They cut the plastic ropes. Before long, they told the people sitting on the floor to stand up and then sat on chairs. Some people, especially the elderly and children, had difficulty standing because their hands had been tied.
The armed gang members had to assist and direct the hostages to sit on chairs. After that, those armed gang members tied the legs and bodies of the hostages to their chairs so that the hostages could not move at all. The armed mob went even further. They tied the chairs to the table in front of them.
Akimasa could only speculate about those people's plans. Those small plastic-wrapped items were most likely bombs. Objects such as digital clocks that function as timers to set when the bomb would explode. One of the group members then ordered Akimasa to sit on a chair in the center of the table.
While trying to tie up Akimasa, one of the gang members felt something in Akimasa's shirt pocket. He reached into Akimasa's pocket and took out a stun gun and a bottle of pepper spray that Akimasa had taken from his bag.
The mob leader approached Akimasa.
"So the journalists today also carry weapons!" He smiled lightly.
"While carrying out our duties, sometimes we face some difficulties. Those things are as important as pens and notebooks," replied Akimasa.
The leader of the gang pocketed the weapon that Akimasa had brought with him. He then ordered his men to tie Akimasa twice. Perhaps he thought Akimasa was dangerous enough to be neutralized immediately.
Akimasa looked around him. Binding all the people there took a lot of time. Several members of the mob reappeared from the stairs. They then help their friends so that they can finish the work immediately.
When almost everyone in the room had been tied up, they stopped the work. There were still a few people they hadn't tied to the chairs. The men were still sitting on the floor with their hands tied. Among the people they had not tied to the chair were Yabuta Matane, Yabuta Matane's secretary, and six others whom Akimasa thought were Yabuta Matane's entourage members. Apart from the eight of them, there were still three more. Namely, the woman in the hat and the two men who had come with her.