Chapter 726 Doubts

 “No, I don’t doubt Miyazaki-kun.” Naito Kotsubo shook his head.

Hyoutaro Imamura sat on the armchair, crossed his hands on the table, and motioned for Naito Kotsubo to continue.

"Professor Taniguchi arrived in Shanghai secretly, knowing that he only had a limited number of people coming to Shanghai." Tsubasa Naito said, "However, the gunman was able to find Professor Taniguchi's stay so accurately, and went directly to the door of Sakura Guesthouse disguised as a camera hawker. Refugee murders, that says something.”

 “Refugee?” Imamura Hyotarō heard this keyword and asked immediately.

“The assassin had a Western appearance. His clothes were clean but a little shabby. The camera he was selling was older, but it was well maintained,” Naito Tsubasa said.

He carefully considered his words and continued, "Mr. Counselor must have heard about what happened in Germany. Mr. Hojo suspected that this person was a Jewish refugee who fled to Shanghai from Europe."

Hyoutaro Imamura fell into deep thought. The situation Naito mentioned was something he had not noticed before.

“Is there any evidence to support this judgment?” Imamura Hyoutarou asked.

"People have been arranged to go to the gathering areas of those people to investigate." Naito Kotsubo said.

 …

Hyoutaro Imamura nodded.

“So, do you think that the gunman was instigated by someone else, and that the instigator behind the scenes was someone who was familiar with Taniguchi-kun, or even someone close to him who leaked his whereabouts?” Hyōtaro Imamura asked.

"Yes, Counselor." Naito Kotsubo nodded, "Other than this explanation, I can't think of any other reason."

“But you forgot one thing.” Hyoutaro Imamura shook his head, “Kentaro doesn’t know about Taniguchi-kun coming to Shanghai.”

"That's exactly what I want to say. I don't doubt Miyazaki-kun for one reason." Tsubasa Naito said, "When I talked with Miyazaki-kun, I didn't mention the assassination of Professor Taniguchi. According to my observation, Miyazaki-kun really knows nothing about this."

Imamura Hyoutarou shook his head. Naito did not tell the truth. Naito should have some suspicions about Kentaro, so Naito concealed the news that Taniguchi was killed, and then eliminated Kentaro's suspicion through secret observation.

 Among his subordinates, followers and students, Kentaro Miyazaki has the best relationship with Junji Ono of the Marine Corps. He also has a good relationship with Kazuo Saito, but his relationship with Hidetoshi Hojo and Tsubasa Naito is relatively average.

Hojo is a rather old-fashioned person. He is not targeting Kentaro Miyazaki. Hojo treats everyone coldly.

Only Tsubasa Naito seems to have deliberately kept some distance from Kentaro Miyazaki, or the relationship is generally visible to the naked eye.

 …

"Professor Taniguchi is a famous scholar, and he is registered with the cabinet." Hyōtaro Imamura said, "I have already reported this matter to Mr. Iwai, and he has called Sanbonjiro, and the matter has been forwarded to Sanbonjiro. Your special high school class will come to investigate."

 He glanced at Naito Tsubasa and said, "In view of the relationship between Kentaro and Taniguchi-kun, I recommend to Mr. Iwai that Kentaro participate in investigating this matter."

Naito Tsubasa frowned slightly. According to his opinion, it would be best for Miyazaki Kentaro to avoid suspicion during the investigation of this matter.

"Kentaro is loyal to the empire, and Taniguchi-kun is his teacher. I can't think of any reason why he might be involved in Taniguchi-kun's assassination." Hyoutarou Imamura looked deeply at Naito Kotsubo, "Naito, be careful when doing things. That’s right, but you can’t doubt your colleagues without reason.”

“Mr. Counselor, I didn’t—” Naito Kotsubo quickly explained.

 “We must unite sincerely.” Imamura Hyōtaro waved his hand, interrupted Naito Kotsubasa’s words, and said meaningfully.

Kentaro is sincere, cheerful and generous. He and Naito have a bad relationship, so the responsibility is naturally unlikely to lie with Kentaro.

"Hai." Naito Xiaoyi sighed in his heart, bowed, stood at attention, bent down and nodded.

 …

 “Brother Fan, the matter is done.” Hao Zai got into the car and reported.

Faced with Cheng Qianfan's strong "attack", Xia Wenqiao could only "cut his flesh" to make amends. Half of the goods in Bai Saizhong Road's warehouse now bear the surname Cheng.

 Xiao Cheng was always very considerate of his friends. In the end, he did not let Xia Wenqiao spend money to buy back the goods, but directly asked for half of the goods.

Of course, Xia Wenqiao may not appreciate it. As the situation becomes more tense and goods become more scarce, he may be willing to spend money to buy back his own goods.

“Fang Hui’s pistol didn’t leave any flaws, right?” Cheng Qianfan asked.

