Chapter 234: Ugaki and the Prime Minister's Confrontation

Ugaki and the Prime Minister’s Confrontation

―Ugaki’s Perspective―

As the car carried me toward the National Diet, I closed my eyes, seeking whatever rest I could. There was still work left undone, matters that required my attention, but I couldn’t afford to push myself too hard. At the very least, I had to stay alive long enough to see that bill passed.

Still, I felt at ease. I had no solid proof, but I believed I could entrust Eiji-kun with Ai. That thought alone was enough to bring my wife peace. After all, such a kind-hearted boy had become the one to love our precious daughter. A quiet wish I once harbored had now become reality.

As I let myself bask in that gentle sense of relief, my phone rang. The caller ID displayed one name—the Prime Minister.

“Yes, this is Ugaki.”

[Hah, you really went and did it this time, Ugaki-kun.]

I could hear the smug amusement in his voice, and with it came an ominous sense of foreboding.

“What are you talking about?”

[Don’t play dumb. My informant in the prefectural police told me everything—seems you’ve been meeting with Kondo behind my back. I know full well you intend to betray me.]

So, he had caught on to my movements.

The moment I had long anticipated had finally arrived.

“I take it denying it wouldn’t change your mind?”

My voice carried a faint hint of levity, though beneath it lay years of accumulated disdain.

[Don’t you dare mock me!]

That line should be mine.

“I assure you, I’m not joking…”

[Listen closely. You think you’ve got the upper hand just because you’ve uncovered my scandal, but you’re mistaken. That bill you’ve been pushing forward—if my entire faction turns against it, we can kill it with ease. And when that happens, your political career will be over. If you plan to expose my scandal, topple my administration, and take my seat as Prime Minister, I’ll tell you now—you’re wasting your time. The sheer scale of this scandal will drag public trust into the mud, and any administration that follows will crumble in no time. Your dream of passing that bill will never come true. Withdraw quietly while you still can.]

A blatant threat. I had anticipated this. That was why I had kept Ai away from me—to shield her from the inevitable fallout. And now, I could be certain—it hadn’t been in vain.

“I see…”

But to think he truly believed my actions stemmed from nothing more than ambition—frankly, it was disappointing. I had once thought him a man of at least some caliber. Yet now, he was nothing more than a desperate despot, clinging to power with white-knuckled desperation.

[Now that you understand, it’s time to give up. Apologize now, and I’ll let this slide.]

So, he expected me to bow my head to him? I see. This was the final stage of a man consumed by vanity and paranoia.

That was enough.

“…Is that all you have to say?”

Silence—the ultimate insult to a man in power. Nothing wounded a ruler’s pride more than having his words ignored, his authority dismissed outright.

[Do you even realize what you’re doing?]

“Do you think I don’t?”

A long, suffocating silence stretched between us.

From this moment on, our battle would be a full-fledged struggle for political survival.

No one—not a single soul—would be allowed to stand in the way of our dream. And this man—this wretched tyrant—was the one responsible for my wife’s death, the one who had carved an unhealable wound into my daughter’s heart. Him—I would never forgive.

[You’ve disappointed me, Ugaki.]

“That’s my line.”

I could picture his face, red with fury, veins bulging as he clenched his teeth. There was no turning back now. Without another word, I cut the call.

The final battle had begun.

That evening, Uncle Minami came over for dinner.

I walked over to his seat.

“Oh? What’s the matter, Eiji-kun?”

A quiet smile tugged at my lips as I spoke.

“Uncle, tell me everything you know about my father and Uncle Ugaki.”