Chapter 709

The Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office had long been dissatisfied with the Metropolitan Police Department always taking the spotlight and monopolizing the credit; Prosecutor General Nishikawa of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office had repeatedly told Watanabe Eiji that upgrading the Special Mission Unit to a Special Mission Division was acceptable, but we prosecutors must also establish our own unit.

In other words, this group of people also wants to come share the credit.

The Prosecutors Office joining in is naturally a good thing; with the addition and assistance of these prosecutors, we can maximize the effectiveness of Uesugi Muneyuki and gain greater autonomy in operations and arrests. In Japan, as a police-prosecution hybrid system, the judiciary has always been relatively weak; police applications for arrest and search warrants may be rejected by duty judges, but once the Prosecutors Office speaks, the court almost always signs immediately.

Furthermore, Japanese law stipulates that police may detain a suspect for at most 48 hours after arrest, after which they must forcibly hand the suspect over to the prosecution. To avoid direct confrontation with prosecutors, Japanese police typically hand over suspects around the 36- to 42-hour mark after arrest. At this point, if the Special Mission Unit has prosecutors on board, they can then have up to a week of time after arrest.

This is tremendous power, not to be held under ordinary circumstances.

Therefore, the Ministry of Justice and the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office place great importance on this; the Ministry of Justice elite professional unit they sent this time, Kansei Watari, is the absolute confidant of Administrative Vice-Minister Kusakabe of the Ministry of Justice.

It is clear, then, that Minami must absolutely engage in a contest of wits with this Ministry of Justice representative, as both sides are vying for credit.

As for public security, it is also rather ambiguous.

National Public Safety Commission Chairman Nanko Taro had already tasted success in the previous heavy-handed crackdown on the "Sigh River Renewal Army"; having successfully apprehended the "Action Officer" and "Key Member" of the Sigh River Renewal Army, his standing in the Cabinet had risen, and he had even rescued Prime Minister Oowada from his precarious governing position, which had been jeopardized by the Autumn Minister incident, where Prime Minister Oowada had been preparing to resign in responsibility, but due to this matter being handled well, Prime Minister Oowada's public trust had improved somewhat.

As for the fugitive "Sakamoto Ryoma"?

No name, no information, no appearance—Watanabe Eiji can only wish him longevity!

Public security also similarly wants to get a share from Uesugi Muneyuki; there is no doubt that Uesugi Muneyuki's abilities are wasted if used only in criminal and economic detection, and moreover, public security police possess many special powers.

Warrantless searches, cross-jurisdictional law enforcement, priority use of firearms, mobilization of major enterprises' autonomous associations—especially public security informants for foreign enterprises—and, when necessary, arrest and freeze first, report later.

This will inevitably draw Uesugi Muneyuki into political struggles and intelligence espionage.

Can this son-in-law adoptee of mine handle such a complicated situation?

He seems to have always just wanted to be a pure person……a pure case-solver.

Fortunately, there is Minami; thank goodness for Minami.

All of this, everything, is now entrusted to you, Uesugi Minami, my daughter, and also my daughter-in-law, and furthermore, the sword sheath and controller of Uesugi Muneyuki, the user's manual and the kidnapping of Muneyuki's son to make him obediently listen—this extreme道 imperial weapon!

On this day, Watanabe Eiji pondered for a long time, finally signing his name with a faint smile, taking out his seal, and pressing it lightly. All preparations are complete! Only lacking the east wind!

I am the east wind, come to split—line one

The Tohoku Shinkansen "Hayate," en route back to Tokyo.

Outside the window, the snowscape flew by in blurred patches of color; the carriage had sufficient heating, filled with the weariness and quiet of a long journey. Uesugi Muneyuki and Date Nagamune sat side by side by the window.

Uesugi Muneyuki was closing his eyes to rest his mind, a hardcover copy of "To Day as Mirror" spread open on his knees, but he was clearly not reading it.

Date Nagamune, meanwhile, was restless, his face bearing a complex expression mixing extreme excitement, an overflowing desire to share, and occasional discomfort in the buttocks causing him to grimace.

After enduring about half an hour, Date Nagamune could no longer hold back.

He furtively glanced around, then leaned close to Uesugi, lowered his voice, his tone brimming with irrepressible glee:

"Uesugi! I have to tell you! I……I and Mai-chan, we've made progress, damn it!"

Uesugi Muneyuki didn't even open his eyes, merely giving a barely perceptible "uh," I'm listening.

