Chapter 55: Karasawa: The Advantage is Mine!

Entering the subway station, Karasawa avoided the rushing crowds of commuters and students, slowly winding his way twice through the labyrinthine Shibuya station exits until he reached a restroom entrance marked with a "Closed for Maintenance" sign.

Glancing down at his email to confirm the details, he bypassed the sign and stepped into the men's room.

Shuichi Akai, a cigarette dangling from his lips, was leaning against the wall on the opposite side.

"Do you need something... Mr. Akai?" Karasawa weighed his options for a moment, still finding other forms of address awkward, and settled on a less intimate title.

Shuichi Akai paused, stubbed out his cigarette, and without correcting his choice of address, simply said, "Your departure paperwork and fake identity are ready. In ten days, your exit can be arranged... Akazora, you need to prepare your escape as soon as possible."

Karasawa pressed his lips together, keeping silent instead of agreeing, and countered with a question of his own: "Are you planning to do something dangerous?"

Shuichi Akai smiled faintly. "Yes, as I told you before, I am carrying out an undercover mission. Right now, I have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity—it involves some risk, but it is worth a try. However, success or failure, once this operation concludes, it will be very difficult for me to maintain my cover or guarantee your safety."

"...Is it really necessary?" Karasawa hesitated, words trailing off.

In truth, Shuichi Akai rushing in to have a mutual-destruction showdown with Gin was hardly a cost-effective move.

Perhaps the arrival of Karasawa's parents in this world had altered the variables, as Shuichi Akai's undercover identity had not been exposed years ago. By now, he was certainly in a much stronger position than when his cover was blown in the original manga. After all, a super-human like Rei Furuya had never truly defeated him in a serious clash, and his capabilities were easily a match for the organization's top operative, Gin.

"I have no choice but to go." Shuichi Akai shook his head. Looking at Karasawa, he finally decided against hiding the truth and spoke honestly. "I told you before that I entered the organization through the introduction of my aunt and uncle. Although our blood relation was never discovered, ever since they passed away, the organization has conducted rigorous screenings of everyone in their interpersonal network. How much longer I can remain hidden is extremely uncertain. Time is running out for me; I have to take this gamble."

Karasawa let out a deep sigh.

He desperately wanted to tell Shuichi Akai straight to his face: Why not swap out your backup for this operation? Your teammates are genuine dead weight. The moment anything happens to you, Rei Furuya is going to chase you down from three hundred miles away with a gun, and the situation will become completely uncontrollable...

Unfortunately, he couldn't say any of that.

"Then please be extremely careful." Karasawa closed his eyes briefly and said, "Before you make your move, do me the favor of letting me know."

Since this collision was unavoidable, Karasawa could only use the opportunity to his advantage and lay bricks for his own plans.

Catching the underlying meaning in his words, Shuichi Akai was slightly stunned. "You aren't planning to leave?"

"That's right." Karasawa nodded, his tone resolute. "You have your plans, and I have mine. I won't let Mom and Dad die in vain like this, nor will I run away carrying a false stigma."

Shuichi Akai frowned tightly, studying Karasawa with a piercing gaze.

This child showed not a single trace of emotional instability, no outward display of anger or hatred. He didn't seem to be acting on impulse, and his words were clear and calm—clearly the result of careful deliberation.

"Your strength is hardly enough to oppose them. Especially in Japan. You've experienced it yourself; they operate wildly in the shadows, their roots deeply embedded in this soil. There is very little you can accomplish entirely on your own."

"I know."

"Especially since you are still a minor. I don't know what your aunt and uncle taught you, but an individual's power is minuscule when facing such a behemoth."

"I know."

"And yet you still insist?" Shuichi Akai sighed.

"You're well aware of all these truths yourself... Big Brother Shu?" Karasawa switched to a different form of address. "Then why did you infiltrate them all alone?"

"I am not entirely alone. I have massive backing and protection supporting me from behind the scenes. I have an exit strategy, contacts, and personnel and resources at my disposal..."

