Yakuza: Like a God Hand

Meanwhile, while Eugen and Haruka were having fun at the Pocket Circuit Stadium with Date, Kiryu had spent the entire day searching for the infamous information broker, the Florist of Sai.

After hours of searching, he finally found him in West Park—better known as Purgatory.

Creeeak.

Pushing open the large double doors in front of him, Kiryu stepped into a dimly lit hallway. The corridor was lined with four pillars on each side, leading toward a desk at the far end. Behind the desk, an enormous aquarium filled with fish illuminated the room with an eerie glow.

"Kazuma Kiryu."

A deep voice echoed through the space, making Kiryu instinctively turn his gaze toward the aquarium.

"Fresh out of jail and already stirring up trouble, huh?"

The slow, deliberate sound of footsteps followed as a figure emerged from behind one of the pillars.

"Are you the Florist?" Kiryu asked, stepping further inside.

"You need intel on something?"

"I'm looking for information about the Tojo Clan's missing ten billion yen, and two sisters—Yumi and Mizuki."

"And my fee?"

"How much are you asking?"

"There are expenses involved in gathering information..."

As the man spoke, Kiryu got a good look at him. The Florist of Sai was a large, stocky man with an imposing presence. He wore a loose-fitting blue and gold robe, exposing his round stomach and broad chest. A pair of red trousers and slippers completed his unconventional look.

[IMAGE]

"I have men planted everywhere. From the color of a cabaret girl's panties to backroom deals, I collect billions of details and provide accurate data to my clients. That's why my intel always comes at a premium price. You understand, don't you?"

Kiryu exhaled sharply, realizing what that meant.

"So, it's gonna be really expensive..." he muttered under his breath.

He didn't have that kind of money right now. The only cash he had was what he'd picked up from street fights with thugs and yakuza along the way—not nearly enough to cover whatever ridiculous price the Florist would demand.

"I can't pay you right now, but I don't have time to waste. Is there anything I can do to postpone the payment?"

The Florist remained silent. The atmosphere in the room grew heavy, and Kiryu started to feel uneasy. If this guy refused to help, he'd be at a dead end.

"Hey!" Kiryu called out, his voice firm.

Finally, the Florist spoke.

"I hate yakuza to the core..." he said as he walked toward his chair, sinking into it with a smug expression.

"But in the end, info brokering is just a hobby for me. So, what will you do after making enemies out of the Tojo Clan? Let's say... I'm curious."

Kiryu narrowed his eyes, sensing there was more to this.

"But if I just give you information for free, my reputation would take a hit. So, how about this? You do a job for me."

"A job?" Kiryu crossed his arms. "If it's something I'm against, just forget it."

"Nah, nah, this is something only the Dragon of Dojima can handle."

The Florist stood up and walked past Kiryu. Just as he passed him, he glanced back over his shoulder.

"Follow me."

Kiryu had no other choice. If he wanted answers, he had to see what the Florist had planned.

