The time for the flight to Vietnam was drawing near.
I was there
Ryouichi tamada stood near the grand entrance bunglow, his travel coat draped cleanly over his suit.
Standing opposite him was his son, Shunpei.
Standing a respectful distance behind Shunpei were Mira and Kazu, ready to see the boss off.
Shunpei tamada looked at his father, his expression serious.
“Dad. You should take Kazu with you to Vietnam.”
Ryouichi offered a faint, reassuring smile.
“No. Your safety here in Tokyo is my absolute first priority.”
Shunpei fell silent for a moment.
He looked down, shifting slightly.
“…Actually, I have something I need to tell you.”
Before Shunpei could get the words out, Ryouichi held up a hand, cutting him off.
A proud, knowing smile spread across the older man’s face.
“Let me guess. You want to marry your girlfriend, right? Go on. What else?”
Shunpei froze.
A bright red blush instantly rushed to his cheeks.
“H-How did you know? Who told you?”
Behind Shunpei, Kazu hori—who had been bowing respectfully—suddenly stiffened.
Ryouichi made direct eye contact with his assassin and gave him a subtle, silent nod toward the exit.
Sweating bullets, Kazu slowly turned and began quietly tip-toeing toward the gates.
“Tell me,” Shunpei demanded, completely oblivious to the movement behind him.
Ryouichi looked away, casually pointing an innocent finger in Kazu’s direction.
“…Kazu told me.”
Kazu’s heart practically leaped out of his chest.
Shunpei slowly turned his head, locking onto Kazu with a terrifying, deadly glare.
Beside them, Mira quickly slapped a hand over his own mouth, his shoulders shaking as he desperately tried to hold back his laughter.
“Hey! Where do you think you’re running?!” Shunpei roared, his calm demeanor entirely shattered.
“You bastard! You promised me you wouldn’t tell anyone!”
But it was too late.
Kazu had already broken into a full sprint, bolting out of the estate gates like his life depended on it.
Watching the chaos, a rare, genuine sound escaped Ryouichi’s lips.
“Ha… haha.” He laughed deeply, thoroughly amused by the youth in front of him.
Taking a deep breath, Shunpei forced himself to calm down.
He turned his eyes back to the floor, his voice dropping into a soft, vulnerable tone.
“Dad… I want you to be there at the ceremony.”
Ryouichi’s laughter faded.
A shadow of melancholic sadness passed over his eyes.
“Your mother will be there, Shunpei.”
“…I know.”
Ryouichi let out a long, heavy breath, the weight of his past choices resting on his shoulders.
But as he looked at his son, his expression softened.
“Even so… I will attend your wedding ceremony.”
Shunpei’s eyes widened slightly before a relieved, incredibly warm smile broke across his face.
“….Thanks, Dad.”
He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around his father in a firm hug.
Ryouichi hugged him back, a quiet smile resting on both their faces.
A short while later, Ryouichi was seated in the back of his sleek luxury car.
The window was rolled down as Shunpei, Mira, and a very cautious Kazu stood outside to see him off.
Ryouichi looked at Shunpei.
“Once I finish this meeting in Vietnam, I will come straight to the wedding.”
Shunpei nodded brightly.
“We’ll be waiting.”
As the driver shifted the car into gear, Ryouichi cast a sideways glance at his son, his tone turning into a playful tease.
“…And make sure you give Kazu a proper punishment for talking.”
Kazu flinched violently, feeling the sheer killing intent radiating from Shunpei’s glare once again.
He pressed his hands together in a desperate plea.
“Please… I am so sorry!”
With that lighthearted farewell, the car window rolled up, and Ryouichi Tamada departed for the airport, leaving sky bunglow.
[Flashback — Fractured era Years Ago]
The afternoon was heavy.
Inside a dimly lit, abandoned warehouse, a 28-year-old Ryouichi Tamada walked at a measured, commanding pace.
He was flanked by his elite subordinates, all dressed in crisp, immaculate black blazers.
Ryouichi stopped at a long wooden table in the center of the room.
