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Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens Manga Volume 02

## Chapter Navigation

The second volume of the ***Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens* manga adaptation** covers the second half of the first light novel and closes the series' introductory story arc, the Mayor Harada Scandal arc.

## Synopsis

Kazuki Saitoh is glad to be alive after someone else kills Jun Murase. With the money from the murder, he celebrates his fortune with a night out in Nakasu, but Reiko Asakura targets him as the perfect scapegoat. He wakes up the next morning in bed with a corpse, and he runs to the avenger Jiro Tanaka for help as his face is broadcast on the news.

Xianming Lin has no qualms about selling information on Zhang and the Kakyuu Association for enough money to cover his family's debts. News of his sister's murder dashes his hopes of ever being reunited with his family, however, and he rushes to the Kakyuu Group offices to confront his former boss. After Lin is heavily injured in his fight to the death with Hisashi Ivanov, Banba shows up at the office and helps him escape before the rest of the mayor's hitmen can arrive.

Hironobu Shigematsu and Enokida each bring Banba their own updates about the case, and they identify Yusuke Harada as the most likely culprit behind Qiaomei Lin's rape and murder. Banba promises to help Lin avenge his sister, and they formulate a plan to sell Lin as a trafficked woman so that he can confront his sister's killer.

Reiko and Ryuuji Munakata track down Enokida with Ivanov's stolen cellphone, and the informant has no second thoughts about selling out his friends and revealing their plans for his own profit. After Banba hands over Lin to the mayor's men, Lin is delivered to Zhang rather than Yusuke, where he is tied up at gunpoint and beaten. The Niwaka Samurai is ordered to kill him, but the hired killer slaughters the Kakyuu Group subordinates and the mayor's men instead, before revealing his true identity as Banba.

Banba gives Reiko warning that he is coming for Yusuke, and she flees, leaving Yusuke to fend for himself and inadvertently delivering herself to Jiro and Saitoh. She is imprisoned for covering up Yusuke's crimes, while Yusuke is beaten by Lin and forced to confess his crimes on a video that is broadcast on television, before he is tortured and killed by the avengers in the same manner as the many women he had killed.

With the help of the avengers and a baseball player he had once knocked out in high school, Saitoh is able to overcome his yips and continue to play baseball. Lin is also pressed into joining the Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens, rounding out a full team.
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Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens Manga Chapter 01

## Chapter Navigation

"**1st Up to Bat**" is the first chapter in volume 1 of the *Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens* manga.

## Synopsis

In Tokyo, Kazuki Saitoh has managed to land himself a job interview. He thinks the interview is going well until he and his fellow interviewees are asked a question none of them expected – "How would you kill someone?"

While the others maintain that they would never kill anyone because it is against the law, Saitoh piques the interviewer's interest by telling him the story of when he almost killed someone by striking a batter in the head with a pitch during a high school baseball game. He goes on to explain that he has neither the courage nor the skill to kill someone, so he would hire someone else to do it.

Several weeks later, Saitoh finds himself in a position he had never expected - a killer for Murder, Inc. Despite undergoing assassination training and working for them for half a year, he is unable to draw a knife on his first target and carry out his first job.

Saitoh is informed by his superior that he will be transferring to the company's Fukuoka branch the next day and warned to produce results. Already uneasy at the idea of being transferred to Fukuoka, where 3% of the population are said to be killers, Saitoh becomes even more nervous when his superior warns him about the killer of killers who operates there.

In Hakata, Xianming Lin arrives at the apartment of a man named Takashi. Lin convinces Takashi's girlfriend to let him in and swiftly kills her before introducing himself to Takashi as a killer sent by the Kakyuu Association. Takashi desperately offers to give back what he has left of the money he stole from the Kakyuu Group, but this does not deter Lin, whose paycheck depends on him finishing the job.

## Character Debuts

* Kazuki Saitoh
* Shunsuke Saruwatari (background)
* Xianming Lin
* Takashi
Yuuta Kase

**Yuuta Kase** (嘉瀬勇太, *Kase Yuuta*) is a low-ranking subordinate of the Mutagawa Group, working beneath Sanjou and Hiroshi Ishihara. He is one of the few members included in the group's new human trafficking venture.

## Characteristics

### Personality

Kase is a useful, loyal, and hardworking subordinate. He is quick at making connections and offering potential solutions to problems. He also lacks basic human morality, being one of the few subordinates trusted with abducting and watching the children intended for overseas trafficking. He had a criminal record before joining the Mutagawa Group.

## Synopsis

### Avengers Arc

Sanjou, tasked with finding information about Shota Yamazaki's killer, shows his subordinates the video footage of Shota's torture and death. Kase is the first to suggest that based on the language in the video, the killing might be the work of an avenger, and he makes a post on Undergroundjobs.com seeking an introduction with one.

Ishihara picks up Kase for a meeting later and spots Méqué's red RV tailing them. Kase disregards the conspicuous van. After Ishihara's meeting with the avenger that had become a masscre, Kase and Sanjou arrive at the bar Smokin' Hot and find the gruesome scene Méqué leaves behind. When Ishihara explains what has happened, Kase remembers that underlings from the rival Noma Group had been killed in the same way.

Kase calls Ishihara the following morning to report that one of the kids they had kidnapped to be sold overseas has died of an allergic reaction. With no choice but to find a replacement at the last minute, the two visit Houjouya, a festival in Hakozaki crowded with young families. After an hour, they meet back at the car, each carrying an abducted child, and on their way back to the Mutagawa Group's warehouse, they pick up Misaki Tanaka walking down the street.

