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

The next morning, at the Yamaguchi-gumi headquarters.

Eguchi Toshinari stood at the front of the council hall, with seventeen branch heads standing behind him, from Kobe to Wakayama, from Osaka to Nara, none of them absent.

These leaders all rushed over after receiving a call from Eguchi in the early morning. Twelve of them were old retainers of Muranishi Koichi, and the other five were former subordinates of the Watakawa faction.

At this moment, the five members of the Watari faction sat near the door of the council hall, seemingly having a premonition of something. Their expressions varied—some were uneasy, some were indifferent, and some hadn't raised their heads since entering the room.

Jiang Kou didn't waste any words and got straight to the point, waving his hand to have his men carry Gao Jie in.

Kao Chieh huddled in his wheelchair, his face ashen, his lips bloodless. At Jiang Kou's prompting glance, he stammered out a complete confession of his crimes—including how much money Watari had given him, how he had orchestrated the trap to lure Jiang Kou into the scheme, and the territory promised to be divided between them after the deed was done, down to the smallest detail…

Immediately afterwards, Jiang Kou produced a confession with red handprints from several surviving members of the Tainan gang.

A deathly silence fell over the council chamber. A few seconds later, the old retainers of the Murasaki faction erupted in a cacophony.

The first to speak was the old branch manager of the Hanshin area, who smashed his teacup on the ground and began to curse at Watagawa.

Then came the former head of Osaka's port ward—a 65-year-old man who had started his business alongside Kazuo Taoka at Kobe's docks. He pounded the floor with his cane, saying that his biggest regret in life was letting Watagawa live past the day of the election.

As for the five branch leaders who originally belonged to the Watakawa faction, three of them immediately defected, standing up and saying they were unaware that Watakawa had colluded with the Shinigami Group and were willing to accept the new leader's leadership. The remaining two remained silent, but dared not leave the council chamber, fearing that Eguchi would find an excuse to settle scores with them on the spot.

After reaching a consensus internally, at 2 PM, the Yamaguchi-gumi officially announced: Watakawa Taro, for colluding with external enemies and plotting to assassinate the fourth-generation guild leader, Muranishi Koichi, has been permanently expelled from the Yamaguchi-gumi, stripped of all management rights over his branches and all positions within the guild. Anyone who dares to harbor Watakawa will be considered a mortal enemy of the Yamaguchi-gumi.

The announcement was stamped with the diamond-shaped emblem of the Yamaguchi-gumi headquarters and the signature of Toshinari Eguchi—although he had not yet officially held an enthronement ceremony, at this critical juncture, no one cared about the details of this title anymore.

……

Evening, Mount Rokko in Kobe.

Watakawa stood in the yard of his villa, finished reading the Yamaguchi-gumi's announcement, then expressionlessly crumpled it into a ball and slammed it into the pond. The koi in the pond were startled and darted about in panic.

In the living room and corridor behind him stood more than forty key members of the youth team, all dressed in black suits with white cloth strips tightly bound to their arms.

"The Yamaguchi-gumi is rotten to the core!" Watakawa strode down to the veranda and roared at the growing number of young members gathered in the courtyard, his voice drowning out the howling wind on the mountaintop. "Those old bastards teamed up with outsiders to steal my position, and now they're trying to throw water on my head... I'm done! From this day forward, the Yamaguchi-gumi is severing all ties with us!"

As he spoke, he pulled a brand-new white banner from his pocket, on which were written three black characters in calligraphy: Yihe Association.

Subsequently, Watakawa directly announced to the world that from now on, the Watakawa Group would break away from the Yamaguchi Group and establish its own independent entity.

Immediately afterwards, he launched a massive campaign through various channels, accusing Eguchi Toshinari of "hijacking the headquarters, fabricating testimony and framing others," and announced in a high-profile manner that the Ichiwakai would "inherit the true will of Group Leader Taoka" and restore order to the Kansai Yakuza.

Even more unexpectedly, Watakawa somehow managed to get Fumiko Taoka to endorse him.

Fumiko Taoka herself was an ordinary person with no power or influence, but she had a special identity—the widow of the third generation, Kazuo Taoka.

Although women in the yakuza world do not have the right to vote, as the most prestigious widow of the Yamaguchi-gumi, Fumiko Taoka's symbolic significance within the group is greater than that of any branch leader.

At the founding ceremony of the Ichiwa Association, 73-year-old Fumiko Taoka, leaning on a bamboo cane, sat upright beside Watari. Facing the uneasy young members in the courtyard, she simply said:

"Back then, my husband valued Watari Kawa the most among his juniors. You can't go wrong by following him."

