"No, they served as a good filter." Tsukauchi replied. "Everything points that The League of Villains isn't the same as other villain organizations. They're not buying or supplying anything on the black market. Their contacts also run from small to practically nonexistent. If I had to bet, he's sitting in one place with everything he needs already there. In simpler terms, the League of Villains has no connections to the underworld at all."
The officer stared at the whiteboard, following Tsukauchi's logic. "Then how are they surviving? Everyone needs supplies. Food, weapons, equipment..."
"They have a warp-gate quirk user," Tsukauchi said, tapping the photo of Kurogiri pinned to the board. "Kurogiri can source anything they need from anywhere in Japan without leaving a trace. No suppliers means no paper trail. No regular contacts means no one to interrogate. Not to mention after their attack on U.SJ, some of not all of their underlings were captured. As for the Nomu, recent tests shows that they can't even be considered human anymore by this point so they don't count as ..."
Tsukauchi paused.
"What is it detective?"
"Oh, it's nothing. I just thought of something. That aside, the League of Villains operates like a closed cell. Self-sufficient and no external dependencies we can exploit." Tsukauchi set down the marker.
"So we're back to zero," an officer muttered, tapping a pen against a stack of useless transcripts. "If they aren't using brokers or black markets, they could be anywhere in the country."
The officers traded uneasy glances. If the League had no connections to the underworld, it meant the police were punching at shadows.
"Not zero exactly. At least now we know where to focus our efforts." Tsukauchi shook his head. The Hero Task force mobilization across the country was a massive expenditure of both time, energy and resources.
It was more so the wider their search and longer things dragged out. Maintaining such high pressure efforts indefinitely was impossible in the long term, hence the more precise they were, the greater their chances. At least now they could save the majority of their time that would otherwise have been spent searching places of no importance.
Of course that course of action also had some risks if they were wrong and stopped just because they didn't look hard enough.
"Then how do we find them?" another officer asked from across the room.
Tsukauchi didn't respond.
The honest answer was they couldn't. As long as the League remained in hiding and kept a low profile, then it would ultimately amount to luck to find anything substantial.
"We find them through their mistakes. Through the few external contacts they do maintain. In such small circles, all it takes is one slip-up to lead to a total collapse. And eventually..." He paused. "They'll make one."
Of course he couldn't just be blunt about it.
The room fell into contemplative silence, broken only by the hum of computers and the distant sound of phones ringing in adjacent offices.
Tsukauchi pulled out his phone, checking the time. Nearly seven. Another day of raids and ...
The door burst open. A young officer, Detective Sato from the western division entered carrying a tablet, his expression urgent.
"Detective Tsukauchi. We have a lead Mirko's team just hit an unlicensed fighting ring in the Naniwa Ward."
Every head in the room turned. Tsukauchi set down his coffee. "What kind of lead?"
"They raided a quirk-drug operation two hours ago. Standard bust with an underground lab and illegal stimulants. But one of the suspects they brought in..." Sato pulled up a file on the tablet. "He's claiming he was approached for League of Villains recruitment."
The room went dead silent.
Tsukauchi was across the room in three strides. "Show me."
Sato handed over the tablet. On screen was a mugshot—male, early thirties, scarred face that came from years of villain work.
"Kaito Murasa. Known enforcer. Multiple assault charges. Works muscle-for-hire jobs in the Kansai region." Sato pulled up the interrogation notes. "Mirko's team picked him up during the raid. During his interrogation, he admitted to being approached by a man offering a recruitment pitch for the League of Villains."
'Speak of the devil.' Tsukauchi thought. "When?"
"He says about a week ago."
"A week ago. That puts the recruitment window right after the Yamanote crash."
"Does he have a location?" another officer asked.
"No," Sato replied, swiping to the next page of the file. "The suspect says the meeting happened in a neutral zone—a back-alley gambling den in Osaka. The location might not be of much help but he gave us a vague description of the recruiter."
Sato pulled up another screen. "Mid-fifties. Smoker. Always wore a brown coat. Operated out of Kamino Ward according to old dealings."
Tsukauchi's eyes narrowed. "Did he give a name?"
"Goes by 'Giran.'"
The detective stopped scrolling.
"Giran," he repeated quietly. "You're certain that's the name?"
"Murasa was very specific. According to him the recruiter claimed he was the exclusive talent scout for the League."
Tsukauchi pulled up the police database on a nearby terminal. "Giran. Just that?"
"That's all Murasa had. Said the guy operated strictly on aliases, never gave a real name."
Tsukauchi typed: **ALIAS: GIRAN / REGION: KAMINO WARD / CRIME: BROKERING**
The system processed for several seconds.
**1 RESULT FOUND**
[NATIONAL POLICE AGENCY - CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION DIVISION]
FILE ID: JP-8821-B
CLASSIFICATION: PERSON OF INTEREST
ALIAS: "Giran" (ギラン)
REAL NAME: [UNKNOWN]
STATUS: ACTIVE / WANTED FOR INTERROGATION
THREAT LEVEL: C-Rank (Non-Combatant / Support Class)
[IMAGE_ATTACHMENT: 01_surveillance_2018.jpg]
(Grainy black-and-white CCTV still from elevated angle. Male figure in dark overcoat and hat, face obscured by cigarette smoke and low resolution. Insufficient detail for facial recognition match.)