“It was handled very cleanly,” Hao Zai said. “The southern pistol itself is relatively easy to jam and will not arouse suspicion. Lao Ta is a master. Even if they disassemble the gun, they will not find anything.”

Cheng Qianfan nodded. Lao Ta is a firearms master of the Shanghai Special Situation Group and has superb skills.

 “Where’s Hua Zi?” he asked.

"Everything is according to the predetermined plan. What Huazi knows is that we deliberately tampered with the guns because Team Leader Xiao's purpose was not to kill Cheng Qianfan, but to intensify Cheng Qianfan, Xia Wenqiao, and Zhang Xiaolin The conflict between them makes them dog eat dog."

 Speaking of "dog eat dog", Hao Zai chuckled.

 “You’re laughing your **** off.” Cheng Qianfan scolded Hao Zai, but he also laughed, “You didn’t leave any clues.”

"No." Hao Zai shook his head, "According to Brother Fan's instructions, we have been planning this for a long time. Hua Zi took the opportunity to mention Fang Hui to Zhan Si in private before. Zhan Si said that Hua Zi was close to Fang Hui. Instigating Fang Hui to take action against Brother Fan is tacit approval."

 Cheng Qianfan nodded with satisfaction. He threw a cigarette to Hao Zai. He also took out a cigarette, but did not light it but played with it in his hand.

Hua Bingren’s chess piece had been laid out long ago. It was buried very deep, so there was little chance that something would go wrong.

 …

“Araki-kun, here are all the intelligence, relevant files, and confessions about the assassination of Professor Taniguchi.” Hidetoshi Hojo shook hands with Araki Harima and handed over the relevant files.

Araki Harima flipped through the files casually, without looking up, and asked, "Hojo-kun, have you found out the identity of the shooter?"

“Not yet.” Hidetoshi Hojo shook his head, “However, we have arranged for people to go to the Jewish gathering area to investigate.”

"Do you suspect that this person is one of those refugees from Europe?" Araki Harima pointed to the photo in the file, which was a photo of the gunman's body.

“It’s just a suspicious direction.” Hidetoshi Hojo said.

Araki Harima nodded noncommittally, "Professor Taniguchi's students, and this..."

As he spoke, he glanced at the name on the file and asked, "Where's Yoshino Sakamoto from the Consulate General?"

"They have been placed in the guest house. Araki-kun can ask them for questions at any time if necessary."

"Hojo-kun, the arrangements are very good, thank you." Araki Harima smiled, and shook hands with Hojo Hidetoshi again, "Hojo-kun, please stay."

When Araki arrived at the guest house, Araki Harima did not immediately ask the relevant personnel. He first borrowed the phone number at Sakura Guest House and reported the situation to Sanbonjiro at the Super High School Headquarters.

In the past, Araki Harima probably would not have thought of reporting the situation first. He would have interviewed relevant personnel before reporting to Sanbonjiro.

Miyazaki, this guy, after becoming friends with this guy, I really became the kind of guy I hated the most back then.

 He had previously looked down upon people who were flattering and asking for instructions on everything.

Araki Harima smiled and shook his head.

 …

“Section Chief, yes, Hidetoshi Hojo from the Military Attaché Division of the Consulate General has handed over the relevant files to me.”

“There are not many clues. The gunman is a young man with a Western appearance and his identity is unknown.”

“The relevant personnel are also students of Hiroyuki Taniguchi, and one of them is Yoshino Sakamoto of the Consulate General who is responsible for the reception.”

“Yes, they are all subjects of the Empire. Two of them are members of the Empire’s ‘Pen Force’. The other woman and a man are students and assistants of Professor Taniguchi.”

“Sakamoto Yoshino is a staff member of the Consulate General. This person is one of Counselor Imamura’s close assistants.”

 “There is another situation.” Araki Harima said.

“Professor Hiroyuki Taniguchi who was assassinated was a famous scholar in the empire. He also had another identity. He was a professor at Kobe University and was also Miyazaki-kun’s mentor when he was studying at Kobe University.”

"I know the situation you are talking about." Mimotojiro had a cold, and his voice was somewhat distorted on the phone because of a stuffy nose.

ˆ He is naturally aware of the relevant situation of Kentaro Miyazaki.

However, he was still very surprised when he learned that the person who was assassinated was Miyazaki’s teacher Hiroyuki Taniguchi.

“Section Chief, has Miyazaki-kun gone to see you?” Araki Harima asked.

He has also learned the news that Cheng Qianfan was shot at the door of Xianshi Department Store. According to Kentaro Miyazaki's habit, he will report the incident to Sanbonjiro in time.

"No." Sanbonjiro said, "Okay, don't worry about the situation in Miyazaki. Your first priority right now is to investigate the assassination of Professor Hiroyuki Taniguchi."

