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Chapter 95 – The Future Path of the Ootori Group?

A few days after the annual dinner meeting of the Ootori Group’s Presidents’ Association, the “Hououkai,” I was at my great-grandfather’s detached residence.

There were two objectives.
One was to obtain formal permission to go to the United States.
The other was to consult on preparing the Ootori family and the Ootori Group for an imminent “crisis.”

I wondered which to bring up first, but since the trip to the U.S. had been discussed before and likely wouldn’t be an issue, I decided to start with the other.

“To prepare for a ‘crisis,’ huh. Is it really going to change that much? No, I’ve heard about Reiko’s dream, but I can’t imagine things heading for dark times that quickly. It’s only been ten years since the war ended.”

“But Dad, some of the mid-level Army officers are already moving to seize Manchuria and Mongolia. And a lot of places are acting on the assumption that it’ll happen. Most of it is going on beneath the surface, of course, but there’s no stopping it.”

“No stopping it?”

I cast my gaze at my father’s father, clinging to a faint hope in his words.

As always, the only ones present at this meeting were Great-Grandfather Souichirou, Grandfather Kiichirou, and me. Tokita was in the U.S., and Great-Grandfather’s butler Haga was also around, but Grandfather’s butler and my maid Shizu were not present, waiting in a separate room instead.

And since this was a serious discussion, I was refraining from my usual childish speech.

“It won’t stop. If we don’t act before the Ruskies finish their First Five-Year Plan, seizing Manchuria and Mongolia will be impossible due to the power balance between Japan and the Soviet Union. And they believe that if they miss the opportunity, it’ll be a slow decline from there on out. And well, they’re probably right.”

“Sigh… I thought so. Then, is there no hope of relying on the other great powers?”

I asked, holding onto hope because, unlike in my past life’s history, Zhang Zuolin hadn’t been assassinated—in fact, his Grand Marshal act was still going strong.
But my father’s father’s expression turned sour.

“The position the great powers want Japan in is one where we come crying to them for help, but still barely manage not to lose to the Ruskies. That hasn’t changed at all since the Russo-Japanese War.”

“Even if we focus military spending on the Army, it wouldn’t give us the upper hand?”

“No. Before we even get to that, the Navy is the face of Japan’s diplomacy with the great powers. There’s no way it could be cut. The card of having the third-largest navy in the world can’t even be compared to our feeble Army.”

Despite being a Major General in the Army, Father’s father spoke with calm detachment and harsh realism. And once again, it was clear that the Army’s mid-ranking officers would go rogue regardless of whether Zhang Zuolin was winning.
To change that, we’d probably have to go even further back in history and prevent the Russian Revolution from succeeding.

On the other hand, the current state of the continent was clearly racing down a different path from the history I knew in my past life.

In the Japan of my previous life, this was almost never taught to students, but even in that world, a “Sino-Soviet conflict” broke out around this time. And it happened in this world too.
However, the one who started it was Zhang Zuolin, who, still riding high on his Grand Marshal act, had gotten completely carried away.

Still, the reason was the same: with domestic unification of the Republic of China mostly completed, he aimed to eliminate external pressure as the next step.

And the first enemy was the Soviet Union—Russia, the enemy of the world (meaning the West plus Japan). Since it was a communist country, the world (again, the West and Japan) would offer support and, more importantly, money.
For the money-hungry Zhang Zuolin, it was an opportunity too good to pass up.

So last June, he occupied part of the China Eastern Railway (i.e., the Chinese Eastern Railway) in northern Manchuria and picked a fight with the Soviets.
Britain and the U.S., in their usual naivety, supported this and even handed over some money, but Japan, fearing the conflict might spread to southern Manchuria, chose not to act.

Zhang Zuolin’s Grand Marshal streak continued further, and starting from December last year, he took a hardline stance against the Soviets in northern Manchuria. He even began preparing for full-scale military conflict.

This was partly a provocation, knowing the Soviets couldn’t move during the winter, and also a way of signaling to the great powers: “Give me more support.”

And things escalated even further in May, a little while after that.
Zhang Zuolin’s Beiyang Army—now the National Army of the Republic of China—began pushing the Soviets out of northern Manchuria, starting with an unauthorized search of the Soviet consulate in Harbin.

However, this would turn out to be a bad move in regard to Japan.
Because of Zhang Zuolin’s dangerously reckless tightrope-walking, the Japanese government began considering removing him from the picture.

