Chapter 136: The Banquet Gambit: Shifting Tides of Power
In recent years, the fortunes of the Yukinoshita family had begun to wane.
Once a pillar of prestige in Chiba's construction sector, they now stood on increasingly fragile ground. At the center of this turbulent Chapter was Mrs. Yukinoshita—the woman regarded as the linchpin of the family's potential resurgence. She bore the burden of legacy and survival with quiet determination, ever since the economic bubble burst in Japan.
When the bubble collapsed, it took with it giants of finance and industry. Entire empires, larger and wealthier than the Yukinoshita family, crumbled overnight under the weight of their reckless investments—particularly in the real estate market, which had soared far beyond sustainable value.
But Mrs. Yukinoshita had always been sharp—calculating.
She had sensed the storm brewing and pulled her family out of real estate just in time, avoiding catastrophe. Yet avoiding ruin was not the same as thriving. Their core in Chiba remained vulnerable. Even without plunging into the collapse directly, the economic aftershocks rippled through their construction base. Decline wasn't sudden—it was quiet, creeping, and persistent.
Once she managed to stabilize the family's remaining assets, she began scouring the landscape for future opportunities. Tokyo, despite being their neighbor, was fiercely competitive—impenetrable to outsiders. The capital's elite didn't see the Yukinoshita name as relevant beyond Chiba. Mrs. Yukinoshita understood this reality, so she looked elsewhere: to Gifu.
Recently, an unexpected opportunity emerged—born out of a freak accident that no one could have predicted.
A comet.
It had fallen in the mountainous region of Gifu, striking near an inland lake and triggering emergency relocation efforts. The natural disaster disrupted everything, but for a seasoned strategist like Mrs. Yukinoshita, chaos often preceded opportunity.
She made her move.
That evening, at a prestigious banquet in Tokyo, she approached an influential figure—Member of Parliament Kobayashi.