Chapter 329

PS: After two days of bloody battle, Super Earth stands firm! Hah! Honor to the people, the Son of Heaven is here, Ala seahigh peace! And you're driving a Shanghai C-plate car!

PS2: The Super Earth defense battle has concluded; tomorrow we resume two updates, and this one is a 4600-character double release!

That night, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department remained sleepless.

Uesugi Sōsetsu was urgently escorted by the Metropolitan Police to the emergency center of Tokyo University Hospital, and the police department was all in a sweat, thinking Uesugi must absolutely not come to harm.

Fortunately, good news soon came from the emergency center of Tokyo University Hospital: Uesugi Sōsetsu only suffered a ruptured nasal capillary, a torn thigh muscle, and a minor groin strain, with no serious injury; after observation, he could go home to rest.

This news made the Metropolitan Police breathe a deep sigh of relief.

The reason is simple: even a hundred police officers together barely managed to subdue a major suspect in flagrante, over a dozen were injured, and hostages were taken—this was a major blow to the police department's image. Had it not been for Uesugi Sōsetsu's last-minute heroic rescue of the hostages, this incident would have been a devastating, fatal blow to the police's honor, with the entire leadership facing the risk of collective resignation.

Mano Matsuko's every slash could knock off the hat of a police bureau chief!

And as long as Uesugi Sōsetsu is unharmed, this incident can be turned into a major victory for the police over the "invincible one," despite massive losses, countless casualties, and a hundred versus one where over a dozen were injured—just say it: wasn't the final outcome a victory?

As long as we win in the end, there's room for maneuver. Japanese people are naturally skilled at wartime propaganda from headquarters. Although times have changed and nationalism and "winning studies" have been swept into history's trash heap in Japan, their PR skills and result-oriented mindset remain strong.

Midnight: the Sakurada Gate lights blazed, all ministers and senior officials arrived, Police Commissioner Watanabe Eiji and National Police Agency Secretariat Chief Onoda Kōken sat together, while over a dozen police superintendents and above listened to subordinates' reports.

The only person present below the rank of police superintendent was Special Command Management Officer Watanabe Minami. Due to extreme tension and stimulation, Minami fainted twice, but after learning Uesugi Sōsetsu was safe, she still managed to control herself.

Uesugi Sōsetsu can rest, Ikeda Erina can rest, but she must personally handle the aftermath— they handle the scene, she must handle the follow-up.

Erina killed someone!

If this isn't handled properly, it will cause serious trouble! As a Special Command Management Officer, she naturally must protect her subordinates!

Moreover, Erina is her close friend, personally appointed as her "attendant"!

Thinking this, Minami, the young lady, inwardly smiled, recalling she once said she granted you the privilege of "cut and pardon"—you really used it, huh?

"Cut and pardon" was a privilege granted by Tokugawa Yoshimune, the eighth shogun of the Edo shogunate, to the warrior class, allowing them to legally kill provocative townspeople or farmers under the pretext of "honor damage" without consequence.

A classic Edo joke: a farmer warned a samurai that his clothes had a louse, and since the louse clung to the family crest, the samurai, citing "honor damage," cut the farmer down on the spot.

But in reality, such incidents almost never occurred, because "cut and pardon" was strictly enforced in practice: first, multiple unrelated parties had to willingly testify that the warrior was indeed rudely offended; second, after using the privilege, one had to immediately report to the local office for suspension and investigation.

Know this: the Edo shogunate already harshly suppressed daimyo and the warrior class (as everyone knows, warriors hardly engaged in production). Unless you were a Tokugawa direct-line hatamoto, committing "cut and pardon" would risk losing your warrior status, and the shogunate would never let it go—seppuku, reassignment, salary reduction, demotion—none would be spared.

Even for a hatamoto, proving the other party was truly rude and provocative first is extremely difficult. Moreover, if you cut down a shogun's farmer, you're slapping the shogun's face; if you cut a daimyo's farmer, you're slapping the daimyo's face; if you cut your own farmer… well, that's your own property and subjects—do you eat oil cakes?

Once, a daimyo on alternate attendance was bumped by a three-year-old child, and in his youthful vigor, he used the "cut and pardon" privilege to slay the child.

Although the investigation later cleared him, the child's local domain was furious, declared it would never allow that domain to pass through its territory for alternate attendance, and the two domains nearly went to war. Moreover, it's said the daimyo was later shot and killed by the child's family with a matchlock gun, while other daimyo remained silent, privately praising him as magnificent, and the shogunate's attitude remained ambiguous—after arresting and questioning the father, they learned he was indeed the child's father, then released him, only forbidding him from leaving his domain.

The Edo shogunate had an interesting custom: it showed great leniency toward "tit-for-tat revenge."

Ikeda, that fool, doesn't understand "cut and pardon" at all—she actually went and did it.

