Chapter 504

At two in the afternoon, the Prime Minister's Office, Crisis Management Center!

The bigwigs of Nagatacho gathered here, and upon hearing what happened in the Imperial Palace, everyone immediately dropped their official duties and rushed over urgently.

This incident happens to be a huge scandal, something that cannot see the light of day.

Prime Minister Owada Ken sat in the main seat.

Also present were Chief Cabinet Secretary Onoda Kimiaki.

Chairman of the National Public Safety Commission, Higashi Kotaro.

Director General of the National Police Agency, Tamaru Juzaburo.

Minister of Defense, Watari Akari.

And several Cabinet Intelligence Officials.

Director of the Imperial Household Agency, Maeda Toshisuke, and Head of the Imperial Guard Headquarters, Kenji participated via video conference.

The atmosphere at the scene was extremely oppressive; after hearing the news from the Imperial Palace, no one dared to be lax, immediately rushing over, and even Prime Minister Owada had summoned the Minister of Defense.

If the situation reached an irrecoverable point, then the Minister of Defense would have to notify the Self-Defense Forces to stand by, to prepare for worse circumstances.

Of course, for the Self-Defense Forces to mobilize on a large scale nationwide, at least tacit approval from the United States is required, but to guard against terrorist attacks, deploying small units first and reporting later has been tacitly approved by the United States since the twin towers were struck.

With the Cabinet crisis situation activated, Chief Cabinet Secretary Onoda personally issued a death order, designating this event as "Top Secret," and must strictly limit the scope of those informed to the absolute minimum!

Of course, if the number exceeds ten, the secrecy period will roughly halve; if it exceeds one hundred, the secrecy period will not exceed seventy-two hours at most, which everyone should understand.

Therefore, Chief Cabinet Secretary Onoda made a secondary preparation.

Issued the highest-level alert to the media control system, mobilizing all channels to monitor all major media, especially weekly magazines, preparing to use "administrative guidance" and all other means to suppress any possible reports.

This is a major matter concerning "national interests"!

Japan generally upholds the "freedom of the press" guided by Emperor Mai, and even the frequent rape cases by U. S. forces stationed in Japan, if evidence is conclusive (the U. S. military will require a complete evidence chain), can also be reported, but there are several aspects that can be exempted, including matters within the Imperial Palace!

The meeting will swiftly characterize this incident as no longer a simple murder case, but a "major national security incident," and even an unsuccessful "terrorist attack"!

"Immediately have Director Tamaru personally oversee it! Integrate all forces of the Metropolitan Police Department and the Imperial Guard Police, spare no effort, with the highest priority to solve the case. Must apprehend the culprit before the news leaks!"

Chief Cabinet Secretary Onoda Kimiaki's orders came one after another: "Have the office prepare multiple sets of news contingency plans!"

Considering the possibility of the incident being exposed, the Cabinet must consider how to respond with "minimal information" to reduce the impact to the lowest!

Director General Tamaru Juzaburo, upon hearing that he must personally oversee this matter, had a very grim expression; he himself, since becoming Director General of the National Police Agency, has been a puppet of the official residence, with all real power in the hands of Chief Cabinet Secretary Onoda Kimiaki, and now he is being singled out?

Me? Personally oversee? Really?

After thinking carefully, how has Watanabe Eiji's several years as Director General been?

He subconsciously wanted to find Onoda Kimiaki, but regardless of whether it was Watanabe Eiji or Onoda Kimiaki, such officials have no qualification to attend this highest-level meeting, unless they must come to explain and clarify.

On the other side, Chairman of the National Public Safety Commission, Higashi Kotaro, also had a solemn expression, having already prepared to resign and apologize.

A "silent panic" permeated the meeting room.

On the surface, the Prime Minister's Office operated as usual, but the core few individuals were bearing pressure as heavy as Mount Tai.

They feared the culprit was still in the Imperial Palace or that accomplices might act again, feared media leaks, feared opposition party challenges, and even more feared that if the public learned the truth, it would trigger a trust crisis in the nation's security foundation.

If any minor detail is mishandled regarding the explosion, the outcome will be the Cabinet's collective resignation!

Every minute felt like torment, all hopes pinned on the Metropolitan Police Department's secret investigation team and Forensic Pathologist Uesugi Muneyuki, hoping they could silently and swiftly resolve this storm.

And at this very moment, Uesugi Muneyuki was performing an autopsy.

The Imperial Household Agency was waiting, the Imperial Palace Police were waiting, the Metropolitan Police Department and National Police Agency were waiting, and even those in the know within the National Public Safety Commission and Cabinet were waiting!

Waiting for Uesugi Muneyuki's autopsy results, waiting for his answer, waiting for him to crack the case!

And when the time came to around 2:30 in the afternoon, the Imperial Household Agency side transmitted an extremely excited message.

"President Owada, and all members of the Cabinet! We have results! Chief Uesugi has results!" said Director Maeda Toshisuke excitedly.

"Immediately switch the camera over, I want to hear Uesugi speak directly, what exactly is going on? What is the basis for judging it as homicide?" Prime Minister Owada immediately said.

And as Uesugi Muneyuki's face appeared on the screen, a strong sense of reassurance washed over.

In the autopsy room on screen, even through the screen one could smell the strong disinfectant vapor permeating the air, unable to mask the deeper, icy scent of death.

Under the shadowless lamp, the corpse of Shizuo lay quietly on the stainless steel autopsy table. Uesugi Muneyuki wore a full set of surgical attire, his gaze focused like a hawk, the instruments in his hand steady and precise. His forensic assistant, Ishihara Mikoto and Watanabe Minami (wearing protective gear, observing and recording from the side), held their breath and concentrated; the room only had the occasional light collision of instruments and Uesugi Muneyuki's commands, calm to the extreme.