 “Hai.”

 …

Hearing Araki Harima hang up the phone, Sanbonjiro also put down the phone.

Recalling Araki Harima's concerned inquiry about Miyazaki's situation just now, Sanbonjiro shook his head and snorted again.

Hearing the news that Cheng Qianfan had been assassinated, Sanbonjiro was shocked. If something happened to Kentaro Miyazaki, the amount of red wine in his safe might be directly affected.

Of course, the most important thing is that this guy Miyazaki has always been loyal to him. If there are casualties, it will be regrettable.

Learning that Kentaro Miyazaki was in danger, Sanbonjiro was waiting for a call from Kentaro Miyazaki.

However, Kentaro Miyazaki never called. Instead, he waited for a call from the Imperial Consulate General in Shanghai, asking the Special Higher Education Section to send personnel to investigate the assassination of Professor Hiroyuki Taniguchi.

 Mimoto Jiro thought twice and arranged for Araki Harima, whom he trusted most, to go to Sakura Guest House to investigate the case of Hiroyuki Taniguchi.

 During this period of time, Sanbonjiro finally understood why Kentaro Miyazaki did not call in time or come to report the assassination to him immediately.

"Section Chief, Miyazaki-kun is here." Koike knocked on the door and came in, reporting.

 “Let him in.” Sanbonjiro said with a smile on his face.

 …

 “Search.” Cheng Qianfan saluted respectfully.

"You're not hurt anywhere, are you?" Sanbonjiro returned the salute and asked Kentaro Miyazaki.

"Thanks to the protection of Section Chief Hong Fu, my subordinates were not in danger." Cheng Qianfan showed a hint of fear, "If Fang Hui's bullet had not jammed, I would not have been able to see the Section Chief."

“Fang Hui is from Xia Wenqiao?” Sanbonjiro asked.

"Yes." Cheng Qianfan looked surprised, "You already know this before my subordinate reports to you, Section Chief?"

"I also know that Xia Wenqiao was not responsible for this, but you will kill Xia Wenqiao severely." Sanbonjiro said with a half-smile.

 “The section chief knows everything!” Cheng Qianfan said with an expression of admiration.

"Is this why you only wanted to make money after the accident, but did not report it to me immediately?" Sanbonjiro suddenly changed his face and became furious.

“Search, please listen to my explanation.” Cheng Qianfan smiled. “What I was thinking about at that time was to seize the time to attack Xia Wenqiao. If that opportunity passes...”

 “Asshole.” Sanbonjiro scolded, “Besides money, what else do you think about?”

“There is also my sincerity and loyalty to the section chief, and my passion for His Majesty Tian Huang!” Cheng Qianfan stood at attention and said loudly.

Sanbonjiro snorted heavily and did not reprimand him again.

Looking at Kentaro Miyazaki, Sanbonjiro suddenly remembered something. Did Miyazaki know about the assassination of Hiroyuki Taniguchi?

 Judging from Kentaro Miyazaki’s words and deeds, he should not be aware of this matter yet.

 Kentaro Miyazaki and Hyōtaro Imamura have a very close relationship. Why didn’t Hyōtaro Imamura inform Kentaro Miyazaki of the assassination of Hiroyuki Taniguchi immediately?

 Have you been busy for a while and forgotten?

impossible.

The teacher was assassinated. How could Imamura Hyoutarou forget to inform Miyazaki Kentaro about this student?

So, is there something delayed?

 Or is there another reason?

  Mihonjiro's face was calm, and he leaned back on the chair. He just looked at Miyazaki Kentaro, but he was already thinking about it in his heart.

 …

Araki Harima was walking in the corridor of the guest house. His expression was serious, but he was thinking about who to ask first, and what attitude and method to use.

Due to the assassination case, most of the guests in the guest house stayed in their rooms. The entire corridor was very quiet. Under the pale street lights, there was only the sound of riding boots on the ground, which added to the eerie feeling.

At this moment, a person walked out of the room in front of the corridor. This person looked at Araki Harima and said, "This is Captain Araki from the Extra High School Course."

The two men behind Araki Harima were also startled. They breathed a sigh of relief after seeing clearly who the person was.

 “I am Araki.” Araki Harima glanced at this person warily.

 One of his subordinates came over and whispered in Araki Harima’s ear.

“It turns out to be Assistant Naito from the Consulate General.” Araki Harima nodded. He glanced at the room Naito Tsubasa came out of just now. The furnishings in the room were very simple, with a few cigarette butts on the ground at the door.

 “Assistant Naito, have you been waiting for me?” Araki Harima asked.

"Exactly." Tsubasa Naito nodded, "Regarding the assassination of Professor Taniguchi, Hojo-kun and I investigated it together before. There are some situations that I hope to be able to report back to Captain Araki."

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 (End of this chapter)