Conan: Rice Flower Spring

Chapter 390, Section 384: The Boss and Karasuma Renya

"Hey, what are you saying!" Lin Longma didn't directly accept Ireland's invitation, but instead said insincerely:

"Rum, he's a senior member of the organization, the second-in-command. When the boss isn't around, Rum represents the boss's will."

How could I possibly go against the organization's veterans?

Not only Ireland wouldn't believe this, but even Binga couldn't be fooled.

Just as Binga was about to criticize Lin Longma's "pretentiousness," he was suddenly stopped by Ireland.

"That's true, I was being presumptuous. But I must thank Chairman Lin for his help with this mission."

If there's anything I can do to help in the future, I definitely won't refuse.

In this incident where the list of undercover agents was on the verge of being leaked, Binga, who infiltrated the Metropolitan Police Department as an undercover agent and persisted in completing his mission despite his identity being exposed, undoubtedly deserves the most credit.

Next up is Ryoma Hayashi.

The information about Binja's exposed identity was brought back by Hayashi Ryoma, and the timing and method of sending Matsumoto Kiyonaga back were decided by Hayashi Ryoma.

After Binga's identity was exposed, Lin Longma's ability to delay the police operation in this way and enable Binga to complete his mission was truly remarkable.

Helping Binga was equivalent to helping Ireland, and Ireland fully appreciated this sincere "goodwill."

"Alright, now that we have the list of undercover agents, I can rest assured. You guys keep working, I'm going back to the base."

The missions in Ireland and Binga are complete, but the missions of the Ichijin Society and the Security Countermeasures Division are far from over.

Essentially, this "leaking of important undercover cadres" incident was a "side effect" of Lin Longma's "faking death and defection from the organization" incident.

The conclusion of the important cadre leak incident does not mean the end of the faked death and defection incident.

This "fake death and defection incident" is a major event that the boss is paying close attention to, so it must be carried out thoroughly from beginning to end.

After Lin Longma left, Binga watched his retreating figure and said unhappily, "That guy really doesn't know what's good for him!"

Do Binga and Lin Longma have a grudge?
Perhaps not, but Binga still had to say it at this point. Because Lin Longma had just not given Ireland any "face".

As a cadre who defected to Ireland, Binga certainly provided a lot of emotional value.

"Hey, there's no need to be so extreme, Binga." Ireland was indeed not averse to this approach; who would refuse emotional value?
"Lin Longma reminded me that there are some things we can do, but we can't say them out loud."

It certainly shouldn't be brought to the forefront.

The requirements of a boss for an organization are obviously different at different times.

For example, when there is no progress in the drug A experiment, the boss will only routinely check the progress of the research department's experiments.

At the same time, a system of checks and balances is used to balance Gin and Rum, preventing one side from becoming too powerful and the other from falling too far behind.

The boss is always happy to see the struggle between Gin and Rum, or rather, the internal struggle within the organization.

If all the members of an organization can be united, then wouldn't they start to think about him as the boss?

The principle is to prevent the ministers from conspiring against me.

When drug A shows no progress, the organization is in a "doing nothing" phase.

Gin and Rum can do whatever they want, and the boss isn't keen on interfering. The main thing is to keep the organization under wraps and prevent it from being completely wiped out.

However, when Sherry pointed out the research branch of [Advanced Research on Drug A] at the research department's base, she witnessed the phased progress of Drug A's research and development and had a rather promising outlook.

The boss's requirements for the organization have undergone a complete 180-degree change.

Let Gin and Rum continue their fight? No way!

Now, the entire organization, including the research department, must work together as one to strive for the further development of drug A.

Internal strife is absolutely unacceptable. The boss immediately called a halt to Gin's revenge against Rum.

Normally, if everyone put their things together, they could at least fake a friendly and harmonious atmosphere.

However, the intelligence support department's subordinates dug too many pitfalls for Rum. As the largest department within the organization, the intelligence department always had one problem or another.

It would have been fine if these problems hadn't surfaced yet, but when they started to surface frequently over a period of time, the boss's opinion of Rum took a sharp turn for the worse.

Pisco's ultimate fate reveals the boss's attitude towards the organization's cadres and high-ranking officials.

When these senior executives can create value for the organization, the boss is not stingy in sharing the profits and benefits with them.

