Chapter 295: Special Mission Unit on Emergency Leave

"If you wanted to have Uesugi-kun conduct a second forensic examination to overturn the case, you should have told me in advance!"

Chief Cabinet Secretary Onoda savored his wonton noodles and said, half-teasing and half-complaining, "Where did you get those case files and materials?"

"I stole them," Investigation Division 1 Chief Sugishita Ukyo said calmly. "Among the police officers who handled this matter, some felt sympathy for the victim's family. They secretly obtained the materials. In any case, the management over in Kanagawa was chaotic to begin with, and the previous leaders and investigators have already fallen from grace, so it wasn't difficult to get a copy of the documents."

"You're always like this, Ukyo. I often think that if it weren't for me, you would have been finished long ago." Chief Cabinet Secretary Onoda smiled as if claiming credit, then returned to a cold expression: "The South African government and our country do not have an extradition treaty. The crime in this case occurred in Japan, and both the suspect and the victim are Japanese. South Africa lacks a basis for direct jurisdiction, nor does universal jurisdiction exist. Ordinary murder cases do not trigger United Nations conventions, the evidence of the crime is in Japan, and the South African government also lacks the motivation and resources to investigate."

"In this situation, we can only rely on pressure from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs," Sugishita Ukyo said with a smile. "So, Chief Cabinet Secretary, you..."

"What, tell them we're playing for real?" Chief Cabinet Secretary Onoda said expressionlessly. "Use precious Ministry of Foreign Affairs resources and my connections? Let me tell you, Ukyo, in the Cabinet—excluding the Prime Minister—the 'Four Heavenly Kings' are the Chief Cabinet Secretary, the Minister of Finance, the Foreign Minister, and the Minister of Defense. My older brother is indeed the Chief Cabinet Secretary, but to go to the Foreign Minister for a matter like this... setting aside the massive favor I'd owe, a formal diplomatic note between nations just for this? Who is the one truly wasting the taxpayers' money?"

"Even if that's the case, as I said before, the person who died was Japanese and the case happened in Japan; at most, South Africa will just escort him out of the country." Another day of confrontation between the scheming Chief Cabinet Secretary and the tsundere Division Chief.

"That's still better than no punishment at all."

"Is there a difference? It's just moving to a different country. Consuming so many resources and connections just to make the murderer spend a bit more on a plane ticket—can the victim's family find solace in that?"

After Chief Cabinet Secretary Onoda finished these words, Sugishita Ukyo was silent for a moment and could only shake his head: "It's unfair. These kinds of transnational cases are often like this."

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs treats foreigners well and uses overseas influence to strengthen its own political standing, while the citizens hope we will be tougher on foreigners. Unfortunately, looking at the world situation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is dispensable; everyone knows we are just a sea and air base for the United States." Chief Cabinet Secretary Onoda told a cold joke.

Both men in their fifties laughed.

"Of course, what I'm more worried about is that this incident will set a very bad precedent." Chief Cabinet Secretary Onoda ordered another basket of xiaolongbao: "Once a trend of the Metropolitan Police Department overturning cases forms... we all know how many problems the local headquarters have. If the Metropolitan Police Department takes over, it will undoubtedly offend the entire police, prosecution, and judicial system; if the Metropolitan Police Department doesn't take over, it will offend all the citizens. Caught between a tiger's den and a wolf's lair... Ukyo, you are always so willful. Setting aside not considering the organization, don't you even consider Uesugi-kun?"

"This was a wrongful conviction to begin with! Considering the organization, considering Uesugi-kun—who is going to consider the victim's family who reported the case nine times and filed six appeals in five years? Who is going to consider their long-term suffering, the family left destitute because of the Nikaido affair?" Sugishita Ukyo never fell for Onoda's tactics.

"Hmph~ but we don't need to worry about that; how to handle this matter is something for Director General Watanabe to worry about." Onoda Kenshige ended the topic with a tacit understanding: "If Eiji wants my help when the time comes, we'll talk then."

