Fujiwara Shunsui had previously mentally screened all Associations and families that might target him, and the Nagasawa Family was among them.
Kojima Bin, on the other end of the phone, continued, "That car disappeared into a villa area on the outskirts of Shinjuku, which is a primary activity hub for the Nagasawa Family."
"You should be familiar with Higashikawa Club. Currently, the Nagasawa Family is the most suspicious!"
Sankou-gumi generally operates on the principle of 'guilty until proven innocent.'
Regardless of whether the other party has committed any unfavorable acts against them, they are treated as a hypothetical enemy.
Because when you start to imagine such a situation arising, then the other party poses a threat!
"Lord Fujiwara, should we begin targeting the Nagasawa Family?"
"Should we gather men tonight and head to Higashikawa Club?"
Kojima Bin's decisive and ruthless style of action, perhaps influenced by Kojou Yuna, was evident.
Harumizu himself usually only interacted with Nissho Taro and Kojou Yuna, and would not directly contact other subordinates.
However, Kojima Bin's performance this time made Harumizu remember him.
Since there were always those who challenged Sankou-gumi and challenged him, Fujiwara Shunsui, he had to make sure these people knew the price of provoking him!
"First, find the driver. Do not probe Higashikawa Club too much. Report any findings to Taro immediately!"
Harumizu looked at Nissho Taro with great trust, and handed the phone back to him.
His eyes held only trust for Taro.
He knew that because of him, Taro also didn't want to interfere in the affairs of other Association members. He preferred to be his driver, secretary, and assistant—he just wanted to stay by his side.
But Kojou Yuna had already gotten into trouble.
Although there was no life-threatening danger, this also sounded an alarm for Harumizu:
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Kojou Yuna couldn't bear these external risks alone.
After all, many people outside knew there was a 'Nightclub Queen' in Shinjuku: Kojou Yuna.
She had a Sankou-gumi background and could directly command all members of Sankou-gumi in Shinjuku.
However, only a very few people would come into contact with Nissho Taro, or even himself.
Fujiwara Shunsui naturally wouldn't bother with these matters.
He planned to have Taro take on some of Yuna's work.
After all, Kojou Yuna's target was still too conspicuous, and she was a girl.
Thinking of this, and seeing that he still had over ten minutes of [Insight] effect remaining, Fujiwara Shunsui focused his gaze on Nissho Taro.
He wanted to see what this guy's stats were like!
[Combat Value: 45]
[Favorability Rating: 102]
[Charm Value: 4]
Harumizu looked at the big bald man with a hint of disbelief, his heart full of shock.
This guy's Charm Value was actually on par with that pretty little nurse from the ambulance earlier, even a bit higher than hers!
This was a bit hard for him to accept, but he was quite satisfied with the Combat Value!
After all, in Harumizu's eyes, a big bald man like Taro should be an anomaly in most people's eyes.
He had initially thought this guy's Charm Value would only be 1 point, but he didn't expect it to be as high as 4 points, almost rivaling his own!
This situation could only mean that he himself was short-sighted!
In fact, for many Japanese women planning to be full-time housewives, a man like Nissho Taro, with an Association background, a legitimate job, and a decent income, was their "golden bachelor!"
Furthermore, many young delinquents even admired Nissho Taro!
Watching Taro once again instruct Kojima Bin about some matters, Harumizu's perception of this man changed again.
Of course, all of this was Fujiwara Shunsui's internal monologue.
Nissho Taro didn't know what Harumizu was thinking. He still, as usual, after receiving instructions from Fujiwara Shunsui, used some known information to help Fujiwara Shunsui fill in any gaps!
After hanging up the phone, Nissho Taro turned to Fujiwara Shunsui and asked, "Lord Harumizu, should we go talk to the head of the Nagasawa Family now?"
Harumizu pondered for a moment before replying, "Not yet. The Nagasawa Family is an old, established family; they shouldn't make the same mistake twice on such a simple matter! The most crucial point is that Higashisho Ji is no simple character. If he were involved in this assassination, I don't think we would have found this car!"
"Furthermore, it's unlikely that Yuna and I would have survived!"
This was not Fujiwara Shunsui's groundless speculation.
Harumizu still remembered Higashisho Ji's "arm-breaking for survival" scene at Higashikawa Club back then.
He didn't believe, nor dared to believe, that such a ruthless character would make a mistake in a matter like this.
Otherwise, it would be an insult to the intelligence of everyone at Higashikawa Club that day.
Even the usually timid Nagasawa Kawa wouldn't do such a foolish thing!
At this moment, Harumizu was also quite puzzled.
Since the other party had chosen such a method, why were he and Kojou Yuna still safe and sound?
