Seeing Kitaoka Ryoko's aggressive demeanor, Yoshida Akimasa couldn't help but feel displeased. Fortunately, he was also quite shrewd and unwilling to easily make enemies with the Special Higher Police, since provoking these intelligence agencies was not a pleasant thing.
Yoshida Akimasa said in a deep voice, "So it's Kitaoka, the head of the Special Higher Police. According to our management regulations, it is within the jurisdiction of our Wusongkou Customs to arrange for ships to enter the port for inspection in an orderly manner based on the actual situation. I don't think I need to explain this to you. What? Is there important cargo on the Yoshino Maru?"
“Yes, the Yoshino Maru is indeed carrying important cargo. We were ordered to receive it, and it was supposed to be ready to enter port, but you deliberately delayed it. I want to know the specific reason. You must arrange for the Yoshino Maru to enter the port immediately,” said Kitaoka Ryoko.
Customs officer Yasuhiro Hashimoto, who had been watching with growing impatience, said directly, "Team Leader Kitaoka, there are important goods on Yoshino Maru, so you should have notified us in advance to give Yoshino Maru special treatment. We would have cooperated, which is not difficult. Now we are adjusting the order of ships entering the port according to the actual situation, but you suddenly interfered. This is not in accordance with the procedure."
These words startled Kitaoka Ryoko. The Eclipse Plan was top secret, and of course it was impossible for these ordinary officers to know about it. Therefore, the entire operation was carried out in secret, and they didn't even dare to use naval warships for transportation. Notifying the customs in advance was not a case of trying to hide something, but rather letting others know in advance that there were important supplies on Yoshino Maru.
Kitaoka Ryoko was unwilling to argue with the customs officers any longer. She took out the exemption documents from her briefcase and said, "We are in a hurry. I have brought the exemption documents for the goods. Please arrange for Yoshino Maru to enter the port immediately."
Yoshida Akimasa took the exemption document, checked it, and nodded, saying, "Alright then, please ask Team Leader Kitaoka to wait a moment, and we will make the adjustments for you as soon as possible."
"As soon as possible?" Kitaoka Ryoko's gaze sharpened as she pointed towards the port, saying with dissatisfaction, "Yoshino Maru is already stationed at the port and can enter directly now. What's the actual situation that made you suddenly change the order of ship entry, causing us to waste time here?"
Upon hearing this question, the expressions of everyone in the room immediately turned somewhat unpleasant.
Yoshida Akimasa said coldly, "We have already said that we will arrange for Yoshino Maru to enter the port as soon as possible, but I don't need to explain the specific reasons to Team Leader Kitaoka."
Kitaoka Ryoko's aggressive behavior displeased everyone. At this moment, Hirao Daichi, who was sitting in the back, became very impatient and said loudly, "Because we need to give priority to arranging the entry of the Mukaiyo into the port, and the Mukaiyo is also carrying important cargo, which belongs to our Fujiwara Company, is this explanation enough?"
Hirao Daichi's voice rang out, and the room fell silent. For so long, thanks to the background of the Fujiwara Company, he had been able to have a smooth journey. Everyone treated him with utmost respect, and in their hearts, apart from the chairman, they didn't care about anyone else. Every time he came to the customs to pick up the ship and bring it into port, he was given priority. This time, however, someone had come out to obstruct him, so naturally he was not willing to be outdone.
Kitaoka Ryoko looked at Hirao Daichi, who was unremarkable in appearance but had an arrogant demeanor. She couldn't help but ask in a cold voice, "Fujiwara Company? Since when can a merchant sit here so brazenly and obstruct the execution of important military affairs? Who gave you such audacity?"
Upon hearing this, everyone in the room paled. Hashimoto Yasuhiro said calmly, "Has Group Leader Kitaoka not been in Shanghai for long and is unaware of some situations? You should show more respect to Chairman Fujiwara. The Fujiwara family of Kyoto is not someone you can speak of casually!"
Kitaoka Ryoko was in a hurry at the time and did not connect the Fujiwara Company with the Fujiwara family in Kyoto, which was far away in Japan. When she heard this, she realized that something was wrong. She had only been in Shanghai for a little over a month and had been busy with her work since taking office. She had not had time to learn about many things at the top level in Shanghai and was indeed unaware of the Fujiwara Company.
However, Hirao Daichi, who had been rebuked, was now red-faced and glaring angrily. It had been so long since anyone had dared to speak to him like that, which was something that Hirao Daichi, whose confidence had been inflated for so long, simply could not accept.
He roared, "You bastard! How dare you be so rude? Even Chief Sagawa of your Special Higher Police wouldn't dare say such a thing!"
After saying that, he rushed forward, ready to teach this arrogant woman a lesson. In Japanese society, men are superior to women, and women have a low status. Women dare not confront men directly. There are very few strong women like Kitaoka Ryoko. Hirao Daichi was really angered by Kitaoka Ryoko's words.
Seeing that the situation was not right, the intelligence captain behind him, Yoshimoto Ichiro, casually pulled out a pistol and pointed it at Hirao Daichi, which startled everyone. Hashimoto Yasuhiro grabbed Hirao Daichi and stopped him, fearing that something too violent might happen.
Kitaoka Ryoko was also startled. No matter how arrogant she was, she knew that using a gun here would have extremely serious consequences. She quickly whispered and scolded, "Put the gun away!"
Yoshida Akimasa was also terrified. It wasn't that he was afraid of knives and guns; after all, he was a soldier who had experienced war and wasn't afraid of such things. He was afraid that these Special Higher Police agents might actually hurt Hirao Daichi. If that happened, how could Chairman Fujiwara let it go? Not to mention the Fujiwara family's powerful background, even his superior, Colonel Katsuta Takashi, would definitely not let him off the hook. Besides, he and his men had received so many benefits from the Fujiwara Company that their hands were practically numb from taking them. If something happened, how would he explain himself?
He pointed at Kitaoka Ryoko and shouted, "Team Leader Kitaoka, this is the Wusongkou Customs, not your Special Higher Police! You're being too presumptuous!"
He was about to order the customs guards to move the people away when the command room was already filled with them. After all, this was a military unit and there was no shortage of military guards. The customs guards had already reacted when Kitaoka Ryoko brought so many people in, and a large group of them confronted her with guns.
When Kitaoka Ryoko saw that things had escalated to this point, which completely went against her original intentions, and seeing that the customs officers in the room were glaring at her angrily, she had no choice but to back down for the time being.
She took a deep breath, bowed slightly, and said softly, "I am very sorry for my rudeness, but I have official business to attend to, so I still request that Yoshino Maru enter the port immediately."
Hirao Daichi, who was standing by, was not about to give up so easily. He immediately shouted, "Don't even think about it! I'll call the chairman right now. You'll have to wait and see what Section Chief Sagawa does to you!"
Hirao Daichi immediately brought out his backer, intending to teach the other party a lesson.
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