Kase is left in charge of the merchandise once all the kids in cages are loaded onto a truck. Ishihara takes the troublesome Misaki home, and Kase meets with Shunsuke Saruwatari, the hitman who will be his bodyguard. The truck only makes it partway down the street before being cut off by by Jiro Tanaka's car. As Zenji Banba faces off with Saruwatari, Jiro and Xianming Lin look through the back of the truck. Lin holds Kase in place while Jiro questions him, shooting him in the leg. Lin takes over questioning to avoid Jiro killing Kase in his rage, and after learning Misaki's whereabouts, leave him behind. Kase yells at Saruwatari for his unhelpfulness, and the hitman knocks him unconscious in annoyance.

Kase is left injured at the scene after Banba calls the police and he and Saruwatari depart. Hironobu Shigematsu and his squad arrive with an ambulance, taking the trafficked children and Kase into custody. In order to clear the Mutagawa Group's name, Sanjou is forced to pay off the police to pin the entire child kidnapping venture on Kase, and his name is in the news headlines shortly after.
Mieko Yamazaki

**Mieko Yamazaki** (山崎 美栄子, *Yamazaki Mieko*) is the daughter of freight company president Kunio Yamazaki and the mother of Shota Yamazaki. After her son's disappearance, she turns to substance abuse to cope with her loss.

## Characteristics

### Personality

Mieko is an arrogant woman who was born into money. It is implied that she may have consumed alcohol and cigarettes frequently before starting a family and gave up those habits while raising her son. After ten months without answers as to the whereabouts and fate of her child, Mieko is bitter and withdrawn. She has become a chain smoker and an alcoholic. When she learns that her son has likely been killed by an avenger, she is willing to go so far as to torture the avenger's daughter in front of him to make him feel the same pain she has had to live with.

## Background

Mieko was treated for infertility years ago, and after wishing for a child, was finally able to have Shota. She doted on him and overlooked his flaws, and her household was a happy one until her son went missing.

## Synopsis

### Mayor Harada Scandal Arc

Mieko and her husband are traveling when Shota is abducted by the avengers. She hires several private detectives to investigate his whereabouts. Over the following months, the detectives are unable to find a lead in Shota's disappearance.

### Avengers Arc

Mieko is driven to a park by Sanjou, where the yakuza executive, posing as Misaki Tanaka's new adoptive father, meets Xianming Lin for the handoff. When Sanjou introduces Misaki and Mieko, Misaki can tell right away from the smell of cigarette smoke on the woman's clothing that she is an imposter. Mieko hugs her and engages her in conversation before asking for Jiro Tanaka's phone number. When Misaki hands her a slip of paper with a number written on it, Mieko calls the avenger, threatening Misaki and inviting Jiro to a warehouse to watch Misaki die.

While they wait inside the warehouse, Mieko holds a gun to Misaki's face and dreams of the ways she will torture the young girl. Her mood sours when Misaki makes no response, and upon hearing a car approach the warehouse and Sanjou's subordinates' screams, is unnerved when, instead of Jiro, a clown enters the warehouse shielding himself with a yakuza subordinate.

When Misaki reveals her sleight of hand in handing over the clown's phone number instead of her father's, she apologizes to him and asks him to kill everyone present. He throws a smoke bomb and obscures their vision, and Mieko is the first to be cut down.

## Etymology

* The name Mieko means "beautiful" (美, *mi*), "flourish, prosperity, honor, glory, splendor" (栄, *e*), and "child" (子, *ko*). *Ko* is a common and old-fashioned ending for women's given names.
* Mieko's surname Yamazaki means "mountain, hill" (山, *yama*) and "cape, peninsula" (崎, *saki*/*zaki*).
Yamazaki Transportation

**Yamazaki Transportation** (山崎運輸(株), *Yamazaki Unyu (Kabu)*) is a shipping company owned by Kunio Yamazaki. The company and its partnership with the Mutagawa Group enables the yakuza organization to send smuggled goods to its clients across Japan.

## Background

The Mutagawa Group has a hand in the Eastern Asian drug and weapons trade and has relied heavily on Yamazaki Transportation for securing its trade routes. Recently, the organization has decided to branch into human trafficking and are planning to test the route by smuggling five Japanese children into Korea onboard one of the company's ships.

## Synopsis

### Avengers Arc

Sanjou, an executive with the Mutagawa Group, hires Shunsuke Saruwatari to guard his men as they load six abducted children in dog cages onto a truck belonging to Yamazaki Transportation. Jiro Tanaka, Zenji Banba, and Xianming Lin block the truck from proceeding and search the back for Misaki Tanaka. Saruwatari allows Banba to call Hironobu Shigematsu before they face off, and they finish their match just before the police arrive.

Kunio Yamazaki is forced to pay a small fortune to cover up his company's involvement in the incident. The implication of his company and failure to bring the abducted children to the ship harms the relationship between the two organizations. Sanjou seeks to apologize for this failure by presenting Kunio's daughter Mieko with Misaki, the daughter of the avenger who killed her son Shota, but the abduction of Misaki results in Mieko's death. Sanjou tries to flee the reaches of Kunio's company, terrified of the repercussions, but he is killed by Méqué shortly after.
Ocho

**Ese Ocho** is a member of the Los Eses drug cartel. He is chosen to accompany Uno to Fukuoka to help lay the groundwork for the cartel's future marijuana-dealing operations in Eastern Asia. Because he has a Japanese wife, Ocho is able to speak Japanese.

