CHAPTER 51: VALKYRIE
"Ehhhh?! Wait—wait a second!?"
"The match is over! A total blowout! Instant knockout!!! Hina-senshu finished the fight with only two punches!!"
The announcer barely had time to process what had happened.
The silence of the crowd was instantly replaced by a tidal wave of noise as the spectators roared their approval. A fighter who was both "Aesthetic" and capable of "Extreme Violence"—that was exactly the kind of product the underground female circuit needed. It was something the sanitized professional rings could never provide.
At the ringside, Nozomi and the others were equally stunned.
Yuzuha Li stood with her hands behind her back, her eyes narrowed in a sharp, analytical squint. "That Miho Momose wasn't a pushover. She's a Rokushin black belt. You guys really managed to find a monster."
"...She's incredible," Nozomi whispered, her pupils contracting. "I knew Hina was special, but this level of power? It's going to be impossible to find opponents for her..."
Yuzuha let out a confident huff. "Don't worry about that. I'm available whenever you need a real fight."
Clearly, Hina's performance had finally piqued the Kung Fu genius's interest.
Nozomi breathed a sigh of relief. "Haha, I'm counting on you, Yuzuha-chan."
Ichika chimed in from the side. "And don't sweat the roster. I'll keep digging. The police database is a goldmine of dangerous women who need a hobby."
"Also!"
Ichika held up a stack of colorful vouchers, waving them in front of the group. "Tonight was a very profitable evening for us!"
Ren tilted his head, looking at the slips of paper. Ichika smirked and gave him a quick breakdown.
"Ren-kun, you ever play Pachinko? It's the same logic."
"We printed these 'V-Currency' tickets—thousand, five-thousand, and ten-thousand denominations. We sell them to the crowd to use for betting."
"Since they're just 'Award Tickets' with no inherent value, it's not legally considered cash gambling. But..."
Ichika slung a drunk arm around Ren's shoulder, grinning like a shark. "We have a 'Secondary Merchant' waiting in the alley. The winners take their V-Currency to him, he buys them as 'collectibles,' and gives them cash. It's a closed-loop system."
"One quick trip through the laundry, and an illegal black-market operation becomes a 'Grey-Area Entertainment Venue.' Plus, I've already greased the wheels at the station. The boys in blue won't be knocking on our door tonight."
Only Ichika Iori could be an active-duty detective and refer to her own colleagues as "the boys in blue" while running a gambling ring.
"Bottom line: Tonight was a massive success~!"
Hana clapped her hands, looking around the room. "Wait, where's Hina-chan? Is she still in the ring?"
The group looked up. Hina Hongo was still standing in the center of the sand, and she had just snatched the megaphone from the announcer.
"Mic check... one, two?"
Hina tapped the megaphone, then raised her free hand in a victory pose.
"Yay—The Revolution is a success~!"
"I'm Hina Hongo! Did everyone enjoy the show?"
The crowd erupted again, the atmosphere turning white-hot. Nozomi and the others looked on with confusion, wondering what kind of "impromptu performance" Hina was about to pull.
The next second, Hina reached into her school bag and pulled out a massive, banded brick of 10,000-yen bills. She held it high for the entire warehouse to see.
"Five million yen! This is my personal savings!"
"Anyone who can beat me in this ring takes the whole pile! I'm accepting all challengers~☆!"
The warehouse went dead silent for exactly one second before the roof nearly blew off from the noise.
"Hahaha! She's got guts!"
"The script for this new organization is top-tier! They've got the power and the drama!"
"Who is this girl?! Where did she come from?!"
"I'm betting the house on her next match!"
Nozomi felt her blood pressure spike. "That idiot! What is she doing!?"
Ichika rubbed her temples. "Man, she's going to cause a riot..."
Only Hana remained optimistic, her eyes sparkling with business insight. "Actually, this might be brilliant. Even the major circuits struggle to offer a five-million-yen purse for a single match."
"If we maintain a prize pool like that, we'll attract elite talent from all over the country. Fighters like..."
Hana gestured to Yuzuha, whose eyes were practically glowing with greed. "See? Yuzuha-chan is already sold."
Yuzuha didn't even try to hide her grin. "Absolutely. I need the money. It's for... investments."
The Kung Fu girl was already imagining her five-million-yen horse racing bet.
"Even if it's a startup, this group has potential," Yuzuha noted, her tone turning professional. "You have all the ingredients for a powerhouse."
"Hana provides the Yakuza Etiquette, Ichika provides the Police Immunity, and Nozomi-san has the Strategic Mind."
"Ren-kun might be 'behind the scenes,' but he provides the Absolute Might to enforce the rules."
She looked at Ren. "By the way, save a membership spot for me at that 'Hub' of yours. I can't pay the dues yet, but I'm good for it."
The praise made the group feel a rare sense of accomplishment.
"So," Yuzuha asked, tilting her head. "What are we calling this circuit?"
"VALKYRIE," Nozomi answered. "The Choosers of the Slain. For now, we'll focus on the female underground and build our base from there."
Hana beamed. "I love it! It sounds so elegant!"
"Alright, the crowd is starting to filter out," Ichika said, pulling Nozomi into a side-hug. "Tonight is a celebration! 'Valkyrie' is officially born! We're heading to the after-party. Everyone's invited!"
"Ren-kun, call Arisa and Marco. Tomorrow is a weekend. The more the merrier!"
The group was laughing and chatting, the air full of triumph.
Ren nodded, reaching for his phone to call home. But as he turned toward the exit, his eyes locked onto a man in a striped suit who was walking slowly toward the sound system.
CLICK.
The man reached down and calmly pulled the power plug from the amplifier. The music and the hum of the speakers died instantly.
The silence was deafening. Every eye in the room settled on the intruder.
Ren's instincts flared. This wasn't a common thug. The man radiated the aura of a true "Soldier of the Shadows." He had more "Weight" than even Hana Mitani.
"Good evening," the man said, his voice level and eerily polite. "My apologies for interrupting your celebration."
The man reached up and scratched the back of his head with a look of genuine awkwardness, though his eyes remained cold.
"I have a request for you all."
"My name is Kizaki. I am a representative of the Hanayama-gumi, a subsidiary of the Fujiki-gumi."
The man named Kizaki gave a slight, stiff bow. His tone was respectful, but there was zero room for negotiation in his voice.
"Tokyo is currently entering a very... sensitive season. As a favor to my boss, could I ask you to permanently shut down this little club of yours?"