I became Hokage in Tokyo

Chapters 54 and 055: Dogeza Apology and Bowing

"How many sets of remains have been recovered from the site so far?"

The head of the Saitama Prefectural Police Headquarters, with a gloomy, square face, asked.

"We've counted sixty-one sets of remains so far, but there are definitely more beneath the rubble. And..."

A technocrat hesitated for a moment, then braced himself and said:

"There may also be remains that were burned to ashes in the fire; the exact number is uncertain."

"Baka! What do you mean by 'possible'? How can you, as the head of the forensic department, say such irresponsible things!"

The police chief turned pale with rage and berated the man mercilessly: "And how could a fire completely burn a person's bones away!"

Human bones are harder than most people imagine. Even in crematoriums, large pieces of bone are often left behind when cremating bodies, requiring staff to break them up before they can be put into urns.

It is almost impossible for a fire to completely burn a person's skeleton.

"But, but that's how it is. When we were processing the remains, we found several sets of remains where the lower body was still intact, but the upper body and skull had been burned away." The technical bureaucrat said, not daring to wipe the spittle off his face, looking aggrieved.

"Hmph! Can you even roughly confirm the number of the dead?"

"We raided other Zhengxinhui (正信会) monasteries and took attendance of absconded attendees. Based on Zhengxinhui's list, the number of victims could be over a hundred!"

one hundred!

Upon hearing the number, the police chief felt a wave of dizziness and instinctively clutched his chest.

It's been so long since Japan has experienced such a devastating accident!

Especially in the case of religiously related incidents, which are the most troublesome and eye-catching, the sarin gas attack that shocked the world many years ago only resulted in a dozen or so deaths.

This incident will surely cause a national sensation, and as the head of the Saitama Prefectural Police Department, he is also to blame and may even have to apologize at a press conference.

"Where is the chief of the Chichibu Police Station? Is he still trying to shirk responsibility?"

The police minister's eyes swept sternly over the dozen or so local senior police bureaucrats following him, but he did not find the person he was looking for.

"Director Sada suffered a heart attack and has been rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment."

"Don't think that a heart attack can absolve you of responsibility. Even if you're in the ICU, you must get up, kneel before the public, and resign to apologize!"

In the eyes of the police chief, the Chichibu Police Station Chief was already a dead man. If he was lucky, he could resign by a dogeza (a traditional Tibetan Buddhist gesture of apology) and that would be the end of it. But if the public was still not satisfied, he would have no choice but to go to jail.

"What about those ubiquitous reporters?"

Saitama Prefecture is north of Tokyo, only an hour or two's drive away. When something like this happens, those reporters who are always looking for big news will inevitably flock to it like flies that have caught a whiff of something.

"Thanks to yesterday's torrential rain, the news didn't spread very quickly. We were among the first to arrive and have already cordoned off the area," a bureaucrat from the security department said with a fawning smile.

"That's good, that's good. Now we have time to do public relations."

Finally, some good news appeared, and the police minister's gloomy face brightened a little.

"So, what exactly happened at the Zhengxin Society headquarters on Mount Wujia?"

Although many believers who came to participate in the Dharma assembly were detained, as well as remnants of the Zhengxin Society in other temples, their testimonies were incoherent and strange, making it a headache just to sort them out.

After managing to cobble together a report, the content looked quite absurd.

"Doesn't the Zhengxin Society headquarters have any surveillance cameras?"

"Yes, according to other members of the Zhengxin Society, there are no cameras installed at headquarters."

"Hmph, a new religion!" The police minister scoffed.

He could guess what kind of shady things a new religion like the Orthodox Faith Society could do without even looking at the files. How could such a new religion possibly install cameras at its headquarters? Wouldn't that be leaving evidence and courting death?

"Read the current survey results."