This was the most incomprehensible thing to him so far!
Fujiwara Shunsui thought of Nagasawa Kawa, and then he remembered that forgotten "character"—Nagasawa Kyuichi, the instigator who had caused severe damage to the Nagasawa Family!
Fujiwara Shunsui suddenly felt as if he could understand things again; at the very least, the next plan was already clearly laid out!
He stood beside Nissho Taro, leaned down slightly, and whispered something into his ear.
Nissho Taro's eyes grew brighter and brighter as he listened to Harumizu's plan, eventually even exclaiming in admiration:
"Can this really work?"
Harumizu gave him a confident look.
Although he saw surprise in Taro's eyes, he still said casually:
"Just do it, having a plan is always better than having no plan!"
Watching Taro's expression change from shock to admiration, Fujiwara Shunsui felt very pleased, and sighed: "A brain with upgraded intelligence is indeed useful!"
...At night, the various group chats of Shinjuku's underworld exploded like a stirred pot.
All sorts of messages were frantically flooding the screens, and among them, two messages from Nissho Taro were being reposted like crazy!
"Seeking information on the Nagasawa Family's assassination of a core member of Sankou-gumi. Once verified, a reward of 10,000,000 Yen!"
"Those with information can contact me, Nissho Taro, directly. Privacy is paramount, and safety is guaranteed!"
..."Did someone tell me it's war?"
"Is the Nagasawa Family that brave? Directly confronting Sankou-gumi!"
"Sankou-gumi get out of Shinjuku, Shinjuku has its own order!"
"10,000,000 Yen, I can retire early!"
"Are there any insiders from the Nagasawa Family? You provide the information, I'll report it, and I'll only take twenty percent of the money!"
"There's a good show to watch!"
"It's been so many years, Sankou-gumi hasn't had a situation like this since they settled in Shinjuku, right!"
"Who died? Is it the Nightclub Queen Kojou Yuna?"
"The most active person in Sankou-gumi is that woman. It would be quite a shame if she died!"
Such conversations quickly spread online. The best thing about this era was how convenient news spread!
Fifteen minutes, or even less!
Everyone in the Nagasawa Family received concerned inquiries from friends.
But unlike before, this time everyone had only one question: "Are you really at war with Sankou-gumi?"
And exactly fifteen minutes after the message was sent, Fujiwara Shunsui's phone rang.
He had been waiting for it!
He answered the call.
The voice on the other end was both strange and familiar, but the opening words already said it all.
"Mr. Harumizu, I apologize for disturbing you so late. This is Nagasawa Kawa."
"I know."
Fujiwara Shunsui's tone was unhurried, revealing no emotion, and it was precisely this that put the greatest pressure on Nagasawa Kawa.
"It seems there's some misunderstanding between us."
"Is that so?" Fujiwara Shunsui retorted.
Silence on the other end of the phone.
It was as if he was waiting for something, or perhaps thinking about something.
After five seconds of mutual silence, Nagasawa Kawa spoke again:
"I am certain there is a misunderstanding between us! Mr. Harumizu, all the heads of various departments within our family have completed their self-inspection, and there is absolutely no such thing as assassinating a core member of Sankou-gumi!"
"Absolutely! It was absolutely not done by our Nagasawa Family!"
Harumizu was very satisfied. This was the efficiency of a major family; they had completed their self-inspection in fifteen minutes.
He believed Nagasawa Kawa's words, because he trusted Higashisho Ji's intelligence.
The reason Fujiwara Shunsui arranged things this way was to get the Nagasawa Family to show their stance.
Now Harumizu was very pleased with their attitude, but the next steps were the key.
Harumizu's silence was deliberate; he was subtly probing Nagasawa Kawa's bottom line.
He simply didn't hang up, but also didn't give a direct reply.
Instead, after a moment of contemplation, he answered:
"What about your son then? Nagasawa Kyuichi, are you sure he wasn't involved?"
Nagasawa Kawa on this end of the phone was first stunned, then quickly responded!
"Mr. Harumizu, please rest assured, we have kept a strict watch on that child ever since the last incident!"
"He absolutely wouldn't harbor any thoughts of revenge!"
When Nagasawa Kawa heard Fujiwara Shunsui mention his son, he seemed to have already anticipated the worst outcome... Fifteen minutes ago, when this news had just exploded, Nagasawa Kawa and Higashisho Ji had both received the message together!
And they immediately chose to escalate the situation.
Both of them were extremely shrewd individuals.
Sankou-gumi's sudden attack was clearly premeditated.
Ever since their previous setback, both of them had repeatedly emphasized to their subordinates to stay away from Sankou-gumi's related businesses and to avoid contact with Sankou-gumi members as much as possible.
