Tokyo: From Lawless Madpolice to Minister

Aoyama Xiu Xin thought, before opening the file bag, that Nakamura Shinichi had only obtained the officially registered information of the three individuals. However, the extent of the detailed information surprised him.

No wonder he had dark circles under his eyes; besides asking for the help of friends, Nakamura Shinichi himself must have been up since yesterday afternoon until now without any sleep.

Then, thinking about how he had slept cuddling Mrs. Yanahara's voluptuous body after last night's encounter, while his subordinates had to stay awake all night to carry out his orders,

made Aoyama Xiu Xin feel very...

Excited!

Being a leader was really cool (σ≧▽≦)σ.!

Just being a minor official was this thrilling.

How exhilarating it must be to be the Prime Minister?

Putting aside his drifting thoughts, Aoyama Xiu Xin's attention refocused on the documents in his hands.

The users of those three numbers were one senior pimp in Kabukicho, a manager of an entertainment club, and a businessman named Panasonic Junichi.

Combining this with the times Takazawa Akiyoshi mentioned for several purchases of illegal goods, it was clear from the communication records that every time Noguchi Noboru sold illegal goods, he would call Panasonic Junichi. There was no doubt that Panasonic Junichi was at least an involved party in the illegal goods business within the Noguchi Group, if not the person in charge.

His identity as a businessman was merely a smokescreen.

The urgency was to determine whether Panasonic Junichi was the participant or the one responsible.

Then make corresponding arrangements based on that.

To ascertain the identity of Panasonic Junichi, Aoyama Xiu Xin immediately thought of Fujimoto Ryosuke. He wondered how the investigation of the Noguchi Group was coming along, and just as he was about to call him, he caught sight of Fujimoto Ryosuke appearing at the office door.

Aoyama Xiu Xin got up and walked over, "I was just about to look for you. How is the investigation into the Noguchi Group going?"

"Let's talk over here," Fujimoto Ryosuke pulled Aoyama Xiu Xin into the stairwell and then spoke urgently, "Mr. Xiu Xin, the new department head for the criminal division has been decided. Do you know who it is?"

"Who is it?" Aoyama Xiu Xin asked casually.

"Takahashi Tomoyuki," Fujimoto Ryosuke slowly uttered the name, and then added, "It's your former superior at Police Headquarters, Takahashi Tomoyuki. I heard he got the position because Sato Police Chief strongly recommended him, and since you have an issue with Sato, this might bring trouble to you."

"You, a mere Patrol Chief, how did you manage to find out about this?" Aoyama Xiu Xin looked at him with suspicion.

Fujimoto Ryosuke laughed self-deprecatingly, "In the past, I was desperately trying to climb higher, resorting to whatever means necessary, paying respects to any deity, hoping for their blessings. Although these deities didn't favor me, I had the face to get down to menial tasks and had reasonable capabilities, and in the process, I met quite a few useful people."

"Oh~ no wonder you're so well-informed. Turns out you have quite a network," Aoyama Xiu Xin teased him.

"That's not the point," Fujimoto Ryosuke steered the topic back on track, urgently saying, "The point is, with Takahashi in place, he will definitely target you. You had better prepare in advance and think of some countermeasures."

"The countermeasures are already in place, enough to give him a hard time," Aoyama Xiu Xin said, a slow smile spreading across his face, but he didn't elaborate further right away. Instead, he asked again, "How is the investigation into the Noguchi Group going that I asked you to conduct?"

"What's the rush, I was actually just about to give this to you," Fujimoto Ryosuke pulled out a thick file bag from his coat, then added, "You wanted it urgently, so I've already had people looking into it as best as they could, but there are definitely gaps. Take a look now to see what information is missing so I can go back and check on it."

Aoyama Xiu Xin didn't bother to reply, eagerly taking the file bag and starting to look through the documents.

The documents recorded all the key members of the Noguchi Group, their territorial distribution, main sources of income, etc. Surprisingly, the acquisition of Nozawa Financial Corporation was being personally handled by Nozaki Masao.

It seemed that the Noguchi Group was focusing on this acquisition as a major project at the moment, so if Aoyama Xiu Xin wanted to protect his own assets, he would need to rid Nozaki Masao of his acquisition plans, but this was clearly impossible.

In that case, the only option was to eliminate this man.

As Aoyama Xiu Xin continued to flip through, he found the name Panasonic Junichi highlighted separately.

Noticing his interest, Fujimoto Ryosuke took the initiative to explain, "I know this person. He's not a member of any Violent Gang, not officially registered, but he has a special connection with Nozaki Masao and holds a significant position within the Noguchi Group. Publicly, they cooperate to run entertainment venues, but what happens behind the scenes, we're not clear about."