At the same time, near Sakuradamon of the Metropolitan Police Department, at an English Victoria-themed cafe, in a booth.

In the antique-style hall filled with the aroma of coffee, the television screen was playing the news, specifically about Sakigawa Nen's Sherlock Holmes, Uesugi Muneyuki.

Japanese society's reaction to this matter was generally positive, but whether it was because their tastes had been spoiled by Uesugi Muneyuki, or because dissatisfaction with the Kanagawa police had also affected Uesugi Muneyuki's image, some people were not satisfied enough with Uesugi Muneyuki's performance.

What were they doing earlier? The suspect already escaped and they're still playing Sherlock Holmes here?

It was just refuting the suicide ruling, nothing special.

So even Forensic Examiner Uesugi has times when he can't catch the criminal. Well~ although this case is considered solved, there's always a feeling of being left hanging, much less satisfying than the previous ones~

"Hehehe~ truly caught between a tiger's den and a wolf's lair... Muneyuki, you saw it, right?" Superintendent General Watanabe Eiji pointed at the screen and laughed: "So Sakigawa Nen's Sherlock Holmes is nothing more than this after all; he still let the criminal escape."

"To be able to achieve this much with a five-year-old cold case is already quite amazing, isn't it?" Uesugi Muneyuki had black lines on his forehead as he held his Darjeeling tea, blowing on the steam: "Besides, the luck in this case was really good. The family investigated privately when the police refused to open a case and figured out the situation. One of the criminals, Kitano Yukari, couldn't adapt to life overseas and returned to the country, and because she had been plagued by nightmares for years, she confessed easily."

"The public is like that. They feel that since they pay taxes, we police should provide service from start to finish, solve every case, punish every crime, and catch every criminal. If it's my business, it would be best if all eighty thousand police officers of the Metropolitan Police Department were mobilized just to find a dog; if it's not my business, they curse the police as useless bags of wine and rice, wasting resources and stealing taxes," Watanabe Eiji laughed. "Little do they know, solving cases often relies on luck. Sweat, luck, and experience are all indispensable—how could it be that easy? Moreover, the budget is always limited, and the number of grassroots police officers can never satisfy the needs of the public... Muneyuki, this move of yours can be described as putting yourself on the fire."

"Next, it's foreseeable that requests for second forensic examinations from all over the country will be sent to the Special Mission Unit like snowflakes. For you, it's a dilemma whether to accept them or not. If you accept, you offend colleagues, offend other departments, offend the District Public Prosecutors Office and the courts. And can you solve every cold case? Even if you solve them, many cold cases are thirty or forty years old. What's the point of solving them? The public will still be dissatisfied."

"If you don't accept, then you offend the entire public. The public will feel that their taxes haven't been spent in the right place. Once the Tower of Babel falls, you will easily go from being the center of attention and expectation to being reviled by everyone."

"Now you know how difficult it is to try to do something?" Watanabe Eiji felt a bit listless when he said this.

Watanabe Eiji had previously asked Uesugi Muneyuki to consider cold cases, intending for it to be done secretly—it would be best if they could be solved, but it wouldn't matter if they couldn't—rather than this kind of public situation.

"Then why did you let me take this case?" After hearing this, Uesugi Muneyuki felt it made some sense. There was no help for it; the baser nature of humanity was at play here. Humans like to erect statues to worship, and then watch the statues fall and trample them fiercely.

Showing off is a basic human need, and following the trend of praise and following the trend of condemnation are the cheapest and least costly ways to do so.

"Because I am also a police officer!" Watanabe Eiji nodded with his eyes closed, then opened his steady, dignified eyes: "Maintaining order, upholding justice, and protecting the lives, property, and physical safety of the citizens is my duty as a police officer! I have been a police officer for thirty years, and I have never forgotten my duty for a single day... Although I haven't handled cases personally for over a decade, this case had problems at a glance. If I were to play deaf and dumb at this time, I wouldn't be worthy of being a police officer!"

