Tokyo: From Lawless Madpolice to Minister
Chapter 34 - 33: The Growing Madame and the Fierce Takeda (Vote for Monthly Tickets!)

Chapter 34: Chapter 33: The Growing Madame and the Fierce Takeda (Vote for Monthly Tickets!)

Aoyama Xiu Xin frowned and remained silent.

Nozawa Yiren, not daring to disturb him, tiptoed over with small steps, carrying the tea-making set with extreme care, and then quietly knelt on the carpet beside the tea table to start making tea.

Because she was overly endowed, when she straightened her back and leaned close to the tea table, her abundant figure was pressed against the table surface, appearing even more round and full—just looking at her filled one with a sense of happiness.

Bigger is better, who would agree, who would disagree?

"This person, can you find out if he has borrowed money from other financial firms?" Aoyama Xiu Xin picked up Sato Rich’s file and handed it to Nozawa Yiren.

"Information about major clients is strictly confidential in every firm," Nozawa Yiren, who had clearly started learning how to manage a company, understood a lot of related information. Seeing Aoyama Xiu Xin’s displeased frown, she quickly lowered her head and changed her tone, "But please rest assured, Mr. Aoyama, the Nozawa Group has business dealings with many peers, and I will inquire for you."

"Do you think you can control the company?" Looking at her timorous, quail-like demeanor, who even dared not make eye contact with him, Aoyama Xiu Xin asked with considerable doubt.

Nozawa Yiren’s throat moved a bit as she mustered the courage to look up and cautiously said, "A few executives had expressed their doubts, but I told them that I would resolve the threat from the Noguchi Group. Now that Nozaki Masao has been arrested, there should be no one opposing me any longer."

"You do have some cleverness," Aoyama Xiu Xin laughed. After Nozaki Masao’s arrest, the senior executives at Nozawa Financial Corporation definitely felt that Nozawa Yiren had found a strong backer and naturally had to acknowledge her authority.

Nozawa Yiren’s cheeks flushed, and she slightly bowed her head to say, "It’s all thanks to Mr. Aoyama’s support."

She then bent over and handed him a cup of hot tea with both hands.

Aoyama Xiu Xin casually took it, sipped it once, and put it back on the tea table, he touched her head, "As long as you find the information I want, not only will I enable you, my dear wife, to advance rapidly in expertise, I will also show you ways to earn a vast amount of wealth."

He had many ideas in his mind and could change the lending market landscape with just a slight effort.

"Hi!" Nozawa Yiren clearly didn’t understand the profoundness of Chinese culture, but knowing that Aoyama Xiu Xin would reward her was enough, "I will work hard."

"I’m leaving now. If there’s any trouble, just call me," Aoyama Xiu Xin said as he got up, giving the aura of a Police Chief when he was only a Patrol Chief, but it couldn’t be helped, after all, he had connections.

Asai Ayumi’s father was a Senior Police Director, and Asai Ayumi did as he told her, so by rounding up, it was as if his own father was the Senior Police Director. What’s wrong with flaunting a bit as a second-generation official?

"Hi!" Nozawa Yiren stood up to see him out, bowing deeply and respectfully, "Please take care, Mr. Aoyama. I will inform you once there is news."

Aoyama Xiu Xin left without looking back and slammed the door behind him.

"Phew—"

Hearing the door close, Nozawa Yiren finally relaxed, somewhat exhaustedly sitting down on the sofa.

She then picked up the phone and called her company, "Please get all the managers above section chief to the meeting room. I’ll be there in half an hour; there’s an important announcement to make."

About half an hour later, the meeting room at Nozawa Financial Corporation was filled with people, all casually chatting.

When the door opened and Nozawa Yiren, dressed in a black OL suit and high heels, stepped in, the murmur of conversations abruptly ceased, and everyone stood up to greet her.

"Madam."

"Please take your seats," Nozawa Yiren walked to the head of the room and stood up straight. She raised her hand to signal everyone to sit and bowed slightly to the crowd before raising her head and saying, "I have called you all here urgently to announce good news. From now on, you won’t have to worry about the coveting of the Noguchi Group. The chairman of the Noguchi Group was arrested last night for drug trafficking."

