At five o'clock in the afternoon, it was already completely dark, and the rain was a little lighter, but there was no sign of stopping at all.

In Arakawa Ward, in an izakaya that is not very lively, Uesugi Kiyoshi sits in a wheelchair at the window seat, and in front of him is a steaming beef bowl, accompanied by fried golden tempura, a small plate of fried dumplings, and a plate of pickles from the kind boss.

The forty or fifty-year-old middle-aged uncle boss is also a part-time cook, and his eyes are full of pity and sympathy, as well as a trace of regret.

"What a good young man, why are you crippled?"

"Even so, his girlfriend still takes care of him without giving up, which is really touching!"

This is what Uesugi Kiyoshi read from the boss's eyes, and he didn't bother to distinguish it, just sat there quietly, looking out the window at the rain.

Sitting across from him was Maki Tofumi, with a glass of ice cream in front of him.

The dishes sold at this izakaya are really varied, and the izakaya Uesugi Kiyoshi who sells beer and drinks has seen it, and it is rare to buy ice cream.

In the afternoon, Uesugi Kiyoshi led Towen Maki to visit the territory of the Kagetsu Group, as well as the boundaries of several nearby Yakuza organizations affiliated with the Tobunkai, and it was the first time that Miss Towen saw the living environment of Yakuza at the bottom.

Some are pitiful, some are hateful.

They wandered from Minato to Arakawa, halfway through Tokyo, and when it was time for dinner, Uesugi Kiyoshi offered to find a place to cushion their stomachs.

His appetite has increased dramatically recently, and he can almost catch up with Rin Kamizumi in terms of rice buckets.

This little thing is just an appetizer, and the apricots at home have prepared a sumptuous dinner for him.

On rainy days, the business of the izakaya is average, there are not many customers, only a few tables of customers are dining, and the more conspicuous ones are two tables of young people - they are dressed up a little maverick, some look bad, and they should not be serious gangsters anyway.

Regular gangsters don't dress up in fancy clothes, so that the boss will be scolded when he sees it, unless his strength is outstanding and his ability is outstanding, he obediently wears a black suit and leaves an inch of hair.

Uesugi Kiyoshi tasted the beef bowl in front of him and nodded secretly.

The taste is average, but the ingredients are good, the meat quality is very reliable, and compared with the price, it is a conscience store.

He looked up and saw Dongwen Maki absentmindedly fiddling with the ice cream in front of him, and asked casually, "What are you thinking?" Maki, you're a little upset. ”

Maki Tobun is actually still in the impact of what she saw and heard this afternoon, she has always felt that the yakuza are bad, they should be abolished, and the Tobunkai should be reformed, and it should be bathed in the sun and become a regular corporate club.

But what she saw and heard today and what Uesugi Kiyoshi said touched her a lot.

Not only her, but many people can't help it.

As a leader, you have to bear the lives of your subordinates.

This is all contrary advice.

However, she didn't want Uesugi Kiyoshi to see her original innocent side, she tilted her head seriously and thought about it, and rarely showed a shallow smile.

"I'm thinking about Mr. and the young lady of the custom shop."

Uesugi Kiyoshi got a bite of rice in his throat and almost choked him.

In the afternoon, I fooled around casually.,It's not over co-authoring, isn't it?。

Women are strange creatures, sometimes very forgetful, and sometimes they cling to certain things.

He put down the spoon and raised his eyes with some helplessness.

Wiping his mouth, Uesugi sighed.

"Well, it doesn't hurt to tell you, it's not a new story."

"You know, I used to live in Arakawa, a cheap apartment, and there was a mix of tenants, and everyone had it."

"I used to live across the door from a person who was engaged in... Women in this kind of industry. ”

"Kyushu people, who owe money, came to Tokyo to pan for gold, but the debt collectors did not forgive, my father's company went bankrupt and owed a huge amount of debt, my mother repeatedly attempted suicide, lying in the hospital, the medical expenses were another burden, and I had a sister in the middle of the country, so I wanted her to raise her alone."

Uesugi Kiyoshi's expression was a little heavy.

"How did a 20-year-old girl give up the opportunity to go to college?"

"I went to work several jobs during the day, and I had to accompany the wine at night, and I didn't have much money left except to pay off debts, and the family was struggling to survive."

"Her job in Kabukicho accounts for the majority of her income."

"If she loses her job at a custom shop... What about her and her family, do they deserve to starve to death? ”

Uesugi Kiyoshi's question left Maki Tofumi speechless.

After a long silence, she asked softly.

"And then?"

Uesugi Kiyoma clutched the armrest of his wheelchair, his eyes full of memories.

"Later? Then she moved away, and I don't know where she went. ”

"I admired her, although I didn't even know her name, but unfortunately I was a poor ghost at the time, and I couldn't help her."

