Two hours had passed since Saburo Arasaka's death. Inside the penthouse suite of Konpeki Plaza, after denouncing Militech's despicable actio
Two hours had passed since Saburo Arasaka's death. Inside the penthouse suite of Konpeki Plaza, after denouncing Militech's despicable actions, Senno Arasaka sat down on the sofa and formally bid farewell to Karl and his team.
It was only natural.
Their protection detail had concluded. With Saburo Arasaka dead, the greatest threat to Senno had vanished. His next step was to consolidate Arasaka's internal power structure and assume control as its heir. For that, he would remain in Arasaka Tower—undoubtedly the safest place in all of Night City for the corporation's soon-to-be leader.
He was Arasaka's "Crown Prince," about to become its new "Emperor." After Saburo's assassination, Senno's security was now equated with the corporation's dignity. Even internal dissenters would be forced to keep a low profile. His protection became a matter of utmost importance, a directive that came straight from the Japanese mainland.
No one within Arasaka who had once sworn loyalty to Saburo objected to Senno's succession—not even Hanako Arasaka. But now that Senno was inheriting Arasaka, his bodyguards could no longer be a bunch of street mercs picked up from Night City.
Yes—street mercs. That's exactly how Karl and the others were viewed by the Japanese mainlanders.
They could accept the sudden death of Saburo. They could accept Senno inheriting his legacy. They were willing to overlook everything for now—at least until they confirmed whether it was Militech behind the assassination. But they wanted Senno to be protected by people they could control.
As the new head of the Arasaka family, if Senno didn't want to use the Hundred-Man Ninja Corps, he should've at least selected operatives from the Hokkaido Training Program.
Those agents had fully cyberized bodies directly monitored by the Arasaka family—safer, more loyal.
If standards absolutely had to be lowered, then someone like Adam Smasher—fully rebuilt and under Arasaka's thumb—would've sufficed. But instead, Senno was surrounded by mercs with no corporate bindings.
These mercs weren't tied to Arasaka via blood, loyalty, or contract. Their cyberware wasn't even under Arasaka's control. Keeping them around any longer would have only highlighted the company's weakness.
Before Saburo's death, Senno had been nothing more than a rebellious insider at Arasaka. No one cared about his safety. Some had even branded him a traitor and wanted him dead.
But now that Saburo was gone, the narrative had changed. Senno was the only male heir left.
His role had become essential, surpassing any prior transgressions. His political value had now been magnified to the extreme.
The reason Saburo had eventually welcomed Senno back into the family—thanks to Hanako's mediation—was simple: every dynasty needs a successor.
After Kei Arasaka's death, Senno had become the sole remaining male heir, the only one capable of preserving the Japanese Arasaka faction's traditional belief in male succession and maintaining unity against rival megacorps.
It was the same rationale that had once applied to the North American Arasaka branch.
After Kei's death, why had the North American division rallied around Michiko Arasaka, despite her being underage and inexperienced? Because she was the only one who could hold the North American branch together.
Now, the same principle applied to Senno.
Old grudges and rivalries died with Saburo. Before the only heir accepted by the Japanese faction, no matter how suspicious Senno's position seemed, no one could openly oppose his succession—doing so would be equivalent to rejecting their own right to inherit.
Arasaka's upper ranks were full of people who had built their power atop a legacy they intended to pass down for generations.
Would they really throw that away just to oppose Senno?
Of course not.
Their opposition had been for show—for Saburo's sake. Now that he was gone, continuing to resist Senno would be self-destructive. Their sons still needed to inherit their seats at the table.
Many were already eyeing positions close to Senno, hoping to place their own descendants among his personal guards as a gesture of loyalty—reminiscent of Sengoku-era lords offering their sons as hostages to powerful daimyo.
And in this power shuffle, Karl and his crew had become a glaring obstacle.
"As far as I'm concerned, you've been the most trustworthy guards I've had."
Senno sighed and shook his head.
"But according to the plan, I can't afford to stir up any more suspicion. I suspect Saburo left behind some contingencies. Before I neutralize those threats, I need to solidify my control—bring Arasaka to a place where not even a resurrected Saburo could take it back."
"I'm not too bothered," Karl replied. "But what about Takemura?"
Karl wasn't too concerned about their assignment ending. He figured there'd still be time to grab drinks with Yorinobu someday.
What did bother him was Goro Takemura—recently dismissed to begin his investigation.
"What are you planning to do about him? He was Saburo's personal guard. Are you going to take him out? Kill-switch his cyberware? Send in ninjas? Shouldn't be hard."
"No. I plan to keep him close."
Senno had already made his decision.
"I'll bring him in as one of my personal guards."
"That's… kind of risky, isn't it?" Oliver asked, surprised. "If he finds out what really happened to Saburo—"
"My people have already taken control of his family," Senno said, his voice calm and cold.
"They're in my hands. Even if he discovers the truth, I'll make him choose: his loyalty to a dead man, or the lives of his living family."
"...Yeah, that's definitely a Japanese move. The whole 'you wouldn't want anything to happen to your family, right?' kind of thing."
This wasn't a game.
And Goro Takemura wasn't an innocent bystander.
Karl had no complaints about Senno's methods. He had briefly considered Takemura's friend Maki—but it seemed there was no need to worry.
Still, before officially wrapping up the protection detail, Karl had one last question.
"By the way… how do you use this thing?"
He pointed to the case Jack was holding—the one containing the item Senno had gifted them.
"The Relic. Is there a user manual?"
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🔥🦾 CYBERPUNK: THE RELENTLESS 🦾🔥
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