Sakigake!! Otoko Juku Oneshot : Yabai Yatsura

There is danger in all lines of work, but who is really the right type to handle the job: one with ambition or one who dreams of it? From Akira Miyashita comes this seinen one-shot where the scariest line of work...is the one you're not doing!

Special One-Shot: Yabai Yatsura (The Dangerous Guys)

(TN: The following tale isn’t a special chapter of “Sakigake! Otokojuku”, even though it is in the final volume and some sources consider this the final chapter. Instead, it is a one-shot written by Akira Miyashita that was published in Super Jump in 1988, during Otokojuku’s run. However, Miyashita did not choose to publish this one-shot until after the final Otokojuku chapter, mostly probably as a space filler. As such, it will be placed up with the Otokojuku chapters so it can be published in the final volume with the final chapters as opposed to being treated as a special, separate one-shot)

169.
SPECIAL ONE-SHOT: YABAI YATSURA

170.
Voice: Wait---!!
Angry Man: You did it again, you brat----!!
“Kid”: ………!!

171.
Man 1: Damn it, where is he hiding!!
Man 2: Split yourselves up and search!! He isn’t going to run away no matter where he is!
Men: Right!!
Man 1: Really, what’s with these brats these days; they don’t even possess the “g” in guts.
(TN: The “they don’t possess the ‘g’ in guts” is an English interpretation of the Japanese version: “konjou no ‘ko’ no ji mo mocchainee”, which is “they don’t possess the ‘ko’ in ‘konjou’, the Japanese word for ‘guts’)
Man 2: Do they think they can escape a gang they put their tentacles out into once so easily?
(TN: I’m not really sure if it’s right to say it as such, but “put their tentacle out” was in Japanese “geso tsukeru”, with “geso” either used as “footwear” or for “tentacle” as in one of a squid or an octopus. Considering the mob mentality of these guys, I chose to make it ‘tentacle’)
“Kid”: Heh, what are they saying? Isn’t it that I’m just made to go out day after day for them bringing them fortune of bringing them money and women as being part of the yakuza?
(TN: The part of being “made to go out for them” is the Japanese term “tsukaippashiri”, which is an expression of “being made to go out not for yourself but for someone else”)
“Kid”: I’ve already quit the yakuza. I’ll be a young businessman and become the richest man in Japan~~~!! I’ve quickly prepared to make the switch in this area.

172.
Old Man: Did you hear me, young master?
Old Man: From today, you will be succeeding your dead father and becoming the leader of the Hishii Zaibatsu.
(TN: A “zaibatsu” is a Japanese term for “Plutocrat” and refers to a conglomerate who controlled major sections of Japanese finance and business)

173.
Old Man: Now this was even said by your grandfather, but this very Hishii family is a pedigree that possesses three-hundred years of history and, no matter what world we’re in, we’re in the nucleus of Japanese politics and economics. Currently our associated enterprises in railroads, banks, construction, iron, steel and trading have surpassed 100 and the sum total of our assets equals 10 years of Japan’s estimated national budget.
Old Man: Grasping all of this power and unifying it is at your command. You have to come to understand that.
Old Man: You can’t say foolish things like you want to become yakuza and cause problems to your grandfather ever again!!
“Kid Hishii”: Stop.
Driver: Huh…!?
“Kid Hishii”: Gotta pee.

174.
Old Man: !!
Old Man: Aah, y…young master----!!
Bodyguards: Wa…wait up---!!
“Kid Hishii”: I…I don’t like succeeding my father’s footsteps and being set up as a doll in servants clothes----!! My life will be opened up by me!!
“Kid Hishii”: Betting their thick, short lives and falling as a firework of skill and courage; that’s the life of a man: being a scoundrel!! I will be the greatest scoundrel in Japan---!!

175.
“Kid Hishii”: Ua!!
“Kid Yakuza”: Gue!!
“Kid Yakuza”: Y…you, I…don’t like where you were looking…!!
“Kid Hishii”: Wh…what are y…you doing here……………!!

176.
“Kid Hishii”: ………!!
“Kid Yakuza”: Wh…what…!?
“Kid Hishii”: Wh…what…!?
“Kid Hishii”: Y…you’re………..!?
“Kid Yazuka”: Y…you’re…………!?
“Kid Yakuza”: Wh…what are you doing here…………!!
“Kid Hishii”: Fr…from the structure of our faces to our physiques…………!!
“Kid Hishii”: We’re…like two peas in a pod……………its…like lo…looking in a mirror……………!!