"About half a year ago, because of the nature of her work, some ninth-rate thugs in that apartment often used her hands and feet, and one day, they blocked the girl, and the foul language intensified."

"The reluctant smile, the grievances on my face, I really can't stand it."

"I started to teach the thugs a lesson, and I might have scared her, but she thanked me politely and gave me a thank-you gift - some worthless Japanese fruits, but I took it."

"Later, maybe it was because I was afraid that those gangsters would hold a grudge and come to her for trouble, and it didn't take long for them to move."

Uesugi Kiyoshi turned his head and looked at Maki Higashi.

"There are too many such people."

"Maki, there are many people who have done their best just to live in this world."

"So, they shouldn't be prey to the spirits anymore and could lose their lives at any time on the grounds that they were chosen as sacrifices – that's ridiculous."

“...”

"I'm sorry, I got a little out of shape and digressed."

Dongwen Maki pursed her lips, frowned, and said in a low voice: "Sir, I can help her..."

Uesugi Kiyoshi chuckled and shook his head.

"You can't help it, there are a lot of people like this, and the Dongwen Society is not a charitable organization, we are gangsters..."

"Okay, it's just some old things from the past, I see that you are so curious, so I'll tell you about it, let's eat, and you can go back and think about it in a while, what should Dongwen do next."

Uesugi Kiyoshi narrowed his eyes and focused on the food in front of him.

At that moment, a noise rang out in the store.

Maki Tobun turned his head to look, and the two tables of bad boys not far away seemed to be arguing.

The two groups of people were facing each other, shouting loudly, pushing and shoving, and it looked like they were about to do it.

Oddly enough, many diners turn a blind eye to this, as if it were commonplace.

In a blink of an eye, the two gangs of delinquent teenagers scuffled together, and the dishes, chopsticks, tables and chairs crackled a lot.

Dongwen Maki frowned, and wanted to get up to stop them.

Then, she was sat down by Uesugi Kiyoshi on the shoulder.

The girl stared at Uesugi Kiyoshi with puzzled eyes, but Uesugi Kiyoshi only glanced at it with slanted eyes.

"You can't remember what I said... The story of me and my young sister is clear to you. ”

"I said, think more before you do things."

"This street is also managed by the Dongwen Society, and those two gangs of bad people also pay tribute to the Dongwen Society, this street is their territory, and now it seems... It seems that they have some discord. ”

"Forget it, it doesn't matter, you look at the boss's expression."

When Maki Higashimi heard this, he immediately turned his head to look at the chubby middle-aged izakaya owner.

She raised an eyebrow in some surprise.

The boss's face was a little helpless, but he didn't have a nervous look, but instead shouted loudly on the side, as if he was fighting.

The fat boss's persuasion had no effect, and soon, the two gangs of bad people were divided into winners and losers.

Win a gang, the leader is a yellow hair, they are many today, the opposite is not their opponent, and they were beaten badly.

"Wentai, you guy, I'll make you arrogant!"

Huang Mao scolded and scolded, his fists and feet were very sharp, not like he had been systematically trained, but he should be a good street fighter, and his opponent was punched in the corner of his mouth, and he was bleeding.

Seeing this situation, the fat boss was heartbroken, waved his arms violently, inserted into the battlefield, stopped Huang Mao who wanted to beat the water dog, and shouted: "Okay, okay!" Snake, you still won't let me do business. ”

Huang Mao was hugged by the fat boss, and symbolically broke free a few times, but he didn't beat him indiscriminately.

At the same time, the fat boss turned his head to look at Wen Tai, who was lying on the ground, and whispered, "Quick, go quickly, the back door is open." ”

The bad action on the ground quickly turned over, glanced at Huang Mao fiercely, and beckoned the little brother to retreat tactically.

Immediately, the yellow-haired bad group erupted in a cheer of victory, continued to sit back, and divided a few people to clean up the dishes, chopsticks, tables and chairs that fell on the ground.

Huang Mao waved his hand at the fat boss with a big grin.

"Uncle Mitsui, you always favor Bunta's kid, forget it, I'll give you face today - it's good that the broken tableware is counted in the meal fee, and then I have a beer!"

The fat boss shook his head helplessly, returned to the counter and made a beer, sent it to the yellow-haired table, and sighed helplessly: "Okay, okay, I'll give you this one, thank you for giving me face--Ah Snake, you and Mrs. Wen live on the same street, and you don't see anyone who looks up, so why bother making a fuss?" ”

Huang Mao waved his hand disapprerovingly.

"Hey, Uncle Mitsui, you don't understand, go and get busy with you."

The fat boss sighed, shook his head, didn't say much, and went to get busy with his business.

It all seemed like a small episode.

Uesugi Kiyoshi looked at Maki Higashimi thoughtfully, swept away the food in front of him in a few bites, and waved his hand.

