It is not inferior to any other place.
Yamamoto made no response to my request to take responsibility.
"Mr. Yamamoto. If you don't want to take responsibility as the leader, you shouldn't protect your subordinates who should take responsibility. That would be like asking me to just give in."
Yamamoto hesitated to answer right away. Looking at him like that, I spoke in a cold voice.
"Aren't you going to answer? Are you really going to do it with me? Yeah, let's do it. I'll show you a proper sword dance. You seem to have lost your touch while acting like an emperor in Kobe, Yamamoto. It's funny how you ignore the person who helped you live like an emperor here."
"President Kim Mu-hyeok."
"There is no second chance. You decide whether to take responsibility or blow up one of your men. My patience is not that long, so I will not wait that long. Think carefully."
Yamamoto flinched as he glared at him with sharp eyes.
"I plan to stay in Japan for exactly three more days. Make your decision within that time and come see me. Get off now."
"Are you saying you're just going to leave like this?"
Yamamoto asked urgently.
"Can you have a proper conversation in this mess? I'll warn you again. If no one takes responsibility within three days, I don't know what will happen."
"But since you came all the way here, you should at least take a look around the headquarters. I received a call from Cheonha Group and immediately prepared some good alcohol. Come on in."
Yamamoto pleaded in a voice that was almost cowardly. I could tell that he was determined to bring me to headquarters.
"I will definitely take responsibility. So, please calm down and go to headquarters to talk. You must have some business to come here."
"I had business. But I no longer needed it. I thought I couldn't trust you, Yamamoto."
"Boss. I have other thoughts······."
I raised my hand to interrupt Yamamoto, as I thought he would continue making excuses.
"Put aside your useless excuses. Once you've made a decision, come back. This is my last chance, so think carefully. Since I created the alliance, I've never once asked anything of the alliance members. If the alliance finds out that you treated me like this when I first came to see you, you know what will happen, right? No, the alliance isn't the problem. Think carefully about what will happen if the public power that's protecting you right now turns its back."
As soon as he finished speaking, Director Ma got out of the car and opened the backseat door for me.
Director Ma spoke to Yamamoto, who was about to say something until the end.
"Please get down."
Although the tone was polite, the voice was heavy and gave off a hint of pressure.
Yamamoto looked back and forth between me and Director Ma, then let out a deep sigh.
"I'm sorry. I'll show my sincerity. What should I do?"
It was Yamamoto's declaration of surrender.
Yamaguchi-gumi being pushed out of the alliance was a secondary problem.
Because it was difficult for other countries' organizations to easily attack the yakuza, which had already established themselves and were protected by public authority.
But if the protection of public authority disappears, minor yakuza organizations may attack again at any moment.
Even though the number of yakuza had decreased, the yakuza that were once considered one of the three major organizations still remained.
It was obvious that the position would change depending on whose backing the government was supporting.
I destroyed all the political and financial influence that the yakuza had built up.
Yamamoto may be doing a lot of things to increase his influence, but it is difficult to quickly restore the influence of the old yakuza that has lasted for decades.
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'The reason why they cling to the topic of public power as soon as it comes up is because they know that the current cabinet's protection is like a light in the wind.'
It's not that the Japanese government likes the yakuza and protects them.
If you can't get rid of them all, it's easier to just manage one big organization, so they'll look after them.
Of course, they also receive the political funds they pay as a bonus.
"President Kim Mu-hyeok."
Yamamoto said without getting out of the car despite pressure from Director Ma.
"Let's go in together. How about you see for yourself how I take responsibility?"
As I just watched without saying anything, Yamamoto became more anxious.
Yamamoto, this guy was originally like this.
I nodded to Director Ma. Director Ma lowered his head, quietly closed the door, and climbed into the passenger seat.
As the car door closed again, a look of relief crossed Yamamoto's face.
"How will you take responsibility?"
Yamamoto looked at me with a polite and respectful expression and said.
"I will give you one finger."
I laughed out loud at the yakuza's attempt to take responsibility.
You were making a lot of noise in Kobe, but your brain really seems to have hardened.
"What do you want me to do with those fingers? Yakuza fingers aren't worth much."
Yamamoto's face turned serious at the mocking words.
"To give us a finger means giving up your pride and life. That's how heavy that finger is."
"I know that too. Isn't it a custom that has been passed down for a very long time? But that doesn't mean it means anything to me."
"······Then what do you want to do?"
Yamamoto lowered his eyes and asked cautiously.
I rubbed my chin for a moment, lost in thought. What should I do?
'Kill me?'
The easiest way came to mind, but I quickly shook my head.
There was no point in just killing them.
"Let's do this. There's something I need to do in Japan, so let's have that guy do it."
A color came to Yamamoto's face.
"Do you really forgive me for that?"
Do you know what I'm going to ask you to do and why are you reacting like this?
I looked at him with a smirk.
"Do you know what I'm trying to do?"
"I'll do anything."
Yamamoto answered obediently.
I like the slightly calmer mood. Now I'm ready to have a conversation.
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"Okay, let's go in. Let's go in and talk."
Director Ma, who had been listening to our conversation, got out of the car and opened the backseat door.
As I got out of the car first, Yamamoto opened the door himself and got out.
As if the cowardly hand-wringing he had been doing until just now was a lie, Yamamoto looked around with a solemn face and spoke.
"Follow me, Mr. Kim Moo-hyuk."
I had no intention of embarrassing Yamamoto in front of his subordinates, so I quietly walked over to his side.
Yamamoto and I walked in front. Behind Yamamoto, yakuza in black suits walked, and behind me, Chief Ma and his bodyguards walked.
