The Demon King, reborn in Japan as a monk

"Dad, why are you so stubborn? If that's the case, I can only feel sorry for you." Takagi Keiko gazed at the old man quietly for a while, then sighed helplessly.

"What do you want to do?" the middle-aged man beside him asked in a deep voice.

"Don't worry, it won't hurt Dad," Takagi Keiko said with a smile, then turned to Ishihara Sho beside her and said, "Just keep Dad under control, I'll talk to my older brother again."

"Hmm." Ishihara Akira nodded, and then, to the bewilderment of the middle-aged man beside him, the old man's eyes became vacant.

"Big brother, now that Dad won't stop me, what about you? Will you continue to oppose me, or will you help me develop the Yamada Group, make it bigger, and replace the Kodokai as the ruler of Nagoya?" Takagi Keiko, trusting Ishihara Sho's abilities, turned to the middle-aged man who still didn't understand what was happening and asked him.

"Dad?" The middle-aged man frowned and looked at his father.

"I will give way to your sister," the old man replied calmly, without any emotion.

"Dad, what's wrong with you?" The middle-aged man finally noticed something was wrong, and he knelt down, crawled to the old man's side, and began to examine his body: "What did you do to Dad!?"

“It’s nothing. I just used hypnosis to temporarily control Dad’s consciousness. Once I have complete control of the Yamada Group, I will have Ishihara release the control.” Takagi Keiko said to the middle-aged man with a faint smile. “But you can rest assured, he is, after all, my father. I will not let him get hurt or have any health problems.”

"Keiko, aren't you going to introduce the person next to you to me?" At this moment, the middle-aged man, who had somewhat understood what kind of person Ishihara Akira was, took a deep breath and asked Takagi Keiko while looking at the calm Ishihara Akira.

“He is Ishihara Akira, the man I acknowledge!” Takagi Keiko said, taking Ishihara Akira’s arm and giving him a big kiss on the cheek.

"Ishihara Sho... If I'm not mistaken, the reason you suddenly wanted to come back and take over the Yamada Group is because of him, right?" The middle-aged man smirked and continued.

"It's about half and half. Although Ishihara was the one who started it all, I was the one who truly made the decision. Otherwise, I wouldn't have brought him home," Takagi Keiko explained.

"If I don't cooperate, will I end up like my father?" The middle-aged man nodded, then asked again with a somewhat ambiguous expression.

“Yes,” Keiko Takagi admitted.

"Hmph. How confident are you about that plan?" The middle-aged man was silent for a moment before looking at Takagi Keiko with a serious expression and asking.

"I wouldn't say 100%, but there's definitely more than a 90% chance," Keiko Takagi replied.

“Alright, I’ll help you,” the middle-aged man replied.

"Really?" Keiko Takagi asked, somewhat surprised.

"Do I even have a choice?" the middle-aged man said with a wry smile.

"Then, brother, please tell me about the current situation of the Yamada Group. For example, the number of members in the organization, the name of the leader, the number of businesses under his control, the sources of income, our situation in the Kodo-kai, and our situation in the Nagoya yakuza circle. I need to know all of these things." Takagi Keiko stared at the middle-aged man for a moment, smiled slightly, and asked a series of questions.

As for the question of whether middle-aged men will betray their partners in the future...

With the old man on her side, she wasn't worried about her elder brother's rebellion!

Besides, Ishihara Akira is by his side. If things really get out of control, he can have Ishihara Akira control his older brother again, just like he controlled the old man, and eliminate all the impact.

Therefore, no matter what, they couldn't afford to mess things up, so they weren't worried about whether their older brother had other intentions.

Not to mention, the relationship between him and his elder brother was quite good, and they were blood relatives. As long as his elder brother wasn't the kind of person who coveted power, he wouldn't hold him back after he took the helm.

My own older brother isn't that unwise!

……

Thanks to the introduction by Takagi Keiko, whose older brother's name was Yamada Daisuke, Takagi Keiko and Ishihara Akira finally gained a detailed understanding of the Yamada Group's situation.

The Yamada Group, one of the second-generation groups directly managed by the Kodo-kai, is not known for its martial arts prowess, but rather for its diverse range of businesses and the numerous convenient services it provides. The group has approximately 120 members, divided into six smaller groups of 20 members each. And this does not include the so-called peripheral members—

In other words, if you include the petty thugs from various schools and street thugs like Zakuya, you can gather four or five hundred people.

So you could say they had a large and powerful force.

