Okiya Subaru lowered his head, not daring to respond. All he could think was that Uzo's phrase "capable subordinate" could easily be replaced with "entertainment he wanted to see."
As he waited uneasily, the Man in Black across from him lightly adjusted his sunglasses and finally spoke.
"Don't make work seem so difficult. Learn to enjoy life, enjoy work—generally speaking, over the next two years, you only need to do two things. First, return to Tokyo and, as you were doing some time ago, take shifts with Akai and continue being an 'ordinary' Peripheral Member."
The moment Okiya Subaru heard the name "Akai," his heart skipped a beat. He had not replied to the email Akai Shuichi had sent earlier, and coupled with the mysteriously appearing "Miss Misa," Mr. Akai must have already noticed that something was wrong. He was likely breaking free of the organization's control and trying to observe the situation from the shadows.
Logically speaking, an alert FBI Ace like him should not be easily caught in the organization's clutches again.
Yet Uzo had used the word "take shifts," as though he was absolutely certain that Akai Shuichi would become his subordinate as well.
Okiya Subaru: "..." He had already gained a profound understanding of Uzo's terrifying nature back at the Magic Venue.
But when he thought about his past interactions with Akai Shuichi, the FBI Ace... the thought of Mr. Akai eventually becoming Uzo's puppet still gave him a chilling, deeply disorienting feeling.
In Okiya Subaru's mind, those two should have been evenly matched. But now...
"As for the second thing you need to do."
Before he had much time to let his thoughts run wild, Uzo's voice sounded again. "You've paid attention to the cases Jiang Xia has solved, haven't you?"
Okiya Subaru jolted back