Tokyo, Bunkyo Ward. Saionji Main Family Residence.
The warm early spring sun spilled onto the wooden veranda in the backyard of the main house. The several century-old Somei Yoshino cherry trees in the courtyard were at the peak of their brilliant blooming season.
A gentle breeze blew, and the flowers on the trees trembled slightly. Pinkish-white cherry blossom petals drifted down like silent, fine snow, covering the bluestone paths and the white sand of the dry landscape garden.
Today, Saionji Satsuki did not step into that oppressive underground strategy room.
She wore a moon-white silk loungewear kimono that draped over the wooden veranda. A plain wisteria-purple brocade obi defined her slender waist. The young girl sat quietly on the edge of the corridor, her fair, bare feet resting gently on the warm cypress flooring, feeling the temperature of the wood in early spring.
Saionji Shuichi, wearing a dark gray loungewear kimono, sat cross-legged on the other side of the low table. The father and daughter were quietly sharing this rare moment of tranquility.
On the rosewood table in front of them sat an exquisite set of Kutani ware tea utensils. A wisp of faint, fragrant green tea steam rose from the teapot, intertwining with the scent of cherry blossoms in the courtyard.
Butler Fujita Tsuyoshi, dressed in a crisp tailcoat, walked briskly along the corridor. He stopped two steps away from Satsuki and bowed slightly. He held a fax that had just been received and printed from an encrypted line.
"Eldest Miss. News from New York."
Satsuki turned her head, her gaze falling on the fax paper.
"The freezing order from Washington has been completely revoked under the lobbying and pressure of Salomon Brothers. The settlement process for the thirty-five billion dollars has been restarted, and it is expected to be fully transferred into our offshore trust matrix in the Cayman Islands within forty-eight hours."
"Understood. You may withdraw." Satsuki's voice was soft, with no discernible fluctuation of emotion.
Fujita Tsuyoshi bowed, placed the fax on the table, and retreated silently.
Shuichi set down his teacup. His gaze swept over the fax on the table. It clearly stated the good news that the crisis had been resolved. Yet his two thick, sword-like eyebrows were tightly knitted together.
"Satsuki." Shuichi looked at the cherry blossoms falling all over the courtyard, his tone filled with deep anxiety. "Although the crisis has been temporarily resolved, this is equivalent to us borrowing a path from Wall Street."
He picked up his teacup, but the warmth of the cup could not dispel the chill in his heart.
"Salomon Brothers… these people are not so easy to deal with."
"You dragged them into this with seven billion dollars, using their channels as cover. This did indeed solve the urgent problem."
Shuichi turned his head, looking at his daughter with a solemn gaze.
"But… the appetites of that Wall Street capital are never satisfied. Once they have established their roots in Japan and have figured out the rules here." He paused, his brows knitting tightly together. "When that time comes, what will we use to prevent them from biting back?"
Satsuki listened quietly to her father's worries. She extended her fair right hand, her fingertips pausing slightly in mid-air. A pinkish-white cherry blossom petal swirled and landed steadily in her palm.
"Father. There is actually no need to worry about the hungry wolves of Wall Street."
Satsuki's gaze fell on the delicate petal, her tone relaxed.
"Fujita. Bring over the monitoring logs of the Saionji Information System regarding the North American bond market."
Fujita Tsuyoshi emerged from the depths of the corridor like a shadow. He placed a thick, bottom-layer data report with printer-feed holes flat on the rosewood table.
Shuichi's gaze was immediately drawn to the dense English data.
"Hmm… according to the feedback from the underlying routing."
Satsuki's slender fingers tapped lightly on the report.
"As the largest primary dealer of U.S. Treasury bonds, Salomon Brothers' proprietary trading desk has frequently shown abnormal capital links in Treasury bond auctions over the past six months."
She looked up, gazing at the cherry blossom trees deep in the courtyard.
