Tokyo: From Lawless Madpolice to Minister
Chapter 261 - 250: As a Bureaucrat, It’s Not About Right or Wrong, Only Stance Matters!

Chapter 261: Chapter 250: As a Bureaucrat, It’s Not About Right or Wrong, Only Stance Matters!

Aoyama Xiu Xin took a sip of wine, picked up the pristine napkin, and elegantly wiped his mouth, "I hear that Justice Panasonic Jun of the Supreme Court is Mr. Panasonic’s second uncle."

Panasonic Jiezi’s face stiffened upon hearing this.

"If Mr. Aoyama is thinking of getting to know my second uncle through me, I’m afraid that’s not going to be possible," Panasonic Jiezi said with a forced smile, his voice heavy.

The name Panasonic Jun was taboo in the Panasonic family.

Panasonic Jun’s grandfather once held an important position in the Cabinet, but his father, Panasonic Yu, had achieved little in his political career, surviving only on the coattails of his ancestors to cling to the position of a Senate member and live a life of mediocrity.

A few years back, already retired and spending his days in the ICU sustained by medication, the old Mr. Panasonic was the last veil of shame for the Panasonic family. Once he passed away, many connections would be severed, and the standing of the Panasonic family would plummet drastically.

Panasonic Jun, the illegitimate son who had endured countless humiliations at the hands of the Panasonic family, had become a Supreme Court Justice through his own efforts— a fact that undeniably cast Panasonic Yu, his father, in a poor light.

Old Mr. Panasonic had tried to bring Panasonic Jun back to succeed as the Family Head for the sake of the family, but he was rejected. Panasonic Jun even declared he would personally put an end to the Panasonic family, nearly enraging the old man to death—a fact not known to outsiders.

Panasonic Jun had repeatedly targeted the Panasonic family, harming Panasonic Jiezi’s interests, and naturally, he did not have a good impression of this second uncle. If it had been anyone else who brought up this name, he would have walked away on the spot.

Panasonic Jiezi wanted to curry favor with Aoyama Xiu Xin, but facing such an outstanding figure, he felt inferior knowing he had no value to offer for their acquaintance.

He was thrilled when Aoyama Xiu Xin had taken the initiative to meet him this morning, but he had never imagined that the other party’s purpose was his second uncle, and this caught him off guard.

The feeling was like your secret crush suddenly approaching you, but her goal turned out to be to get close to and pursue your brother through you.

Aoyama Xiu Xin, having taken in every expression on Panasonic Jiezi’s face, knew well enough and revealed a slight smile, "Mr. Panasonic has misunderstood; Panasonic Jun and I are enemies, not friends."

"Ah?" Panasonic Jiezi showed a look of surprise.

Aoyama Xiu Xin kept his composure and began to spout nonsense, "In my view, blood is thicker than water. No matter what, Panasonic Jun, as a member of the Panasonic family, should contribute to the family, rather than hold a grudge against his father and relatives over some childhood grievances! And to continually target the Panasonic family, delighting his enemies and grieving his kin—such disloyalty and filial impiety disqualify him from the position of Justice, don’t they?"

"The butt dictates the brain," though he said this, if he were Panasonic Jun, he would also want to destroy the Panasonic family to resolve the hatred in his heart.

"It just so happens that I have some conflicts with him as well. Since that’s the case, why not join forces to teach this disloyal and unfilial person a lesson?" Aoyama Xiu Xin raised his wine glass as he spoke.

Panasonic Jiezi remained silent, his expression alternating between cloudy and clear.

Aoyama Xiu Xin continued to tempt, "Forgive my presumptuous words, but aren’t the old Mr. Panasonic’s days numbered? Once he’s gone, what will the Panasonic family use to fend off Panasonic Jun? Right now, you’re still considered a prominent second-generation figure and can engage in smuggling, but once the Panasonic family disbands, I’m afraid your situation won’t look so optimistic!"

"And you are not too young anymore. You should contribute to the family, eliminate Panasonic Jun, the unfilial person who has betrayed the family from within, and show the old man that you are worth nurturing. He will pave the way for you before he passes away. Please consider it."

