I Teach Kendo in Tokyo - Chapter 18

Chapter 18: Shiratori and Takayama

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

To be honest, Kazuma couldn’t tell whether the warrant card was real or not.

However, his cheat allowed him to see very clearly that, at Jigen Style 15, this man in front of him was an expert.

After a few rounds of actual combat, Kazuma had gained a considerable amount of understanding of his cheat. Jigen Style 15 should be very powerful indeed. At least, this man wouldn’t have any problem with defeating Kazuma’s previous master, Hasegawa Masato, if he could transmigrate.

Usually, Jigen Style experts were either policemen or people who worked closely with the police.

Hence, it was highly likely that the person in front of him was a real police officer. With this judgment, Kazuma said, “Officer, we are just ordinary high school students. Is there anything we can help you with?”

The police officer narrowed his eyes to size up Kazuma and Chiyoko as he said leisurely, “Ordinary high school students would not enter the Sumitomo Construction Headquarters in broad daylight with bamboo swords on their back. Just a moment ago, we were worried that someone would be thrown down from the broken window upstairs.”

Kazuma looked up. Even though the Sumitomo Construction Headquarters building was not too tall, it had 15 floors. It looked quite oppressive when one’s looking up from downstairs.

At this moment, Chiyoko said, “That sounds like a movie plot, the part about being thrown down from the 15th floor. I’d say Takakura Ken should probably be the main character.”

Kazuma laughed out loud. It was 1980, the golden age of Japanese movies, and Takakura Ken was extremely popular nowadays. One of the movies which he starred in, “You Must Cross the River of Wrath,” had become a blockbuster.

In another five years, this movie would drift across the sea under the name of “The Pursuit,” gaining huge popularity among its Chinese audience.

One of the most well-known scenes in the movie was when the villain drugged the protagonist and made him jump off a building. That gave birth to a famous line in the history of Japanese movies.

Kazuma took the opportunity to say that line, “Morioka, look how blue the sky is… Walk over and become one with that blue sky.”

The policeman looked back at his partner, who was standing some distance away, and smiled too.

Kazuma saw that the policeman’s partner was at Jigen Style 7, which was similar to his own combat power. So he determined that this man in front of him was the leader between the pair.

Besides, the criminal investigator before him looked older, so it was sensible that he was paired with a less experienced younger policeman.

“We were here to discuss matters regarding our dojo with Sumitomo Construction,” Kazuma explained.

After hearing some brief explanation, the younger investigator who had been standing at the back sighed. “It’s not easy for you either. It doesn’t seem like it has anything to do with our investigation…”

The older policeman who took the initiative to talk to them interrupted the young man. “Don’t say that, Takayama-kun. Sometimes, breakthroughs are found in seemingly unrelated places. How should I address you two?”

“Erm, I’m Kiryuu Kazuma, and this is my sister Chiyoko.”

“Kiryuu-kun, if you hear anything strange or notice anything related to criminal activity, please call this number.”

The old policeman handed over a name card, but there was no name or position on it. There was only a phone number.

“Any information is fine, please.”

Chiyoko could not help but ask, “Is it considered a crime for Sumitomo Construction to collude with the yakuza?”

“Do you have any evidence?” the old policeman asked.

“Evidence? We are the evidence. We can testify in court…” Chiyoko immediately volunteered.

But the old policeman shook his head. “That’s useless. Even without the help of those big lawyers who charge exorbitantly high prices, Sumitomo Construction’s legal representatives alone can nullify the testimony of witnesses like you. If you want to prove that Sumitomo Construction is connected to criminal organizations, you have to at least have a recording of their conversation.”

“How can that be? How are we going to get this kind of recording?” Chiyoko was shocked. It seemed that she had gained a deeper understanding of Japanese society.

The old policeman gave her a helpless smile. “That’s how things work. Anyway, please, call this number as soon as you hear anything that might be related to crimes. I mean, other than the case where Sumitomo Construction is colluding with the yakuza to force a sale.”

Seeing that the old policeman was about to leave, Kazuma asked, “What benefits can we get?”

This was the key.

Kazuma was certain that these two policemen were investigating some major crime—and it was more serious than a case of a real estate company colluding with the yakuza.

In this era, those construction companies that did not collude with the yakuza were the anomalies. There was no way they could survive.

These two criminal investigators had definitely not been guarding the entrance of Sumitomo Construction Headquarters for the company’s crime of colluding with the yakuza. There must be something more serious.

However, since they did not say it out loud, Kazuma felt that it was not appropriate to ask directly, so he asked about the rewards instead.

The two policemen looked at Kazuma strangely. The old policeman said, “Aren’t you troubled by the yakuza? If you can forge connections with criminal investigators, the yakuza won’t dare to have their way with you, right?”

‘Hmm, that makes sense.’

However, this was Japan, after all. Criminal investigators were restricted by a string of complicated procedures. They probably posed less deterrence toward the yakuza as compared to the “municipal uniformed police” that Kazuma had been more familiar with in his previous life.

“If we hear anything suspicious, we will report it to you,” Kazuma promised them. “It’s getting late, we’ll take our leave first.”

After that, Kazuma and Chiyoko bowed to the two investigators. Just as they were about to leave, the old policeman suddenly said, “I have a piece of advice for you. Don’t think about using your kendo skills to fight against the yakuza. They are vicious people, and there are plenty of martial arts experts among them. Moreover, be it kendo or judo, if you treat martial arts as just a skill, you will definitely be at a disadvantage.

“You might be a better fighter than some of the yakuza members, but if we really fight, I’m afraid you won’t be able to gain any advantage.”

Kazuma understood immediately. The old policeman was beating around the bush, trying to remind Kazuma that the old saying “mind and skill as one” was not totally ill-founded.

A strong will and mind could really be used in martial arts.

Although Kazuma had already found out about this through his cheat, he still bowed to the policeman and thanked him. “Thank you for your advice.”

The old policeman stared at Kazuma for a few seconds and suddenly said, “I like your attitude. I’ll give you another piece of advice. If you really have to fight against the yakuza, remember, don’t kill anyone. As long as you don’t kill, the police will support you. Even if you handicap hundreds of yakuza members, as long as no lives are lost, you will not get into trouble with the laws.”

Kazuma took a second to ponder over the validity of the advice. In the end, he believed that there was no reason for the old investigator to lie to him on this matter.

Kazuma was not clear about the situation in Japan in his past life, but in this life, the Japanese police and judicial system would probably ignore the yakuza as long as they didn’t kill.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Kazuma replied sternly before pulling Chiyoko away.

***

After the Kiryuu siblings had left, Criminal Investigator Takayama said, “Shiratori-senpai, was it really necessary to talk to those two children? We are here to investigate a murder case, not to deal with criminal organizations or financial crimes…”

Investigator Shiratori touched his graying hair and said, “The Sumitomo Construction receptionist saw that we talked to them. They will report to the higher-ups.

“This way, their Relocation Department would not dare to go too far. After all, they don’t know why we are here. Although we can’t help the kids directly, it’s helpful to slightly deter the company. This is called accumulating good karma, do you understand? Who knows when this bit of kindness will be rewarded.”

“Oh, I see… But Shiratori-senpai, do you really think that that child can handicap hundreds of yakuza members?”

“Don’t be silly. How is that possible?” Investigator Shiratori glared at Investigator Takayama.