## Characteristics

### Appearance

Ocho has a beard and colorful taste in fashion, wearing a bold Hawaiian shirt, faded colored jeans, and a straw fedora in his first appearance.

### Personality

Ocho comes across as a man who cannot be bothered, often complaining or muttering under his breath. He is said to have a habit of involving himself in others' business, but he is a trusted and capable member of Los Eses. His weapon of choice is a rifle, but he dislikes having to carry it in an instrument case in Japan.

## Background

Ocho was formely a police officer in Mexico, but after being fired for corruption he became a smuggler and eventually joined the Los Eses drug cartel.

## Synopsis

### Cartel Arc

In Japan, Ocho becomes the Los Eses' liaison with the Chinese mafia. While they originally team up with the Chinese group to distribute their drugs, when the Chinese begin distributing on the turf of the rival Noma Group, causing conflict to escalate between the two groups, Uno decides to change their allegiance. Ocho arranges a delivery of ten kilograms of marijuana for the Chinese group, while Uno and Treinta meet with the Noma Group to plan an ambush.

From their warehouse near Hakata Port, the three cartel members load ten kilograms of marijuana onto a fishing boat and disembark at Sunset Park, on the tip of the pier. After noticing Treinta's disappearance, Ocho and Uno are surrounded by American DEA members. The standoff between Ocho and Uno, Ricardo Seiya Ortega and José Martínez is broken only by Treinta appearing with his rifle, and the two former cartel members are taken back to the Los Eses warehouse and held captive.

Back at Sunset Park, the three comrades watch the Noma Group surround and slaughter the Chinese, and as they prepare to hand over their marijuana to their allies, Zenji Banba and Xianming Lin arrive and incapacitate the Noma Group members. At Uno's command, Ocho takes off in one direction, and Banba follows.

Pursued by the masked hitman, Ocho runs out of bullets in his handgun. He opens his guitar case to arm himself, realizing with panic that he and the knife-fanatic Treinta have accidentally switched cases. Ocho arms himself with a machete and engages Banba in a swordfight. When he insults Martínez, Ocho is suddenly disarmed by the hitman, and Banba chokes him into unconsciousness.

Banba carried Ocho back to the meetup location and heads out in search of Lin, while Lin returns to the location of the deal after his fight with Treinta. From a distance, Banba sees Ocho rise and aim a gun at Lin, and Banba throws a baseball from his pocket, striking the cartel member and knocking him out. Ricardo helps Martínez bind Ocho and his unconscious partners together on the boat and reports their capture to the DEA.
Quétzal Feathers

Within the Flóff culture there exists a bird known as the **Quétzal**, though it is never depicted or described in the book its feathers and the important of them are. Simply put, the Quétzal is the Bird of Mating within Flóff culture. Unlike the Únoff and Dẃoff the Flóff do not give birth, they instead lay eggs. Those who can afford to place their eggs into the care of the Flóff government either with the hopes of their young joining a camp, working for the government, or even for them to be returned to their family, the Flóff eggs are sent to nurseries within the capital city of Pegpolis. Originally, the Flóff told its citizens that any Flóff that hatched near the Léux (source of Flóff power) will grow up to be stronger or faster than those who do not. This reasoning has mostly been proven to be false, though the belief was perpetuated during the War of The Threes as the Flóff government wished to ensure the next generation of fighters. The city of Pegpolis up until the final years of the Third War was mostly out of reach, and the Flóff leadership knew this.

Of course, within Artésque the need for controlled hatching and the ensuing of future soldiers is not as needed. Thus, the nurseries were not really needed. However, with years of traditional backing them, the nurseries of Pegpolis prevailed even within Artésque. The Quétzal birds were always used to help incubate the eggs, and whenever an egg would hatch the bird would pluck a certain amount of feathers from its own wings. In the wild, this was done to help identify its young by smell as the freshly picked wings had a distinct smell. However, the Flóff took the feathers as a sign of how many opportunities a Flóff would have for mating, it of course is meaningless and nothing more than superstition, though the idea held. The feathers are and were used for Quétzal challenges. As it goes, a male or potential suitor would ask a female Flóff for a favor, or rather a feather, if the woman has a feather she must offer a challenge to the male of her choosing. If the challenger is successful than the feather and a favor must be given to the male. The tradition was carried over to Artésque similarly to that of the nurseries, though its popularity has waned as many female Flóff now believe it is unfair that only the females had to use the feathers where as any males were allowed to simply ignore the feather plucked for them. Even still, the practice is widespread and often seen throughout the land. Feathers after being used are typically put on display by the female, as a sign of being a good sport or rather a sign of showing good mating qualities. Of course, even this practice has been subjected to scrutiny.
PC Doctor's Studio

**PC Doctor's Studio** is a computer repair shop run by Siva. The front of the store is a normal shop, where Siva serves customers seeking computer maintenance, data recovery, and virus removal. The back room houses Siva's personal work space from which he operates as the hacker s\_i\_v\_a and the hitman nicknamed the Cracker. The room serves as the meeting space for Siva, Irasawa, and their employer, Chegar, the .mmm operatives in Fukuoka.

## General Information

The workshop is nestled between a laundromat and a stationary shop in the shopping district of Nishijin. It is described as being small and old. The uniform is a blue apron with the store name on the front, though the design is omitted in the anime. Behind the counter is a door leading to the back room, a ten-tatami mat-sized room that serves as Siva's work space. He keeps five computers on a long table with ten monitors mounted on the wall. In the corner of the room is a sofa, usually occupied by Irasawa.

