The revolver sat between them—cold steel glinting under the dim overhead light like a sleeping beast, waiting to wake.
Jin's heartbeat echoed in his ears. Muten and Kuno sat against the wall, wrists bound, eyes wide. The air felt thick .
Kenjiro Muto leaned back in his chair, lips curled in a faint smile. At 38, he was a man who'd climbed the underworld not with honour, but with sheer cunning. Arms beneath his rolled sleeves, tattoos faded and warped from too many years of blood and betrayal.
He nodded toward the revolver.
"If the brat refuses to play," he said to his subordinate, "kill the girl and the old man."
"Yes, sir," the man replied without hesitation, hand resting on his sidearm.
Kenjiro turned back to Jin, eyes gleaming. "You made a mistake, kid. Sitting here. Thinking you could talk to soone like ."
He reached forward and spun the revolver's cylinder. The click-click-click of the spinning tal echoed ominously in the room.
"We're not playing it the usual way," he continued, voice smooth as poison. "No pointing it at our own heads. Instead, we aim at each other."
Kenjiro grinned. "As the host, I'll go first."
He raised the revolver slowly and pointed it straight at Jin's forehead. The barrel looked massive from where Jin sat, like a tunnel into oblivion. Jin's fingers curled tightly in his lap. He inhaled through his nose and steadied his breath.
"Answer my question before I pull the trigger," Kenjiro said, eyes cold.
"Why didn't you kill anyone when you stord this place? Why did you co here asking for a conversation instead of vengeance? If you'd co to kill, you might've gotten out clean. We wouldn't have found your weakness. But now… we've got leverage."
Jin swallowed, the tal stare of the gun never leaving his face.
"I told you already," he said quietly. "I don't want to be a murderer. If I can stop sothing with words, I will. Why cause more pain if I can prevent it?"
Muten, bruised and bloodied, looked at Jin then—really looked. Despite everything, sothing in the boy's calm voice steadied him.
But Kenjiro's smirk faded. "No… that's not the real answer. I know people that my one good skill so speak truth or face consequence's ."
Jin exhaled, eyes emptying of defiance. "If I kill soone… I'm afraid I won't co back. I don't know what I'll beco. And I don't want to find out."
Kenjiro nodded slowly, as if satisfied. "That's more like it."
And he pulled the trigger.
Click.
Empty.
He chuckled, then slid the revolver across the table to Jin.
"Your turn."
The subordinate stiffened. His hand hovered over his weapon. Muten tensed, positioning himself more between Kuno and danger, even in his bound state.
Jin glanced at the weapon, then looked at Kenjiro.
"Why are you doing this?" he asked.
Kenjiro downed another glass of whiskey and refilled it in one smooth motion. "Whether i live or die doesn't matter to now. You stord my turf and shattered my reputation. Reputaion , That's sacred to n like ."
He leaned forward, voice sharp. "And then you had the gall to show rcy. As if I were beneath you . your pity it stings . I dont take pity from people "
Jin picked up the gun and aid it squarely at Kenjiro.
Click.
Empty again.
He slid the gun back.
Kenjiro raised a brow. "Where'd you learn to fight like that?"
"Nowhere," Jin replied. "Taught myself. Bad question."
Kenjiro smirked.
The gun returned to Jin.
Jin stared at it, then lifted his gaze.
"You could've just killed . You've got what you wanted—my weakness, my surrender. Why are we still playing?"
Kenjiro's voice was low. "Because I don't want to kill you like this. It wouldn't feel right. I want to beat you. With my own hands. On equal footing."
Jin pulled the trigger , empty .
Kenjiro turn .
He cocked his head. "So tell , why go through all this… for a neighbor?"
Jin's voice cracked, . "She's like a little sister to . And I ssed up—made her cry. I didn't get the chance to fix that. Then you took her."
He looked up. "You don't kidnap soone's family—real or not—and expect silence."
Kenjiro nodded solemnly. "This is it."
Tension snapped through the room like an electric charge. All eyes locked on the revolver.
Kenjiro raised it, took aim.
Click. Empty .
Only Kuno exhaled. The rest knew what ca next.
One bullet left.
silence stretch , Kenjiro slid the gun across the table. "Pull whenever you're ready, kid."
Jin stared at it. Then back at him.
"Make a drink first."
Kenjiro blinked, then laughed. "My man."
He poured a drink—neat, without question—and handed it over.
Jin took it. Swallowed. Set the glass down.
Then, quietly: "We can end this right now. You can stop this. Let them go."
Kenjiro looked at his man. "If he doesn't pull the trigger… kill them."
The man nodded, weapon raised slightly.
Jin's voice rose—not in fear, but frustration.
"Why?! Why do this? Why push to beco a killer?"
Kenjiro's smile was bitter. "Because you have a gift, Jin. The gift of violence. You don't train your way into beating twenty-five n ? . That's sothing born in you."
He downed his glass.
"I wanted that gift my whole life. But I had to claw my way up with sches and shadows. Built this empire with tricks I hated using. A gangster should rule with his fists. And you? You have what I dread of—and you're wasting it."
"You want to be like you?" Jin said, voice trembling.
Kenjiro shook his head.
"No. I want you to choose. Right now, you're parroting soone else's beliefs—kindness, forgiveness, peace. You didn't forge them yourself. You just… inherited them, like soone preach them to you."
He leaned forward. "I hate that. I hate that you showed up here, fought like a devil, and still think talking's the right answer. If I didn't have your people hostage, you would've beaten us and walked away. I respect that. But I need you to own who you are. Accept you are a killer , kill ."
Kenjiro " I read it sowhere , "A man who hasn't conquered his mind has already been conquered by the world." . look at you speak things what other thinks , no thinking for yourself you followed other person ideology you follow what world want . i dont get defeated by likes of you "
Kenjiro gestured to the revolver.
"This is your mont. One bullet. One choice. Save them and change… or leave like you ca—untouched, unmade."
The room was silent again.
Jin reached for the gun.
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