Chapter 135: The Meeting is Still Underway, While the Arrests Have Already Been Made

This morning was destined to be a busy one.

Following Aoyama Hidenobu's instructions, Fujimoto Ryoichi used his identity as a police officer to go from shop to shop collecting security camera footage.

Things went smoothly at first, but an unexpected hitch occurred when he arrived at a Korean barbecue restaurant to retrieve their recordings.

"Aishibal!" the owner cursed in frustration before saying to Fujimoto, "Didn't your colleague just come by and take our store's footage?"

"My colleague?" Hearing this, Fujimoto immediately realized something was wrong and asked, "What did he look like?"

"Tall and strongly built, a bit dark-skinned, with a full beard. He took the surveillance footage from several shops around here," the barbecue restaurant owner said with a dark expression.

He still had to prepare ingredients for lunch, and having his time repeatedly interrupted put him in an extremely bad mood.

Fujimoto pressed further, "How long ago did he leave?"

"Just a little over ten minutes ago. He was going door-to-door asking for last night's surveillance recordings, just like you. If you go after him now, you might still catch him," the owner said.

"Thank you." Fujimoto thanked the owner, then got back in his car and drove forward along the road, looking left and right to search for the bearded figure.

Finally, more than ten minutes later, he spotted a bearded man carrying a bag as he walked out of a factory.

Fujimoto watched him from inside his car while dialing Aoyama Hidenobu's number. "Inspector, I've found someone else who is also collecting the security footage you asked for. He claims to be a cop, but he doesn't look like a colleague to me. Should I go up and question him?"

With his years of police experience, though he couldn't be certain the man was a criminal, he was at least sure at a glance that the man wasn't a police officer. And since he was impersonating a cop without actually being one, he had to be a criminal.

"Where is he?" Hearing this, Aoyama became instantly excited. He hadn't expected such a coincidence. The person collecting the surveillance footage was undoubtedly from the buyer's side who had handed the money to Nakamura Shinichi last night.

If this truly was a participant in the Kanagawa Prefecture shootout last night, he might be able to follow the vine and catch the whole bunch in one net. Kunio Nenpe had refused to let him join the Special Investigation Headquarters, yet he was going to catch these people single-handedly.

Not only would this be a massive merit, but it would also deliver a fierce slap to that old bastard's face!

Fujimoto said, "I'm following him."

"Don't alert the enemy. Follow him all the way, see where he ends up, and then report back to me." After saying this, Aoyama hung up and called Asano Hirofumi instead. "Deputy Director Asano, have everyone stand by."

"Understood!" Although Asano felt it was somewhat inexplicable, he still stood up after hanging up the phone and informed all his subordinates, "Inspector Aoyama instructs everyone to stand by."

"Understood!" Everyone stood up in unison and replied.

The bearded man was as rough-hewn in personality as he was in appearance.

He had no idea he was being tailed.

After collecting the surveillance footage along the route, he went to buy breakfast, and then drove back to his stronghold—a detached house located at 2-120-121 North Shinjuku.

Fujimoto watched the scene from a distance. Fearing that the man might have accomplices observing from the upper floors, he didn't linger and drove normally past the entrance.

Only after making a turn did he park and call Aoyama Hidenobu to report, "Inspector, that man entered 2-120-121 North Shinjuku 2-chome. Judging by the amount of breakfast he bought, there should be three to five people inside."

"Very well. Stay right there and keep watch. Notify me if there is any movement." Asano's instructions finished, Aoyama stood up, walked out of his office, and entered the First Division's shared office space.

"Inspector!"

All members of the First Division stood up and saluted.

Aoyama said in a loud voice, "Everyone, go immediately to collect body armor and spare ammunition. We will execute an arrest operation in ten minutes. Any questions?"

When it was time to strike, one had to strike. If it turned out to be a wrong arrest in the end, so be it—a bow and an apology would suffice.

But if they caught the right people, the payoff would be huge!

"None!" everyone replied.

Aoyama waved his hand grandly. "Move out!"

Everyone scrambled and rushed out the door.

At the same time, inside Yamamoto's stronghold.

"Nobody followed us, right?"

Yamamoto asked the bearded man as he entered the house.

"No, don't worry, Boss. I deliberately looped around twice," the bearded man replied, then arranged the breakfast and pulled out a bag containing the hard drives with the surveillance footage. "All the footage is here."

"We'll need to find a place to watch it." Yamamoto rubbed his head and added, "Let's all eat something first."

The other two injured underlings walked over, supporting each other. Of the four of them, Yamamoto had injuries on his left shoulder and right arm, while the other two had leg injuries respectively.

Only the bearded man was completely sound and uninjured.

..............................................

At the Metropolitan Police Department, inside the large conference room.

The inaugural meeting of the Special Investigation Headquarters for the Kanagawa Prefecture Shootout incident was long, tedious, and had barely just begun.

Both sides of the conference table were packed with people. Kunio Nenpe sat at the head of the table, delivering a speech with a solemn expression.

"Last night's shootout incident is the most violent, severe, and deadliest criminal event with the highest casualty toll in many years. It has instilled a profound sense of insecurity among the citizens, while simultaneously serving as a blatant provocation against our police force and posing an extreme threat to public safety!"

"A group of such ruthless scoundrels hiding in densely populated Tokyo is like a time bomb that could explode at any moment. Therefore, we must apprehend the participants of the shootout from both sides and bring them to justice as soon as possible!"

"Everyone seated here consists of elites I have drawn from various departments. I hope you will all pull out all the stops, cooperate with one another, and jointly solve this case."

"Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap!"

A round of intense applause erupted in the conference room.