## Synopsis

### .mmm Arc

Chegar arrives at the shop as an elderly man seeking repair for his keyboard is leaving. Siva invites him to wait in the back room while he closes up the store for their meeting. In the back, Irasawa is sitting on the sofa replaying the video of his latest murder, and Siva has left an image of his latest victim, Kazuki Saitoh, on one of the display screens. As Chegar gets down to business, Siva begins searching the dark net for their target, macro-hard.

## Trivia

* In the anime, the store name is "PC Doctor's Laboratory."
.mmm

**.mmm** (*M-three*) is a global hacker assassination group fronting as an international cyber-terrorist organization. Their name is an inverted version of "www.," the acronym for World Wide Web, and their slogan is "a world without internet." Their base is said to be in China or North Korea, and their membership is a few thousand people worldwide.

## General info

### Members

* The Executive
* Chegar
* Siva
* Irasawa

### Technology

Being a cyber-terrorist organization, the group relies on technology and prizes hackers. They have developed a phone for their members that counters hacking. After three wrong attempts at accessing an .mmm phone, the device will explode. It also contains data that can turn the phone into an explosive in the event it has to be surrendered to an enemy. Calls from these phones are only possible through the organization's server, protected by a firewall and guarded by a surveillance unit 24/7. Chegar, Siva, and Irasawa all carry these devices.

## Background

The hackers who work for .mmm attack websites at random and prevent free web browsing. They also ally themselves with specific politicians, governments, and groups that will further their interests, and they erase anyone they cannot win over to their side, keeping a blacklist of usernames of proficient hackers who pose a potential threat. Three American hackers were assassinated by .mmm operatives in August, just prior to the fourth story arc. Lately, the websites of several corporations in Japan have been targeted by the organization.

## Synopsis

### .mmm Arc

The cybercrime investigator Karimura asks his hacker acquaintance Enokida to look into a Japanese technician suspected of being affiliated with the group. Though getting inside his personal computer takes effort, Enokida manages to steal secretive data and deliver it to the investigator, whose division can crack the encryption.

An .mmm executive in Fukuoka tasks Chegar with eliminating a hacker codenamed macro-hard, who has been causing trouble for the organization's political allies. Information on macro-hard's computer leads the team toward the identity of one of .mmm's biggest threats, the hacker known as blackleg\_nameko. After his capture, Irasawa voluntarily hands his phone over, causing blackleg to become suspicious and bring in a torturer who could extract information from Irasawa himself. After obtaining the phone's password, blackleg is able to attach a virus to a video sent to Chegar from Irasawa's phone. When Chegar opens the video, he unwittingly gives blackleg access to his phone, his contacts' phones, and a large amount of the organization's data.
Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens Light Novel Volume 05

## Volume Navigation

***Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens 5*** is the fifth light novel of the series. It covers the events of the Avengers arc.

## Synopsis

In the city of Hakata a series of child abductions occur in the middle of celebrating its three large festivals. While still working through the various criminal profiles, Zenji Banba receives the request in investigating one of the recent child disappearances. As Xianming Lin joins Banba in his investigation and Jiro is hunted down by an underground group, a serial killer arises. Furthermore, wicked foes turn their eyes towards the young Misaki.
Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens Light Novel Extra Games

## Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens Extra Games

***Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens Extra Games*** is the first gaiden light novel of the series. containing five short stories taking place at various points across the light novel timeline. It was published on March 23rd, 2018.

## Synopsis

In the city of Hakata, brimming with a population in which 3% are hitman, a case of marriage fraud breaks out. A worried mother arrives at Banba's Detective Office, requesting him to look into the mischievous woman who is deceiving her son. Zenji Banba and Xianming Lin are dragged into the outlaws schemes.

Additionally, there is a circle of unfortunate events originating from a stalking case, the untold meeting between the legendary torturer and information broker, Lin in search of finding the true culprit behind the murder at a casino, and Misaki taking initiative of her first avenger job in retrieving stolen money - all packed together in a thrilling collection of short stories.

## Chapters

 02
 03
 04
 05
Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens Light Novel Volume 04

## Volume Navigation

***Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens 4*** is the fourth light novel of the series. It covers the events of the .mmm arc.

## Synopsis

A great cyber terrorist organization makes their landing in the city of Hakata. Aware of the organization plotting to assassinate skillful hackers, Enokida hurries in his investigation. Around the same time, a client appears at the Banba Detective Office in search of Enokida. After encountering a familiar face and receiving a special request from him, Enokida has to confront the past he cut himself from once more. And with the organization hunting down Enokida, Xianming Lin and Zenji Banba are also caught up in the crossfire.
Nguyen

* Anime
* Manga 2nd Arc

**Nguyen** (グエン, *Guen*) is an assassin employed by Murder, Inc. and a former colleague of Shunsuke Saruwatari. His knowledge of the killer industry in Fukuoka prompts Saruwatari to quit his job and move, and Nguyen later follows on assignment to kill Kazuki Saitoh.

## Characteristics

### Appearance

He is described as having strong features that make him stand out as a foreigner. He sports a goatee and wears his brown hair pulled into a high ponytail, and in the manga, he has lines shaved into his undercut. Despite his foreign appearance, he has no trace of an accent.

