Chapter Forty: Operation Furious Dragon (Part Five)

Kishi Shinsuke frowned, his eyes suddenly flashing with a piercing brilliance: "You mean to say..."

Ono Tsukasa Takefumi nodded slowly and said, "Yes, it is them—if our intelligence sources are correct. Of course, Mr. Prime Minister, based on our assessment of their domestic political situation and the multi-channel reports analyzed by my intelligence officers, I am convinced that the authenticity of this intelligence is beyond doubt!"

Kishi Shinsuke nodded imperceptibly, his fingers tapping rhythmically and lightly on the desk. His frown deepened, as if some immense difficulty was plaguing him. After a long while, he asked again, still full of misgivings, "Are you certain?"

Ono Tsukasa Takefumi did not show any unusual emotion at Kishi Shinsuke's distrust; he merely nodded heavily and said, "Yes, Mr. Prime Minister, I am certain!"

"Your reasons?"

"There are many reasons. First," Ono Tsukasa Takefumi raised a finger, "the immigration office and the police cannot find the whereabouts or any information regarding these individuals, and these actions are clearly beyond the capability of any domestic organization. That leads to the second reason..."

Ono Tsukasa Takefumi raised a second finger and said, "Second, according to the testimonies of survivors and witnesses, as well as our forensic report on the explosion site of the Fujiyama Manor and Castle in滨海 (Binhai), this group used military-grade high explosives and standard-issue weaponry. Although these weapons and explosives match the equipment of the Minian Federal Armed Forces, this also demonstrates that this was clearly not a hastily launched attack!"

"Third, and this is a very crucial point, these individuals possess extremely high tactical proficiency!" Ono Tsukasa Takefumi raised a third finger. "Based on the descriptions of witnesses and the traces at the scene, we reconstructed the events of that time and discovered that there were only about five to six people in this group, launching their attack in pairs of combat teams. Their marksmanship was precise, their tactics skillful, and their time control was outstanding. All actions were completed within two minutes—the absolute limit of our police officers' response and mobilization speed. This allowed them to quickly withdraw from the battlefield, leaving us no opportunity to exploit. Without lifelong training and being battle-hardened special operations elites, it is impossible to accomplish all of this!"

Perhaps feeling a bit thirsty after such a lengthy analysis, Ono Tsukasa Takefumi picked up the teacup beside him, took a light sip, and said, "Actually, I believe whether we are certain or not is irrelevant. The important thing is that, dead or alive, as long as we capture them, we can pin the blame on the Chakunans, leaving them completely unable to defend themselves!" Watching Kishi Shinsuke's burning gaze fixed upon him, Ono Tsukasa Takefumi suddenly smiled sinisterly, "That way, we can win even more public support!"

Kishi Shinsuke's gaze grew even brighter. Staring fixedly at Ono Tsukasa Takefumi as the latter gestured wildly and shouted hysterically, he said, "And the bigger a commotion they make, the more we can exploit the incident to launch an offensive in the Diet, accusing those bastards Murayama and Kaifu of harboring tigers that will eventually devour them, and charging that their appeasement policy will lead the Empire to ruin! This way, we can completely sweep away those obnoxious stumbling blocks, send those clueless fools packing, and clear the final obstacles for our plan!"

Listening to the curses blurted out by Ono Tsukasa Takefumi, Kishi Shinsuke's breathing grew heavy. He brought his palm down hard on the desk and said in a deep voice, "Good! Let's do it!"

Ono Tsukasa Takefumi said, "Don't worry, Mr. Prime Minister. I have made thorough preparations, and everything is under control! Once our preliminary objective is achieved, we can strike immediately, wiping out this nest of vermin and using them as a blood sacrifice for the strong rise of our Great Greater Japan Empire!"

"Very well, everything for the interests of the Empire!"

"Yes, everything for the interests of the Empire!"

Two palms slapped together heavily, producing a crisp "crack." Four eyes glowed with fierce light, and they panted heavily like two rutting baboons.

After a long while, Ono Tsukasa Takefumi finally calmed down. He looked toward the giant map of Greater Japan on the wall behind Kishi Shinsuke and said, "These people have created such a huge commotion, and their sole purpose is to attract our attention to cover up an even greater plot. The only thing I am interested in knowing now is, where will they strike next?"

...

Sixty kilometers northwest of Kyoto lies the continuous Tamagawa Mountain Range. In fact, while called a mountain range, the altitude here is not particularly high, with relatively average peak heights of around 400 meters, resembling a hilly region more than anything else. It is only because it is situated around the Kyoto Bay plain and most of the mountain slopes are steep that people call it a mountain range.

This area features rolling mountains and beautiful scenery. In spring, cherry blossoms are brilliant, looking like clusters of flowers from afar; in summer, the grass is lush and everything is a vibrant green; in autumn, cool breezes blow, valley maple leaves look like fiery red clouds, and the lake water is crystal blue; in winter, one can gaze into the distance at the snow-covered scenery of Kyoto. It is one of Kyoto's most distinctive scenic spots.

Due to its proximity to the world's largest dormant volcanic belt, this is also one of Japan's most famous hot spring resorts. Places like "Sumazu Hot Spring" and "Moegi Hot Spring" are renowned hot spring baths frequently visited by tourists. Amidst the swirling mists, the spring water containing large amounts of sulfur and various minerals attracts countless tourists to visit every year.

In fact, besides being a famous tourist resort, this is also one of Kyoto's most important backup water sources. The Magawa River and its tributaries rushing out from the mountains are intercepted at the exit by a huge dam, forming a massive body of water with an area of over two hundred square kilometers, a maximum depth of over one hundred meters, a maximum storage capacity of over one billion cubic meters, and a daily storage of about six hundred million cubic meters.

Normally, the Magawa Reservoir primarily serves for water storage. Whenever water usage peaks or a drought occurs, the massive volume of lake water flows slowly from here along wide waterways down to a large downstream water treatment plant, undergoing final processing to enter millions of households in Kyoto City through a comprehensive network of water supply pipes.

However, few would imagine that such a massive body of water built in the mountains less than 60 kilometers from Kyoto City, the heart of the Japanese Empire, is tantamount to a Damocles sword suspended above the entire metropolis. Any mishap would bring catastrophic disaster to tens of millions of residents!

Even fewer knew that less than five kilometers away from the reservoir dam, four people were lying quietly on the ground within the dense jungle, gazing intently at the lake water that looked dark blue under the night sky, their eyes flashing with terrifying brilliance!