Chapter 935

After the true culprit in the Kobe Black Dahlia case was finally identified and the dust settled, domestic and international media in Japan surged forth like a faucet turned wide open, unleashing a flood of reports.

The headline on the front page of The New York Times read: Japan'sOlympicHeroRevealedasSerialKiller.

The article began with Ahiru's Olympic medal career, devoting considerable space to detailing his judo journey, then shifted tone to calmly recount how he used his position as team doctor to stalk athletes, how he screened targets through the animal rescue organization, how he killed Yamada Rinka and four children in an apartment, and how he concealed the bodies among pet corpse chunks.

At the end of the article, Uesugi Muneyuki's statement was quoted: "Justice came late, but it came in the end," and "But delayed justice is not justice—I can solve many cases, but I ultimately cannot save human lives."

Uesugi Muneyuki is actually quite famous in the United States; some Americans have already heard of him, know his name, and some have even photoshopped his face onto Conan's.

Brothers! This is not something you should photoshop! Uesugi Muneyuki, upon seeing it, helplessly complained.

We're going to New York right away to film an episode!

Blow up the skyscraper!

Countdown to Manhattan!

The fiery sunflower!

Trench Crusaders!

Cadia never falls!

Decisive battle on the vigil star!

Super Earth defense war!

The headline of The Times, however, carried a more subdued tone: "The Fall of a Champion." The article placed Ahiru alongside other sports stars who fell due to scandal, and explored a deeper issue: When the sports system chooses to shield rather than pursue accountability, who will speak for those who were sacrificed?

Wakase- Maryoku Bird's remarks were again exposed.

Asahi Shimbun's special report occupied three full pages.

The first page was the event timeline, the second page was Ahiru's resume and the judo league's silence, and the third page was pre-incident photos of the victim Yamada Rinka and the four children.

Yomiuri Shimbun, meanwhile, published on its front page an article titled "Who Is Shielding the Olympic Champion?" directly accusing the Japan Judo Association, questioning why they did not report to the police when Ahiru engaged in improper conduct with underage female members, merely expelling his membership.

It also mentioned that the existing web of interests is complex and interlinked—pull one thread and the whole body moves—whether lenient treatment with broad exemptions or strict punishment, both easily attract external scrutiny.

As previously stated, the current public opinion environment is such that any strong support, strong opposition, mild support, or mild opposition is best avoided; one should simply play dead and wait for time to pass, while preparing in advance for public sentiment monitoring and potential outbreaks.

The Japan Judo Association had long prepared for this—don't ask, just say we already handled it earlier, don't push, pushing just means we're a civilian organization, what can we do? Don't annoy, annoying just means judo is our national art, why do you always cause trouble for our own people? I see you've taken black money from Americans and Koreans.

After this combination of tactics, Japanese citizens truly found they had no recourse against the Japan Judo Association.

On television, special programs followed one after another.

NHK produced a special program titled "His Body Became a Ghost: The Transformation of 79" (Why Did He Turn Into a Ghost?), inviting several former Olympic athletes and psychology experts.

A retired judo national team member, voice trembling on the show, said: "He was once my senior whom I admired. I cannot imagine him doing such a thing. This is a betrayal of the entire sports world. The gold medals we painstakingly won are stained with blood that can never be washed away."

In Fuji TV's program, a commentator calmly remarked: "If the judo association had reported the incident initially, if his improper conduct with female athletes had been made public, he would not have qualified to continue as team doctor, would not have had the opportunity to approach Souda Sosuke, would not have had the opportunity to stalk Yamada Rinka, would not have had the opportunity to kill so many people. This is not the fall of a champion, but a systemic failure of the sports system. That system shielded him, allowing him to stray further down the wrong path until he could no longer turn back. The sports world owes the victims an apology and the public an explanation." The Japan Judo Association's response was also simple: Isn't it just an apology?

The judo association president + chief priest + directors immediately convened a press conference and bowed.

Red bean paste private mosaic!

But these people are indeed a civilian organization, a juridical person with self-governance; whether president or directors, they are not civil servants or bureaucrats under the state staffing system, so even if they choose to resign in responsibility, there's really nothing that can be done to them.

The backlash against this incident in the Japanese sports world is more intense and emotionally charged than the media reaction.

Many former Olympic champions, when interviewed, expressed shock and anger—some said "Too embarrassing," some said "This person does not deserve to represent Japan," some said "His gold medal should be revoked."

They know Ahiru's charges are unrelated to his athletic achievements, but the feeling of being deceived makes them angry: "We fought for our nation, won gold medals, not to serve as background for this kind of person."

An anonymous interviewee, Olympic champion Hanyu Yuzuru, said in a phone interview: "He insulted everyone who trained seriously." The backlash against the Japanese police, outside the sports world, is even greater. The Hyogo Prefectural Police's coercive interrogation tactics, combined with the Olympic champion scandal, stacked like two bombs detonating simultaneously.

