After being elected as the governor of Tokyo, he will debut as a band!

"Was that person very careful to hide their identity, and were they very skilled?"

"That's right!"

"That must be that person! Thank you, girls... Kitagawa, let's go back and inform the group."

The menacing-looking men were now certain that the new member of Sickhack was the person they were looking for, so they turned and left.

"I say, Ryo, what these people just said sounded really bad, didn't it? It was like they were going to cause trouble for Yoshima-san."

Hongxia, belatedly realizing what was happening, looked at Liang with some nervousness.

"I need to go back and inform Brother Yoshizane and Mr. Ginjiro. Mr. Ginjiro is practically a local bigwig in Kamurocho; he'll definitely have a way to handle those...troubles..."

The latter, unusually serious, earnestly comforted the somewhat flustered Hongxia.

The four walked back towards the Folt performance hall, but out of their sight, the menacing-looking men were reporting to another guy who looked like the leader.

"Have you confirmed that person's identity?"

"It's confirmed. The person who can order that 'Mad Crocodile of Aoyama' Ryoumiya Takumi around, and who is also a musician and a big star, must be her."

"The daughter of the Dragon of Dojima! Miss Sawamura!"

Thank you to Jiuge·Lihun and Xiaoguaishouya for the razor blades~

Make way for me: 025 Liang Gongzhao: You'll all laugh me to death sooner or later.

"For the sake of the Tojo Clan's interests, Old Man Kiryu didn't hesitate to take on a huge crime and go to jail! Although we have no direct relationship with the Tojo Clan, we, the Ogawa Group, will never allow the descendants of someone as 'righteous and benevolent' as Old Man Kiryu to suffer the slightest injustice on our turf!"

Masatake Ogawa, the leader of the Ogawa Group under the Keihin Alliance, was giving a speech to his subordinates, including his younger brothers.

(Kiryu Kazuma was born in 1968, so he's quite an old man now. In his latest work, even his grandson is about to start elementary school, so calling him "Old Man Kiryu" is no exaggeration.)

"Listen up, everyone. Tonight, everyone bring your underlings to the Fold Studio to support Ms. Sawamura! The ticket money will be paid through the company account. Go to Horiuchi's place to collect your money before 6:30 tonight."

Although the official members of the Ogawa Group—that is, the younger brother and Ruozhong—only number a dozen or so, each of them has their own underlings.

These informal members include delinquents, biker gang members, and simply idle young people. It's impossible for these people to fight, but they can certainly stand guard or something.

In other words, as long as the team leader is willing to spend the money, it's not a big problem to temporarily gather more than a hundred people. Moreover, these people come from all walks of life, including women, so it won't arouse the suspicion of the local law enforcement authorities.

If it really were a gathering of over a hundred gangsters, even the most incompetent Metropolitan Police Department would send someone over.

"Tonight's cheering event is a matter of honor for our Ogawa Group! We've all been through thick and thin, so you better be on your best in front of Ms. Sawamura. We can't afford to lose points! Otherwise, you might as well prepare to feed the fish in Yokohama Bay!"

"Haaiya!!!"

With a wave of his hand, Masatake Ogawa immediately mobilized all the team members present.

The support campaign to express our respect for Kiryu-sensei has officially begun.

……

Gathering a group is a time-consuming and laborious task, and the informal members are naturally undisciplined. Therefore, by the time the members of the Ogawa Group successfully gathered a team of more than 120 people, it was already 6:50 p.m.

There are only ten minutes left before the official Sickhack performance.

When the team arrived at the entrance of the Fold exhibition hall, Ginjiro Yoshida was already waiting there with trepidation.

When Yoshida Ginjiro first heard from Nijika and the others that "a group of fierce-looking uncles were going to cause trouble for Yoshima-nii," he was quite flustered.

After all, he had been running a shop in Kamurocho for so many years, so even from Nijika and Kita's forgetful descriptions, he could tell that these "fierce-looking uncles" were members of a certain branch of the Yakuza organization that was entrenched in Kamurocho.

In reality, these small gangs can't cause much trouble in Kamurocho. At most, they might block the door during business hours and drive away customers. They run away as fast as rabbits when the police come. But honest businessmen like Yoshida are still reluctant to deal with them.

So despite his panic and fear, Yoshida wasn't so terrified that he didn't even have the courage to negotiate with them.

After all, small gangs are not behemoths like the East City Gang. If the East City Gang were still around and the troublemakers were members of the East City Gang, Yoshida would probably have sent Hiroi and the others home by now, and then closed his business for a day and found a place to lay low.

Yoshida Ginjiro immediately went to Aoyama to discuss the matter. After listening to him, Aoyama said that these people must have mistaken him for someone else and were not looking for him.

After all, his status was far too prestigious. Let alone a mere small group like the Kawaguchi Group, even the head of the Keihin Alliance would have to pull countless strings to see him. And even if he did see him, he wouldn't say a word to him during the entire meeting, and when he left, the Kawaguchi would have to bow at a 90-degree angle or even perform a full dogeza to send him off.

