Meanwhile, Bandō was busy performing emergency treatment on his men.
As an enforcer who'd worked his way up from a rank-and-file street thug, Bandō had picked up some pretty solid first-aid and field dressing skills.
In the yakuza world, that was nothing short of a life-saving talent.
He was currently resetting the bones of one of the more seriously injured subordinates when another, already bandaged, leaned over and whispered, "What exactly happened back there? After we went down... what happened?"
Bandō shot him a glance. Obviously, at a time like this, he couldn't very well admit, "I passed out too, no clue." Just like his boss, Nishiyama Heita, had to maintain face, Bandō also had to uphold his own authority.
In the yakuza world, personal authority was what prevented constant insubordination from the lower ranks. That mattered even more than "chivalry" or "loyalty."
Bandō said in a low, steady voice, "Watch what you say. You might be calling Kiryu-kun aniki soon."
The underling's eyes went wide. "What? You mean... Bandō-san, are you stepping down as wakagashira?"
Bandō thumped him on the head. "Idiot. If he does join us, he'd likely be shōshu—young master—or at the very least, an assistant wakagashira."
If that happened, all of Bandō's current subordinates would indeed have to call Kazuma aniki.
The subordinate stole a glance at Kazuma, who was humming a tune, and muttered doubtfully, "He's... really that strong?"
"He is. Didn't you see how the boss was impressed?" Bandō made it sound completely plausible. After all, these guys had just regained consciousness and had no idea what had actually happened—and Nishiyama sure wasn't going to say a word about it. "You really think the boss could lose to some punk kid? No way. He even drew his blade. That was his way of giving face."
Bandō continued smoothly, "It's a fierce competition out there right now. The boss is eager to recruit talented people."
By the time he finished, even Bandō was half believing his own story.
The underling's eyes lit up. "I get it now! But... Aniki, why is Kiryu-san humming?"
In the yakuza world, there could be more than one aniki. Whenever in doubt, it was safest to use aniki when addressing anyone higher up.
Bandō almost said, "Beats me—martial artists tend to have weird habits." But that would make him sound ignorant. As a wakagashira, it was his job to educate the younger ones. So instead, he shook his shaved head sagely and said, "It's a kind of ritual. He's internalizing insights from the fight—pursuing shin-gi-ittai."
In truth, Bandō had picked up that term ages ago from an old judo coach and never really bought into it himself. But that didn't stop him from speaking with absolute conviction now.
Little did he know... he had actually hit the nail on the head.
Kiryu Kazuma really was using that strange, tuneless humming to process the insights he'd gained in battle and further hone his strength.
Bandō's explanation clearly impressed the underling, whose gaze toward Kazuma was now filled with reverence.
Seeing this, Bandō resolved that from here on out, he'd be careful not to overhype Kazuma too much. No need to get carried away before the kid even officially joined the Nishiyama-gumi.
But then another underling piped up, "I don't get it... Why didn't Kiryu-siblings use wooden swords against us? A bamboo sword can't hit as hard as a wooden one, right? Does their big dojo not even have wooden swords?"
Hearing that, Bandō was secretly delighted. Finally, a topic I know something about.
He'd dabbled in various martial arts before, enough to have some understanding.
No way was he passing up a chance to show off his knowledge to the younger guys. He promptly whacked the questioner on the head.
"Dummy! Wooden swords? You been watching too many delinquent movies! Proper kendo dojos hardly use wooden swords. Only the kobudō schools or dojos specializing in iaigiri do."
Bandō went on authoritatively, "In the traditional styles, wooden swords are used for solo kata practice—going through forms alone. For sparring, it's always bamboo swords—wooden ones are too dangerous. Modern kendo's techniques no longer rely on wooden swords. Even for kata, bamboo swords are used now. Wooden swords are practically obsolete."
He smirked. "Only you punks run around with wooden swords trying to look cool."
The underling quickly nodded. "I see now!" He bowed from his seated position. "Thank you for the lesson, Aniki!"
Bandō gave him another smack. "Not so loud! You'll disturb the young master's training!"
Just then, another groggy subordinate, still clearing his head, heard this and blurted, "Huh? Young master?"
Bandō immediately thumped him as well. "Wake up! I meant the dojo's young master!"
In yakuza groups, shōshu (young master) was a special title—designated successor to the group's leader, already entrusted with some management duties.
It didn't have to go to a relative; the boss could appoint anyone, so long as the senior members accepted it.
Obviously, the dazed underling had mistakenly thought Nishiyama Heita was planning to make Kazuma the next shōshu.
After finishing the last bit of bandaging, Bandō let out a long breath and turned to look at Nishiyama Heita.
The boss was sitting casually at the edge of the dojo, leaning against the wall, leisurely smoking a cheap cigarette. From Bandō's angle, he could just make out the faint outlines of the Hannya tattoo on Nishiyama's back.
Bandō smirked.
Having followed Nishiyama from the bottom ranks to their current status, he knew full well—Nishiyama rarely stripped down and exposed his tattoo in a fight.
In yakuza culture, baring one's tattoo signified that the opponent was worthy of facing your full strength.
Conversely, winning a fight while remaining fully dressed signaled an overwhelming victory—earning you even greater prestige when word spread.
In this world, if you got taken out before even seeing the other guy's tattoo, you were just a rookie.
Bandō once again glanced at Kazuma, still softly humming away. So this is the kind of man the boss deemed worthy of showing his ink to... Never would've guessed.
Just then, the doorbell rang from the entrance.
A familiar voice called out urgently. "Kiryu-kun! You're in there, right? Open up! Hurry!"
It was Fujii Mikako.
(End of Chapter)