Public trust in the police plummeted to a dangerous level within just a few weeks. Some began digging up old cases, re-examining past mishandled police incidents, questioning the fairness of the entire system.

A netizen named "@lemonknight" commented: "Can't all our Japanese cases from now on be handled by the Special Mission Division?"

Immediately below, someone replied: "Then we need hundreds of Uesugi Muneyuki."

Then another replied: "No need for hundreds—just a few dozen will do! All of Japan is only one metropolis, one circuit, two urban prefectures, and forty-two prefectures! We only need forty-five Uesugi Muneyuki!"

"No need that many! One in Kanto, one in Kansai, one in Shikoku, one in Western Japan, one in Tohoku, one in Hokkaido, one in Kyushu— that's enough!"

"Hey, what about Nagoya?"

"Nagoya people just need to tighten bolts on Toyotas! No need to overthink! Beasts of burden must have the awareness of beasts of burden! Kora!""But no matter what, there's only one Uesugi, just one!"

On the way back to Tokyo, the black Toyota Camry drove smoothly along the Meishin Expressway.

Outside the window, the winter fields of the Kansai plain slowly receded, the withered yellow grass bending low then rising again in the wind, like a breathing sea. Ikeda Erena gripped the steering wheel, her eyes fixed on the road ahead, her hands steady, but quieter than usual.

Minami Ojou-sama, meanwhile, held a cup of Mixue Ice City King's Cup icy fresh lemon water, humming "You love me, I love you, Mixue Ice City sweet and sweet," she cared nothing for these external affairs, as long as the Special Mission Division's reputation remained unaffected, and her own reputation as Minami Ojou-sama remained intact, she hardly cared how the Japanese police actually fared.

This, too, is one of the ills of the bureaucratic system—bureaucrats are merely professional agents, lacking ownership, so they fundamentally do not care how industry fares; their sense of responsibility depends entirely on moral level. But Minami, who takes what is hers without shortfall and does what is hers without excess, already counts as moral among bureaucrats.

In the back seat were Uesugi Muneyuki, Date Nagamune, and Maeda Toshihide.

Maeda Toshihide leaned against the car window, watching the receding fields outside, his voice coming from the gaps in the scenery beyond the window, not loud, but everyone heard: "Hey, the truth is already out, why do I still feel uneasy?"

Date Nagamune, sitting beside Maeda Toshihide, complained: "Because from start to finish, this affair had no winners. The victims died, the perpetrator was caught, but in the process, too many suffered undeserved harm. Although Souda Sosuke cleared his name, his marriage, career, and reputation have been largely destroyed; as for Eto Miyabi, though she seemed to come out unscathed, high society will remember her as an ominous woman; the Hyogo Prefectural Police collapsed, the Kansai faction collapsed, and police trust followed suit. The truth is out, but not everyone can walk away from it alive." "Well, what does it matter to me?" Date Nagamune chuckled: "I only care about the March personnel adjustments—I still want to get promoted, don't I?" "Promoted again?" Maeda Toshihide couldn't help but retort: "You're already an investigation division chief! Promote again? At least serve three full years in the non-career track investigation division before talking!"

"Ah, there's nothing to be done—this is just Japan, listening to Ahiru Wei say such things." Date Nagamune sighed.

"Speaking of personnel..." Minami Ojou-sama placed the Mixue Ice City King's Cup icy fresh lemon water on the front seat: "There's a lady of great influence who actually called my father, the police director-general, on his landline!"

"What?" Uesugi Muneyuki raised his eyebrows.

He had a bad premonition.

"The child of the former Prime Minister Asō family, a close nephew, now twenty-five years old, called Asō Kōta. He's said to be a relentless fighter—no matter how hard or tired the Special Mission Division gets, he can endure. He's also a fervent fan of Korean girl groups, having collected an entire wall of albums. Moreover, he regards you as his idol, supposedly because after reading the reports on the Night Come Hui case and the Tama River Bridge case, he felt he must join the Special Mission Division in this lifetime."

"Or die trying?" Uesugi Muneyuki said helplessly: "What does 'must join the Special Mission Division' mean? Is it something he can just walk into? If I don't accept him, what then?"

"They've presented us with a condition we cannot refuse..." Minami Ojou-sama sighed: "My father has already agreed. He said if the Asō family nominates someone for the Special Mission Division, we cannot refuse. And that boy, they say, is indeed diligent—not the type who gets in purely through connections to idle away time." Uesugi Muneyuki: "?"

Asō Kōta. Twenty-five years old. Non-career track. Korean girl group fan. Relentless fighter. Asō family's nephew.

What does this mean?

Minami's voice dropped slightly: "He is more devoted to you than to the Special Mission Division. I heard he has recorded all your 'Hand of God' works, plus TV dramas and various interviews, stored on a mobile hard drive, dated and categorized, sorted by topic. His understanding of you likely surpasses that of any section chief in the Special Mission Division."

The car interior fell silent for a moment.

Date Nagamune spoke first: "Isn't that pretty good? At least better than shoving in some clueless connection hire. At least he has drive. And he's young—twenty-five, exactly the age to run and jump."

