Conan: I'm a zaibatsu in Tokyo

Toyota City, a hidden gem of a kaiseki restaurant.

The innermost private room is isolated from all the noise of the outside world.

After the dishes were silently and orderly arranged by the woman in the kimono, and the sake was warmed, the air in the private room suddenly became heavy.

Seated at the head of the table, with a solemn expression and an imposing presence, Ichiro Toyoda, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Toyota Group, was the first to break the silence.

"Kinoshita is dead." He stated a fact bluntly and calmly.
"Killed by his assistant."

He paused briefly, his gaze sweeping over the other two people seated.

President Okuda and Vice President Takeuchi Yuya.

The two of them didn't show much surprise, clearly having known beforehand.

After all, this happened at a Toyota Group press conference.

“The evidence is conclusive,” Ichiro Toyoda added, a barely perceptible, almost mocking smile playing on his lips.

"This case was solved by the police in Toyota City."

These words immediately created an absurd atmosphere in the private room.

The chain of evidence is flawless: the crime scene investigation, the motive, the fingerprints on the murder weapon...

Everything points to the same conclusion as a textbook case.

However, those who knew the inside story could not fully believe this fact.

What's even more ridiculous is that, faced with irrefutable evidence, the arrested assistant seemed to be possessed, stubbornly and repeatedly shouting the same sentence.

"It was Shoichi! It was Sumitomo Shoichi who killed him!"

To others, this was the last struggle of a desperate person.

But they don't think so.

Okuda, the president known for his composure, gently adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses and pondered for a moment:
"Logically speaking, that assistant did indeed have the motive and opportunity to kill Kinoshita. There is no doubt about that."

He always leaves room for interpretation in his words.

Ichiro Toyoda and Yuya Takeuchi both nodded slightly in agreement.

“However,” Yuuha Takeuchi interjected, younger than Okuda, with a sharper look in his eyes.

"The person who pulls the trigger is not necessarily the only murderer."

He picked up the warmed sake pot and gracefully filled Toyota and Okuda's glasses with fluid movements, displaying a restraint characteristic of Japanese etiquette.

“Shoichi Sumitomo.” Takeuchi put down the sake bottle and clearly pronounced the name.

"He is highly suspicious."

“Suspicion is still suspicion.” Ichiro Toyoda picked up his glass but didn’t drink, his gaze lingering on the clear liquid.

There is absolutely no direct or indirect evidence pointing to him. Not even the slightest bit.

Upon hearing this, Takeuchi Yuha smiled slightly.

"So many people have died in Tokyo in the last six months. Is there any case where there's evidence pointing to him?"

He paused, lowering his voice, but it became even more penetrating.

"There's no smoke without fire. Even if there is no smoke without fire, the fact that it can stir up such frequent and directional 'winds' already speaks volumes."

"boom!"

Ichiro Toyoda slammed his sake glass down on the table, spilling a few drops of sake.

An uncontrollable rage finally surfaced on his face. "He's Sumitomo Shoichi, just a junior relying on his family's influence! What gives him the right to be so arrogant?!"

The sound echoed in the quiet private room, carrying a sense of offended authority and resentment.

Toyota Group, a giant that has dominated the business world for decades, has been repeatedly humiliated.
Although the deceased were not family members, this was a blatant challenge to Toyota's authority.

Seeing this, Okuda Hon cautiously suggested:

"Toyota-san, do you need to go to Osaka in person to meet with the elders of the Sumitomo family...?"

He didn't finish his sentence, but his meaning was clear.

They hope to restrain Zhengyi's behavior by exerting pressure at the family level.

“No.” Ichiro Toyoda flatly refused, taking a deep breath and suppressing his anger.

"Without any evidence, on what grounds can I go?"

Why are people who come to us crying out for help dying one after another in 'accidents' or being arrested by 'righteous' police?

This will only make Toyota a laughing stock!

He calmed down and realized more deeply the difficulty Zheng Yi faced.

This is an opponent who is well-versed in the rules and adept at using them.

Even if you know he did it, you can't retaliate against him in any overt way.

Takeuchi Yuya took a small sip of his drink, his gaze becoming deep, as if he had already pondered this question.