Sitting at the table was Dong, an established underworld broker, who offered a satisfied nod upon seeing him.
Ryouichi pulled out a chair and sat down.
He casually removed his dark sunglasses, placing them on the table.
Dong smiled, uncorking a bottle of expensive red wine and pouring it neatly into a small shot glass in front of Ryouichi.
“Did you bring the goods?” Dong asked, his eyes gleaming.
“Yeah. I brought it.”
He gestured with his hand.
His men stepped forward, dropping several heavy duffel bags onto the table.
Unzipping them revealed the packed cargo.
Dong’s smile widened into a greedy grin.
Sliding a photograph across the table, Dong tapped it with his finger.
“Who is this?” Ryouichi asked, picking up the picture.
“A police officer,” Dong muttered, his tone souring.
“Ever since he transferred to this district, he’s been a massive thorn in my side. Think you can do something about it?”
Ryouichi barely glanced at the photo before handing it back to his right-hand man, Shinjin.
“Shinjin. Take care of him. Eliminate the target.”
Shinjin stepped forward, taking the photograph with a respectful bow.
“Got it, sir.”
Meanwhile — Near the City Lake
The off-duty officer, Hakuta Myung, was standing quietly by the edge of the lake when he was suddenly surrounded by a dozen men in black blazers.
Hakuta looked around calmly.
“Get out of my way.”
One of the thugs stepped forward, sneering.
“We came here to end you, Hakuta Myung.”
A wide, arrogant smile spread across Hakuta’s face.
He let out a disappointed sigh.
“Oohh~ Is this really all the men you brought?”
With a unified roar, the thugs charged.
But Hakuta was a monster.
With a terrifying surge of speed, he delivered a punch so devastating that the first man was literally launched into the air…
[30 Minutes Later]
Back at the warehouse, Ryouichi glanced at his watch.
“Give Shinjin a call.”
One of his subordinates quickly dialed the number and respectfully handed the phone to Ryouichi.
Beside the lake, the scene was a total massacre.
Every single one of Ryouichi’s men lay unconscious or groaning in agony on the ground.
In the center of the wreckage stood Hakuta, perfectly unharmed.
Suddenly, a phone began to ring from Shinjin’s bloodied pocket.
Hakuta glanced down.
He casually bent over, pulled the phone out, and answered the call.
“Well?” Ryouichi’s voice came through the speaker.
“Is the job done?”
Hakuta let out a dark chuckle.
“Not exactly… Your men failed miserably.”
Ryouichi’s expression darkened, but he let out a cold smirk.
“So, there really is a cop out there who refuses to become our puppet?”
“Hah,” Hakuta mocked softly.
“Looks like you’re just all talk, just like the rest of them.”
Ryouichi’s eyes went ice-cold.
“Nah… nah… I’m coming there right now.”
The Lake
The fading evening light cast a blood-orange reflection across the still surface of the lake.
The serene environment was violently contrasted by the scattered, broken bodies of Ryouichi’s fifteen men.
Some had brutal boot-marks stamped into their faces; others clutched swollen, fractured ribs.
Right in the center stood Hakuta.
He had planted his heavy boot directly onto Shinjin’s unconscious face, standing over him like a hunter posing with a trophy.
His expression was full of mocking, arrogant disrespect.
When Ryouichi and Dong finally arrived at the lake, this was the very first thing Ryouichi saw.
For a fraction of a second, Ryouichi’s blood pressure seemed to freeze.
Then, a slow, terrifying burn of absolute rage ignited in his chest.
His voice was heavy, ice-cold, and dangerously controlled.
“You shouldn’t have done that. And you definitely shouldn’t have done it in my presence.”
Hearing this, Hakuta simply grinned.
To provoke him further, he pressed his boot even harder into Shinjin’s face.
Then, he slowly began to walk toward Ryouichi.
Ryouichi stepped forward to meet him.
The gravel cracked and crunched beneath their approaching footsteps.
Only a few paces remained between them when Ryouichi suddenly accelerated.
WHUP—!