With a heavy sigh, he stepped forward and followed him out of the room.

~~~~~

Purgatory, located in northeastern Kamurocho under West Park, is an underground gambling and pleasure den owned and operated by The Florist of Sai.

Purgatory is home to brothels, a casino, and an illegal fighting arena. It is designed to resemble a traditional Japanese pleasure district.

A lot of people or even government people often come here to have fun, either to browse the beautiful women this place has, place illegal bets in the Coliseum arena, or gamble in the casino.

And the Florist's job for Kiryu is for him to win three times in the Coliseum, fighting strong and experienced people for the enjoyment of the audience.

But of course, as the Dragon of Dojima, even though he's weaker than he was ten years ago, fighting those kinds of people is a breeze for him. He easily defeats three opponents and wins in the Coliseum.

After the fight, both of them return to the Florist's place and have a conversation with each other.

The Florist of Sai, keeping his end of the agreement, immediately tells Kiryu about what happened to the Tojo Clan and the ten billion yen.

"The Tojo Clan's Third Chairman covered up the robbery, but then a family patriarch—Nishikiyama—exposed it during the emergency officer's meeting," the Florist of Sai says while exhaling the smoke from his cigar.

"My guess is he's the one who killed the Third Chairman. I wouldn't be surprised if he's gunning for the Fourth Chairman position..."

Placing his cigar on the ashtray, he looks at Kiryu seriously before saying, "But right now, the Tojo Clan is basically in a civil war with each other. The Third Chairman is dead, and a successor has yet to be chosen."

"With the Tojo Clan desperately searching for the ten billion, whoever manages to find it will be named Fourth Chairman for their efforts."

"But it turns out the one who stole that ten billion yen is a woman named Yumi. The Tojo Clan conducted their own investigation and found out about her sister, who disappeared right before the ten billion went missing."

"So that means both of them are the prime suspects in the disappearance of the ten billion yen, but because neither of them has appeared again, they changed their goal to..."

"Mizuki's daughter..." Kiryu says before the Florist can finish his sentence.

"The Tojo Clan has been searching for Mizuki's daughter, named Haruka. She's safe with me right now."

Hearing the name Haruka, the Florist's eyes twitch slightly, as if remembering something, before telling Kiryu something else.

"Two days ago, a woman hiding her face showed up here, asking me to find a little girl with the same name that you just mentioned."

"But I rarely work with someone I don't know, especially if they're hiding their face, so I sent her away before trouble came knocking."

"Could she be Mizuki or Yumi?" Kiryu asked.

"I don't know. I didn't get a good look at her face because she was trying really hard to hide it."

Hearing that, Kiryu fell silent, absorbing all the information he'd just heard, while the Florist of Sai let him think, continuing to smoke his cigar.

"There's actually another thing I'm curious about," Kiryu suddenly said.

"What is it?" Florist Sai immediately focused on him.

"Do you know... something about God Hand?"

"God... Hand? Like the religious stuff? I don't have any information about something like that," he said, shaking his head, looking confused. He hadn't expected a question like that from Kiryu.

"I see... then that's fine."

But suddenly, the telephone on Florist Sai's desk started ringing. He immediately answered it, listening to the caller. After a short exchange, he ended the call and turned toward Kiryu.

"You have a visitor."

"Visitor?"

"Let's take a look. Come here, stand around the table."

As soon as Kiryu stood beside him, the Florist pressed a button under the table. Suddenly, the entire floor beneath the table and chairs started to move downward, lowering them slowly.

"What is this..." Kiryu muttered in amazement as he took in the scene before him.

They were now inside a massive surveillance room filled with countless monitors mounted on the walls. Each screen displayed different locations around Kamurocho—Theater Square, Millennium Tower, multiple parks, and various shops, all being watched in real-time.

"This is what Purgatory is really about. Five years ago, the police installed 50 cameras around Kamurocho, but they didn't do much with them and eventually abandoned the project. So I decided to 'borrow' the cameras instead of letting them go to waste."

"Now, let's see your visitor."

With a glance, Florist Sai signaled one of his men operating the surveillance system. The man quickly switched the feed to show the visitor's location.

After a few keystrokes, the display changed to an abandoned public toilet—the entrance to West Park, where Purgatory was located.

On the screen, Date could be seen standing there, gripping his right shoulder, which was bleeding heavily. His breathing was ragged, and he looked exhausted.

"Date-san?" Kiryu immediately recognized him.

"He's bleeding!? What happened to him?"

"Let's roll back and see. Pull up the previous footage," Florist Sai ordered.

The operator rewound the feed, going back to the moment when Date was injured.

"What the..." Florist Sai muttered, eyes narrowing at the footage.

The other men in the room also focused on the screen, their work forgotten as they stared in disbelief.

A boy stood alone in the footage. His right arm was glowing so brightly that it even distorted the camera feed. Around him, multiple men lay on the ground—either unconscious or dead.

~~~~~

"That was fun, right, Eugen?" Haruka said happily as she looked at her own Pocket Circuit car. Even though she didn't win at all today, at least she had fun with it.

"Yeah, that was really fun... I'd love to play again tomorrow," Eugen said happily, holding his car like a treasure.

He had never played something like this before, and after racing multiple times, he realized that modifying your car was necessary to win. Different races required different modifications, so every time, he had to think about how to get an advantage with his car and its parts.

But car parts, sadly, cost money, and he didn't want to spend it. He wasn't sure how long he and Haruka would be staying here, so he needed to save his money in case they needed it later.

"We took too long there. It's already dark. It's dangerous around here," Date said to both of them.

Because they were having so much fun, neither of them realized how late it had gotten. Now, they hurriedly tried to head back to Serena.

But as they walked through the alley, Eugen suddenly felt something was wrong—like something really bad was about to happen. His body tensed up.

"What's wrong, Eugen?" Haruka immediately noticed something was off with her best friend.

"I have a really bad feeling about this alley. Can we run?" Eugen said, trembling while holding his Pocket Circuit car tightly.

"Bad feeling?" Date looked confused by what he meant, but after glancing around, he suddenly realized something.

This alley was too quiet.

Even though it was already nighttime, Kamurocho was actually livelier at night. Seeing an alley completely empty like this was definitely a bad sign.

