I became Hokage in Tokyo

Chapters 226 & 227: Childhood Sweethearts No Match for a Sudden Arrival

"Ms. Suzuki, what's your purpose in buying this single-edged kitchen knife from the convenience store?"

Inside the interrogation room of the Obama City Police Station, a policewoman opened Suzuki Maika's handbag. Lipstick, a vanity mirror, a driver's license, and other small items were neatly arranged on the table. The most eye-catching item was a white, sheathed kitchen knife about an inch long.

When the kitchen knife was found, Suzuki Maika blinked, revealing a hint of panic, but quickly calmed down.

She pursed her lips and smiled:

"Officer, buying a kitchen knife isn't illegal, is it? Last night when I was going back to my guesthouse, a drunk man whistled at me, and I felt a little uneasy, so I thought I'd buy a knife for self-defense. After all, I'm a delicate young lady."

"Really? Where did you meet her? What did she look like?"

Suzuki Maika immediately recounted how she met tourists from out of town on a certain beach.

Anyway, the Mermaid Festival is crowded with tourists, and there are no surveillance cameras at that location, so there's no way to verify the facts. The Kohama City Police Department also has no way to disprove it.

In the morning, Suzuki Maika, Sakaki Nami, and Uchiha Naruto had just left the fishermen's guesthouse when they were summoned to the police station.

Suzuki Maika turned pale, thinking that her secret of drowning Yukako last night had been exposed, and she almost tried to flee.

But in the end, he calmed down, followed the police officers back to the police station, and improvised.

Fortunately, Okubo had hidden her diary in Nami Sakaki's backpack beforehand, otherwise it would have been troublesome if the police had found it.

The male police officer who was interrogating her asked a few more questions indirectly, but Suzuki Maika answered them all flawlessly.

"Officer, why did you summon me here? I need to know what I did wrong. I'm completely confused." Suzuki Maika said with a slightly weak smile.

The police officer with the middle parting looked somewhat uneasy and exchanged a glance with the policewoman sitting next to Suzuki Maika.

"Yukako, Ryuji Yoshiga, Tokuo Yamamoto, Aki..."

The police officer with the center-parted hair, his eyes sharp and his voice heavy, slowly announced each name, and the atmosphere gradually became tense.

"Back then, you and your sister, Suzuki Kimie, were both members of the yacht club. Of the survivors of that storm and shipwreck, all perished yesterday, leaving only Shimazaki Daiki. Ms. Suzuki, now you understand why we invited you here. After all, lives are at stake, and we hope you can understand."

Only one of those enemies is left?!

Suzuki Maika stood there dumbfounded, her face filled with undisguised astonishment.

"How did they die?"

"Yukako and Yamamoto committed suicide by jumping into the sea at Hailuo Beach... It could have been suicide or an accident, but the other two were undoubtedly murdered and drowned at home."

Suzuki Maika's pupils contracted.

Impossible! I clearly drowned Yu Jiazi myself, and her body is hidden inside the Haiya Cave!

Even if it was washed out by the sea, how could a dead person commit suicide with someone else?

"Ms. Suzuki, do you have any clues? Like the man who was close to your sister back then?" the middle-parted police officer coaxed.

"Why are you asking these questions? What do you mean? Even if I knew, I wouldn't tell you!"

Suzuki Maika's face was a mixture of crying and laughing, and large tears involuntarily slid down her cheeks as she began to sob uncontrollably.

"I don't care whether those people live or die. It would be better if they died, better if they died!"

Originally, Suzuki Maika planned to fight Shimazaki Daiki to the bitter end, and find an opportunity to stab him in the heart.

Regardless of success or failure, Suzuki Maika will inevitably be arrested by the Kohama City police. Although she won't be sentenced to death, she will spend the rest of her life in a state of turmoil.

Suzuki Maika didn't really believe the nonsense in Okubo's diary about her sister turning into a mermaid or a ghost. But then the enemies who killed her sister died one after another overnight, and in the same way as her sister, they drowned. What else could it be but retribution?

My sister is truly watching over us from heaven, and she protected her once again!

As for the remaining Shimazaki, Suzuki Maika believed that her sister would definitely bring disaster upon him.

"Oh, sister..."

Suzuki Maika buried her head on the table, her thick, black hair obscuring her face, and burst into tears.