"I know you are a kind-hearted person, otherwise, with your family’s background, you would’ve made a fortune long ago if you were ruthless enough to act against your second uncle. But ’though you don’t intend to harm the tiger, the tiger is intent on harming you.’ If you make the first move, you can still afford Panasonic Jun a decent outcome, maintaining a bit of familial affection. But once the old man is gone, and he strikes first, it will be too late."

What Aoyama Xiu Xin said was all true.

And so, Panasonic Jiezi was tempted.

"Mr. Aoyama, could you tell me what grudge you hold against my second uncle?" Panasonic Jiezi asked.

He feared that the other party was sent by his second uncle as bait, and if he foolishly took the bait, that would be the end.

Aoyama Xiu Xin needed to reassure him and give him confidence, so he didn’t hide anything, "I personally have no feud with him, but one of my seniors does. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is about to resign, and someone is lobbying the Cabinet to nominate Panasonic Jun as his successor. Takizawa, the Vice-Chief Justice, is not willing to sit by idly, and I wish to ease his worry."

"What!" Panasonic Jiezi exclaimed: "How could he be nominated over the Vice-Chief Justice?"

Old Mr. Panasonic of the family was increasingly lucid less often, resulting in the Panasonic family lacking channels to understand the upper echelons’ movements; they had not heard of this matter.

Under normal circumstances, according to protocol, when the Chief Justice steps down, the Vice takes over. Otherwise, a figure with a strong background is parachuted in from outside. It’s rare to have someone promoted over others from within the department, and the higher the position, the more this holds true.

"I don’t know either, but that’s the impressive part about your second uncle. How else could he achieve what he has on his own?" Aoyama Xiu Xin shook his head, then continued, "If he becomes the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, that’s definitely not good news for the Panasonic family, is it?"

Panasonic Jiezi’s expression was as dark as water; this was far from just ’not good news’—it was downright disastrous.

Having been somewhat hesitant before, he now made up his mind in an instant, "Mr. Aoyama, what would you have me do?"

"It’s difficult to take direct action against Panasonic Jun himself. It’s too easy for him to notice and counter-attack. We can only target those around him," Aoyama Xiu Xin explained.

Panasonic Jiezi said, "Panasonic Qingyun."

His second uncle Panasonic Jun’s only son. Born at the age of 32 and given utmost importance in his upbringing.

He then shook his head, "My second uncle has high demands for himself and even higher for his son. Panasonic Qingyun has excellent academic performance, studying all the way to his doctorate, lives in integrity, and doesn’t frolic around; he doesn’t even stay out overnight, leaving little opportunity to find a point of weakness."

A fly does not sting an egg that has no cracks.

"That’s the biggest problem!" Aoyama Xiu Xin shook his head and questioned, "Don’t you find it problematic that a 25-year-old adult man, still under his father’s strict control, has never dared to stay out all night?"

Panasonic Jiezi paused—indeed, his second uncle seemed to be overly strict with his cousin.

"People are like springs; the more you compress them, the greater the force once they’re released. Panasonic Qingyun, as a ’Guan Er Dai’ with money and power, has a lifestyle more austere than ordinary people, which is abnormal in itself."

"He had never lacked a desire for rebellion in his heart, it was just suppressed by the fear of his father from a young age! On the other hand, he had never indulged in luxury, money, beauty, or power. He had never experienced them, so he didn’t care. But once he tasted the sweetness, it would naturally become uncontrollable."

That’s why there’s a saying about the ’taste of the marrow.’

Some things don’t matter before you experience them, because there’s no awareness of them in the first place.

Once you’ve experienced them, you can never go back.

Take the simplest example: masturbating.

Listening to Aoyama Xiu Xin’s words, Panasonic Jiezi was sweating profusely. He was a second-generation official, and since he had known from a young age that he was different from common people, wielding and exploiting power had become a part of his life.

So he knew all too well that what Aoyama Xiu Xin said was absolutely right.