### Personality

Nguyen is a skilled professional killer. He pays attention to his surroundings, including people and rumors, and keeps himself well-informed. Despite being an assassin, he has an amiable side, showing admiration and friendliness toward his close colleagues.

## Background

Nguyen entered Murder, Inc. around the same time as Saruwatari. After Saitoh failed an assassination assignment, Nguyen was tasked with making the kill for him.

## Synopsis

### Niwaka Samurai Impersonator Arc

Nguyen joins Saruwatari for dinner, where he discusses Saitoh's move to Fukuoka and the abundance of killers in the city. Saruwatari is intrigued by the idea of a killer of killers and immediately decides to quit the company.

Nguyen contacts Saruwatari from Fukuoka to inform him of his assignment and invite him for drinks. He reluctantly agrees to sending a Saruwatari a list of mediators in Fukuoka prefecture, a move that could cost him his life as well as his job if discovered by his superiors.

Enokida meets Nguyen at a ramen shop in Nakasu. Nguyen is fronting as a scout, and he asks for Enokida's help in finding Saitoh. Enokida gives him Saitoh's home address before calling Saitoh to warn him. Saitoh receives the message in time to notice the killer on his balcony, and Nguyen chases him onto a train at Hakata Station bound for Kokura. Xianming Lin arrives to help Saitoh put distance between him and his pursuer. Lin lands a punch on Nguyen's face when he enters the car and disarms him, but Nguyen throws a fake grenade to bring Saitoh into the open and seize a chance to pick up his gun. A bullet grazes Lin's leg, but when the train takes a sharp turn that Lin is expecting, he disarms Nguyen again and lands three gunshots to his chest.

Having worn a bulletproof vest, Nguyen survives the gunshots but takes the full force of the blows. He is contacted by Enokida, who has captured Saitoh. After Yamamoto's cosmetic surgery, Nguyen believes him to be Saitoh, and promises to return the pain he sustained from Lin before killing him.

### Shou Wang Arc

While he has since returned to Tokyo and does not make an appearance in the third light novel, Nguyen is an acquaintance of Yang's and informs him of seeing a killer matching Lin's description in Fukuoka two weeks prior to Yang and Feilang's arrival in Japan.

## Trivia

* In the anime subtitles, his name is spelled "Gwen." The names "Gwen" and "Nguyen" have the same spelling and pronunciation in Japanese.
Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens Light Novel Volume 08

## Volume Navigation

***Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens 8*** is the eighth light novel of the series. It was published on December 22, 2017.

## Synopsis

While pursuing the traces of the drugging-robberies and Banba's disappearance, Xianming Lin and Enokida come across the tragic homicide from thirteen years ago, and with it the Banba's grand past hidden within it. Lin is caught searching for the truth behind the case as Banba's life is in peril. Meanwhile the heavily injured Banba awakens in the hospital only to vanish into the shadows once more. The men of the underground make a stand in the face of the strongest killer's crisis.

## Chapters

 02
 03
 04
 05
 06
 07
 Epilogue
Treinta

**Ese Treinta** is the newest member of the Los Eses drug cartel. After beating a popular senior member in a boxing match, he is chosen to accompany Uno and Ocho on a groundwork-laying trip to Fukuoka.

## Characteristics

### Appearance

Treinta takes part in his first cartel boxing match wearing a Panama hat with sunglasses. His is tall and slender, and his nationality is unknown even to other members.

### Personality

All that is known of Treinta by the other cartel members is that he is a hitman who uses a blade. He is confident and swift, wearing sunglasses during a fight and being the first to attack, and his fighting style suggests special military training. In Japan, however, he appears out of his element, getting seasick on a freighter and frequently mumbling to himself without the ability to speak Japanese to communicate. His weapon of choice is a blade, and one of his hobbies is weapon maintenance.

## Synopsis

### Cartel Arc

Shortly after joining the Los Eses cartel, Treinta takes part in a boxing match and easily defeats his opponent Doce, a strong and popular member who was the favorite to win. Impressed by his display of speed and strength, Uno brings Treinta with him to Japan. Treinta finds it hard to adapt and becomes seasick every time he is forced to board a boat.

From their warehouse near Hakata Port, the three cartel members load ten kilograms of marijuana onto a fishing boat and disembark at Sunset Park, on the tip of the pier, while Treinta is violently sick from his brief excursion on the water. He reemerges to find his partners in a standoff with Ricardo Seiya Ortega and José Martínez. Breaking the tension with his rifle, Treinta helps bring the two former cartel members to their warehouse and bind them captive inside.

Back at Sunset Park, the three comrades watch the Noma Group surround and slaughter the Chinese, and as they prepare to hand over their marijuana to their allies, Zenji Banba and Xianming Lin arrive and incapacitate the Noma Group members. At Uno's command, Treinta takes off in one direction, and Lin follows. Lin makes the first attack, and Treinta counters by turning Lin's knife against him and striking several blows to his head, disorienting him. Taking out his hidden knife, Treinta stabs Lin in the nerves in both arms. Expecting his enemy to stay down, Treinta is surprised when Lin stands and takes another swing at him, slashing Treinta across the thigh, before pulling the trigger of his knife-pistol, shooting him in a non-vital part of his torso, and striking him across the head with the butt of his weapon. When Banba drags Treinta back, Ricardo binds him to his unconscious partners and reports their capture to the DEA.
DIRTY BULLET

**"DIRTY BULLET"**, performed by Tokyo-based jazz quintet TRI4TH, is the ending theme of the *Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens* TV series. The song is an instrumental jazz piece, and three slightly altered versions, titled the Banba version, Lin version, and Enokida version, were included as tracks on the CD single. The album also included a postcard-sized print of original artwork by light novel illustrator Ichiiro Hako.

