Alchemists do not need self-cultivation

He had a bad feeling.

“Kidnapping, Mr. Bando, is an effective solution in any country.”

Balalaika stuck his burnt-out cigar into the ashtray, sending sparks flying, and watched with interest as the faces of the people in front of him grew increasingly grim.

"Kidnapping the family of Saka Masami, the leader of the Saka Group."

"What!?"

"Boss Bando... this..."

The expressions of the people from the opposite Eagle Peak Group all changed.

Bando, with a cold face, said sternly to Balalaika, "I'm very sorry to have disturbed your enjoyment, but this is absolutely unacceptable."

"Oh why?"

“What we want is to relieve the pressure that the Sandalwood Group is putting on us, which is why we started this war. As long as we cause a big scene, the rest can be resolved through negotiation…” Bando said seriously, “Don’t make things too complicated.”

"..."

After Locke finished translating for Balalaika, the private room fell silent for a moment.

After a while, Balalaika burst into laughter.

"Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha, did you hear that? Sergeant, these guys don't seem to have figured it out yet." She laughed at Sergeant Polis behind her.

In her eyes, Bando had become a joke.

Ignoring the grim expressions of the Eagle Peak Group members, Balalaika said to Isaac, "I'm afraid Locke might not have translated my tone properly, so I'll leave the rest to you, okay?"

Isaac: "Okay."

Balalaika turned her head and looked at the members of the Eagle Peak Group with a mocking expression. As she spoke, Isaac translated for her.

“Mr. Bando, the reason we use force unconditionally to pursue profits is because we also bear half the risk of these actions in Japan. In other words, the decision-making power is not actually in your hands, but in ours.”

"This……"

Bando, and everyone in the Washine Group, had a change in expression.

Isaac looked at them, somewhat impatiently, and said, "What's wrong with you guys? I should have told you all this a week ago, right? Are you all looking surprised because my Japanese isn't good enough?"

“That’s not it, Mr. Satomi,” Bando tried to calm himself down, “but these things have really gone too far…”

"You think it's going too far because you don't want to completely wipe out the Suna Group, right?"

"..."

“That won’t do, Mr. Bando. The comrades from the ‘Moscow Hotel’ have come all the way from Roanapura, and they’ve offended the entire Sakaguchi Group for your commission. If you suddenly decide to quit, how do you think they’ll be treated by the surviving members of the Sakaguchi Group?”

“That won’t happen,” Bando quickly said. “As long as things go smoothly, the Sasaka Group will be our vassal, and our Washine Group will absolutely not allow them to act recklessly.”

"Can you guarantee something like that? The people at the 'Moscow Hotel' have destroyed so many places and killed so many people."

"Of course, this falls under the category of 'benevolence and righteousness'..."

“Stop spouting ‘benevolence and righteousness’ all the time,” Isaac frowned. “Does a mere gang have the nerve to use that word?”

"asshole!"

"You bastard!"

Upon hearing Isaac's rude tone, the people on the other side couldn't sit still any longer. Bando's angry shout silenced them all.

However, his expression was also quite unpleasant.

"What is a gang? To put it bluntly, it's just a bunch of parasites. Even if the Japanese gangs are different in form from those in other countries, trash is still trash. It's fine to use fancy words to embellish yourselves, but don't use them to deceive yourselves."

As Isaac finished speaking, he took out a 10,000 yen note with the name 'Fukuzawa Yukichi' printed on it and flicked it around.

“Our world is far more convincing than your nonsense.”

"..."

“If the Sasaka Group continues to exist, who knows when you’ll join forces to drive the ‘Moscow Hotel,’ this foreign organization, out of Tokyo,” Isaac laughed. “Don’t give me that ‘righteousness’ nonsense. I’ve heard that your Washi-mine Group and the Sasaka Group were originally on good terms, but in the end, you were targeted and made to lose face because of conflicts of interest. Is that what you call ‘righteousness’?”

"Maybe you're right, but... kidnapping is something like that..."

“Mr. Bando, the ‘Moscow Hotel’s’ goal is simple: to eliminate the Sunako Group and establish a foothold in Japan. I will persuade Balalaika if you can provide an effective and feasible plan,” Isaac said with a smile.

"Of course, this is on the premise of eliminating the Sand Fragrance Group. After all, it's more reassuring to eliminate enemies completely."

Chapter 678: Happy Cooperation

"Excuse me for speaking frankly, both our Eagle Peak Group and the Sand Fragrance Society are businesses under the Peace Association. If we were to fight to the death, it would only cause trouble for us."

Japanese yakuza gangs all have superior organizations, and the Peace Society has a total of 24 independent yakuza gangs under its umbrella, including the Washi-gamine group and the Sako-kai.

They won't interfere with occasional internal strife within subordinate organizations as long as it doesn't escalate too much.

“I will personally speak to the Peace Society on your behalf,” Isaac said with a smile. “As long as you can quickly take over the industries under the Sand Fragrance Society, your superiors won’t interfere as long as your interests are not threatened.”