177.
“Kid Yakuza: I’ve heard that in the world, there are three people who possess the same face as yourself, but well it seems that it’s true.
“Kid Hishii”: Ju…just a moment, I…have to ask but that dabo shirt and leather sandals, a…are you perhaps a…a yakuza……!?
(TN: A “dabo shirt”, also known as a “koikuchi”/”carp-mouth shirt”, is a traditional Japanese shirt used at festivals but sometimes used in fashion or with yakuza. Meanwhile, “Leather sandals” refers to “setta”, a type of leather-soled sandal stereotypically used by yakuza)
Takagi: Yep: young apprentice of the Janpu-gumi, Kantou Shuei alliance: Takagi Tetsubei. But I’ve already quit. That somehow doesn’t make use of my delicate personality and abilities.
(TN: As I explained with the final chapters, the “Janpu-gumi” is also known as the Janpu Gang or the “Jump Gang”, as in Weekly Shonen Jump, the main published magazine where “Sakigake!! Otokojuku”, among other manga, appeared in)
Takagi: My aim is to be a young businessman; and also the richest in Japan----!!
Hishii: …………………!! Y…you’re in the yakuza and I’m the richest in Japan…………
Takagi: Ah~~!?
Hishii: We…well, hurry, take off your clothes. Take them off and switch them with my clothing---!!
Takagi: Wh…what’s that----!!

178.
Hishii: Th…this is great.
Takagi: …………!!
Takagi: He…hey, that jumped out; why is this great---!! Wh…why do these things have to be worn by me?
Hishii: It…it’s great like this. Everything is going smoothly. From today, you’re Hishiii Yatarou, leader of the Hishii Zaibatsu; I’ll be Takagi Tetsuhei, youngster of the Janpu-gumi…………!!
Takagi: What, I don’t understand the reason……!!
Hishii: See ya, the rest will go well for both of us----!!
Takagi: Aah, ho…hold on a moment, he…hey~~~~!!

179.
Old Man: Young Master~~~!!
Takagi: !?
Takagi: Y…young master………!?
Bodyguards: Th…there---!! Y…you can’t run away anymore!
Takagi: Wh…what are you talking about---!!
Old Man: What are you saying? You’ve unawaringly made yourself into a vulgar hairstyle like that!! Well hurry!! Today is the day of Young Master’s once-in-a-lifetime Hishii Zaibatsu Inauguration Ceremony----!
Takagi: Wh…what exactly is this…………!?

180.
Hishii: Wahhahaha, a scoundrel, the romance of a lost man!! Japan’s last samurai---!!
Yakuza: Bi…big bro, th…that’s…………!!
Hishii: Ooh, that’s my elders with their silver-laminated haramakis and punch perms; I can presumed from appearance that I know they’re in the same trade!!
(TN: “Haramaki” is a “stomach band” notable as a piece of armor used by samurai in the Sengoku period and also used as a belly warmer in modern periods; a “punch perm” is a tightly permed male hairstyle typically associated with the yakuza though alos used by motorcycle gangs, construction workers and enka singers)
Yakuza: ……!!
Hishii: They’re drawing me in---!!
Yakuza: Shall we make certain, you?

181.
Hishii: Gugya!!
Yakuza: Chi, did you go to the barber? Your head is ridiculous!!
Yakuza: Take him away.
Hishii: Wh…what exactly is this…………!!

182.-183.
Old Man: Well, Young Master!!
Old Man: Here is the headquarter building for the Hishii Zaibatsu.
Takagi: …………!!

184.
Old Man: Well, go forward.
Old Man: Everything is yours, young master. This is your castle as leader of the Hishii Zaibatsu. Wealth and influence that should be infinite………There isn’t anything that can’t be done by you in Japan.
Takagi: I…I don’t understand what or whatever this is but………………ha…having come to this, I can only bind my stomach.
(TN: The “only bind my stomach” sounds to me like he has a stomach cramp, but don’t take my word for it)

185.
Voice: Gyowaa~~~!!
Sign: JANPU ENTERTAINMENT
“Man”: Enough, that much is fine.
Yakuza: Yes!!
Yakuza: Hey, you’ve been saved, we’ll stand down as said by big bro Eiji. If you think about leaving our gang again, then next time we’ll take your life----!! Is that fine, understand----!!
Hishii: I…understand………!! Si…since I understand, can I have something cold…..my…throat is dry.