Seeing that Suzuki Maika was so agitated, the questioning had to be temporarily suspended. The male police officer with the center-parted hair looked a little helpless and asked the female police officer to comfort her, while he went outside to light a cigarette.

"Senior, is this all there is to it?"

"What else can we do? The security camera at the guesthouse entrance showed that Suzuki Maika returned before 10 p.m., while Yukako and Yamamoto's double suicide occurred at 10:05 p.m. She has an alibi." The middle-parted police officer exhaled a large puff of smoke and rolled his eyes.

"As for the other two people, it's unlikely that they are Suzuki Inui. Considering the distance, the time, and the method of the crime, it's not something a single woman could do."

This mermaid trial and serial murder case exudes a bizarre and absurd atmosphere. When you think about the well-known legend of Yaobikuni in Wakasa Bay and examine the details, it sends chills down your spine.

"Anyway, this case isn't under our jurisdiction anymore. I want to see what this foreign woman from the Metropolitan Police Department is capable of!"

The police officer with the center-parted hair stubbed out his cigarette, recalling the blonde, blue-eyed foreign woman's azure eyes and fiery red lips, and his heart stirred.

That foreign woman is really good-looking!

Meanwhile, in the duty room of the Kohama City Police Station, Sakaki Nami glared angrily at Grace.

"You're Inspector Uchiha's son? You look just like your father!"

Grace brushed her blonde hair behind her ear and looked at Uchiha Naruto with enthusiasm and a hint of curiosity, saying, "I was your father's colleague at the Metropolitan Police Department, and also his junior in college."

"My father is grateful for your care." Uchiha Naruto used a diplomatic remark in a lukewarm manner.

"No, it's thanks to Inspector Uchiha that I've received such care. Back in college, or even now." Grace's blue eyes shimmered, as if she were recalling something.

"Since he's the child of Inspector Uchiha, he's not an outsider."

Grace glanced at Namikazu Sakaki and said indifferently, "And, Inspector Uchiha's relatives from the countryside, you all..."

"What rural relative? I'm my brother-in-law's sister-in-law, Ah Ming's aunt!"

Namikazu Sakaki shouted loudly, her tone filled with dissatisfaction.

"Compared to me, you foreign woman are the outsider. Besides, your brother-in-law is clearly a police officer in the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, how could he have foreign colleagues?"

"Oh, do you know what Inspector Uchiha does?" Grace asked with interest.

"What else can my brother-in-law do in the Criminal Investigation Department's Fourth Investigation Division? Isn't it just fighting crime?" Nami Sakaki replied matter-of-factly.

"Oh, I see."

Grace arrogantly raised her chin slightly, her eyes filled with a sense of superiority, and her tone was full of contempt.

"Hey, what do you mean?"

Namikazu glared back fiercely, as if she were baring her teeth at a Shiba Inu with a golden retriever.

"If I had met Inspector Uchiha's child, I should have talked to you more. I wanted to know more about Inspector Uchiha. But I have official business to attend to right now and can't get away. I'll have to do it another time." Grace looked at Naruto Uchiha with a regretful expression on her face.

Uchiha Naruto's expression was subtle, and before he could speak, Sakaki Namikazu said angrily:

"Ah Ming would never talk about his brother-in-law with a foreign woman of unknown origin like you! Ah Ming, you agree, right?"

Naruto Uchiha was completely baffled; why were the two women so hostile?

A formidable enemy!

An unprecedented enemy!

Sakaki Nami scrutinized Grace with a wary and hostile gaze.

A woman's sixth sense keenly told Sakaki Nami that this foreign woman was just like those wild women, coveting her brother-in-law's looks, which was incredibly shallow!

Moreover, this cunning foreign woman is so friendly and kind to Mingzai, isn't she also trying to find a way in through her brother-in-law's child and take advantage of the situation? How despicable and insidious!

My brother-in-law, Uchiha, is married to a daughter of the Sakaki family. I must keep an eye on him for my sister and prevent those wild women from succeeding.

but……

Sakaki Namiru's gaze swept from Grace's strikingly foreign-style golden curly hair to her snow-white skin, pretty face, and tall, slender figure, and she couldn't help but feel disheartened.

Compared to this stunning foreign woman who looked like a Hollywood actress, I felt like an ugly duckling.

Japanese men are already considered inferior to foreigners, let alone blonde women, who are rare even among foreigners. Will my brother-in-law be unable to resist the temptation of blonde paradise and betray the black-haired, black-eyed Yamato people?

