Crossover: Becoming Japan’s Prime Minister? Chapter 72: Who Exactly Is the Man in the Video?

Outside the building, it was a sea of people.

Nurous police cars were parked, and caution tape had been set up. Alongside the police vehicles were fire engines and ambulances, completely surrounding the area.

The nearby streets were occupied by ergency vehicles.

Beyond the periter, crowds of onlookers gathered, standing on tiptoe and pointing toward the building. So had climbed to higher ground to film with their phones, hoping to capture what was happening inside.

"Hello, viewers. I am Mizunashi Rena, a reporter from Nichibei TV."

"Just a short while ago, a fire broke out at Eguchi Library, and a vicious attack occurred at the sa location."

"I'm sure many of you have already seen the video posted on X, hearing the cries and pleas for help from a girl inside. It's heartbreaking. We sincerely hope that girl is safe."

As the ace reporter of Nichibei TV and a well-known internet personality in Japan, Rena had naturally been dispatched to cover this major event from the front lines.

"Now, as you can see behind , firefighters have successfully extinguished the blaze, and a large number of police officers have entered the building to carry out search and rescue operations."

"Commissioner Hakuba of the Tokyo tropolitan Police Departnt has also arrived at the scene to oversee everything personally. The situation inside the building is still unknown at this ti."

The cara turned toward Commissioner Hakuba, who had just arrived and was coordinating operations with several high-ranking officers.

He was in his fifties, with a stern expression, surrounded by other senior personnel as they engaged in intense discussions.

"As you can see, there are many ambulances on site. Several of them were dispatched urgently in response to the severity of the situation, which suggests that things inside are likely very grim."

Rena showed an appropriately concerned expression.

Taking advantage of the mont, she approached Commissioner Hakuba and asked, "Commissioner Hakuba, could you share any information about what's happening inside?"

Under normal circumstances, Commissioner Hakuba would've responded with a smile, but his face remained grim. He shook his head and replied, "Sorry, we cannot disclose any information at this ti."

As the head of the Tokyo tropolitan Police Departnt, he was well aware of what had transpired. Based on the reports from officers on the scene, at least thirty people were confird dead, and the number of severely injured had yet to be finalized.

And that was only a preliminary estimate. The actual casualty count would likely be even higher.

Not long ago, there had been a major incident at a pharmaceutical research facility in the outskirts of Tokyo that resulted in over a hundred deaths. But that case had essentially been taken over by the Aricans, so as Commissioner, he hadn't faced too much pressure.

This ti, however, the full responsibility fell on him.

When the final casualty numbers ca out and he had to hold a press conference, how many tis would he have to bow? How long? Would he have to resign altogether?

His mind was in turmoil. Recently, the Tokyo police had been under fire for a series of major incidents, and public criticism was reaching a boiling point. If this continued, his resignation was inevitable.

"They're coming out! dical personnel are coming out!"

Rena's eyes lit up, and she quickly motioned for the caraman to follow her.

Of course, she didn't dare block the dical team's path. Doing so would definitely get her chewed out.

But when the live footage aired on TV, both Rena and the caraman beside her, along with the viewers watching from ho, all felt their scalps go numb.

The first ones carried out were critically injured victims. Their bodies were covered in blood, so with deep, bone-exposing wounds, and others missing limbs entirely.

The TV station had to imdiately censor the footage.

After that, several bodies were carried out under white sheets. So sheets were soaked in blood, a clear sign that those people were already beyond saving.

If there had been even a breath left in them, the ergency teams would have done everything to resuscitate them.

As stretcher after stretcher erged from the building, no one could keep count of how many victims had been taken out. It was simply too many.

Once the most severely injured and the deceased had been transported away, the next group consisted of those with lighter injuries—so wrapped in bandages, so walking with help.

Even those who didn't seem injured were taken to the hospital for evaluation. After all, in addition to the attack, they had survived a fire. Who knew what internal damage they might have suffered?

When the police officers finally exited the building, reporters sward in.

"Inspector, can you tell us what's going on inside? Have all the attackers been caught?"

