Chapter 88: The Crisis at Stark Industries Tokyo Branch
Tokyo's airport in Sakura Country wasn't nearly as large as the one in New York, though it was far cleaner. At least on the surface, everything looked much tidier.
Tony Stark, of course, disembarked onto a red carpet—as expected. In Tony's words, "This is just my normal life."
As soon as he stepped off the plane, a Stark Industries RV pulled up to pick him up.
"You're really pulling out all the stops, huh?"
"Hey, man, you'll get used to it eventually! Stark Industries is all over the world. We even have a branch here in Japan."
"Besides, you're now in charge of the Osborn Group too. Scenes like this should be no big deal for you."
Tony shrugged—he wasn't impressed by any of this anymore.
In the past, aside from his notorious womanizing, most of Tony's energy was focused entirely on research and development. Being a genius inventor was a label he wore proudly—but it didn't negate all the hard work and dedication he'd put into tech.
"Alright, Tony, you go do your thing. You're here for vacation—I'm definitely not."
"Kid, you're trying to stir up trouble again, aren't you? I'd bet money that you had something to do with Norman's death."
Tony was convinced Uchiha Akira had something to do with Norman Osborn's demise. But without any solid evidence—and knowing Akira wasn't stupid enough to leave any behind—he couldn't act on suspicion alone.
Besides, Tony never had much of a relationship with Norman anyway. And despite their rocky start, his current relationship with Akira was fairly good.
"By the way, Tony, looks like you don't know yet, huh? During the St. Patrick's Day incident, the one who attacked Billy Osborn was actually Norman himself. Meaning he was the one who tried to take us both out, too."
"You serious?" Tony's memory of that pumpkin bomb exploding in front of him was still fresh. If it hadn't been for Akira's Water Style technique, Tony would probably have been blown to bits.
"Come on, with the resources of Stark Industries, it shouldn't be hard to dig up a few leads if you look into it, right?"
Seeing Tony sink into thought, Akira gave a wave and walked off.
"Looks like I really underestimated Norman Osborn." Tony shook his head. "Happy, let's go to Tokyo Tower in the port district. There's a party tonight."
"Tony, are you really here for a vacation?" Happy asked skeptically. His boss had never been the type to take time off.
"Not at all. I'm not in the mood. Stark Industries and the Yashida Group had some friction recently, and now the Tokyo branch is in turmoil. I came here to stabilize the situation."
"Yashida Group? They're strong enough to stand up to Stark Industries?" Happy was surprised. Even in the Marvel universe, Japan heavily relied on America—essentially like a junior partner.
Tony rubbed his temples, clearly troubled. "Yashida Group isn't just some Japanese corporation. They're also a yakuza syndicate—a legal gang, basically. That's what's got everyone at Stark Industries Tokyo on edge."
"What? The government doesn't shut them down?" Happy asked, stunned.
"New York's got its own gangs too, and the city hasn't shut them down. At least over there, the gangs don't show up in broad daylight. But in Japan, the yakuza are semi-tolerated. They even cooperate with the police sometimes..."
Tony used to know nothing about Japan's underworld. But this time, he'd done some homework out of necessity before coming over.
"From what I've read, the yakuza operate in a legal gray area. Japan hasn't outright banned them, so it's totally different from the gangs back home. That said, gun control here is pretty strict—most yakuza skirmishes are more like brawls than shootouts."
"You'd better be careful with your gun. Even with a license, using it here could land you in trouble."
As Tony and Happy chatted, they gazed out the car window at the bustling city streets.
"Okay, but seriously—why are there so many high school girls out here even though it's already dark?" Tony asked, watching the streets fill up with youthful, uniformed girls.
Happy perked up and enthusiastically shared one of Japan's "unique traits":
"Word is, Japanese schoolgirls like to find 'sponsors.' As long as you're willing to pay, you can... have deep conversations with them~"
Happy had read this online somewhere, of course, and was embellishing the details while chatting with Tony.
"That's just prostitution. What kind of 'deep conversation' are we talking about?" Tony frowned in disgust, especially since they were talking about high school students. The whole thing turned his stomach.
"What's going on up there?" The car had come to a stop.
"Two schoolgirls blocked our path—they're injured and have blood on them," the driver reported.
"Tony, stay put. I'll check it out."
Happy immediately switched into bodyguard mode. Even though Tony had told him not to use the gun unless absolutely necessary, he didn't hesitate to draw it.
"Hands in the air! I'm only gonna say this once!"
Happy pointed his pistol at the two disheveled high school girls. From their uniforms, he assumed they were students.
"命を助ける!（Help us!）"
The girls pointed behind them, where three delinquent-looking men stood. They were clearly begging Happy for help.
By now, all the bystanders had scattered—no one was dumb enough to run toward danger.
"Do you speak English? Damn it, I don't understand Japanese!"
"They're saying 'help us.' Let them in."
Tony had recently crammed some Japanese, and common phrases weren't a problem for him anymore.
"Tony, these girls are complete strangers. It's risky..." Happy hesitated.
"It's fine. That's why I've got you, right?"
Something about the girls reminded Tony of himself after his parents' fatal car crash—alone, helpless, and only 21. That memory softened his heart. Even though he knew the girls might be suspicious, he couldn't turn them away.
Once the girls slowly approached the RV, the three punks behind them wisely backed off. Given the car's luxury, Happy's gun, and their aura of power, it was obvious these weren't people you messed with.
Of course, if Tony had ignored them, the punks would never have let the girls go.
"So? What happened just now?" Tony asked in Japanese. It wasn't perfect, but it got the job done.
The girls' faces lit up with surprise—clearly, they had guessed Tony and Happy were foreigners. A foreigner who could speak Japanese? That made things a lot easier.
"We're really sorry to trouble you," one of them said, bowing deeply in apology.
"Some thugs were harassing us, trying to drag us to a bar to sell drinks. When we refused, one of them slapped us."
"And the blood?"
"One of them cut himself on a broken bottle. Then he blamed us for it. We were desperate—we wouldn't have stopped your car otherwise."
They gave a brief explanation and repeatedly apologized and bowed.
"Alright, got it. Sit down—we're still moving. We'll drop you off somewhere safe."
"Until then, just stay seated. No more bowing or apologizing."
Happy stayed on alert. Helping them had been Tony's decision. Ensuring safety? That was Happy's job.