The autopsy process was meticulous and detailed. As previously inferred, the cause of death was indeed drowning. But what Uesugi Muneyuki discovered went far beyond that.

Facing the camera, Uesugi Muneyuki said in a cold voice: "Ladies and gentlemen of the Cabinet, after greeting you again, I will first tell you what I have learned, and what my evidence for judging it as homicide is."

"First, the body surface of Shizuo indeed showed no obvious signs of beating, scratching, or binding, but subtle subcutaneous bleeding or abrasions could be found at the wrists, ankles, etc."

Uesugi Muneyuki displayed the injuries revealed after careful dissection and under the assistance of specific ultraviolet light.

"There was microscopic bleeding in the neck muscles of Shizuo, with tiny bleeding points appearing in the deep muscle tissue, and microscopic fibers were found under the fingernails."

"Then, Shizuo's lungs: victims of accidental drowning usually inhale large amounts of drowning fluid, and the lungs and trachea will be filled with foam containing aquatic microorganisms (such as diatoms), but Shizuo inhaled a relatively small amount of drowning fluid; based on pulmonary edema, alveolar expansion degree, and left-right blood dilution, Shizuo was not an accidental drowning."

"Finally, Shizuo's stomach was empty, which would lead to low blood sugar and bodily weakness. A tired and hungry person going alone to the lakeside at night for a 'walk' and accidentally slipping in has a much lower risk than someone who is well-fed and drunk. Although this point cannot directly prove homicide, the possibility of accident is very low."

"We tested for adrenaline, finding evidence that he experienced extreme stress before death, which differs from passively slipping into water accidentally; also, accidental slips usually cause abrasions or bumps on one side of the body (such as buttocks, outer arm), and the direction is fairly consistent. Whereas struggle injuries and restraint injuries from being subdued, in their location (such as inner wrist, elbow) and form, may better match the characteristics of being under human control."

"Therefore, in conclusion, I believe that Shizuo is undoubtedly a homicide victim!" Uesugi Muneyuki said calmly to the camera.

Microscopic restraint injury + foreign object under nails + atypical drowning physiological presentation + empty stomach state + injury-environment contradiction.

Uesugi Muneyuki easily concluded through a perfect evidence chain pointing to one conclusion: Shizuo had physical contact with another person before entering the water and was controlled, entering the water in a non-voluntary state, thus absolutely not an accidental slip and fall into water, but rather being deliberately thrown into the water leading to drowning.

His autopsy report will use calm, objective, indisputable scientific language to completely overturn the possibility of "accident," directing the Metropolitan Police Department's special investigation team toward the "homicide" investigation direction, and exposing the existence of the culprit from the darkness.

At the Cabinet emergency meeting, everyone faced Uesugi Muneyuki's judgment, unable to utter a single word of doubt.

It is homicide! Really homicide?!

Very good, but, what now?

Prime Minister Owada unconsciously glanced at Chief Cabinet Secretary Onoda, who immediately understood: "Uesugi-kun, very good, we all fully understand and affirm your reasoning, but……what should we do next?"

Facing the camera, Uesugi Muneyuki silently thought for a moment, then said: "First, we must test the water in Shizuo's lungs, compare it with water samples from different areas of the Imperial Lakeshore, to determine Shizuo's exact entry point."

"Second, I extracted from the knees and elbows of Shizuo's suit trousers some moss and a special synthetic fiber not originating from the Imperial Lakeshore. This fiber is hard in texture, commonly used in outdoor sports or labor protection gloves, and needs to be investigated."

"Finally, deep in the nail crevice of the ring finger on the deceased's right hand, several extremely tiny bright blue plastic fragments and a strand of almost invisible black chemical fiber (different from that on clothing) were found. I preliminarily judge that the bright blue fragments resemble the surface coating of some kind of nylon rope or plastic tie."

"We need the Cabinet's support for these matters, to send them for inspection immediately and conduct full-scale detection!"

Hearing that Uesugi Muneyuki already had a preliminary judgment, everyone at the Cabinet emergency meeting breathed a sigh of relief.

Amazing!

This kid! He already has new clues this fast?

What else can't he do?

Even Yamada Prime Minister glanced at Uesugi Muneyuki again, thinking this guy never even greeted me!

Forget it, looking at how strong you are, I forgive you!

"Good! Okay! You will receive all the support we can possibly give! Please be sure to clarify the case in the shortest possible time and confirm whether the culprit is still lingering within the Imperial Palace!" Onoda Kanbocho immediately ordered: "What you requested, we will do our utmost to fulfill! Uesugi-kun, do you need anything else? Say it all now, we will prepare immediately…… but considering the impact and confidentiality, we may temporarily be unable to mobilize SAT or troops into the Imperial Palace, otherwise it would cause domestic and foreign turmoil, and public attention."

"And? Then…… I'm hungry." After hearing Onoda Kanbocho's rapid-fire remarks, Uesugi Muneyuki suddenly said.

"Huh???" Onoda Kanbocho stared blankly: "What?"

"I'm hungry, I haven't eaten since this morning until now at 2:30 PM, and there are no shops near the Imperial Palace." Uesugi Muneyuki said helplessly, pointing at the stone room on the autopsy table: "Just like him, hungry."

The Cabinet members looked at Uesugi Muneyuki with displeasure and heard his stomach growling, and for a moment they could barely suppress their laughter.

But no one dared to laugh, for this is still a major event concerning the nation's foundation that remains unresolved!

Yamada Prime Minister subconsciously glanced toward Maeda, who was also participating in the video conference as Director of the Imperial Household Agency.

Maeda Director finally reacted at this moment.

"Great Meal Section! Prepare meals!"

(Chapter End)