I'm reading a book, and in this scene, the leader of a Yakuza group is plotting to try to gain the spot as the largest and strongest syndicate in the region. His group has kidnapped 2 characters from the target syndicate, and he's talking with those 2 characters. He previously said that he finds other's misfortunes amusing.
The sentence I'm trying to translate: あいつの蔭で延々と 非道をつくそうとする 思考も面白いがわしはどちらかというと派手好みでな
My attempt: The thought of [doing something unjust?] in a drawn out way in the shadows is also amusing, but if it were one or the other, I would prefer to be showy/extravagant.
I'm not sure what verb つく translates to. Either one of the many many possibilities of つく verbs with verb root + そう like "to appear/seem to (verb)"? But which つく, there's a lot and they have so many potential meanings.