"Boss, check out."

With a smile on his face, the fat boss walked over briskly and calculated the price.

"1,200 yen."

It's really cheap, Uesugi Kiyoshi happily paid for it, and by the way, it was like a small talk, and he snorted.

"Boss, what's the matter with those guests?"

The fat boss is a talkative person, and he opened the conversation with a wry smile.

"Oh, do you mean Snake and Bunta? Hey, they're all kids who live on this street, and I grew up watching them. ”

"At the beginning, they were obviously very good friends, but I don't know why, but one day I suddenly broke up, shouting that this street could only be covered by one person, and as a result, I fought every day... Alas..."

"However, both of them are good boys, before this was the territory of the Ikuta Group, it is said that it is a big gang belonging to the Kowloon Source Society, and they come to collect high protection fees every day, Ah Snake and Wen Tai led the people to drive the Ikuta Group away, and then found a backer, it seems to be a group called the Dongwen Society, just symbolically charging us a little protection fee, and also helping us drive away those who come to cause trouble, which has helped everyone a lot."

"Guests, don't look at them as scary, in fact, they are all good people, Ah Snake's family runs an auto repair shop on the street, and Mrs. Wen's family runs a grocery store at the end of the street, how many years have they been old neighbors, they are not those nasty Yakuza people."

Seeing the thoughtfulness on Tofumi Maki's face, Uesugi Kiyoshi didn't have much interest in chatting, smiled implicitly, and after paying the bill, he was pushed by Tofumi Maki and walked out.

"Okay, I'm going back to the association, you can go back too, starting tomorrow, I'll accompany you to the realm of the Dongwen Society."

"See with your eyes, listen with your heart, think with your brain."

"Right and wrong, black and white, yin and yang, judge for yourself."

Uesugi Kiyoshi is very bitter, and the current Towen Maki, although he has gotten rid of the immaturity of some chicks, is still a little naïve.

It's not that this innocence is completely washed away by the world, whether it's good or bad for her.

But nothing is perfect.

Uesugi Kiyoshi's own three views may not be very correct, he just said his opinion, whether he can listen to it or not, how to go in the future, it is still up to Towen Maki to decide for himself.

The next day, Uesugi Kiyoshi went to the Baiwen Museum in the morning to read a book, and in the afternoon he inspected the territory of the Tobunkai with Towen Maki as promised, and the time passed quickly, and in the evening, they went to the same household tavern and ate something at random.

Uesugi Kiyoshi seems to be fond of the beef bowls here.

Then, they watched another good show.

Huang Mao, who won the battle yesterday, was blocked by Wen Tai and others, this time they were few and were beaten by a good meal, and the final loss was the boss's shot and stopped the fight.

"Snake, the back door is open, go quickly!"

"Bunta! Stop it! ”

The plot is similar to yesterday, except that today it was Huang Mao who won yesterday who fled from the back door.

Uesugi Kiyoshi didn't care about this farce, but stared thoughtfully at the door of the izakaya, looking at the half-hidden door from time to time, and a thoughtful expression often appeared on his face.

The night passed, and in the evening of the third day, the same izakaya.

The fat boss is already familiar with Uesugi Kiyoshi, and when he sees him coming, he shows a warm smile, and even the beef in the beef bowl has a few more slices than before, which is already the treatment of a regular customer.

Today, Huang Mao and Wentai and his group did not have a dinner party here, and the store was a little empty, and there was only a table of customers in Uesugi Kiyoshi.

Halfway through the meal, Uesugi Kiyoshi caught a glimpse of the figure at the door, narrowed his eyes, and said something in his mouth.

"Huh... Sure enough, it was here. ”

"Akutagawa and Yuichi's information is quite accurate, and it's not in vain that I've waited for so many days."

Maki Higashimi followed Uesugi Kiyoshi's gaze to the door, and what caught his eye was a black suit in a watery black suit, a standard gangster Yakuza dress.

The leader wore sunglasses, a large tattoo on his cuffs, and a malicious smile, and he obviously didn't come in to eat, so he went straight to the fat boss.

"Yo, old man Mitsui, do you remember me?"

The man in sunglasses spoke in a loud and presumptuous voice, and Da Ma Jindao dragged a chair and sat down, and a row of younger brothers stood behind him, but the shelf was quite big.

When the fat boss saw this person, his face changed, and he trotted out with a smile, his voice a little reluctant.

"Ikuta-san, it's been a long time, it's rare for you to come, just order, I'll invite you this time."

The man in sunglasses, known as Ikuta, smiled gloomily, spat on the ground without public morality, cleared his throat, and his tone was full of sarcasm.

"What, treat me like a beggar?"

"Am I the homeless man who came to you to ask for food?"