Such is the traditional culture in Japan: those in power have almost unlimited power over those in power, and this is especially evident in organizations like the Yakuza, where a culture of loyalty prevails.

If this Ogawa group leader really knew his identity, the first thing he would do would be to get rid of all his underlings who knew, and then go alone to the head of the Keihin Alliance late at night to apologize. The head of the alliance would then arrange an "accident" and use it as an excuse to apologize to him.

Aoyama's reply reassured Yoshida, but he still had doubts. After all, even if these yakuza members realized they had the wrong person, they could still find a reason to cause a scene.

Aoyama saw through his thoughts and made a phone call to summon Ryoumiya Takumi.

"With my elder here keeping things in check, the Ogawa group wouldn't dare cause any trouble."

After hearing his words, Ryoumiya Takumi laughed, "Ogawa Group? Young...Young Master, you're really using a sledgehammer to crack a nut."

Meanwhile—as Yoshida Ginjiro faced off against hundreds of yakuza/unofficial members, Suzumiya Takumi was sitting by the flowerbed next to him, drinking a bottle of oolong tea.

Although Yoshida was still a little unsure, he decided to trust Aoyama.

"What...what's the matter?"

He mustered his courage and asked.

Perhaps feeling that Yoshida's way of speaking lacked respect, the leading man glared and wanted to shout "Eight Yaru!"

Just then, Ryougu Takumi accidentally knocked over the oolong tea he was holding, and the man's attention was drawn to the sound.

Then his eyes widened.

The next moment, his attitude towards Yoshida underwent a complete 360-degree change.

"Hai, are you the manager of this performance hall? We came here specifically to support Lady Sawamura. I heard she just became a new member of the band Sickhack, and tonight, you have a performance by this band here."

After he finished speaking, he gestured to the crowd behind him, and the people in unison took out their banknotes and held them up above their heads in unison.

"What, Lord Sawamura..."

Yoshida was also full of questions.

And the fact that it says "she" means that Mr. Yoshima is actually a woman.

Just as he was about to voice his question, he heard Liang Gongjiang suddenly burst into laughter behind him.

"Hahahaha... Lord Sawamura... This is really interesting. I'll have to tell them about this when I get back."

During the time he was laughing, the menacing-looking leaders stood as straight as frozen chickens, not daring to move an inch.

After Liang Gongzhao finished laughing, he bent down to pick up the bottle from the ground, and then left a sentence with a smile.

"Since you want to see a live performance, then line up and buy tickets to go in."

Thank you to Baibuchuan Xiaoshumiao for the razor blades!

Make way for me: 026 Never mind, it's her.

Today is a weekday, so tickets for the Folt performances aren't selling very well.

Even for a super popular band like Sickhack, it wouldn't be easy to sell more than 300 tickets these days.

However, today, a group of customers who supported "Sawamura-sama" appeared out of nowhere, and the long line they spontaneously formed aroused the great interest of other Japanese people who like to queue.

As a result, after half an hour, the Folt performance hall, which has a capacity of 500 people, actually squeezed in more than 700 audience members. The crowding was so great that even if Little Lonely were to perform a leap of faith there, he wouldn't fall to the ground.

Hiroi Kikuri, holding a drink in one hand and a bass guitar in the other, was smiling broadly!

In order to ensure that the hundreds of new customers who suddenly flooded in could also enjoy the full performance, Yoshida Ginjiro specially postponed the performance time. It was this delay of less than twenty minutes that made Iwashita Shima, who had been pestered by Hiroi for more than an hour, finally give in and allow her to drink a cup of premium Daiginjo sake sent by Aoyama Muko.

But given Hiroi Kikuri's personality, one cup wasn't enough. Taking advantage of Shima's momentary lapse in attention, she drank three cups in one go before Shima, who had just realized what was happening, snatched the bottle back from her.

Daiginjo may not have a high alcohol content and tastes as smooth as fruit juice, but it can be very intoxicating.

After drinking three large glasses of alcohol, Hiroi Kikuri is now teetering on the edge of being completely drunk, which is also when she is at her most energetic and has the best stage performance.

"Wow, there are so many people today! Those guys over there are practically pushed against the wall. Do you bastards really enjoy watching our show?! Today is a precious workday! You all better get back to work! Have you just abandoned Japan's century-old culture of working overtime like this? What a bunch of disrespectful bastards!"

"Today I'm drinking some high-class sake sent by my dear senior! So today I'm going to give you guys a good scolding on behalf of all the seniors in the world!"

"Just kidding, all those 'seniors' are bullshit! Those self-righteous, arrogant 'seniors' are the absolute bullshit! Let them all go to hell!"

Hiroi, fully immersed in the moment, interacted with the audience with boundless energy, and as the final, declarative shout ended, the steady drumbeats from Iwashita Shima began.

