As an AV bearing the PROJECT insignia slowly descended and came to a halt atop the PROJECT Corporation building, a figure stepped out. It was none other than Yorinobu Arasaka, the biological son of Saburo Arasaka.
"Pleased to meet you, Mr. Yorinobu Arasaka."
"Hm. Where is Mr. Vimers?"
Yorinobu Arasaka gave a slight nod in response before asking.
"The boss is waiting for you in the conference room."
The receptionist smiled and stepped aside to clear the way.
At the same time, Roland was observing the people accompanying Yorinobu through the surveillance feed. One was an unfamiliar samurai, while the other was an unmistakably familiar figure—someone he'd seen countless times, whether in anime or in games.
"Please follow me."
"Mhm."
Yorinobu Arasaka nodded and followed the receptionist into the building.
Adam Smasher, meanwhile, scanned the surroundings with open curiosity. He had always been interested in this corporation. If not for the delicate and uneasy relationship between Arasaka and PROJECT, he would have come here long ago to commission custom weapons.
Every weapon he currently used was manufactured by PROJECT Corporation, but judging from what he was seeing now… the truly exceptional gear was clearly being kept inside the company rather than sold on the open market.
As they moved forward, he also studied the security robots lining their path. Every unit was built with an extremely robust chassis, and some of the materials used weren't available anywhere on the market.
After a rough assessment, he concluded that even he would need to put in real effort to tear those machines apart.
"Hm… if possible, I could probably find a way to further modify myself here…"
"The conference room is just ahead. The boss instructed me that only Mr. Yorinobu Arasaka may enter."
At those words, Adam Smasher and Yagyu both turned their attention forward and stepped closer.
"Don't get too worked up."
Yorinobu Arasaka raised a hand slightly, signaling the two to stand down.
The receptionist facing them showed no change in expression at all, which surprised Smasher. He ran a scan and quickly confirmed the truth—the receptionist was a robot.
"So you're a synthetic. Figures, coming from a company built around robotics."
The receptionist simply returned his comment with a faint smile.
"Mr. Yorinobu Arasaka, it would be too dangerous for you to enter alone."
"No need to worry. Since they agreed to meet me and didn't inform Militech, they clearly don't mean any harm."
Yorinobu Arasaka shook his head.
"You two stay outside and stand guard. Nothing will happen."
"But—"
"That's final."
With that, Yorinobu Arasaka made his decision and walked straight in.
Smasher had no strong reaction to Yorinobu's choice. After all, loyalty had never been one of his defining traits.
The moment Yorinobu entered the conference room, he spotted Roland standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows.
"I assume you are Mr. Roland Vimers."
"Pleased to meet you, Mr. Yorinobu Arasaka."
Hearing him enter, Roland turned around and smiled.
"Let's get straight to the point. I won't bother with pleasantries. What exactly does Arasaka want?"
Yorinobu Arasaka showed a look of understanding, as if he had already grasped what kind of person Roland was.
"We want to reach a cooperation agreement with PROJECT Corporation, allowing our two companies to jointly control Night City."
"Oh? That's surprisingly generous of you."
This time, Roland was genuinely taken aback. He hadn't expected Arasaka to be willing to give up any degree of control over Night City at all.
"It's a necessary choice. PROJECT Corporation has already taken deep root in Night City, especially after your cooperation with Night Corp. That leaves us facing two powers with entrenched influence here, which simply isn't worth the cost. As long as PROJECT Corporation is willing to reach certain agreements with us, that will be enough."
After taking a seat at Roland's gesture, Yorinobu continued.
"So what do you want? Let's hear it."
Roland looked at him with interest.
"My father wants the northern zone, along with several internal districts of Night City. As for the specific areas, dedicated personnel will coordinate directly with you, Mr. Roland."
"That's quite different from the impression I had of you, Mr. Yorinobu Arasaka."
Roland laughed lightly before speaking again.
"…What exactly do you mean by that, Mr. Roland?"
Yorinobu paused for a moment, then looked at him calmly.
"The former leader of the steel dragon, now a loyal supporter of Arasaka? We finally meet, Mr. Yorinobu Arasaka."
Roland rested his hands on his knees, crossed his legs, and looked straight at Yorinobu as he spoke.
Clatter!
"So it was you?"
Yorinobu suddenly stood up, momentarily stunned. But he quickly regained control, adjusted his expression, and slowly sat back down.
"Then what exactly are you getting at? If you truly understand me, you should know we could never walk the same path."
Yorinobu narrowed his eyes at Roland.
"…That's true. Your ideals are lofty, but you have far too many enemies. My vision is different from yours. I also want to change this world—at the very least, shape it into what I want to see. Anyone who stands in my way becomes my enemy. On that road, at least for now, you are not an obstacle. We can work together."
Roland nodded, pausing briefly before continuing.
Yorinobu frowned deeply. After thinking it through, he asked, "What can you help me with?"
"Do you know about the relic chip?"
Roland abruptly changed the subject, catching Yorinobu off guard.
Without waiting for a response, Roland continued. "The relic chip was originally designed as a weapon—meant to completely erase a person's data and consciousness, removing them from existence altogether."
"But with the second generation, things changed. Alt's special circumstances led Saburo Arasaka to discover a new direction—immortality through digitized consciousness."
Yorinobu showed little reaction to the earlier information; it was all familiar to him. But when he heard the latter part, his eyes widened abruptly.
"There was just one problem Saburo Arasaka couldn't solve—biological rejection. Only a body with sufficiently similar genetics could overcome it. After Kei Arasaka's death, your disappearance left Saburo utterly broken. And then… you appeared again."
As he finished speaking, Roland turned his gaze toward Yorinobu.
Yorinobu froze. In that instant, everything that had never quite made sense finally fell into place. Saburo Arasaka hadn't been raising him as a successor—he had been preparing for his own future.
"There's no room for reconciliation between you and Saburo, Yorinobu. What I can offer you is control of the Arasaka Corporation. I can give you power, manpower, and even… deal with Saburo for you. All I need is the opportunity."
Roland spoke slowly, locking eyes with him.
Yorinobu began weighing everything together. If he cooperated with PROJECT Corporation and relied on their strength to rise, would he become nothing more than their puppet?
But if he refused their support, relying solely on himself, did he stand any chance—especially when Saburo had never intended to hand Arasaka over to him in the first place?
"I'm willing to cooperate with you, but I need a guarantee—something that will convince me to trust you."
"I see… I'm not a good person. But for you, I can honor one promise."
Roland looked slightly surprised, then nodded.
"Don't let this world keep going down the wrong path. At the very least, don't let it become worse than it already is."
Roland paused, then let out a short laugh.
"You really are an idealist."
"No. I'm actually quite pragmatic. But… sometimes, I'm willing to be idealistic."
Yorinobu smiled as well. If he didn't work with PROJECT, his ending was already written. Even if he killed Saburo, he didn't believe the old man wouldn't have contingencies in place.
"Oh, right. I have a gift for you."
"A gift?"
Yorinobu looked at Roland in surprise.
With a wave of Roland's hand, a man-sized metal container slowly emerged from the wall behind him.
"One of the finished relic chips currently in existence contains Johnny Silverhand's consciousness. This gift is connected to him."
Yorinobu's eyes widened slowly.
"T-This is…?!"
...
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