Tokyo, 1991: Starting as a bank clerk

Chapter 330 Managing Director Nakajima's Response

Sunday, August 11th.

8:40 a.m.

The duty room of the General Affairs Department on the fifth floor of the Mitsubishi Bank Headquarters Building.

In the duty room, a young employee was sitting behind a desk.

He heard footsteps and looked up.

Matsumoto Takahiro pushed open the door and walked in, followed by Kiryu Yaya.

"Good morning, Mr. Matsumoto."

The staff member on duty immediately stood up.

Matsumoto Takahiro nodded: "Good morning. Is the letter ready?"

"It has been drafted according to your request last night."

The staff member on duty picked up a folder from the desk and handed it to me with both hands: "It's addressed to the Business Management Department of Tokyo Metropolitan Bank, and the content is written according to the standard format of an official letter from the investigation team. The signature..."

We've provided a space for your signature, and the company seal has already been affixed.

Matsumoto Takahiro took the folder and opened it, his eyes quickly scanning the text: "Mitsubishi Bank Tokyo Headquarters Special Investigation Team, pursuant to President's Authorization Order No. 03, requests your bank's assistance in providing all account transaction details of Chiyoda General Planning Co., Ltd. from the first year of Heisei to the present, as required by the investigation into the related credit case of Kanto International Development Co., Ltd."

He closed the folder, took out a pen from the inside pocket of his suit, and signed his name at the bottom.

"Send it out. Use the general affairs department's fax machine, and keep a receipt after confirming that the recipient has received it."

"clear."

The staff member on duty took the folder and turned to walk towards the fax machine.

The machine starts up, paper is swallowed, accompanied by a short beep.

The letter was transformed into a series of signals, which traveled along the telephone line toward the Tokyo Metropolitan Bank.

Kiryu Yaya stood aside, calmly watching everything unfold.

The letter has been sent.

The pieces have already been placed.

Now, it remains to be seen how the opponent will respond.

At the same time.

Weekend duty room of the Business Management Department, Tokyo Metropolitan Bank Headquarters Building.

The fax machine beeped, and a sheet of paper slowly emerged.

The staff member on duty was named Ken Shimizu, 35 years old, and had been with the company for 12 years.

He was originally in the financing department, but two years ago, due to a work mistake, he was transferred to the sales and accounting department to take a sinecure, and being on duty became his main job.

Shimizu glanced at the fax machine and lazily stood up.

He initially thought it was just another routine confirmation letter from some organization, but when he picked up the paper and his eyes swept over the title, his fingers involuntarily stopped.

Mitsubishi Bank Special Investigation Team.

Chiyoda General Planning.

Account transaction details.

The combination of these words made Shimizu Ken scratch his head.

He had worked in the banking system for over a decade and had seen many letters.

However, I have never seen a special investigation team send such a direct request to retrieve the bank statements of an independent legal entity account that is not affiliated with Mitsubishi Bank.

Ken Shimizu's gaze lingered on those lines of text for a moment, then he turned around and walked towards the small office next to the duty room.

The door was ajar, and inside sat a man in his early fifties, looking down at a newspaper.

He looked up when he heard footsteps.

"Section Chief, there's a fax for the Sales and Control Department."

Ken Shimizu handed over the paper.

The section chief took it, his gaze sweeping down from the title, then he narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Chiyoda Comprehensive Planning————"

He repeated the name to himself, as if he had remembered something.

"Does the section chief know this company?"

Ken Shimizu asked a question.

The section chief did not answer immediately.

He put down the newspaper, leaned back in his chair, his gaze falling on the signature on the fax paper, and gave a soft "hmm".

"I wouldn't say I know them personally. But I've met their president, Arai, a few times."

He paused, placed the fax paper on the table, and looked somewhat surprised: "Special Investigation Team—this kind of thing is not common."

But then, the section chief put the fax paper into the to-do folder and his tone returned to its usual casualness: "Let's go through the process on Monday. It's the weekend, so take a break."

Ken Shimizu nodded, turned around and walked back to the duty room.

But he didn't see that the moment he turned around, the section chief had already picked up the telephone receiver on the table.

The phone rang twice before being answered.

"Hey? President Arai? It's me, Fujita from Tokyo Metropolitan Bank."

A slightly surprised voice came from the other end of the phone: "Section Chief Fujita? That's a rare treat. What brings you to call me on the weekend?"