"Hi!"

Watagawa bowed deeply to her at a ninety-degree angle, then straightened his back and, facing the youth teams arriving from various districts of Kobe, raised his left hand high, spreading his five fingers.

The fuse of the great war was completely lit.

Twenty-four hours later, Taras led the Death Squad in a high-profile show of support for the Ichiwakai, vowing to seek justice for the old leader and Watakawa.

Eguchi, not to be outdone, presented a wealth of irrefutable evidence to expose Watakawa's crimes, and officially announced to the public that the Yamaguchi-gumi and Takamagahara had formed an alliance.

At this point, the Kansai region was in full-scale war.

The first shot was fired in Kobe Port.

In the early hours of April 12, three black vans belonging to the Yamaguchi-gumi roared into berth number three, which was controlled by the Ichigokai, like wild bulls.

The car door opened, and more than twenty burly men filed out. The leader was named Ishida, thirty-five years old, the most senior low-level leader of the Muranishi faction, with a hideous scar running from his brow bone to his ear.

He led his men straight to the dock control room of the Yihehui, pried open the iron gate with a crowbar without saying a word, dragged out all four people on night duty, and tied them to the container crane in front of the control room.

Ishida reached out and patted one of the men's faces, sneering, "Go back and tell Watakawa that the ships in Kobe Port will now belong to Eguchi."

After saying this, he ordered his men to pour gasoline on all the manifests, customs declarations, and berth scheduling tables in the control room, set them on fire, and then drove away.

The blazing flames shot into the sky, turning the massive steel frame of the gantry crane on the dock a fiery red.

By the time the police cars arrived with sirens blaring, Ishida and his buddies were already enjoying beer at a nearby open-air stall.

Upon learning the news, Watakawa was furious and ordered retaliation that very night. However, their target was not the docks, but people.

At 11 p.m., two youth teams from the Ichigokai raided an underground casino in Amagasaki belonging to the Yamaguchi-gumi.

They locked all the exits on the floor from the outside with chains, then threw more than a dozen petrol bombs into the windows. They then stood guard at the only fire escape with katana, hacking and slashing at every Yamaguchi-gumi member who escaped from the thick smoke.

At almost the same time, in the Shinsaibashi shopping district of Osaka, patrol teams from the Yamaichi and Ryo factions met at the crossroads of Soemoncho.

The Yamaguchi-gumi patrol team spotted the Ichiwa-kai's convoy loitering near the nightclub. Without saying a word, the leader grabbed a plastic table and chair from a roadside shop and smashed it against the convoy's windshield.

The conflict quickly spiraled out of control, with the two sides battling it out at the intersection for a full fifteen minutes. A Toyota Crown parked on the side of the road was even overturned and used as cover, and the signs of nearby shops were smashed to pieces. It wasn't until the Osaka Prefectural Police's riot police unit arrived at the intersection with riot shields that both sides reluctantly withdrew.

In the following week, the fighting spread from Osaka to the entire Kansai region.

The Ichigokai's warehouse in Kobe was burned to the ground, and the Yamaguchi-gumi's logistics transit station in Akashi was completely ransacked; the two groups encountered each other late at night and a battle broke out, leaving nineteen corpses on the spot before each side called a retreat.

The police were in a real bind and had to mobilize all their resources to go out on the streets, increasing patrols to prevent the conflict from escalating, while also asking government officials to put pressure on both sides to sit down and have a proper talk.

Interestingly, during this Kansai War, the attitudes of Takamagahara and the Shinigami Group, who claimed to be providing full support, were unusually "ambiguous."

……

On the first night of the great battle, in Tokyo, at the headquarters of the Shinigami Group.

The White Reaper, Taras, stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing at the neon lights of Shinjuku below. He said to his deputy behind him, "Send our mobile unit from Amagasaki over there to help Watakawa hold off the docks. Remember, don't win, just repel them."

"Understood," the deputy nodded. "How do we determine the specific limits?"

Taras didn't turn around, letting out a dismissive snort through his nose:

"Maintaining a draw is fine. Don't let Watakawa show any signs of weakness. Only in this way will he fight tooth and nail with Eguchi without actually being devoured by him... By the way, don't let the Shinigami members rush to the front. Let the Ichiwakai's youth team go first."

"Hi!"

In another corner of Kansai, Takamagahara was also harboring similar ambitions.

