Chapter 238: A Rabble of People

The next morning, as Akiwara Yuto was preparing to go to the law firm to discuss the relevant situation again, the telephone suddenly rang.

He picked up the receiver and heard Asano Aiko's anxious voice, "Akiwara, do you subscribe to the *Asahi Shimbun*? Take a look quickly!"

Akiwara Yuto was somewhat puzzled, but he still set the receiver aside, retrieved the newspaper he subscribed to, and began to read it.

On the front page of this newspaper was an article occupying half the page, with the headline: "Onuki Masakazu's Self-Account of His Criminal Motive: Why I Assassinated Akiwara Yuto."

In the bottom right corner of the article was a photograph of Onuki Masakazu, making him appear exceptionally "haggard and worn out."

Akiwara Yuto frowned, then leaned down and began to read carefully.

In the opening section of the article, Onuki Masakazu first expressed his apology to the public, apologizing for the trouble he had caused everyone.

Immediately following this, his tone shifted, and he began to talk about his past.

Around the time of the economic crisis, he had submitted his work many times but failed, and he could not find a job when he went out to look for one.

Because he could not earn money, he was subjected to cold looks from his family and even suffered a certain degree of "cold violence," feeling so much inner pain that he could only fall asleep by taking sleeping pills.

But one day, *Tokyo Youth* found him and made a request for ghostwriting.

He had wanted to refuse because it did not align with his literary ideals. But in order to earn money, he endured the "humiliation" and began writing the manuscripts.

And he hoped to escape this life by submitting to other channels.

But after his family saw him earning money, they forced him to abandon this plan and become their "money-making machine" in earnest. After experiencing all this, he became extremely "manic."

To suppress his murderous intent, he wrote his hatred into his articles and constantly restrained himself, even resorting to self-harm...

He had thought he could escape this by winning an award, but he did not expect Akiwara Yuto to criticize him at the press conference, causing his dreams to shatter.

Akiwara Yuto roughly finished reading the rest, his brow furrowing even tighter.

In this article, Onuki Masakazu found "excuses" for all his actions, including the ghostwriting incident, his murderous intent toward his parents, and his assassination attempt on him.

But at this point, what use was this kind of report? To win the public's sympathy?

From any angle, he was a criminal suspected of attempted murder, right? He should just obediently wait for the court's judgment.

Akiwara Yuto was somewhat confused, read it carefully a few more times, and discovered some keywords: mental mania, inner pain, sleeping pills, self-harm, murderous intent...

No, was the other party trying to use mental illness as a reason to escape punishment and obtain a chance at a suspended sentence? But would the judge and jury believe this report? Are they joking?!

He thought for a long time without reaching any conclusion, so he changed his clothes and left the house.

He took a private car directly to the Watanabe Law Firm, found his lawyer Watanabe Takumi, and raised his questions.

After hearing the entire content, Watanabe Takumi also subconsciously fell into deep thought. After a while, he said, "Akiwara-san, if that is the case, there is indeed a problem."

Seeing that Akiwara Yuto was still confused, he began to explain, "Onuki Masakazu's approach might influence the trial, for example, the jurors..."

Regarding the trial, in addition to the judge, six "jurors" would be arranged to participate.

These jurors, besides participating in the trial of the case together with the judge, would also determine the facts based on evidence, decide whether the defendant is guilty or innocent, and determine the sentencing.

However, the selection of jurors is done through random selection.

This means that even ordinary citizens can enter the judicial process through random selection and influence the outcome of the trial.

Akiwara Yuto immediately realized the implication behind this—that as long as the other party claims to be "mentally ill" in the newspaper and can produce a certificate of mental illness or traces of self-harm, it is very likely to be believed by the public.

If any of the citizens who believe it are drawn as "jurors," they would make a verdict favorable to Onuki Masakazu during the sentencing.

If that were the case, the other party would very likely obtain a suspended sentence or a reduced sentence.

But if so, what should he do?

Watanabe Takumi adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses and then looked at Akiwara Yuto, "Akiwara-san, I hope you can change your litigation request. Could you listen to it?"

Seeing Akiwara Yuto nod, he began to speak.

As Akiwara Yuto listened, he revealed a look of surprise.

Because this lawyer Watanabe was talking about an idea he had considered before but later abandoned.

But if it were like this, perhaps he could operate in this way.

It is estimated that Onuki Masakazu himself would not refuse aid from "kind-hearted people" in society!