"Wow!"

The room immediately erupted with noise.

"Nozaki Masao was arrested? Is that true?"

"If that’s the case, it would be great. That guy is insatiable, even thinking to buy us out at a low price."

Amidst the shock, the respect in everyone’s eyes when looking at Nozawa Yiren began to change. After all, she had previously said she would resolve the threat from the Noguchi Group. Now that Nozaki Masao was truly arrested, it undoubtedly had something to do with her.

In role as the naïve and sweet boss’s wife, Nozawa Yiren seemed unfathomably deep all of a sudden.

However, what they didn’t know was that Nozawa Yiren’s calm and cool appearance was all forced. In reality, her heart was always in her throat, her pale, small hands tightly clutching her handbag, and her toes curled tightly inside her high heels.

After all, she never got involved in company affairs while her husband was still alive. She was half a social recluse, and the pressure of such a scene was too much for her to bear.

"So now, regarding my succession as the president after my husband, you all can be at ease, right?"

Nozawa Yiren squeezed out a smile, trying to look composed.

The meeting room fell silent for a moment, then a white-haired elder stood up and bowed, "President."

He was the vice president of the company.

"President!" Everyone around the conference table stood up and bowed to Nozawa Yiren to show their stance.

Nozawa Yiren finally breathed a sigh of relief. She deliberately raised her head high with arrogance and slowly sat down in the chair once belonging to her husband. Watching those who had disdained and scorned her just days before now bending and bowing in front of her filled her with an indescribable exhilaration.

And all of this relied on Mr. Aoyama.

She must repay him well.

......

Shitamachi District, Akabane 3rd District.

The Imamura Restaurant bustled with patrons, and the owner, Imamura Fumiaki, a man past forty with a rotund figure, greeted each customer with an enthusiastic smile as he made sushi.

"Thank you, please take care, and we look forward to your next visit."

He politely saw off every leaving customer.

"Father, that person has woken up," whispered Imamura Fumiaki’s son as he came up to him.

"Take care of the customers for me." Imamura Fumiaki handed over the sushi counter to his son, apologized to a few waiting patrons, and turned away.

Imamura Restaurant was a mixed-use property: a dining establishment on the ground floor with residential space above and in the backyard.

Imamura Fumiaki went upstairs and, after sliding open the Changzi Gate, saw Takeda Ichiro sitting on the tatami, smoking. He couldn’t help but complain, "Takeda-san, you seem quite at ease, sleeping from dawn until now. Aren’t you worried you might wake up surrounded by police? And, if you could, please put out your cigarette."

"It seems Imamura-san is quite content. After all, people troubled by worries generally aren’t bothered by the smell of smoke," said Takeda Ichiro as he put out his cigarette. He twisted his neck, which felt a little sore from just waking up, "It’s been a long time since I’ve had a sound sleep. As a guest, it’s quite rude of me to stay in my host’s house and only wake up past noon."

"Takeda-san, if you’ve had enough rest, please leave as soon as possible," Imamura Fumiaki earnestly requested.

"I will go," Takeda nodded, then his gaze fixed on Imamura Fumiaki, "but before that, I need to know who was involved in that last deal."

"Takeda-san!" Imamura Fumiaki raised his voice slightly, a frown on his face, "If I were such a loose-lipped person, you wouldn’t be sitting here right now. I didn’t see a single yen from that last deal. Considering our past relationship, I am willing to let go of this matter; I just ask that you leave now."

"Bang!" Takeda Ichiro picked up a large parcel that lay at his feet and threw it aside. He kicked it lightly and said, "Like you, I didn’t get a single yen from that last deal either. But I won’t short you. Your payment is inside this parcel."

"What are you talking about?" Imamura Fumiaki glanced at the package but didn’t concern himself too much with it. Instead, he pressed for more information, "You say you didn’t get any money? That person also claimed they got nothing and accused you of pocketing seven hundred million. They were furious at me over it."

