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In 1998, on a small island in Japan:
This was the time when the yakuza gang started operating secretly. In 1992, Japan officially banned the yakuza, but after that, they expanded their powers by forcefully taking lives, instilling fear in the locals, and aiming to overthrow the government.
The island, known as Tera (Temple), housed only one village and was very peaceful, spanning roughly 10 km.
150 yakuza members were assigned to this island with the main motive of instilling fear.
Five yakuza decided to target the richest and most influential person in the village - the chief. Their initial goal was to abduct the chief's daughter and rape her to death.
The village chief, aware of the yakuza's threat, instructed his wife and daughter to take all the money and hide in the temples.
The yakuza entered the chief's house. Two yakuza spoke with the village chief while the boss smoked a cigar and supervised the search of the house by the other three.
The chief and the other two yakuza were seated in a large room.
The other three yakuza entered the room and reported they couldn't find the chief's daughter or any money.
The yakuza who was smoking said, "Enough chit-chat. Tell me, where is your daughter?"
The yakuza grabbing the chief's hair demanded, "Answer, Boss!"
The village chief replied defiantly, "Kill me. I won't say a word!"
The yakuza boss responded, "A father protecting his child - there's nothing wrong with that!"
Addressing Haruto, the boss said, "Haruto?"
The man holding the chief's hair replied, "Yes, boss!"
The boss ordered, "Bring a father and his daughter from the nearest house!"
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Haruto commanded the other yakuza, "You heard him!"
A father and his daughter were brought before the boss.
The boss asked the father, "What's your daughter's name?"
He replied, "Rika."
The boss threatened, "Listen, if you don't tell me where the chief's daughter is, we'll take your daughter! You know what happens after that, right?"
He added, "There's no point denying it. It's obvious that you know. This village is small; if the chief hid his daughter somewhere, being the nearest neighbor, you'd know."
The father glanced at the village chief.
The village chief cautioned, "Don't-"
Haruto silenced him by grabbing his jaw.
The boss said, "There's nothing wrong with protecting your child. Mr. Village Chief agrees."
The father stammered, "Th-they're in the temple!"
The boss ordered, "Haruto, release them and bring the chief's daughter and the money here!"
Haruto replied promptly, "Yes, boss!"
Haruto sent the other three yakuza to bring her from the temple.
But the three yakuza never came back!
The boss exclaimed, "Hey, these three idiots are late! Do you know what happened!?"
(Haruto) - "No, boss! I don't know anything about it!"
The boss thought to himself, "I was told that this temple once had a great warrior, a monk who fought against us. He was said to be the rival of the yakuza head, Rank-0. I'm only Rank-7. The yakuza gang has a ranking system from 0-9, with Rank-0 being the strongest."
Turning to the village chief, the boss asked, "I heard the monk of this village died three years ago. Is that true?"
The chief confirmed, "Yes, it's true!"
The leader of the yakuza group told Haruto, "I am going to investigate the temple. If I don't return, leave this village and inform the superiors!"
(Haruto) - "Yes, boss!"
Thirty minutes later:
The boss of the yakuza group stood outside the temple, its vastness daunting.
He entered, finding blood stains on the floor.
Shouting, he demanded, "Come out! You won't be spared!"
A 16-year-old boy emerged, admonishing, "It's forbidden to speak loudly in the temple. Don't you know that?"
The boss scoffed, "A kid?"
The boy asked sternly, "Who are you?"
The daughter and wife of the village chief came out of a room to see what was happening.
The boss declared, "I will be taking these women! Step aside, kid!"
As he moved forward, he suddenly stopped, gripped by an unknown fear of death.
The boy warned, "I will kill you if you dare commit any evil acts here!"
The boss asked, "Did you defeat my men? Well, that's obvious now! What's your name?"
He replied calmly, "My name is Shouten-doji."
The boss probed further, "I mean, what's your real name?"
Shouten-doji asserted, "This is my real name! Everyone calls me that."
The boss remarked, "What an unusual name. Anyway, my name is Akatsuki. Listen, we don't have to fight. If you're protecting them for money, I'll pay you more than them!"
(Shouten-doji) - "You're mistaken. I am not protecting anyone. I just won't let any evil acts happen here. I am the protector of this temple!"
(Akatsuki) - "Don't make me laugh. A demon protecting a temple of gods? Are you a disciple of that monk known as 'The Weapon of Gods'?"
(Shouten-doji) - "Yes, I am."
(Akatsuki) - "The mark on your forehead - a black magic symbol. This mark means you were chosen for human sacrifice. I heard the villagers practice black magic. Did that monk save you?"
Akatsuki pondered, "The Weapon of Gods was a great man. Perhaps he took you as a disciple to save you."
(Shouten-doji) - "You're right. I was chosen as a human sacrifice to please the gods, but my master saved me. His only wish was to protect the villagers and this temple."
(Akatsuki) - "So, there's no way to avoid this fight!"
Akatsuki charged at Shouten-doji, landing a front kick to his face.
Shouten-doji stood firm; the kick didn’t faze him.
(Shouten-doji) - "Did you think I was joking about being Shouten-doji?"
He seized Akatsuki's leg and hurled him into a giant bell, rendering him unconscious.
Since Akatsuki didn't return, Haruto reported the incident to the superiors and contacted a Rank-2 yakuza.
The Rank-2 yakuza ordered, "Gather information from someone in the village. After gathering intel, report back."
Meanwhile, Shouten-doji bound Akatsuki and the other three yakuza, trying to convince them to leave the village.
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