Sitting in his office at the Kansai branch in Takamagahara, Ishii Oren ordered GOGO, "Just help Eguchi hold onto the territory he's currently occupying. Let him take care of the rest."

Thanks to this tacit understanding between the two sides' top management, although both companies dispatched their elite forces, direct confrontations were extremely rare. Occasionally, when the two convoys met in narrow alleys, they would simply roll down their windows, exchange a glance, and then casually reverse and go their separate ways.

They understood each other implicitly, and neither of them dared to disrupt the balance.

Amidst this bloodshed and turmoil, one place emerged as a rare haven of peace in the Kansai region—Sōemon-chō.

……

On April 17th, the Muse Nightclub officially changed hands.

Eguchi Toshinari publicly announced that he had officially transferred the entire territory, including the Muse nightclub, to Takamagahara.

After Ishii Oren wiped out the core members of the Tainan gang, this territory became vacant. Eguchi did not hesitate, taking it as the price for the alliance and also as his personal gratitude to Takamagahara.

However, Takamagahara disdained to personally manage such a gray area. At Nguyen Van's instruction, Ishii Oren transferred the legitimate hotels, restaurants, and bars to Takamagahara's high-end tourism and catering group, while outsourcing all the gray income—casinos, loan sharks, and protection fees from clubs and nightclubs.

As for the outsourced personnel, it was unexpected for everyone; it was a little-known small group – the East China team.

April 30th, at the entrance of an old tenement building on the southeast side of Shinsaibashi.

The building is not tall, only four stories high. The exterior cement is peeling and yellowed, and withered vines are wrapped around the drainpipes. There is no fancy sign at the entrance, only a wooden board with the words "East China Group" written in black marker hanging on the door frame.

Michiko Nishiwaki was wearing a dark gray suit today, her long hair tied in a low ponytail. Behind her were two assistants from Takamagahara, a man and a woman, both dressed in black uniforms and carrying briefcases.

Tie Tou was already standing at the entrance of the camp early in the morning. He had specially worn a clean white shirt, but the lower left hem of the shirt was not tucked in properly, and half of the old cotton vest tucked into his waistband was sticking out.

The key members behind him—Fatty, Lao Gao, and A-Guang—were all bathed, shaved, and dressed in the cleanest clothes they could find, lined up in a row.

"Miss Michiko, please come in! Our conditions here are simple, please don't laugh." Tie Tou greeted her with a big smile, bowed, and then respectfully led her upstairs.

The East China team's accommodation was on the fourth floor. The entire floor had been opened up, and in the center was an old billiard table that they had found at an izakaya downstairs, which was used as a meeting table. The walls were covered with the phone numbers of major Japanese freight companies and port labor dispatch offices, a hand-drawn diagram of the black market phone card distribution network, and several expired horse racing results sheets.

These were the small, marginal businesses that the East China Gang once relied on for survival. Although they weren't in the mainstream, they supported a large number of low-level compatriots like Tie Tou who had illegally crossed over from China, lacked proper identification, and dared not enter the larger gangs.

After looking around, Michiko Nishiwaki tapped the billiard table and got straight to the point: "To make a long story short, starting today, the East China Group will be in charge of the underground parking lots and black market distribution channels for the six bars, two clubs, and three nightclubs in Soemon-cho. The Takamagahara Group will take a cut of the revenue, and settlements will be made at the end of each quarter. Do you understand?"

Tie Tou paused for a moment, then nodded repeatedly: "Understood, understood! Miss Michiko, rest assured, the East China Group will definitely manage these venues well and will never bring shame to Takamagahara! We brothers were just small fry before, and to meet such benefactors as you is truly a blessing from our ancestors—"

"Yes! Yes, yes, yes! Miss Michiko, don't worry," Tie Tou slapped his hand in surprise, then nodded repeatedly, "I, Tie Tou, guarantee with my life that Souemon-cho will be managed perfectly for you, and will absolutely not bring shame to Takamagahara! Even if there's a single missing pane of glass, I—"

Michiko Nishiwaki raised her hand to interrupt his long speech, then gestured to her assistant behind her to place the contract on the billiard table.

Tie Tou grabbed the pen and scribbled his name heavily in the signature box. He scratched the paper with so much force that it dented. Then, he respectfully handed the contract back to his assistant with both hands.

"Very good. Regarding personnel management, we will assign a liaison officer to supervise and meet with you once a week. Of course, you can also contact me through the liaison officer if you have any questions."

"Understood! Understood!" Tie Tou replied repeatedly.