"Heh, now that’s interesting," Takeda Ichiro lightly touched his buzz cut and revealed a somewhat dangerous smile, "Between him and me, one of us must be lying. Who do you think it is?"

Imamura Fumiaki fell silent upon hearing this.

"Clearly, you also think I’m not the one lying, don’t you, Imamura-san? Otherwise, why would I risk coming back so soon with seven hundred million yen in my hands," Takeda Ichiro slowly rose to his feet, and, approaching Imamura Fumiaki, bowed deeply, "Please tell me, who is that person?"

"I don’t know," Imamura Fumiaki shook his head.

Takeda Ichiro’s expression turned stormy in an instant, and he grabbed Imamura Fumiaki by the throat, "Don’t know? You’re the middleman! How can you not know? Idiot! I even thought about killing you first when I got back to Tokyo!"

The murderous aura is an ethereal thing.

But as a vicious bandit stained with numerous lives, Takeda Ichiro indeed emitted an aura that invoked terror when he made threats.

"But... you didn’t kill me; you even let me pick you up. That... that means you believe I’m not the type to... to break the rules," gasped Imamura Fumiaki, his breath difficult and his face turning pale as he looked squarely at Takeda Ichiro.

Takeda Ichiro stared at him for a while, then suddenly released his grip, "Now that the other party has broken the rules first, you have no obligation to keep their secret. Tell me who it is. I’ve come back not just to get my money, but to take that bastard’s life!"

"Cough, cough, cough..." Imamura Fumiaki bent over, coughing violently, gasping for air as his complexion started to return to normal. Waving his hand, he said, "I wasn’t trying to deceive you, Takeda-san. I truly don’t know."

"Don’t know, not familiar. How could you collaborate with them?" Takeda Ichiro’s eyes narrowed in suspicion, for he knew Imamura to be a very cautious middleman.

At last catching his breath, Imamura Fumiaki stood straight and with a wry smile explained, "That guy always contacted me by phone. Before getting in touch, he sent me a letter containing evidence of several robberies and lootings I’d been involved with in the past."

"At the same time, there was a phone number. I called it, and he required that I put together a team for a bank robbery at Changxin Bank, promising to provide detailed information about the bank and help the people involved escape police capture. But if I refused, he threatened to hand that evidence to the police... After the incident, aside from calling to blame me for not securing the money, he never contacted me again."

"Ha! I see, that’s why even though you figured I had pocketed the seven hundred million, you didn’t blame me. It turns out you felt guilty about me," Takeda laughed off the explanation, then suddenly punched Imamura Fumiaki in the face, grabbing the collar of his shirt, his teeth gritted in a roar, "You idiot! Not only did you get my brothers killed, but you almost got me killed too!"

Imamura Fumiaki had nothing to say in defense against the accusation.

"Give me that number." Seeing him in a submissive state, Takeda Ichiro suddenly felt it was pointless, swore, and let him go.

Imamura Fumiaki wiped a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth, shook his head, and said, "No point. It’s unreachable. I’ve tried to initiate contact before; no one answers."

"They’ll answer for me," Takeda Ichiro settled back on the tatami, casually stating.

Imamura Fumiaki looked at him, then took out paper and a pen from a drawer, wrote down the number, and handed it over.

Takeda Ichiro took it without looking, slid it into his pocket, and pointed at the two parcels, "One was for you, no need for it now. They together hold around one billion yen. Prepare some weapons with it, and I will give you four addresses to deliver the rest."

The four subordinates who robbed the Noguchi Group casino were lured on a temporary basis with the promise of profit. Blowing them up wasn’t to pocket the money alone, but to prevent the four from succumbing to interrogation if caught and exposing him.

Thus he promised to deliver the money to their families, and Takeda Ichiro was not only committed to not skimping, but also prepared to top it up.

"Alright!" Imamura Fumiaki bowed his head and replied, then raised it to give a word of advice, "Takeda-san, that person likely has a complicated background. Are you sure you want to do this? Perhaps it’s better to act as if nothing has happened."

"Background is the most unfair thing, but the fairest thing is that everyone has only one life."

"He owes me money, and he owes me several lives."

"They all must be repaid."