In a small shop located in Seoul, a middle-aged man in a neatly dressed suit sat at an empty table. His left long sleeve was empty, drawing few glances from some people around.
His right hand held a cup close to his lips but did not move, remaining frozen. It was as if he were making a careful decision whether to drink or not, which was strange.
'Yamazaki Shingen being killed has been confirmed. The cause is not due to an outsider but due to a rebellion. Would this actually be the true downfall of the Yamazaki clan? Originally, the clan was already in decline, but now, since it has come down to this, the internal structure of the syndicate will eventually collapse unless something can prevent it.'
Charles Choi thought as he finally took a sip from the cup. Word had now been relayed that the Yamazaki Head was confirmed to have been killed two weeks ago due to a rebellion.
The information of the death was made public by the Japanese news media, but more details were posted on the dark forum.
'This would not concern me at all if I still had the red paper in my own two hands. But now the source of it has suffered such a blow. Its direct exposure could lead to the government marking my own execution.'
He analyzed, one finger tapping on the cup. If the red paper were exposed to the public when the Yamazaki still had its iron grip on the Japanese nation, Charles would not have been fully concerned, since this syndicate was his backing.
But now, things had reached this point and taken a turn. The red paper was now his weakness, which his enemies would surely take advantage of to take him down at any cost. Execution would be the final result, and even his future plans for his one goal would crumble.
'I need to make the first move. Securing the red paper will be first on my list to avoid future threats from others.... but, knowing how troublesome it will be, the plans will continue alongside.'
Charles sighed as he stood up, making his way out of the shop.
'Right now, my court will end me in a direct sentencing since I have no way out of this. I've already made preparations for a short sentence.... I just have to finish it.'
Charles's eyes shone coldly behind his glasses as he continued his pace. He was now going to attend his court, which would start in an hour. He would plead guilty and receive a direct sentencing, securing him in prison.
But.... that would not be enough to keep him in place.
His ambition isn't something law and order, or even his known enemies, could stand against. Anyone or anything that stands in his path will be killed.
He will sacrifice anything to reach his goal.
This world will fall under his own hand in the end.
'I might also get the chance after all this, to find out who bested Shingen.'
Shingen being killed surprised him but was not enough to force an overwhelming reaction out of him.
Another piece of news surfaced on the dark forum, from months before Shingen's death.
Shingen had suffered a loss at the hands of a person. This news stunned him, he had never expected that person to actually lose to someone else.
Few could actually stand up to him, or even beat him, but at the end of the day.... an Oni will remain an Oni.
Charles isn't naive. If Shingen lost, that meant the syndicate lost as well. After all, if you want to go to the head, you must go through the people under him.
Even though the clan was at its strongest decline, it was still the Yamazaki clan.
The person who could make them suffer a loss wasn't normal. So Charles thought of finding who that person was, where he resided, and whether he was someone who could be recruited.
The stronger the people by his side, the better.
.
.
.
South Jeolla, Gonkseok.
In the rural part of the county, in a small area that looked like a forest, a small spacious place stood out where a large campfire blazed, spreading natural light under the night sky.
Above the fire, a wild boar over seven feet long was skewered with a very thick pole, supported on both sides by two thick poles, being cooked.
A large hand suddenly appeared, clamping down on the end of the hind leg of the boar, and ripped it off cleanly with ease.
"CRUNCH"
The sound of a loud crunch resonated as the top of the hind leg's bone and meat was cleanly cut, as if a knife sliced through it.
"I really wanted to have my rematch against that guy, only for him to die." The man mumbled as he chewed his food, the sound like crunching on crackers. He was seated on a large log flat bench while completely naked, the firelight exposing his structure.
His upper body was extraordinarily broad, overflowing with dense, meticulously defined muscle. From the thick, powerful column of his neck to his massive shoulders, every inch of him radiated raw intensity. His arms were enormous, corded with bulging veins, his biceps and triceps sculpted like tempered steal, leading down to huge, roughened hands shaped by relentless conditioning.
His chest was wide and solid, the muscles perfectly formed, while his abdomen bore a flawlessly carved set of ten-pack muscles arranged with near unnatural symmetry. His back spread out like a massive wall of iron muscle, every fiber sharply defined before tapering smoothly down to his waist. Covering it, was a large shark tattoo, its jaws wide open with razor-sharp teeth spread out, blood-red eyes radiating mindless killing intent, glowing with a bloodthirsty crimson light.
His legs on each side were no less imposing. From his powerful wide thighs to his thick calves, every muscle was equally refined and detailed, carrying the same overwhelming density and strength as the rest of his body.
Yet what stood out even more than his overwhelming physique was his skin.
At a glance, it appeared different, unnaturally so. His flesh looked thicker, the texture denser, as if each layer had been compressed and reinforced. Even without touching it, one could sense the abnormal hardness beneath the surface. It was as though his skin had been forged into layered armor rather than ordinary flesh.
He opened his mouth again after swallowing the last of his food, sinking his teeth into the thick upper part of the leg. They weren't ordinary teeth, titanium, silvery-dark gray shine, with four slightly elongated, razor-sharp canines. He bit along the bone, crunching and tearing it apart, leaving only three-quarters intact, the rest shredded in his mouth.
A normal person would need approximately four hundred to five hundred sixty bites to finish a whole hind leg of a wild boar over seven feet, but the man took only three. That alone was enough to indicate his size.
"All that training after the fight only to go down the drain with that news..... or not." The man continued as he ripped the other hind leg of the boar and began munching it down.
"It's a pity that I won't have the chance to eat you whole.... Then what's left is who killed you." He chuckled as he completely shredded his food in three other bites.
"He must be crazy strong.... Your killer." He grabbed the head of the boar, his whole hand easily encompassing the sixty-centimeter part weighing twenty-five kg and ripped it off.
"I'm quite annoyed... Getting killed by someone else, other than me, who had the opportunity for it... Isn't that humiliating me?" He grumbled with an angry and wild expression as he halved the head of the boar in his mouth, crunching bones with mushy juices.
"If I find out the person who killed you isn't that much.... I would be quite sad." Tossing the rest of the halved head into his mouth, chewing slowly to savor the rich flavor.
"It would just mean you died a pitiful death, and I wasn't there to give you a better one." He grabbed a bottle of high-proof ninety percent vodka that was under him. Snapping off the top cleanly with a bite, he poured the liquid down his mouth, gulping it like an ordinary beverage while most would have their throats burned.
"Hoooo.... That hits the spot." He placed down the drained bottle and smiled, feeling the relaxing burning sensation in his throat, the edge of his titanium teeth glinting in the light,
"Staying in this ghost town of a place is boring... I think it's time for me to set out to Seoul and see what's fun." He grinned, tilting his head up to the moon above, its light reflecting in his dark blue eyes and titanium teeth.
"It shouldn't be disappointing." He stood up, his massive height towering as his shadow stretched widely across the surface.