"Father-in-law, you haven't taken that 15 million yen salary in vain this year." Uesugi Muneyuki frowned. Having been in the organization for a long time, he also felt many problems. National interests, organizational interests, and personal interests are not always consistent, and order and justice do not always overlap. Fortunately, this father-in-law of his hadn't completely regarded himself as a bureaucrat or politician and still remembered he was a police officer.

"Alright, you don't need to butter me up. I don't take what I shouldn't, and I've never taken less than I should," Watanabe Eiji laughed and scolded: "You'd better think about how to solve the trouble ahead first!"

"How about this? Didn't I just resign from the Medical and Dental University?" Uesugi Muneyuki nodded: "Without a position at the hospital, I naturally lost the qualification for second forensic examinations. So, I will announce to the public that I have lost the qualification for second forensic examinations. By the time I officially join the University of Tokyo next year, this wave of overturning cases should have passed."

"Hmm... by the way, Muneyuki, how long have you accumulated your compensatory leave?" Watanabe Eiji had heard about Uesugi Muneyuki's resignation from the Medical and Dental University. Of course, he didn't like Uesugi Muneyuki's decision, but considering that Uesugi Muneyuki was already his own son (Adopted Son-in-law), he had already prepared the University of Tokyo as a fallback, so he didn't say anything.

"It's accumulated to about 28 days," Uesugi Muneyuki complained: "I can take six weeks of consecutive leave, connecting directly to the New Year's holiday."

"Consecutive leave, I'll approve 10 days of leave for your Special Mission Unit. Spend a week going out to have fun and relax, and a week to settle the engagement with Minami," Watanabe Eiji nodded: "It's just the right time for you to avoid the limelight. Weddings, funerals, and birthdays are major events; everyone can understand that."

"I have no objection to resting for two weeks, but what about inside Sakuradamon?" Uesugi Muneyuki laughed: "Without me, wouldn't Investigation Division 1 be in chaos?"

"It doesn't matter, sometimes you can be a bit more willful," Watanabe Eiji didn't care. He casually used his fork to roll the rolled omelet from the morning breakfast set on the table: "Our East Asian system is one that bullies honest people, workhorses, and obedient good boys. Being a bit unruly is actually a good thing. How can an ace player not have a bit of a temper?"

"Furthermore, you don't necessarily have to only consider the Metropolitan Police Department. You can also contact the District Public Prosecutors Office and the insurance side to help out," Watanabe Eiji said meaningfully: "Only by letting the Department and Onoda and the others feel that they cannot completely manipulate you, can the Special Mission Unit of you and Minami receive more funding and resource allocation, and there will be more certainty in upgrading to a Special Mission Division in the future."

This is the value of a united front... Uesugi Muneyuki nodded helplessly; he understood this too well in his previous life.

"Even my future path as your father-in-law depends on you... I'm not satisfied with 15 million a year; I want to get 20 million, 25 million a year..."

After finishing breakfast, that same day, the Metropolitan Police Department suddenly released an important piece of news to the public.

Due to the all-night search in the Kanagawa case, combined with months of overtime, sub-health conditions, and poor physical health, as well as handling private affairs, Special Mission Unit Forensic Examiner Uesugi Muneyuki has voluntarily applied for two weeks of leave. Approved by the Criminal Investigation Department and the Superintendent General himself, the Special Mission Unit has temporarily entered a state of suspension!

Upon learning this news, the young lady Minami cheered endlessly: "Yay!"

"Muneyuki, Ikeda, let's the three of us go to Hakone to soak in the hot springs!" After getting the leave slip, the young lady Minami, with her face flushed with excitement, brought up the idea she had been planning for a long time.

"Hakone two-night, three-day plan!"

(End of chapter)