12, 2026
Author
/ Black Card
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/ Son Je-ho
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/ Munpia
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© Black Card, 2026
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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