Tsunayoshi’s voice was calm and indifferent, as though he were talking about something completely insignificant.
But the Savage Gang leader felt an unprecedented pressure.
Because this was a choice between life and death.
Although the other party appeared to respect his choice, in reality, he had no choice at all.
But he was unwilling to accept this.
The Savage Gang was one of the three dominant forces in Harlem, and he was the most powerful boss in the entire area.
Yet now he was being forced to bow his head to some mysterious organization that had suddenly appeared.
So, so…
“I choose to submit!”
The Savage Gang leader lowered his head before Tsunayoshi.
No matter how unwilling he was, he couldn’t change the fact that his men had already been disarmed.
Even if he could somehow change that situation, he still had no way to deal with what had happened earlier.
Just one second ago, they had held an absolute advantage and slaughtered their opponents, leaving the street drenched in blood.
Yet the next second, the tables had completely turned, and his own side had been utterly defeated.
That mysterious method was something he couldn’t understand or even comprehend.
Until he figured it out and found a way to counter it, he simply had no ability to resist.
“Very good!”
Tsunayoshi nodded indifferently, then looked ahead.
“Then go and announce to every force in Harlem: either submit or die.”
“I want an answer within one hour!”
…
Old, low-rise buildings.
Dirty, foul-smelling streets.
The area with the highest crime rate in the entire United States…
Hell’s Kitchen was similar to Harlem in many ways.
However, that was only how things appeared on the surface.
Although both places were synonymous with filth, chaos, poverty, and backwardness, Hell’s Kitchen actually had relatively better public safety.
Though even saying that wasn’t entirely accurate.
After all, judging purely by crime rates, Hell’s Kitchen actually had the highest crime rate in the entire United States.
But Hell’s Kitchen didn’t suffer from such severe racial discrimination, and the atmosphere between gangs was relatively relaxed.
Unlike Harlem, where it was common to see robberies, theft, and even gunfights taking place in broad daylight.
The chaos of Hell’s Kitchen stemmed from poverty.
Most crimes occurred at night in secluded places.
As long as you followed the basic rules—lock the door when leaving and returning home, and don’t wander around outside at night—you generally wouldn’t encounter any trouble.
But this environment had also given rise to a special profession.
Ham Lane.
A drunken old man over fifty years old.
And also a doctor.
Of course, he was an unlicensed underground doctor.
Unlike the underground doctors in most stories, he wasn’t some highly skilled physician who had suffered an unfortunate incident and lost his medical license.
He was simply a con man who had taught himself the most basic medical knowledge and knew a few simple first-aid techniques.
Even so, he had managed to thrive.
Because Hell’s Kitchen was a slum.
Most people couldn’t afford medical insurance, let alone the expensive medical bills charged by hospitals.
When people became sick or injured, aside from buying medicine from pharmacies, they could only tough it out or find an underground doctor.
Therefore, even though Ham only understood a little medical knowledge and basic first aid—and despite his habit of getting completely drunk, even though he frequently ended up killing patients during treatment—people still kept coming to him for medical care.
Especially people with criminal records.
Even if they had money, they didn’t dare go to a hospital.
They could only find him or another underground doctor.
At six o’clock that morning, Ham was drunk again.
The previous night, he had just performed a surgery.
It had taken him an enormous amount of effort to remove a bullet from a patient’s kidney.
Although his lack of professional skill had caused half of the kidney to rot during the process, at least he had managed to save the patient’s life.
With the remaining kidney, the man could still live out the rest of his life.
And Ham himself had been completely exhausted by the surgery.
Without a little alcohol, he simply couldn’t endure it.
“Knock, knock, knock!”
At that moment, someone knocked on the door.
Ham picked up the bottle and took a long gulp before staggering toward the entrance.
As he walked, he shouted drunkenly, “Coming, coming!
Stop knocking!”
“Click!”
The door opened.
Outside was a narrow alley.
Standing at the doorway was a beautiful and gentle woman.
Her eyes were tender, like a faint pink mist.
Her lips were bright red, forming a striking contrast against her pale complexion.
Judging solely from her skin and facial features, she appeared to be a very young woman.
Yet her clothes and demeanor were elegant and dignified.
Her composed temperament, combined with the kimono decorated with pale-purple branches and leaves and bright-red flowers, added even more beauty to her appearance.
She looked like an aristocratic lady with an exceptionally refined upbringing.
Ham’s eyes immediately lit up.
Even his drunkenness seemed to fade somewhat.
He opened his mouth, revealing his incomplete set of teeth, and was about to speak.
Instead, a massive burp escaped.
The smell of alcohol filled the air, leaving him extremely embarrassed.
“Sorry, sorry!
I drank a little too much this morning!”
“It’s nothing.”
The woman clasped her hands together in front of her abdomen and smiled gently.
“I came here because there’s something I’d like to ask you.”
“…W-What is it?”
“I heard that you often drink alcohol before performing surgery.
Is that true?”
“Yes!”
Ham openly admitted it.
As if afraid the woman wouldn’t believe him, he added, “Everyone in Hell’s Kitchen knows about it.
If you don’t believe me, you can ask anyone.”
“I believe you, Doctor.”
The smile on the woman’s face became even brighter.
“I also heard that you often end up killing your patients.”
“I’m not God.
Patients dying during treatment is perfectly normal.”
After saying this, Ham raised his head and took another gulp of alcohol.
Then, narrowing his drunken eyes, he swayed as he looked at her.
“If you came here looking for trouble, there’s no need to beat around the bush and dig up my dark history.”
“This is Hell’s Kitchen.
Being lucky enough to survive an illness is already a blessing.
And you expect people to enjoy the kind of treatment provided by proper hospitals…”
At this point, he couldn’t help snorting twice before continuing.
“If you want that kind of treatment, then why don’t you go to a proper hospital?”
“No.
Why would I come here looking for trouble?”
The woman narrowed her smiling eyes and spoke gently.
“I only came to find you after hearing about some of your…
accomplishments, Doctor.”
“Oh?
What do you want from me?”
After saying that, Ham seemed to remember something.
He immediately stared at her with a lecherous gaze.
“If you want to learn medicine, that isn’t impossible.
But you’ll have to pay the appropriate price!”
“No.
When it comes to medicine, I have quite a bit of confidence in my own abilities.”
“You’re not here to learn medicine, and you don’t look sick either.
So why did you come looking for me?”
“I heard that when you perform surgery on people, you secretly remove their organs and sell them to gangs.”
“Is that true?”
Hearing this, Ham’s expression immediately changed.
“Where did you hear such nonsense?!”
“Of course, I heard it from your patients.”
As she spoke, the woman raised her right hand.
Her hand transformed into a blade and plunged directly into Ham’s abdomen.
The excruciating pain instantly sobered Ham.
His eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at her.
The woman continued smiling.
But her hand slowly withdrew, pulling out his intestines and kidney along with it.
“Doctor, there are thirty victims whose organs you stole waiting for transplants.”
“Your organs aren’t enough!”