I Became a Black Market Tycoon with an Inventory - Chapter 206

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

206 – Family
206.
Minase sat listlessly.
Whether from the despair that everything had ended,
or from fear at the sight of the incinerator burning fiercely,
the Minase before me was nothing more nor less than a powerless old man.
There was no need to restrain him.
He lacked the strength to run,
and possessed no ability to overpower anyone present.
Yet Minase’s eyes alone remained alive.
Stubbornness and hatred lingered like the last embers of a fire.
“But, old man. I have something I’d like to ask you.”
“Could you stop calling me that, though?”
The words suddenly tumbled out.
Not from Minase, but from Kurokawa.
“Why?”
“Every time you say ‘old man,’ it sounds like you’re calling me. It makes me flinch.”
Kurokawa stood there looking awkward.
“Haha. Is that so? Well, that’s fine then. What should I call you? Director? That sounds better. May I call you that?”
Minase did not answer.
But I paid it no mind.
“Director. I’m curious about something. Why is Japan so interested in us? Why do you keep poking at us? I’ve been really wondering about that.”
Minase’s expression changed.
He had much to say, but seemed to restrain himself.
“Can’t neighboring countries just live well together? Help each other out, receive help in return—why can’t it be that way? Is it really so difficult?”
At my words, Minase’s pupils gleamed.
A chilling madness settled across his face.
“Hmph. Help is only exchanged between equals. You are not on our level. You are merely a barbaric vassal state that must receive our teachings.”
Minase spoke with confidence.
“Oh my. Really? That’s the most refreshing bullshit I’ve heard in a while. Entertaining.”
I found myself intrigued by Minase’s words.
I never would have imagined someone actually spoke like that.
“After all we’ve done for your Korea, you betray us like this. The bloodline of you filthy Koreans never changes, no matter how much time passes.”
Minase spoke with a sigh.
“Ahahaha. Amusing. But may I ask specifically what we’ve betrayed? What exactly did we betray you for?”
I asked with an expression full of curiosity.
“You betrayed our trust. You destroyed the great order that the Empire of Japan established for Asian peace. Since we gave you modern civilization, you should live forever grateful to us. How dare you shake the pillars of the economy we created and question the history we made?”
Minase’s voice grew louder.
As his voice rose, his eyes filled with twisted superiority.
His words did not cease.
How did you hold back from speaking earlier?
“You are not an independent nation. You are merely slaves who fled the house while we neglected our management for a moment. When the master picks up the whip again, you will kneel. That is law, that is order. Seiwakai was simply trying to correct that order.”
“I have a question. This order you speak of—it’s rule by force, correct?”
“Exactly. It is natural for a nation with strength to dominate other nations.”
“Then if we become stronger, wouldn’t it be order for Japan to crawl beneath us?”
“What?”
“If that barbaric age—where borders were drawn on maps and everything was decided by force—suits our Chairman, then we should treat him to a customized experience of that same order.”
“What?”
Minase’s expression shifted to shock.
“Our Chairman seems to enjoy retro aesthetics. Show him the order of a new era, won’t you?”
“Yes.”
At my response, the Obsidian Unit stepped forward.
“Since our Chairman enjoys vintage styles, you know—the Japanese colonial period aesthetic. Let me show you what happened at Seodaemun Prison. So our Chairman can adapt to the new order. Understood?”
“Do not worry.”
“Do not kill him. He must live long enough to see how far Japan can fall, to witness how much Seiwakai has hindered Japan’s development rather than advanced it.”
“Yes. We will ensure he cannot even take his own life.”
Allen answered from beside me.
Then Kurokawa interjected.
“This makes me feel left out. Let me be the one to deal with this bastard.”
“Why you, sir?”
I asked, slightly taken aback.
“Come to think of it, the fact that this scum has been making Japan’s important decisions all this time disgusts me. To think we’ve been living within the framework these bastards created—it’s truly dizzying. I’m grateful we can realize it now.”
“But you’re Japanese yourself—will you be all right?”
“I told you. I’m sick of this pathetic country. They’re the ones who arrested innocent people like us. Of course, this scum ordered it. But those who blindly followed orders also displease me.”
Minase’s complexion turned ashen in an instant.
