Conan: Rice Flower Spring

Chapter 441, Section 435: Bourbon's Scheme

From the perspective of the public security bureau, Lin Longma and Yixin Society naturally fall into the category of those who can be saved and even won over.

The organization has been deeply entrenched in the island nation for many years, and its influence is deeply entrenched. Even setting aside the fact that they are intertwined with each other, a one-size-fits-all approach is clearly unrealistic.

This is where the strategy of "pulling one group and attacking another" comes into play.

In Amuro Tooru's view, Ryoma Hayashi was one of those people worth winning over.

But this is only the police's perspective.

What if we approached Ryoma from the perspective of Bourbon, an organization leader?

That's incredibly troublesome.

Putting aside the fact that ruthlessness is an essential quality for survival in an organization, the mere fact that Kazami Yuya reported Robert's death and its connection to Hayashi Ryoma was enough to give Amuro Tooru a headache.

Kazami Yuya is unaware of Hayashi Ryoma's identity, and Amuro Tooru has no intention of letting Kazami Yuya know Hayashi Ryoma's identity within the organization.

It's not that I don't trust Kazami Yuya. Well, I'm just a little worried.

Lin Longma is a shrewd and intelligent person, not to mention that the Yixin Society is full of talented people.

Kazami Yu is a good subordinate, but not a good actor.

If he discovers Lin Longma's identity and reveals his weakness to Lin Longma, he will either expose his own identity or face the death of Kazami Yuya.

Ryoma Hayashi doesn't even need to do anything himself. He just needs to mark Yuya Kazami as a high-threat target, and Gin from the Execution Department will naturally be happy to carry out an assassination operation against the Metropolitan Police Department's Public Security Bureau.

Sometimes, the less you know, the safer you are.

Because Kazami Yuya mentioned Hayashi Ryoma, Amuro Tooru unusually lost focus during the conversation.

"Mr. Furuya?" Kazami Yuya called out Amuro Tooru's real name softly after receiving no response.

The call startled Amuro Tooru from his thoughts.

"Sorry, I was a little distracted." Amuro Tooru lowered his eyes and scooped a spoonful of curry rice from the plate into his mouth.

"You just said that Robert's identity was identified as a federal agent on leave. Do you think his death is related to Chairman Lin?"

Seeing that his superior had returned to normal, Kazami Yuya finally put aside his worries and began to think. After a few seconds, he spoke:
“I met with Chairman Hayashi. Although Robert went to Tottori Prefecture with Chairman Hayashi before he was killed, I don’t think Robert’s death has anything to do with Chairman Hayashi.”

Kazami Yu is not like Kogoro Mouri; he makes judgments not based on intuition, but on clues and information.

During his visit to Yixin Consulting, Lin Longma didn't completely hide anything. That could be considered as him actively cooperating with their investigation.

I've said quite a lot, both things I should and shouldn't have said.

Based on what Kazami Yuya knew, he really didn't think Hayashi Ryoma was a suspect.

Most importantly, according to the investigation by the Metropolitan Police Department, Ryoma Hayashi and this Robert were indeed complete strangers before the case.

In Tokyo, there's a motive for murder. Ryoma Hayashi isn't some kind of psychopathic killer; he wouldn't kill Robert, whom he'd only met once.

Amuro Tooru felt a little relieved upon hearing this.

At least Kazami Yu didn't direct his investigation at the "dangerous" Hayashi Ryoma, which is a good thing.

Yes, of course, it will also bring some troubles.

After all, Ryoma Hayashi is indeed a high-ranking member of the "Black Organization," the ultimate target that Amuro Tooru and Kazami Yuya are investigating.

The person is now standing right in front of Kazami Yuya, but Kazami Yuya is completely unaware of it.

It wouldn't be a mixed bag, but rather more of a good thing than a bad thing. Kazami Yuya wasn't exactly a very perceptive subordinate.

But he was a very good executor.

He was able to complete all the tasks assigned to him by Amuro Tooru properly, and it was already quite good to have such a reliable subordinate.

And look at Gil's men. What kind of strange creatures are they?

"Tell me as much detail as possible what you said when you met with Chairman Lin."

"Ok."

As lunchtime passed, fewer and fewer people remained in the restaurant. After finishing their curry rice, Amuro Tooru and Kazami Yuya left the restaurant one after the other.

They later met up again in a nearby park.

In the park, Kazami Yuya recounted in detail to Amuro Tooru what Hayashi Ryoma had said in the office.

Among them, the Takeda family of Tottori Prefecture was somewhat concerned about Amuro Tooru.

Amuro Tooru already had a bad impression of federal agents because of Akai Shuichi, and now Robert has been labeled as a federal agent as well.

