Tokyo Unnatural Forensics

Chapter 399, The Murderer Appears Fifteen Years Later! (Two Chapters Combined)

P.S.: This chapter is a super long 5900-word chapter, a two-in-one long chapter. I've decided to finish writing Desu in one go, and I hope everyone is satisfied with Desu~
On February 23, Uesugi Muneyuki got up at seven o'clock in the morning.

Although today is a public holiday in Japan, unfortunately, the police are not subject to Japanese labor law. Instead, they are governed by special police laws and public servant laws. Therefore, the statement mentioned earlier that although Japanese police are defenders of the law, their first act is to trample on labor laws is, strictly speaking, incorrect.

So, how does the Japanese Police Law stipulate the working hours of police officers?
The answer is the same. Japanese police law stipulates that the legal working hours for Japanese police officers are 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week. Due to the special nature of police work, it is impossible to strictly regulate working hours, but this is the general requirement.

But what is the reality?

In reality, Japanese police officers work not only more than 40 hours per week, but far more. According to a survey by the University of Tokyo and the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, although the Japanese Police Law strictly stipulates that overtime hours should not exceed 80 hours per month, in fact 40% of police officers work more than 80 hours of overtime per month!
Despite such intense overtime work, Japan's divorce rate is 13%, but the divorce rate among police officers is as high as 30%. There are even cases of "pseudo-single-parent families," where a police officer father finally comes home for the night, but his children don't recognize him at all. As a father, he doesn't even know what grade his son is in, how old he is, or where he goes to school.

Generally speaking, if a police officer works less than 30 hours of overtime per month, it is considered a rest day. Naturally, overtime pay is out of the question. According to the Police Law, police officers should be entitled to at least 2000 yen per hour (equivalent to about RMB 110 at this time) for overtime work. However, in reality, local police headquarters and police stations simply do not have enough budget to pay that much. Police officers who really need overtime pay will be required to "self-isolate" by branches with severe budget shortages. Branches with more sufficient budgets or the Metropolitan Police Department will give a token amount, around 200-300 yen per hour.

Forget about taking a vacation. Before the 90s, Japanese police worked year-round except for New Year's Day and Golden Week holidays because they were always short-handed.

Tanaka Noboru has the right to speak on this point. When he was young, he once chased a fugitive and didn't return to his rented room for four weeks. The landlord even thought he was dead and was about to vacate the room.

Therefore, police officers are theoretically a mid-to-high-paying profession. However, if you really calculate the total working hours, the hourly wage is not much different from that of a convenience store clerk. In other words, the accompanying benefits, social status, and social resources make it a worthwhile job.

Being a police officer is a tough job, but it's also a great one for your loved ones, family, friends, and siblings (various benefits and special treatment and protections for family members). It's similar to being a doctor, except that doctors become more sought after as they get older, while 60% of police officers remain at the level of patrol chief. However, it's relatively easy to get into the police force, but extremely difficult to become a doctor.

Japanese society highly respects both of these professions.

This problem persisted until about 10 years ago, when the police died from overwork repeatedly, coupled with insufficient compensation and difficulty in recruiting personnel. The National Police Agency and the National Public Safety Commission then formally reformed the police system, mandating a maximum of 100 hours of overtime per month, which would result in a "mandatory suspension" of leave. At the same time, they were required to take at least 4 days of mandatory rest per month, meaning one mandatory day off per week. Additionally, each police officer was required to take at least 5 days of annual leave per year, and to take a 30-minute break after 4 hours of continuous searching, among other measures.

Even so, at the Metropolitan Police Department, let alone 5 or 6 pm, even if you go to the First Investigation Division to look for someone at 7 or 8 pm, the police are basically still there. They usually don't leave work until 8 or 9 pm when there's really nothing left to do.

Only elite departments like the Special Missions Unit, headed by Uesugi Muneyuki, can truly receive sufficient overtime pay and get a short break after handling major cases.

