The Tyrant Billionaire

When dealing with MacArthur, Hardy didn't go all out. His subordinates had uncovered accounts tied to Judson and MacArthur's wife, Joan, as well as information about MacArthur's own gold reserves, but Hardy only exposed Judson's part of it.

Had he directly revealed the account details of MacArthur's wife, MacArthur would likely have been summoned for questioning, and he might have even lost his position as Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces.

Hardy intended to keep him around, as MacArthur's arrogant, self-important personality was bound to land him in trouble sooner or later. He was also full of dirt and easy to handle compared to a new, clean general who might be sent over.

After the incident with Judson, MacArthur was also significantly affected. At the very least, his arrogance was tempered.

Hardy spoke to President Johnson about the situation in Japan and proactively requested economic and cultural rights.

In the past, MacArthur would have fiercely opposed this, possibly even having a huge argument with the president. In Japan, he would have tightly held onto his power and used it to block Hardy's efforts.

However, after the Judson affair, MacArthur had become much more obedient. At this point, he wanted to avoid additional trouble and had no energy to fight Hardy, so he handed over Japan's economic and cultural rights without a fuss.

When Duncan first came to Japan, he recruited a local gang leader named Eikichi Onizuka to gather intelligence more effectively. This is the same man who would later be known as the GTO, famous all over Japan

Over the course of a year's development, Onizuka now commanded over 300 men.

When Duncan returned, he summoned Onizuka, a man in his thirties, tall and muscular, with an intimidating presence. However, in front of Duncan, he was extremely respectful.

"Mr. Duncan, what can I do for you?" Onizuka asked, bowing slightly.

"Onizuka, I want you to get involved in the black market business," Duncan said.

"The black market? Boss, do you plan to take over its operations?" Onizuka asked.

Duncan shook his head.

"Let me tell you something. The American trading company that supplies the black market has been investigated by the IRS. The reason they were able to bring large quantities of food into Japan was because the owner of that company is MacArthur's cousin."
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Onizuka was momentarily stunned.

Then it all clicked.

That was likely the only explanation for how tens of thousands of tons of food were entering Japan each month. Otherwise, who else could have such influence?

Since Japan's surrender, the black market had slowly emerged. Now, Japan had no law enforcement agencies, and the U.S. military was in charge. If they had wanted to shut down the black market, they could have done so long ago.

But the reality was that the U.S. military had never investigated the black market or the gangs controlling it. It wasn't that the Americans didn't know; they were extremely strict in their control over the Japanese people, even wiretapping citizens phones and opening their mail to check for illegal content.

How could they not be aware of the black market and the gangs?

Now that Duncan had told him MacArthur was backing the black market, Onizuka believed it entirely.

"Are you planning to supply the black market?" Onizuka realized the significance of the matter.

"Exactly. The supply from that company will stop, and from now on, I will provide the food and goods for the black market," Duncan said.

Onizuka's eyes widened, and his breathing quickened.

He thought he must have misheard.

"Boss, are you saying that the black market business is now yours?"

"Of course. I called you here to oversee the operation. Can you handle it?"

Onizuka immediately bowed deeply.

"Don't worry, I can definitely do it."

This was a golden opportunity. Once involved in the black market trade, even a small part of it would bring in enormous profits, and his power would grow immensely.

At the same time, he was even more astounded.

So, the boss's influence was this great. He had managed to secure control over the entire supply to Japan's black market, a privilege of immense power. Most of Japan's gangs relied on the black market for income, and controlling the supply meant indirectly controlling the gangs themselves.

If they didn't comply, you simply cut off their supplies.

Without goods to sell, how would they make money? If they couldn't support their underlings, their organizations would shrink over time.

What if they tried to source goods from elsewhere?

Anyone powerful enough to control the black market could easily crush a small gang. They wouldn't even need to personally intervene; the other black market bosses would unite to eliminate the troublemaker, as they'd see it as a threat to their own business.

"Boss, how should I proceed?" Onizuka asked respectfully.

"It's simple. Approach the gangs and tell them that if they want to continue doing business, they need to join the 'Straw Hat Gang' and become one of us. If they refuse, they'll have no place to survive," Duncan explained.

"The Straw Hat Gang?" Onizuka repeated.

"Yes, the Straw Hat Gang."

The plan to subdue the Japanese gangs was devised by Hardy, and the name "Straw Hat Gang" was also coined by him. Duncan didn't know why it was called that.

It didn't sound very intimidating.

"Understood, boss. I'll go talk to those guys right away," Onizuka said with a bow before leaving.

At that time, there were countless gangs in Japan.

Big and small, no one could accurately count them. Some had hundreds or thousands of members, while others had only three to five people.

After World War II, when the U.S. military occupied Japan, Japan's armed forces were disbanded, and a power vacuum emerged in the government and law enforcement. With citizens facing hardship, gangs quickly proliferated.

Moreover, MacArthur needed these gangs to manage the black market, so he adopted a hands-off approach.

This was long before Japan's "Three Big Gangs" era. The Yamaguchi-gumi was just starting to grow, the Inagawa-kai had just been established, and the Sumiyoshi-kai didn't even exist yet.

In today's Japan, there was no law enforcement, no formal markets.