"The deceased is also the major suspect in flagrante, Mano Matsuko, 35…" Watanabe Minami relayed the information gathered by the police to all present senior officials—this part was already mentioned earlier.

"What's a hostess boy?" Onoda Kōken nodded: "Indeed, I've heard—Kabukichō has many hostess clubs with annual revenues in the tens of billions, many women spend long-term here, drowning in debt, and these clubs are all linked to organized crime; once women can't pay, violent debt collection follows, forcing them into sex work, and even after social death, they're sent to Southeast Asia and the U. S. for resale."

Minami, the young lady, remained expressionless, paused slightly, and thought: You know all this?

You know all this and do nothing?

But what can we do? Japanese people are like this—without a few lives lost, without bloody violence drawing major social attention (preferably foreign media scrutiny), they have no motivation to truly change.

This is Japan, as Fujiwara Iwei said.

"Ah, without doubt, this is a major indiscriminate antisocial attack." Watanabe Eiji added: "After the perpetrator committed the crime at the hostess club and achieved revenge, he likely considered that even so, he was already burdened with massive debt, social death, and chronic illness, thus shifting from revenge killing to indiscriminate killing."

"Now the biggest problem is that this incident has drawn global attention." Criminal Division Chief Imura said with a grim face: "Please look at the PPT."

The police department looked up, and their faces changed instantly.

BBC report: *Shinjuku Blood Night: A Slaughter Feast in the Debt Vortex*

(Image: victims' bodies reflecting shattered neon signs and blood pools, with hostess suits and feathered accessories, under a grim filter)

New York Times report: *The Backlash of Kabukichō's Sex Industry: Japan's Night Economy's Black Ledger*

(Article emphasizes the debt mechanism forcing victims into prostitution, citing UN human trafficking report data)

French Reuters: *Sakawa's Most Brutal Police-Criminal Battle: Tokyo's Safety Myth Shattered*

(Video montage: relentless pursuit scenes and injured police collapsing in a heap)

Asahi Shimbun overseas edition: *Police Department Annihilated, Commissioner Personally Patrols Amid Major Serial Indiscriminate Killing Case*

(Front-page close-up: Watanabe Eiji patrolling, with background showing AnonTokyo Club's bloody scene)

Overseas Chinese community of a certain country: *Japan Erupts in Major Indiscriminate Serial Killing Case—Why Does This Island Nation Keep Producing "Invincible Ones"? *

(Summary: How is this country? I ponder… systemic question! Inherent flaws, need reflection.)

"KUSO! Why do these overseas media always pick this kind of story? Why don't they report the good things?" The General Affairs Department head slammed the desk, furious: "So many police pursued selflessly, excellent marksmanship, fearless spirit, serving the people, plus Uesugi's great performance—none of that gets reported, why only this?"

"There are also some domestic reports."

Everyone turned to look at domestic coverage.

Sankei Shimbun reported: *On-Site Neutralization of Major Suspect—Police Department's Decisive Action Deserves Praise! *

This mainly focuses on police shooting the suspect on scene—overall, it takes a positive stance.

Yomiuri Shimbun reported: *The Darkness of This Country Has Never Disappeared*

This focuses on Kabukichō's hostess industry and first raises the question: "Hostess entertainment is not technically part of the sex industry; strictly speaking, they are not a special industry under special regulation, thus leading to this tragedy," urging society to strengthen oversight to prevent recurrence.

NHK's report: *Focusing on the Scene—The 13 Minutes of Suffocating Desperate Counterattack, the Special Command Unit's Continued Activity! *

NHK was the first on scene and provided real-time national broadcast, obtaining extremely precious firsthand material, thus repeatedly aired, boosting ratings while relentlessly promoting Uesugi Sōsetsu, telling everyone how dangerous it was then and how miraculous his performance was.

From Date firing his gun to Igarashi's flying kick, from Uesugi rescuing people to Ikeda's critical hit, NHK recorded it all.

While NHK still wants to save face, Fuji TV is completely shameless.

*The Last Samurai! One Person's Power to Turn the Tide! Again and Again, Uesugi Saves the Nation from Peril! *

Seeing this, the faces of Japan's police leadership finally looked much better.

Fortunately, we won in the end—if anything else had happened… they wouldn't dare think further.

"This matter… has extremely negative domestic and international impact." Onoda Kōken, still calm: "For this, President Ōwada and the Cabinet Secretary have expressed special concern, so we must act quickly on public relations."

"Based on our discussion……please take note, everyone."

The scene immediately filled with the sound of everyone taking notes in unison.

"First, we must unify our external stance: we police are not unwilling to fire our weapons; it's just that there were simply too many people at the time, and firing would very likely have caused collateral damage. We are considering public safety, not that we aren't making an effort."