"Let's run! Both of you!" Date immediately ordered them.

Both of them nodded, but before they could move, a white van suddenly drove past them and came to a stop right in front of them.

The van's door slid open, and three masked men wearing black leather masks stepped out.

Eugen instantly moved in front of Haruka, shielding her, while Date stepped forward, preparing to fight them.

"Let's run while Date holds them back!" Eugen said to Haruka before grabbing her hand, trying to lead her in the opposite direction.

But as he turned around, he saw three more masked men blocking their path.

Now they were trapped—three men in front, three behind.

"Grab her!" one of the men commanded.

"Get away from us!" Eugen yelled, still shielding Haruka.

Of course, they didn't take a threat from a child seriously. One of the masked men stepped closer, reaching out to grab Haruka from Eugen's grasp.

Eugen was frantically thinking of a way to escape. If worst came to worst, he would stay back and help Date while Haruka ran to find help.

But before he could decide, a gunshot rang out behind them.

BANG!

Date collapsed to the ground, a bullet wound in his right shoulder.

"Uncle Date!" Haruka screamed in horror.

The gunshot distracted them for just a moment—but that was all the kidnappers needed.

One of the men grabbed Haruka's wrist, yanking her away from Eugen.

"Kyaaah!" Haruka cried out in pain as the man's grip tightened around her wrist.

"Haruka!" Eugen held onto her tightly, using every bit of his strength to keep her from being taken.

"Damn kid, let go! How can a boy be this strong?!" the man grunted as he struggled to pull Haruka away.

"No! You let go of her!" Eugen shouted, refusing to let go.

But then—a sharp impact struck Eugen's cheek. A punch. A brutal, heavy punch.

The force sent him tumbling to the ground. Pain exploded through his cheek, starting as a sharp, electric sting before dulling into a throbbing ache.

"Damn, did you really just punch a kid?" one of the kidnappers asked in disbelief.

"Let me go! Aaahhh! Help!" Haruka screamed, thrashing in the kidnapper's grasp.

But it was clear the kidnappers had planned this well. No one heard her screams, and no one walked past the alley.

"Haruka!" Eugen's vision blurred as he saw her being dragged away before his eyes.

He tried to stand up and chase after her, but his whole body ached from the punches and the hard fall. His head was spinning.

Adrenaline rushed through his veins, trying to keep him conscious.

Clenching his fists, he forced himself to stand—even as the kidnappers carried Haruka toward the van.

"The van won't fit all of us. Three of you need to walk," one of the men inside said.

"Then you three walk. We already walked here before—it's our turn to ride now."

"Fine, fine."

And so, three men stayed behind while the others loaded Haruka into the van.

Eugen's chest tightened in fear.

What if he never saw Haruka again after this? What would happen to her?

Why was he so weak? Why couldn't he protect her?

Why was he so weak…?

Weak… Weak…

Suddenly, voices echoed inside his head, whispering, taunting, reminding him of his weakness.

'Use it.'

Another voice spoke—deep, powerful, commanding.

'God Hand. Use its power. Use it to protect your family.'

"Use it?" Eugen didn't understand. Even if he wanted to, he didn't know how to use it.

He wanted to protect Haruka—but how could he use his right arm if he didn't even know what it was?

His entire body tensed from the adrenaline rush. His right arm trembled.

And then—it started to glow. A dim, golden light.

'Relax your body. Remove the limit. Let your adrenaline flow into your right arm. And then—break it.'

"Break it… I see… Just break it…"

Meanwhile, the van's engine roared as it started moving. The kidnappers who had stayed behind were about to leave as well when—

"Hey, look! That kid—his right arm… it's glowing!" one of the men pointed at Eugen.

"Hah?! Did you drink too much or something? I already punched that brat twice. He should be unconscious by now," another scoffed.

"No, I'm serious! Look!" The man grabbed his companion's head, forcing him to look at Eugen.

"Hey, what are you—"

He stopped mid-sentence.

His eyes widened. His mouth hung open in shock.

All three of them stared as Eugen slowly stood up—his right arm shining even brighter than before.

"Break it… Break it… Break it… Break it… Break it… Break it… Break it… Break it…"

He kept murmuring, his arm trembling violently with each word. The golden glow intensified.

Then—suddenly—it stopped trembling.

And then—

It Break—

BOOOM!

A shockwave of golden light erupted from his right arm. His bandages burned away, revealing a glowing blue tattoo across his skin.

The entire alley was bathed in golden radiance.

After hundreds of years… the power of God Hand had finally awakened.