Chapter 78: A Collection of Contemporary Tragedies
"Anya, lunchtime!"
Anya had finished breakfast hours ago and retreated to her room, seemingly doing nothing in particular. It was already noon, and she still hadn't emerged.
"Oh~" came the listless response.
The bedroom door creaked open, revealing an utterly dejected little girl who nearly banged her head against the wall several times. Only Bond's vigilant nanny-like supervision prevented injury as she zombie-walked to the dining table.
"What's wrong?" Natsukawa touched Anya's forehead with concern. Nothing seemed amiss—her temperature was perfectly normal, no fever whatsoever.
On such a beautiful day, she shouldn't be this depressed.
"Papa, I'm fine. I just don't have much appetite right now."
With something clearly weighing on her mind, Anya's lips formed a small pout, and she ate significantly slower than usual.
Could she have developed some kind of food trauma after consuming Miss Yor's cooking?
"I'm full~"
Anya returned to her bedroom immediately after finishing lunch.
Natsukawa glanced at Anya's bowl. It was completely clean—definitely not indicative of loss of appetite or eating disorder.
Oh well, I'll address it when I get back.
Natsukawa was heading to a cocktail bar that afternoon and needed to leave soon.
What was the meeting about?
Simple!
Gin had returned from Hokkaido and emailed him early that morning, requesting a meeting at the cocktail bar that afternoon.
Natsukawa had provided crucial intelligence about Akai Shuichi this time. Although they hadn't succeeded in killing him, they'd at least dealt a significant blow to the FBI's operational influence in Japan. Because of this successful operation, he appeared to have genuinely infiltrated Gin's inner circle.
Looks like I'm getting a promotion, or at least my responsibilities will become substantially more important than before.
Natsukawa smiled outwardly while secretly feeling quite pleased internally.
Conan, you'd better hurry up with your investigation, or I'm genuinely afraid that when you finally lift the veil on the Organization, you'll discover that I've somehow become the boss.
The Cocktail Bar Meeting
The cocktail bar occupied the top floor of the Daikoku Building.
This was the first time Natsukawa had encountered any Organization member besides Vodka at this particular location.
The man was Kenzo Masuyama, chairman of an automobile company, also known by his codename Pisco—a veteran member of the Organization.
"Tequila, what brings you here?"
Pisco glanced at him with barely concealed displeasure evident in his expression.
"Pisco-san, good afternoon!"
Natsukawa greeted him casually, then entered the conference room alongside the older man.
Finally—Gin.
Black overcoat, silver hair, black fedora, his eyes sharp and penetrating like a predatory bird's.
Just sitting there motionlessly, he exuded a powerful aura of intimidation and authority.
Scanning around the conference room, Natsukawa counted four codename members present—good, now only the whiskey hadn't shown up yet.
Was it Irish whiskey, bourbon, or perhaps some Organization member called Baileys?
If the latter, that name sounds distinctly feminine.
Pisco's voice emerged slightly hoarse as he lit a cigarette, pointed at Natsukawa, and asked bluntly, "Gin, should Tequila really be involved in this operation?"
His tone was harsh, his expression deliberately inscrutable, clearly demonstrating his strong disapproval of Tequila's unexpected presence.
"I can handle this assignment perfectly well myself. At worst, I can request Ireland's assistance. I don't need to involve anyone else unnecessarily."
Natsukawa remained strategically silent, sitting down quietly without protest. Although he was directly being discussed, this internal power struggle had absolutely nothing to do with him personally.
He didn't even know what "this operation" actually entailed yet.
However, Pisco, I'll remember this disrespect.
I'll eliminate you when the opportunity presents itself! How dare you dismiss me so casually, old man. You're far too arrogant. You can't even secure adequate operational funding anymore—do you still genuinely deserve the boss's continued trust? You're ancient, Pisco. You're simply too old to handle certain responsibilities anymore.
"Gin, I believe—"
"However, Pisco, the Organization isn't a retirement home for has-beens past their prime," Gin interrupted coldly, showing absolutely no respect for the veteran member's seniority.
If the boss hadn't remained conspicuously silent on the matter, Gin would have replaced this obsolete fossil long ago. The Organization couldn't afford to provide comfortable retirement packages for useless dead weight.
Pisco snorted derisively. "The company's finances are experiencing temporary difficulties. As long as—"
"Enough. Gin isn't here to listen to your pathetic excuses and complaints, Pisco."
Vodka interrupted firmly, and the conference room fell into tense silence for several minutes. Everyone waited expectantly for Gin's next directive.
"Tequila, you performed admirably with the FBI operation. It's merely unfortunate you didn't successfully eliminate Akai Shuichi," Gin began, his voice cold and clinical. "However, because of this operation, the FBI's operational influence in Japan has been drastically weakened. Those annoying flies have temporarily disappeared, which means certain plans can now proceed unimpeded."