"Everyone is already aware of the situation regarding the shootout. If you have any thoughts, please voice them freely," Kunio said, sweeping his gaze across the room.

"General Director, I have a question." Asai Aya stood up, her pretty face taut as she asked, "Inspector Aoyama Hidenobu from the Homicide Division is highly experienced and possesses exceptional investigative skills. Why wasn't he transferred into this unit?"

Although she had promised Aoyama she wouldn't suggest to Kunio that he join the Special Investigation Headquarters, she couldn't swallow her anger. She believed Kunio was suppressing Aoyama simply because of the conflict between Kunio Jiro, Kunio Taro, and Aoyama Hidenobu, lacking the magnanimity expected of a leader. She wanted to see how he would answer.

"Inspector Aoyama is indeed very capable, and I did consider transferring him at the very beginning," Kunio replied unhurriedly, first affirming Aoyama's ability and his own attitude before abruptly shifting gears. "However, we can't pile every single hard and exhausting task on him, can we? It's time to let him catch his breath and let others share the burden. Besides, he has recently been investigating the 1990 serial murder case, which is a matter of great public concern. He is under considerable pressure, so I felt there was no need to pile even more pressure on him."

Others in the conference room nodded successively, feeling that Kunio's words demonstrated his care for his subordinates. Besides, none of them wanted Aoyama to come in and steal the credit!

Asai was left entirely speechless by this response.

"Superintendent Asai, how is it? Are there any other questions?" Kunio asked cordially.

"None." Asai bowed and sat back down.

"What about the others?" Kunio surveyed the room, then pointed at the Director of the Criminal Investigation Bureau, Choichi Nozawa. "Director Nozawa, you will personally take the helm as the head of the Special Investigation Headquarters. Why don't you say a few words next and outline your investigative approach?"

The rank of the Director of the Criminal Investigation Bureau is Senior Superintendent, just one tier below the Superintendent General. Having him serve as the head of the Special Investigation Headquarters showed just how much importance the police attached to this case.

"Understood!" Choichi Nozawa stood up, looked at the crowd, and said, "This case has no eyewitnesses and no surveillance footage, making the investigation extremely difficult..."

While they were busy with the meeting, Aoyama Hidenobu had already set out with his fully armed subordinates.

They arrived at the scene in just over ten minutes.

"Inspector, the target is still inside. He hasn't come out since he went in," Fujimoto reported, walking over.

Aoyama nodded.

"Break the door down," Asano Hirofumi ordered.

Since people inside could look out from the upper floors to see the courtyard gate, trying to trick them into opening the door was completely unrealistic.

Therefore, they had to use breaching tools to force entry.

Two police officers carried a breaching ram out of a car. The heavy device resembled a scaled-down version of an ancient siege ram, and most doors wouldn't withstand more than a couple of strikes.

"No need for that thing, it's too much trouble. I'll do it."

With that, under the astonished gazes of the others, Aoyama took two steps back, broke into a sprint, and delivered a vicious, powerful kick. With a resounding crash, half of the courtyard gate was directly kicked off its hinges and crashed to the ground.

Dust billowed wildly into the air.

Everyone was dumbfounded, standing frozen with vacant stares, harboring the surreal illusion that they were dreaming.

"What are you standing around for? Charge!"

It wasn't until Aoyama spoke that the others snapped back to their senses, drawing their firearms and charging into the courtyard.

"What's that noise?"

Yamamoto and the others inside the house were struck with panic.

"Crash!"

Before they could even react, Aoyama repeated his previous move, kicked open the room door, rushed inside with his gun drawn, and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Police! Don't move!"

Yamamoto and his four men, who had just finished breakfast and were sitting together plotting their next steps, were instantly bewildered. Before they even had time to reach for their guns, they were completely surrounded.

"It's..." The bearded man's expression changed the moment he caught sight of Nakamura Shinichi holding a gun, and he subconsciously opened his mouth to speak.

"Bang!"

Seeing this, Nakamura decisively squeezed the trigger.

The bearded man's throat was pierced, and his body fell heavily backward to the ground, blood continuously gushing from the bullet hole.

"Bastard! What are you doing? Who told you to shoot?!" Asano was furious, stepping forward and shoving Nakamura hard. "You asshole!"

"I saw him trying to get up and assumed he wanted to draw his gun and resist arrest," Nakamura replied with a blank expression.

"Enough! One suspect resisted arrest with a firearm and was shot dead," Aoyama declared, setting the tone for the incident.

Asano couldn't believe it. Such blatant, intentional murder, yet he spoke barefaced lies. He looked toward the other officers, but none of them reacted.

For a moment, Asano felt shocked, enraged, and utterly helpless.

Aoyama gave the order, "Cuff them!"

A portion of the officers provided cover while the rest swarmed forward, pinning the injured Yamamoto and the other two to the ground, slapping handcuffs on them regardless of their pained screams and groans.

"Did you participate in last night's shootout?" Aoyama walked up to Yamamoto, looking down at him from above.

Yamamoto nodded. "I participated."

The reason he confessed was that the gun on his body had been fired at the shootout scene last night, and the police would easily be able to verify his involvement through that evidence.

Confessing voluntarily could at least spare him a physical beating.

Hearing this, all the members of the First Division were thrilled, and the gazes they directed at Aoyama were filled with admiration. The Special Investigation Headquarters had only just been established, yet they had already captured the members who took part in the shootout.

This time, they were going to steal all the spotlight.

"Very good." A satisfaction-filled smile appeared on Aoyama's face as he shouted, "Hand me the phone."

Having solved the case and made the arrests, it was naturally time to report upward.