Chapter 141: Finally in Hand (Part 3 of 4; Please Subscribe)

"So, your enemies are not Sumitomo, Mogami Estate, or the Shindo-gumi."

In the same place as before, Takeda Takanao sat opposite him, his eyes bloodshot.

Tao Zhiming picked up his cup. "Allow me to express my condolences."

Takeda Takanao silently picked up his drink, still saying nothing.

Tao Zhiming set his cup down. "Kimura Shuta—how were you able to continue trusting him?"

Takeda Takanao said mechanically, "Kazuo was a man from Yuwa, and it was Shuta who took the initiative to verify that news. After things happened, he was the first to find Kazuo. Aside from me, Goro, and Kazuo, no one else knew the information about the truck. When Shuta suspected him, he pretended to be in despair and asked him what to do. Kazuo said that a big shot might know who did it, and then took him to see Omiya Hiroshi."

"...Wasn't it said that Shuta is a man of Mitsui?"

Takeda Takanao shook his head. "Shuta only wanted Takeda Manufacturing to master more advanced processes and technology. People from Mitsui were indeed courting him, promising him the position of the new president after Takeda Manufacturing was renamed. Shuta refused, but he agreed to try his best to persuade me to join Mitsui, on the condition that Takeda Manufacturing would remain independent and I would continue as president. He only chose to continue following me. Shuta had been working hard to persuade Mitsui not to choose a complete takeover of Takeda Manufacturing. After this incident, Shuta completely cut ties with Mitsui."

Tao Zhiming sighed deeply.

No wonder Mitsui's moves had always been the most restrained; it turned out they had sufficient room to maneuver. Now that lives had been lost, Mitsui suddenly discovered they could use this as an excuse to deal a heavy blow to the other two factions' interests in other areas.

With the floodgates of his conversation opened, Takeda Takanao finally asked, "You said the real killer isn't the Shindo-gumi. Do you have proof?"

Tao Zhiming shook his head. "The Shindo-gumi hijacked the truck, but they weren't the ones who committed the murder. Those three men from the Shindo-gumi didn't commit suicide out of fear of crime; they were murdered. The secret handwriting Goro left behind was actually written with a finger dipped in blood after he fell victim."

Takeda Takanao stared at him. "That is not what the people from the Metropolitan Police Department are saying."

"Are the people from the Metropolitan Police Department necessarily fair and impartial?" Tao Zhiming's gaze did not waver at all. "Have you forgotten how massive the interests are that you're involved in?"

Takeda Takanao clenched his teeth tightly, asking with bitter resentment, "Then do you know who the real killer is?"

Tao Zhiming nodded. "That's right. The real killer is a subordinate of Heitai Ichiro, a wakagashira of the Hokusei-kai. The mastermind behind the scenes is none other than Omiya Hiroshi, the president of Yuwa Corporation. The person from the Shindo-gumi who carried out this act is very likely an undercover agent. I already have leads regarding this point."

He held out his hand. "Omiya Hiroshi once attempted to kidnap me. I sensed it in advance and resolved it through other means, and I also left an undercover agent buried inside the Hokusei-kai. As for Goro's matter, I truly had no way of knowing the truth beforehand. It was only after things happened and more information came to light that a complete logical deduction could be formed. Now, we share a common enemy! I will find the proof and show it to you!"

Takeda Takanao stared into his eyes. "Aren't you afraid?"

"Not at all!" Tao Zhiming shook his head. "This time, the Shindo-gumi, the entire Inagawa-kai, including Mogami Estate and Sumitomo, will stand on my side!"

Looking at his expression, Takeda Takanao said with tragic grief, "You're right. In this struggle, I am not even qualified to participate."

With that, he extended his hands. "I leave the revenge for Goro to you! As long as revenge can be achieved, I am willing to do anything!"

Tao Zhiming looked at him deeply. "You were only able to buy raw materials because I gave you 150 million yen. If you hadn't had the money for raw materials, Goro wouldn't have needed to escort the shipment... Do you harbor no resentment toward me?"

Takeda Takanao was silent for a moment before speaking in a heavy tone, "I am not a fool, but if I were a bit smarter, I should have learned to let go sooner. It was because I realized that plot of land might be worth billions that I stubbornly decided to find a way to hold on."

