Tokyo people don't talk about Wude

Chapter 330 327. Rogue Lawyer and Bully Butcher

Noticing Kyushu Makoto's bewildered look, Officer Takagi asked quietly:

"Mr. Xi Shen, do you want to tell him about that?"

"It's okay, just tell him directly." Xi Shenjian nodded slightly and replied:
"Brother Jiuzhou is my assistant who has been through thick and thin with me. I brought him here this time hoping that he can help. Just tell him everything."

"In that case, both of you follow me." Officer Gao Mu suddenly turned to Jiuzhou Cheng and ordered: "There are more than two dozen people here, I will take you to a place with fewer people."

"Oh, I understand." Jiuzhou Cheng followed the two back to the police car.

After locking the car doors and windows and confirming that there was no fourth person nearby as if to prevent spies, Xi Shenjian spoke mysteriously:

"Brother Jiuzhou, I have something to tell you next. It is a sad and ridiculous thing that happened to me. Even the officials of this country are trying their best to conceal it and don't want anyone to know."

"Is this matter related to this case?" Jiuzhou Cheng asked carefully.

"It has a lot to do with it. As I said before, Mr. Xi Shen is likely to be an important breakthrough in this case." Officer Takagi interrupted, "The murderer of this murder case is very likely the revenge target that Mr. Xi Shen, no, Mr. Ida has been tracking."

"Mr. Ida?" Jiuzhou Cheng looked at Xi Shenjian strangely.

"That was my original surname, but it doesn't matter anymore. I have even abandoned my past appearance." Xi Shenjian slightly arched his back, pinched his wrists, and looked gloomy:
“The story probably starts from seven or eight years ago.”

"At that time, my name was still Ida Yuma. I was a small fry in the Foolish Company who was trained by the boss to become a gangster lawyer because I had read a law book and accidentally helped the club solve a legal dispute."

"However, as the mafia in my country was severely suppressed, the mafia organization I belonged to also announced its dissolution, and I completely cut off ties with the mafia. Looking back on that time, I did a lot of stupid things, but fortunately I didn't make any mistakes that were serious enough to go to jail."

"Then, I continued my activities as a freelance lawyer. Probably because I used to be a gangster, I was a rebellious bad man in the legal profession full of gentlemen and scholars. I received mixed reviews from the industry. I made a lot of friends, achieved a lot of amazing results, and also established a lot of opponents."

"[Rogue Lawyer Ida], that's what everyone called him at the time." Officer Takagi added:

"For the truth and his client's innocence, he went to investigate the crime scene in person, defended his client by any means necessary, and even dared to contradict the judge in court. This is extremely troublesome. However, in the eyes of some people, he should be a good lawyer who is extremely responsible to his client."

"No need for unnecessary praise, let's get to the point." Xi Shenjian covered his forehead and said:
"My life changed because of a trial seven or eight years ago, and my career ended at that time."

"What happened then?" Jiuzhou Cheng asked in surprise.

"At that time, there was a serial murder case in Tokyo that caused a sensation. The murderer was called the Bully Butcher." Xi Shenjian continued:

"As the name suggests, he is a killer who roams around Tokyo and specifically hunts down school bullies. There have been eight incidents, killing a total of 15 high school students. Each of the victims was brutally tortured before death, and after death, they were hung up with hemp ropes, with a sign on their chests that read [Bully should be killed]. Their deaths were extremely miserable."

"But even though he was a demon who killed countless people, many people praised him and called him a 'dark hero' who protected children. How ironic, since he killed those [underage demons] who bullied other children in school~"

"Then one day, the murderer was finally caught. He was a middle-aged man named Hijikata Hitoshi, a civil servant of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. His department was responsible for handling emergency incidents and complaints related to high schools in Tokyo."

"Soon, the police not only found evidence that he was the murderer, but also quickly deduced his motive for committing the crime."

"As an educator, Hijikata Hitoshi often receives complaints and reports of incidents related to school bullying."

"However, Wano Country's education sector takes school bullying very lightly. Even if Hijikata Hitoshi wants to help those bullied children, he cannot get enough resources and support, and many cases can only be dealt with perfunctorily. The victims cannot be saved, and the perpetrators cannot be punished due to the legal protection of minors and the neglect of society."