A low-ranking police officer was pushed forward, tears welling in his eyes, and began to read the report:

The incident unfolded as follows: during a human sacrifice ceremony, the leader of the Seishinkai cult was suddenly interrupted by a white-robed monk who engaged the leader in a magical duel. After several rounds of fighting, the monk wounded the leader with a pistol. The leader then retreated into the Buddhist hall, summoning the malevolent form of the Twin Buddhas, a gigantic monster that continued its battle with the white-robed monk. Following this, the Chichibu Police Station received numerous calls reporting a fire at the Seishinkai headquarters.

The other police officers and bureaucrats looked at each other, finding it utterly absurd.

Human sacrifice and handguns are sensitive issues, but they pale in comparison to the magic and monsters mentioned in the report.

If this report were shown to the public, they would only think that the Saitama Prefectural Police Headquarters is full of lunatics.

Because the testimonies were provided by followers of a new religion, some people thought it was just the ravings of the believers, or simply hallucinations caused by the collective use of some special drugs during the religious ceremony.

After all, this kind of thing is commonplace in emerging religious groups.

But the police minister listened attentively without saying a word, and his expression gradually became excited.

"There's one more thing. We've confirmed that the white-robed monk who reported the incident to the Chichibu Police Station is the same person who stormed the Buddhist ceremony. His identity is Jiraiya, the arsonist on the wanted list issued by Tokyo!"

"Earth!"

Upon hearing the name, the police chief's eyes lit up, and he quickly pressed for details:

"Are you sure it's this person?"

"We have already shown the arrest warrant to the believers at the Dharma assembly, and they all identified him as the person in question."

"Great! That's wonderful!"

The police chief clapped his hands excitedly, his face beaming with pride, and said with great enthusiasm.

The group of police officers and bureaucrats surrounding him were baffled, wondering if their superior had gone mad.

The police chief glanced at his unsuspecting subordinates but offered no explanation.

Japan's administrative divisions consist of one metropolis, one circuit, two prefectures, and forty-three counties. Apart from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, other regions have police headquarters established and managed by local governments. The Saitama Prefectural Police Headquarters is one of them.

As the chief of the Saitama Prefectural Police Headquarters, one of only 500 police superintendents in the country, the existence of such secrets as the supernatural is open to high-ranking police officers of his rank.

The police chief naturally knew the inside story about superhumans and monsters.

Since the extraordinary human being, Jiraiya, has appeared, the monsters mentioned in this seemingly absurd report are likely real as well.

Since the extermination of the Zhengxin Society involves the supernatural, it is no longer a typical violent conflict or religious incident, thus giving him a reason to shift the blame.

The Saitama Prefectural Police Headquarters does not have a department to deal with the supernatural. Only the Metropolitan Police Department's Fourth Investigation Division and the Public Security Department's Fifth Division are responsible for this matter. Since it involves the supernatural, the police chief can confidently say that this has nothing to do with the Saitama Prefectural Police Headquarters!

Even if the Saitama Prefectural Police Headquarters bears some responsibility, why couldn't your two special divisions in the Metropolitan Police Department have discovered the monster hiding in the Seishin-kai beforehand? This is a serious dereliction of duty, and you should bear at least half, no, seventy percent, of the responsibility.

The police minister's rise to this position is not solely due to his family background; his ability to shift blame and claim credit is also at its peak.

Moreover, the police chief was well aware that the bigwigs in Tokyo had always been obsessed with human superhumans, and now that he had discovered the whereabouts of one of them, reporting it would be a way to atone for his past mistakes.

"Alright, I'll report the matter of the Bukozan Seishinkai to the Metropolitan Police Department immediately. If I'm not mistaken, this matter will soon no longer be the responsibility of our Saitama Prefecture headquarters to investigate," the police chief said with a relaxed expression, his tone becoming cheerful.

Having accomplished such a feat, at least he won't need to kneel in apology at future press conferences; a simple bow should suffice, and a 90-degree bow should demonstrate his sincerity!

(End of this chapter)