The brothers behind him had different expressions: some clenched their fists to suppress their joy, while others were already quietly calculating their monthly income. Everyone's eyes were shining.

After handing over her duties, Michiko Nishiwaki prepared to leave with her entourage.

Just before leaving, Tie Tou hesitated for a moment, then mustered his courage and chased after her, asking, "Ms. Michiko, may I ask you a question?"

Michiko Nishiwaki stopped and turned to look at him.

"...I want to know, why did Takamagahara choose us? To tell you the truth, the brothers under my command are all illegal immigrants. Before, they did odd jobs that the big gangs looked down on—modifying slot machines, selling illegal phone cards, parking cars for people near the port... In terms of strength, they couldn't even compare to the Tainan gang."

Michiko Nishiwaki didn't speak, she just stared at him quietly.

Actually, she didn't know why either, because this list was directly assigned by Lu Chen, and she always obeyed Lu Chen's orders without question.

Of course, she wouldn't explain anything to these people, she just said calmly, "Takamagahara has its own standards of judgment."

Tie Tou paused, opened his mouth and closed it again, finally bowed and didn't ask any more questions.

……

After seeing Michiko Nishikawa and her group downstairs and watching the black Century disappear into the alley, Tie Tou stood there for a long time before turning around and running back upstairs.

As soon as you enter, the entire floor erupts in deafening revelry!

Fei Xue jumped and danced, Fan Wei squatted in the corner and cried tears of joy, and Lao Gui pulled out the unloaded model gun from his waist and fired it repeatedly at the ceiling in celebration.

Tie Tou clapped his hands with a smile to quiet everyone down, then took out a crumpled kraft paper envelope from his pocket and pulled out more than a dozen ten-thousand-yuan bills.

"We're having hot pot tonight, it's on me!"

Another, even louder cheer erupted.

After dinner, a group of people crowded around the billiards table, discussing who was in charge of which area.

Ah-Jie sat in the crowd, clapping and laughing along with everyone else. But unlike the others, he always shrank back in silence whenever the topic of dividing up the new territory came up.

Tie Tou noticed, squeezed out of the crowd, patted A-Jie on the shoulder, and gestured towards the backyard: "Come out for a bit."

The backyard was where the East China team stored miscellaneous items. Several abandoned bicycles and a stack of unopened plastic parts boxes for pinball machines were parked against the wall, and in the middle was a large object covered with a dark blue tarpaulin.

Tie Tou walked to the tarpaulin, glanced back at A-Jie, and then ripped the tarpaulin open, revealing a brand-new hand-pushed chestnut roasting cart underneath.

The vehicle was a standard stainless steel handcart, with the words "Tianjin Chestnuts" painted in red on the front. Below that was a smaller line of text: "Authentic Liangxiang Chestnuts from a Time-Honored Brand".

The pot's opening was a good half meter wide, and the bottom was covered with finely textured sand holes. The brand-new gas stove, the handle wrapped in non-slip rubber, and even a large copper shovel and chestnut spoon were all neatly placed against the side of the pot.

Tie Tou pulled a bunch of keys out of his pocket and waved them in his hand: "Everyone chipped in to buy this for you. The owner of the hardware store next door is one of our own. He got it from a quit roasted chestnut vendor, replaced the stove and the new sand. The first batch of sugar is ready for you, you can use it when you set up your stall tomorrow."

As he spoke, he slipped the key into A-Jie's palm.

"I know you're timid. You've been nervous every time we go out to scout locations these past few weeks. This kind of shady work isn't for you, and forcing you to do it wouldn't be good for either of us. This chestnut truck is our backup plan for you."

After a pause, Tie Tou patted his shoulder and whispered, "But remember, the East China Group will always be your home. Come back for a hot meal if you want, plenty! If you get bullied while selling chestnuts on the street, call me anytime, and we'll be there to back you up, no matter how far!"

"Thank you, thank you!" Ah-Jie's eyes reddened, and he forced a huge smile, wiping away his tears with his sleeve. He shouted in Japanese at the top of his lungs:

"Tianjin Ganli!"

Then, he gripped the handle of the chestnut cart tightly and hugged Tie Tou tightly.

Immediately afterwards, Fatty, Lao Gao, Ah Guang... the brothers came out from behind and pounced on the two of them one after another, surrounding them tightly.

The force was so great that the pot lid on the new car made a loud clanging sound.

Iron Head was at the bottom, and his head was hit by several flying elbows, but he was laughing happily.