But once they lose their value, the boss won't show them any mercy.

Discard what needs to be discarded, and optimize what needs to be optimized.

This style is full of the logic of big capitalists, which makes Lin Longma more and more convinced that the boss and the Karasuma Group must have some kind of relationship.

The Boss is quite "dissatisfied" with Rum now, otherwise Ireland wouldn't have been sent to the island nation by the Boss and thrown into the intelligence support department to "fight" with Rum.

The reason the Boss used such a subtle approach was not because he was thinking of Rum's past relationship.

It's just that Rum's current niche in the organization can't be replaced anytime soon.

In other words, Rum still has value to the boss and the organization.

Since it has value, the boss will try to squeeze as much value out of it as possible. Ireland came back to do this job.

Now, for Rum, the options are either to have Ireland learn his skills in the struggle, then gradually step down to the sidelines, and finally simply hand over power.

Alternatively, they could regain the boss's trust through a struggle with Ireland.

Clearly, Rum chose the latter option.

This means that the internal struggles within the organization will become more intense, but also more covert.

It's fine to beat a dog's brain out off the table, but this struggle can't be brought into the open.

The boss wouldn't allow anyone to ruin his grand plan of "immortality" and "rejuvenation".
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"Any results have been released from the follow-up investigation into the [Intelligence Department's faked death and defection incident]?"

While Binga was busy infiltrating the Metropolitan Police Department, the Isshinkai was also busy. A faked death and defection are extremely serious offenses within an organization, so the investigation into this incident would naturally not stop.

Even though Lin Longma did not personally oversee the stronghold.

“We’ve been investigating, boss.” The person in charge of the safety countermeasures section was Doi.

"But all the clues eventually converged on these two people, yet one of them committed suicide and the other was killed."

Kobayashi and Masaaki Okakura were key figures in the investigation, and now that those figures have been cut off, the investigation can no longer continue.

Surely the Yixin Society can't possibly perform a ritual to bring those two people's souls back?
Although the Isshin Society could still investigate the two individuals' access rights using the most rudimentary method, it was ultimately stopped by Ryoma.

"That's enough, that's enough for now. It would be impolite to investigate any further," Lin Longma instructed Doi.

"They're from the intelligence department; we're already doing them a favor by giving them a starting point. Let the intelligence department investigate the rest themselves. We have no obligation to clean up their messes."

If this person is still alive, and if we can follow the clues to investigate further, the safety countermeasures department will naturally have an inescapable responsibility.

But now the investigation has reached a stalemate, and to make matters worse, Kobayashi and Okakura Masaaki are both from the intelligence support department.

What else is there to say? Just hand the task over to the intelligence support department.

Lin Longma wasn't keen on investigating further, and in fact, most members of the Yixin Society didn't like investigating this kind of thing either.

Who among those who joined the One Heart Society didn't initially consider leaving the organization? And who didn't dream of faking their death to escape, change their identity, and restart their life?

The matter was abandoned only because the consequences of being discovered were too severe and there were no reliable organizers.

Unlike Okakura Masaaki's simple misfortune, the Isshin-kai actually had a lot of goodwill towards Kobayashi, who committed suicide.

Putting everything else aside, the fact that this person was able to so decisively commit suicide to preserve the secret after hearing rumors of it is remarkable.

This guy is a real man.

It's obviously inaccurate to describe it as "being of the same origin," but there's still a sense of shared sorrow, like that of a rabbit mourning the death of a fox.

Lin Longma's decision to transfer the mission to the Intelligence Support Department was unanimously praised within the Isshin-kai.

Giving up on the mission directly is obviously unrealistic.

Letting the intelligence support department slowly work things out is the best news for those who faked their deaths and escaped the organization.
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"Brother, if we leave Tokyo like this, will Rum and Ireland really make a move?"

Kaneda, who hadn't been seen in a long time, followed Lin Longma. From his words, it was clear that they weren't in Tokyo.

"Of course, even if we don't leave Tokyo, Rum and Ireland will still have to fight."

The conflict between them is irreconcilable; they cannot coexist in the intelligence support department.

Don't be fooled by their seemingly clear division of labor, one being a minister and the other a deputy minister.

"But the organization has never followed the principle of cooperation and win-win, but rather the winner takes all."

