Chapter 511 - AN EMPTY SHELL (1/2)

At the same time, Kaito understood the actions that Ayumi had taken after he disappeared, and she could no longer use his name to keep the people under control. She thought that a peaceful negotiation with the mercenaries would show them her goodwill. Consequently, they would agree to all her requests and follow her orders.

Unfortunately, the ȧssassins Kaito hired were the best in their field. Not only were they like animals at the top of the food chain, but they were also arrogant. They would not bow to anyone who they deemed weaker than them.

To them, once Ayumi opened a path for peaceful negotiations, it was akin to showing her neck in surrender. Of course, the predators would target the weak point immediately. They would not give her a chance to gain more power.

Kaito did not know exactly what happened, but she could guess what the drunk mercenary meant. Their first approach would be grabbing a little power from Ayumi's hand. Then, they would slowly chip away at her until she was just a puppet.

After that, killing her would mean nothing.

But the most obvious mistake was decentralising the management of the missions. Most troubles in mercenary groups occurred because of people taking on problematic tasks. For example, if a person went against the local government, they would be screwed.

Of course, the government would exhaust all resources to destroy mercenary groups that took action against the existing power structure. By ensuring that all missions passed through his hands, Kaito had protected the Shadow Brotherhood from a certain downfall.

It was also the reason the government had condoned the existence of the Shadow Brotherhood. They never took on missions that harmed the interests of the country too much.

The drunk man finally found a bottle with some beer and chugged it down before looking at Kaito again with bleary eyes.

”Things were fine for a short period. But of course, those people were not satisfied with the little power that they were given. Even though they could decide on their missions, they were not willing to part with the original, agreed-upon percentage of the earnings.” He continued with the story.

”Unfortunately, all payments for missions taken are always channelled through the Brotherhood. So, they did not have control over the money. Ultimately, it was Boss Ayumi who would receive the amount and pay them.” He coughed.

”From what I heard, once they decided to get more, they went to Boss Ayumi to discuss their contracts and negotiate for a better percentage. But after the initial discussion, she was not willing to give up more power because it would mean losing control.”

Kaito nodded. ”Then, what happened?”

”The mercenaries refused to take on more work. They decided to choose mutual destruction rather than take up more missions that made them lose the money they perceived as their right. Both sides came into a deadlock.” He explained.

”The people that suffered were us. The small mercenaries who were not powerful enough to make a power grab were forced to choose sides. Of course, choosing any side meant that the other one would consider one an irreconcilable enemy.” The drunk man laughed.

Kaito felt like he had struggled to build the Shadow Brotherhood for nothing. If the group could not keep it together for a few months without him, it was not worth keeping around. But again, he had never thought of succession.

From the beginning, he had decided that he would shut down the Shadow Brotherhood if there came a time when he wanted to leave the ȧssassination business. Perhaps he was a control freak who did not like to leave things pending.

Either way, he had always treated the Shadow Brotherhood as a place he could keep or destroy on a whim. If not for Ayumi's insistence on taking it over, he could have ended the group cleanly before riding off to the sunset with Akira.

In all honesty, he had given the group to Ayumi as both a reward and a punishment.

After that time they fell out in Mountain Ridge, it seemed like she blamed Kaito for destroying her career prospects. Her resignation letter from Shuriken Logistics insisted that she could not keep working with Kaito due to personal differences.

With that, she forced him into a corner. If he refused to give her rights over the Shadow Brotherhood, he would be the bad person who forced her to have no career after working hard for him. In essence, she tied his hands, leaving him with only one choice.

So, when he surrendered the Shadow Brotherhood to her, it was a final token of their friendship. He considered his duty done by giving her exactly what she asked for. It was a reward for the work she had done for him.

At the same time, he was angry that she had forced his hand. He could also see that she was trying to have a hold over him by taking over the Shadow Brotherhood. She knew the efforts he expended on building the group.

Ayumi wanted to have a connection with him by taking what she deemed to be the most important treasure to him. She was not willing to let go completely, despite the words her claims in her resignation letter.

Therefore, even though Kaito knew that she would not be able to rule as she thought, he did not warn her. Instead, he asked the easiest question: are you sure this is what you want? Her easy acceptance sealed the deal.

”Continue,” Kaito said after noticing the man was back to looking for another bottle with stale beer.