"Indeed...that is indeed the case."

“Mr. Bando, the ‘Moscow Hotel’ has already taken care of the most dangerous things for you, like charging into battle. All you have to do is pick up the scraps from behind. They take the risks and you reap the rewards. What more could you want?”

"To be honest, no, but the way it was done was a bit..."

"If your methods are too despicable, you might lose face in the Peace Society and be targeted by other groups, which could lead to the complete downfall of your group. Am I right?"

"..."

Bando was speechless.

“I’ve thought of everything you can think of, and even further ahead than you,” Isaac said. “From the moment you used the Russian mafia to deal with the Sandsang Society, which is also under the Peace Society, you have already confirmed your treacherous behavior. Whether you intend to let the Sandsang Society off the hook or not, the outcome is already predetermined.”

Isaac, looking at the worried faces of the Eagle Peak Group members, continued:

"But you don't need to worry about these things. No one knows about your cooperation with the 'Moscow Hotel' except us. You can continue to do your own thing, and the 'Moscow Hotel' will bear all the consequences alone."

"As expected of Mr. Satomi," Bando sighed. "Actually, I met Ginji earlier today."

"Oh, that guy."

Isaac remembered seeing that person at the festival before, accompanied by Washimine Yukio, the young lady of the Washimine Group.

“He specifically mentioned Mr. Satomi to me, saying that you are an extremely dangerous person,” Bando said with a smile. “I was skeptical at first, but today I have truly witnessed it for myself.”

"Really? So what are your answers?"

“I can agree to cooperate,” Bando said with a smile.

"Boss!"

"Wait, about this..."

Seeing the incredulous looks on his subordinates' faces, Bando waved his hand to stop them from continuing, and said, "From the moment I took over the Washine-gumi from the previous leader, I have had the responsibility to revitalize this group."

The members of the Eagle Peak Group stopped and listened to their leader speak.

“Ever since the group leader passed away, we’ve been plagued by bad luck, or rather, we were already declining before that.” Bando said with a forlorn expression. “And the fact that we’re left with an organization that can’t even raise enough money to pay our dues is all because of the group leader and the previous generation of sworn brothers from the Sand Fragrance Society.”

“After the team leader passed away, they had no obligation to continue cooperating with us. Those guys are now hoping we will be destroyed as soon as possible. Even though the team leader has been dead for three years, they will not allow anyone to take over.”

Bando then looked at Isaac.

“You’re right, we will continue our actions with the goal of destroying the Sand Fragrance Society, and we will not interfere with the actions of the ‘Moscow Hotel’.”

"Good!"

Isaac laughed, picked up the wine on the table, filled Bando's glass, and poured some into his own glass as well.

"Mr. Bando is a pragmatic person. I wish your Washine Group a prosperous business in advance."

"Thank you for your kind words. Please take good care of me during my time in Japan."

"Then, cheers to our cooperation."

"cheers."

-

"Ayana, do you know anything about Satomi-kun's background?"

In the lobby of the club, the three girls were still sitting outside chatting.

Yuko Takishima was very curious about Isaac's identity, but she didn't dare to ask because she was afraid of him at school.

Fujisawa Ayana was undoubtedly the person in the class closest to Isaac, so perhaps she knew something.

"What do you ask for this?"

Ayana looked at Yuko warily.

"Don't be so nervous, I'm just asking."

"...I don't know the specifics. He told me he owns a company and that he collects used goods and sells them."

"Huh? Waste recycling, huh? Looks like an environmental protection company."

"probably."

Yuko Takishima, Mie Kubota, Ken, and Misa chatted happily. They always liked to talk about interesting things with these naive girls. Yuko Takishima, under pressure from her parents, also liked to confide her troubles to them.

It's a way to relieve stress, I suppose. Ah Jian truly lives up to his reputation as a professional gigolo; his conversational skills are exceptional.

Ayana had absolutely no interest in chatting with them; knowing that Isaac was in this club, she just wanted to leave her current location and go see him.

As for accompanying friends? Ayana never considered the two girls as her friends. She only went out with them to fulfill a request that Isaac casually mentioned.

"Excuse me, everyone, I'll have to take my leave for a moment."

"Hmm? Do you need to go to the restroom?"

"Ah."

Ayana nodded and left.

As Ken watched Ayana leave, he asked the two girls, "Was that lady named Ayana? Does she know Mr. Satomi?"

“We’re more than just acquaintances, we were classmates. I even got into a fight with a classmate over her back in school,” Meihui chimed in.

"Eh... I see. I didn't know she had this kind of relationship with Mr. Satomi. Are they boyfriend and girlfriend?"

“I don’t think so. Back at school, it was more like she was clinging to Satomi in a colorful way.” Yuko smiled and took a sip of oolong tea. “She wasn’t just going to the bathroom. I guess she couldn’t resist going to see Satomi when she saw him here.”

"What!?"