Hong Kong variety show: The mastermind behind the scenes is emerging.

Eguchi Toshinari quickly bandaged his wound upstairs, threw his blood-stained old clothes next to the sink, changed into a dark blue shirt he found in the locker room of the storage room, and then re-buttoned the collar in front of the mirror.

His face in the mirror was a little pale, but the panic in his eyes had faded, and he had regained his usual composure.

He then took a deep breath and stepped down the stairs.

Inside the nightclub lobby, the disco ball on the ceiling continued to spin slowly, casting inappropriate colored light spots onto the floor covered with broken glass and mottled bloodstains.

The sofas that originally served as booths were all pushed to the side walls, freeing up a large open space in the center. In the middle of the hall, there was a coffee table and two chairs facing each other, with the master of this group of ninjas, Ishii Oren, sitting on one of the chairs.

Today she wore a dark purple kimono with a silver-gray embroidered sash around her waist, and her long hair was styled in a bun, revealing the fair skin on the back of her neck.

Eguchi walked to the coffee table, bowed slightly, and transformed from the disheveled wounded soldier who had just escaped death back into the elegant strategist of the Yamaguchi-gumi's young leader.

"Ms. Ishii, thank you so much for saving me. If you hadn't arrived in time, I wouldn't be standing here now," he said, his head bowed, but his tone carrying a hint of scrutiny. "However, if I may be so bold—why did Takamagahara help me?"

Ishii Oren didn't answer his question. She simply looked at his face, which was gradually regaining its composure, and said softly, "Muranishi Koichi is dead."

"?!" Eguchi suddenly looked up.

"Just half an hour ago," she added, "he was shot at close range by a shotgun in front of the Tsuruya Izakaya and died before the ambulance could get him to the hospital."

Jiang Kou's face fell instantly, his lips pressed into a thin line, his eyes twitched slightly, and his right hand covered the newly wrapped bandage, his knuckles turning white from the pressure.

After all, he would be the biggest beneficiary of his own and Muranishi's deaths.

Oren Ishii nodded: "Watakawa has teamed up with the White Reaper of the Shinigami Group. Taras is in charge of the west side of the village, and Watakawa is in charge of killing you. The two operations are being carried out simultaneously, but I was a little luckier on my side."

"The Grim Reaper Group..." Eguchi repeated the three words, his face even more grim than before.

It's understandable that Watakawa wanted to kill him; the blood debts between the militant faction and the Muranishi faction are too numerous to count. Moreover, with Muranishi's death, there's a high probability that he would be promoted to the new group leader, so it's normal for him to be tempted to kill him.

But the Grim Reaper Group's direct involvement in the assassination of the fourth-generation leader of the Yamaguchi-gumi goes beyond internal strife; it's an invasion.

At that moment, he finally understood why Takamagahara had come to him.

If Watakawa wins, the Shinigami Group will undoubtedly carve out a large chunk of territory from the Yamaguchi-gumi. Once the Shinigami Group has swallowed up Kansai, their next step will be to compete with Takamagahara for dominance over the entire Kansai underworld.

Takamagahara couldn't stand idly by and watch Taras gradually devour the Yamaguchi-gumi, but he also couldn't directly interfere in the internal power struggles within the Yamaguchi-gumi. Only Eguchi Toshinari had the legitimate right to take over the Muranishi faction, the pretext of revenge for being betrayed and assassinated by Watagawa, and a friendly relationship with Takamagahara in private.

"...That's why you came to save me, right?" Eguchi removed his hand from the bandage and looked up.

Ishii Oren nodded.

Jiang Kou leaned back on the sofa, staring blankly at the still-spinning disco ball above his head for a few seconds. Then, he let out a long breath, sat up straight again, and placed his hands on his knees.

"Ms. Ishii, I wish to cooperate with Takamagahara to fight against Watakawa and the Shinigami Group. After this is accomplished, the territory under Watakawa's name will become mine, and all the Shinigami Group's territories in Kansai will become yours."

Ishii Oren did not immediately answer Eguchi's suggestion. She leaned back in her chair, tapped the edge of her cigarette case twice with her right index finger, and then looked up at him.

"And the two docks at the ferry crossing."

Upon hearing this request, Jiang Gu pursed his lips.

The two wharves under Watakawa's name—Kobe Port Berth No. 3 and Amagasaki Container Transfer Area—are the most important hubs for smuggling gray goods in the entire Kansai region.

Once Takamagahara gets hold of these two docks, he'll have the death knell for the Kansai underground logistics industry. From now on, the Yamaguchi-gumi and even the entire Kansai underworld will have to give Takamagahara a hard time getting anything in by sea.

But he was also very clear that he had no bargaining power at the moment.

Finally, Eguchi slowly nodded: "Okay."

"Very good, Eguchi-kun is indeed a wise and shrewd man who knows when to yield." Ishii Oren stood up and stuffed the cigarette case back into her kimono sleeve. The ninjas behind her automatically split into two lines, making way for the gate.

"By the way, let me remind you—you'd better get back to headquarters before dawn. With Muranishi dead, his branches and allies are now leaderless. If you get back fast enough, they're all yours; if you're even a fraction of a second too slow, Watari will take them all for you."

"Understood." Eguchi nodded.

He also knew that his only advantage now was his identity as the head of the village's west branch. Behind him was the network of branches left by the village's west branch, which was a political legacy that could legally mobilize Yamaguchi-gumi members to unite under his banner.

Jiang Kou stood up and adjusted the bandage wrapped around his right arm: "Where is Kaohsiung Metro?"

"My men gave him a quick bandage over there on the stairs," Ishii said, glancing towards the corridor leading to the back alley. "Don't worry, his leg is useless, but his tongue is still there."

"Thank you. This man is a witness bribed by Watakawa; I also need him to prove Watakawa's ambitions." Eguchi bowed slightly to Ishii.

Ishii nodded, then turned and walked towards the door.

Immediately afterwards, more than twenty dark figures silently emerged from the shadows and followed behind Ishii.

Jiang Kou watched the group leave, then walked to the second-floor stairwell, squatted down, and glanced at Gao Jie, who was convulsing due to excessive blood loss.

He reached out and checked the other person's carotid artery. After confirming that the other person wouldn't die anytime soon, he turned around, walked behind the bar, and picked up the landline receiver on the table.

"Summon all branch chairpersons and proceed to headquarters immediately for a meeting. The village head of the Muranishi group... has been assassinated."

After hanging up the phone, Jiang Kou pushed open the door and walked out of the Muse Nightclub.

He leaned against a goddess statue by the door, looking up at the Osaka Bay skyline.

The cold morning wind swept over him, scattering beer cans and colorful flyers scattered all over the Shinsaibashi shopping street. He took out a pack of Seven Stars cigarettes from his inner pocket, lit one, and slowly exhaled the first puff of white smoke.