"The terms I offered you remain the same as before." Tao Zhiming sighed softly, taking out a check and placing it on the table. "Based on current market rates, I will give you 150 million yen for your house. Rest assured, starting today, the Shindo-gumi will protect you and your family. From the moment I stepped forward, this battle officially became a conflict between financial consortiums. You no longer need to stand in the center of the battlefield."

"You truly represent a financial consortium after all... So it was Sumitomo..."

"No, I said it before: I only represent myself," Tao Zhiming replied, shaking his head. "It's just that right now, Sumitomo happens to have the obligation to support me in finding the true culprit."

"This is no longer something I can control," Takeda Takanao said, feeling utterly disheartened. "Right now, I only hope the real killer who murdered Goro is found and brought to justice."

"No, you also need to keep running Takeda Manufacturing and making it better and better." Tao Zhiming stared intently into his eyes and said solemnly, "Tomorrow, we will go to the University of Tokyo together. I have already scheduled a time with Professor Yamamoto. Your ordeal has filled him with righteous indignation! Your trust in me at this moment gives me the responsibility to help you develop Takeda Manufacturing better and better. You must not despair or give up! You have new responsibilities toward Goro's family!"

Hot tears welled up in Takeda Takanao's eyes, transforming all the recent hardships into endless grievances and resentment.

Tao Zhiming signed the agreement with him first. Since their original purpose had already been achieved, his attitude toward Takeda Takanao was now reduced to sheer sympathy.

This was truly a man who一心 (wholeheartedly) wanted to run his business well. Even that Kimura Shuta had only wavered because he was obsessed with better processing technology and greater production capacity, yet he could still be considered loyal to Takeda Takanao.

A man like this had been nearly crushed to powder simply because he got caught up in a consortium's power struggle.

The murder of Takeda Goro had shocked him out of his fog of anger and made him thoroughly clear-headed.

Now, Tao Zhiming had given him a final amulet.

Once Yamamoto Akitake stepped forward to use this case as an example to prove his viewpoint on the immense dangers currently posed by financial fever and real estate warfare, Takeda Takanao and Takeda Manufacturing would no longer be people to be easily manipulated at will.

At the very least, the media and social forces would continue to pay attention to them!

...

"You're saying that this Tao Dajiro will be here shortly?"

Kinoshita Hidekaze nodded. "Yes, Inagawa-san, he is already on his way."

Inagawa Kazushi looked at Suzuki Daiki. "You've known him for a long time as well?"

Suzuki Daiki said respectfully, "That's correct. I was present when the evidence proving that Omiya Hiroshi and the Hokusei-kai murdered Department Head Morinaga was obtained. Later, I also accepted his commission and secretly investigated more evidence regarding this matter. I deeply admire his ability, which is why I persuaded the oyabun to hand over 500 million yen of the organization's tribute funds to him for investment management. Just recently, we received a return of 75 million yen for the first month."

Kinoshita Hidekaze and Anzai Zenwei drew sharp breaths. "Seventy-five million yen in a single month?"

Suzuki Daiki nodded. In any case, he had already obtained Tao Dajiro's permission; Tao had told him to answer this way if asked.

Right now, the Shindo-gumi was hanging by a thread, and even Suzuki Daiki's own fate would be affected by Tao Zhiming's next moves.

That Obata Yusuke communicated only with Tao Zhiming now, and Suzuki Daiki had no way of knowing what other evidence Tao Zhiming had mastered.

Kinoshita Hidekaze muttered to himself, "This fellow... can he really earn that much?"

With Anzai Zenwei right there, it wasn't convenient for him to mention that he had lent Tao Dajiro 1.5 billion yen. Otherwise, wouldn't that imply he had already coveted that plot of land belonging to Takeda Manufacturing and wanted one more bargaining chip against Sumitomo?

Inagawa Kazushi's eyes revealed a look of interest. "It's been a long time since I've seen such an outstanding young man... Daiki, why are you so sure that Kurata Shinsuke, that fool, was abandoned?"

"That judgment was told to me by Tao-kun," Suzuki Daiki said truthfully. "He said that even before the incident with Ishibashi Reiko, he already felt that the actions of the Kamibayashi-gumi, employed by Yuwa Future, were too excessive. Although President Inoue was also under pressure, I confirmed that President Inoue did not tell Shinsuke to increase the pressure, and even warned him beforehand not to provoke Ishibashi Reiko. Just talking about wanting to make achievements, Shinsuke was far too radical."