186.
Yakuza: He—re, something cold. You still don’t seem to understand anything, you brat---!!
Hishii: Hihii!!
Eiji: Well, let it pass here and now. He’s been through many things and even his head’s been taken down.
Eiji: Well, even with scoundrels, you have endurance among the apprentices. You have promise. Amidst that, we had been asked by father to lower a cup to his son.
Hishii: O…ossu!! I…I, no, I’ll be the greatest scoundrel in Japan---!!
(TN: The “adjustment” made by Hishii here had him go from saying “boku”, a more formal version of “I” to “washi”, a less formal version typically used by yakuza)
Eiji: Al—right, that’s spirit. So then, shall I give you work without delay?

187.
Hishii: Uh!!
Hishii: Th…that’s…………!?
Eiji: What are you surprised about? It’s a Smith-and-Wesson 22 caliber. It’s not a modified gun; it’s even got six bullets.
(TN: The “modified gun” is a translation of the kanji used for the expression Eiji gives, which has a reading of “uchinko”)
Eiji: Yesterday, a fool of Fuerari-gumi of Minamiguchi came making at a pass at our Shima. Our patience of being mocked to this point is at our limit……even father is finally hardening his stomach at all-out war.
(TN: I really don’t know who “Shima” is but it could have a couple meanings, including “stripes”, a short version of “shimai” or “sisters” or a name of “Shima”)
Eiji: Understand: they’re flashpoint bullets……………let those fire and you can’t go home. Steadily come forth by becoming a man.
Hishii: Gu…gugu…gun bullets……!! I…I have to………!!

188.-189.
Old Man: All of the heads of the associated enterprises for this Hishii Zaibatsu have gathered here. Well, young master, some words for your inauguration as leader…………!!
Takagi: …………
Leader 1: Fufu, has he become a second-generation idiot?
Leader 2: By all means he’s been influenced by scoundrels since seeing that that Toei yakuza movie when he was in grade school……………really what is he thinking?
(TN: The Toei film company was one notable for making stereotypical “yakuza films” about men who sacrificed themselves for their gang over everything in the 1960s or more gritty portrayals in the 1970s.)
Leaders: The former generation gave us nothing except terror to us, but this idiot very splendidly seems to have a bit of fun with this. Here, look at him: he’s petrivide without even able to speak sufficiently in public.

190.
Takagi: Knock it off----!! Why are all of you sneakily letting that out----!
Businessmen: !!
Old Man: Huh!?
Takagi: I…I am Takagi Tetsu…no, Hishii Yatarou, the new leader of the Hishii Zaibatsu!!

191.
Takagi: Fine then, I’ll say just one thing.
Takagi: All of you are my subordinates and I am the boss. If I say white, then even a black crow will become white.
Takagi: Those who don’t understand that will get their little finger shrunken and excommunicated. Steadily gulp that in your stomachs.
Takagi: That is all.

192.
Takagi: You idiots---!! Why aren’t you giving a salutation though your boss is leaving---!
Takagi: Fine, I’ll show you. Open your legs into a 7/3 ratio and lower your hips.
(TN: “7/3 ratio” is in reference to “shichisan” which is a “7 or 3 ratio”)
Takagi: THANK YOU VERY MUC---H!!
Businessmen: THANK YOU VERY MUC----H!!

193.
Takagi: Right, that’s fine.
Takagi: Kukkuku…………It…it seems like the chance has fi…finally turned to me.

194.
Yazkua: Understand: turn that corner, and in the 3rd house is the office of Fuerari-gumi. You’ll know immediately from the crest attached to the entrance sign. When you jump in, let loose without saying yes or no until you run out of bullets.
Hishii: …………!!
Yakuza: What’s wrong!? Can’t you go quickly? Are you shaking now?
Hishii: Wr…wrong!!
Hishii: I…I merely thought that shouldn’t it be snowing……
Yakuza: Wh…what, snow…!?
Hishii: In…Ken-san’s raiding scene, there is always snow falling.
(TN: I really have no idea what “Ken” Hishii is referring to, but it may be referring to notable Japanese actor and yakuza star Ken Takakura, who was notable in working in many of Toei’s yakuza films as well as in Sidney Pollock’s American sleeper film “The Yakuza”)
Yakuza: What are you saying for some unknown reason!! So then go quickly!!