Without any pleasantries, Section Chief Fujita got straight to the point: "There's something I need to tell you. The Mitsubishi Bank Special Investigation Team just sent a formal letter to our Sales and Management Department, requesting access to all your company's account transaction details from the first year of the Heisei era to the present."

"Your company has been brought under scrutiny by Mitsubishi Bank's special investigation team. Has it done something wrong?"

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, as if Ping was processing the information.

President Arai immediately said, "I don't know the specifics, but Section Chief Fujita, I'll remember this favor. I'll definitely thank you properly another day."

Section Chief Fujita smiled and said, "You're too kind. That's all I can do. The rest is up to you."

After finishing his sentence, Section Chief Fujita hung up the phone.

He put the receiver back on the landline, glanced down at the fax paper on the table, then picked it up and put it back into the bottom of the to-do folder.

He sat there, his gaze fixed on the Sunday street outside the window, without giving the document another second glance.

It was as if nothing had happened.

Chiyoda Ward.

The office building where Chiyoda General Planning is located is not conspicuous.

The old six-story building has beige tiles on the exterior walls, and a small bronze plaque with the company's full name hangs next to the main entrance.

Hiroki Arai sat in the president's office.

He was a former subordinate of Konosuke Nakajima during his time in the General Affairs Department. After leaving the banking system, he worked in market research and policy analysis, and ran the intermediary agency Chiyoda General Planning.

At that very moment, he was still holding the phone that had just been hung up.

Section Chief Fujita's words were still echoing in his mind.

Hiroki Arai remained in that position, sitting motionless for a few seconds.

Then he suddenly stood up.

He walked to the safe in the corner of the office, squatted down, turned the combination lock, and opened the safe door.

There was no cash inside, only a few thick ledgers and a pile of bank statements.

He stared at the papers for two seconds, then closed the cabinet door without touching them.

Now is not the time to destroy it.

Everything was done in too much haste, making it easy to leave flaws.

He shook his head, straightened up, walked back to his desk, and dialed a number.

After a few rings, the call was connected.

"Mr. Nakajima, I've encountered a problem on my end."

On the other end of the phone, Konosuke Nakajima was sitting in his study.

He frowned slightly when he heard what Hiroki Arai said.

"Take your time."

Hiroki Arai took a deep breath and recounted the entire call from Section Chief Fujita: "Section Chief Fujita of the Tokyo Metropolitan Bank's Business Division just called to say that the Mitsubishi Bank Special Investigation Team has issued a formal..."

The letter was sent to their bank requesting access to all account transaction details for our company from the first year of the Heisei era to the present. The letter was signed by Takahiro Matsumoto.

Konosuke Nakajima listened quietly, then asked calmly, "Has the letter already been sent to Tokyo Metropolitan Bank?"

"Yes. Section Chief Fujita has confirmed it, and the formal retrieval process will begin on a weekday."

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone.

"Arai."

Konosuke Nakajima spoke, his voice steady: "How much of those records have you processed so far?"

"I haven't had a chance to do it yet. I contacted you as soon as Fujita finished his call."

Hiroki Arai paused slightly, then asked, "—Don't move?"

Konosuke Nakajima patiently explained, "They're only reviewing the transaction records right now; they haven't officially opened a case yet. If you take action first, they'll have something to hold against you."

"Once Tokyo Metropolitan Bank officially sends a letter to your company, you can then apply for a delay in providing the materials, citing the involvement of trade secrets. Delay it for a while, and then gradually supplement the materials."

Hiroki Arai's Adam's apple bobbed: "—I understand."

"Also, stop using your contact information with Section Chief Fujita for now, to avoid being targeted later."

"clear!"

The phone hangs up.

Konosuke Nakajima put the receiver back on the landline, leaned back in his chair, and looked at the horizontal plaque that read "Unmoved by Wind and Rain".

He remained in that position quietly for a moment, then picked up the phone and dialed another number.

It rang twice before being answered.

Kengo Kurosaki's voice came through the receiver: "Hello, this is Kurosaki."

Konosuke Nakajima spoke up, "President Kurosaki, I am Nakajima."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, then Kengo Kurosaki's voice became noticeably tense: "Mr. Nakajima. Is something wrong that you're calling at this hour?"

Konosuke Nakajima said coldly, "The special investigation team has already started working on Chiyoda's case. This morning, Takahiro Matsumoto issued a formal letter to the Business Management Department of Tokyo Metropolitan Bank, requesting access to all of Chiyoda's account transaction details."