DIRTY BULLET was included as the tenth track on TRI4TH's album *Anthology*, released on November 14, 2018.

## Track list

### Anime version CD

1. DIRTY BULLET (3:05)
2. DIRTY ROSES (5:02)
3. DIRTY DROP (3:08)
4. DIRTY BULLET (Short Version) (1:35)
5. DIRTY BULLET (Short Version) (馬場Ver., *Banba version*) (1:35)
6. DIRTY BULLET (Short Version) (林Ver., *Lin version*) (1:35)
7. DIRTY BULLET (Short Version) (榎田Ver., *Enokida version*) (1:35)

## Musical Credits

The members of TRI4TH:

* Trumpet: Yusuke Orita
* Tenor sax: Junnosuke Fujita
* Piano: Daisuke Takeuchi
* Bass: Tomotaka Sekiya
* Drums: Takao Ito
Takeda

**Tadeka** (武田, *Takeda*) is a veteran detective with the Fukuoka police. His death acts a catalyst for many of the events in the Mayor Harada Scandal arc of the first light novel.

## Background

Some time prior to the start of the series, Takeda had begun investigating Mayor Harada's ties with the yakuza. He paid a club employee to take a photograph of the mayor with Zhang, a member of the Kakyuu Association, and caught the attention of both the syndicate and the mayor's hired killers. Knowing that he was being targeted, he anonymously mailed the photo to his junior, Shigematsu.

## Synopsis

### Mayor Harada Scandal Arc

At dinner with his companions, Munakata relays information about Takeda, and Ivanov immediately offers to strangle him. A short time later, Zhang orders Xianming Lin to kill the detective and sends him the detective's home address. When he arrives at the apartment building in Hakozaki, however, the exterior is crowded with police cars and onlookers gossiping about Takeda's apparent suicide.

Shigematsu is upset by his senior's death and pays the forensics team for photographic evidence of Takeda's murder. He asks his friend Zenji Banba, a private detective, to look into the matter, and gives Banba the photograph of Mayor Harada with Zhang. Banba's brazen investigation soon puts a target on his back as well.

Due to Zhang's refusal to pay Lin the advance payment for the detective's death, Lin goes on strike and chooses to protect his next target, Zenji Banba, from other killers sent by the Kakyuu Group.
Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens Manga Chapter 08

## Chapter Navigation

"**8th Up to Bat**" is the eighth chapter of the *Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens* manga and the second chapter in volume 2.

## Synopsis

The next morning, Kazuki Saitoh wakes up in a hotel hungover with an unknown woman in bed next to him. He rolls her over to discover that she is dead. Panicking, he quickly dresses and flees.

That morning, Zenji Banba visits Enokida in futaba@cafe, the internet cafe on the fifth floor of the Gate's building in Nakasu where the informant has been staying lately. Banba asks him to look up the identity of the young crossdressing hitman, and Enokida, who had performed the same favor the day before for Yamato, pulls up Xianming Lin's information.

When Banba returns to his apartment, Lin is awake and dressed and has a would-be assassin tied up on the floor. Banba unties the man and forces Lin to let him go with a warning. After revealing that he knows Lin's name and employer, Banba offers Lin enough money to cover his remaining debt for information on the Kakyuu Association. Lin has no qualms about betraying the organization further, and he readily informs the private detective that the growing multinational mafia's main source of income comes through trafficking humans. Lin himself was a human the organization had trafficked, raised in a facility and trained as a killer, and he had been hired by that very organization upon his graduation. When Banba shows Lin the photo Shigematsu had given him, Lin immediately identifies the remaining man in the photo as Zhang, his boss and a Kakyuu Group executive. With photographic evidence of the mayor's ties to the mafia, Banba thanks Lin and offers his business card. Lin turns him down, takes his money, and departs.

When Lin returns to his apartment, Zhang calls, and Lin informs him that his debts are covered and he is now free. Zhang mentions the news, and Lin turns on the television to see the news about the body of a young woman found in a hotel in Nakasu, recognizing her immediately as his own younger sister, Qiaomei. Zhang informs Lin that his mother died five years prior, and the money that Lin thought was going toward his family's debuts had been going in the Kakyuu Group's pockets. Furious, and with all hopes of being reunited with his family dashed, Lin heads straight for the Kakyuu Association offices and slaughters the five men inside before confront Zhang.
Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens Light Novel Volume 07

## Volume Navigation

***Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens 7*** is the seventh light novel of the series. It was published on July 25, 2017.

## Synopsis

The whereabouts of Zenji Banba is left unknown whilst a series of drugging-robberies targeting women occur. Xianming Lin although worried for his companion goes undercover in pursuit of the robbers with the help of Sayuri. Enokida meanwhile receives new information: something related to a homicide that happened in Hakata thirteen years ago. And at last a lost spirit from the past comes back for Banba. Danger draws near the strongest killers!

## Chapters

 01
 02
 03
 04
 05
 06
Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens Manga Chapter 04

## Chapter Navigation

"**4th Up to Bat**" is the fourth chapter in volume 1 of the *Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens* manga.

