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Even if that descriptor is fairly apt it isn't really enough to encapsulate the magnitude of damage on his body. His skin is burnt and cracked, scales are half-melted, fused, and jutting sharply out of his skin. He's barely recognizable as a person at this point. If anything that all is a perfect way to illustrate how powerful Kintoki's body is because he is still alive.

Reaching over I start to heal him. My Ki flows into him, dragging the dregs of his Ki alongside it. From there I direct the river of life energy around his body to repair it. Of course, I don't bring him back to perfect health. Instead, I make sure he's recognizable and in stable condition but damaged enough to not be a threat anytime soon.

I'll have to ask Yasaka for something to seal his power so when we aren't sparring or fighting off other heavy hitters he doesn't try anything. I want him to try to kill me when we spar because he'll be fighting at his best but I don't want him to try to kill me all the time. That would be stupid.

Yaeko smiles thankfully at me when he looks less like a charcoal briquette and more like a person again. I'm kind of surprised that she cares that much about his health… Maybe she actually likes him for more than sex?

"Why are you looking at me like that, Ibaraki-sama? Did I do something weird?" I slap my cheeks and stand, ignoring that odd train of thought before I picture little golden-haired Oni shouting 'Golden' in bad English. Damn it, I still thought about it.

"Yaeko, I want you to carry Kintoki out." She doesn't question me and just picks him up. Hopefully, the others will put two and two together and see that she's my trusted subordinate and therefore above them. It would save me from having to explain it to them at least.

There's something fitting of climbing through the destroyed wall of the VIP section and being greeted by the higher-ups of my new organization. When they all glance at Kintoki's unconscious form and begin to kneel before me, I won't deny the sight filled me with schadenfreude. Everything that was part of Kintoki's empire is now mine whether anyone agrees or not.

Oh, I'm under no illusions that all is well; that everyone here is content with this display of power and all potential insurrection is quelled. No, not at all. What I can count on though, is that these people will act in their own best interest. So long as I look like the best option and provide them with opportunities to advance themselves I'll have few internal issues. The external issues will also go a long way to keeping the Golden Dragons united; I just need to point them at the other Yakuza.

"Rise my new friends! Today is a new dawn for the Golden Dragons, we are entering an era of strength and breaking away from the stagnation that has plagued the organization." I've read up on the organization from what Yaeko was able to tell me and that I was able to retrieve. With that, I should be able to bullshit something acceptable. "For years, foreign powers have puppeted chivalrous organizations like the Hell King Union and Kuroihanegumi. Is Kyoto not our city? Is Japan not our country? Why are our people being used by demons and deceivers, the enemies of a God that isn't ours to worship? No longer will our group lose ground to the slaves of the devils and the dogs of the fallen!"

I snarl and point at the assembled members, "Are you not tired of watching this infestation spread? Kintoki built this organization as a place where hard-working humans like you all could make a living and feel safe from those oppressors. He was close but he was missing something."

"I look around at you all and I see the potential to become great. Potential that has been squandered due to incompetence from your leadership. Skills that haven't been taught to you that would allow you to carve this organization's name into Kyoto." I gesture at the decorations around the club, disgust openly displayed. "Too much time and resources have been spent on the vanity of your previous boss rather than furthering the hold this organization has on the city and the country beyond. Together I believe we can change that."

"All the children descended from Izanami-no-Mikoto and Izanagi-no-Okami who created this blessed land, who bask under the light of Amaterasu-Omikami, must come together and take back our home." While the message is a bit zealous for my tastes it seems to work for them as the rank and file roar in approval. The more senior members eye me with skepticism but that's fine, I'll explain to them what's actually happening later. Patriotism only really works as motivation for the masses anyway.

While I don't personally care much about the devils and fallen running the majority of business in… well basically the entire world, the gods probably do. It's a simple concept; they need worshippers and if their people only believe in businesses run by 'foreign' powers, that's bad.

If I can use them as a scapegoat to further my own agenda then that's perfect because Azazel's name literally means scapegoat. "In the coming days, I and the other leaders will begin the process of taking back our city. After that, we move to the whole of Japan. Today though we celebrate! To new friends and new leadership!"

I walk out to the sounds of the thugs cheering and when I leave their sight I slump in resignation. I hate giving speeches. "Laying it thick aren't ya, boss?"