"The U.S. Department of the Treasury stipulates that the bidding limit for a single institution in Treasury auctions is thirty-five percent. This is to prevent anyone from monopolizing the nation's sovereign credit."
"But… guess what they did?"
Satsuki chuckled, looking at the somewhat stunned Shuichi.
"They used client accounts. Without authorization, they forged a large number of false bids. They did this to hoard two-year U.S. Treasury bonds, attempting to force a short squeeze in the secondary market."
Shuichi looked at the data, his breathing gradually becoming heavy.
"They… they are manipulating U.S. Treasury bonds?"
"A trading desk that dares to trample on national security red lines at will. In pursuit of extreme monopoly profits, their internal risk control algorithms have long been manually turned off."
Satsuki's fingertips gently rubbed the texture of the cherry blossom petal.
"The data shows that this highly leveraged abnormal bidding is increasing exponentially. And the U.S. Treasury's automated audit system is by no means blind."
She applied slight pressure with her thumb. The tender petal shattered instantly under the pressure of her fingertip. Sap seeped out, staining her fair skin with a faint pink hue.
"According to the actuarial model's projections," Satsuki discarded the shattered petal, the remnants falling onto the cypress floor. "By next year at the latest, this blatant market manipulation will trigger the regulatory red line of the Federal Reserve. To maintain the credit foundation of the U.S. dollar, the politicians in Washington will not hesitate to send them to court."
"When that time comes, even the capital they are so proud of will be of no use. Because damaging the credit of the U.S. dollar means directly offending the entire capital of the United States."
"Therefore, this is just a 'time-limited alliance'." Satsuki looked at the remaining pink mark on her palm, a cold, shallow smile appearing at the corners of her mouth. "We only need to use them for this year or two to provide cover for clearing channels. On this Japanese market that is about to turn into ruins, we can stake out our territory to our heart's content."
"Once Washington's meat grinder starts."
"This Wall Street hegemon will suffer a devastating backlash. When that happens, the Saionji Family will not only be able to cut the physical connection unscathed, but we can even easily take over the Japanese domestic assets they have acquired during this period at a low price."
Shuichi's fingers holding the teacup stiffened slightly. He looked at the cold, underlying data, and then at his daughter's profile, which appeared exceptionally serene under the sunlight.
All worries and doubts completely vanished in the face of these solid, quantified projections.
He was truly useless, having his daughter handle everything, and even having her explain it to him.
He set down the teacup and raised his right hand, wanting to pat his daughter's head as he did in the past.
But his hand stopped in mid-air, pausing slightly.
The young girl before him was almost seventeen.
She was no longer the child who needed to hide under the wings of her elders, but the true helmsman of this massive imperial warship.
Shuichi smiled self-deprecatingly, then gently took hold of Satsuki's fair palm, which was stained with a trace of pink flower sap. His rough fingertips gently stroked the back of her hand.
"Satsuki…"
"Thinking so much… must be tiring, right?"
He paused, his voice slightly hoarse.
"All these years… it's really been hard on you."
Satsuki was slightly taken aback. She did not pull her hand away, letting her father hold it.
The calculation and sharpness in her black-and-white eyes quietly faded. A very gentle, heartfelt, shallow smile curled at the corners of her mouth.
"It's not tiring, Father." Satsuki's voice was soft and composed. "Being able to personally move the chips of this country and watch those arrogant rules collapse at my feet… for me, it is the most interesting game in the world."
She reached out and gently held her father's broad palm.
"Besides… with you always shielding me from the wind and rain on the surface, how could I feel tired?"
The father and daughter looked at each other and smiled.
A gentle spring breeze blew by. The century-old cherry tree in the courtyard shook violently. The cherry blossom petals covering the tree poured down like a blizzard, dancing all over the sky.
Dang— The shishi-odoshi filled with spring water struck heavily against the mossy round stone.
The crisp sound intertwined with the rustling of the wind through the cherry trees, the lingering echo long and resonant.