"Second, we will focus on the issues of host clubs and the sex industry, emphasizing this is an anti-social case, that everything is the hosts' fault, that the host clubs drove Mano Matsuko to desperation, especially by exposing the host clubs' various dark deeds and their collusion with violent groups behind the scenes, and downplaying any retaliatory sentiment toward society……"

"Third, we will heavily promote the achievements of the Special Mission Unit in this case, especially Uesugi Muneyuki's key performance, so that the public realizes the tremendous effort we have made to protect them……The previous pursuit of over a hundred people across two kilometers can be appropriately shortened, with focus placed on describing the perpetrator's extreme viciousness and his killing spree."

"Understood!" Everyone at the scene responded in unison.

"The Organized Crime Control Department will recently focus on clearing out and inspecting all male host entertainment establishments in Kabukicho and their ties to violent groups; we have already obtained permission from the Cabinet." Watanabe Eiji began assigning tasks: "All establishments in Kabukicho must cease operations until the New Year holiday ends."

"Yes!" The chief of the Organized Crime Control Department stood up.

"The Public Security Police will focus on investigating far-left organizations, terrorism-related and foreign-related sections, and the profit chains involving human trafficking and sex industry introductions."

"Understood!" The chief of the Public Security Department stood up.

"The Criminal Investigation Department has suffered great losses in this case……but we must also buckle down, assist in the investigation, especially for similar cases, which truly cannot happen again in Tokyo!"

"Hai ya!" Uchimura, chief of the Criminal Investigation Department, stood up: "I will have Section Chief Sugishita Ukyo handle it!"

"Hmm, very good." Watanabe Eiji paused slightly: "There is still one more issue."

Everyone fell silent; they all knew what was going on.

"Regarding the issue of police openly killing someone at the scene in this case." Watanabe Eiji nodded solemnly: "As for the shooting by Date, this is easy to handle—just say he did not issue the necessary warnings to the person."

According to Article 7 of Japan's Police Officers Duty Execution Act, police may use weapons in the following two situations:

Arresting a serious offender in flagrante: to arrest a person caught in the act of committing a crime punishable by death, life imprisonment, or imprisonment of three years or more (or if there is reasonable suspicion of such crime), and if the person resists, flees, or has someone assisting their resistance or flight, weapons may be used within necessary limits.

Preventing serious harm: to prevent others from suffering serious harm to life or body, or to stop an act that seriously endangers public safety, and if no other means are available in an emergency situation, weapons may be used.

Like the exemption for cutting and abandoning, Japanese police usually need to fire a warning shot first; if ineffective, they may then aim at non-vital parts, and only if the person still refuses to obey and violently resists may they consider a direct killing shot.

"Regarding the issue of Female Patrol Officer Ikeda Erena……we may need to communicate with the Ministry of Justice." Saying this, Watanabe Eiji also furrowed his brow: "Given the current situation, carrying out extreme violent killing is an unavoidable measure—are we to let her watch Uesugi be hacked to death by random knives?"

"Ah! On this matter, we must no matter what protect Patrol Officer Ikeda." Onoda also nodded: "This way, first let Chief Supervision Officer Okochi place her on suspension via 'internal investigation' for review and protection, and then the headquarters will communicate with the Ministry of Justice to strive for a swift resolution."

"Speaking of which, this female patrol officer has already achieved merit three times!" Uchimura Bucho also expressed agreement: "No matter what, headquarters must fully support her."

"Then let's do it that way." Watanabe Eiji suddenly laughed and raised his mobile phone: "Moreover, this time we have the public's support!"

In the early morning hours, Yahoo had 130,000 votes, with 94% of Japanese nationals supporting Ikeda.

With broad public support, this matter becomes easy to handle!

For National Diet members and the Cabinet Prime Minister, votes are their lifeline!

"Still, we must undergo a routine emergency review." Watanabe Minami said very "selflessly": "We must ensure the entire procedure is problem-free."

Kai has already called his father, who is a Vice-Minister of Justice; everything is under Miss Minami's control, Kora!

Thus, the Metropolitan Police Department's special emergency meeting adjourned; it was already past two o'clock in the morning.

Onoda Kimiaki privately sought out Watanabe Minami before his departure.

At this moment, Miss Watanabe Minami's heart had already flown to Uesugi Muneyuki's side; being stopped made her a bit displeased, but she still had to maintain a smile.

"Watanabe Management Official, your Special Mission Unit's contributions to the headquarters, to Tokyo, and even to the nation's people—I, on behalf of my elder brother, express my sincere gratitude to you." Onoda Kanbocho spoke very seriously in a low voice: "Have you considered……taking it further?"

"Eh?!" Miss Watanabe Minami was stunned.

Seeing Watanabe Minami a bit slow on the uptake, Onoda Kanbocho decided to speak more clearly.

"Have you considered……giving your Special Mission Unit……especially Uesugi-kun……a bit more burden?"

(Chapter End)