Barracudas

The Barracudas (, Barakūda) is a Hawaiian criminal organization featured in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth.
== Background ==
The Barracudas were founded by their leader, Dwight Mendez, shortly after he moved to Hawaii. The gang grew to become one of the most powerful criminal syndicates in Honolulu, whereupon Dwight was secretly contacted by Bryce Fairchild, the corrupt leader of the religious sect Palekana. Fairchild made it clear to Dwight that he wielded tremendous political and economic influence in the city and, if the Barracudas did not serve his interests, they would be destroyed. Fearful of Bryce's power, Dwight capitulated and the Barracudas became a puppet group for the religious leader, whom they now referred to coverly as "The Overseer".
The Barracudas recruit most of their members out of the city's homeless population, offering the most desperate and ruthless men amongst them a chance to make money by serving as the group's muscle. To house these homeless recruits, the Barracudas set up a large homeless encampment in a derelict building complex, which they refer to as "District Five". This area hides the entrance to a network of decommissioned military tunnels which serve as the Barracudas' main base of operations. Those tunnels connect District Five with Dwight's penthouse in the luxury Crystal Aloha Resort and with a hidden dock which Dwight uses to make deliveries to Palekana's base in Nele Island. The tunnels also contain an underground, full scale replica of the luxury Anaconda Shopping Center where counterfeit luxury goods are sold to those in the know about the secret mall's entrance.
Thanks to Bryce's influence, the Barracudas operate with great impunity on the streets of Honolulu, even going on weekly "parades" where they roam the streets at night to intimidate locals. The city's police is also bribed to allow them to operate District Five unimpeded and some officers, like Roman Reynolds, even actively aid them in conducting their business.
== Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth ==
In 2023, Bryce orders Dwight to track down Akane Kishida, his former disciple who was protecting Lani Mililani, the true heir to the position of Sage of Palekana, and deliver them to him, so Dwight has his Barracudas scour the city in search of the woman and the girl.
At one point, Akane's maid Chitose Fujinomiya enters District Five to hide from informants working for her family. She meets Dwight and the gang leader is charmed by her, so he invites her to stay as a guest at his penthouse. While exploring the penthouse, Chitose found documents pointing to the Barracudas manhunt for Akane but was caught doing so by Dwight. Just then, Ichiban Kasuga, Kazuma Kiryu and Eric Tomizawa happen to begin an assault on District Five's underground tunnels, which they'd entered in pursuit of Chitose. Dwight offers to spare Chitose's life if she lures Kasuga and his friends into a trap, which she agrees to do. However, Chitose betrays Dwight and instead leads Kasuga and the party to Dwight's penthouse, where they have a battle with the Barracudas' boss, culminating in his defeat. In spite of threats from Tomizawa, Dwight does not reveal who'd ordered him to find Akane, instead lying and saying his gang had been hired to do so by an anonymous employer.
After Kasuga and his allies learn of Bryce's role as the Overseer of Hawaii's underworld from Wong Tou, the Sage orders Dwight to kill them to prevent them from interfering with his plans. On top of continuing the manhunt for Akane, the Barracudas also begin attacking Kasuga and his friends in the streets, forcing them to seek protection from Yutaka Yamai and his syndicate. 
Kasuga and his friends eventually find Akane and Lani and take them to a safehouse operated by the Daidoji Faction, so that they can lie low until transport to Japan can be arranged for them. However, Eiji Mitamura (who'd befriended Kasuga to spy on him for Bryce's ally Masataka Ebina) reveals the safehouse's location, leading to an attack by the Barracudas. The gang members kidnap Lani and kill Wong Tou and Kihei Hanawa. The Party later attempts to rescue Lani from Club Guilty, where the Barracudas and Eiji are hiding her, but are unsuccessful.
With help from Joongi Han, the Party eventually figure out Lani is being kept in District Five. The group attacks the Barracudas hideout once more and find Dwight forcing Lani onto a boat in his hidden docks so he can take her to Nele Island. A battle ensues and the Party defeat Dwight and rescue Lani.
Later, Dwight learns Kasuga and company will be sailing Lani and Akane to Japan with help from the Yamai Syndicate. The Barracudas boss leads his gang in an assault at sea to retrieve the girl. Dwight and his goons board Yamai's boat and fight the Party while also avoiding the large sharks periodically attacking the boat, but are defeated once again. Realizing Bryce will not forgive him for his many failures, Dwight takes one of the speedboats his gang arrived in and escapes, proclaiming his intent to flee to Switzerland. However, his shiny jewellery and the lights of his speedboat attract one of the sharks, which destroys his boat and eats him alive.
Soon after, Bryce's machinations are exposed and he is arrested and deposed as Sage of Palekana. Given the death of their leader and the loss of support from one of the biggest power brokers in Hawaii, the fate of the Barracudas is left uncertain.
Category:Organizations
Category:American Organizations
Category:Gangs
Category:Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth Organizations