Even so, the Special Missions Unit has become busy after being reactivated. The ace unit will not let you be idle. The 23 wards, 26 cities, 5 towns and 8 villages of Tokyo are all on the shoulders of Uesugi Forensic Officer!

This morning, the Metropolitan Police Department is holding a flower-laying and apology ceremony for the Toshima Ward family annihilation case. As it marks the 15th anniversary of the case, it coincides with the 15-year statute of limitations for criminal prosecution at the time. Although the Japanese Diet later officially abolished criminal prosecution for similar serious murder cases and replaced it with permanent prosecution, the 15th anniversary still holds great significance.

The person in charge of investigating the case at the time was Eiji Watanabe, who was then the head of the First Investigation Division. Although he is now the Superintendent General of Police, he still harbors resentment for not being able to solve the case back then.

"Honestly, even after 15 years, Father still can't forget what happened back then," Miss Minami complained. "I want to go out and have fun with you all during a holiday! Like Universal Studios Japan in Osaka, I want to be Hermione Granger!"

“Then I’ll be Cho Chang,” Erina said with great interest. “And Muneyuki? Harry Potter or Cedric?”

"Then I got up, and Voldemort killed me instantly with an Avada Kedavra shot, damn it." Uesugi Muneyuki smirked.

"Mo~ Why do you guys seem to be getting busier and busier?" At this moment, Asuka placed a classic Hokkaido breakfast she had cooked on the table. The mischievous girl had deliberately made a cold sashimi rice breakfast for the fat girl.

Erena's face darkened. Asuka made her soup curry hot udon in the summer, which didn't burn her, but in the winter she made her frozen sashimi. It was clearly meant to disgust her.

Zong Xue! Say something!

However, all that responded to her were the wicked laughs of Uesugi Muneyuki and Watanabe Minami.

Ugh! Erina could only sulk and eat her breakfast in big mouthfuls as if in revenge.

So icy!

A tall, beautiful woman, feeling refreshed and invigorated early in the morning.

........................

February 23, 2, 7:45 a.m., Toshima Ward, Tokyo, Sato Family Memorial Park.

The winter morning light had not yet dispelled the heavy chill, but the area around the Sato Family Memorial Park in Toyoshima Ward was already filled with a suppressed clamor. This land, where a horrific family massacre once took place, has now been turned into a small street park. In the center stands a dark, shiny granite monument, silently telling the story of the tragedy fifteen years ago. However, at this moment, this place, which should be solemn, has become the center of a huge vortex.

Outside the park's iron fence, a massive crowd surged, almost completely blocking the way. Dozens of media vans and satellite antennas, like steel monsters, were parked along the roadside, their powerful headlights illuminating the area as if it were daytime. A dense array of cameras and lenses were pointed at the park's center, and reporters, their expressions serious or professionally solemn, were conducting their live broadcast pre-show promotions.

"TBS, TBS, hello everyone, this is TBS Television. We are currently located at the former site of the Sato family residence in Toshima Ward. The annual Metropolitan Police Department's flower-laying and apology ceremony is about to begin. Fifteen years have passed, and this unsolved case that shocked the entire nation remains a huge boulder weighing on the heart of Tokyo..."

"...NHK reminds you that there will be a large crowd at the ceremony, please be careful. The police have deployed additional officers to maintain order... Regarding this unsolved case, the Diet has officially changed the indefinite retroactive application of such cases, which means that the Metropolitan Police Department will continue the investigation indefinitely."

"This is Fuji Television Station, I am Reimi Tsutsumi. The program 'The Hand of God' that we recently broadcast has sparked heated discussions among the public... The online buzzword 'The Ghost of Ikebukuro' has once again topped the trending searches. Many people came spontaneously after hearing about the ceremony to express their condolences for the deceased and their desire for the truth..."

All the major television stations arrived, and Uesugi Muneyuki's program brought this 15-year-old murder case back into the public eye. The crowd that came to watch was huge and diverse, roughly estimated to be more than several hundred people. They were shoulder to shoulder, and the white breath they exhaled formed a hazy wall of mist in the air.

