Tokyo, Shinjuku.

Recently, Shinjuku seemed to have become synonymous with misfortune. Various accidents occurred frequently here, and the disappearances of people and organizations remained unknown to the public. Secrets the government attempted to hide made certain factions of the underworld wary of this place. However, with vast profits at stake, some organizations in their line of work were always willing to risk it all. Some were simply in pursuit of thrills.

Doumoto Kaito was that kind of thrill-seeking man. His original stomping grounds were the rural areas of Shikoku. This changed since certain events occurred in Tokyo—events everyone knew had happened, yet no one knew the specifics of. Invited by the Fuji Financial Group, Doumoto Kaito left the countryside of Shikoku for the bustling city of Tokyo. The dazzling world of neon lights and indulgence blinded him. The pleasures bought with banknotes made him feel as if his previous life had been spent in a pigsty.

The only thing he found somewhat dissatisfying was his constant duty to protect Yasuda Saburo of the Yasuda Family. That fool, who had hollowed out his body with excessive drug use, always held his nose high, giving Doumoto Kaito the urge to punch him. He decided to endure it for the considerable sum of money involved. The frustrations of his job could be released on women after hours.

"Doumoto, what do you think of that woman?" Yasuda Saburo pointed at the crowd below, where a conspicuous lady was shopping with her daughter.

Doumoto Kaito glanced at the woman. She appeared to be under thirty, her long, black hair tied up in a bun typically worn by young girls, yet it didn’t seem out of place on her. She had a baby-face and wore a sky-blue kimono, her figure indiscernible beneath the clothing.

"Not bad. She looks like she has a very capable build."

At this response, a smile spread across Yasuda Saburo’s face. He licked his lips and said, "That’s what I think too. It would be beautiful to conquer such a lady, to paint on her snow-white body."

Just the thought was enough to get Yasuda Saburo aroused. He turned his head and ordered, "Hey, you, go tell that woman I’ll give her money to keep me company."

As the young master of the Fuji Financial Group, Yasuda Saburo generally preferred to start by flashing a wad of cash. If the other party didn’t agree, he would resort to force. Usually, this tactic was very effective, though it occasionally earned his envoy a slap. But he wasn’t the one doing the talking, nor was he the one getting slapped, so naturally, he didn’t care.

"Understood." Another bodyguard nodded and quickly walked outside.

Yasuda Saburo stood by the window. From there, he could see the scenery outside, but those outside couldn’t see in. He watched as his black-clad subordinate approached the lady; he couldn’t hear their exchange, only saw the lady raise her hand and deliver a slap, which made her answer clear.

"I like women with fiery personalities. They’re more interesting than the other types. Doumoto, it’s your turn." Yasuda Saburo beamed.

"Hmm." Doumoto Kaito nodded, a flicker of anticipation in his heart. With such powerful backing, abducting women off the street at random wouldn’t be considered a crime at all. That was the power of the Fuji Financial Group.

CRACKLE AND POP.

Doumoto Kaito heard the sound of electrical wiring short-circuiting. His gaze swept the private room, noticing a surge of electricity suddenly emerging from the outlet near the LCD TV.

"What’s this?"

Doumoto Kaito watched in astonishment as the airborne electricity solidified into a human form—a blonde European.

「 」

Aozawa stood inside the private room, his gaze sweeping across it.

Two black-clad bodyguards, one martial artist, and one rich young master who looks like he’s overindulged. This setup is different from the Yakuza I imagined. Well, since I’ve run into them, I might as well test things out. I’m not picky.

That simple, sweeping gaze sent a chill down Doumoto Kaito’s spine. He was all too familiar with that kind of look—it was how he himself regarded others. It wasn’t just a hunter’s gaze anymore; it was more like a connoisseur eyeing a meal, absolutely certain he would devour them.

"Who are you?" Surprise showed on Yasuda Saburo’s face as he furrowed his brows and said, "Is this some kind of new prank 3D image set up in the private room?"

"Don’t move." Aozawa couldn’t be bothered with small talk and immediately used his Hypnosis Ability to keep the four men in place, preventing them from running around and disrupting his experiment.

My body... I can’t move... Doumoto Kaito’s eyes darted around; he found it difficult to even move a finger. No, that’s not right. It’s more like... I don’t *want* to move my fingers. Some part of me wants to obey this man’s commands. Even though I know this is incredibly dangerous, I still can’t bring myself to disobey him. Damn it, move! Move, body! Doumoto Kaito screamed in his mind, and his fingers slowly twitched.

Aozawa wasn’t particularly surprised by his reaction. After his Hypnosis Ability was weakened, it was no longer 100% effective against individuals with such strong willpower. Moreover, he could hear that the Sound of Everything emanating from Doumoto Kaito was much stronger than that of the others. It was comparable to the resonance of a large villa—deep and powerful.

Aozawa stepped forward, placed his right hand on Doumoto Kaito’s shoulder, and with a tug, extracted the ’sound.’ A large amount of milky-white gas rapidly peeled away from Doumoto Kaito’s shoulder. This, in turn, made Doumoto Kaito feel incredibly weak.

"Don’t..." Doumoto Kaito emitted a frail voice, like that of a young girl in danger.

