Chapter 99: No More Recklessness—A True Great Figure

“What?” Hidenobu Aoyama sprang to his feet in an instant, grabbing his coat as he headed for the door. “I’ll be right back.”

He knew that the current state of law and order in Japan was poor. At first, he had been glad about it, reasoning that the more chaotic it was, the more opportunities there were for the police to make their mark and achieve success.

But now that a thief had targeted his own home, he was instantly dissatisfied with the state of security.

Double standards are human nature.

“What’s wrong?” Aya Asai asked with concern.

Ryoichi Fujimoto and Shinichi Nakamura also looked toward him.

Hidenobu Aoyama turned back to explain, “My sister-in-law said there’s been a break-in at home. I have to go check it out immediately.”

“Let’s go together,” Aya Asai said, setting down her chopsticks as she saw how anxious he was.

Ryoichi Fujimoto and Shinichi Nakamura quickly stood as well. “Yes, Deputy Chief, we’ll come with you.”

“All right. I didn’t drive today, so you can give me a ride,” Hidenobu agreed readily.

About twenty minutes later, the four of them arrived at the Aoyama residence. Haruko Aoyama was waiting at the door, and as soon as she saw Hidenobu get out of the car, she hurried forward to meet him.

“Sis,” Hidenobu called out.

Ryoichi Fujimoto and the others simply bowed.

Though anxious, Haruko returned their bow patiently before turning to Hidenobu. “The house has been turned upside down, but I was afraid of disturbing the scene, so I didn’t go inside. I’ve been waiting here for you to come back.”

Clearly, having lived with her younger brother-in-law for a long time, she had picked up quite a bit about crime scene protocol and understood the importance of preserving evidence.

“Let’s go inside and take a look,” Hidenobu invited the group, leading the way into the house.

The living room was relatively tidy, with no obvious signs of disorder.

Haruko explained, “Upstairs—the rooms on the second and third floors were ransacked. I came back from closing the store and was about to shower and change when I realized something was wrong.”

“There are no footprints of a man in the living room. Either the thief took off their shoes, wore shoe covers, or simply didn’t pass through the living room,” Ryoichi observed after a quick inspection of the floor.

Shinichi added, “There are no trees near the house in the yard, so the thief probably didn’t climb over the roof. They must have come through the living room. Taking off shoes would be troublesome, so it’s more likely they wore shoe covers.”

As he spoke, Shinichi checked several windows on the first floor. Emerging from the kitchen, he continued, “I see footprints on the grass outside the kitchen window. The intruder must have climbed in from there.”

“I often leave the kitchen window unlocked for ventilation,” Haruko said with some guilt.

“That’s not your fault. Who would expect a thief to come here?” Hidenobu reassured her. After all, their neighborhood was an affluent district. “Let’s go upstairs and have a look.”

Generally, thieves avoid targeting the extremely poor or the very wealthy—the former have little of value, and the latter pose greater risks. But exceptions do occur.

Since the thief was cautious enough to wear shoe covers inside the house, it suggested professionalism. They likely wore gloves as well, so the group carefully examined every ransacked spot without worrying about disturbing fingerprints.

“The money… none of it’s missing,” Haruko said after a while, somewhat puzzled.

Far from relieved, Asai and the others’ expressions grew more serious.

If no money was stolen, it meant the thief wasn’t after cash but something else.

Sure enough, moments later, Hidenobu emerged from the bedroom with a dark expression. “My things are gone.”

The photos he had retrieved from the Nakayama estate were missing. His immediate suspicion fell on Prosecutor Yamada Yuji, who had explicitly known the photos were in Hidenobu’s possession.

But he quickly dismissed that idea. Even if Yamada had planned to stall him today and send someone to steal the photos, once Hidenobu agreed to hand them over, Yamada would have canceled the operation.

Of course, there was the possibility that Yamada feared a last-minute change of heart from Hidenobu and thus sent someone to steal the photos as a precaution.

“What’s missing?” Haruko asked.

“Nothing. Sis, please entertain the others. I need to make a call,” Hidenobu said before heading out to the balcony on the second floor.

After a moment, he returned and asked Asai, “Do you know the number for Inspector Morishita?”

“Yuu Morishita?” Asai checked off his name. “I’ll find out for you.”

She pulled out her phone, made the call, and handed the number to Hidenobu.

“You all go downstairs and take a seat first,” Hidenobu said, once again moving to the balcony as he dialed Morishita’s number. “Inspector Morishita, this is Hidenobu Aoyama.”

“Ah, Aoyama-kun! Where have you been hiding? Haha, impressive! President Tamiya was so nervous he even asked me for your number,” Morishita replied, his tone tinged with envy.

After all, who doesn't appreciate a wealthy and beautiful woman?

Hidenobu said, “Please put Prosecutor Yamada on. There’s been an incident with the photos.”

