Noriyuki Takatsu

The protagonist of the side story "Mato Den Nue."

Leader of the Takatsu Group, a subsidiary of the Kanto-wide yakuza organization Sakurawa-kai. 41 years old. Leads the "First Army," a group of mahjong gambling stand-ins. Inherits Yanagi's will and uses and supports Kei.

Always calm, but shows a passionate side by suddenly shooting the person who shot Yanagi during a meeting to decide the date for a mahjong match with Taya's organization (nearly resulting in a gunfight on the spot).

Once a stand-in player, but was plucked by Otsuji before his talent could blossom and retired. In the latter part of the first arc, Otsuji broke their agreement out of fear for his life, leading him to fight at the table himself from the "Hitobashira Arc" onwards.

In the "Hitobashira Arc," it is revealed that the attack on Tōjima during the Ryūōi match was orchestrated by Takatsu (a self-staged act despite having hired Tōjima). From there, he reveals his ambitions and massacres the anti-Takatsu faction within Sakurawa-kai. His attitude towards Kei also changes drastically, acting as if all the care he had shown was a lie. To coincide with his succession as the second head of Sakurawa-kai, he holds a survival mahjong game where the loser must play Russian roulette after the half-game ends.

His mahjong skills are high, showing intelligence beyond Kei's imagination. However, Kei surpasses Takatsu's reading, ultimately leading him to deliberately make a mistake and die. His hand pulling the trigger did not tremble at all.

In the "Minagoroshi Arc," the "list" that Takatsu possessed disappears and is thought to be missing, but it is later revealed that he entrusted the "list" to Kei.