My eyes roll in response to Yaeko's cheeky comment but I don't call her out on it because she isn't wrong. My biggest concern is how interconnected the various groups of devils are and whether I'll be offending devil society as a whole.

From what I remember of the series, individual peerages were fairly autonomous. It shouldn't be an international -interplanar?- incident until I start pulling more and more Yakuza groups across the country under my control.

To maximize brownie points with the Shinto Pantheon, I'll also need to use my hold on the criminal underworld to pressure businesses that aren't run by humans. Fuck, I'm probably going to have to involve myself with the Imperial family and mundane government at some point to coordinate that. I haven't even met a Shinto deity yet and I'm already planning a country-spanning operation. How do I manage to get myself involved in this crap all the time?

"Yaeko, can you take me to where Kintoki held the special girls? Yasaka says there's one citizen still left unaccounted for." I was expecting a simple acquiescence or a shrug. What I didn't expect was the wide smile and giddy nod she gives me before dragging me along.

She must see my confusion though so she clarifies, "Less competition for me if you take them away. I've been taking up most of his time recently and if he gets bored he might go after one of those hussies instead. The sex is really good with Kintoki, boss. I'm not sharing with anyone."

With a look of utter exasperation, I'm led further into the Golden Boy and down into a secure basement. Entering I'm greeted by the sight of a lavishly decorated suite with a sitting area, bedroom, and a bathroom that looks more like a spa. The garish gold that suffocates every surface is nauseating in its excess.

"The girls are usually waiting nearby, Kintoki liked them to present themselves when he returned. Not sure where they went to." Yaeko shrugs and lays Kintoki onto the bed. "Shouldn't be too far though, they can't leave with their collars."

From the Ki signatures in the room, two are sitting in a side room and one is above me? I roll my eyes as the girl yells a battle cry before falling down at me from above. I catch her by the wrists and wait until she calms down before letting her go but not without taking the… table leg she's sharpened into a shiv. Can't say she doesn't have moxie.

When I get a good look at her after she calms down, I resist the urge to pinch the bridge of my nose. She's fairly young-looking -though she could be older- with sharp aristocratic features and a slightly upturned nose. With her clearly well cared for jet black hair she would be a classic Japanese beauty, if not for her red skin. The feature that most easily identifies her is the set of jet black wings that sprout from her shoulder blades.

"Are you the Karasu-Tengu heiress by chance, miss?" She puffs up with pride at being recognized, an action that does little to overshadow the hope in her eyes that I'm here to rescue her.

"Hoh, of course, you recognize this young miss! Hmph, I knew Chichi-ue would have someone retrieve me from the hands of that brute." She glances over my shoulder, probably expecting her father to rush in behind me. Sadly, she'll have to be disappointed. What I'm more concerned about is the fact that Yasaka was going to leave the daughter of a noble here until I dealt with Kintoki. Does she think that there wouldn't be problems caused by that?

"Hello? Are you even paying attention?" I blink in shock as she snaps her fingers in front of my face. She's pouting and leaning forward into my space with a hand on her hip. The audacity of this girl almost shocks me but I doubt she's ever had anything as bad as a broken nail in her life. Something like getting kidnapped would be pretty stressful for a girl like this.

"Yo watchers, are you going to pick this little lady up and take her back?" A person materializes beside the girl and bows to both of us. I would have fangirled if there had been a swirl of leaves when the spy appeared. If only for thematic purposes I should tell Yasaka to make them learn how to do that.

She squeaks in surprise but doesn't get to say anything before she's whisked away. At the same time, the other women who are in the adjacent room also disappear from my senses. I'm happy that I didn't have to make them bring the extra's, and that I don't have to deal with them myself.

"Ibaraki-sama! He's waking back up!" Curious as to what will happen next, I walk over to the bedside and watch him. He grimaces as his wounds impede his movement. As his eyes open I tense, ready for a fight. His breathing quickens and he starts frantically looking around the room.

Eventually, he stops panicking and finally notices the two of us. He flinches but no recognition crosses his features. "Who are you? Where am I?"

Yaeko is about to answer him when he says something that brings a smile to my face. "Who am I?"

Yes, I can work with that.