"Mitsui, you don't give me sloppy eyes, from now on, this street will be under the management of our Ikuta Group again, and the protection fee will still be the same as before, pay it for three months first!"

"If you don't... You know what to do. ”

The fat boss looked embarrassed, and said in a low voice: "Ikuta-san... But I've already paid the protection money to the Dongwen Society..."

When the sunglasses boy Tian heard this, he seemed to have heard some funny joke, and he couldn't even play with his waist, and when his laughter gradually stopped, his cruel expression quickly climbed to his face.

He stood up abruptly and slapped the fat boss in the face, knocking him back a few meters, holding on to the counter so that he didn't fall, blood gushing out of his nose and the corners of his mouth.

"What Dongwen Society, a bunch of little ghosts, found a backer, but only won us once, dare to be so arrogant? Claiming to be a member of the Tobunkai? ”

"I'm telling you, I'm coming back this time to settle accounts with those little ghosts!"

"Dongwen will be messed up now, take care of yourself, and there will be air control for you little fish and shrimp?!"

"Mitsui, if you can't pay the money today, I'll serve you well, and let them see what will happen if they offend our Ikuta group."

This is the way the vast majority of Yakuza survives.

Unreasonable, arrogant, talking with fists, living by oppressing civilians, compassion or something, there is no such thing as non-existent.

This kind of person is exactly what Dongwen Maki hates the most.

The girl stood up and wanted to do something, but was held down by Uesugi Kiyoshi again.

Uesugi Qing's eyes were sharp, and when those Yakuza first entered the door, he saw a few familiar bad people probing their brains at the door, and one of them ran away, going to report the news.

"Maki, don't be impatient, someone is in charge of this matter."

"The fish finally got hooked, don't scare you away."

Maki Higashimi is a little unsure, but deep down she believes in Uesugi Kiyoshi unconditionally.

So, she sat down slowly.

After a while, there was a bang, and the door of the izakaya was violently pushed open.

A large number of bad people poured in, and the leaders were Huang Mao and Bunta, whom Uesugi Kiyoshi had once seen.

The sunglasses boy Tian obviously came prepared, and he was not at a disadvantage in terms of numbers, and some of the Yakuza had bulging waists and possibly weapons.

When he saw this group of bad people rushing in, he smiled heartily, which was an expression of revenge about to be avenged.

The fat boss covered half of his swollen face and shouted in some pain: "Hey, Snake, Wentai, let's go!" Go to the police! ”

No one cared about what he said.

Wen Tai and Huang Mao both had injuries on their faces, both of which were from the hands of the other party, but now, they are standing on the united front.

Wen Taiyin laughed sadly, and said angrily: "What are you going to go, are you going to be beaten here?" Go and close the gates! ”

As soon as he gave the order, several of the younger brothers obediently closed the door of the izakaya.

Not to be outdone, Huang Mao took a step forward, facing a large number of half-inch black suits, and the smile on his face did not mean to show weakness at all.

"Okay... The defeated generals are back, and they dare to beat people? ”

"!"

“...”

"Uncle Mitsui! Tonight, you don't have to open the back door of your house! ”

Before he could finish speaking, the yellow-haired boy jumped out like an arrow, and kicked the man in sunglasses in the stomach mercilessly, kicking him far away and hitting a table and chair.

None of the Yakuza reacted.

He treated those black suits as if they were nothing, and he was not afraid at all.

By the time Ikuta struggled to stand up, he had a hideous face and his head was bleeding.

Then, a scuffle broke out.

The hot-blooded and ill-intentioned Yakuza fought in the izakaya, and the chickens flew and the dogs jumped.

Facing Maki Higashi's inquiring eyes, Uesugi Kiyoshi smiled slightly.

"They are the Ikuta group and belong to... Source will. ”

"Yuan Longhai's men."

"I have a grudge against Yuanhui, and I also promised Liu Longren to help him kill Yuanlonghai and Shanxin Jilong."

"To declare war, you need an excuse."

Uesugi Kiyoshi set his gaze on the man in sunglasses who was roaring angrily.

"The Dongwen Society has experienced changes, and there must be ambitious people who want to come and test whether there is oil and water to fish."

"In addition, the news of my injury spread, and many people saw me in a wheelchair every day..."

"Someone will not be able to hold back."

"Yuichi gave me information, saying that Gen Longhai has some covetousness for a few streets of the Tobunkai in Arakawa District, and he has been about to make a move recently."

"That's a fool with money in his head."

"If they want to make a move, they must choose the weakest realm to test and see how the Dongwen Society reacts."

"If you kick the iron plate, you will admit it, and if you bully the soft persimmon, you will expand the results - the traditional gangster survival rule."

"Well, this is it."

Uesugi Kiyoshi turned his wheelchair and faced the chaotic battlefield, the smile in his eyes meaningful.

"Maki, a fish has taken the bait..."