@Lithe
Yeah, it was a flashback within a flashback.
@Veshv
That confused me a bit too. I think it's likely just the author having difficulty showing Souichi looking young, since his hairstyle and outfit is the same as the present-time Leader look. Mostly because it doesn't make sense for an older Souichi to be talking to Eba. I tried thinking about if there was a second promise or some other crazy theory, but it didn't make much sense.
Random note, since he was wearing the Leader outfit since that young, I'm starting to think his 'white' outfit was a part of his public identity, so probably related to becoming a part of the CIRO in the future.
@Jonui @Veshv
I like that take on Baku's 990k being a test. The only issue I have is that it didn't show a scene of him removing the bill, and the author usually loves to stuff that kind of thing in. I suppose he just happened to have 990k on him for "some reason", and went with that plan immediately.
In that case, it's weird that Hachina even accepted the game. In fact, even in 1 million was given, he could have just refused anyway since there's no binding force like Kakerou here.