Most of the onlookers were elderly residents from the neighborhood (after all, they were the only ones who didn't have to go to work or school), wrapped in thick cotton-padded clothes, their faces etched with worry and lingering shadows.

Another year has passed…

"I will never forget the sound of sirens that morning."

"The murderer is still at large, it's unbelievable..."

Many YouTubers also came to the scene, holding up their phones or small cameras, excitedly recording everything and discussing various long-standing conspiracy theories.

"Oh, I watched 'God's Hand' on Fuji TV the other day. Was the Special Missions Division's forensic investigator Uesugi also following this case?"

"Do you think there will be a breakthrough this year, given that forensic investigator Uesugi is paying close attention to this case?"

"Where does a breakthrough come from so easily? But it's true, it's remarkable that the Metropolitan Police Department still remembers after 15 years."

"Will the killer see this episode? Wow, if another similar case comes along, we'll never run out of content!"

Ordinary passersby and commuters also noticed the scene. They stopped briefly, their faces showing curiosity, confusion, or a hint of barely perceptible fear.

"Mr. Morita, what happened?" "Didn't you see 'The Hand of God' the other day?"

"Oh, it's that family annihilation case, it's been so many years."

"The police come every year, but what's the point? They just can't solve the problem, and they're wasting our taxpayers' money!"

"Let's go, this feels really oppressive."

"Uneasy desu~"

A few supporters of the victims and relatives and friends of the Sato family stood silently at the edge of the crowd, holding homemade signs that read "Never forget," "Justice for the deceased," and "Where is the truth?" Their eyes were filled with sorrow and determination.

The air was filled with a mixture of smells: the pungent smell of car exhaust, the cold morning mist, the aroma of hot coffee, and an invisible, immense pressure called "unresolved."

8:00 sharp.

A deep engine roared as a dozen black Metropolitan Police Department vehicles, escorted by sirens, struggled through the crowd and came to a stop at the park entrance. The doors opened, and the current Superintendent General of the Metropolitan Police Department, Eiji Watanabe, stepped out first. His expression was grave; facing the flood of cameras and stares, he nodded slightly. Following him were several other high-ranking Metropolitan Police Department officials, also dressed in dark suits and with serious expressions: Criminal Investigation Department Chief Kanji Uchimura and Chief of the First Investigation Division, Ukyo Sugishita.

The final figure to appear instantly attracted the attention of almost all the cameras and a few murmurs from the crowd.

The Special Missions Unit, led by Administrator Watanabe Minami and Forensic Officer Uesugi Muneyuki, also made their appearance.

Wearing the uniform of a four-star Superintendent General of Police, Eiji Watanabe refused his subordinates' assistance and got out of the car alone. The tall Eiji Watanabe still stood straight as a pine tree. His face was serious, ignoring all the noise around him. His majestic and sharp eyes pierced through the gaps in the crowd and were firmly locked on the cold black stone monument in the center of the park.

The appearance of this renowned Superintendent General of Police temporarily silenced some of the clamor, replacing it with a complex silence that mixed respect and inquiry.

Surrounded by hundreds of Metropolitan Police Department officers, the flower-laying ceremony began. Eiji Watanabe walked to the makeshift podium, his voice clearly projected through the loudspeaker, carrying a formulaic heaviness and unquestionable authority:
"Fellow citizens and friends from the media: Fifteen years ago tonight, right here on this very ground, Mr. Kenichi Sato, Ms. Miwako, Mr. Shota, and Ms. Riko, a family of four, were brutally murdered. The cruelty of the methods and the heinousness of the crime are appalling! This was not only the destruction of a family, but also a trampling on the bottom line of social safety!"

His voice suddenly rose, carrying a declarative force, echoing in the chilly air:
"All of us at the Metropolitan Police Department have never forgotten this tragedy! We have never forgotten our promise to the victims' families! We have never forgotten our responsibility to every citizen of Tokyo!"

