“Whatever you want. Consider it a reward for a job almost well-done.”

The two Sakatas wander off into the neon-lit streets, leaving chaos in their wake— a tradition as old as time, or at least as old as the two of them combined.

+++

Yeah… (perking up) “Really?! With extra sauce?!”

(starting to walk off, hands in pockets) “He’s cool alright, but got plenty of inner demons, like someone I know. Now come on—I promised you steak.”

(watching Toji disappear into the night) “He’s cool, isn’t he? And kinda scary! Efficient.”

(without turning around) “…I’ll think about it.”

“Hey, Toji! Same time next month? I hear there’s a underground fight ring in Shibuya that’s looking for new ‘talent.'”

(already walking away, the manuscript secured) “Payment’s been transferred to your account. Don’t spend it all in one place.”

(patting Kin on the shoulder) “You did great. Very heroic. Very stupid. Exactly what I’d expect. This was very different from our usual jobs. You kinda look like you enjoyed it! “

Outside, the three reconvene in a back alley, the manuscript changing hands.

(breathing hard, but laughing from all the running) “Did I do good?! I took down four guys! Well, three guys and a decorative potted plant! The plant was really in the way!”

(from the doorway, winking) “I’d say ‘try it,’ but it would be a lost cause.” (tossing Don Tonkatsu a casino chip) “For your troubles. Better luck next time… if there is a next time.”

Act VI: The Escape

By the time security reaches the VIP lounge, Gintoki is gone. Don Tonkatsu sits frozen at the table, staring at a phone that now contains photographic evidence of every illegal transaction his organization has ever made—uploaded remotely to every police database in the country.

Don Tonkatsu: (quietly) “…I’m going to kill that…

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(moving through the chaos like water through pipes, slipping past panicked gamblers and terrified staff, his eyes fixed on a door marked “Private”) “…Kin’s louder than I thought.”

He slips through the door while the security team is distracted by Kintoki’s one-man war against furniture.

Inside the private room, Toji finds a safe hidden behind…

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Before Don Tonkatsu can respond, chaos erupts at the bar.

Act V: The Chaos

KINTOKI: (standing on the bar, pointing dramatically at the ceiling) “EVERYONE! I have an announcement! This casino is a front for money laundering! The roulette wheels are rigged! The cards are marked! Also, I am DESTROYING CORRUPTION just look into my sexy…

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“Ah, but here’s the thing about estimates. They don’t account for the variables you haven’t met yet.”

Don Tonkatsu: (laughing bitterly) “…You think I’m afraid of you? You’re one man against my entire crew.”

“Now, now. Don’t reach for that gun. I’m not here to fight you. I’m here to make you an offer. You give me the manuscript, I walk away, and we both pretend this never happened. You keep your money, your reputation, and your attachment to your spleen.”

Don Tonkatsu: (going rigid, hand moving toward his jacket) “How do you—”

(finally dropping the act, his smile sharpening into something cold) “You recently acquired some interesting reading material. A manuscript, I believe. Very old. Very cursed. Very much not yours. “

Don Tonkatsu: (leaning forward) “What do you want?”

(yawning) “Define ‘here.’ Metaphysically, I haven’t been ‘here’ in years. But if you mean at this specific table, playing cards with a man whose henchmen have collectively threatened to kill me fourteen times in the last forty-five minutes—yeah, mostly for the atmosphere.”

Act IV: The Turn

The poker game has been going for an hour. Gintoki is down twelve million yen, which he treats with the same mild interest he gives to dust motes. Don Tonkatsu is growing suspicious— nobody loses this badly and smiles this much.

Don Tonkatsu: “…You’re not here for the money, are you, Gintoki-san?”

(already walking away) “…Do whatever you want.”

“I’m calling it Operation Golden Justice anyway!”

“No.”

(standing with determination, knocking over his juice in the process) “Right! Operation ‘Hypnotize the Yakuza’ is a go! …Do I have an official name for this? (He looks back with a playful grin.)”

“Go be a pest. The security team is in on Don Tonkatsu’s operation. They’re not expecting you to be the threat. That’s our edge.”

(eyes widening with dawning realization) “Oh. Oh, I see! You’re saying I should—”

(a rare hint of amusement crossing his scarred face) “Being manipulative. Gintoki said you could do mass hypnosis. Use it.”

“Sounds like you’ve done you’re homework on me. So, What’s that? Swordsmanship? Vengeance? Being painfully sexy?”

(appearing silently beside him, setting down his untouched whiskey) “…You’re overthinking it. Just do what you’re good at.”

Act III: The Play

At the bar, Kintoki sits on a stool, trying to look casual and but getting too much attention from the women. Across from him, a nervous young dealer counts cards with trembling hands.

(picking at a glass of juice, glancing around) “Okay, Gin said to ‘create a distraction’! Normally, I’d just use my sexiness. (Runs his…

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(tossing a stack of chips onto the table with the careless air of someone who has never seen a financial consequence in his life) “Let’s just say I’ve been saving up for a rainy day. Figured this storm looked interesting enough to open the umbrella.”

Don Tonkatsu: (leaning back, intrigued despite himself) “…You have money to back that mouth?”

(grinning, the smile not reaching his eyes) “I’m Gintoki. Gintoki Sakata. I run a business that specializes in solving problems. Tonight, my problem is that I’m bored, and I heard you were the man to watch if you want to see some real action. So—what do you say? You, me, a friendly game of poker? No limit?”

Don Tonkatsu: (finally glancing over, unimpressed) “…You’re either very brave or very stupid to approach me like this.”

” Pork Chop, Don Tonkatsu…semantics, same difference. Anyway, I’m a fan! Huge fan. The way you took over the Kansai family after the old boss had his ‘accident’—textbook stuff, really. I mean, textbook in the sense of like… a textbook on violence and general disregard for human life. Good stuff. Very inspirational.”

Don Tonkatsu: (not looking up from his cards) “Watch it punk! It’s Don Tonkatsu…Do I know you?”

(sliding into the empty seat beside Don Tonkatsu, now wearing an unbuttoned silk shirt and an expression of exaggerated boredom) “Well, well, well. If it isn’t the famous Don Tonkatu-san. Heard you’ve been having a lucky night.”

(sulking) “…Fine! Let’s just get it done.”

Act II: The Approach

Don Tonkatsu sits at the high-stakes poker table, surrounded by nervous underlings and the detritus of a man who has never known restraint. He’s in his fifties, paunchy, with the dead eyes of someone who has seen too much violence to still find meaning in it. He’s been playing…

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“Tch! Oi! Can it, Gold. You’re not getting a cut either because you pulled me into this and your ‘justice’ speech is going to get us thrown out before we even start.”

“And I’m taking nothing! This is a matter of justice and—”

“Half of whatever you win from him legally. The rest goes to covering our tracks.”

(waving his spoon dismissively) “Rich idiot? Oi! That’s not acting, that’s just Tuesday for me. But fine, fine. What’s my cut again?”

(leaning against a pillar in the shadows, arms crossed, the scar on his face catching the dim light, a glass of whiskey untouched in his hand) “…You’re not flirting with anyone. You’re the distraction. Act like a rich idiot who wants to make a ‘friendly bet.’ Keep him occupied while Kin and I work.”