Inside the back kitchen of the Memphis-based Japanese restaurant, head sushi chef and GPW Pure Gold Champions Fuse Makoto leaned against a counter and looked through his phone.

This phone was much more complicated than any of the cheaper ones Fuse had ever used before; it was a well-intentioned gift from Golden Pro Wrestling Commissioner Parker Meloche.

“This phone will let you have video calls with your parents and stay in touch better. I want you to be fulfilled out here in America, and you deserve to have strong connections with back home,” Parker had told him at the time.

The hustle and bustle of the restaurant staff continued in the kitchen, but Fuse’s position of leadership allowed him to decide when to go on break.

On his phone, the video call attempted to connect, and after a moment his sweet mother appeared. She instantly smiled at seeing Fuse’s face.

“Oh dear, Fuse,” she gushed in happiness, and Fuse smiled in return.

“Mother,” Fuse replied. “I am so happy to see your face once more. How is father?”

Of course, Fuse’s father was still relatively sick from his old age, and his battles with dementia which resulted from a lifetime of professional wrestling.

“Father is still at peace, albeit still slipping in his memory and conversation.”

Fuse nodded back into the phone camera.

“And my Fuse, what is the news from America? We have been watching your matches and Season 4 of your Golden Pro Wrestling. We are very proud.”

Fuse made a melancholy face, reflective of the complicated turn of events this past season.

“It is hard to explain, mother. While my wrestling continues to succeed, there have been troubling things happening in the background that I must talk to you about.”

His mother made a momentary face of concern, and then a resigned look of understanding.

“Yakuza,” she flatly stated, which perplexed Fuse that she was already aware of the pressures by the Japanese organized crime syndicate.

“Yes, mother. How did you know? Have they contacted you and father?”

“They have, my Fuse… they have. Yakuza made very clear that they are watching your progress in Golden Pro Wrestling, and that the national interest in your success has been very good for their business. They make much money from your fame back home.”

In frustration, Fuse shook his head.

“And what did they tell you?”

“We did not want to bother you and distract you from your matches, but Yakuza says that if you fail, they will make problems for me and your father.”

A busboy brushed past Fuse with a tray of dirty dishes, but he barely noticed with his focus placed solely on the conversation.

“Do not worry mother, I will not fail. And after my match with Shotcaller, I will return home and handle Yakuza once and for all.”

The face of Fuse’s mother softened on the phone screen.

“I know you will succeed. We do not worry. And you are welcome home whether you succeed or not. We miss you.”

“I miss you too, mother. Please pass my love to father, as well.”

After a brief pause, her mother nodded to Fuse on the screen and ended the call.

Season 4 had been proving to be extraordinarily difficult for Fuse to process. While he had defeated Awoke at Gold Strike 18 and remained the Pure Gold Champion, the dark forces of Yakuza were undermining everything else.