Chapter 42: The Heart Filled Entirely with Zhengyi

Before leaving for the United States, Nao Fujiwara saw the media’s positive coverage of Inspector Megure, which heavily praised the veteran police officer for his wisdom.

He was commended for remaining calm under pressure at the scene and cracking the case involving the poisoning of his superior's daughter.

Nao Fujiwara was utterly shocked.

He had just asked someone to have Muneshige Matsumoto investigate Masakazu, and immediately afterward, Muneshige Matsumoto's daughter was poisoned.

To say this had nothing to do with Masakazu—he would willingly drink the entire Pacific Ocean.

Looking at the newspaper singing high praises for Inspector Megure, Nao Fujiwara felt as nauseous as if he had swallowed a piece of shit.

Muneshige Matsumoto had already lost his influence within the Metropolitan Police Department.

Not only did he fail to pursue the true culprit after his own daughter was poisoned, but he also allowed extensive, positive coverage of a police officer who was entirely subservient to Masakazu.

What a useless piece of trash!

Nao Fujiwara crumpled the newspaper into a ball and tossed it into the trash can.

Such useless newspapers were only good for fooling the general public.

However, he could no longer go to the United States.

After a flicker of hesitation in his eyes, he picked up the phone. "Hello? Is this Mr. Masakazu? I feel that the prices for the theater chain I'm selling are still a bit too high. Given the current economy, I truly haven't the face to accept that much money.

Do you have time? I'd like to invite you to dinner again to renegotiate the price of the theater chain.

Very well, very well. I shall await your gracious arrival."

After hanging up the phone while bowing and scraping, Nao Fujiwara humiliatedly hammered his own thigh.

That bastard would certainly be able to trace who was stirring up trouble behind the scenes of this investigation. If he didn't want to be 'suicided,' he had no choice but to spend money to avert disaster.

"Damn it! It seems like truly no one can keep Masakazu in check!" Nao Fujiwara said with sorrow.

He holds the sky in one hand and acts completely above the law!

The Sumitomo family's main base was clearly in Osaka; how could this guy be so unashamedly arrogant and domineering in Tokyo?

"Sir, would you like to buy a newspaper?"

"Get lost! I don't need one!" Nao Fujiwara glared angrily at the fellow who had stepped forward to sell newspapers.

"The newspaper covers the incident with Inspector Megure of the Metropolitan Police Department, and it's even related to a certain chaebol heir."

"Hmm?"

Nao Fujiwara wore a puzzled expression. How dare they mention that man in the newspaper? Does your publishing house have some kind of backing?

"Let me see it," Nao Fujiwara said.

"Here you go."

Koike handed the newspaper to Nao Fujiwara.

Although his job did not include promoting newspapers, his inner sense of justice made him unable to resist wanting more people to know the truth.

The public should not live inside a reality woven by chaebols and officials.

Upon seeing the newspaper, Nao Fujiwara grew instantly excited.

How could there still be a newspaper publishing house in Tokyo this daring?

"Has your publishing house not been given a hard time?" Nao Fujiwara couldn't help asking.

Koike said devoutly, "Although the editor-in-chief says no, I know he must be hiding it from us so we won't worry. He is bearing everything on his own."

Even someone as heartless as Nao Fujiwara was moved by them.

Daring to face immense pressure to expose Masakazu's evil deeds—now that was a truly good newspaper!

"Give me another hundred copies! I want everyone I know to see this newspaper!" Nao Fujiwara said firmly.

Such a conscientious newspaper deserved full support!

"Thank you for your support!" Koike said excitedly.

Koike was thrilled to have successfully added a new subscriber to the publication.

Filled with a great sense of achievement, he walked back to his workstation.

Not long after he sat down, their editor-in-chief walked in with an excited expression, stood in the middle of the room, and cheered loudly, "The circulation of our newspaper has reached 500,000 copies!"

"Woohoo~"

"Justice lives forever!"

For the Justice Daily, which was still a regional newspaper at present, a circulation of 500,000 copies was already a remarkable achievement.

This showed that they had firmly established themselves in Tokyo and gained strong influence.

The Justice Daily dug deep into Tokyo's politics and commerce, seemingly possessing exclusive political sources that allowed people to see many things invisible in other newspapers.

And most importantly, the Justice Daily dared to speak the truth.

It spoke bluntly about the dark secrets buried by the government, and even specially hired political commentators to open columns, truly fulfilling the role of pleading on behalf of the common people.

The editor-in-chief clapped his hands to quiet his subordinates, then continued:

"With a daily circulation of 500,000 copies, we do not need to celebrate our success, nor do we need to celebrate how much profit our publishing house has made.

What we must celebrate is that at least 500,000 people have seen the truth of the matter!"

"Woo-hoo-hoo-hoo~"

The group of editors and reporters below burst into another wave of excitement.

A sense of accomplishment and social responsibility filled them completely. There was never a moment when they felt more excited and elated than now.

"Alright, everyone's bonuses will be distributed along with this month's salary," the editor-in-chief announced.

Another wave of even more enthusiastic cheers erupted from the crowd.

The editor-in-chief waved his hand to let them continue celebrating, then walked into his office.

Pleading for the people was their founding philosophy, and eternal justice was the professional ethics they upheld.

The editor-in-chief glanced at the contents of the newspaper and smiled faintly.

"As expected, those financial conglomerates couldn't care less about what others think."

...

"Mr. Masakazu, when I saw this newspaper, I was exceptionally angry!

I can hardly imagine that someone could harbor such immense malice to speculate about you and place you in such a whirlpool of public opinion.

The moment I saw the newspaper, I fiercely condemned that publishing house.

It is a publication that outwardly claims to speak for the people, but in reality smears you simply to attract readers—an utterly despicable and filthy newspaper!"

Nao Fujiwara spoke eloquently to Masakazu.

He kept harping on the baseness of that newspaper, analyzing from a deeper level its intention to smear Masakazu.

Even though that newspaper's righteousness made him look upon it with respect, Masakazu was sitting right across from him.

To save his own life, he had no choice but to throw this entity under the bus as a scapegoat.

Because the investigation had already made Masakazu extremely angry, he had to offer up something that would anger him even more, so as to divert Masakazu's attention away from himself.

Masakazu casually flipped through the contents above.

He showed no particular reaction; after all, much of the content above was written by his own hand.

"These newspapers always report untruthful things," Masakazu shook his head.

Yet, he couldn't deny that these untruthful reports were eye-catching enough.

"Exactly, this is simply going too far! Those guys who write these reports should be exiled to Siberia!" Nao Fujiwara said angrily.

Masakazu glanced at him sideways.

Why was this fellow jumping around so enthusiastically? Didn't he know the importance of freedom of speech?

He, Sumitomo Masakazu, was not some tyrannical person; would he go around silencing other people?

Aiko, who was listening quietly from the side, let out an almost imperceptible sigh.

A righteous newspaper was about to be crushed by Masakazu.