Aozawa extracted his ’voice’ completely, then observed Doumoto Kaito, who was now devoid of it. The martial artist could no longer stand. Once his powerful ’voice’ was stripped away, only weakness remained in his body. He collapsed to the ground.

"Ah!" This terrifying scene startled the two bodyguards and Yasuda Saburo. They didn’t know what the milky-white gas was, but they screamed in horror nonetheless.

Aozawa stepped forward, placed his left hand on Yasuda Saburo’s body, and bestowed Doumoto Kaito’s ’voice’ upon him. As the milky-white gas seeped into him, Yasuda Saburo felt his previously weak body suddenly surge with strength. Power flowed endlessly from his shoulders to his limbs, welling up from within. His appearance remained unchanged. But in Aozawa’s ears, Yasuda Saburo’s ’voice’ had become Doumoto Kaito’s powerful tone, loud and clear.

Aozawa lifted his hand and used his Hypnosis Ability, saying, "You three, kill each other." He stepped aside to watch.

Upon hearing this, the two bodyguards, without any hesitation, reached for the guns at their waists. At this close range, Yasuda Saburo kicked off the ground and lunged. His previously weak body moved like a wound-up clock, or a cheetah pouncing on prey from the tall grass. He lunged forward in an instant, his immense new strength allowing him to snatch at the two bodyguards’ throats.

CRUNCH! Using only three fingers, he ripped out both men’s larynges. Warm blood bloomed on his fingertips. Gripping the shattered throat bones, his face alight with excitement, he then punched the bodyguard to his left, knocking the man’s head grotesquely sideways.

"Haha! You’re not half bad, fellow! To think you’d grant me such power!" Yasuda Saburo was ecstatic. Just then, a knock sounded at the door. He shouted to the outside, "Come in."

The bodyguard who had been slapped opened the door. Seeing the scene inside the private room, his expression turned to shock. Before the bodyguard could react, Yasuda Saburo shot forward with a gust of wind, his hands grabbing the man’s neck and twisting it violently. The man’s neck snapped, twisted grotesquely. He could now toss a man weighing over a hundred kilograms several meters with a single hand.

Yasuda Saburo’s face was alight with an almost drunken exhilaration. For someone like me, who gets winded just running a hundred meters, Doumoto Kaito’s strength is simply incredible! It’s like becoming a god!

He shut the door, turned to look at Aozawa with a haughty expression, and said, "What do you want for giving me such power? I’ll definitely tell my old man; he’ll grant your wish."

"No need. I only want your life."

As Aozawa spoke, a grayscale filter enveloped the private room. He used Telekinesis to lift the gun from a dead bodyguard’s grasp, aimed it, pulled the trigger, and then released Time Suspension.

BANG!

Yasuda Saburo looked down at the gunshot wound in his chest. The power that had just surged within him felt as if it was draining away through the wound.

"Why?" Yasuda Saburo could not understand. Why give him power just to kill him like this? "Don’t you want money? I can give you a lot of money!"

Aozawa did not reply, merely watched him coldly, listening as Yasuda Saburo’s ’voice’—his life force—grew weaker and eventually faded to nothing.

Yasuda Saburo was dead.

Doumoto Kaito was not yet dead.

Aozawa crouched down and looked at the martial artist who could no longer make any sound or move, like someone in a vegetative state. He lifted Doumoto Kaito’s hand; the bones were still hard, but the once-strong muscles had become very soft, indistinguishable from fat. The powerful ’voice’ had transferred his physical attributes to Yasuda Saburo; it was a transfer of strength, not soul. It seemed that when someone lost their powerful ’voice,’ their once-strong muscles became feeble. And with Yasuda Saburo’s death, the transferred powerful ’voice’ had also vanished. This suggested that the bestowal of a powerful ’voice’ might be permanent, unless he, Aozawa, used his Ability to strip it away again. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

I can’t be too hasty, Aozawa thought. There might be a time limit. I need to find someone else to test it on. He mused, also considering if his own physical constitution could be enhanced by a powerful ’voice’. My Sound of Everything ability lasts for a week at its peak. I could test it on others first, and then try to strengthen myself before the week is up. During this period, I need to acquire the most powerful ’voice’ possible. Tetsuji’s ’voice’ must be very strong, but we’re friends. I could never strip him of his ’voice’. Peter’s physical abilities aren’t top-tier either. Should I search for the strongest ’voice’ discreetly, or should I use... my ’money ability’? Money certainly is a convenient ’Ability’ at times. I could find a financial group, organize an underground martial arts tournament, and attract powerful martial artists... and select the strongest ’voice’ for myself.

As these thoughts formed, it suddenly struck Aozawa: What I’m planning... isn’t that something a major villain would do? He mulled it over for a second, then quickly dismissed the notion, turning his mind instead to which financial group he should approach. Kochou is out of the question. If Maggie found out, she’d probably punch me in the chest a few times. Among the other major financial groups... I seem to recall Phoenix Academy Maggie mentioning that the Mitsui Family practices ’great hermitage within the city’ and is hidden away in Ikebukuro?

Thinking it over, Aozawa used his Marked Detonation Ability to obliterate Doumoto Kaito, then transformed into a gust of wind and left.