“Toyota-san, actually… we might consider responding to him in a way that Sumitomo Shoichi is good at.”

"Send someone to kill his men?" Ichiro Toyoda frowned and immediately shook his head.

"Absurd! That's the kind of tactic only barbarians would use! We live in a society governed by the rule of law. Toyota is an upright company, not a gang of thugs!"

Once Pandora's box of mutual assassinations is opened, the entire order will collapse completely, and Toyota, with its massive size, may not necessarily gain any advantage in such chaos.

"Then, didn't anyone warn him?" Okuda asked, puzzled.

"Hmph!" Ichiro Toyoda snorted coldly. "Warning? So what if someone warned him? Without evidence, he can just play dumb. Who can do anything to him?"

Even the Metropolitan Police Department needs solid evidence to arrest an ordinary person!

At that moment, Takeuchi Yuya took out several photos from her briefcase and laid them out on the table.

"I believe the key to why Zheng Yi was able to commit so many crimes, yet the police always classified them as accidents or found the perfect scapegoat, lies in these few people."

"Oh?" Ichiro Toyoda and Hon Okuda both turned their attention to the photos.

The people in the photo include the disheveled and unruly middle-aged man Kogoro Mouri, the elegant and noble young man Hakuba Saguru, and the sharp-eyed short-haired girl Sera Masumi.

Below each person's photo, their name and identity are clearly marked—detective.

"I have carefully investigated the inside information of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department through various channels."

Yuuha Takeuchi explained, "I've discovered that there aren't actually many people among them who can be truly identified as Zhengyi's lackeys."

At least, the high-ranking officials who could decide the course of the case did not have a close relationship with Zheng Yi to that extent.

Of course, it's also possible that the information I gathered was inaccurate or concealed.

Ichiro Toyoda slowly shook his head, confirming Takeuchi's investigation.

"No, what you investigated is very likely true. Those people certainly don't seem like the type to completely abandon their professional ethics and career for some tycoon."

At least, Zheng Yi doesn't have that qualification yet.

The Metropolitan Police Department has its own system and dignity, and may treat Masakazu with special courtesy and make some exceptions for him.

However, it is almost impossible for them to systematically and on a large scale cover up serious murders for Zheng Yi, or even frame others.

"So, the conclusion is quite obvious." Takeuchi Yuuha's finger lightly touched the photos of the detectives.

"Zhengyi's ability to act so brazenly is not because he has the power to distort the truth within the police force, but because his methods of murder are so sophisticated that they can deceive the police and the judicial system. And the source of this sophistication is very likely these people who stand in the open and are hailed as famous detectives."

Takeuchi paused for a moment.

"It was they who planned and executed this series of flawless crimes for Sumitomo Shoichi."

To support her point of view, Yuya Takeuchi produced another thick document.

It contains a detailed compilation of numerous accidents and murders related to Zhengyi, with an astonishing level of detail.

It includes not only a case summary, the detective's statements at the scene, but also the police's public statements.

It even includes the confessions of convicted murderers in the interrogation room, as well as their occasional, unconvincing excuses.

Takeuchi pointed to the document and said:

"In private, through intermediaries, I consulted several lesser-known detectives under the guise of academic research."

They admitted that, given sufficient resources and information, it is theoretically entirely possible to plan several seemingly flawless accidental deaths.

Ichiro Toyoda and Hon Okuda exchanged a glance and instantly understood Yuya Takeuchi's unspoken message.

Okuda hesitated before speaking, "Takeuchi-kun, you mean...we can also..."

"Toyota is no longer the small startup that needed to take risks," Ichiro Toyoda interrupted him, his tone heavy.

"We must cherish and maintain the corporate image and reputation we have built up over decades."

If the outside world perceives that our Toyota Group is the same kind of righteous group that acts without any moral bottom line.

Relying on such underhanded methods to solve problems will be devastating to our brand.

Even if it's police-certified, it has nothing to do with Toyota.

But that couldn't stop the suspicious people and the newspapers.

If Toyota's reputation were to become like Masakazu's, then it would be truly doomed.

He glanced at the documents on the table and added, "And the Justice Group? From its inception, it has had nothing to do with words like righteousness and tradition, so they can disregard it."

