Kenjiro smiled subconsciously, thinking she was making up stories again.
But there was not a trace of a smile on Satsuki's face, so his smile gradually faded.
The Soviet Union?
The same Soviet Union he had heard about since childhood?
The Self-Defense Forces in Hokkaido held exercises every year to defend against it. Whenever the Northern Territories, Soviet submarines, bombers, and nuclear bombs were mentioned on television, they were things that had weighed heavily over Japan for decades.
Could such a massive country just vanish into thin air?
"Are... are you serious?"
"Uncle, do you remember the newspaper from the morning of the twenty-ninth last month?"
Kenjiro thought about it. That morning, he had been scared half to death by Fuji's front page, but Satsuki had flipped the paper to the international section.
"Ah, that... the one where eight union republics signed together, saying they would repay the Soviet Union's foreign debt."
"Right. Think about it, if Moscow could still control them, would there be any need for all eight to sign together?"
Satsuki turned around, her back to the painting.
"Next Sunday, Ukraine is going to vote on whether to declare independence."
"Ukraine is the second-largest republic in the Soviet Union. More than half of the Soviet Union's grain, coal, steel, shipbuilding, and missiles are there."
"If it leaves, the remaining ones definitely won't stay either."
"When that time comes, the Soviet Union will be nothing but a name."
"At the earliest by the end of this year, and at the latest by next spring. As for the exact day... I can't say for sure."
Kenjiro fell silent for a long while before asking.
"Then... what does this have to do with us?"
Just as he said this, he himself recalled the memorandum from September.
During the days of the coup, Satsuki had been forced by Shuichi to rest at home, and a mountain of work had been transferred to him. Among it, over a dozen pages were entirely about the Soviet Union: shipping schedules for the Port of Leningrad, customs clearance for medicines, an equipment list for a hospital, and an explanation of a Finnish bank account that he couldn't understand even after reading it several times.
At the time, he had just treated it as ordinary overseas trade, confirming it item by item according to the memorandum before handing it in.
"Wait, those things you dumped on me in September..."
"Yes, exactly those."
Satsuki nodded.
"When Gorbachev came to Tokyo in April this year, we treated him to a meal at Shunkyo."
"At that dinner, I negotiated a hundred-million-dollar credit line with them."
"To put it simply, we first help Leningrad purchase medicines, medical equipment, and cold storage parts. Once the goods arrive and pass inspection, they pay. As soon as the money is returned, the credit line is freed up again."
"However, I insisted on one condition at the time: the contract had to be signed by five entities. The Union Center, the Russian Republic, the City of Leningrad, the port operating unit, and the settlement bank—not a single one could be missing."
"At the time, they all thought I was being overly troublesome."
"And now?"
"Now, the central government is almost gone, but the remaining four names are still there."
Satsuki said slowly.
"Once the Soviet Union dissolves, nine out of ten contracts signed by those Moscow ministries and the Foreign Trade Bank will probably become waste paper. When that happens, no one will know whom to ask for money or whom to release goods to."
"But ours won't."
"The port is still the same port, and the people opening the warehouse doors are still the same people. Their names are all written on the paper."
Hearing this, Kenjiro finally understood why she had insisted on those signatures back in April.
"However, that is only half of it."
Satsuki reached out her hand to Chizuru. Chizuru took out a dark blue folder from her briefcase and handed it over with both hands. Satsuki didn't open it but handed it directly to Kenjiro.
"SIS delivered this last night. Uncle, take a look at the first page first."
Kenjiro opened the folder. The first page was a list of over twenty Russian names, with their titles and specialties marked in Japanese beside them. The top line read, "Leningrad State Optical Institute."
"Optical Institute?"
"It's the place where they make lenses and specialty glass. The Soviet Union's satellites, telescopes, and even optical sights on warships all have to pass through there."
Satsuki raised her hand and pointed to a few names on the list.