However, the cost of supporting these people is also enormous. Even if each person's monthly settlement allowance is only around 20 yen, with such a large number of people, the monthly cost will exceed 2400 million yen. If other expenses are added, if the Yamada Group doesn't earn an average of 3000 million yen per month, it will definitely go bankrupt immediately and be liquidated and swallowed up by other groups.

Therefore, in order to support these subordinates, the Yamada Group is constantly opening up new businesses—

For example, the construction company that Keiko Takagi is familiar with.

Or, to put it another way, construction companies in Japan are basically shelters for so-called yakuza members. When there is business, they all go out together, and when there is no business, they act as construction workers to build houses.

What if you build too many houses but can't sell them?

Simply put, they become a real estate investment company, continuing to find ways to sell properties and recoup funds while also partnering with well-known real estate agencies in Nagoya to rent out the properties and generate long-term profits.

However, while this was enough to barely support the thugs under their command, the profits were still too low for an organization that pursued profit. Therefore, in addition to construction and real estate companies, the Yamada Group also operated bars, dance halls, karaoke lounges, and other entertainment venues within its sphere of influence. They also ran entertainment companies, recruited trainees, and conducted idol promotion activities...

They didn't become famous; instead, they were used as playthings and breeding grounds for the organization's higher-ups.

This is probably why Keiko Takagi was able to so easily invite the three Kinokuse sisters to play with Sho Ishihara.

It has a brothel...

It owns a transportation company.

Massage rooms are available.

Lending company.

Anyway, it really broadened Ishihara Sho's horizons.

As for the Yamada Group's position and influence in the Nagoya yakuza circle...

They can only be considered mid-tier. They can't compare to the second-generation groups known for their fighting prowess, but because they can make money, they are much better than those groups that only know how to throw punches, collect protection money, and do shady work.

Most importantly, the Yamada Group is one of the few organizations in Nagoya that doesn't use drugs, which is something that Ishihara Akira really likes. Otherwise, just cutting off this source of income would probably cause quite a stir within the organization, making it difficult to control.

Chapter 146 Target

"Do we have any rival groups?" After learning about the Yamada Group's situation and business revenue, Keiko Takagi asked Daisuke Yamada.

“Our Yamada Group and the Oni-Oishi Group don’t get along very well. Apart from that, there are some small organizations that don’t belong to the Kodokai faction, as well as groups formed by people sent from other places to test the Kodokai’s control over Nagoya. There aren’t many, only about four or five, so they’re not much of a threat,” Yamada Daisuke replied.

"The Ghost Train Group? Is that the Ghost Train Group I know? Why are we facing off?" Takagi Keiko asked in surprise.

The so-called Ghost Car Group, like their Yamada Group, is a second-generation group directly under the Kodo-kai, only their main areas of operation are different.

For example, in Yamada's case, collecting protection money and lending money at high interest rates are just a continuation of tradition. The real revenue comes from his real estate company, which accounts for about 70% of the group's development funds. The remaining 10% to 15% comes from the group's entertainment industry, namely bars, karaoke rooms, nightclubs (dance halls), and brothels. Only after that do they start lending money at high interest rates and collecting protection money.

The Ghost Car Group, on the other hand, mainly earns its revenue from these two projects that the Yamada Group doesn't care about. So, their style is just like their name suggests: domineering and ruthless. As a result, they don't have a good reputation among some people in Nagoya.

"That's right, it's the Ghost Cart Group, which belongs to the Kodo-kai, just like our Yamada Group. I don't know which connection that Ghost Cart Oishi got involved with, but he actually started selling medicine. He sent someone to contact us a while ago, but the old man didn't agree, so the deal fell through. But unexpectedly, that kid Ghost Cart Oishi was selling medicine in our territory behind our backs, and he was discovered. So, after a while, we came face to face."

"However, it's still within the scope of conflict and hasn't reached the point of full-scale conflict, so the old man didn't take it too seriously," said Daisuke Yamada.

“Selling medicine? They really deserve to die,” Keiko Takagi said viciously.

It's no wonder that she and her family were dissatisfied with the drug sellers. It's just that their family, or rather the Yamada Group, was ripped off by the drug sellers back then. The first group leader was killed because he made a deal with the drug sellers.

If that were all, at most the Yamada Group wouldn't do this kind of business, but it wouldn't be enough to make the whole family hate them. So the real reason is that she has an uncle—

Her father's younger brother died because he was exposed to drugs and sucked them out.

