The Japan International Summit was held once every three years.
It was more than a diplomatic conference. It was a window through which the nation presented itself to the world.
Heads of state, political dignitaries, and representatives of financial conglomerates gathered under one roof. The global media turned their cameras toward Tokyo, and even the air seemed thick with the mingling of power and money.
In political circles, a saying went around-the party that hosted the current international summit would produce the nation's next leader.
It was no certainty, but the exposure, diplomatic influence, and access to international capital that came with hosting the summit were enough to give the ruling party every advantage in the coming election.
Donations from financial conglomerates and declarations of support from political heavyweights would flock in that direction like migrating birds.
The Kijima Family had hosted the previous two Japan International Summits.
Two successful summits had given the Kijima Faction an exceptionally strong position in the race for the next prime minister.
Although various circumstances had diminished its momentum in recent years, its foundations remained intact, its tangled network of connections reaching deep into both politics and business.
The Kijima Family owed its current standing partly to the rapid expansion brought on by hosting those two summits, and partly to the Advanced Nurturing High School it had established alongside the Tsurumi Family, which had cultivated a considerable number of political talents for the nation over the past twenty years.
And the girl Moon had rescued from the abandoned warehouse last time was none other than the Tsurumi Family's little princess.
As for why this summit was being hosted by the Cengfeng Family, which served under the Kijima Faction's rival, the Naoe Faction, whatever political negotiations had taken place behind closed doors remained unknown.
Still,