With explosive, full-body momentum, Ryouichi launched a devastating flying kick squarely into Hakuta’s chest.
The impact forced Hakuta to slide two full steps backward, his heels violently scraping the gravel.
He quickly regained his balance, a thrilled grin on his face.
“Impressive.”
But Ryouichi was already throwing his next strike—a hard, precision straight punch filled with killing intent.
Hakuta’s reflexes were blindingly fast.
He slammed Ryouichi down to the gravel, keeping the lock tightly secured.
A sharp, agonizing pain shot through Ryouichi’s joints.
“Is this really all you can do?” Hakuta taunted from above.
Suddenly, Ryouichi’s core tightened.
The veins on his neck bulged, his breathing turning sharp.
Relying on sheer, monstrous strength, Ryouichi forcibly stood up—lifting Hakuta entirely off the ground along with him, completely ignoring the joint lock.
For the first time, genuine shock flashed in Hakuta’s eyes.
With his free arm, Ryouichi unleashed a barrage of vicious, close-range body blows.
Every single strike hit like a sledgehammer.
THUD—THUD—THUD!
Unable to absorb the devastating force, Hakuta was forced to break his own lock.
He scrambled backward, desperately creating distance.
His movements were no longer arrogant; they were cautious.
They slowly circled each other.
The faint shimmering of the lake behind them, the dead silence in front.
Then—they burst.
A rapid exchange of blows.
Fast dodges.
A low kick.
A counter elbow.
A chest slip.
A forearm parry.
Hakuta found a micro-opening and drove a sharp, slicing elbow strike directly into Ryouichi’s cheek.
The impact was solid.
Ryouichi’s head jerked to the side.
His lip split open, and thick drops of blood dripped onto the gravel.
Ryouichi casually spat a line of fresh blood onto the ground.
He reset his stance.
He relaxed his shoulders, exhaling slowly.
When he looked back up, his eyes were dangerously, terrifyingly calm.
Hakuta grinned, thoroughly enjoying the violent escalation.
Hakuta initiated a sudden blitz, applying straight-line pressure to create the perfect opening for a knockout punch.
But Ryouichi perfectly timed his step-in.
He drove a brutal, condensed punch exactly into the center of Hakuta’s chest bone.
CRACK—!!
Hakuta staggered violently backward.
Thick blood instantly oozed from his mouth as his sternum fractured.
Consumed by rage and pain, Hakuta sprinted forward, throwing a desperate, wild punch at Ryouichi’s face.
This time, Ryouichi easily slipped to the side.
He grabbed Hakuta’s extended wrist.
A twist.
A shift in torque.
Utter compression.
KR-RRAK!
Hakuta’s arm snapped like a dry twig.
Blinding agony washed over him.
He nearly collapsed to the ground, but somehow managed to stay upright, falling onto his knees.
Watching from a safe distance, Dong let out a dark smirk.
“Did he really think he could defeat Ryouichi…? He has no idea how capable this man is. Ryouichi was just playing with him.”
On his knees, Hakuta looked up, a bloody, broken grin on his face.
“So… you were just playing around this whole time?”
Ryouichi slowly leaned in.
The evening shadows cast half of his face in pure darkness.
The smile that formed on his lips was pure, controlled evil.
“You aren’t even worthy of being my toy,” Ryouichi whispered venomously.
“And how dare you step on the faces of my men?”
The very next second, Ryouichi grabbed Hakuta by the throat with a single hand.
With raw, terrifying power, he hoisted the grown man effortlessly into the air.
Hakuta’s legs kicked wildly in the air, struggling desperately for oxygen.
Ryouichi’s grip tightened.
His muscles locked.
The pressure increased exponentially, violently compressing the cervical spine.
CRACK—!
Hakuta’s body went completely limp.
Dead weight.
Ryouichi callously tossed the lifeless body to the side like a piece of worthless garbage.
The evening silence returned to the shores of the lake.
Nothing remained but the unconscious subordinates, a cold breeze blowing across the water, and the heavy, terrifying presence of Ryouichi Tamada.
—Chapter 25 End—