"And aren't I the same? Behind me... don't I have all of you?" Karasawa grinned, his smile radiant.

No one understood the organization's chronic issue with internal infiltration better than Karasawa. Even if he didn't trust himself, Karasawa completely trusted the organization's HR department. Their infiltration density was high enough to make MI6 shudder and the KGB nod in professional recognition.

There was truly nothing left to fear!

Karasawa's light blue eyes reflected the overhead lights, burning like a quiet candle flame, brightly piercing the darkness. Looking at Karasawa's expression, Shuichi Akai couldn't help but laugh softly.

"I don't know what you're relying on... but fine, if you are truly determined." Remembering the Miyano sisters trapped deep in the mire, Shuichi Akai felt a pang of sorrow. "This escape route of yours is an opportunity many people can only dream of—don't waste it. I just hope you won't live to regret your choice."

Karasawa flashed a wide grin, then let his expression turn slightly serious. "However, if you have the means to smuggle someone out of Japan, I need your help with a favor."

Shuichi Akai was somewhat surprised. He knew very well that Karasawa had no remaining ties left to anchor him within Japan. Could Karasawa have developed some close interpersonal relationship during his time in Tokyo?

"Tell me about your plan, and who it is you want to send away." Shuichi Akai straightened up, his demeanor turning serious as well.

"Relax. He's crucial to my plan, but in himself, he's nobody important." Karasawa took out his phone, tapped the screen, and forwarded a file to Shuichi Akai's email inbox.

Shuichi Akai pulled out his phone and received the photos and information Karasawa had sent.

As he carefully flipped through the emails, Karasawa softly asked, "Did you know that the organization has a mid-level member in Tokyo who is a member of the Diet?"

"A mid-level member... Which one?" Shuichi Akai caught sight of the photo in the attachment. It showed a gloomy-looking teenage boy with bangs long enough to obscure his eyes.

Karasawa wore the arrogant smile of someone about to drop massive spoilers, pronouncing clearly: "Shigenhiko Tomokuni."

---

"What does Karasawa's report say?" Rei Furuya, dressed in a sharp suit, walked from the Public Security Bureau's underground parking garage into the secure elevator, rendezvousing with Yuya Kazami, who was waiting to greet him.

"There's nothing out of line in the report. Karasawa seemed to be in good condition." Yuya Kazami rubbed his temples as he recalled their afternoon meeting.

To be frank, young Akazora was truly a handful. Now, whenever Kazami saw his face, his liver instinctively ached; he had nearly failed to maintain his dignified composure that afternoon.

"Have you submitted it yet?"

"Not yet. I wanted to wait for your review and confirmation before filing it."

"Good." Rei Furuya rolled up his cuffs and curled his lip. "Write my guardian report along with it. You don't need to scrub it clean like yours; you can include a brief description of instances where his actions were unconventional or slipped outside a guardian's line of sight. I need to introduce a few negative elements to make it convincing to the organization."

Really? Yuya Kazami glanced sideways at the back of his superior's head. Why did he feel like there were personal motives mixed in there?

These days, life was hard for everyone in Zero, and Rei Furuya had been thoroughly tormented by Karasawa. Not only did he have to struggle to keep tabs on this hyperactive kid who constantly stumbled into major incidents, but he also had to prevent the organization from thinking his attitude was overly friendly—displaying just enough control over his "prisoner" was no easy feat.

Yet Kazami, well aware of his boss's temperament, dared not voice this suspicion aloud. He simply lowered his head and replied obediently, "Understood, Mr. Furuya."

"Are the materials prepared for the briefing?" Rei Furuya stepped out of the elevator first, striding briskly down the brightly lit corridor. At this moment, his aura was sharp and piercing, leaving no trace of the gentle-natured café worker he usually portrayed.

"Everything is ready for your arrival."

"Good work." He opened the meeting room door. The entire room was shrouded in darkness, save for a bright projection cast onto the screen at the front.

Projected largely on the screen was a bold title:

"Investigation, Analysis, and Compilation of Cases Involving Phantom Thief Joker."