Reborn in Tokyo: From Heiress to Global Tycoon

Chapter 261 The Battle of Time Difference

A young man in a dark patterned suit stepped into the room, following the light.

His steps were extremely steady, his leather shoes making almost no noise on the anti-static carpet. In stark contrast to the habitually reserved manner of traditional Japanese bureaucrats, his shoulders were ramrod straight, and his every move exuded the competence and composure of the North American elite.

Keigo Saionji. Thirty-six years old.

For the past decade, he has served as a bureaucrat in the North American Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stationed in the embassy districts of Washington and New York. His dual academic prestige from the University of Tokyo and Harvard Law School, coupled with his long-term career away from Japan, has created a perfect physical and political firewall for him.

Domestic scandals involving corruption and factionalism, from "Epes" to Ichiro Osawa, have tainted the politicians of Nagata-cho. His resume, however, stands out like a blank sheet of paper, so clean it's almost glaring.

Keigo walked to the long rosewood table, his gaze quickly sweeping over the two people in the room, before bowing slightly.

"Ms. Satsuki. Executive Director Endo."

Satsuki's gaze fell on Keigo's face.

She leaned her body slightly to the side, her left elbow resting naturally on the armrest of the leather seat. Her hand supported her chin, her fingertips casually interlacing.

"Uncle Keigo, please have a seat."

Satsuki's voice sounded somewhat weak.

Keigo pulled out a genuine leather swivel chair on the right side of the long table and sat down smoothly.

The moment I sat down, my gaze inevitably swept over the white medical tray on the table.

The empty pill holder on the aluminum foil board, and the residual high temperature reading on the electronic thermometer, were clearly visible to him.

Keigo's eye twitched very slightly, and he was momentarily stunned.

According to rumors, Satsuki's image has almost become that of a ruthless witch who "eats people without spitting out the bones," so it's unexpected that she would fall ill...

"What?"

Satsuki maintained her languid posture, resting her chin on her hand. She looked at Keigo, a faint, inquisitive smile slowly curving her lips.

"Am I not the person you imagined...?"

Faced with this sudden question, Executive Director Endo unconsciously held his breath.

Oh no, why am I thinking about these things at a time like this...

He immediately concealed the surprise in his eyes and met Satsuki's gaze.

"Young Miss".

Keigo's voice was very calm, and his pace was neither too fast nor too slow.

"At the poker tables in Washington, we only assess the decision-maker's winning percentage and chip stack; the decision-maker's physiological indicators are not within our consideration."

"At the same time, as a member of the Saionji family, I am very clear about who I am loyal to. Your will and mind are the core that supports the entire family's vast territory."

He bowed slightly.

"So even if you are lying on a bed in the intensive care unit right now, and can only transmit a faint syllable through the instruments, I will regard it as the highest ironclad rule and execute it without hesitation."

Satsuki listened quietly to the answer, and the smile on her lips deepened slightly.

Whether he really thinks that way or not, at least for now, his response is not wrong.

"Very good answer, Uncle Keigo."

She lowered her left hand that had been supporting her chin and sat up straight. That languid posture vanished instantly, and even in her weakened state, she still exuded a sharp edge.

"Now, let's see what chips you're about to win."

She picked up the top-secret file on the table and gently pushed it across the smooth glass surface to Keigo.

"Take a look at this."

Keigo breathed a sigh of relief, untied the binding thread on the outside of the dossier, and pulled out the documents inside.

At the top are several black-and-white satellite surveillance images with a noticeably grainy texture, accompanied by an encrypted analysis report from the Middle East branch of SIS (Saionji Intelligence System).

Keigo's gaze swept quickly across the photograph.

The photo shows well-organized armored formations, endless supply convoys stretching along desert highways, and geographical coordinates marked in the lower right corner.

"The Iraqi Republican Guard?" Keigo's brows furrowed immediately, and his previously steady breathing became slightly erratic.

"Their armored forces are massing towards the southern border. The target is... Kuwait."

Keigo raised his head, his gaze becoming serious.

"After eight years of war, Baghdad's books are already full of deficits." Satsuki picked up her cup of warm black tea. "And Kuwait is still desperately increasing production, keeping oil prices firmly under control. Iraq can't even pay the interest on its debts now."

She took a sip of tea, feeling the slightly astringent liquid slide down her throat.

