Goosebumps covered Nakata Yuji's entire body after he witnessed Kang Jin-Ho's smirk shrouded in darkness.
‘This... This is Kang Jin-Ho?’
Nakata Yuji never looked down on Kang Jin-Ho. Anyone with even a modicum of knowledge of Kang Jin-Ho would never do that. Especially when looking at all the things he managed to achieve in such a short time. He definitely was worthy of respect and awe, even from the Japanese.
Besides, Nakata Yuji believed he had acknowledged Kang Jin-Ho far more than anyone else on his side. That was because he knew.
Kang Jin-Ho had achieved something big, therefore he shouldn't be underestimated... People who thought this way had no idea. They didn't know what exactly Kang Jin-Ho had managed to pull off. They simply could not appreciate the enormous implications behind what he had done!
Nakata Yuji wasn’t one of them. He knew. After all, he was the leader of a gumi back home.
From the day Nakata Yuji became the leader of the Yamakawa-kai to now, just how much of himself did he sacrifice to grow his organization? All of his actions, his schemes, and efforts... It'd not be an exaggeration to say all those things were for growing and improving Yamakawa-kai.
Even then, Yamakawa-kai still lacked in too many areas to be called one of the largest organizations in Japan. Even though Nakata Yuji had dedicated nearly two decades of his life to this cause!
This was also the reason why Nakata Yuji acknowledged the Iemoto. Even if the Iemoto’s luck was good, even if he had inherited so much... Growing a clan to the point of becoming Kansai’s strongest was not something one could solely attribute to Lady Luck’s favor.
To the eyes of casual bystanders, such a thing might not seem all that impressive. However, to someone like Nakata Yuji who had tried to do the same thing? They knew. They knew how significant this achievement was.
The Iemoto spent his whole life building the Shinichi-kai into Kansai's strongest clan. That made him a great leader, a man worthy of acknowledgment and respect. In that case, what about Kang Jin-Ho?
If the Iemoto was worthy of respect for turning his organization into the best in the region through several decades of hard work... How should Kang Jin-Ho be evaluated for needing only a few years to take over the Martial Assembly and uniting South Korea under his banner?
‘Kang... Jin-Ho!’
Nakata Yuji might have a personal score to settle with Kang Jin-Ho, but this grudge was not the basis for his decision to invade South Korea and kill the latter.
Kang Jin-Ho genuinely presented a clear threat to Japan. The obvious thing to do in that case would be to eliminate the threat. This expeditionary force's goal was nominally to invade and conquer South Korea's martial society, but the truth was... It was trying to kill Kang Jin-Ho. However...!
‘Why is the game balance so broken?’
Indeed, the game had only just begun, but the players had to deal with the final boss for the first encounter? Not only that but the boss that showed up all alone?
Nakata Yuji would usually remain composed regardless of the situation, but not this time. The inside of his brain blanked out, and he...
“Uwaaaaaaah?!”
“...Mm?” Nakata Yuji hurriedly looked up when he heard a loud scream coming from above. A man with a physique so humongous that Nakata Yuji momentarily doubted his own eyesight was falling from the heavens.
However, rather than landing on the ship's deck... The giant fell straight into the ocean!
Splaaaash!
After a loud explosion noise resounded out, a large water sprout gushed up from the ocean and splashed all over the ship's deck. Everyone stared at that scene in stupefaction.
“...?”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk...”
That was when Nakata Yuji heard the distinctive sound of a person clicking their tongue. His head snapped toward where that noise came from.
‘...?! Since when?’
Someone else had also appeared on the ship's deck without anyone noticing him. This man, an old Caucasian gentleman with a head full of white hair, stood on Kang Jin-Ho's left side while slowly shaking his head.
He leisurely muttered, “It seems Sir Vator still has some ways to go before mastering delicate and subtle movements.”
“Hmm,” Kang Jin-Ho chuckled back at that observation.
Nakata Yuji immediately sobered up after witnessing this exchange. Meanwhile, other Japanese warriors inside the cabins began flooding on to the ship's deck, perhaps due to the loud commotion on the outside.
‘I need to get a grip!’
Nakata Yuji tightly clenched his fists. He slipped up because of how flabbergast-inducing this situation was. That was all!
This cruise ship was practically a den of tigers. And two little rats had brazenly waltzed inside here. Even if the rats had gotten a little stronger, their fate still wouldn't change for the better!
‘What a lunatic!’
What did Kang Jin-Ho think this place was for him to show up like this? No matter how hard Nakata Yuji thought about it, he couldn't comprehend this decision.
They were on a ship. Not just any ship, but one filled to the brim with Japan’s elite warriors meant to conquer South Korea!
In other words, Japan believed these warriors were more than strong enough to utterly destroy the South Korean martial artists. So, for Kang Jin-Ho to waltz into a ship full of such elites?
The king of the enemy forces did what now?
“Although I'd like to praise you for your courage, Kang Jin-Ho...” Nakata Yuji coldly muttered, having regained his composure. “...Too much courage is no better than reckless bravado. And such bravado always results in the demise of the overconfident. It seems you've done something you should not have... Kang Jin-Ho!”
The smirk etched on Kang Jin-Ho's lips deepened as he listened.
Nakata Yuji reflexively stepped back after peering into that strange smirk.
It wasn't as if Kang Jin-Ho had threatened the Japanese. He hadn't even done anything in particular either, other than curl the corners of his lips into a creepy smirk. So why... Why did Nakata Yuji feel this dreadful chill run down his spine just then?
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