"Oh, Yamamoto-kun, you're so mean. I just want to feel your love right now..."
The woman, seductive by nature, moved with the sinuous grace of a snake, her soft body coiling around Yamamoto Takehito.
Yamamoto let out a hearty laugh. Suddenly, he grabbed her by the waist with one powerful motion and carried her toward the bedroom.
The room was pitch black, with a large bed in the center.
Two meters long and two meters wide — who knew how many women had once lain on it?
But just as Yamamoto Takehito stepped into the room, a low male voice rang out from within the darkness:
"Such refined taste, Mr. Yamamoto. Truly admirable."
"Who's there?! Who's in here?!"
Yamamoto was instantly startled by the unexpected voice. He barked in the direction of the darkness.
Click.
With a faint sound, the lights switched on. At the edge of the bed sat a teenage boy, his expression calm as he looked directly at Yamamoto Takehito.
"Who are you?! How dare you sneak into my home in the dead of night?! Do you not know who I am?!"
Yamamoto's voice boomed once he realized it was just a boy, though he quickly composed himself and barked furiously.
Still, inside, he was deeply unsettled.
Setting aside how this boy had gotten in completely unnoticed — the level of security in this villa made it virtually impenetrable to anyone.
A life steeped in crime breeds constant paranoia. Yamamoto had placed countless guards throughout the estate to prevent enemies from ever getting close. Not even a bird should've been able to fly in unnoticed.
So who was this boy, really?
As he thought furiously, trying not to let it show on his face, he subtly slapped the woman on the backside, motioning for her to go get help.
But the boy simply smiled and stood up.
"There's no need to call anyone, Mr. Yamamoto — your men are already unconscious. Of course, you're free to go check, if you don't believe me."
"…What?"
Yamamoto froze. The boy's words were calm, but something about them made it impossible to doubt him.
"Who the hell are you?!"
"The name is Kitazawa Ryota. I imagine a busy man like you has at least heard of me?"
He gave a faint smile.
There was no mistaking it — the boy before him was indeed Kitazawa Ryota.
And only Kitazawa Ryota could've infiltrated Yamamoto Takehito's heavily guarded estate without a sound.
When Yamamoto heard the name, a visible shudder ran down his spine.
Kitazawa Ryota. It's really him.
How could he not have heard of the name?
Pilot of EVA Unit-01. A figure the military gritted their teeth over. The very person Ishiki Kashimoto had ordered him to send three hundred Black Dragon Gangs to assassinate — and still failed.
At that moment, Yamamoto's legs nearly gave out.
If Kitazawa Ryota had truly wanted him dead, he would already be dead.
Desperately summoning his courage, Yamamoto forced a smile and asked,
"So… it's you, Kitazawa Ryota. May I ask what brings you to my home at this late hour?"
Kitazawa gave a mild chuckle.
"I think you already know exactly why I'm here."
"The Black Dragon Gang tried to assassinate me. That's not something I can just let slide. And I certainly don't intend to swallow it quietly."
"That's a misunderstanding," Yamamoto replied quickly. "The Black Dragon Gang was only following orders. I, Yamamoto Takehito, have no personal grudge against you. I would never attempt such a thing on my own."
He clenched his jaw. "It was all Ishiki Kashimoto. This had nothing to do with me."
"Oh?"
Kitazawa smiled faintly as he stood. "But surely, the Black Dragon Gang can't be entirely blameless, can they?"
"If not for the military's backing these past years, your gang would've been wiped out long ago, wouldn't it? You wouldn't still be standing here like this. You'd have been hunted down and killed by your enemies long ago. And I imagine the military's done quite well for itself off your gang's 'gratitude' over the years — am I wrong?"
"You... What is it you want from me?"
Having had the truth exposed so plainly, Yamamoto was trembling. He knew Kitazawa Ryota could kill him with a single blow. If he wanted to live, he had no choice but to cooperate.
Kitazawa gave a cold chuckle.
"Oh, it's nothing much. I just came to make something clear."
"What happened today made quite a mess — I'm sure you're well aware. But this won't be over any time soon."
"I'm simply here to say that from this point forward, the Black Dragon Gang is to stay out of it. If not…"
His voice lowered, his tone icy.
"…I won't hesitate to erase the Black Dragon Gang from existence."
"N-no problem! I swear!"
Yamamoto wiped the sweat from his brow and quickly agreed. "Starting tomorrow, I'll relocate immediately — I won't remain in Japan. And the Black Dragon Gang will absolutely stay out of this conflict!"
"Good."
Kitazawa nodded. "I hope you understand the difference between right and wrong. Goodbye."
With that, his figure flickered — and he vanished from the estate, just like that.
His message had been made crystal clear: the Black Dragon Gang was not to interfere. And should they defy him — even if only in secret — Kitazawa Ryota wouldn't hesitate to reduce them to ash.
The real battle was just beginning.
Only after confirming that Kitazawa was truly gone did Yamamoto Takehito finally let out a massive sigh of relief. Just now, he'd been terrified — scared Kitazawa might actually strike him down then and there.
He knew full well the gang had pushed him too far.
With Ryota's power, it would've been nothing to kill him outright. The fact that he didn't was already a great mercy.
Kitazawa Ryota's presence alone carried a pressure so immense that Yamamoto couldn't even summon the will to fight back.
"Yamamoto-kun… I… I'm scared…"
The woman beside him had been trembling for a while now, clinging to Yamamoto's arm in fear.
"You goddamn bitch, is that all the guts you've got?! Crying like that? Pack your shit — we're leaving the country tomorrow!"
Now that he'd snapped out of it, Yamamoto turned on the woman with a string of curses, already making up his mind — tomorrow, he'd fly straight to Europe.
Anything to avoid the coming storm.
Because what he'd felt from Kitazawa Ryota wasn't just power — it was a terrifying, otherworldly aura. A force no one else had ever brought upon him.
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