He was even more annoyed.

This is practically stepping on Amuro Tooru's minefield.

Amuro Tooru was displeased, but he remained astute.

"Are the three Takeda brothers still at the Tottori Prefectural Police Headquarters?"

"They should be there. Does Mr. Furuya want to see them?"

The Takeda brothers, as small-scale drug distributors, were the perfect scapegoats.

As a key link in the drug trafficking chain in Tottori Prefecture, it would be perfectly reasonable for these three brothers to be apprehended in one fell swoop, if anyone were to come seeking revenge.

Amuro Tooru is a public security police officer, and therefore, he is also a public security police officer of the island nation. In his mind, the country is his lover, and his duty does not include investigating the truth behind the deaths of unidentified American people.

In other words, Amuro Tooru is prepared to play both sides.

Wouldn't it be better to focus that energy on the organization? Why waste it on the Americans?

Amuro Tooru planned to meet with the three Takeda brothers, pry some valuable information out of them, and then have Kazami Yuya deliver it.

This attitude is basically just giving up. Whether you Americans believe it or not, we police officers believe it first.

"Oh, right, there's one more thing. The detectives from the First Investigation Division not only found Chairman Lin's business card in Robert's car."

There was also a business card for the Tokyo City Hotel.

"Ok?"

Kazami Yu didn't know what the Tokyo City Hotel was, so how could Amuro Tooru not know?
That was a new stronghold that Kiel had recently "built up".

Amuro Tooru, with his questionable identity, adopted a long-term strategy towards Kir.

He let Gil go for now, and would figure out Gil's identity before deciding whether he was friend or foe.

Don't assume all undercover agents are the same, even though he and Gil might both be undercover agents. But undercover agents can have different stances.

Regarding the operation of international intermediary companies, Amuro Tooru prefers to focus on money laundering and intelligence trading.

This is also the direction that causes the least disruption to social order.

Amuro Tooru didn't seem to value projects like hiring assassins and recruiting accomplices at the base, and his subordinates, following his example, weren't particularly interested in these two areas either. This is only natural.

Kiel recognized this, which is why he led his executive team away from the company to independently build an offline killer platform.

"Did you investigate the hotel?" Amuro Tooru was somewhat exhausted, unsure whether his subordinates were lucky or unlucky.

Each step they took landed them squarely in the organization's "deep pit."

Lin Longma and the Isshin-kai, Kir and the Executive Department. In just two or three days, Kazami Yuya was able to come into contact with two factions and two executives within the organization.

This efficiency is undeniably high, but it's completely useless.

It's not like Bourbon doesn't know Lin Longma and Gil, but what's the use of just knowing their identities?

They really went to great lengths to capture them, and then the organization produced a second Lin Longma and a second Ji Er.

Amuro Tooru infiltrated the organization to investigate its criminal activities, uncover its profit chain, and examine its structure and personnel.

Finally, we'll wipe out this cancer in one fell swoop.

Simply targeting Lin Longma and Ji Er is not enough to treat the symptoms.

"We haven't gone to the hotel yet, but Prosecutor Kujo from the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office has already visited the hotel once."

Because it was a joint investigation, Reiko Kujo and Yuya Kazami had already discussed it. Although they didn't reveal any specifics, they did share their itinerary.

Judging from Kazami Yuya's reaction, Kujo Reiko also realized that Hayashi Ryoma had given her exclusive information.

Favors vary in size, and Lin Longma's was clearly a large one.

Although he didn't know why the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office was targeting Kir's new base, Amuro Tooru had no intention of going there to "cause trouble."

Let Kir deal with the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office's investigation first; Amuro Tooru intends to get rid of the hot potato that is Robert's death.

If the US is not satisfied with their investigation results, they can simply be made to conduct their own investigation.
Amuro Tooru sensed that America didn't have any useful clues either, otherwise, why would they need someone else to investigate?
They would have been yelling "FBI, open the door!" a long time ago.

"Since the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office is interested in the hotel leads, let them investigate."

"Kazami, please contact the Tottori Prefectural Police Headquarters and arrange for me to meet with the Takeda brothers."

"Okay, Mr. Furuya!"

Kazami Yuya didn't hide it from Amuro Tooru and immediately took out his phone to contact his public security colleagues at the Tottori Prefectural Police Headquarters.

Then, through the Tottori Prefectural Public Security Bureau, they contacted their First Investigation Division.

Each local police headquarters is like a regional warlord. Although Yuya Kazami, as a member of the Metropolitan Police Department's Public Security Bureau, has a high level of authority in handling cases, it's still best to follow the proper procedures.