The bravado he had displayed moments before vanished without a trace.
He had not anticipated that even a fellow Japanese would betray him, let alone Koreans.
His body trembled violently as he let out a scream.
He began to bluster.
“You wretched vermin. How dare you betray the Greater Japanese Empire? Death is all that awaits betrayal.”
Minase issued his threat.
But that threat was hollow.
It was almost pitiful.
“Whether we betray or not, death comes either way. And you should be more concerned about our Chairman than us.”
Kurokawa replied.
“I am an elder statesman of this nation. A symbol of history! What do you think you can do to me?”
Minase shouted.
“Keke. An elder? A symbol of history? You are merely an evil custom that should disappear, nothing but a remnant of the past. Yet you have some spirit. I respect that spirit. I shall grant you the honor of experiencing the suffering our independence fighters endured. Consider it a privilege. Bring it.”
At my words, Allen brought forth a wooden box.
A wooden box slightly smaller than a human body.
“This is what your Japan used to do. They called it a wall coffin—a coffin that stands against the wall. Once you’re inside, you can’t sit, you can’t move. And maddening darkness and silence await you. That’s right—you’re trapped alive in a coffin, unable to lie down, forced to stand.”
Minase’s face drained of all color.
“Since your Greater Japanese Empire created it, you should test it yourself. They usually keep people in for two nights and three days, but I’m being generous—just one night and two days for you. Can’t have you dying. There’s still so much ahead. You need to experience many glorious moments.”
“… Don’t do this. Please.”
Minase trembled violently at the sight of the wooden box.
“Think of it as accepting the order of a new era.”
“I’ll give you money. I have secret accounts. I’ll give you those. Do you need something else? I’ll give it to you.”
Minase grew desperate.
“If it’s money, I have so much it’s rotting away—it doesn’t appeal to me at all. Old man. You can take it if you want.”
I spoke while looking at Kurokawa.
“I don’t need money either since waste disposal pays well. And I don’t even want to touch dirty money.”
Kurokawa laughed and spoke.
“Since you’ve come out of your home for once, think of it as an outing. Enjoy it. The order of the new era. See you tomorrow.”
“No. No. Save me!”
“This won’t kill you. It will only be unbearably lonely, solitary, and agonizing.”
The Yakuza members forced Minase into the small wooden box.
Minase resisted desperately, but his resistance was utterly futile.
It posed no obstacle whatsoever.
The wooden box seemed slightly too small even for Minase to fit inside.
They crammed him in and shut the door.
“No. Save me.”
“It’s too dark in here.”
“I can’t breathe. I’m suffocating.”
“Please. I’ll do whatever you ask.”
“Please let me out. Please~~”
Cries of anguish echoed from within the wall coffin.
But nothing changed.
The tightly sealed small door would not open until tomorrow.
A space devoid of sound.
A posture that allows no movement.
A suffocating space where only the sound of one’s own breathing repeats endlessly.
Imagination consumes reality,
And silence ravages the mind.
The cruel inability to move even as one’s entire body writhes in suffocation.
The suffocation of breath itself.
Within the narrow coffin where not a single ray of light penetrates,
He would taste a hell of time longer than eternity.
******
We emerged from the place where Minase was locked in the wall coffin.
A cold wind swept past.
My heart feels completely hollow.
That’s always how revenge is.
Once it’s done, the emptiness overwhelms any sense of satisfaction.
Revenge is terribly inefficient when you consider the cost and effort invested.
I find myself wondering what remains after all this.
But I can’t simply let those who touch my family go unpunished.
If you let it slide once, they think it’s acceptable and keep pushing.
They probe gradually, testing the waters, timing when to strike at your throat.
So you have to be decisive.
This is something that cannot be touched. You have to carve it into their bones.
When you deal with someone, you have to uproot them completely so they can’t cause trouble again.
The Seiwakai is no different.
After being dealt with like this, they’ll be more careful next time.
Still nothing has changed?
If they’re incapable of learning that lesson, it’s better they disappear.
My family keeps growing.
Which means there’s more I need to protect.
My thoughts have become heavier.
Kurokawa quietly offered me a cigarette from beside me.
I placed the cigarette between my lips, and Kurokawa lit it for me.