This had been a consensus since their last encounter with Fujiwara Shunsui, and everyone had executed it very well.
So when the incident occurred, both of them immediately called all the responsible parties, from family businesses to Association chores.
They needed these section heads to confirm if anyone had provoked Sankou-gumi, let alone using the words "core member."
And while confirming these matters, the two immediately found that good-for-nothing child, Nagasawa Kyuichi!
He was currently in a room at Higashikawa Club, engaging in intimate conversation with someone, breathing heavily while his hands roamed freely.
"Click~"
Just as Nagasawa Kyuichi was about to make his move, the door lock clicked!
Someone had opened his door.
Nagasawa Kyuichi turned back in confusion, trying to confirm if he had imagined it.
Immediately after, he saw his father and his doting uncle, Higashisho Ji, walk in one after the other.
The woman behind him first shrieked, then, seeing who had entered, her voice grew softer and softer, and she tightly wrapped herself in the blanket beside her.
"Get out."
Nagasawa Kawa was already trying hard to suppress his anger.
The disheveled woman seemed to have received a pardon, pulling out the bath towel she had thrown on the bed earlier, grabbing the meager amount of clothes nearby, and running out without even bothering to put on her shoes.
"I'm sorry, Lord Nagasawa Kawa!"
"I'm sorry, Lord Higashisho Ji!"
The woman passed by both of them, bowing apologetically while using her clothes to cover herself.
After the woman left, Higashisho Ji cooperatively closed the room door, while Nagasawa Kawa, looking at his naked son on the bed, was filled with rage.
He grabbed a bath towel nearby and fiercely threw it at Nagasawa Kyuichi!
Clearly, Nagasawa Kyuichi was still out of it.
"What's wrong, Father! Uncle Higashisho Ji!"
Nagasawa Kawa looked at the foolish-looking Nagasawa Kyuichi and felt a surge of anger.
This boy had stumbled because of a woman last time, not only implicating Higashisho Ji but also affecting the family's business and even his own standing in the Nagasawa Family.
Now, thinking that Sankou-gumi's wrath might still be due to this foolish son, Nagasawa Kawa could only restrain himself again and again as he said to his son:
"You, you haven't laid hands on anyone from Sankou-gumi recently, have you?"
"Huh?"
Nagasawa Kyuichi was clearly out of it.
He never cared about these things, because no matter what happened, his father and Uncle Higashisho Ji would always help him resolve it. He thought the last incident had also been resolved.
It was just that the family had paid a small price, but in his heart, the man who had hit him had already become an "untouchable taboo."
A person like him still understood very well who could be provoked and who could not!
"I'm asking you, you idiot! Did you use family connections to assassinate someone from Sankou-gumi?!"
Nagasawa Kyuichi's mouth slightly opened, letting out a big "Huh?"
Nagasawa Kawa was already full of suppressed anger, and seeing Nagasawa Kyuichi in this state made it even harder to contain his imminent outburst!
Ever since getting involved with Fujiwara Shunsui, his life seemed to have never been peaceful.
He had almost consolidated his power within the family, with no one left to contend with him, but then Fujiwara Shunsui appeared, snatching some of the family's businesses and affecting his prestige within the family.
All of this could be slowly remedied with time, but, but Sankou-gumi had actually declared war on the Nagasawa Family!
And it was possibly because of his foolish son.
Nagasawa Kawa could no longer suppress his fury and unleashed it on his son.
"I'm asking you! You idiot! Did you use family connections to assassinate someone from Sankou-gumi?!"
This time, Nagasawa Kawa practically yelled, and as he yelled, he forcefully slapped the back of Nagasawa Kyuichi's neck, as if trying to shock him awake!
"I didn't, Father!"
"I didn't!"
Nagasawa Kawa did not stop his actions, and Nagasawa Kyuichi dared not resist. Until a clear red swelling appeared on the back of his neck, he shouted again: "Uncle Higashisho Ji, I really haven't assassinated anyone, save me!"
Higashisho Ji coughed lightly, and pulled Nagasawa Kawa.
Nagasawa Kawa stopped his actions and said coldly to Nagasawa Kyuichi:
"You'd best be honest!"
Nagasawa Kyuichi was still utterly bewildered.
Both of them had now confirmed that Nagasawa Kyuichi had not done this!
Immediately after, reports from their subordinates came in one after another: the Nagasawa Family had not used anyone or any resources to do this; they were very certain!
...Hearing the other party's slightly nervous reply, Harumizu could already guess that they had conducted a self-inspection.
But he still had to adhere to the attitude of "guilty until proven innocent."
So he said to the other end of the phone:
"Oh? Is that so! But I heard that the dump truck that hit me drove back to Higashikawa Club!"