Vermouth said that the Black Organization was still experiencing a split in its finances.
Because Rum had been killed too hastily, Vermouth did not gain control of all the Black Organization's financial power.
Some of the Organization's hidden channels that Vermouth had not fully investigated completely disappeared after Rum's death.
And the funds those hidden channels could mobilize were considerable. According to Vermouth's estimate, it was at least around thirty percent.
In other words, the Black Organization's current financial income was only seventy percent of what it used to be.
In theory, the Organization should be experiencing financial difficulties right now.
However, That Person's words directly caused an internal split within the Organization. Although the vast majority supported Toru, who had temporarily replaced Rum.
There were still a small number of people who chose to support That Person.
Since Rum and That Person had completely broken ties, many of the missions the Organization was carrying out could be canceled, saving some funds.
The funds saved and the lost sources of income temporarily formed a relatively perfect balance, preventing the Black Organization's capital chain from breaking immediately.
But Vermouth had warned Toru that this situation was too much like walking a tightrope and could cause problems at any time.
If the capital chain broke, the Organization's current massive structure would very likely collapse immediately. At that time, Toru would no longer be a boss on the Black side, but a great hero of the Red side who had personally resolved the Organization!
Therefore, Vermouth suggested that Toru had better find a new source of funds to fill this gap.
It was not necessary to completely make up for the thirty percent. It would be enough just to break this balance and make the Organization's funds more abundant.
This left Toru deep in thought.
This was not a small sum of money. It was not the few million or tens of millions of dollars Toru had dealt with in the past. This was not even something that could be solved with hundreds of millions of dollars.
Because what the Organization needed was not one or two hundred million dollars. What it needed was stable annual income.
Even if it were a billion dollars, Toru could think about robbing someone to get it, but asking him to produce a billion dollars every year was something Toru also said he could not do.
Under these circumstances, Toru decided not to earn the money himself, but to have others pay him.
These wealthy people in Japan became his targets.
The Fujiwara family was the first option Toru gave up on.
Aside from the Fujiwara family not being a zaibatsu and having only average earning ability, it was also because Toru did not want the Fujiwara family to have too much contact with the Black Organization.
This Organization was ultimately too dark, pitch black, and contact with it did not bring much benefit.
The social status and history of the Fujiwara family meant that as long as Japan existed, the Fujiwara family would always have a place in this country.
But if they were tied too deeply to the Black Organization, that would no longer be guaranteed. If the Black Organization ran into problems, the Fujiwara family could also be uprooted, which was something Toru did not want to see.
At first, he had no sense of belonging to the family.
But when Old Master decided to make him the heir and entrust all of the Fujiwara family's political legacy to him, Toru immediately developed a sense of belonging to the family.
There was no helping it. These things were mine, how could I not have a sense of belonging?
Finally, Toru set his sights on the Shinomiya family.
The Shinomiya family was too rich, and furthermore, the Shinomiya family was currently facing a crisis. This made it a good time to bring the Shinomiya family under control and have them work for him.
Anyway, if the Shinomiya family collapsed, those interests would be snatched up by other zaibatsu, so it was better to benefit himself and not give other zaibatsu any opportunity.
And in this, Toru also had the idea of saving Kaguya, hoping she could gain freedom.
Oko and his brothers were not suitable partners for cooperation. In the entire Shinomiya family, only Kaguya was the most suitable candidate.
Kaguya did not know what Toru was thinking. She just widened her eyes and looked at him in disbelief.
What was he saying? He wanted her to take control of the Shinomiya family and become the head of the family?
This was a thought the old Kaguya had never had.
The Shinomiya family had given her an elite education and strong ambition.
But the patriarchal thinking of a large family like the Shinomiya family would not change, so Kaguya had never thought about fighting for power within the Shinomiya family in the past.
At this moment, with Toru's reminder, Kaguya accidentally opened the floodgate of her ambition, and various thoughts she had never had before now surfaced in her mind.
That's right, if I were the head of the Shinomiya family, who could still confine me? Who could still stop me from pursuing my own happiness?
Kaguya clenched her fists. She seemed to have found the answer to the problem.
But the next moment, Kaguya became discouraged again.
This matter was simply like a fantasy. It was easy and pleasant to say, but too difficult to actually do.
Kaguya had no direct subordinates or people within the Shinomiya family. How could she possibly seize power from her brothers within the Shinomiya family?
Kaguya's expression revealed her thoughts. Toru said softly, "You're tempted, Kaguya. You have different thoughts than before. This is good news."
"You are just doubting whether you have the ability to take everything from the family."
"But that is not important right now. What is important is..."
Toru turned his head to look out the window. He said, "The fireworks display is about to begin. This is Japan's most interesting and beautiful summer event. How about it? Do you want to go see a fireworks display with me?"
"I imagine that in your past dozen or so years of life, you have never actually gone to see a fireworks display in person. You have only seen one on television."
Kaguya looked up in surprise. She stammered, "Toru-kun, you..."
"Don't say anything unnecessary. I am only asking you one thing right now. Do you want to go or not? Answer me quickly. If you think about it for too long, the fireworks display might start. We can still make it if we hurry now."
After only a few seconds of silence, Kaguya nodded vigorously. "I'm going!"
Toru smiled. "Good. Then hurry and change clothes. Don't waste time."
Kaguya took a deep breath. She jumped off the bed with all her might, hurried to the wardrobe beside it, and pulled out a beautiful kimono.
After a moment of hesitation, she turned her back to Toru, took off her pajamas, revealing her fair and beautiful back, and the connected underwear across her back.
She fumbled with the kimono, struggling to put it on.
Soon, Kaguya found that she could not put on the kimono by herself. She lowered her head and whispered, "Toru-kun, can you help me?"
Toru smiled without speaking. As Kaguya's heart rate quickened, he slowly walked behind her and gently helped her put on the kimono and tie the sash.
Toru suddenly picked her up in a princess carry, making Kaguya gasp. "Princess, cover your mouth. Absolutely do not shout, otherwise the bodyguards will discover us."
Kaguya immediately covered her mouth.
Then, with a look of fear and excitement, she watched as Toru held her and leaped down from the height of the third floor!
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)