"What plans specifically?" Natsukawa's eyes lit up with genuine interest, sensing that Gin was about to reveal something remarkably significant.
Gin glanced meaningfully at Pisco, silently indicating he should explain the details to Tequila.
Pisco raised his eyelids with obvious reluctance, clearly displeased, but ultimately had no choice except to submit to Gin's absolute authority.
"It concerns the Hatamoto Group."
"The Hatamoto Group?" Natsukawa murmured thoughtfully, his brow furrowing briefly before relaxing with recognition.
He remembered now—someone from the Hatamoto Group appeared on Tequila's original business contact list.
The name was something like Hatamoto Shoji, the second son of Hatamoto Gozo, the current patriarch and head of the Hatamoto family fortune.
Additionally, the Organization maintained a courier company with direct ties to the Hatamoto Group. Was all of this carefully premeditated from the beginning?
"That's correct. Our primary target this time is the Hatamoto Group corporation itself," Pisco confirmed.
Pisco had said "Hatamoto Group," not merely "Hatamoto family," and Natsukawa immediately grasped this crucial distinction. So Gin is planning an aggressive corporate takeover? To actually target such a massive conglomerate—no wonder he's the ruthless operative who fires Gatling guns from Tokyo Tower and orchestrates helicopter attacks.
He simply didn't know yet exactly how the Organization planned to successfully seize control of the Hatamoto family empire.
Natsukawa listened with intense focus, terrified of missing even the smallest detail.
Pisco rambled on for quite some time, and Natsukawa gradually understood the general strategy.
The eldest daughter of the deceased eldest son of the Hatamoto family was Pisco's goddaughter, and Pisco now planned to exploit this familial relationship to gradually assume complete control of the Hatamoto Group's assets.
Natsukawa remembered this woman clearly. Frank had also provided him with comprehensive intelligence dossiers about the entire Hatamoto family. This person should be Hatamoto Akie.
However, didn't this woman have a husband?
A spiky-haired man who married into the family... I think his name is Hatamoto Tatsuo.
Unexpectedly, Natsukawa had only heard Vodka casually mention that Pisco maintained three goddaughters total, but their specific identities had never been disclosed. He certainly hadn't expected one of them to be a Hatamoto family heiress and potential corporate successor.
Natsukawa recalled that Hatamoto Akie dressed quite provocatively—very revealing clothing, excellent figure. The eldest granddaughter of the prestigious Hatamoto family is actually romantically involved with an elderly man like Pisco?
Is it because Pisco remains remarkably vigorous despite his advanced age?
Impressive. At seventy-one years old, he can still maintain such relationships. I wonder if Hatamoto Akie's spiky-haired husband is inadequate or if Pisco is simply exceptionally capable.
"Hatamoto Akie is actively disliked by the patriarch, Hatamoto Gozo. Aside from minimal monthly allowance, she receives virtually nothing from the family fortune and has accumulated enormous personal debts," Pisco explained with cold calculation.
"I've already promised her that after eliminating Hatamoto Gozo, I'll use her position to facilitate my rise to power within the corporation. That way, she'll not only acquire sufficient money to eliminate her debts but also inherit a substantial fortune."
Pisco's eyes flashed with ruthless intent.
This woman is merely a convenient stepping stone for me to devour the entire Hatamoto family empire. Once Hatamoto Gozo is dead, the group's assets will be systematically transferred offshore, and the Hatamoto family will rapidly become an empty corporate shell.
Giving her a portion of the money is purely temporary strategy. Once the plan reaches completion, this woman becomes entirely expendable.
So that's the scheme.
Natsukawa breathed a subtle sigh of relief. His moral values were somewhat corrected—this woman was only involved with Pisco for financial gain, which made the situation marginally more acceptable.
The Hatamoto family dynamics were absolutely dysfunctional. Apart from Hatamoto Akie, virtually none of the other family members were well-regarded by the patriarch Hatamoto Gozo.
The eldest daughter actively wanted Hatamoto Gozo dead. The eldest son and second daughter were romantically involved and willing to commit patricide to be together. The eldest daughter's husband desperately wanted to leave the Hatamoto Group and establish his own independent business. The second son was determined to abandon the family fortune to become a professional chef. The eldest granddaughter was conducting an affair with Pisco. The second granddaughter had married the son of her family's sworn enemy.
Their family's interpersonal entanglements were so catastrophically chaotic that any competent screenwriter could probably develop an entire dramatic television series spanning multiple seasons based solely on their dysfunction.
Good grief.
Hatamoto Gozo.
A living collection of contemporary Greek tragedies.
(End of Chapter 78)
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