Then he lit one for himself.
“Thanks.”
Kurokawa conveyed his gratitude in a gruff, matter-of-fact voice.
“For what?”
“For getting us out of this. How did you manage it?”
“It’s nothing special. I just wrote a prank letter.”
“That doesn’t make sense. What kind of people are they? They’d release us over a single letter?”
Kurokawa stared at me with astonished eyes.
The Police Officers I’d dealt with all these years were absolutely not the type to act that way.
They were an organization that would never admit fault, no matter what.
“I told them I’d blow up Haneda Airport if they didn’t release us.”
“What?”
Kurokawa stared at me blankly before bursting into laughter, clutching his stomach.
“Hahaha. Hahahaha. Those bastards really fell for it. That’s perfect karma.”
“And even if they didn’t release us, it wouldn’t have mattered.”
“What?”
“Then I would’ve threatened to blow up Narita, Kansai, and Fukuoka too. They’d have released us then.”
Kurokawa clicked his tongue in disbelief.
“Wow. Impressive. Really impressive. I think I’ve gained an exceptional Boss.”
“Boss? Don’t subtly lump us together like that. I hate that kind of thing. Let’s just say we’re acquaintances, nothing more.”
“Still…”
Kurokawa spoke with a hint of disappointment.
“But if something happens again like this time, I’ll come.”
“Hm?”
“We’re family, boss and subordinate. Even if there’s no hierarchy between us, we’re still family. Family helps each other when times are tough.”
Kurokawa paused.
The stubborn old man seemed slightly moved.
His nose reddened, and a faint glimmer appeared in his eyes.
Kurokawa, embarrassed, quickly changed the subject.
“What about those Investigation Chief bastards? Are you going to leave them alone?”
“I’m still thinking about it.”
“Why?”
“I don’t like that they touched the old man, but aside from that, they didn’t really do anything wrong. Incompetence isn’t a crime, at least not in Japan.”
“That’s true. Then leave them to us.”
“Why?”
“Going through this made me remember the old days. I want to have some real fun this time. We need to show that the Yakuza are still alive.”
“You already made a big move this time. You controlled the roads and blocked Minase by spilling waste all over the streets.”
“But we didn’t do that with Minase. You planned everything, and we just dipped our toes in.”
“That’s enough.”
“We’re not satisfied. We’re thirsty.”
“Heh. How grand are you trying to be?”
“This time I’ll do it properly. I learned a lot from you. Before, we led with the blade, but that’s not what comes first. We’re going to use our heads too. We need to make them walk into hell with their own feet.”
“Do your best. If you get caught, contact me. I’ll come again then.”
“We won’t get caught.”
Kurokawa answered with confidence.
We continued our conversation while gazing at the setting sun.
In the meantime, Scott spoke up.
“Young Boss, you need to head to the Philippines tonight.”
“Why?”
“Patrick’s presidential election is tomorrow. You need to go to the Philippines for the election. Me and the Obsidian Unit too.”
Ah, the election.
I’d forgotten about it.
I’d been too absorbed in the Seiwakai situation.
“Understood.”
“Patrick says to come quickly. He’s waiting desperately.”
“Why?”
“He says he’s anxious without his lucky charm.”
Scott said with a sly smile.
“Didn’t you already win? His approval rating is over 60%, isn’t it?”
“Still, he needs his lucky charm.”
“Alright, I got it. Let’s eat and then head out.”
“Yes.”
“Find us a restaurant where we can all eat together—not just us, but the Yakuza too. Let’s share a meal.”
“Yes.”
We rented out a restaurant and dined together as one.
The Obsidian Unit, the Yakuza—all of us.
We ate in perfect harmony, without hierarchy or division.
Like a single family, with no one above or below.
We shared the rice, filled each other’s glasses.
And so our family grew.
When I mentioned my departure, Kurokawa looked reluctant.
“Come visit South Korea sometime.”
“I will.”
“I have people I’d like to introduce you to, and we can grill meat together.”
“Let’s do that.”
The hellish night of Tokyo was drawing to a close.
I don’t know how Japan will change because of today’s events,
but that’s not my concern.
That’s for the politicians to handle.
I simply lived through another day.
With my family.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————