(The Next Day, Noon, Kyoto)
after a stop in Fukuoka, Zenkichi had called the group, he had figured out who the mastermind was, and urged the group to hurry back to Kyoto, even Haru took the wheel, speeding through the highway and making it to Kyoto, Zenkichi was shocked at their arrival, but stayed focused on the task at hand
"Alright, let me break it down for you bit by bit", Zenkichi explained, "I cross-referenced every name on the list we found in Okinawa, based on our assumption that the mastermind would stand to benefit from changing hearts en masse... this is who we ended up with",
Zenkichi held out a photo of an old man, someone who looked like a politician, a stern look on his face
"Yeah...he sure looks like a schemer", Ryuji said
"Don't I know it... to think he'd turn up now of all times", Zenkichi muttered
"Do you know him", Akira asked
"No, not in particular", Zenkichi said, "anyway, the man's name is Jyun Owada, at 69 years old, he's on his tenth term as a legislator, not only that, but he worked his way up to Chief Cabinet Secretary of the ruling party, in short, he's not someone to mess with, they say he was a Masayoshi Shido supporter during the election last year",
"Did you say Shido", Morgana asked in shock
"Unbelievable... I never thought I'd hear his name again", Yusuke said
"Do you know him", Sophia asked
"Yeah", Luna said
"He was our former enemy", Akira added
"Oh... I didn't know", Sophia said
"Sounds like you and Shido had quite the history, but we're not after him right now", Zenkichi stated, "that list contained a handful of Owada's political opponents, people he'd rather not have around, so it's clear he's behind all this, however, I highly doubt he's doing his own dirty work, he'd have time getting his political opponents to friend him on EMMA, after checking his inner circle for sympathizers, I found out he's been meeting with a certain entrepreneur, quite often, too, the CEO of Maddice, Akira Konoe",
"Isn't the CEO of Maddice the guy we heard speak back in Sendai", Ann asked
"I came across communication records between him and the director at Okinawa... and it showed they kept in contact", Zenkichi explained
"Then the pieces all fit", Makoto said
"Yeah, whenever Owada wants someone out of his way, he calls on Konoe to take action", Zenkichi stated, "and the director at Okinawa was likely the one who arranged this, now, it's too late to tell",
"Hold on, if Konoe's the one changing hearts, does that make him a monarch too", Futaba asked
"But he's the CEO of Maddice, wouldn't he get one of his subordinates to do the job for him", Haru asked
"I suppose it would be natural to assume that", Zenkichi said, "but as you all know, in order to change someone's heart, you need to be their friend on EMMA, everyone Owada associates with is a big-time elite, and Konoe's the only one in their league",
"Besides, he's the head of a huge company, if anything, I think he'd want to be a monarch as well", Morgana stated, "he wouldn't want to risk his heart getting changed by someone else, either",
"Another thing, the people on that list most likely had their hearts changed in Osaka", Zenkichi said
"Huh, why do you say that", Ann asked
"Everyone on that list who went crazy had all travelled to Osaka at some point", Zenkichi explained, "that's also where Madicce's main office is, meaning there's a good chance we'll find a jail in Osaka... with Konoe as its monarch, though, the only way we'll know for sure is if Sophia senses it",
"I did sense a jail", Sophia said, making everyone shocked
"Oh, right, we did pass through Osaka when I took a wrong turn", Haru said
"Sophia, you shoulda spoken up", Ryuji whined
"I did speak up, but you guys were too busy to listen", Sophia stated
"Well, that certainly makes things easier, so it's confirmed there's a jail in Osaka", Zenkichi said, "now we just need to determine whether Konoe's the monarch or not",
"Wait, if you know that much already, why not cuff him right now", Ryuji asked
"There's no proof for an arrest", Connor stated
"Right, now here's the issue", Zenkichi explained, "that list only spells out his motives and connections, it isn't solid proof that he's been changing hearts, we can't arrest him on speculation alone, the most we can do is conduct a search, and that's only with his consent, he could pack up and run if he wanted to, we don't have any legal authority over him, another thing I noticed is how many high-ranking members of the force were on that list",
"You think he's changed hearts too, to get the police in his pocket", Makoto asked
"Yeah, and from the look of it, not just the rank-and-file, either", Zenkichi muttered
"So that's why you called us here... because you don't know who the real enemies are", Makoto stated
"The most I can do without being traced is some light investigation, and even then, that might be impossible", Zenkichi explained, "if it's the top brass we're dealing with, they might just leak the info and take action before I can lift a finger",
"In other words, the police are not our allies", Yusuke stated
"Heh, what else is new", Ryuji laughed
"You do realize I'm also a man in uniform", Zenkichi asked, "anyway, it's obvious that going about this the regular way is out of the question, what we need id something a bit more uncanny... something only you guys are capable of, if our hunch is right, and he really is the monarch, we can grab a confession out of him",
"That's right, we completely overlooked the fact that Konoe has a jail", Morgana stated
"But won't we need a keyword to gain access", Makoto asked
"Precisely why I had you rush over here", Zenkichi said, "I'll be meeting Konow at Maddice's corporate headquarters today",
"Really, how'd you manage that", Ann asked
"By going about it like a cop, told 'em we had intel about a possible security leak involving their software", Zenkichi explained, "we recieved information about a possible party attempting to hack EMMA", so on and so forth",
"Ooh, does somebody need a hacker", Futaba asked
"Not even that, I only said it to score me an appointment", Zenkichi said, "at the end of it, I'll suggest he add me on EMMA so I can answer any further questions, and we'll have ourselves a keyword, in his mind, I'll be just another pawn for the taking, so, I'm pretty sure he'll take the bait, the moment I get the keyword, if I get the keyword, I'll send it right over, that's what I've been meaning to tell you, hope it was worth the drive",
"Wait, if you're gonna hit up their office, that means you're going to Osaka, right, let us come too", Ryuji asked
"The sooner we enter the jail, the sooner we can finish this operation", Yusuke stated
"Fair, but there's a chance I might not get the keyword, tagging along for now would be a wasted effort", Zenkichi stated, "besides, it looks like you all could use a breather",
"Can't really argue with that", Makoto said
"Bottom line is, if you guys go down, so does everything I've worked for", Zenkichi stated, "So I need you fighting at your best",
"Got it, so our job's to wait until further contact", Morgana said, although most were hesitant, the group agreed nonetheless, and ended up getting a surprise from Zenkichi.
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The Rebel Persona, Strikers
ActionA year after the Phantom Thieves disbanded, Akira, Luna, and Morgana return for a memorable summer vacation with the others, however, their vacation takes a sudden turn when the Metaverse returns, this time, by a new app named EMMA, those trapped ge...