## Synopsis

Saitoh is nervous as he buys the necessary tools for his assignment and sets out to kill Jun Murase. He lets himself into Jun's empty apartment and lays in wait. Before long, the doorbell rings, and Jiro and Misaki Tanaka introduce themselves as new neighbors. Saitoh plays along as Jun, and as he accepts their gift, he is attacked and bound before he can process what is happening.

In the Kakyuu Association offices, Xianming Lin is having a disagreement with Zhang over the pay for his assignment to kill the detective Takeda. Despite his complaints, Lin is given the task of killing Zenji Banba, who has visited Club Miroir asking questions. On his way home, Lin is bumped into by Yamato, and already in a foul mood, Lin punches and threatens the host. Soon after, he realizes his wallet has been stolen.

In the meantime, Ryuuji Munakata and his group report to Mayor Harada about Detective Takeda's death and update him on his son's most recent wrongdoings, the woman's rape and murder and the attack on the foreigner. The mayor tells the group he is counting on them to protect his position. Reiko Asakura stays with the mayor and his bodyguards for the evening, and as the three men depart to pick up Yusuke's friends, Munakata tells Shinohara the story of the time he encountered the Niwaka Samurai and lost his eye.

## Character Debuts

* Jiro Tanaka
* Misaki Tanaka
* Niwaka Samurai (flashback)
Masaki Yoshida

**Masaki Yoshida** (吉田将樹, *Yoshida Masaki*) is a friend of Yusuke Harada's. They are in the same social circle at their university.

## Personality

Masaki has a lazy, careless, and cruel personality. He regularly skips class, opting to drink and party daily, and he joins his friends in brutally beating another man while intoxicated.

## Background

At some point in university Masaki followed Yusuke in joining the softball circle because it functions as a drinking group, and he skips lectures to participate in daily drinking parties on campus. Just prior to the events of the first light novel, Masaki and two of his friends, Jun Murase and Tatsuya Yamashiro, beat a foreigner to death for sport and dispose of the body. The body is recovered and the incident appears in local newspapers in Western Japan, though the perpetrators remain unknown.

## Synopsis

### Mayor Harada Scandal Arc

When Reiko Asakura finds Yusuke watching footage he had filmed of his friend group beating a foreign man to death on his orders, she demands the names and addresses of his companions. Her worry is that the careless disposal of the body could lead the police to Yusuke, causing a scandal for his father. He gives her the names, knowing that she will eliminate them.

After Reiko passes along the names and addresses, her companions Shinohara, Munakata, and Ivanov retrieve Masaki and his two friends from campus and drug them to sleep. They are put in a car near Nagatani Dam and blown up with one of Shinohara's new explosives. Shinohara calls the police to report the explosion and confirm payment, and Masaki's death is written off as a drunk driving accident.
Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens Light Novel Volume 11

## Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens 11

* Cover
* Title page

## Volume Navigation

***Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens 11*** is the eleventh light novel of the series. It was published on February 25, 2022.

## Synopsis

Hearing the news of former police detective Iwasate's death, Shigematsu rushes out to investigate. Meanwhile, the avenger Jiro employs the help of Zenji Banba and Xianming Lin to conduct an investigation of their own to avenge a victim of bullying. The burning of a detective and the suicide of a student - these two cases converge, leading to the unveiling of a large scale scandal that shakes the police force.
Fu Jian Huang

**Fu Jian Huang** (黄富健, *Huang Fu Jian*) is an executive of Shou Wang. He is in possession of virus samples developed by his syndicate and is targeted by Feilang at the request of an opposing organization seeking to weaken Shou Wang's influence.

## Characteristics

### Appearance

Fu Jian is an older, overweight man with a large gut. He appears wearing a light purple gown and a large jeweled ring with an engraving of a beast on it, the mark of a Shou Wang member. The opulence of his dress and apartment, with its Persian rug, leather sofa, and massive television screen and speakers, display extreme wealth and privilege.

### Personality

Fu Jian is interested in art and collects photos and other works, decorating the walls of his penthouse with them. He is arrogant and demanding until beaten, at which point he displays cowardice as he begs and bargains for his life.

## Synopsis

### Shou Wang Arc

Zhao, a Chinese freelance killer, receives a request to kill Fu Jian and retrieve the virus samples he is hiding. Fu Jian is watching television and begins shouting when Zhao enters. After being beaten and having a blade turned on him, Fu Jian quiets and submits to Zhao's questioning. He states his name, and when asked for the virus he is hiding, glances toward a painting on the wall, revealing a safe hidden behind it. Realizing that Zhao intends to kill him, Fu Jian attempts to trade the contents of the safe for his life. Zhao has already recorded him saying his name, however, and beheads the executive with his lancet. With his head, voice recording, and a severed finger, Zhao accesses the safe and retrieves the cases inside for his client. His kleptomaniac nature compels him to steal a vial of virus and anti-virus from the cases, and he relieves Fu Jian's body of his ring and other valuables before departing.
The Series

Info

## Overview Of Series

The story follows the journey of three main tribes, the Únoff, the self determined masters of the land, a bipedal race of satyr like beings capable of controlling the Éordiarx’s (the world’s) magic known as the Súla. The Flóff, a bipedal race of avian-humans which can manipulate the weather and tides across Éordiarx’s surface. And the Dẃoff, a bipedal race of dwarf pig-people, known mostly for their subservient nature and unfortunate role of carrying out the grunt work for the other two tribe’s land projects. These three tribes have been engaged in various conflicts and wars throughout the years, the last of which altered their home land of Oválll into a wasteland. Due to this, the three tribes set aside their arguments and entered into an uneasy alliance to ensure their new home land of Artésque does not befall the same fate as their previous home.

