Chapter 105: Counterattack—The Humiliation We Suffered Will Be Repaid Tenfold

Listening to Aoyama Hidenobu, Mizuura Masahisa felt both furious and resentful. His face turned pale, then livid; the situation, which had been so favorable just moments ago, had taken a sharp turn for the worse, leaving him filled with bitter regret.

"Why should I trust you? What if you still frame me for murder even after I hand over the photos?" Mizuura Masahisa pressed his face against the ground, grinding his teeth as he spoke.

Aoyama Hidenobu applied more pressure with his foot.

"Argh!" Mizuura let out a miserable shriek, feeling the skin of his face being grated by the gravel on the ground.

Aoyama Hidenobu looked down at him with contempt. "You have no leverage to negotiate, that’s why."

"Don't push me too far, Aoyama Hidenobu! If it comes down to it, we’ll both go down together!" Mizuura Masahisa gasped heavily, his voice venomous. "At worst, I go to prison. But if you don't produce those photos for Kurosawa Shin, you will definitely die. By that calculation, I’m the one coming out ahead."

"You have a point. But have you thought about your family?" Aoyama Hidenobu pulled his foot away, squatted down, and grabbed Mizuura by the hair, forcing his face up to meet his own. He whispered sinisterly, "Kurosawa Shin won't kill me today, at least. Believe me when I say I’ll lock you up, and then I’ll immediately have your wife and children killed!"

"Did I ever cross you, you bastard? If you’re going to ruin me, don't blame me for being ruthless. I’ll drag your entire family into the grave with me. I’m capable of it!"

Mizuura Masahisa’s expression shifted rapidly; looking into Aoyama Hidenobu’s cold, malicious eyes, he felt a surge of genuine fear.

"Are you going to talk or not!" Aoyama Hidenobu barked.

Mizuura Masahisa dared not gamble. He finally relented and confessed, "They are in the gap of the mattress in my bedroom."

Now that he was the meat on the chopping block, he realized that if he tried to take everyone down with him, his own family would be the collateral damage. No matter how he calculated the odds, he was the loser, so he had no choice but to surrender the photos.

"Where is your house?" Aoyama asked.

Before Mizuura could answer, Yamada Yuzhi spoke up: "12-13, 1-chome, Kamiyakazaka."

Aoyama Hidenobu turned to look at Nakamura Shinichi. Nakamura nodded and turned to leave.

"The grudge between you and Yamada-kun had nothing to do with me, but you shouldn't have stolen those photos from my house and dragged me into this," Aoyama said as he stood up and kicked Mizuura in the face.

"Argh!" Mizuura screamed, rolling on the ground while clutching his face as blood leaked from between his fingers.

He mumbled incoherently, "I’ve given you the photos. I hope you keep your word."

"Promises are meant for people, and in my eyes, you aren't one," Aoyama sneered. He gave him another kick. "A prosecutor is dead, and someone has to take the fall. Speak! Why did you kill Ito Hiroshi!"

"I didn't kill... Argh!"

"You didn't? Then why were you at the crime scene? And why were your fingerprints on the murder weapon?" Aoyama kicked him hard in the stomach.

Mizuura curled into a ball in agony.

Aoyama Hidenobu continued to torment him, carefully controlling his strength as he kicked him again, sending him spinning across the floor. "Baka! Speak! Why did you kill Ito Hiroshi? Find a reason yourself!"

"Inspector Aoyama, that’s enough. Stop hitting him," Yamada Yuzhi said, unable to watch any longer.

Aoyama ignored him, stepping onto Mizuura’s back. "I told you to talk! Speak!"

"Because... he was using evidence of my corruption to threaten me... I killed him, yes! That’s it!" Mizuura could no longer hold out.

Aoyama Hidenobu laughed, squatted down, and patted his blood-stained face. "A wise man submits to circumstances. I have the Metropolitan Police Department, and Prosecutor Yamada has the Public Prosecutor's Office. With the evidence and witnesses firmly against you, don't even think about overturning this case. Get sentenced early, and get it over with."

Mizuura Masahisa glared at him with pure hatred, saying nothing.

"Cuff him," Aoyama ordered.

"Yes, sir!" Fujimoto Ryoichi responded, quickly pulling out handcuffs to restrain Mizuura.

Aoyama added, "Take him to the car and keep a close watch. Don't let him escape."

"Yes, sir!" Fujimoto dragged Mizuura out of the slaughterhouse and into Aoyama’s Corolla.

Yamada Yuzhi exhaled, wiping the sweat from his forehead. "Everything is finally going to end."

Aoyama smiled but didn't answer.

End? This was only just beginning.

About twenty minutes later, Nakamura Shinichi returned with a document envelope and handed it to Aoyama Hidenobu. Aoyama opened it to find the compromising photos of Kurosawa Shin he had seen before—not a single one missing.

"Let's go. We should hand them over to Mr. Kurosawa right now," Yamada Yuzhi said impatiently.

But after walking a few steps, he noticed Aoyama wasn't following. He stopped, turned back, and looked at him in confusion. "Inspector Aoyama?"

"Do we really want to give these to Kurosawa?" Aoyama asked.

"What else would we do?" Yamada walked back to him. "Mr. Kurosawa was merciful enough to give us a chance. If we don't hand these over by today, we’re both dead. What are you hesitating for?"

"Have you already forgotten the humiliation of kneeling before Kurosawa, beaten and bruised?" Aoyama asked. Before Yamada could answer, he added fiercely, "You may have forgotten, but I haven't forgotten how I looked, cowering on the ground!"