"Yes, at least he's not the kind who just wants to coast through life. But if he's the type who 'insists on fighting shoulder-to-shoulder with you, insists on making you acknowledge him,' you won't be able to dodge even if you try." Minami nodded with a hehe: "And the Asako Family gave me their heirloom Cypress Wood Ruler (Discipline Stick)! They said I can hit and scold freely,"

"I already have one of those." Uesugi Muneyuki looked at Maeda Toshihide: "Your grandpa gave me a Naval Spirit Injection Rod..." "I'll be very good! Uesugi-san! Please absolutely don't do this!" Maeda Toshihide's face changed drastically, he immediately pressed his palms together in a Prayer Gesture and pleaded for mercy: "I've bled for the Special Duty Flow, I've taken the stick for the Special Duty (Yae Ken Incident)!"

"Oh, getting beaten by the Public Security people counts as merit too?" Date Nagamune retorted: "Truly useless! Why don't I beat you once a day, rack up some battle achievements?"

"Hahahaha ah hahahahahahahaha~" Everyone in the car laughed.

"You!!!" Maeda Toshihide was frantic with anger, he hurriedly changed the subject: "Speaking of, this Asako likes K-pop girl groups, who does she like? Girls' Generation? T-ara? KARA? Apink? WG?"

"Hah?" Date Nagamune shook his head, face full of disdain: "It's been Hikawa twenty years already! Brother! How are you still stuck on Girls' Generation? They're all past thirty, established, right? Even the youngest Seohyun is nearly thirty!"

"Speaking of, Uesugi-san, aren't you a self-proclaimed SONE?" Maeda Toshihide asked with interest.

"I'm not one anymore, all my memories of Girls' Generation Flashbang-broke on September 30, 2014." Uesugi Muneyuki tilted his head: "If this Asako likes them, she probably likes stuff like IVE, NewJeans, Jang Won-young, that kind?"

"Who are those?" Eirina in the Front Row finally found a chance to ask.

"Just K-pop girl groups." Uesugi Muneyuki said casually.

"I only know TWICE." Eirina emphasized.

"Then you're very good good oh!" Maeda Toshihide laughed, but then seeing Eirina's murderous eyes in the rearview mirror, immediately composed his God Color: "Anyway, K-pop was once all the rage in Japan too, ah, I remember now, I was... Cassiopeia! Hero in the Middle, Yu Ryun Yoon-ho, Kkia Jun-su, Strongest Chang-min, and Secret Strange Heaven!"

"Yeah, back then K-pop was super hot domestically in Japan, any group that got big in the Korean market would come to Japan to Develop." Date Nagamune said casually: "Can't do anything with you, fine then, let me tell you, back when TVXQ was in Japan they easily reaped tens of billions, even hundreds of billions of Yen in a year, Girls' Generation album sales millions, KARA crazily touring..."

"Not as good as Genshin Impact." Maeda Toshihide immediately replied.

Date Nagamune ignored him, continued speaking: "Thinking carefully now, those K-pop 2nd gen 3rd gen groups really were the Onoda as Patriot Typical of high quality high popularity..."

"Not as good as Genshin Impact."

Date Nagamune rolled his eyes: "And that batch of people all made bank, individual year-end settlements tens of billions of Won... S Company's market cap once exceeded 100 billion Yen."

"Not as good as Genshin Impact, oh, not as good as miHoYo." Maeda Toshihide continued.

"Now the Japan-Germany markets K-pop has cooled, but actually in Europe and America K-pop is extremely extremely extremely hot, like BTS, like BLACKPINK, just our domestic Japan media doesn't Report, but not Reporting doesn't equal them not being hot, actually European and American purchasing power far exceeds..."

"Not as good as Genshin Impact, my Genshin Impact annual income 5 billion US Dollar, what the hell are your Korean Oppas? Kneel Down!"

"Maeda!!!" Date Nagamune was furious.

"Did I say anything wrong? It's just not as good as Genshin Impact!" Maeda Toshihide raised an eyebrow.

"Hahahahahaha ah hahahahahahahaha!" Everyone in the car laughed like crazy.

Uesugi Muneyuki finally spoke a fair word: "Indeed, Takarazuka isn't as good as Genshin Impact either, suggest renaming Takarasuka Revue to Genshin Impact Revue from now on, that favorite of yours... cast as the Wanderer Scaramouche Scaramouche Little Round Hat!"

Sure enough, Maeda Toshihide instantly got anxious: "This, this isn't the same! How can that be the same?"

"Hahahaha~" Minami Ojou-sama laughed until she Tactical-leaned-back, Eirina even laughed until the car was shaking.

Uesugi Muneyuki also couldn't help but smile faintly.

The Japanese National Police Agency's annual budget is only 300 billion Yen.

Not as good as miHoYo!

But thinking here, he suddenly had an idea.

He can't keep being this passively beaten... maybe he can counterattack through other channels.

For example... Entertainment Industry?!