10 august 1995 ZUSUGA offices.

After Zenzou Zagashira requested that Zukechi Zagashira step away from any involvement with ZUSUGA, Zanki Zagashira officially assumed full rights over the company. Now in complete control, Zanki began restructuring ZUSUGA from the ground up. Using his strong negotiation skills and persuasive communication, he successfully convinced the company's investors to continue supporting him. His reputation in the business world was well-established, and many investors were willing to give him a chance, confident in his leadership. They granted him a one-year period to demonstrate results. Zanki, ever confident, grinned and thought to himself—it was more than enough time.

Zanki's first plan was to officially pull the failed ZU-GEN 1 console from the market, with the termination set for August 10. Having already gained significant insight into the video game industry, he identified a major opportunity in the handheld sector. At the time, the only dominant handheld device was the ZAGE Game Boy (ZGB), and Zanki saw a clear gap that ZUSUGA could exploit. Under his leadership, ZUSUGA would shift focus toward developing a new line of 16-bit style handhelds—something that had yet to appear in the market. He estimated the development process would take no longer than six to seven months, and he was determined to lead it to success.

The next part of Zanki's plan was, in his mind, the most important—destroying Zaboru's reputation. Sitting in his office at ZUSUGA, Zanki leaned back in his chair, thinking aloud. "Alright, time to plan this out… If he's in Tokyo, he usually heads out around 9 PM to eat at that cheap restaurant nearby and goes all in with food. That's when we'll strike. And lucky for us, he's currently at the ZAGE offices in Tokyo."

Zanki smirked. He had already installed a professional-grade hidden camera near the ZAGE Tokyo building. In addition, he had hired a bitch to deliberately stage a fall near Zaboru. He was confident Zaboru's instinct would be to help her—especially if it happened more than once. Zanki didn't care if Zaboru grew suspicious; by then, the cameras would already have captured enough footage. His plan was to doctor the images to suggest something inappropriate and then pay off a major newspaper and a few popular TV news outlets to give the story heavy coverage, turning public opinion against Zaboru.

Zanki chuckled to himself. "You're high enough now, Zaboru—time to fall." He grinned, fully convinced his plan would work. But what he didn't know was that Zaboru wasn't entirely alone. He was under the silent protection of Aoshidan, a powerful private security company owned by Akechi Hamazou—known in the underworld as Rashomon. Akechi had a legendary reputation for being able to sense threats or the future either through sharp logic or uncanny instinct. He was feared by many, even among the most ruthless criminals.

At that very moment, Akechi felt a strange disturbance—something off, something that didn't sit right. Trusting his instincts, he contacted his subordinate assigned to watch over the ZAGE Tokyo area and told him to report anything unusual immediately.

Akechi called Wakizou, the subordinate leader in charge of protecting the ZAGE Tokyo area. "Wakizou, report anything unusual to me immediately."

"Yes, Boss," Wakizou replied. "We've found some suspicious people setting up cameras around the area."

Akechi's brow arched slightly. "Observe them closely. I'll be there myself."

And with that, Zanki's bad luck grew worse—Rashomon himself was now heading to the scene.

10 August 21:00 ZAGE Tokyo Offices

Zaboru was taking a short break from work, enjoying the calm of the late night. He didn't wear his usual camouflage jacket—he figured the streets wouldn't be crowded this late anyway. He was in an exceptionally good mood. Tonight, he planned to indulge in his favorite meal: the delicious gyoza from Uncle Gin's Gyoza Store near the ZAGE Tokyo building.

"Hehehe, I can't wait to devour and eat delicious gyoza!" Zaboru grinned, rubbing his hands together in anticipation.

He had no idea that nearby, a hidden camera had been perfectly set up. As he walked along, a woman approached from the opposite direction. Zaboru noticed her but didn't think much of it—just a passerby, he assumed.

Suddenly, the woman stumbled and appeared about to fall right in front of him. "Kyaa!" she cried out, flailing slightly. Without hesitation, Zaboru reacted instinctively, catching her by the shoulders to steady her. She smiled sweetly, her eyes gleaming, and leaned in closer.

Zaboru gently pulled back and said politely, "Be careful, Miss."

Her eyes lit up with gratitude. "Thank you so much, Mister! I would've fallen without you!"

She reached out as if to hug him, but Zaboru smoothly sidestepped. "You're welcome, Miss. Anyway, I have to go. Please be careful, okay?"

With a sigh, he continued on his way toward the gyoza store, unaware of the trap that had nearly caught him.

Meanwhile, in a dimly lit van parked nearby, the girl and two cameramen reviewed the hidden camera footage on a small monitor. "So, how was the shot?" the girl asked eagerly, her voice tinged with anticipation. One of the cameramen let out a sigh. "Too bad he didn't let you hug him... That would've sealed it. But still, we've got some pretty convincing material." He paused, rewinding the footage and pointing at the screen, which showed Zaboru grasping the girl's shoulders. "With a little creative editing, these could easily pass as incriminating pictures."

The girl grinned. "Damn, I can't believe Zanki-sama paid us this much! That's some seriously insane money—and easy money too." Both cameramen chuckled, and one of them added, "Don't overthink how rich guys operate. As long as it's easy cash for us, just take it and don't ask too many questions."

Unbeknownst to the three individuals, a pair of mysterious groups had been watching from the shadows. In a swift, coordinated move, they emerged, abducted the trio, and loaded them into an unmarked truck before vanishing into the night.

Akechi then said, "Bring them to one of the warehouses and let Me interrogate them." He grinned menacingly. Wakizou gulped and nodded; seeing Akechi grin was always terrifying. Poor guys, he thought—no one could withstand an interrogation from Akechi.

To be continue

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