"You... what are you planning?" Yamada’s expression changed, and he asked with growing anxiety.

Aoyama shook the photos. "This is medicine that could save Kurosawa Shin, but it’s also a blade that could kill him. Handing these to Kurosawa’s enemies will not only grant us revenge but also bring a handsome reward!"

"No! Are you crazy?" Yamada rejected the idea outright, his voice low and agitated. "You don't understand! Do you think someone like Kurosawa Shin can be toppled by a few lewd photos? Impossible! At most, he’ll step out, bow in apology, weather the storm, and walk away unscathed."

"That was the case before, but the situation has changed," Aoyama Hidenobu said with a confident, deceptive air. He lowered his voice. "According to my intelligence, there are people within the Liberal Democratic Party who are dissatisfied with Kurosawa’s long-standing monopoly on power and are plotting against him. These photos will be the spark. Kurosawa won't be able to just bow and apologize his way out of this."

In the original timeline, Kurosawa Shin would resign from all his posts in a month. A man of such immense power losing everything overnight proved that many were colluding against him. Now, with these photos, his collapse would only be swifter.

"Where did you get this information? You didn't even know who he was before today," Yamada questioned the authenticity of Aoyama’s claims without hesitation.

Aoyama remained calm, meeting his gaze unflinchingly. "Would I do something that would lead to my own destruction if I weren't certain? Prosecutor Yamada, you have to trust me. Without me, you’re already finished."

Yamada’s expression was unreadable as he stared intently at Aoyama. After a long silence, he let out a breath.

"Fine. You handle the photos. If it goes wrong, we die together. I have nothing to lose anyway."

He hated Kurosawa too, and more importantly, if Aoyama was right and Kurosawa’s ship was sinking, he needed to jump off early.

"Yamada-kun, believe me, neither of us will die. Only those two arrogant fools, Kurosawa Shin and Haruo Heiji, will fall!" Aoyama smiled and extended a hand.

Yamada Yuzhi grasped it firmly.

"From now on, you in the Prosecutor's Office and I in the Police Department will be each other's most reliable allies."

...

Yamada Yuzhi left the slaughterhouse first.

Aoyama Hidenobu handed the investigation into Mizuura Masahisa’s murder of Ito Hiroshi entirely to Fujimoto Ryoichi and Nakamura Shinichi. It was a gift for their new assignment.

Having just transferred, breaking a high-profile case involving the internal murder of a prosecutor was enough to earn them the respect needed to establish themselves in the Metropolitan Police Department. It was also a reward for their loyalty; if they were willing to risk their lives with him, they deserved a return.

Aoyama then went to meet Hikokawa Noritomo.

Since he intended to finish off Kurosawa Shin, he had spent time studying the current political landscape and identifying Kurosawa’s rivals. The LDP was the ruling party, but it was divided into factions like Kurosawa’s Takeshita faction, as well as the Abe and Watanabe factions. Internal fighting was common.

Hikokawa Noritomo’s grandfather, Hikokawa Juro, was also in the Takeshita faction but was at odds with Kurosawa. He had been publicly humiliated by him, losing all face. Aoyama figured the Hikokawa family must be involved in the plot to topple Kurosawa. Giving the photos to him was a sure bet. It would also boost his standing in Noritomo’s eyes; after all, he had truly bled and worked for the Hikokawa family this time.

"Hidenobu, what brings you here so suddenly? Is there a problem with the automatic loan machines?" Noritomo asked as soon as they met. The machines were currently his biggest obsession.

"Of course not. Full-scale production is going smoothly. We are just waiting for the Diet elections next month to begin deployment," Aoyama said.

"That's good, that's good," Noritomo repeated twice. "Sit down. Since it's not about the machines, it couldn't be that your engagement with Aya has hit a snag, right? Otherwise, you wouldn't be here."

"You only come to see me when you need something!"

"I would like to come often, but I didn't want to disturb you, Noritomo-san," Aoyama said, sitting on the sofa. He took out the document envelope and handed it to Noritomo with both hands. "I’m here to bring you a gift again. Please open it; I’m sure you’ll be satisfied."

"Oh? The loan machines were a big surprise. What have you brought me this time?" Noritomo took the envelope with interest. He opened it while talking, pulled out the photos, and his face turned solemn. "Where did you get these?"

"By chance..." Aoyama recounted the events with a mix of truth and fabrication. He sighed and added, "I’m giving you a gift, but I’m also here to ask for your help. If I can't hand these over to Kurosawa Shin tonight, I’m as good as dead!"

"Hidenobu, you really are a lucky charm!" The usually composed Noritomo couldn't maintain his mask; he laughed and slapped Aoyama on the shoulder. "It's fortunate you didn't hand these to him. Trying to cling to a giant tree like him wouldn't have offered you shade for long."

"In my heart, you are the only sun, Noritomo-san!" Aoyama quickly declared his loyalty.

Noritomo believed it. After all, Aoyama didn't know that others were already moving against Kurosawa, yet he had risked his life to bring these photos to him instead of currying favor with Kurosawa. If that wasn't absolute loyalty, what was?

"I'll be honest with you: Kurosawa Shin is finished. With these photos, he will be finished by the end of today!" Noritomo said decisively.

As the sole heir to the Hikokawa family, he knew exactly what was going on. He knew that his grandfather and others were already closing the net on Kurosawa. These photos would only accelerate the process.

Aoyama Hidenobu replied humbly, "I don't understand politics. As long as I can help you, Noritomo-san, that’s all that matters."