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION (ESTIMATED):
- Age: Late 40s to mid-50s (as of last sighting)
- Build: Average height, lean build
- Notable: Chronic smoker, frequently wears brown overcoat and tinted glasses
- Quirk: Unconfirmed. No combat applications observed.
CRIMINAL PROFILE:
- Primary Activity: Underground information brokering and support equipment trafficking
- Known Connections: Multiple villain organizations (unconfirmed), black market suppliers
- Operational Area: Kamino Ward (primary), Osaka (secondary)
- Modus Operandi: Acts as intermediary for high-value transactions. Known for thorough client vetting and operational security.
INVESTIGATION HISTORY:
- First identified: 2009 (Quirk trafficking investigation - Yokohama)
- Total confirmed sightings: 3 (all surveillance footage, no direct contact)
- Attempted apprehensions: 2 (both failed - subject evaded before contact)
- Witness statements: 0 (no cooperative witnesses until current case)
DANGER ASSESSMENT:
- Physical Threat: Minimal (no combat record)
- Network Value: HIGH (direct access to villain supply chains)
- Flight Risk: EXTREME (demonstrated counter-surveillance expertise)
CURRENT STATUS: Subject remains at large. No recent confirmed sightings. Last known activity: 2012 (unconfirmed equipment sale, Kamino Ward).
INVESTIGATIVE NOTES:
Subject has successfully evaded law enforcement for 8+ years despite being a known entity. Demonstrates professional-level operational security. Any solid intelligence on this subject should be considered high priority.
---
LAST UPDATED: 2015-06-12
INVESTIGATING OFFICER: Det. Watanabe, K. (Ret.)
Tsukauchi stared at the file. Sixteen years of frustration compressed into a single document.
The blurry CCTV image stared back at him.
"We've had a file on him since 2009," Tsukauchi said, reading through the investigative notes. "Sixteen years. Three confirmed sightings. Two failed apprehension attempts. Zero witness statements." He looked up at Sato. "Until now."
"So Murasa's testimony is the first solid lead we've ever had on this guy?"
"The first cooperative lead." Tsukauchi pulled up the attached image—grainy and useless for facial recognition. Just a silhouette in an overcoat. "Every other time someone got close to identifying Giran, they either disappeared or suddenly developed amnesia about what he looked like."
He turned to the assembled officers, his voice carrying across the command room. "This is our chance. Maybe our only chance in years. I want a sketch artist with Murasa within the hour. Full composite. Facial features, build, distinctive characteristics, anything he can remember."
"Osaka PD can have someone there by eight," an officer reported.
"Make it happen." Tsukauchi pulled up a map of Kamino Ward on an adjacent screen. "Once we have the composite, we run facial recognition across every security camera in Kamino Ward for the last three months. If Murasa says Giran operates out of this district, and our file confirms the same operational area, that's where we focus everything."
"That's going to be hundreds of hours of footage," another officer warned. "Processing could take—"
"Four to six hours minimum," Tsukauchi finished. "Which is why we start now. Sato, is Mirko still there?"
"Huh? Um no. Her team is mainly made up of just her and a police squad ... She ditched the team the moment the villain was apprehended."
"I see. Coordinate with Osaka PD. I want that sketch completed and transmitted to us by ten PM at the latest."
"Yes sir."
"Everyone else, prep the facial recognition system. Set parameters for Kamino Ward, last ninety days, confidence threshold seventy-five percent or higher. The moment that sketch arrives, we run it."
Officers began moving immediately, pulling up surveillance networks, coordinating with other precincts, preparing processing protocols.
_
[OSAKA METROPOLITAN POLICE – HOLDING FACILITY – 8:17 PM]
Kaito Murasa sat in the interrogation room, handcuffs clinking against the metal table as he shifted uncomfortably.
The sketch artist ... a middle-aged woman with a sat across from him with a digital tablet and stylus. Behind her stood two officers and a recording device documenting everything.
"Let's start with the overall face shape," she said. "Was it round? Angular? Thin?"
Murasa, a hulk of a man gruffed irritably at his bandaged arms and legs.
He had barely been given emergency care when the police came back for this. Even at this moment, how he had ended up in such a state at the hands of a bunny bitch was beyond him.
"It was dark so don't expect my description to be all accurate."
"Rest assured, if your sketch proves to be of some use, you'll avoid the death penalty." He huffed even more. Previously, even as villains, the worst they would face was life imprisonment in Tartarus.
However, with the stunt pulled by that darned league, that was no longer the case. To appease public outrage, those with more severe crimes of murder would immediately get the death penalty instead of incarceration in Tartarus.
__
Enjoying the story? Want to read ahead?
Support the novel and unlock early access to unreleased chapters by joining my Patreon!
💧 WATER TIER (5$) – Read 3 chapters ahead of public releases
🌍 EARTH TIER ($7) – Read 5 chapters ahead, with bonus lore, author notes, and behind-the-scenes content
🔥 FIRE TIER ($10) – Read 8 chapters ahead, get full access to all extras, and vote in exclusive polls for bonus content
📎 Patreon.com/Future805
Even a small pledge makes a huge difference — thank you for reading