Kinoshita Hidekaze nodded. "Dajiro certainly warned me as well."

"And then there is this matter. Although Managing Director Anzai found Shinsuke, why did he prepare the recording in advance? That goes against the rules, unless he had prepared for it long ago." Suzuki Daiki paused, then said with a hint of admiration, "From the standpoint of our yakuza code, recording someone else's confidential commission is a severe violation of our bottom line. Unless it is an absolute last resort, Shinsuke would never have produced that recording."

Anzai Zenwei felt that this Dajiro possessed a profound understanding of propriety; doing something like that was indeed dishonorable.

Suzuki Daiki continued, "When Shinsuke produced that recording in front of you, he was already making a dying struggle, because his explanations could not withstand scrutiny. He could only pin his hopes on the loyalty among us insiders. This meant that the confidence with which he originally decided to carry out this act was gone. What Shinsuke said must have been a mix of truth and falsehood. I'm afraid the forces that originally supported him have already dragged him down into the mud, turning around to coerce him into pinning this crime entirely on our Shindo-gumi. If he did that, he would still have a glimmer of hope, because the other party likely promised him that as long as he completed this mission, even if he went to prison, they would find a way to bail him out later. After all, it couldn't possibly be him personally executing the act."

By this point, the remaining few people in the room were all nodding.

"Makes sense!" Shindo Shogo said repeatedly. "This deduction is completely logical."

"The problem is that right now, it's only a deduction," Suzuki Daiki noted, unsure whether Tao Zhiming actually had the evidence. "However, since Tao-kun makes this judgment, it offers an effective way to break the deadlock."

"How do we break the deadlock?" Kinoshita Hidekaze hurriedly asked.

Suzuki Daiki stated directly, "The most direct way right now is to first find out from Shinsuke why he did this and who promised him what. He is the breakthrough point!"

Through this analysis, Inagawa Kazushi had gained a clear understanding and leaned toward this judgment as well.

"Shogo, go."

Shindo Shogo immediately left with a gloomy expression on his face. The person most furious about being dragged into the mud by this fool was none other than Shindo Shogo himself.

"Daiki, why wasn't this evidence brought out earlier?"

Hearing Inagawa Kazushi's inquiry, Suzuki Daiki quickly replied, "We never had any fierce conflicts with the Hokusei-kai in the past, and this evidence was obtained personally by Tao-kun upon our commission. Using it as a weapon to take the initiative against the Hokusei-kai and Yuwa Corporation would violate our code of honor. Bringing it out now is because we faced a crisis, and we received Tao-kun's permission."

In front of outsiders, Inagawa Kazushi nodded. "Well done! The reason our Inagawa-kai has stood firm for so many years is precisely because there are lines we must steadfastly refuse to cross!"

A surge of joy rose in Suzuki Daiki's heart; the affirmation from Inagawa Kazushi made his future much more secure.

"This fellow... he really knows how to endure," Kinoshita Hidekaze remarked with emotion. "I had no idea he had already mastered such evidence, yet he could sit there exchanging smiles and pleasantries with Omiya Hiroshi for so long."

Anzai Zenwei asked with a peculiar expression, "Since you knew long ago that Omiya Hiroshi intended to harm this Tao Dajiro, why did you still listen to his advice and invite Yuwa to cooperate?"

Kinoshita Hidekaze chuckled dryly. "Weren't you also quite welcoming to the alliance with Yuwa back then?"

At that, the two of them smiled at each other, each harboring their own hidden agendas.

They were both veteran old foxes; who was any lesser than the other?

Yuwa was indeed a rising financial group with formidable strength, but after all, they were newcomers. Their desires were greater, and consequently, their weaknesses were more numerous.

At that moment, a voice called from outside the door, "Pardon the intrusion. Oyabun, Tao-kun has arrived!"

Everyone's eyes lit up. Inagawa Kazushi said in a deep voice, "Invite Tao-kun in!"

The door opened, and everyone stood up, entirely because of the breakthrough opportunity brought by Tao Zhiming.

Before so many heavyweight bosses, Tao Zhiming walked into the room with his head held high, calm and composed.