In the Japan of this world, the *Asahi Shimbun* ranks second in sales among all newspapers, with a circulation of 6. 2 million copies, covering the entire Japanese archipelago.

Its front-page headline would allow all readers to see it at the first opportunity.

Therefore, after this article was published, many members of the public began to discuss it spontaneously.

In this era of economic downturn, too many people cannot find suitable jobs, so the fact that Onuki Masakazu himself accepted "ghostwriting" out of helplessness made many people empathize and feel sympathy.

And his explanation that he developed mental problems due to his parents' harsh behavior, and that the "murderous intent" revealed in his works was a result of this, also successfully gained the understanding of many people.

After seeing that "haggard" photo of him, some people took the initiative to write to the newspaper, hoping to give Onuki Masakazu more positive coverage.

Not only that, some even posted on the internet, believing that since Akiwara Yuto was not really hurt, he, as the "stronger party," should understand Onuki Masakazu's difficulties and drop the charges.

Upon seeing this post, Akiwara Yuto was left speechless.

He could not help but think of a book from his past life called *The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind*.

According to the explanation in that book, a crowd can be very easily incited by a few news stories and produce irrational collective behavior; he did not expect to actually see it this time.

Just because Onuki Masakazu played the "pitiful" card in the newspaper, many people identified with him and tried to pressure him, the victim.

It is simply ridiculous!

However, because of the plan between himself and Watanabe Takumi, this time he chose to wait and see, avoiding all interviews and media inquiries.

This caused public opinion to increasingly lean toward the argument that Onuki Masakazu did it because he was "mentally ill."

April 29, Tokyo Detention House.

Onuki Masakazu lay on the floor, staring blankly at the sky outside the window.

He was in a single cell, which contained bedding, a sink, and a toilet; besides that, there were newspapers and books.

Just a moment ago, he had finished reading the recent newspapers and felt quite confident in his heart.

On the morning of the assassination attempt on Akiwara Yuto, he had already mailed copies of his mental health certificate and his self-account letter to several media outlets.

And in the month prior, he had deliberately faked "self-harm" wound marks on his hands.

He believed that with these, the possibility of obtaining a suspended sentence and a light sentence would be greatly increased.

However, he still had one worry, which was whether he would be subjected to forced psychiatric treatment.

In the judicial system, if the prosecution believes that he still poses a danger to society, they could potentially file an appeal and use measures to send him to a mental hospital for treatment.

But this appeal would still need to be determined by the court; if the court believes he does not pose a major danger to society, the possibility of him being subjected to forced medical treatment is not high.

However, he still did not have much certainty about how the court would eventually rule.

After all, although his self-account letter had been published and had sparked a certain amount of public discussion, how this public opinion would actually affect the court's trial was something he found very difficult to grasp.

If only there were a lawyer who could help him scheme and plan!

Just as he was deep in thought, the door to the cell was suddenly opened, and a police officer in uniform walked in and said coldly, "Onuki Masakazu, someone wants to see you."

Onuki Masakazu did not care about the other party calling him by his full name, but his heart was full of confusion.

Who would want to see me at this time?

"Hurry up." The police officer urged him with dissatisfaction, but he did not commit any rough acts.

After all, Onuki Masakazu was currently an unconvicted prisoner, and no relevant judgment had been passed yet, so he still maintained some reservation in his attitude.

Hearing the urge, Onuki Masakazu stood up slowly, then followed the police officer out and was taken to an "interview room."

In this interview room, he saw a square-faced man in a suit, who appeared to be in his 40s.

But just as he was puzzled, the man stood up and introduced himself, "Onuki-san, hello. I am Ishizaka Taisei. Nice to meet you, please treat me well."

Onuki Masakazu looked at him a few times, did not return the greeting, and sat down directly.

"Who are you? What are you here for?"

His words were very impolite.

In his view, this person who called himself Ishizaka Taisei was full of suspicion.

Ishizaka Taisei did not mind, took a business card from his pocket, and handed it over. Seeing Onuki Masakazu take it, he smiled again, "Onuki-san, I am a lawyer."

Onuki Masakazu took the business card, looked at it carefully for a few moments, and found that it just said, "Ishizaka Law Firm, Ishizaka Taisei."

This was too strange; he had just hoped for a lawyer, and one had come to him voluntarily.

Just then, Ishizaka Taisei said again in a sincere voice, "Onuki-san, I can help you!"

Hearing this, Onuki Masakazu hesitated.

Should he trust this person or not?