Childhood sweethearts no match for newcomers?

No, we must not boost others' morale while diminishing our own!

My brother-in-law and sister came from the countryside of Shizuoka Prefecture to study in the glamorous world of Tokyo. My sister, as my childhood sweetheart, managed to outmaneuver those college classmates, seniors, and rich girls who suddenly appeared in my life, and we eventually got married.

I should take my older sister as my role model.

"Uchiha Inspector's rural relative, you can leave now. You can take that child and enjoy the Mermaid Festival," Grace said in a low, mysterious tone.

"This might be the last mermaid festival in Obama City, who knows? Let's cherish it."

"What do you mean by that?" Nami Sakaki asked, puzzled.

Grace waved her hand, turned around, and left gracefully.

Nami Sakaki quickly caught up with her, following behind and repeatedly asking, "And my friend, when are you going to release her? Maika couldn't possibly have killed anyone."

"Under Japanese law, the police have the right to detain a suspect for 48 hours, so unfortunately your friend cannot be released at this time."

Grace said indifferently.

"48 hours? Are you kidding me! We booked tickets for tomorrow, and we're going back to Tokyo on the last day of Golden Week. Maika has to work at school, how can she be locked up for 48 hours without any explanation?" Sakaki Namiru immediately became agitated upon hearing this and said with great dissatisfaction.

"Don't push your luck. I'm only letting you off the hook because of Inspector Uchiha. Otherwise, you'd be in police custody right now."

"hateful!"

Sakaki Nami wanted to follow Grace into the work area, but was stopped by a man in a black suit who looked like a bodyguard.

"I'm not going to let this go so easily! I'm going to call my brother-in-law!"

Unwilling to give up, Nami Sakaki shouted at Grace's retreating figure, despite being blocked by the man in the black suit.

Grace finally stopped. She turned around, looked coldly at Namikaze, and said expressionlessly:

"Even if Inspector Uchiha were present, given his professional judgment, he would have done the same thing as me."

"Stop talking nonsense. Your brother-in-law would never be so unreasonable as to falsely accuse an innocent person."

"Your understanding of Inspector Uchiha is pitifully shallow. And rightly so, what could a country bumpkin like you possibly know?"

Grace's icy face softened with pity and compassion, and the faint trace of hostility she had previously harbored vanished completely.

After saying those words, she walked into a meeting room inside the police station without looking back.

Seeing that Aunt Sakaki Namiru, who is usually full of energy and vitality, was unusually looking lost and dejected, Uchiha was also a little worried.

However, after muttering to herself a few times, such as "I will not give up," "Childhood friend will win," and "Foreign women lie," Nami Sakaki cheered herself up and rallied again.

Sakaki Nami told Uchiha Naruto not to worry, and that she would go to the Mermaid Festival by herself, while she would stay at the police station and wait.

It seems that Suzuki Maika was invited by Sakaki Nami to participate in the Mermaid Festival, but was caught up in this undeserved disaster, which made her feel very guilty, so she stubbornly insisted on staying here.

Helpless, Uchiha Naruto had to leave alone. Before leaving the Kohama City Police Station, he used the station's restroom.

In the empty washroom, Uchiha Naruto opened his palm, and a ball of eerie blue light flickered a few times before a miniature Suzuki Kimie, about the size of a palm, appeared in his hand.

Tailed beasts are also chakra beings and can change their size to a certain extent.

Naruto Uchiha wasn't interested in monster girls with octopus tentacles as their lower body, so he shrunk it down; pet-sized monsters are cuter this way.

"Waaaaah—"

Suzuki Kimie paced anxiously, using her tiny octopus tentacles to entangle Uchiha Naruto's fingers, and even biting Uchiha Naruto's index finger, making Uchiha feel a little itchy.

"Okay, okay, I know, all you want is to release your sister as soon as possible, right?"

Naruto Uchiha's contract to subdue Kimie Suzuki was to help her take revenge and protect Maika Suzuki.

That's why he used the Death Soul Technique to manipulate Yukako's corpse into jumping into the sea to commit suicide, to cover for Suzuki Maika, and incidentally create an alibi.

"This isn't the first time I've dealt with these official agencies. If I'm a little tougher on them, they'll behave themselves."

(End of this chapter)