Yuuha Takeuchi did not back down. He met Ichiro Toyoda's gaze, his tone earnest yet tinged with fear:
"Toyota, I fully understand and agree with your emphasis on the group's reputation. However,
Please consider this: some depraved individual has already extended his reach to Toyota City and has begun killing people on our doorstep to establish his authority!

After Kinoshita, who will be next? Can you guarantee that?

Zheng Yi is a madman; he acts without any scruples.

People from the Toyota family may have multiple layers of protection, and because they are of the same kind as Masakazu, they are spared from 'accidents'.

But what about those outsiders who work tirelessly for the group?

"I don't mean that we should immediately follow his example and carry out assassinations."

Seeing that the atmosphere had been set, Takeuchi Yuya proposed a compromise.

"However, having the power to protect oneself, or rather, having a deterrent force that makes the other party wary, is absolutely necessary."

We may not use it actively, but we cannot live without it.

Otherwise, we will only become fish on a chopping board, at the mercy of others.

Ichiro Toyoda fell into a long silence.

He stared at the slightly cooled sake in his glass, his eyes behind his glasses shifting with complex emotions.

Takeuchi is not worried that Toyota is not interested.

Look at how far Zheng Yi has developed the Justice Group in less than a year using these methods.

Takeuchi said, "Moreover, Toyota is a reputable company, so if those people die in an accident, no one will suspect Toyota."

Toyota sighed heavily and said, "The group's reputation is the most important thing."

……

August 13th, afternoon, a newspaper office.

When the ambulance siren finally faded at the end of the street, only a deathly silence and panic remained inside the newspaper office.

The president who, with his sharp writing style, published a series of reports over several months, pushing Toyota Motor Corporation into the eye of the storm.

He was found lying behind his mahogany desk, his face pale and purplish, with unreviewed proofs scattered around him.

The initial diagnosis is a sudden heart attack.

After the police intervened and investigated, they found no external intervention or suspicious traces, and the case was ultimately closed as an accidental death.

Everything happened so swiftly and decisively, as if it were just a cruel joke played by fate.

That same evening, on the top floor of the Toyota Group headquarters building.

Vice President Yuya Takeuchi personally poured three glasses of amber-colored whiskey and handed the other two glasses to Chairman Ichiro Toyoda and President Hon Okuda.

"Ding--"

The three crystal glasses gently clinked together, producing a crisp and lingering echo that was particularly clear in the well-insulated office.

There were no cheers, no boisterous laughter, only a tacit understanding that permeated the air.

“That old guy,” Okuda broke the silence first, swirling the wine in his glass, his tone carrying a hint of relief.

"It's a tough nut to crack."

He was referring to the newspaper editor who had just passed away.

For months, this person has published a series of incisive reports, drawing on his extensive industry experience and seemingly impeccable investigations.

It directly points to design flaws in certain Toyota models and their less-than-honorable public relations tactics in the past.

This has had a real impact on Toyota's reputation and stock price.

Ichiro Toyoda silently took a sip of his drink, his gaze deep and thoughtful.

The other party is a social celebrity with extensive influence.

If traditional commercial pressure or legal action is used, the process will be lengthy and easily interpreted as a giant suppressing the other party's statements, which will only confirm the other party's accusations and trigger a greater backlash from public opinion.

As for even more underhanded methods...

One should be cautious when dealing with celebrities like this.

“Yes,” Takeuchi replied, a barely perceptible, cold smile curving his lips.

"He protected himself very well, like a hedgehog."

All the methods we tried before, whether bribery or gentle warnings, had completely unmoved him.

He paused, glanced at his two colleagues, and lowered his voice.

"But now it seems that even the hardest bone can be silently crushed as long as the right point of force is found."

He didn't explicitly state what the correct point of force was, but all three people present knew it perfectly well.

It was that man from Tokyo who, through his clean and efficient actions time and time again, demonstrated to them a solution that transcended traditional business rules.

Although Zheng Yi was their competitor, he could also be considered their mentor.

Ichiro Toyoda downed the drink in one gulp.

“It seems,” he said, his back to the two men, his voice calm and unwavering.

"At times, efficiency does need to be redefined." (End of Chapter)