Kengo Kurosaki was silent for a few seconds, then asked with a hint of surprise, "How did they manage to get hold of Chiyoda? They were just here talking to me the day before yesterday, and they left empty-handed!"

Konosuke Nakajima was also wondering about this, having just sent Toru Kazama to monitor the movements of the special investigation team.

As a result, Takahiro Matsumoto immediately secured Chiyoda General Planning.

It's simply unbelievable.

Konosuke Nakajima shook his head: "It's not clear yet. But the Special Investigation Team's actions are clearly faster than we expected."

Kengo Kurosaki asked, "Then, Managing Director Nakajima, what should we do now?"

Konosuke Nakajima leaned back in his chair, his gaze fixed on a spot on the ceiling: "I've already instructed Arai to hold back, using trade secrets as an excuse to delay the delivery period. But this window of opportunity won't last long; once the Tokyo Metropolitan Bank completes its internal approval process, it should take three to five days at most."

"Three to five days —"

Kengo Kurosaki repeated it, his mind seemingly preoccupied with something.

Konosuke Nakajima stated firmly, "We only have three to five days. You need to start preparing."

"What preparations?"

Konosuke Nakajima continued, "Chiyoda won't refuse to provide bank statements, because refusing would only arouse their suspicion."

"As for your side, there's no need to worry. Although on paper there are indeed business dealings between Chiyoda General Planning and Kanto International Development, this cannot be denied, nor should it be denied."

"But market research and policy analysis are legitimate business activities. Without clear evidence of capital repatriation, they cannot reach any substantial conclusions."

Kengo Kurosaki was silent for a moment: "That money—"

"That money has already gone through the proper channels."

Konosuke Nakajima interrupted him: "I'll handle what happens next. What you need to do now is ensure that the accounts of Kanto International Development and the records of transactions between Chiyoda match up. No matter how detailed their investigation is, there can be no logical inconsistencies."

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone, then Kengo Kurosaki's voice came through again: "I understand. Mr. Nakajima, this matter—will it implicate you?"

Konosuke Nakajima chuckled softly: "I've worked at this bank for over thirty years. Even if they get Chiyoda's bank statements, at most they can only prove that Kanto International Development paid Chiyoda consulting fees. As for where that money went afterward, that's another matter."

He paused, a chill creeping into his voice: "Furthermore, it won't be so easy for the special investigation team to find me. At next week's executive meeting, I'll have someone characterize the investigation team's inter-industry inquiry as procedurally aggressive. You just need to hold your ground for a week, and after that, the situation will change."

Kengo Kurosaki didn't say anything more, only softly replying, "Understood."

"That's settled then."

Konosuke Nakajima hung up the phone.

He sat in his study, his gaze fixed on the horizontal plaque that read "Unmoved by Wind and Rain," and lingered there for a long time.

Then, after thinking about it, he decided to make a phone call to that person.

Hakone, Gora.

The verdant mountains were shrouded in morning mist, and the sound of mountain streams gurgling from between the rocks seeped into the air, turning into a moist and cool feeling with the scent of pine.

Qiangluo Huancui Tower.

This is a long-established hot spring inn that only operates on an introduction-based basis, hidden at the end of a steep stone staircase.

There was no sign at the entrance, only a palm-sized bronze family crest embedded above the door frame, which was somewhat blurred by wind and rain.

The guest room is about twenty tatami mats, with dark wood-grained tatami flooring.

Hanging in the alcove is a late Edo period ink landscape painting depicting Mount Fuji and Lake Ashi, with austere brushstrokes and expansive blank spaces.

The shoji gate was half-open, letting in the morning light from the courtyard.

Kenichi Sato leaned against the edge of the bed, wearing a dark gray yukata with the belt loosely tied, revealing the skin below his collarbone.

His hair wasn't combed back meticulously like it was in the bank; instead, it hung casually over his forehead.

It made that face, which was over sixty years old, look several years younger than it actually was.

His right hand rested on his knee, while his left hand was casually placed at his side.

And in his arms, a woman was leaning against him.

Mai Furuuda.

She was wearing an ivory-white bathrobe with a slightly open neckline and a loosely tied belt, revealing a section of her fair collarbone.

Her hair was loosely draped over her shoulders, the ends still slightly damp, as if she had just come out of a hot spring.

Kouyu Mai was sitting sideways beside him, gently supporting his left hand with one hand, while holding a small nail file in the other, slowly filing the edges of his nails.

As she filed her nails, she said, "Kenichi, how long has it been since you filed your nails? They hurt me last night."