Inverting the Heavenly Dipper

As the Akasaka Unit and Aoki Unit restarted their investigation, Shiraishi was naturally not idle waiting for reports; all departments were busy.

Reporters, catching wind of the situation, flocked to the Beika Police Station, making the entrance quite lively. Section Chief Maruo of the Police Affairs Division was using interview procedures to hold them back, and Shiraishi had no intention of giving interviews at this time.

Within the Metropolitan Police Department, the Police Affairs Department and the General Affairs Department were separate. The former included the Intelligence Division, Document Section, Accounting Division, Facilities Division, and so on. In short, it managed finances and records. The latter, on the other hand, managed personnel, public opinion, and propaganda, including arranging interviews.

At the police station level, there was no dedicated General Affairs Division to correspond; the Police Affairs Division was responsible for everything.

Shirai Jo's "improper investigation" was now a certainty, but whether it was an "improper investigation due to procedural errors" or a "false accusation with incorrect conclusions and procedures" made a significant difference...

Most importantly, Shiraishi did not want this to affect the progress of the case!

Due to the strong public outcry, Shiraishi was now facing pressure from all sides and needed to buy time for the investigation!

And just after Akasaka and Aoki left, the Prosecution also called...

"Chief Shiraishi, is it? This must be our first time speaking, but I've long heard of your great reputation... I am Karimago, the Second Vice-Minister of the Tokyo Prosecutor's Office!" Karimago said with a rather sarcastic tone.

Shiraishi was not surprised by his attitude.

After all, Shiraishi had directly overturned the Minister of Justice's table before, and a high-ranking prosecutor like Karimago would not view such an action favorably.

In comparison...

Ganto Kaiji was the truly abnormal one!

That was why Shiraishi felt that fellow's ambition was unusually large.

"Vice-Minister Karimago is too kind," Shiraishi replied, pretending not to notice the sarcasm.

The Tokyo Prosecutor's Office had one Chief Prosecutor and three Vice-Ministers. The Second Vice-Minister was specifically in charge of criminal prosecution, making him the prosecutor's office supervisor who interacted most with the Metropolitan Police Department!

In terms of rank, compared to the Metropolitan Police Department, the Second Vice-Minister of the Prosecutor's Office was equivalent to a Deputy Superintendent General, specifically overseeing the Criminal Investigation Department. Normally, the Metropolitan Police Department had two Deputy Superintendents General, but one position was currently vacant. The former Deputy Superintendent General who concurrently served as the Head of the Criminal Investigation Department had just been removed. Odagiri's qualifications to become a Deputy Superintendent General were still too junior; he could only be considered a "reserve," waiting for his experience to catch up.

Although there was no superior-subordinate relationship between the Prosecution and the Police, the Prosecution could, at any time, assign the police to assist in investigations or supplementary investigations. After the police investigated, they had to submit the case to the Prosecution for processing. The Prosecution held a certain degree of command authority in cases, and the decision to prosecute or not rested with the Prosecution. Therefore, the Prosecutor's Office had always implicitly looked down upon the Metropolitan Police Department.

This was especially true for the Second Vice-Minister looking down on the chief of a small local police station...

Karimago's current attitude was already considered "wary" of Shiraishi Kuro, that ruthless individual!

If Ebihara had answered the phone, Karimago would probably have started yelling directly...

"The pressure on Chief Shiraishi must be considerable with this case being sent back for retrial, right? Although you've only just taken office, the public won't care about that," Karimago asked, feigning concern.

Indeed, although the name "Shiraishi Kuro" was very popular a month ago, ordinary people had long forgotten who Shiraishi Kuro was.

"Yes, but it's what we deserve... I am confident that I can lead the Beika Police Station through this scandal and regain the public's trust." Shiraishi did not follow his lead but instead became somewhat "high-sounding."

"Heh heh, it's good that Chief Shiraishi has this intention... The Prosecution's 99.9% win rate in criminal cases is also the result of our joint efforts. Let's continue to work together to maintain judicial justice in the Eastern Island Nation! We will do our utmost to address the minor flaws in this case, and it will require the cooperation of the Beika Police Station..." Karimago said suggestively to Shiraishi.

"That's right, we must jointly uphold judicial justice... I hope that next time the Prosecution discovers omissions in a submitted report, they will provide timely feedback!" Shiraishi said directly.

Karimago: ???

Do you even know what you're saying?

The Criminal Affairs Division of your station wrote the submitted report like this, and you're blaming us, the Prosecution?

It has always been the Prosecution that obstructs the police with submitted reports. This is the first time I've heard someone accuse us of not being strict enough in our review. Do you want to think about who will be begging whom in the future?

Are you trying to turn things upside down?

Karimago was full of complaints and didn't even know where to begin!

"Regarding this case, our station has organized a reinvestigation. The police officers suspected of improper investigation have been suspended. I will share the subsequent investigation results with the Prosecution at any time... As for the scandal at our station, Vice-Minister Karimago need not worry; I will take responsibility!" Shiraishi stated directly.

Karimago: ...

For most chiefs of police in Tokyo, "Karimago" was more difficult to deal with than "Ganto Kaiji." However, for Shiraishi...

Since he had taken the initiative to assume leadership responsibility for this matter, it was normal for the Area Chief Superintendent to have questions, and Shiraishi was prepared.

But you, the Second Vice-Minister of the Prosecutor's Office... we are not in the same department!

In Shiraishi's view... you and Shirai share half the blame for this. His submitted report had problems, but didn't you approve it too? Why should I be polite to you?

Shiraishi's toughness, however, caught Karimago off guard.

He had originally intended to coordinate with Shiraishi to solidify the defendant's guilt and prevent any damage to the Prosecution's conviction rate!

This should have been in both their best interests...

After all, would it look good for such a big figure to bow and apologize?

If the police chief had been Ebihara instead of Shiraishi, it wouldn't have been a matter of "coordination"; Karimago would have been pointing fingers and giving orders.

However, Karimago still harbored some apprehension towards Shiraishi Kuro, who had previously overturned the Minister of Justice!

Especially now...

Even the Commissioner General, Karimago did not believe, would dare to speak to him like this.

Yet, Shiraishi Kuro admitted to the scandal directly, leaving Karimago with little recourse.

If Ebihara had been this tough, Karimago would have gone to the Commissioner General today to discuss sidelining or even investigating this scandal-ridden police chief!

However...

Shiraishi Kuro, as a professional, as a "hero" who had overturned the Minister of Justice, had already pushed the boundaries of the rules by being assigned to a local police station. Within the implicit rules, he could not be further punished. Otherwise, reporters would eagerly report on "police hero allegedly retaliated against" news, and more importantly, it would break the bottom line of their struggle, which would benefit no one.

Karimago also cursed inwardly, feeling that Shiraishi Kuro should not have been placed in a local police station but in some obscure department where he would have no access to power or specific duties!

But now, it was too late...

At this point, Shiraishi Kuro was "invincible" as long as he wasn't caught with a serious handle!