Tokyo Unnatural Forensics

Chapter 482, Finding the Key to Decryption!

Late at night, in a restaurant in Chiyoda District.

"Don't worry, it's on me today. Eat up, you must be hungry after a long day."

While Yamaguchi Maho was still crying, when Kashiwagi Meisa placed a set meal of curry pork cutlet and fried shrimp tempura worth 1380 yen (excluding tax) in front of her, the idol, who had recently experienced ups and downs in Tokyo, finally wiped her eyes and said with difficulty, "Thank you."

Maho Yamaguchi had hoped that with witnesses, physical evidence, confessions, and the defendant's admission of guilt, she could at least get a relatively fair result from the Metropolitan Police Department. However, whether it was Inspector Shiratori, Inspector Kashiwagi, or Inspectors Shimano and Itami, who were on their way to the Special Investigation Headquarters, their actions in this matter were...

Are there still humans in the Metropolitan Police Department?

All the trust, goodwill, and confidence in the police and their professional abilities that I had previously held have been shattered.

If it weren't for Meisa Kashiwagi inviting her out for dinner and saying many comforting words, Maho Yamaguchi would have truly felt like the sky had fallen.

The placard girl from Fuji TV's "God's Hand" is gone!

I was attacked by fans of Ekui, who were instigated by my contemporaries!

Imazaki-san and his two contemporaries are dead!
The Metropolitan Police Department also considers her, as the victim, to be a suspect!

All of this made Yamaguchi Maho feel utterly hopeless. After Suga Muneyuki made a new judgment, she was finally temporarily cleared of suspicion, which seemed like a good thing. However, considering that she was currently imprisoned, suspected by the police, ostracized by her team, had lost her important variety show appearance, and had an uncertain future as an idol, Yamaguchi Maho couldn't help but shed tears again.

What will become of us...YKC48...in the future?
“Alright, don’t be sad. I’m sorry, Ms. Yamaguchi. I apologize to you on behalf of my husband.” Meisa Kashiwagi bowed her head sincerely. “Jin isn’t a bad person, it’s just… he can be very stubborn sometimes… I heard him say that when he was investigating today, it seems that the management and members all think it’s you…”

Meisa Kashiwagi clearly stopped talking, feeling that she had conveyed the meaning.

After hearing this, Yamaguchi Maho gave a sad smile and didn't continue the topic: "Um, Kashiwagi-san, how is the situation now?"

"I don't know. The headquarters just finished a meeting. Special Missions Division Chief Minami Watanabe has already gone to the Special Investigation Headquarters to meet with Chief Uesugi. I believe we should have results soon." Meisa Kashiwagi comforted her, "After all, he is Chief Uesugi."

Uesugi... the leader, is that right?
Maho Yamaguchi felt a pang of unease, but then she suddenly remembered something: "Um, I heard that he and that 'face of the Metropolitan Police Department,' that is, Superintendent Watanabe, have already..."

“Yes, that’s right. Inspector Watanabe Minami is engaged to Chief Uesugi.” Kashiwagi Meisa nodded, then suddenly said very seriously, “Um, Ms. Yamaguchi, I’ve heard about you and Chief Uesugi, but… for the foreseeable future, you’d better not bring it up. Otherwise, Chief Uesugi might have to avoid suspicion, and it will cause further controversy among the public.”

"I...I understand..."

Maho Yamaguchi was still hoping that Muneyuki Uesugi would clear her name, and when Meisa Kashiwagi kindly reminded her, she said she understood.

Ms. Kashiwagi, you're such a kind person! She and Uesugi-san are practically the only human beings left in the Metropolitan Police Department!
As she ate the delicious curry pork cutlet and shrimp tempura rice bowl, Maho Yamaguchi finally felt some comfort. At least she felt much better now, and her heart was warm.

Aside from this incident, the two had nothing else to say to each other. The young idol from Beijing and the police inspector with an annual salary of 700 million that could barely be considered a management position were actually from two different worlds.

However, if Yamaguchi Maho knew what Kashiwagi Meisa was thinking, she would probably realize a certain truth.

There are really no humans inside the Metropolitan Police Department!
When Meisa Kashiwagi saw that Maho Yamaguchi looked better, she breathed a sigh of relief.

Her main purpose in inviting Yamaguchi to this meal was to keep her calm and prevent her from complaining about her husband! Although almost all the operations and members believed that Yamaguchi Maho was the problem during Kashiwagi Jin's investigation, his interrogation methods would still be punished if complaints were filed.

Her secondary purpose in inviting Yamaguchi to this meal was to persuade her to stop bothering Uesugi!
After all, if there are too many monks, there will be too little porridge!

Meisa Kashiwagi pondered this in her mind, and seeing that Yamaguchi accepted the suggestion easily, a smile appeared on her face.

Little idols are so much better!
........................

At the same time, late at night, near the Special Investigation Headquarters of Setagaya Ward, at public facilities and hotels.

Uesugi Muneyuki stood on the balcony of his hotel room, pondering what to do next.

In fact, Imazaki's manager didn't know who the other party was either. He knew very well that he had been silenced by someone sent from above, but he didn't know who that person was.

The "above" that Imazaki mentioned likely refers to two aspects: first, Kansai Yoshimoto Kogyo, and second, YKC Operations, the company responsible for operating YKC48.