Kaneda's investigation into the Karasuma Group has come to an end, and Hayashi Ryoma is unwilling to get involved in the competition between Ireland and Rum too early.

He simply took Kaneda and Shiraishi and hid away. If Rum and Ireland really crossed the line, he could just say "I don't know, I'm not in Tokyo" when the boss came to ask him, and that would be his way of getting away with it.

"Alright, let's not talk about that. Let's talk about something happier." Whether it's Rum or Ireland, they're both troublesome to Lin Longma.

The only difference between the two is whether the trouble is in the present or in the future.

Since both are troublesome, Lin Longma naturally doesn't favor one over the other. In Lin Longma's view, the best outcome is for the dogs to keep fighting.

"How's the investigation going with what I asked you to do?"

Kaneda has received ample resources this time, including the authority to retain members within official organizations and the Security Countermeasures Division.

The coincidence of the faked death and defection incident provided a lot of cover for Kinda. Even if the things Kinda wanted to investigate were quite sensitive, the incident provided a good excuse.

This is an event that even the boss is paying attention to. Isn't it normal to investigate something sensitive? If it weren't sensitive, the Yixin Association wouldn't be investigating it!

Why won't you let me investigate? Are you hiding something?

Using the boss's name as a front, Kaneda's success this time was unexpectedly smooth.

"Found it, bro!"

Jintian didn't take what Lin Longma asked him to investigate seriously, mainly because it was too "horrifying".

Previously, Lin Longma had Jin Tian investigate how the organization's initial base was established and what the flow of funds was like.

The relationship between the organization and the Karasuma Foundation
The first two questions were nothing special; they were just the eldest brother wanting to explore the organization's "origins."

Perhaps to other members of the organization, investigating such a matter would seem strange. But since the order came from Lin Longma, it makes perfect sense.

But as for the relationship between the Karasuma Foundation and the organization, Kaneda really didn't think the Karasuma Foundation could have any connection with the organization.

No matter how prestigious an organization may seem, it is still a criminal organization, or to put it more politely, a transnational criminal syndicate.

Even if you put it bluntly, it's still a crime.

What about the Karasuma Group? They are a large conglomerate with legitimate businesses. Although they have declined, they are still the kind of entity that many "江湖人" (jianghu people) dream of.

Whether it's a gang or a triad, once they reach a certain level, they will inevitably try to whitewash their image.

The organization hasn't tried to whitewash itself, but it hasn't hesitated to plant its own people in official institutions.

The main point is that although I don't whitewash myself, all the official figures are on my side?
In short, the fallen Karasuma Group was the ultimate goal that countless gangs and factions dreamed of achieving.

If the organization had even the slightest connection to the Karasuma Group, it wouldn't be so lawless.

Then reality gave Kaneda a huge surprise.

"Our organization actually has quite a few connections with the Karasuma Group?!" Kaneda exclaimed to himself as he said this.

How outrageous!

When Kaneda was investigating the organization's first few large bases, he was surprised to discover that the funding sources of these large bases were inextricably linked to the Karasuma Group.

If one or two large bases were invested in by the Karasuma Group, it could be considered a coincidence, but the start-up capital for most large bases came from the Karasuma Group through roundabout means.

If you say the organization has nothing to do with the Karasuma Foundation, nobody will believe you!

"Oh, right, brother, there's one more thing." While investigating the large base, Kaneda also took the opportunity to look into the Karasuma Group.

"The last chairman of the Karasuma Foundation that can be traced so far is Karasuma Renya."

Since Karasuma Renya, there seems to be no news of a new chairman for the Karasuma Foundation.

"But brother, if Karasuma Renya had been the chairman of the Karasuma Foundation until now, he would be at least 150 years old!"

Can a normal person really live that long?

Can a normal person really live that long? If this were in the past, Lin Longma could have told Jin Tian very decisively that a person cannot live that long.

However, Lin Longma, who has personally experienced many bizarre events and even witnessed instances of rejuvenation, dared not make a hasty judgment.

Even if the Karasuma Group has declined, there should be some news about the new chairman taking office.

Unless the Karasuma family line ends or their former chairman never steps down.

If Karasuma Renya, who is 150 years old, is the boss of their organization, then many things that are hard to explain seem to make sense.

Lin Longma was interested in verifying its authenticity, but how could he possibly do that?
(End of this chapter)