195.
Song:
DUTY AND COMPASSION ARE
WEIGHED UPON SCALES
DUTY IS HEAVY
IN THE WORLD OF MEN

CHILDHOOD FRIENDS AND
THE GOD OF MERCY (KANNON-SAMA)
MY HEART SEES WITHOUT OBSTRUCTION
ROARING ON MY BACK
LION AND PEONY

(TN: “Karajishi Botan” or “Lion and Peony”, is a song notable and sung by Ken Takakura for a film of the same name in 1966. [the film’s alternate name is “Brutal Tales of Chivalry”] A couple slight notes about the song:
-“Kannon-sama” refers to the “God of Mercy”, a Buddhist Bodhisattva who has renounced their chance at enlightenment to help others reach it in the realms of existence.
-The “botan” which the “peony” refers to is “Paeonia suffruticoasa”, a Chinese tree peony that is a symbol of Chinese culture)

196.
Hishii: Ken-san………you are a man among men…………
Hishii: A…and I now will dye this white snow with my blood and die just like you…Though men die as men, it is without reason…those are your words.
Boy: Mother, that man is holding a gun.
Yakuza 1: Aah, he...him, why is he acting like a dullard!!
Yakuza 2: He…he has mistaken his turning corner~~~! Th…that’s not joking, o…over there is~~~~!!

197.
Hishii: Please watch me, Ken-san…
Hishii: Here we go--!!
Hishii: Uryaa----!!

198.
Hishii: This is the duty of business!!
Officer: Ah!! Aah~~~!!
Hishii: Aaaah~~~~!!

199.
Voice: Pa…pardon me, president.
Sign: President’s Office
Old Man: We’ve gotten a call from the police now. By…by all means a man who has taken the name of the young master who raided police and was arrested for some at any rate said he wanted to talk to you……!!
Takagi: You foolish old man---!! Continuing to take these foolish things one by one. Tell the police chief to throw that Great Bora Wind into prison!!
(TN: The expression that Takagi refers to Hishii as is “Ooborafuki”, which I translated into the “Great Bora Wind”, which is a northern to north-eastern katabatic wind that blows in the Adriatic Sea as named after Boreas, the Greek god of the North Wind)
Takagi: Wahhahaha, your young master is here!! Leave the Hishii Zaibatsu…no, the future of Japan to me!!
(End of “Yabai Yatsura”)

TN: Well it's really hard to say that I've actually returned to the realm of Miyashita and Otokojuku since its only been a week since I finished translating the series. Heck, as mentioned prior, this one-shot came out in 1988 (to give it perspective: the chapter was released about the same time as the Ryouzanpaku fight in Otokojuku, about the point of Gekkou/Souketsu) and Miyashita still had a few years of his series left. But it is always nice to get a different and enlightening perspective of storytelling that a mangaka can do outside their element and...while probably not going to light up anything, Yabai Yatsura is a nice little book-end to our Otokojuku journey as a nice added bonus.

I think probably the biggest strength to why the one-shot works is mostly in the perspective of the two leads: Hishii and Takagi (who really don't look alike...though at some points I swear Takagi is nothing more than a clean-shaving Toramaru with a few more years on him...though that's not the greatest similarity I've seen in the story) Takagi is a wild child who wanted out of the mafia mostly because he is a schemer but really not too good in the hands-on duties or just merely sick of his low position. He knows he has what it takes to go higher but there are too many enemies and other agents ahead of him in the scheme of things, thus why he rather get into business. On the other hand, Hishii is a typical bored rich boy who rather do what is done in the movies than handle the plush life of being the leader of one of the most powerful companies in the world (heh, and this was around the point of a tournament sponsored by Toudou...Miyashita really likes showing off super-powerful corporations alongside the bad boys) Of course, it is these traits that they show at the start that end up pushing both of them through the story and ultimately lead to the conclusion that we see. Takagi does know how to handle things in the "mob way", but never got his chance until he became Hishii and took over the company by showing others whose boss. On the other hand, Hishii was too driven by his dreams of being the next Ken Takakura just like in the movies and ends up both beaten to a pulp, handling things he can't really understand...and ultimately arrested. Hishii was too comfy in thinking of how a mobster should be that he cracked under the circumstances, while Takagi used his yakuza life to literally show boardrooms whose boss...and that's where the comedy of the whole story comes from, in seeing how both sides do and seeing how their former lives end up determining what happens when they switch. Oh....and as for the other "coincidence"...is it just me or did the local leader of Janpu-gumi look like an actual clone of Eikei? (considering that he was just about to return as "Shoukaku" from what I said earlier about the Ryouzanpaku arc, maybe Miyashita wanted to start practicing him again since he had to start using him soon [without really showing his face] so he gave Eikei the cameo as Eiji...heck, you even just change the "j" to a "k" and you're even closer to Eikei!)