Anyone who could obtain succinylcholine and high-purity fentanyl for injection and cause death is definitely not an ordinary person.

Yoshimoto Kogyo has been clean-up its business for thirty years; it wouldn't resort to such methods. Imazaki explicitly stated that the Financial Services Agency's sudden intensification of inspections and oversight in recent days had put the entire YKC operation under high tension. This is why the lost documents triggered the parent company's heightened vigilance. As a key middle manager, Imazaki couldn't recover the crucial documents or explain how they were lost, which led to his being silenced.

This brings to mind the brooch on the acquaintance that Kurosaki Ryuji encountered in the Okada case.

Uesugi Muneyuki finally managed to connect all the dots.

Here's the thing.

It's clear that Okada's situation wasn't entirely accidental. The exposure of Okada Miki's affair was obviously intentional on the part of Okada's father, but the appearance of Kurosaki Ryuji was an accident. After he revealed that he was Okada Miki's ex-boyfriend, he was manipulated by the mastermind behind the scenes, which ultimately led to Okada Miki's death and Okada Masayoshi's near disgrace.

Okada Masayoshi's painful experience triggered a stress response in his father, Okada Masayoshi. After learning about the brooch from him, the Financial Services Agency launched a furious retaliation, which caused extreme tension in YKC's operations, leading to Imasaki losing documents and being silenced.

Maho Yamaguchi suffered an undeserved misfortune in this process. It was because she was replaced by Hirate as a placard girl that she was attacked. Hirate's replacement of Yamaguchi was obviously orchestrated by a powerful force behind the scenes.

No, it's even possible that the mastermind behind this deliberately amplified the incident to divert the Metropolitan Police Department's attention and confuse the direction of the investigation, such as the deaths of those two idols.

To be honest, it's true that these two idols were involved in some kind of marketing campaign, but they knew nothing about it. Does that mean these two people have to die?

Of course not, but the dead won't reveal secrets. Similarly, only the dead can disrupt the Metropolitan Police Department's investigation and steer the matter towards the three drug addicts' party.

What terrifying methods, what ruthless tactics!
If it weren't for Imazaki telling him these things, Uesugi Muneyuki would have had a hard time analyzing the connections between these three seemingly unrelated cases, especially the Okada case.

So, the question is, who is the mastermind behind this?
The answer is obvious.

Former Secretary-General and current Secretary-General of the Diet, Seiji Yuasa, and his son, Hiroshi Yuasa!
Because the only thing that connects all of these things is the badge on the brooch.

Ironically, all of this was actually flawless, if it weren't for Yuasa Hiroshi's particular attention to Hirate Sarana, and his subordinates' initiative to show Mai-senpai the badge on their brooches in exchange for special treatment, which drew his attention.

This is the key to unlocking everything!

Moreover, for someone at the level of a member of Congress, obtaining succinylcholine is indeed not a difficult task.

However, if a current member of parliament is involved, the top levels of the police system (and even the National Police Agency) will inevitably receive calls or hints from political "bigwigs." The content may be "be sure to conduct a fair and impartial investigation in accordance with the law" (polite words), or it may be "handle it carefully and pay attention to maintaining social stability and image" (subtext: don't escalate the situation).

The high-ranking officials in the Metropolitan Police Department are themselves part of the bureaucracy. Thoroughly investigating this case could offend the entire faction and ruin their political careers; their opponents are highly intelligent criminals with powerful legal teams and resources, and the crime scene has been meticulously staged.

Uesugi Muneyuki's evidence collection had to be impeccable, forming a perfect closed loop, to withstand the most rigorous questioning in court. Any procedural flaws could lead to the exclusion of crucial evidence and a complete loss, especially investigations into members of parliament and their relatives, which have stricter legal procedural requirements (such as requiring parliamentary approval to initiate an investigation against the member himself). Every step had to be legal and compliant, otherwise it would give others ammunition against him.

But now there's a major problem: who did it?

Imazaki didn't know, and neither did Uesugi Muneyuki, but they could already make some designs based on the current situation.

First of all, this person must be a yakuza member who is connected to and trusted by the Yuasa father and son, or a ruthless figure with shady dealings. Just the fact that he knows how to use succinylcholine and high-purity fentanyl to inject someone to kill them, and knows how to fake the scene, shows that he must be very experienced.

Secondly, this person must have certain counter-surveillance and criminal abilities. Moreover, according to Imazaki's description, the other party was tall and strong, and easily subdued him. After the two idols appeared, he also dealt with them effortlessly.

Finally, even if he knew who did it, Uesugi Muneyuki still needed to use scientific methods and evidence to reasonably link this person with the murderer, and even needed to use certain illegal means to arrest him first and then gather evidence. That's why he sought help from the public security police.

Last but not least, and most troublesome, is that the Yuasa father and son seem to have some connection to the Shinjin Shinhwa in Kansai.
The new god of Kansai hasn't made many moves, but his shadow still hangs over him and Mai-senpai, making Uesugi Muneyuki afraid to leave Tokyo lately.

And... little cherry blossoms.

Did Sakura really steal that document? If not, then who did? If so, what was Sakura's motive?

Uesugi Muneyuki looked up at the colorful night sky of Tokyo, feeling overwhelmed with a jumble of thoughts.

Just then, there was a knock on his door.

"Who?"

(End of this chapter)