"We started contacting these few people last year. We've already discussed projects and allowances."
"If we want to continue progressing in semiconductors, the hardest part is optics. There aren't many people in the entire world who can achieve this level."
"Although we snatched a group of people from East Germany before, it is still far from enough."
Kenjiro flipped to the next page.
The second page detailed the current situation of the institute.
"State Optical Institute: Since August, staff salaries have been paid at fifty percent of the original standard; October salaries were delayed by nineteen days, and as of the date of this report (November 23), November salaries have not yet been paid."
"The former director retired on August 31, and the current director took office on September 20, with their pre-appointment resume pending verification."
"The Group's liaison met with the current director twice, on October 8 and November 5. On both occasions, the other party stated they needed 'further study' and did not provide a written response."
The third page had only a few lines of text.
"A US delegation is scheduled to visit Leningrad in early December under the guise of international scientific and technological cooperation, with contact targets including several research institutions, among them the State Optical Institute."
"In addition, the US Senate will soon vote on a bill to appropriate funds to assist the Soviet Union in disposing of nuclear weapons and to prevent Soviet weapons scientific research personnel from flowing to third countries."
Kenjiro suddenly looked up.
"The Americans are targeting them too?!"
"Yes, and they are targeting the exact same group of people as we are."
Satsuki slipped her hands into her sweater pockets.
"The Americans are afraid that these people will go hungry and turn around to run off to Iraq or North Korea to help build missiles. So they plan to spend money to give them monthly allowances to keep them staying quietly in the Soviet Union."
Kenjiro's brow furrowed. Saionji had just set up such a large operation in New York and California; if they fell out with Washington over a few researchers, it wouldn't be worth it no matter how they calculated it.
"Then aren't we going to be competing with the US government for people?"
"Why compete?"
Satsuki smiled.
"What the Americans want is just for these people not to run off to Iraq. If they enter Saionji, they'll be just as safe in their eyes. I can even bring them directly into Saionji's assets on US soil."
"Besides, Congress is arguing fiercely over this money. Will voters be happy to hear that their tax dollars are being used to pay salaries to Soviets?"
"If a Japanese company is willing to pay a portion of the money to support these people well, they would be more than happy."
"So, on Washington's side, I will ask Dr. Kissinger to pass on a message. In the field of civilian optics, we will provide the funding and projects, and we can also share part of the research results to work on together with partner enterprises in California."
"The Americans save money, and the people are kept under watch. There's no reason for them not to agree."
Kenjiro breathed a sigh of relief. He lowered his head to look at the list again, only to find that three names at the very bottom were boxed separately, with the specialty column next to them reading "Reconnaissance Satellite Optical Systems" and "Ballistic Missile Guidance Optics."
"Can we negotiate for these three people the same way?"
Satsuki glanced at the three names and did not answer immediately.
"These three won't work."
"Back then, when Toshiba sold a few machine tools to the Soviet Union, the Americans made such a huge fuss. For people who make lenses for missiles and reconnaissance satellites, they would rather take them themselves than let any foreign company have them, even a Japanese one."
Kenjiro read through the second page again.
"This new director said he needed to consider it twice... Could he be waiting for the Americans?"
"Him? He's waiting to see who offers a higher price."
Satsuki turned around and glanced at the painting again.
"After a ship breaks apart, the sea is full of planks. Whichever one you grab onto is the one you rely on to survive."
"The Americans want to number these planks one by one and have everyone hold onto them without moving around. For most of the planks, it doesn't matter if they number them."
"But for a few of them, I don't plan to wait for them to be numbered."
Kenjiro closed the folder and held it to his chest.
"Then... what should we do?"
"First, we need to finalize this group of people from the Optical Institute as soon as possible. For those on the list, we won't negotiate with the institute anymore; we'll go directly to talk to them individually."