The story begins nearly ten years after the first settlement within the new land was founded. As the eleventh year draws near the uneasy peace has begun to decay, and this new land is threatened for the first time with war. For more information on the history, please refer to the history page found here.
Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens Original Soundtrack

The ***Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens Original Soundtrack*** is a compilation of songs composed by Kotaro Nakagawa for the *Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens* TV series. All 39 tracks are instrumental pieces used as background music in the anime.

## Track List

1. Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens (博多豚骨ラーメンズ) (2:34)
2. Night (夜, *Yoru*) (2:12)
3. Nakasu (中洲) (2:06)
4. Hitman (殺し屋, *Koroshiya*) (1:57)
5. Detective (探偵, *Tantei*) (2:08)
6. Request (依頼, *Irai*) (2:22)
7. Fukuhaku Deai Bridge (福博であい橋, *Fukuhaku Deai Bashi*) (2:07)
8. Strategy (作戦, *Sakusen*) (2:01)
9. Hakata (博多) (1:57)
10. Banba (馬場) (2:05)
11. Qiaomei (僑梅) (1:57)
12. Hakata River Street (博多川通り, *Hakatagawa-dori*) (1:46)
13. BAR (2:09)
14. Back-office Business (裏稼業, *Ura kagyou*) (2:15)
15. Tenjin (天神) (2:09)
16. Mentaiko (明太子) (2:09)
17. Baseball (野球, *Yakyuu*) (1:49)
18. Nakasu Kawabata (中洲川端) (1:51)
19. Reason (理由, *Riyuu*) (1:47)
20. Breaking Dawn (夜明け, *Yoake*) (1:46)
21. Tears (涙, *Namida*) (1:52)
22. Underground Hakata (裏博多, *Ura Hakata*) (2:10)
23. Naka River (那珂川, *Nakagawa*) (1:51)
24. Terror (恐怖, *Kyoufu*) (2:00)
25. Lin (林) (2:01)
26. Muzzle (銃口, *Juukou*) (2:01)
27. Premonition (予感, *Yokan*) (1:48)
28. Hacking (ハッキング) (1:51)
29. Confrontation (対峙, *Taiji*) (1:47)
30. Abnormal (異常, *Ijou*) (1:56)
31. Hakata Port (博多港, *Hakata-kou*) (2:11)
32. Plot (企み, *Takurami*) (1:49)
33. Unreasonable (理不尽, *Rifujin*) (2:08)
34. Incident (事件, *Jiken*) (2:06)
35. Extraordinary (非日常, *Hinichijou*) (2:09)
36. Mafia (マフィア) (1:59)
37. Enokida (榎田) (2:12)
38. Saitoh (斉藤) (1:43)
39. Lullaby (子守唄, *Komori uta*) (1:54)

## Musical Credits

* Composed by Kotaro Nakagawa
* Recorded and mixed by Toru Okitsu
* Strings: Yuichiro Goto Strings
* Trumpet: Koji Nishimura, Teppei Kawakami, Hitoshi Yokoyama
* Trombone: Eijiro Nakagawa, Kanade Shishiuchi, Koichi Nonoshita
* Saxophone: Masato Honma, Osamu Koike, Kei Suzuki
* Piano: Makoto Aoyagi
* Bass: Ryu Kawamura, Kiichiro Komobuchi
* Drums: Kunito Kitai, Ken Higeshiro
* Guitar: Hiroshi Imaizumi

## Gallery

Album booklet page 1Album booklet page 2Back of the bookletCD
Byeong-Hee Kim

**Byeong-Hee Kim** (キム ビョンヒ, Korean: 김병휘, *Kim Byeong Hee*) is an executive of the Kakyuu Association. He is targeted and killed by Shunsuke Saruwatari.

## Characteristics

### Personality

Kim is an arrogant, cowardly individual. He responds rudely to questioning, but when confronted by an enemy with a weapon, he becomes fearful and defenseless. He lives in a high-class apartment and drives a flashy sports car, indicating that he is unafraid to flaunt his wealth and status, even if they are a product of his underground activities.

## Synopsis

### Shou Wang Arc

Tony Lau meets with Naoya Nitta and provides him personal data on Kim and Takashi Unoyama. Saruwatari is instructed to kill the two men as an employment exam for the Shou Wang. Zenji Banba receives files on Kakyuu Association members from Sayuri the same day and selects Unoyama and Kim from the list. After he and Xianming Lin assassinate Unoyama and his underlings, they head to Kim's apartment in Nishijin.

Saruwatari calls out to Kim in the parking garage of his apartment building. Kim responds rudely, but when Saruwatari confirms his identity and reveals his ninja sword, Kim pales and tries to escape. Saruwatari catches him by the neck, and when Kim falls to the ground, the killer stabs him through the heart. He sets a shuriken on the ground beside the body to sign his work and leaves for Unoyama's office.

When Banba and Lin arrive at Kim's apartment, a crowd of police and onlookers has formed around the building with a tape barricade set up. Banba spots Hironobu Shigematsu, who pulls them to the side and informs them of Kim's murder and ties to the mafia and tells them that a shuriken was found next to the body.

Suzuki learns of the murders later that night and has Ruixi Li moved to a safer location. The shuriken left next to Kim's body and Tatsurou Myouken's eyewitness testimony confirm Saruwatari as the culprit. Desperate for a killer who can match Saruwatari in strength, Suzuki hires Zhao.