Yuki Tsuruno was a Japanese yakuza who served as acting patriarch of the Omi Alliance's Watase-gumi subsidiary from 2017 to 2019, succeeding Masaru Watase. Tsuruno served as Watase's right-hand man in the leadup to the "Great Dissolution" of 2019, procuring the aid of Kazuma Kiryu through the kidnapping of his Daidoji Faction handler Kihei Hanawa and helping defeat Homare Nishitani III and his own lieutenant Kosei Shishido as they led a last-ditch attempt to prevent the Omi's disbandment.
Biography[]
Yuki Tsuruno was born in Osaka, Kansai, Japan, and he became a member of the Omi Alliance yakuza clan. Tsuruno rose to be the right-hand man of Watase-gumi patriarch Masaru Watase, and he made enemies with Homare Nishitani III after Nishitani brutally tortured a 20-year-old Watase-gumi member whom Tsuruno had attempted to help leave the yakuza; Tsuruno, who killed the young man to put him out of his suffering, came to despite Nishitani. He later rescued the prize fighter Kosei Shishido from Nishitani, earning Shishido's loyalty and making him a lieutenant of the Watase-gumi. After Watase's arrest in 2017, Tsuruno became acting patriarch of the Watase-gumi, leading to Shishido becoming his right-hand man as acting captain.
Tsuruno in 2019
In 2019, the imprisoned Watase contacted Tsuruno through his lawyer and requested his help with bringing about the dissolution of the Omi Alliance in conjunction with Tojo-kai chairman Daigo Dojima's plan to dissolve the Tojo. Tsuruno shared Watase's displeasure with the current direction of the yakuza, who were increasingly being dehumanized by draconian anti-gang laws and used as pawns by politicians like Tokyo governor Ryo Aoki. To secure the dissolution, Watase assigned Tsuruno the task of luring Kazuma Kiryu out of hiding and securing his aid in eliminating Nishitani, whose Kijin-kai clan of assassins could threaten the Omi's disbandment. Tsuruno, with Shishido's help, decided to kidnap Kiryu's Daidoji Faction handler Kihei Hanawa, luring him into a trap at the Yokohama docks by posing as Asian revolutionaries who were expecting the Daidoji to deliver them a shipment of gold bullion provided by the CIA. While Kiryu fought off the Watase Family's attempt to kidnap Hanawa at the docks, Tsuruno tracked Kiryu down to the Seiryu-kai headquarters as Kiryu investigated that clan's potential involvement in the ambush. Kiryu caught wind of his pursuers and defeated Tsuruno in a fight at a garage before kidnapping him. However, Shishido intercepted Hanawa's car as it drove Tsuruno and Kiryu out of Yokohama, ramming the vehicle, retrieving Tsuruno, and kidnapping Hanawa instead. Kiryu was thus forced to keep in touch with Tsuruno over the phone and through the information broker Akame, and, at a meeting in the Survive Bar in Yokohama, Tsuruno failed to persuade Kiryu to fake his death and kill Hanawa so that he could be freed of the Daidoji's influence. Tsuruno later had Kiryu compete at "the Castle" to prove his worth before, as a reward, having Shishido reveal that Hanawa was being detained at Namiki No. 3.
Kiryu confronting Tsuruno over Nishitani's death
There, Tsuruno and the best men of the Watase-gumi made a stand against Kiryu, who single-handedly dispatched all of them. There, Tsuruno told Kiryu of the Watase-gumi's plan to dissolve the Omi and the Tojo, and he once again begged Kiryu to accept the Watase Family's offer and leave the Daidoji. Kiryu and Hanawa instead kidnapped Tsuruno, who was taken to Osaka and interrogated. When the Daidoji's Agent Yoshimura ordered Kiryu to execute Tsuruno to demonstrate his loyalty, Kiryu instead helped Tsuruno escape, and Tsuruno retrieved 50 billion yen and gave it to Shunin, a leader of the Daidoji, in exchange for Kiryu's life and his brief service to the Watase. Tsuruno went on to serve as Kiryu's handler on Watase's behalf, tasking him with killing (and, after Kiryu protested, severely beating) Homare Nishitani III to dissuade him from rebelling against the upcoming dissolution. Tsuruno feigned allegiance to Nishitani, having Kiryu punch him to fabricate the narrative that he had gone rogue. After Kiryu defeated Nishitani in a fight at the Castle, Tsuruno and Shishido later joined Kiryu in Dotonbori, where they lavishly spent 50 million yen procured by Tsuruno as a means of baiting Nishitani into leaving the Castle for Osaka. When this failed to grab Nishitani's attention, the trio raided the Castle and threatened to reveal its existence to the public, leading to Nishitani coming to Osaka and residing at his dockside headquarters. There, Kiryu and Shishido raided the warehouse as Tsuruno set fire to the building, and Shishido apparently murdered Nishitani, causing Kiryu to lash out at Shishido and Tsuruno for betraying their earlier promise to him. Tsuruno explained his past encounter with Nishitani as rationale for killing him.
Tsuruno apologizing to Kiryu
A month later, after Watase was released from prison, Tsuruno visited Kiryu to tell him about their plan for the next day, wherein they would meet Watase at a construction site, give him a change of formal clothing, and take him to his reception ceremony at Omi HQ, where they would provide security as he announced the Omi's dissolution. Tsuruno also apologized profusely to Kiryu for lying, begging for forgiveness. He also gave Kiryu the good news about Ichiban Kasuga's activities, saying that he and his friends were also in on the plan.
Watase protecting Tsuruno
On the day of the dissolution, Shishido and Nishitani - whom Shishido had spared and turned against Watase - ambushed Watase, Kiryu, and Tsuruno at the construction site. Shishido revealed Watase's dissolution plans to his men and turned them against the acting chairman, while additional Kijin-kai soldiers arrived to kill the plotters. Tsuruno was slashed in the leg by Nishitani in the ensuing fight, but Watase took a stab to the gut to prevent Nishitani from murdering Tsuruno. Ultimately, Hanawa arrived in a limousine and struck Nishitani with his car, while Kiryu, having fought off the rest of the Omi men, defeated Shishido. Tsuruno's wound was patched up by Hanawa, and he was unable to partake in the fight at Omi HQ due to his wounds. However, he helped carry the wounded Watase during the fight and amid Kiryu's final battle with Shishido. With the Omi dissolved, Tsuruno, Watase, and the rest of the Omi became civilians, while Shishido and Nishitani were forced to become Daidoji agents.