The materials Richard Castle asked Jarvis to pull up were simple: publicly available information on the Battle of Guadalcanal during World War II, a grueling conflict between the US military and Japanese forces in the Pacific. While gesturing for John to take a good look at how those fanatical soldiers refused to surrender, even fighting to the last man in the jungle against US landing forces, Castle explained, "The people of Japan have a peculiar characteristic—a mix of arrogance and inferiority. This dual nature defines their typical personality. So, the idea I initially had of capturing one alive to have them expose the people behind the scenes is practically impossible in reality.
Even if we manage to kill two of the assassins and hand over the third to either the NYPD or our ally in the White House to let them go after the Watanabe Corporation, I doubt it would truly shake the old man hiding back in Japan, blaming me for his son's death.
Instead of waiting for him to send more people after these three assassins fail, why don't we use our current advantage? We'll stage an operation to surround and pursue the three of them without capturing them, creating the illusion that they've been cornered. This will force them to call for reinforcements from the people behind them.
Isn't it far more fun to use the strategy of encircling them and hitting reinforcements than directly storming their hideout in one big raid? Plus, we'll be able to take down even more of the personnel sent by the Watanabe Corporation."
By this time, the content on the computer had shifted from the Battle of Guadalcanal to a historical overview of Japan from the Meiji Restoration onward. Through videos and detailed historical documents curated by Jarvis, John's previously polished and courteous impression of the Japanese as polite and soft-spoken began to unravel. Particularly shocking were the atrocities committed by Unit 731, the Imperial Japanese Army's Epidemic Prevention and Water Purification Department, during the war in China. At Castle's instruction, Jarvis emphasized these crimes, showing John the unthinkable atrocities committed by this group in northeast China.
Even John, a former world-renowned assassin of Belarusian Gypsy heritage, was stunned by the depravity and shamelessness of these acts. Learning that Shiro Ishii, the man primarily responsible for the crimes of Unit 731, had escaped prosecution for war crimes with the help of the United States after the war only added to his shock. John started to understand why Castle seemed so relentless and merciless when dealing with the Japanese.
It became clear that this kind of behavior wasn't a modern development but a pattern extending back over a hundred years. Diplomacy and kind words were meaningless; the only way to deal with them was with brute force. Only by hitting them hard would this dog—now leashed by post-war America—occasionally listen.
After all, even America, their so-called guardian, had seen Japan rebel against their authority in the 1980s during their economic boom, famously declaring their intent to "buy America." In response, the US retaliated with the Plaza Accord, effectively stripping Japan of its economic gains.
Yet as time passed, Japan became increasingly dissatisfied with America's post-war military presence in their country. Evidence of this could be seen in the intelligence operatives and sleeper agents captured in the US mainland and Hawaii during the Christmas incident linked to Castle.
Seeing John visibly shaken as he absorbed the real history of Japan through the materials Jarvis had prepared, Castle chose not to interrupt. This was a rare and valuable opportunity to expose John to the true nature of these duplicitous people. Although John had retired from the world of underground assassins, Gianna—who was set to inherit the D'Antonio family—might one day have dealings with Japan. This lesson would at least ensure that John, who now held an ingrained dislike for these deceptive individuals, would serve as a watchful guide if the D'Antonio family ever crossed paths with them.
Over the course of the next hour, John soaked up a comprehensive and almost unlimited crash course in history and cultural studies, leaving him with a completely revamped perception of Japan. By the end of the session, his mind was swimming with facts about a country steeped in cruelty and shamelessness. As John sat slightly dazed in his chair, Castle handed him a glass of whiskey.
"Well?" Castle asked teasingly. "Have your impressions of this country and its people changed? Do you now see how those polite, soft-spoken little men are actually masters of deception, using their courteous façades to fool the entire world?"
John downed the whiskey in one gulp, nodding. "Yeah, I've dealt with some of them before, and I always thought their constant bowing and endless stream of 'Sorry to trouble you' or 'Thank you' made them polite.
But now, after seeing Jarvis's breakdown, I realize they think those rituals of politeness have nothing to do with anyone else. It's all just for themselves? Seriously? What kind of twisted mentality is that? Their so-called manners and politeness have nothing to do with the person in front of them receiving their bows—it's just something they believe they have to do. Hell, in their minds, we're probably all just a bunch of idiots standing there while they pretend to be polite..."
Castle couldn't help but laugh. It was rare to see John, usually the cold and detached type, burst out with such profanity. This only proved how much his perception of Japan had been shaken today.
John turned to Castle with a serious expression. "Rick, I think I finally understand why you want to use the 'encircle and hit reinforcements' strategy. These little guys clearly won't admit defeat easily, especially now that their intelligence agencies are working with Amir Barkawi to plan an attack on the White House next month. That old man from the Watanabe Corporation probably thinks this is his only chance to have you killed.
You're right—just killing the three exposed assassins wouldn't solve anything. He'd just send more people later, and we'd lose the intelligence advantage we have now. The idea of leaving one assassin alive to testify against Watanabe was never realistic. Based on what we've seen so far, your encircle-and-hit strategy is probably the most efficient and cost-effective way to deal with them.
Alright, I'm in. Let's play this game with that stubborn old man."
Castle finally smiled, not because John had agreed to join him but because of the immense satisfaction of reshaping John's perspective.
What Castle hadn't shared with John, though, was why he wasn't overly concerned about next month's planned White House attack. Apart from secretly planning to intervene and alert President Benjamin Arthur and Michael Banning beforehand, Castle also had another crucial reason.
In his previous life, Castle vividly remembered an event scheduled to occur next month: the March 11, 2011, 9.0-magnitude earthquake that would devastate Japan and trigger the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
Though this world differed in many ways from the one Castle had known, Japan's precarious position along the Pacific Ring of Fire remained the same. Based on his experiences over the past year, Castle was confident that natural disasters from his past life would still unfold here.
With this in mind, Castle was quietly awaiting the fallout. He was curious to see how Japan's intelligence agencies—reeling from the failure of their White House attack and the exposure of their involvement—would cope when their nation was immediately struck by an unprecedented natural disaster.
Castle couldn't help but chuckle at the thought. When the truth behind the attack was revealed, linking Japan's intelligence agencies, Amir Barkawi, and Loxat members unhappy with the CIA purge to the plan, Benjamin would undoubtedly be furious.
With the White House in ruins, Castle could envision Benjamin refusing to offer any aid to Japan following the earthquake and nuclear crisis. And without American help? Well, Castle figured, Japan would likely suffer far greater losses this time around.
(End of Chapter)
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