The interior, once you pass through the large gate, looks completely different from the fortress-like exterior.
The first thing that came into view was a garden so well maintained that it felt like I had traveled back in time.
'Are you okay?'
It was a garden that required a lot of effort, not just a decent one.
Yamamoto said proudly, seeing my admiring eyes.
"This is a garden that has been maintained for decades. It is also the first place that people who come to our Yamaguchi-gumi headquarters see. Do you like it?"
His attitude toward the garden was filled with pride.
"It's nice. I've seen a lot of gardens like this since coming to Japan, but this one is just as good as any other."
"Haha! That's too kind of you."
Yamamoto let out an exaggerated laugh as if for his subordinates to hear.
"Come inside. I will show you what Japanese tradition is."
I nodded slightly and went inside with Yamamoto.
As we passed through the garden, a traditional Japanese house greeted us.
The garden was just the beginning.
There were so many well-maintained buildings that it felt like we were in the Edo period.
'They say the yakuza follow tradition so closely.'
It can't help but be funny.
They package themselves by saying that they value tradition and loyalty, but in reality, they are nothing more than back alley people who use violence.
"Our Yamaguchi-gumi was a small organization that started in 1915 with 50 members. The first Kumicho was a great person. Although it has a short history, it has expanded its power by absorbing older organizations."
As we walked, he told us the history of Yamaguchi-gumi.
I looked around, listening to his explanation with one ear.
"Since I became the head of the Yamaguchi-gumi, including all the members under it, it has become a large organization with over 20,000 members. While my predecessor had influence over about 2/3 of Japan, I am now the head of an organization that encompasses all of Japan. What do you think? What do you think of the headquarters of this Yamaguchi-gumi?"
Yamamoto's arrogant words finally ended when they finally arrived at the house.
"That's okay. I would like to have a headquarters like this too."
As times change, the number of people who stick to tradition is decreasing.
Even though they are yakuza, it was impressive to see them trying to keep their traditions.
But that was it. No matter how fancy the outside was, the inside was ultimately empty.
"Really? I'm glad you like it."
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Yamamoto, who had been smiling at me, turned around and gave instructions to Takayama in a solemn voice.
"Only Takayama remains, and everyone else returns to their seats."
"Yes, Oyabun!"
Dozens of yakuza in black suits answered simultaneously and bowed their heads.
It looks like they brought the yakuza along on purpose to show this sight.
After sending the yakuza away, Yamamoto looked around at his bodyguards and gestured.
Then the woman wearing a kimono sitting on the floor got up.
She came to Yamamoto with quick steps, without even wearing shoes.
"You lead those men to a place where they can rest. Give them whatever they want."
The woman, who had bowed her head, quickly approached the bodyguards and spoke in Korean.
"Follow me. I will show you a place to rest."
He spoke Korean so fluently that you could almost say he was Korean.
Did those who looked down on people by calling them Chosun people learn Korean?
Yamamoto whispered softly in my ear, as if he had read my question.
"I am a Korean living in Japan."
"Oh, really?"
Even as we talked, the bodyguards remained steadfast.
The woman spoke once more, but the guards did not move an inch.
As I glanced at Director Ma, only then did Director Ma speak to his security guards.
"Follow me and rest."
"Yes, sir."
The woman who saw the bodyguards laughing disappeared with the bodyguards.
"Let's go up now."
Yamamoto took off his shoes first and went up to the floor.
Then the woman who had been waiting quickly organized the shoes.
'You're doing all kinds of crazy stuff.'
I laughed inwardly at the sight of him acting like a king, and followed him upstairs.
The interior of the huge wooden house was a labyrinthine, intricate structure.
"The ancestors made it like this so that the assassins couldn't find it."
After passing through several complicated passageways and opening a sliding door, a large room appeared.
The table was made one space higher, and an embroidered cushion was placed on it.
As Yamamoto, Takayama, me, and Director Ma came in, the door closed.
As the door closed, Yamamoto said.
"Please go over there and sit down."
Yamamoto told me to sit at the head table.
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Takayama's eyes widened at those words.
"Mr. President."
Yamamoto glared at Takayama, who was calling him.
"Shut up! How dare you do something I didn't tell you to do? How are you going to handle this!"
"······."
Takayama closed his mouth and lowered his head at Yamamoto's cool voice.
"Can I sit down?"
"The person who should sit at the head of the table here is, of course, President Kim Mu-hyeok."
It seems like he's trying to make me feel better by getting angry on purpose. It was a very obvious trick.
I said, raising one corner of my mouth.
"Okay. Let's leave it blank and sit facing each other."
"Hahaha. Sure."
I had no intention of following the yakuza's traditions.
I walked briskly over and took down the cushion from the seat of honor.
I put down the cushion and sat under the table, and Yamamoto also brought a cushion from another place and sat down facing me.
I could see the tendons on Takayama's forehead standing out at my reckless actions.
I still haven't come to my senses, that guy. I glanced at Takayama like that and said to Director Ma, who was standing behind me.
"Sir, please sit next to me. This conversation will be quite long, and my legs will hurt if I stand."
Director Ma nodded and brought a cushion.
When I asked him to sit next to me, I smiled slightly as I looked at him sitting diagonally slightly behind me.
Yamamoto, who saw that sight, was silent for a moment, then called Takayama.
"Takayama."
Takayama, who was still standing in front of the door, quickly came running.
At the same time, a roar erupted.
"Put the dogeza in here right now, you little shit!"
< It is not inferior to any other place > End
< I have no intention of accepting an apology >