Contacting the Tottori Prefectural Police through the Tottori Prefectural Public Security Bureau saves face for everyone and avoids making the Metropolitan Police Department appear domineering.

Kazami Yuya briefly explained his requirements over the phone, and then his colleague on the other end gave him a "big" answer.

"What?! The three Takeda brothers were assassinated at the Tottori Prefectural Government Building. Yuzo died on the spot, Ryuji was seriously injured, and Shinichi was slightly injured?!"

Of the three brothers who were arrested, one died and two were injured. One of them is in critical condition and receiving treatment, while the other was so terrified that he lost all his courage.
He seemed somewhat dazed!

So, while something big was happening in Tokyo, Tottori Prefecture wasn't idle either?

"Okay, I understand. Could you please send me a copy of the information about the Tottori Prefectural Government Office as soon as possible? Thank you!"

Kazami Yuya quickly hung up the phone, then looked up at Amuro Tooru: "Mr. Furuya, this..."

Amuro Tooru's brows furrowed deeply as he assassinated three suspects inside the police headquarters building.

This incident is far worse than Robert being shot dead in the street!
Amuro Tooru immediately realized that the identities of the three Takeda brothers were probably questionable.
-
Soon after, the Tottori Prefectural Police sent an email to Yuya Kazami, who immediately showed it to Tooru Amuro.

The three Takeda brothers were assassinated on the night they were arrested, during a break in their interrogation by the detectives.

The surveillance cameras in the headquarters building were cut off, and no one except the three brothers knew what had happened.

But of the three brothers, one was dead and another was seriously injured. The only one who could speak, Takeda Shinichi, was terrified and became delirious, unable to answer any questions.

Whether he was truly too terrified to speak, or simply afraid to speak in order to protect himself, no one can be sure.

However, it is certain that there is a mole within the Tottori Prefectural Police Headquarters.

“There’s no need to arrange a meeting.” Amuro Tooru slowly shook his head at Kazami Yuya.

Of the three Takeda brothers, only Takeda Shinichi remains, so there's not much point in meeting him or not.

If Shinichi Takeda wanted to talk, the Tottori Prefecture Public Security Bureau could easily get him to talk. If he didn't want to, even if Tooru Amuro went, it wouldn't make a difference.

Furthermore, Amuro Tooru now has a better breakthrough point: Hayashi Ryoma.

Based on Amuro Tooru's understanding of Hayashi Ryoma, if the Takeda family didn't have anything that this guy was interested in, then Robert wouldn't be able to hire him no matter how much money he spent.

Conversely, if Ryoma Hayashi brought Robert all the way from Tokyo to Tottori Prefecture, it certainly wasn't because of Robert's influence.

What face does Robert have?
"I will take over the investigation into Robert's death. Kazami, you should shift your focus elsewhere."

“Yes, Mr. Furuya.” Kazami Yuya has one redeeming quality: even if he doesn’t understand Amuro Tooru’s orders, it doesn’t prevent him from perfectly executing his superior’s commands.

Amuro Tooru has to say it again: having subordinates like this is so worry-free.

After parting ways with Yuya Kazami, Tooru Amuro returned to the headquarters of the international brokerage firm.

Amidst the greetings from his subordinates, Amuro Tooru returned to his office.

He picked up the phone and called his secretary.

"Lord Bourbon, you wanted to see me."

“Kier and his executive branch have separated from us some time ago, and we haven’t been paying much attention to them lately.”

How are their 'new company' plans progressing?

Amuro Tooru said this with a smile, but his tone was full of sarcasm.

His secretary, clearly aware of Amuro Tooru's feelings for Kir, laughed in agreement.
"If you want to know, Lord Bourbon, I'll have someone investigate. But I think without our help, Kiel's 'new company' plan probably won't make much progress."

It wasn't that Bourbon's secretary was arrogant; it was simply that the establishment of this base for the international intermediary company was entirely due to the efforts of members of the Yixin Association and the intelligence support department.

Now Curaçao has withdrawn its previously usable manpower and replaced it with a bunch of useless people, while the Isshin-kai members have not been touched.

If Kiel wants to start a new company with those mediocre people in the executive department, he's dreaming.
“Go check it out. Chairman Lin entrusted the company to me, so I have an obligation to pay attention to potential competitors, don’t I?”

Besides, Gin has never valued Gil, so what if the Chairman wants to recruit her?

"He was once a popular host on Nichiuri TV, so he's quite talented. Don't waste his potential."

When the secretary heard Amuro Tooru mention Hayashi Ryoma and imply that he was subordinate to Hayashi Kaka in his words, the secretary, who had been laughing, immediately became serious.

"Understood, Lord Bourbon, I'll go investigate right away!"

(End of this chapter)