"On behalf of the Metropolitan Police Department, I would like to once again extend my deepest and most sincere apologies to the spirits of the Sato family and to all those who care about this case and yearn for justice!"

“Private Marseille with red bean paste!”

The Superintendent General of Police and the senior officials behind him bowed deeply in unison, their deep bows and humble postures appearing particularly solemn in front of the camera.

At the time, Eiji Watanabe, who was the head of the First Investigation Division, never forgot about this case.

This case is a disgrace to the Metropolitan Police Department and to Eiji Watanabe.

Not far behind Watanabe Eiji, Uesugi Muneyuki and others also bowed and apologized.

"My godfather is really something... This must be a worry for him," Uesugi Muneyuki thought to himself.

An apology would be enough. Did her father really think that the case could be solved after 15 years? Minami thought to herself.

Does the director think that Uesugi's influence can help in this case? Okada wondered.

The three leaders of the Special Missions Department had different ideas, but at this point, bowing and apologizing would suffice.

Straightening up, Watanabe Eiji's gaze swept across the crowd, then over the stone monument symbolizing shame and unfulfilled duty, his voice resolute:
"At the same time, we hereby swear: no matter how time passes! no matter how faint the clues may be! The Metropolitan Police Department's determination to track down the real culprit and uphold justice will be unwavering. We will exhaust all resources, utilize all technological means, and spare no expense to bring the murderer to justice! The Metropolitan Police Department's shame will not be erased until this case is solved!"

"Please believe in us! Please give us time! Justice will prevail!" Watanabe Eiji bowed deeply once more: "Never forget! Never forgive!"

In response to Eiji Watanabe's apology, flashes went off wildly and shutters clicked incessantly, but the crowd's reaction was far more complex.

Reporters quickly jotted down keywords: "Never forget," "Never forgive," "Disgrace to the Metropolitan Police Department," while the camera captured the moment the police officers bowed and the Superintendent General's profile, which was as sharp as a stone carving.

Some nodded silently, tears welling in their eyes; some clenched their fists, their lips pressed tightly together; others shook their heads and sighed, muttering under their breath, "It's the same old lines again... It's been fifteen years... Can't we come up with something new?"

"That's quite a vow..." "At all costs? Where has all our taxpayers' money gone?"

"The Superintendent General's expression is terrifying. Does he know something?"

"He was the head of the Special Investigation Headquarters back then. It was said to be the work of the U.S. military stationed in Japan. The Metropolitan Police Department had discovered it, but it was suppressed!"

"Damn it, how did the country become like this? How could the United States be so evil?"

There was a lot of discussion among the crowd.

"Let's go, let's catch the subway."

"Sigh, that sounds terrible. A whole family of four was killed. I hope they can really break through this barrier."

As the ceremony drew to a close, Watanabe Eiji received a bouquet of white roses from the director's personal chauffeur (driver), Yamada, and gently placed them next to the official bouquet offered in front of the stone monument. His fingers brushed against the cold granite, his fingertips seemingly still able to feel the suffocating stench of blood from fifteen years ago. He gazed at the names on the stone monument, his lips moving silently, as if conversing with those departed souls.

When the case first broke out, Eiji Watanabe thought there were many clues and that it would be easy to solve. However, he did not expect that with so much evidence and so many clues, including the killer's fingerprints, saliva, blood, shoe prints, and DNA, the case still could not be solved.

He even used his father's and uncle's connections to conduct tests at the U.S. military base in Yokosuka, but still found nothing.

This has become a major worry for Eiji Watanabe.

However... if it were my son, Uesugi, perhaps there would be some possibility... The Superintendent General of Police is paying so much attention to Uesugi Muneyuki for this reason as well; his own son is too good at solving cases.

"Wait for me, Kenichi, Miwako, Shota, Riko, I will not give up." Watanabe Eiji murmured to himself, "At least until I die, I will keep an eye on this case."

After saying that, Watanabe Eiji reached out and gently stroked the black stone tablet, then patted it twice to indicate that he remembered everything.