Hearing this, Aoyama Xiu Xin could now be fairly certain that Panasonic Junichi was indeed the person in charge of the illegal goods business within the Noguchi Group. He had no gang background, and he wasn't even part of the Noguchi Group—it was simply convenient for cutting ties should things be exposed publicly.

But another problem had arisen—how could they obtain evidence of his drug trafficking? And people like him were usually fiercely loyal to the gang, whether actively or passively.

Even if captured, they would bear all the blame.

How could they make him testify against Nozaki Masao?

Aoyama Xiu Xin quickly thought of a solution.

That was to seek help from Nozaki Masao!

.........

Half an hour later, in a private room of an izakaya in the Shinjuku District, Aoyama Xiu Xin sat with his eyes closed, resting.

Upon hearing faint footsteps, he opened his eyes.

Then, the door was pushed open, and the figure of Nozaki Masao appeared at the doorway. Aoyama Xiu Xin quickly stood up and bowed respectfully, greeting, "Mr. Yokoguchi."

"Deputy Chief Aoyama," Nozaki Masao bowed slightly in return, entered the room and sat down, then got straight to the point, "Deputy Chief Aoyama sounded very urgent over the phone, may I know what exactly happened?"

"Are you sure there aren't any eavesdroppers here?" Aoyama Xiu Xin asked somewhat uneasily.

Nozaki Masao was confident, "This is a Noguchi Group property, Deputy Chief Aoyama, please speak freely."

"Okay!" Aoyama Xiu Xin bowed slightly and then raised his head to utter a name, "Panasonic Junichi."

Nozaki Masao's movement to pick up the teacup paused, but he quickly recovered and took a sip of tea, saying, "Junichi, ah, he's a very good friend of mine. Deputy Chief Aoyama, why do you bring him up?"

"Mr. Yokoguchi," Aoyama Xiu Xin swallowed nervously and said in a low voice, "As per your instructions, I've been forcing Takazawa Akiyoshi to admit he murdered intentionally, but he insists that he was drugged with salts before the murder, wasn't in his right mind, and didn't intend to kill anyone."

Nozaki Masao's face darkened upon hearing this.

Aoyama Xiu Xin continued, "As there has been no progress in the interrogation, my superior personally interrogated Takazawa Akiyoshi, but unexpectedly… unexpectedly, this guy spouted a load of nonsense, denied his crime, and even accused the Noguchi Group of trafficking drugs. He also mentioned Panasonic Junichi's name, claiming he once overheard a phone conversation about drug trafficking between him and your brother."

"Idiot!" Nozaki Masao exploded in rage, smashing the teacup in his hand, "That bastard is spouting sheer nonsense, Panasonic Junichi is my friend, not a Noguchi Group member! Even if he did traffic drugs, what does it have to do with the Noguchi Group?"

He was infuriated, and if Noguchi Noboru weren't already dead, he would have strangled him with his own hands.

"Yes, yes, yes," Aoyama Xiu Xin nodded repeatedly in agreement, then changed his tone, "But, drug laws are very strict in our country, and my superior has likely already reported this incident. Chief Asai will definitely investigate thoroughly. Although Panasonic Junichi is not a member of the Noguchi Group, since he is your friend, to prevent any implication, you should make arrangements early."

"Phew!" Nozaki Masao took a deep breath, suppressing the anger in his heart, and slightly bowed his head to Aoyama Xiu Xin in gratitude, "Thank you for your concern, Deputy Chief Aoyama."

Then he clapped his hands twice.

The door was slowly pushed open, and a subordinate at the door bowed and said, "Mr. Yokoguchi."

"Bring the gift for Deputy Chief Aoyama."

"Okay!" The subordinate left and soon returned with a small leather briefcase. He placed it on the table in the private room, opened it to reveal it was full of financial bonds.

Initially issued by the Bonds Credit Bank, these bearer bonds had their interest deducted at the time of purchase. When the bonds matured, anyone who presented them could redeem them at face value.

Because of this characteristic, these bonds became the perfect tool for bribery, a favorite among the political circles in Japan.

"This... I cannot accept rewards without merit," Aoyama Xiu Xin feigned shock and attempted to refuse.

Nozaki Masao pushed the case towards him, earnestly saying, "Deputy Chief Aoyama, you've already done me a great favor by bringing this news, please accept this."

"This... this is really too kind, the offer is hard to refuse, hard to refuse indeed!" Aoyama Xiu Xin closed the case, picked it up, and stood up to take his leave, "Then I must be going now, Mr. Yokoguchi, please make arrangements for Panasonic Junichi soon—I will keep you informed."

"That would take much effort, Deputy Chief Aoyama."

"Not at all, it's the least I can do, Mr. Yokoguchi, please, no need to see me out, no need."