“What? Okay, hold on.”

Shortly, Yamada Yuji’s voice came through the line. “Inspector Aoyama, what’s going on?”

“Prosecutor Yamada, I was about to ask you the same,” Hidenobu said, his tone sharp with suppressed anger. “I promised you I’d hand over the photos and never go back on my word. So why did you arrange for someone to steal them? You scared my sister-in-law!”

Regardless of whether Yamada was behind it, Hidenobu placed the blame on him to preempt suspicion falling on himself. Otherwise, Yamada might suspect Hidenobu of lying to avoid handing over the photos, and then there would be no way to prove his innocence.

Better to cast doubt on the other party first and force him to prove himself.

“What did you say?” Yamada suddenly raised his voice and then seemed to move to a quieter place, the background noise fading. “Inspector Aoyama, what do you mean? The photos have been stolen?”

“Still pretending, Prosecutor Yamada?” Hidenobu sneered, gritting his teeth. “Do I have to spell it out? You had Inspector Morishita stall me so I couldn’t return home, then you personally tested whether I still had the photos. After confirming, you ordered your people to break in and steal them, treating me like a fool!”

“Baka yarou!” Yamada exploded in rage upon hearing the photos were stolen. “Let me tell you, I did arrange for someone to break into your house and steal the photos—but only if you refused to hand them over. Since you agreed, why on earth would I send people to steal them? That’s just nonsense!”

“Are you sure you didn’t order the theft?” Hidenobu asked skeptically after a pause.

“No!” Yamada shouted in anger before taking a deep breath to calm himself. “Who else have you told about the photos?”

“No one. I don’t know who’s in the photos, but I figured they must be important,” Hidenobu answered firmly.

Yamada fell silent, exhaustion evident in his voice. “Let me ask you one last time—are you certain the photos were stolen?”

He clearly suspected Hidenobu might be unwilling to hand them over after realizing their value.

“What do you mean, Prosecutor Yamada? You think I staged this myself?” Hidenobu demanded sharply.

Yamada didn’t deny it. Instead, he said, “The photos were lost while in your possession. You must find them and give them to me. Whether I believe you doesn’t matter. Some people never will.”

“Are you threatening me?” Hidenobu’s anger flared. Had he known how explosive these photos were, he never would have taken them in the first place.

Yamada exhaled sharply. “I’m not threatening. If the photos aren’t recovered, I won’t come out well either. And you’ll be in even worse shape. Do your best to find them. I’ll provide all the support I can.”

Hidenobu understood clearly: if Yamada failed to retrieve the photos, his own superiors would suspect him of withholding them. Pressure would mount from above, and he would be at the bottom of the pile.

His fate would undoubtedly be grim.

“Prosecutor Yamada, I haven’t told anyone about the photos. The problem must be on your end. Please think carefully—who else there might know I have them?” Hidenobu said gravely.

Yamada’s voice was heavy with fatigue. “I can’t think of anyone right now. I’ll investigate and let you know if I find anything.”

What had seemed like a sure thing had now gone awry. He had even called his superiors to report the good news. This turn of events was exhausting.

Celebrating too early is always a mistake.

“Who is that person?” Hidenobu asked, wanting to know more now that he might be held responsible.

“Kurosawa Shin,” Yamada answered in a low voice.

Having little knowledge of Japan’s political circles in both this life and the last, Hidenobu vaguely remembered hearing the name before but couldn’t quite place it.

He dared to ask, “Who is he?”

“Baka!” Yamada cursed under his breath. He was shocked Hidenobu didn’t know this figure, especially considering his ambitions. “He’s the real emperor of the Liberal Democratic Party. Many prime ministers were put in office by him. Not only that, he wields unquestioned power in the underworld as well.”

“He could crush us—not personally—but even the dogs under his command could crush us. Do you realize how serious this is?”

“Yeah,” Hidenobu admitted, finally grasping the gravity of the situation. He couldn’t understand how Nakayama’s estate had obtained such compromising photos of a top-tier figure in Japan. “If I retrieve the photos and hand them over, then it’s no longer my problem, right?”

“That could be a good thing. Recovering them would be a major achievement for you. So fate is a double-edged sword—this is your chance as well,” Yamada began to paint a hopeful picture.

Hidenobu was not one to indulge in empty hopes. “At this point, what choice do I have? Then, Prosecutor Yamada, let’s work together.”

“Aoyama-kun, I’m counting on you. Be sure to recover those photos!” Yamada said solemnly.

Hidenobu responded with equal seriousness, “Yes, sir.”

“Beep… beep… beep…”

Listening to the busy signal on the line, Hidenobu stood silently on the balcony, gazing into the distance.

Never again would he recklessly take things that didn’t belong to him.

He then withdrew his gaze and headed back downstairs.