"Inspector, what are the casualties like? Even an estimate would be helpful."

"Inspector..."

"..."

As one of the first officers on the scene, gure had a splitting headache from the wave of questions. It felt even more exhausting than catching a killer.

He knew better than anyone that there were things they simply couldn't say right now.

Thankfully, he was experienced. He deflected their questions with vague replies and repeated "no comnt."

But the public's curiosity was burning. What exactly had happened? How many were dead? What was the attackers' motive?

And why were the police being so evasive? Had the suspects escaped?

Because if the criminals had been captured or killed, the police would usually take the opportunity to issue a press release and claim credit.

Everyone was dying to know the truth.

The social platform X saw this as a golden opportunity for traffic.

Over half of Japan was following this case. So videos from the scene had already been posted.

However, during the review process, moderators found themselves in a difficult position.

While X was lenient about risqué content, extrely violent footage still required careful review.

But chasing numbers ca first. So X's managent made the call, approve the videos without blurring anything.

In a very short ti, the videos posted by a user nad Shiroishi on X exploded in popularity.

Not only Japanese netizens, but users from overseas also began to watch.

Shiroishi had already gained so attention from her earlier cry-for-help video, and now her second post—fild directly at the scene—beca an even bigger hit.

...

Shiroishi Keiko didn't know whether today was her lucky day or her worst.

Tsukinomori Girls' Academy was a private school for elite girls. As one of its students, she naturally ca from a wealthy background.

However, her grades were average, and her looks could only be described as barely above passing. Since childhood, she had always been the type who faded into the background.

After entering Tsukinomori, things only got worse. Her classmates were either more beautiful, smarter, or ca from even more powerful families.

Because of this, she remained unnoticed.

Like many young people, Shiroishi Keiko loved social dia. Sotis, she would post heavily edited selfies in her school uniform and receive a stream of complints.

"It's a young lady from Tsukinomori!"

"Shiroishi is so pretty! Post more selfies!"

"What do you girls learn there? Do you take etiquette classes?"

"..."

The ordinary version of herself in real life received validation online, which satisfied her vanity.

So, she valued her online presence greatly and hoped to gain more attention.

Today, on a whim, she ca to the library by herself, just planning to read for a bit.

She never imagined that on the one day she decided to visit the library, she'd run into such a horrifying event.

First, the fire broke out, and she had to run for her life.

After escaping to the upper floors with the crowd, she ended up witnessing a massacre.

At that ti, Shiroishi Keiko had been on the sa floor the attackers reached.

But because of the chaos and her small build, she managed to hide under a table and wasn't noticed. Terrified, she sohow had the presence of mind to cover her mouth and start recording with her phone.

Her original intent was to post the video in hopes soone would co save her.

But she never expected that one video would blow up instantly, getting tens of thousands of shares.

On Japan's X platform, hitting tens of thousands of shares and comnts was sothing only real influencers could do.

The joy of finally being noticed made her forget her fear. She gathered her courage and started recording the entire scene.

Because of that, she captured a video unlike anything she would ever witness again in her life.

Toru, with strength beyond human comprehension, eliminated all the attackers.

He didn't just save everyone. His overwhelming presence and fighting style spread across the internet like wildfire.

That video alone had over 300,000 shares in an incredibly short ti.

And it didn't stop there. The video rapidly went viral, spreading from X to other platforms and setting off a nationwide sensation.

As the uploader, Shiroishi naturally gained massive attention.

But compared to the uploader, people were even more interested in the man in the video.

If Shiroishi Keiko beca famous because of her video, then Toru beca a household na across Japan and even internationally.

No wonder the police remained silent during interviews. It turned out that resolving the incident had nothing to do with them.

It had all been handled by a young man.

If he hadn't stepped in, the number of casualties would've been unimaginable. He was the real hero.

All of Japan was in an uproar. People everywhere were searching for information on Toru.

dia companies went into a frenzy. Executives gave direct orders—find him. Get an interview. No matter what.

(To be continued.)

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