Once Panasonic Qingyun tried out that kind of extravagant lifestyle, the long-suppressed man would only become more hysterical in his outburst, more extreme.

"Does Mr. Aoyama intend to..."

Aoyama Xiu Xin smiled slightly and spoke confidently.

"Panasonic Jun endured hardships himself, so he uses the same standards he had for himself to judge his child, forgetting that his child’s starting point and situation are different from his own. He is already in the wolf’s den, yet he raised his son as a sheep, kind, respectful, thrifty, observant of etiquette and precepts. These are virtues for ordinary people, but for people like us, they’re fatal weaknesses!"

"You deliberately approached Panasonic Qingyun under the guise of a cousin, with the pretense that grandfather’s time is short, hoping to ease the relationship between the two families. He’s a good man, and I believe you can gradually get him to lower his guard and then completely let down his defenses. Then, you’ll introduce him to the taste of power without wasting his second-generation status."

Panasonic Jiezi was sweating bullets, staring at Aoyama Xiu Xin for a while before letting out a long sigh.

"Mr. Aoyama, you are truly a terrifying person."

He dared not imagine the great shock Panasonic Qingyun would suffer when he fell for the trap and learned the truth.

It was more cruel than killing him directly.

"For enemies, I am just so; but for friends, I am not," Aoyama Xiu Xin raised his glass and smiled, "Are we friends?"

To achieve great things, one must stop at nothing.

Panasonic Jun and his son are without a doubt good people, a breath of fresh air among officials, but unfortunately, they do not share the same stance as Aoyama Xiu Xin, so don’t blame him for being ruthless and decisive.

If you want to stand out amidst the crush of power, you can only be unconcerned with good or evil and look only at where you stand, or else you won’t get far.

"Without a doubt, we are!" Panasonic Jiezi quickly raised his glass to toast, answering seriously.

Aoyama Xiu Xin sipped his drink, then set down his glass and got up to leave, "I await good news from Mr. Panasonic."

"Hi!" Panasonic Jiezi got up and bowed deeply to see him off.

Not until he could no longer see the other’s heels did he slowly rise, then let out a heavy sigh.

It was time to get down to business!

.........

"San Dao Yifu is returning to the country next Monday. I propose we make our move right as he leaves the airport," said Saiji Taisen, with his long hair.

"I agree. Otherwise, once he’s back in the country and finds out Tsunoda Shinro and Noda Jiro are dead, he might become wary. The police might already be suspecting us and planning to contact him. The longer we delay, the worse it gets," Koizumi Hisahide with the silver short hair chimed in.

Then both men looked simultaneously at the somewhat distracted Fujimoto Takuya, "Hey, Takuya, what are you thinking about?"

"Nothing much, just ran into an acquaintance yesterday, felt a bit sentimental," Fujimoto Takuya came back to his senses and shook his head, "Let’s do as you’ve suggested."

"An acquaintance? Who?" asked Koizumi Hisahide.

Fujimoto Takuya replied, "Nozaki Cangjian."

"Oh, that guy Nozaki! Speaking of which, you saved his life back then. How’s he doing now?" Saiji Taisen also seemed a bit distracted.

Fujimoto Takuya shook his head, "Not so well."

Then he began to recount the encounter with Nozaki.

Saiji and Koizumi listened in silence, that event had truly changed the course of all their lives.

"He really wanted to see you guys. Do you want to meet him?" asked Fujimoto Takuya, and then added, "I checked this morning; after we were imprisoned, he did indeed change a lot. He was not well-liked at the Police Headquarters, and it’s true that he was fired for beating up his superior, on the very morning of the day we killed Tsunoda Shinro, so there should be no problem."

Hearing this, the other two were also relieved.

Unless the police could divine the future and knew they were planning revenge, and thus purposefully fired Nozaki Cangjian half a day in advance, there was no way he could be an undercover agent.

"Let’s meet then. Only the four of us are left from our group back then. He even visited us a couple of years ago. It wouldn’t be right not to see him after getting out," they agreed.