Evil Zaibatsu

The rain never truly stopped in Tokyo—it only shifted between drizzle and downpour. On a rooftop overlooking the glimmering sprawl of the metropolis, Sebas lit a cigar, his eyes cold beneath the shadow of his hat. A single message from Isshin Arima had changed everything:

"Begin the takeover. Katsurai Finance dies tonight."

Sebas didn't hesitate. Backed by the Arima Holding Corporation, a zaibatsu with reach deeper than the Prime Minister's cabinet, he unleashed a storm on Katsurai Finance. A digital lending platform on the surface, its foundation was rotting with blood and silence. Its owner, Shigeki Katsurai, ruled like a shadow tyrant. Desperate clients borrowed small sums, only to be shackled by astronomical interest. Miss a payment? Your daughter vanishes. Speak to the police? Your family receives funeral flowers by mail.

But even monsters like Shigeki bowed to the true abyss.

Arima Holding moved in with surgical precision. Shell companies bought out minority shareholders overnight. Legal teams filed injunctions at dawn and buried counter-motions by dusk. When lawsuits failed, "accidents" happened—board members withdrew under mysterious threats, auditors vanished mid-flight, servers burned in office fires no one investigated.

Sebas smiled through it all. Every underhanded method he used had Isshin's silent blessing. The old man never blinked.

Three days later, in a penthouse office once belonging to Shigeki, Sebas waited beside a glass wall overlooking Shibuya. The door burst open.

Shigeki Katsurai strode in, his face twisted with fury. "You think you can buy me out like I'm some vending machine? You little corporate rat!"

Sebas didn't answer. He stepped aside as Isshin Arima entered, wearing a traditional black haori, untouched by time. His silver hair gleamed under the LED lights, and his eyes—ancient and crimson—locked on Shigeki like a hawk studying prey.

"I've heard much about your methods," Isshin said softly. "Debt turned into obedience. Women into property. Pain into silence. Fascinating."

Shigeki spat on the floor. "You're no saint, Arima."

Isshin grinned. "I never claimed to be."

Then, something shifted. The air tightened, lights flickered. Sebas felt it—the weight of something unnatural.

In a blink, Isshin stood before Shigeki. His hand plunged into Shigeki's chest like a dagger through butter. There was no blood. Just darkness—pure and unnatural—spilling from the wound.

Shigeki gasped, wide-eyed. "Wh...what are you...?"

"Hungry," whispered Isshin.

He fed—but not on blood. It was rage, hatred, terror, humiliation—every black stain of Shigeki's soul drawn into Isshin's being. The man collapsed, hollow.

A chime echoed.

[SYSTEM ALERT: New Ability Acquired – "Blackmail (Level 1)"]

[Passive Effect: Access and control over hidden leverage used by deceased. Usable via system interface.]

Isshin blinked. A translucent window shimmered before his eyes, visible only to him.

"So that's how this works..." he murmured. "Kill... and claim."

He turned to Sebas. "Each soul is a door. Shigeki was just the first key."

With Shigeki gone, the rest was easy. Sebas unleashed "Blackmail" through the System, rooting out every hidden recording, every private sin Katsurai Finance had archived. Politicians, CEOs, even school principals—thousands were tied into Shigeki's web. Arima Holding now held the strings.

More than that, Sebas acquired dozens of Katsurai's real estate assets, especially apartment blocks near strategic Tokyo zones: schools, subway hubs, commercial buildings. Each building, once low-income housing, was now silently converted into surveillance and influence hubs. Hidden cameras, AI-driven tenant screening, and quiet intimidation kept residents compliant.

Everything aligned with Isshin's long-term strategy: complete urban influence, one block at a time.

That evening, Sebas visited Isshin's mansion on the outskirts of Tokyo. Moonlight touched the cherry blossoms in the vast garden, though their beauty felt hollow under the mansion's looming presence.

In the study, Isshin sat beside a fireplace, swirling a glass of deep red liquid that might not have been wine. He didn't look up.

"Progress?"

"Shigeki is dead. His network is ours. The housing sectors are falling in line."

Isshin smiled, fangs faint beneath his lips. "Good. Very good."

A new chime echoed in his mind.

[SYSTEM UPDATE: Vampiric Potential – 15% Awakened]

[Unlock Condition: 3 Strategic Takeovers / 1 Soul Assimilated]

Isshin's smile deepened.

"You know, Sebas," he said, standing slowly. "This city is filled with evil, but it's small evil. Petty tyrants, greedy landlords, corrupt officials... None of them understand true power. But now..."

He raised a hand, and the shadows flickered unnaturally.

"Now I do."

Behind the grandeur of business deals and property titles, something darker moved. Isshin Arima had discovered a system not written by humans—one that fed on suffering, one that rewarded him for tearing the filth from the world by becoming darker than all of it.

Each time he killed, he didn't just destroy—he consumed, and grew.

Sebas understood now. This was no longer about profits or markets. It was a hunt.