Fate: Hammer Time

Chapter 22: Truths Revealed

Fujimura Raiga took in the news of an invading force with a cold and expressionless face. The only tell of possible nervousness on his part was the barely noticeable tightening of his jaw, something he only allowed himself because he was alone in his office. If anyone else had been present, except maybe Taiga or Shirou, he would have been completely stone-faced, to prevent his reputation from falling.

It seemed a bit excessive to worry so much about an almost unnoticeable crack in his façade like tightening his jaw a tiny bit, but it wasn't so much about the act itself as it was about the principle of the thing.

A large part of being a ruler in the underworld was one's image. It wasn't enough to be capable, you had to look and act the part as well. There was no room for mistakes or carelessness in dealing with criminals, where any sign of weakness was something to be preyed upon.

It had to be said though, that running a Yakuza-family was not nearly as strenuous and uncertain as running a ragtag group of gangsters. Raiga at least did not always have to watch over his shoulder for over-ambitious underlings, and neither did he need to kill someone every few days to keep his men in line, or deal with his own rebellious offspring.

That said, he did have to take care to not seem like a wuss, as his dear granddaughter would put it, meaning any signs of nervousness were unacceptable. He and his men were still the leaders of the Fuyuki-City underworld, and that title was not easy to keep. Occasionally, he too had to show his fangs.

It wasn't like he was short of opportunities to do so. Many had challenged him over the years, and many would continue to challenge him. Raiga had never lost to them however, and with the way things were going, he never would either.

In all honesty though, defeating his challengers hadn't been that hard. Most of them were nothing special, and easily taken care of when their badly concocted plans inevitably fell apart.

Take the newest brat on the block for instance, the one who had already attacked several cities throughout Japan in the hopes of muscling out the current leaders and replacing them with loyal toadies.

His plan was nothing more than a ridiculous attempt at a power-grab. Even if his schemes succeeded and he took over a city or two, he would never be able to hold onto power for long. Towns and cities weren't just dots on a map that you could plant a little flag on and claim to have conquered. Taking over a city took years upon years of application of both hard and soft power, violence and negotiation, the carrot and the stick, with negotiations and carrots being the main weapons if you wanted a long and lasting reign.

An empire quickly conquered would always be the quickest to crumble. That was nothing more than common sense, generally known and accepted knowledge from before Raiga was even born. In the past, every single criminal, high or low, was aware of these gems of wisdom, and few tried to act in defiance of them, because those who did often died before reaching thirty years of age.

Unfortunately, many ambitious youngsters these days ignored those lessons, no longer having any respect for proper procedures, instead choosing to try and carve out a place for themselves with the barrel of a gun.

It was not surprising they all died within months, usually at the hands of their most trusted underlings or relatives. That, or their entire organisation was rolled up by the police.

Considering the Brat was just the latest gangster on that very long list of unimpressive younglings, Raiga wasn't too concerned about his impending attack on Fuyuki-City. All the reports he'd received from his spies so far told him the attacking force was nothing impressive, and considering he had many well-trained men under him and he was an experienced leader, Raiga felt quite safe.