That "uh" was like opening Date's floodgate of words. He began sharing like pouring beans from a bamboo tube: "Just after the case ended, she came to me on her own to thank me! Then we went alone to pay respects to Vaisravana! Although……although we were disturbed by Okada Section Chief and his crew……"

Saying this, he fumed a little, but immediately his eyebrows danced with joy: "Fell! Stockings! We exchanged Line! The private kind! Not the work contact number!"

He pulled out his phone, wanting to show the chat log, but Uesugi Muneyuki stopped him with a glance, so he could only resentfully take it back, but his mouth wouldn't stop: "After she went back, we still chatted several times! Although the topics were all daily stuff, like Tokyo's weather, whether training was tiring, and she asked if my wound had healed… look! She really cares about me!"

Date Nagamune's face flushed with excitement: "She also told me about her childhood, saying she actually has a bit of fear of the dark, likes watching the drama 'One-Eyed Dragon Masamune,' and loves Lord Masamune's main chamber Tamura Aiden……these definitely aren't things you'd say to ordinary fans, right? Right, Uesugi-san? 」「And, we ate frost sugar apples together! It was together! It's the specialty frost sugar apples from the shrine festival in Yonezawa City, Yamagata Prefecture— that taste, truly authentic!"

He lost himself in sweet fantasies, even beginning to imagine the future: "I've thought it all out, if……I mean if in the future……if we have kids, a boy could be called 'Sōsetsu,' a girl just 'Reina'? Or 'Maiha' wouldn't be bad either? What do you say?"

Uesugi Muneyuki finally slowly opened his eyes, calmly looking through his lenses at his friend lost in the pink bubble.

Frost sugar apple, right?

For some reason, Uesugi Muneyuki recalled the head of Nishino Miki shoved into the toilet drain.

Mouth area!

He estimates he'll never try that again in this lifetime.

But considering Date's connections and network, he didn't directly strike him down, instead offering two practical problems in his usual straightforward tone: "Date, I don't oppose your free love, I'll just say two points……first, the current head of the Uwajima Date family, your grandfather Date Munetada, is famously old-fashioned and concerned with pedigree. Would he easily consent to his heir marrying an idol, even if she isn't of low birth (the Moriya family is well-off and even has a dedicated winter holiday villa, at least a moderately prosperous household)?"

"Second, Akai Saka 46, or rather, the idol system under Akimoto Yasushi, the surface-level 'no-dating rule' may not be law, but it's nearly an industry ironclad rule and fan consensus. Moriya Akane-san's career is on the rise. Have you considered the consequences of making your relationship public or semi-public? For her, for you."

Date Nagamune's excitement froze on his face, but was quickly replaced by a stubborn "true love can conquer anything."

"Grandfather's side……I can slowly convince him! And Mai-chan is kind, hardworking, and beautiful; grandfather will surely like her once he gets to know her! As for the idol no-dating rule……that, that are just outdated customs from the old era! And we don't necessarily have to go public right away, we can……can have a secret relationship, right? Wait until Mai-chan's career stabilizes, or after graduation……"

As he spoke, seeing Uesugi Muneyuki's calm "you're talking nonsense" expression, the frustration of being repeatedly doused with cold water by reason finally welled up inside him.

How dare you!

The full don't know the hungry!

He recalled this guy already having Minami Management Officer as his principal wife, Eirina as his concubine, and outside, the perfect official girlfriend Shirakawa Mai—needless to say, even someone like Tei Reiji, that popular anchor, seems to favor him all the more, plus there's the newly adult Saito Asuka……truly a case of "drought kills the drought-stricken, flood kills the flood-stricken"!

A nameless sourness and dissatisfaction surged to his head; Date Nagamune for the first time addressed Uesugi Muneyuki with a slightly firm, even somewhat reproachful tone.

"Uesugi-san, I think your butt is a bit crooked."

"You're not lacking women, so of course you can't understand my mood after finally seeing a glimmer of hope! I'm here asking you for advice, how to keep this hard-won 'spark' going, finally win the beauty! Not to hear you analyze difficulties!"

He paused, realizing his tone was a bit harsh, then slightly softened it, but his gaze remained steadfast: "Your mind is sharp, you have many ideas, even able to dig out that kind of deviant vagrant. This kind……this kind of 'emotion and strategy combined' problem, you definitely have a way too? Quick, give me a few tips! Reliable ones!"

"Um……well then……"