"The reason why Hijikata Hitoshi turned completely evil and became the Bully Butcher was that his beloved nephew was actually a long-term victim of school bullying. By the time he found out about this and wanted to stop it, the child had already jumped off the building and committed suicide because he couldn't bear the pressure. It was too late."

"So Hijikata Hitoshi decided to take revenge on the bullies in anger, but he knew that he couldn't give these children the punishment they deserved through legitimate means, so he decided to kill them violently. And he took advantage of his position as an insider of the Education Bureau to easily obtain the personal information of those students and choose the right time to assassinate them."

"Due to his sophisticated method of committing the crime and his proper post-processing, Hijikata Hitoshi's first crime did not arouse suspicion from the police. So, perhaps hoping for the best, he decided to commit a second crime."

"He found many parents of children who were also bullied, and at their instruction, he carried out revenge actions on their behalf, killing the culprits who bullied their children."

"It was not until the eighth case that Hijikata Hitoshi was exposed, and the police found evidence and arrested him."

"The above is the conclusion drawn by the police through investigation and reasoning. This is a serial murder case [where victims of school bullying are taking revenge on society]."

"Because the case caused a great social response, the trial was held very quickly. Probably because I am well-known in the industry, the defendant actually appointed me as the defense lawyer in this case."

"Logically speaking, this is a criminal case without any dispute, and all I have to do is to acknowledge the defendant's criminal facts and try to plead for a reduced sentence for him."

"Although I felt sorry for Mr. Hijikata at the time, murder is murder. Moreover, he is a serial killer who enjoys killing people, so no matter how noble the reason is, he cannot escape legal punishment."

"That's what I thought, but when I was re-investigating the scene, I accidentally found a crucial piece of evidence - evidence that could provide an alibi for the defendant and greatly contradict the police investigation."

"Besides, Hijikata Hitoshi was unwilling to admit that he had killed anyone even when facing coercive interrogation by the police. This aroused my suspicion. I began to wonder if he was framed."

"Maybe the real murderer is someone else, and he is just a scapegoat who was pushed out to die. I suddenly became suspicious at that time."

"From then on, my goal changed from defending Hijikata Hitoki's sentence reduction to defending his innocence." "Then after my careful investigation, more and more evidence surfaced, proving that Hijikata Hitoki could not be the murderer. And when I met with him for the fifth time, he also told me frankly that he was framed."

"Then... after a court battle that was comparable to a suspenseful mystery drama, I worked day and night to successfully obtain proof of innocence for Hijikata Hitoshi."

"Haha, the prosecutor who was my opponent was so angry that he fainted. After all, this is a country with a conviction rate of 99.9% in criminal cases. If a prosecutor loses a criminal case, he will be nailed to the pillar of shame. And I became famous because of this and became a famous ace lawyer in Tokyo."

Jiuzhou Cheng was silent for a moment, then asked, "So has the real murderer been caught?"

"Of course the real murderer has not been caught. I just fought for the innocence of Hijikata Hitoshi." Xi Shenjian shook his head, his eyes solemn:

"But [the truth] is an absolutely fair and just scale, but it is also a poison that makes people greedy and die. It is precisely because I am too obsessed with pursuing the truth, but I don't have the ability to truly touch the truth. So soon, my retribution came."

"Two months after the trial, the Bully Butcher struck again, using the same killing method and the same target, but..."

"This time, the serial killer revealed his true identity to the public through a social networking site. His true identity is Hijikata Hitoshi, the man I had fought for to have an acquittal."

"He said the police's initial inference was completely correct, and even his arrest was because he wanted to surrender himself, so he deliberately revealed some clues."

"However, he arranged a series of false evidence in advance, entrusted me, a [rogue lawyer] who was obsessed with pursuing the truth, to defend him, and lured me to discover these evidences, so as to manipulate me to obtain a not guilty verdict for him."

"He also published his modus operandi, which was exactly the same as the police's previous investigation results, and even more detailed than what the police had. So the police can conclude that the murderer is him."

"He claimed that the reason for his series of farces was to criticize the corrupt judicial system. He wanted to prove that our judicial system was so weak that it allowed a murderer to escape from under our noses, not to mention protecting the young people of our country who were being bullied."

"When the police tried to arrest him again, he had already disappeared without a trace. I'm afraid he had fled to a foreign country."