But the intro had been playing for almost a minute, and veins were visibly popping out on Shima's head. Eliza started playing the guitar, but Hiroi was still swaying in front of the microphone.

It wasn't until Shima increased the intensity of the drumbeats that she suddenly snapped out of her daze and burst into laughter at the audience.

"Sorry! I was just savoring the taste of that drink and forgot what I was supposed to sing next!"

The audience erupted in boos and jeers.

Hiroi remained unfazed, launching into a rapid string sweep amidst the boos from the audience.

then

Still drunk and yearning for paradise! Alas—

"The moon of the sixteenth night, as hazy as a bubble—"

"A young girl on the bustling street blushes her cheeks with rouge."

Even Gandhara was brightly lit, hiccup~

The performance officially begins.

Sickhack's longtime fans were used to Hiroi's performance and quickly got into the groove. Some even asked Yoshida, the store manager, about the drinks, as they wanted to try the ones Hiroi had praised repeatedly.

But Yoshida could only shrug and say that he had never bought Takagi Daiginjo, which costs 32000 yen a bottle, but he could have as many boxes of Onikiri sake as he wanted, which cost 180 yen a bottle.

But these fans weren't heavy drinkers like Hiroi; they couldn't stomach the boxed Oni Slayer liquor, which was cheaper than some bottled water. Instead, they ordered beer, as alcohol was essential when Sickhack was in good form.

The group quickly got into the swing of things, swaying to the rhythm and the song, but the yakuza members who had come to support Sawamura were a bit dumbfounded.

"Yajima, is Ms. Sawamura's acting style really this wild?"

"In my memory, Ms. Sawamura's acting style should be the kind that is sunny, uplifting, and comforting..."

"Could it be that Ms. Sawamura experienced some kind of shock during the years after her retirement, causing some kind of psychological change, so in this comeback performance, she chose a performance style that is completely opposite to her past, in order to express a... uh, a farewell to her past life."

The official members of the Ogawa group discussed for a long time, but they still couldn't come up with a conclusion that could convince everyone. Even the person who put forward these views couldn't convince himself with them.

The "Ms. Sawamura" they were referring to is actually Haruka Sawamura, a super popular idol who once held a solo concert at the Tokyo Dome. However, Haruka Sawamura's idol career was short-lived, lasting only three years before she retired. Now, she has virtually no popularity except among a specific group of people.

However, since Sawamura confessed her relationship with the legendary yakuza figure Kazuma Kiryu during her retirement performance (and paid a large sum of money in breach of contract), she has maintained a lukewarm popularity among yakuza members. For example, more than half of the dozen or so official members of the Ogawa Group who came to "support" her today still remember what she looked like before her retirement.

So no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't convince themselves that the crazy woman on stage, who was drunk and stomping on the speakers on the ground until they were deformed, was Sawamura Haruka.

Although the two are about the same age.

"No, wait, that woman playing bass and singing is definitely not Ms. Sawamura, but one of the other two on stage might be her."

"You mean that guitarist? She's quite pretty, but she clearly looks like a foreigner! No matter how much Ms. Sawamura has changed over the years, she couldn't possibly have become a foreigner!"

"I'm not talking about her, I'm talking about the one playing the drums in the back. She's a typical Japanese person, isn't she!"

"But she has short hair."

"It's perfectly normal for Ms. Sawamura to shave her hair short, isn't it?"

"She looks a bit robust, you can see it in her shoulders."

"Her muscular physique doesn't quite suit Ms. Sawamura's image."

"Ahem, Miss Sawamura is a descendant of the 'Dragon of Dojima.' It's normal for her bloodline to awaken after her retirement and for her to grow a muscular physique."

"Your reason is far too weak..."

“Yajima, you really need to think this through. Boss Ogawa gave us a death order: we have to do everything in our power to support Ms. Sawamura, who just joined Sickhack, or we’ll be sent to Yokohama Bay to feed the fish. And when we first came to the Fold Showroom, we made it clear to 'Aoyama Crocodile' that we were there to support Ms. Sawamura, and he didn’t deny it. Under these circumstances, if we stop our support activities because 'Ms. Sawamura isn’t in the band,' it won’t be fair to the boss.”

"...You're right, that drummer must be Miss Sawamura! As expected of a descendant of the Dragon of Dojima, she's truly multi-talented!"

The leading members of the Ogawa group exchanged glances, knowing without a word that they all accepted Yajima's explanation.

They immediately called to their underlings and took out the support banners they had prepared beforehand—

Sawamura-dono? I'll love you forever!

Make way for me: 027 A fight broke out.

A bunch of yakuza members, what do they know about idol worship?

So they specifically consulted an idol otaku who was buying a bonus CD at a music store, and prepared a series of support tools based on his advice.

Yes, that's right, it's the kind of tool usually used to support idol groups like AKB48, IVE, and AESPA.