"When you're on the verge of bankruptcy, international rules are useless. Since you can't make money selling oil, just use armored vehicles to seize the creditors' oil production equipment. This most primitive method of acquisition is often the most effective."

Keigo gripped the report tightly, the edges of the paper slightly wrinkled under his fingertips.

If two insignificant small countries were to fight, it would at most be a localized skirmish that could be ignored. The key issue is that both countries happen to be major oil producers. Once a conflict breaks out, it will no longer be just a matter between the two countries, but could escalate into a "super black swan" event affecting the entire world.

"If this intelligence is accurate, once Saddam's army crosses the border, the entire map of the Middle East will be completely torn apart. One-fifth of the world's oil reserves will fall into Baghdad's control." Keigo's speech quickened unconsciously. "And Washington will absolutely not tolerate this happening. The 'dollar-oil' settlement system is one of the most important pillars for the United States to maintain its global hegemony; this is their bottom line. At that time, the White House will inevitably use force to intervene."

"So," Satsuki put down her teacup, "when the Americans decide to shed blood in the desert... what kind of bill do you think they'll hand over to Tokyo?"

Keigo narrowed his eyes slightly. He had spent ten years in Washington's embassy district and knew all too well the logic behind American politicians' actions.

"Political blackmail." He leaned forward slightly. "American soldiers are dying in front, and Washington politicians will never let their allies sit back and relax."

"They will force Japan, which is heavily reliant on this oil route, to sign an insatiable military spending check. And, most fatally..."

"They will demand that we shed blood as well. Washington will force Tokyo to send troops."

"However, due to the 'Peace Constitution,' the current cabinet is simply unable to send a single soldier overseas."

Keigo placed his hands on the table, his voice tense.

"With the ongoing escalation of trade tensions between Japan and the United States, American voters are already hostile towards us. If war breaks out, Japan's tendency to 'write checks but not shed a drop of blood' will be amplified by politicians in Washington."

"To cater to domestic votes, they will also gladly go along with the trend and firmly pin the labels of 'free rider' and 'coward' on Tokyo. Then, they will use this as a pretext to exert diplomatic pressure and economic blackmail on Japan."

Satsuki listened quietly to Keigo's deduction and nodded slightly.

"That's right."

"Based on all the intelligence available, this is the most likely outcome."

She reached out again and pushed the second document on the table over.

"Since the Japanese cabinet is going to be caught in this diplomatic dead end, we'll pave the way for them."

Keigo looked down at the document.

Implementation outline for the establishment of the “SA Global Engineering and Logistics Rescue Group” in the Cayman Islands.

His eyes swept quickly over the densely packed clauses.

The documents show that the multinational company, registered in an offshore island, will send more than 1,000 "commercial employees" with advanced engineering, field medical and heavy logistics capabilities to the Middle East war zone and surrounding areas in the next two months on a commercial employment basis.

The actual source of these employees is clearly stated in the appendix—they were all transferred from the Special Operations Unit of the SA Security Department under Saionji Industrial.

Keigo's pupils contracted sharply.

He suddenly raised his head and looked at the girl in front of him in disbelief.

"Miss Satsuki... this..."

Keigo's voice was somewhat hesitant.

Although he was stationed abroad for many years, he was well aware of the true nature of the so-called "Security Department" under Dojima Iwao's command. These special operations personnel, equipped with American-style individual soldier gear and rigorously trained in military discipline, entered the war zone under the guise of "civilian engineering and logistical support." This was tantamount to a de facto armed infiltration right under the nose of the Constitution.

"I dealt with Washington and the Pentagon for several years. Their intelligence network can't tolerate this kind of thing."

"As soon as these so-called 'commercial employees' land on the edge of the war zone, the US military inspectors will do a little research on the logistics and cash flow... and the details of the financial backers of this offshore company and the US equipment in the security department will be exposed immediately."

"To carry out this kind of armed smuggling right under the nose of the Constitution... Once Washington determines that Japan is secretly breaching military restrictions, this act of touching a red line of a major power will bring devastating retribution upon the family. The risk is too high."

"They'll pretend they don't know."

Satsuki's voice remained calm.

"Because once the first shot is fired... they will be in dire need of cannon fodder more than anyone else."

"When American soldiers bleed in the desert, politicians in Washington have to give an account to their domestic voters in advance; the casualty figures can't be too bad. The Pentagon will also need a huge number of peripheral personnel to fill those high-risk, miscellaneous tasks in the future war zone in order to prepare for the impending war."