"In fact, there are many suspicious points about him, such as whether there are other helpers behind him. After all, although I discovered the so-called false evidence, I also submitted it to the court for notarization and it passed smoothly. It is not something that a civil servant of the Ministry of Education can do to create false evidence that is enough to deceive the entire judicial system."

"But there is no doubt that he succeeded. Although the authorities tried their best to suppress the incident, the entire judicial system was still embarrassed by him. Many relevant personnel were suspended or punished. A big figure in the court seemed to have been forced to resign because of this incident."

"Then, I went from being a famous lawyer who could obtain acquittals to a murder lawyer. Although my lawyer's license was not revoked, it was impossible for me to continue working in this field."

"You didn't kill the murderer lawyer!" Jiuzhou Cheng said indignantly, "Why do you have to bear the crime of murder?"

"Public opinion, it's amazing, isn't it?" Xi Shenjian said self-deprecatingly:
"The public doesn't know that I am also a victim. They only know that I am an evil lawyer who helped murderers get acquittals and caused more deaths. People in the judicial community also need to shirk responsibility and use me as a scapegoat to prove that this farce has nothing to do with them."

"But if you ask me, I was also at fault. I was too conceited at the time and thought I must be the chosen one who could create a miracle of innocence. I ignored the advice of my colleagues and the procuratorate and was determined to find the so-called truth."

"By the way, I was one of the police officers involved in the case at the time, and I became friends with Mr. Ida during the investigation." Officer Takagi folded his arms and said:

"From my perspective, although Mr. Ida was a little impulsive at the time, all his actions were well-intentioned. It's just that everyone was fooled by the real murderer, which is really helpless."

"I still don't understand whether the incident was a victim's revenge on society, or whether it was mixed with more complicated things, such as some power struggle. The more I think about it, the more horrified I feel." Xi Shenjian sighed and said angrily:

"But I know that I was definitely used in that incident and became a pawn for someone to achieve some dirty goal. They messed up my life, and I could only swallow the loss in silence. I will never accept this kind of thing."

"So I changed my name and had plastic surgery, then continued to lurk in Tokyo as a detective, secretly investigating this series of events, trying to find the truth of the year. I cut off all ties with my former acquaintances, except for those I trusted."

"So, Mr. Xi Shen, who I have been working with, is actually a fake identity?" Jiuzhou Cheng asked.

"I guess so~ But you are someone I trust now, so I told you all these things." Xi Shenjian smiled:

"As for the address, you should call me Xi Shen Jian from now on. After all, the name [Ida Yuma] will cause a lot of trouble."

"I understand." Jiuzhou Cheng nodded and said, "Then let's get back to this case. According to your description, could it be that this case was committed by the [Bully Butcher]?"

"Yes, I have been investigating for so long, I am sure that this is his modus operandi back then. I have studied it for seven or eight years, I am definitely not wrong. Even if the other party is a copycat, he must have been instructed by the real murderer, otherwise it would be really difficult to achieve such a similarity. Even details such as [the angles from which the whip and the knife should attack which part of the victim] are surprisingly similar." Xi Shenjian said confidently:
"But after so many years, why did [Bully Butcher] suddenly show up again? He was almost forgotten by the public, so why did he jump out again to provoke? Is he really not afraid that the police will catch him again?"

"It is precisely because of the constant doubts that I asked Mr. Xi Shen to assist in the investigation." Officer Gao Mu said:
"Although there were many people involved in the [Bully Butcher] case, only Mr. Xi Shen has been investigating it for seven or eight years. If there is anyone more suitable to investigate this case, it must be Mr. Xi Shen."

"I see. I completely understand." Jiuzhou Cheng clapped his fist and said affirmatively:

"For Mr. Xi Shen, this case is like settling both new and old grudges, right?"

"That's right, I don't want to miss this opportunity. I've waited for so long, even if I fail again I don't want to give up." Xi Shenjian asked seriously:
"After listening to all my nonsense, are you still willing to continue to assist me in investigating this case? Please be advised that I am not sure what dangers you will encounter, but I will definitely give you a good share of the commission, as always."

Jiuzhou Cheng smiled slightly: "Mr. Xi Shen has helped me a lot, and we have experienced many dangers together. There is no need to be shy about this kind of thing, of course I did it!"

"I'm really grateful, Brother Jiuzhou." Xi Shenjian extended his hand with relief and shook his hand vigorously: "I'll ask you to help me this time as well."

(End of this chapter)