At this time, the routine flower-laying ceremony for the Toshima Ward family annihilation case was almost over, and the hundreds of police officers from the Metropolitan Police Department were preparing to leave the scene. The large crowd of onlookers also realized that it was almost time and began to disperse.

Standing in the crowd, Uesugi Muneyuki raised his head and gave Watanabe Eiji's back a meaningful look... When Watanabe Eiji mentioned the unsolved cases to him before, he felt that his adoptive father was being a bit deliberate. Sure enough, it was this family annihilation case.
Unfortunately, 15 years have passed, and the body has long been cremated. Japan has a low regard for forensic medicine, and body evidence is not preserved for that long. Moreover, even if they value it highly, what difference does it make? Even in the United States, which places the highest importance on forensic medicine, body samples are only preserved for about 5 years.

He was powerless to help with the case, and could only rely on Aizen Myōō's emotional perception and Vajra Yaksha Myōō's methods of murder to deduce the murderer's portrait and the reasons for his bizarre behavior.

Human capabilities have limits!

unless……

"Hey, Uesugi." Just then, Arimura Hana-dono, who had been watching the flower-offering ceremony with great interest, suddenly said to Uesugi Muneyuki, "That cockroach with a head is quite special."

[A cockroach?!] Uesugi Muneyuki didn't react for a moment: [Oh, you mean there's someone special?]

[Yeah, he was staring at you the whole time, and it seemed like the more agitated your godfather got, the more he wanted to laugh. Among all these cockroaches, he was the most unique.] Even the village belle Chun is a bit...unique cockroach!

[Cockroach? Cockroach... cockroach!!!] Uesugi Muneyuki's expression changed slightly upon hearing this, and he immediately activated his spiritual vision ability!
His eyes, capable of piercing through the fog, scanned the dispersing crowd with the most sophisticated radar, as if it had concentrated all its power.

The clairvoyant eye swept across blurry or clear faces, across the bustling media area, across the scattered crowd…

Suddenly!

Fifty meters away, a middle-aged man stood at the edge of the crowd. His blurry figure, wearing a dark gray down jacket and adjusting his scarf, suddenly froze as if drawn by a magnet!

It wasn't her face, as the scarf covered most of it; it wasn't her figure—she was completely lost in the crowd and inconspicuous.

It was the gesture in that instant when he raised his hand!
It was a wisp of hair, different from pure black, with subtle curls and a strange light gold sheen, briefly captured by sunlight through the gap in the scarf!

And, he was entangled by a strong resentment, something permeated with a kind of hatred.

Is it a lighter?!
A flash of inspiration struck him.

The ghostly profile that swirled, reconstructed, and analyzed in my mind, at a certain point, overlapped with something extremely faint yet incredibly sharp!
Uesugi Muneyuki's heart pounded powerfully in his chest, as if he had received a super-Earth medical injection.

However, the figure was also very vigilant. He seemed to sense Uesugi Muneyuki's gaze. Although it was virtually impossible for a normal human to see a face clearly from fifty meters away, he still sensed something was wrong. He pulled up his scarf and prepared to quickly retreat into the crowd.

That's too late!

Just before the flower-laying apology ceremony at the Metropolitan Police Department ended, Special Missions Unit forensic officer Uesugi Muneyuki suddenly pointed in a certain direction in the crowd and roared at the hundreds of police officers, dozens of cameras, and hundreds of onlookers present: "It's him! It's him!"

"??????" Everyone present was completely dumbfounded by Uesugi Muneyuki's bizarre behavior.

Oh my goodness, Uesugi-san, what kind of show are you putting on now?

"I've found the killer! It's him! Catch him!!!" Uesugi Muneyuki pushed through the crowd, frantically pointing in a certain direction, and roared, "Catch him! Catch him!!!"

Time seemed to freeze at this moment.

Nani?

Fifteen years have passed, and the ghost of Ikebukuro has reappeared?!
(End of this chapter)