Satsuki chuckled softly.

"At this critical juncture where war could break out at any moment, a fully self-funded, well-equipped civilian logistics force, willing to do the dirty work for them, has voluntarily delivered itself to their doorstep..."

"Given the pressure of preparing for war and the interest in votes, it's not surprising that White House staff would feign amnesia."

Keigo looked at the girl in front of him.

Outrageous, utterly outrageous... If it weren't for the fact that there is already a great deal of evidence proving that anything Satsuki does that seems outrageous will eventually achieve its intended goal, he would have thought that Satsuki had gone mad.

Reason told him that such political opportunism, exploiting the vulnerabilities of a superpower, was incredibly risky. But as an elite who had spent ten years navigating the bureaucratic system, he also keenly sensed the enormous political dividends hidden behind the plan, enough to overturn the political landscape of Japan.

"Young Miss".

Keigo leaned forward slightly, looking directly at the girl opposite him.

"To entrust the lives of a hundred or so of the family's elite members to the tacit understanding of American politicians is a one-sided assumption with a very low margin for error."

He gripped the table tightly with both hands.

"What if the hardliners on Japan within the Pentagon use this as an excuse to launch an attack? Or what if our competitors in Washington get wind of this and leak the information to the media... We will be powerless against this corporate cover alone."

Satsuki looked at Keigo, her smile deepening slightly.

"That's right, one-way prayer is indeed too passive."

"Therefore, we need to add a few layers of insurance, each with the weight of US dollars, to this ethereal understanding."

She interlaced her fingers and rested her elbows lightly on the armrests of the seat.

"There are plenty of lobbying groups on K Street in Washington that do things for money. When you go back this time, take a sufficient amount of offshore public relations funds. Contact those military logistics contractors that have deep ties with the U.S. Department of Defense."

"Transfer some of the profits, and even some of the equity, of this offshore company directly to them. Let them act as the nominal guarantors to apply for war zone access permits from the Pentagon on our behalf."

"With this military-industrial complex acting as a buffer of interests, those politicians, having received their kickbacks, will naturally use their power to smooth over all compliance reviews."

"A bond of shared interests is always stronger than an agreement based on empty words."

Keigo's breath hitched slightly.

"I understand. I will immediately compile a list of those to be persuaded." Keigo nodded emphatically.

"In addition, a circuit breaker mechanism must be established."

Satsuki stretched out her right hand and tapped it lightly twice on the smooth glass tabletop.

"If the situation deviates from expectations, all connections must be severed immediately."

"Two stop signals."

Satsuki's gaze was fixed on Keigo's face.

"First, closely monitor the internal dynamics of the Senate Armed Services Committee. If, within 48 hours of the first shot being fired in the Middle East, the Pentagon continues to delay and fail to issue the highest-level theater clearance for various administrative reasons..."

"Secondly, if any mention of 'Japanese zaibatsu suspected of armed smuggling' appears in the Washington Post or the New York Times before our security personnel arrive at the edge of the war zone."

"As long as either of these two signals appears."

Satsuki's speech quickened.

"You don't need to ask for instructions. Immediately sever all ties with that offshore company. The Cayman Islands trust should immediately initiate self-destruction procedures to deregister this shell company. All security personnel stranded overseas should immediately be converted into ordinary laborers protected by international law and evacuated to neighboring neutral countries."

"We must never leave any physical evidence that could be used to accuse anyone."

"Do you understand?"

A brief silence fell over the strategic room. The low hum of the exhaust fans echoed in the air.

"Yes, I understand."

Keigo stretched out his hands and quickly gathered the top-secret files on the table, putting them back into the brown paper bag.

He stood up and took half a step back. He bowed deeply to Satsuki.

"Everything is as you wish, young lady."

Keigo picked up the brown paper bag.

"I will finalize the initial contact plan with the K Street lobbying group before tonight's flight takes off. Once the circuit breaker signal is activated, all cutting orders will be issued to the lowest level within five minutes."

"Go and prepare."

Keigo bowed again, then turned and walked toward the blast door.

"Click".

The heavy metal door slid open to both sides and then closed silently.

The interior lights seemed to dim slightly as the metal door closed.

Once the door was completely closed, Satsuki leaned back wearily.

Time continues to pass.