The sight of that tragic scene is still vivid in the memory of the whole family. As a result, the old man issued a strict order that the Yamada Group was not allowed to do any business related to drugs. Anyone found doing so would be punished according to family rules. At the same time, family members were not allowed to touch drugs. If they were found to be doing so, their legs would be broken, and they would be sent to a drug rehabilitation center. After completing the rehabilitation, they would be thrown out of the house and left to fend for themselves.

This is what makes the Yamada Group an outlier in the Japanese yakuza world, one of the few yakuza groups that doesn't get involved in the pharmaceutical business, but instead focuses on operating legitimate or gray-market industries.

"Is there anything else you want to know?" Daisuke Yamada didn't elaborate on the matter, but asked again.

"Tell me about those small organizations, and about the junior leaders in the group. We don't want the plan to be ruined by their incompetence when we actually take action," Takagi Keiko said after a moment's thought.

“Okay.” Daisuke Yamada nodded and began to describe to Keiko Takagi the surrounding small organizations and the specific situations of their leaders—

For example, their name, temperament, abilities, what grudges they have with others, and their family situation.

In short, he didn't hide anything and cooperated completely, which reassured Takagi Keiko and made her very satisfied!

……

And so we talked and talked, until it was late at night.

"Alright, that's enough for today. Dad had the room cleaned during the day, so you can go right away. But Dad here..." Daisuke Yamada checked the time and said to Keiko Takagi and Akira Ishihara.

“Dad’s consciousness is only temporarily controlled. It doesn’t mean he has lost his ability to take care of himself or his cognitive abilities. So as long as we arrange for someone to take good care of Dad, all of Dad’s actions can be treated as normal and there is no need for special control,” Takagi Keiko explained.

"That's good." Daisuke Yamada said with a sigh of relief.

"Then I'll take Dad back to his bedroom."

"Ah."

Then Daisuke Yamada got up, helped the old man who had gotten up, and left the main house, heading towards the bedroom.

“Let’s go back to the bedroom too,” said Keiko Takagi.

"Ah."

Then, the two got up and left the house.

……

After the wind and rain stopped, Keiko Takagi leaned against Ishihara Sho's chest, panting, and asked, "Do you have any plans for taking over tomorrow?"

"No. Just like I said before, I won't interfere with how the Yamada Group operates or develops. I'll only provide you with military support and assistance to the best of my ability. Everything else is up to you." Ishihara Akira's hand gently roamed over Takagi Keiko's smooth back as he casually replied.

"Aren't you afraid I'll ruin the Yamada Group?" Keiko Takagi asked, looking up at him.

"Isn't there your older brother? As long as he doesn't lose his mind, the Yamada Group won't collapse," Ishihara Akira said calmly.

“That’s true.” Takagi Keiko smiled. “However, I plan to replace a few of the young leaders with my own people tomorrow. That way, I can truly spread my influence into the Yamada Group and gradually make it our group, instead of the old man’s and my brother’s group.”

"What are you planning to do?" Ishihara Akira asked curiously.

"After taking office tomorrow, I want to hold a martial arts tournament to select the leaders of the yakuza based on their strength. I'll first put the seven of them, including Sakata, in positions, and then, based on the qualities and abilities of the remaining yakuza leaders, I'll place them in appropriate roles," Takagi Keiko said methodically. "However, the best way is still to develop more of our own people! Unfortunately, your Illuminati is still in its early stages, and the newly recruited members are mostly full-time housewives. Although some of them have gone to university, they are ultimately not quite up to par with our yakuza, so it's not appropriate to use them directly. Otherwise, I wouldn't be having such a headache right now."

After all, the Yamada Group is a business-oriented yakuza organization, so its leaders cannot be just brute force; they also need business acumen, such as commercial skills. Otherwise, a bunch of stubborn people in charge will only lead to the decline of the business.

"Then take a look at those women in your Yamada Group, or those women in your businesses, and see if there are any suitable candidates. Just bring them into the Illuminati and develop them into your subordinates, wouldn't that be enough?" Ishihara Akira chuckled.

"It seems that this is the only way for now," Keiko Takagi sighed.

"Alright, go to sleep. You have a big event to prepare for tomorrow," Ishihara Akira said softly, patting Takagi Keiko on the back.

"Ah."

Then, Keiko Takagi rolled over and lay down next to Akira Ishihara, pulled the blanket over them both, and slowly fell asleep while holding Akira's body.

"This life... is really great..."

Chapter 147 Succession