Even at this point, Japan’s concern over Zhang Zuolin was growing, and it was already said that contact had been made with Chiang Kai-shek.

If Zhang Zuolin were to be removed or his influence significantly diminished, the Japanese Army’s actions would only accelerate further.
To make matters worse, if events follow the history of my previous life, the world economy will undergo a drastic shift this autumn.

A decisive shift—for the worse.

“Forget about Manchuria and Mongolia. So then, if the Ootori group is to prepare for this ‘crisis,’ what’s the plan for our formation?”

“I won’t retire from the military while you’re still around, Father. The loss in face and reputation would be too damaging.”

Taking the initiative, Father’s father interjected. Great-Grandfather shot him a sharp look for a moment, then quickly gave a wry smile.

“Kiichirou, as long as I’m alive, all you need to do is keep hold of the family reins. But as for the group’s supreme leader, there’s no one but Zenkichi.”

“…I recommend Kaneko-sama.”

I didn’t really want to say it, but within the Ootori Group, there was no better card to play.

First President of Ootori Financial Holdings: Ootori Zenkichi
Head of the Ootori Conglomerate: Ootori Genji
Second-generation head of Suzuki Shouten: Suzuki Iwajirou

At present, this is the structure that forms the top of the Ootori Group.

However, the one who actually moves Ootori FI, the “Ootori Group’s treasurer” Tokita, and Tokita’s true boss—that is the real top of the Ootori Group.
Great-Uncle Zenkichi is more like a chancellor, not a king.

From the outside, Grandfather Kiichirou is seen as the head of the family and thus effectively the king, but since he stays behind the curtain (misu), people in the business world can’t get to him.

As for me, aside from the rumors of being the “Ootori Priestess,” I’m just someone whose future spouse—about ten years down the line—who is starting to draw some attention, but nothing more.

Uncle Genji, who’s not quite thirty yet, is the second son—a spare in Ootori terms—and regardless of what he thinks of himself, he’s seen as too mediocre, lacking both the ability and presence to lead the Ootori.
He’s still young, so there’s some faint expectation, but from what I can tell, he has no chance.

As for other relatives involved in the zaibatsu, there’s Great-Uncle Torasaburou, but he’s the head of Ootori’s heavy industry division, and capability-wise, no one sees him as suited for anything else. He himself has no interest either.

If my older brother—Uncle Tatsuya—would leave the military, that would solve a lot of problems, but with such a brilliant record, I doubt the Army would let go of him, and he himself intends to remain in uniform.
Within the family, for now, he’s considered the next likely successor to lead the Ootori, even though he’s from the line of the second son.

Outside of the Ootori family, the only promising figure is probably Mr. Idemitsu Sazou, who currently heads the oil division. At least, as far as I know, there’s no one else.

Looking at it this way, the Ootori Zaibatsu truly is a family-run conglomerate.

From my meta perspective, this is due to the game’s internal settings. The game designers likely didn’t want to arbitrarily place named historical figures in roles that diverged too much from actual history.

On the other hand, in the Suzuki Shouten, Mr. Kaneko Naokichi holds a position akin to a loyal retainer and chancellor.

And if Kaneko is promoted, morale on the Suzuki side would undoubtedly rise. The Ootori side would likely react the opposite way—but even then, the real leadership still rests with the Ootori family, and considering Kaneko’s age, he wouldn’t hold the position for long.
It would most likely be seen as a temporary appointment.

Besides, even if Kaneko moves up, the Suzuki side still has plenty of capable people to manage Suzuki itself.

That’s the context behind my suggestion, based on all the information I had gathered.

“Kaneko-kun is out. At the very least, wait until after I’m dead. Otherwise, while Suzuki might accept it, the dissatisfaction on the Ootori side would be too great. So, is there no one from Ootori?”

“Among those I’ve met directly, I think Mr. Idemitsu shows promise.”

“That oilman, huh. He might be fine as the head of a trading company, but anything beyond that—the people currently sitting at the top of the other companies won’t accept it.”

“Then, there’s no one else.”

When I stated that clearly, my Great-Grandfather thought for a moment before speaking.

“When you turn ten, I’ll have you meet the various people who serve the Ootori. Then, you can make your decision. Also, for now, we’ll proceed with the current formation. It would be a poor move to reshuffle a structure we just established when nothing has happened yet. We should use the next three years to solidify our foundation.”

That was the decision of Great-Grandfather, the de facto head of the Ootori family, now retired.