"We'll pay their salaries in US dollars, or directly in gold bars. For those with sick family members, we'll have the Municipal 15th Hospital—the one we supply equipment to—prioritize arranging beds for them. We will also arrange for their children's schooling."
"Second, that contract with the five signatures needs to be reconfirmed right now."
"The port, the municipal government, the operating unit, the bank—are the people who originally signed still in their positions? If they've been replaced, does the newcomer recognize this contract? We must clear all of this up before the end of this month."
"On the day Moscow falls, our ships must dock and unload as usual."
"Next is the Japanese side."
Having said this, Satsuki glanced at Kenjiro.
"We aren't the only trading company holding unpaid Soviet accounts. Once the Soviet Union dissolves, those who signed contracts under the names of Moscow ministries won't be able to recover their money."
"And yet, they have to settle their accounts in March. When that time comes, there will definitely be people eager to sell off these debts."
"So, Uncle, keep an eye out for me during this period to see which trading companies hold the most Soviet receivables."
Kenjiro nodded as he listened. At the last sentence, his hands holding the folder paused slightly.
While other people's contracts were turning into waste paper, she was preparing to collect this waste paper.
He recalled the long queue stretching two blocks outside the Akasaka Branch, and the photo of the rolling shutter door taken at night.
Back then, everyone thought Fuji was finished, yet on that very same afternoon, buy orders from over a dozen securities firms gradually snapped up Fuji's shares.
Now it was the Soviet Union's turn.
Satsuki didn't say any more and turned to look at Chizuru.
"Chizuru, after we go back, have Fujita come to the study to see me."
"Yes."
"Tell him that some people in Leningrad cannot be brought out just by talking. I will finalize the list, and he should have his men ready."
Chizuru bowed her head in response, not asking a single question.
But Kenjiro's heart skipped a beat.
If they couldn't be brought out just by talking, then what would it take?
He looked at Satsuki; her expression was exactly the same as when she was explaining the plan just now. He opened his mouth but ultimately swallowed the question back down.
Satsuki walked back to the French window.
Down below, the Pedestrian Paradise was drawing to a close. Police were already moving barricades at the intersection, and the crowd was slowly retreating to the sidewalks on both sides.
Kenjiro followed her with the folder in his arms and stood beside her.
"Uncle, you have to hurry up. Next Sunday, Ukraine is going to vote."
Satsuki looked down at the retreating crowd.
"Before that, I need to know everything: where everyone on the list currently lives, how many people are in their family, and when they last received their salary."
"Alright, I'll get on it tomorrow."
"Mhm."
Satsuki took the kraft paper bag back from Chizuru, pulled out the top transaction slip, glanced at it, stuffed it back in, and handed it to Kenjiro.
"Just buy Fuji's shares as usual, remember not to exceed five percent."
Kenjiro took the paper bag, stacked it together with the dark blue folder, held them tight, and turned to walk toward the elevator.
After taking just a few steps, Satsuki's voice came from behind him again.
"By the way, Uncle."
Kenjiro turned his head.
Satsuki was still leaning against the French window, gesturing with her chin toward the wall behind him.
"After you go back, you should brush up on these things as well. Saionji is an old Kazoku family after all, and there will only be more and more occasions where Uncle will have to represent the family in the future."
"When the time comes to visit someone's residence, and the host specially leads you to see the paintings hanging in the living room, you can't very well tell them, 'Wow, this hook is really sturdy,' can you?"
Kenjiro opened his mouth, wanting to refute, but realized that he had indeed been looking at it exactly that way just now.
"...Then where should I start learning?"
"Start by memorizing the name and artist of every painting here."
The corners of Satsuki's mouth curled up again.
"The next time you come, I will test you."
Holding the two folders, Kenjiro looked back at the long corridor lined with paintings.
Monet, Dürer, Yokoyama Taikan, and that Dutchman who borrowed money and never paid it back.
It seemed that for some time to come, he would have to spend his efforts on these pigments that were even more expensive than land in Ginza.