The Imperial Summons
Weeks after the initiation of the Cerberus Network, the Japanese political landscape subtly shifted to reflect the re-emergence of the Dragon Throne. The first sign was an official, confidential summons delivered not through diplomatic channels, but directly to the Tenryuu Tower.
The Emperor of Japan had requested an audience with Tenryuu Kaito.
This was an unprecedented move, rarely granted to anyone outside the highest echelons of government or ancient nobility. For a fifteen-year-old high school student, it signaled absolute recognition of the Tenryuu family's latent power.
Kaito and Shiori attended the Imperial Palace meeting alone. The discussions were not about corporate holdings or trade agreements, but about the nation's invisible security.
The Emperor, guided by his most trusted, secret advisors—who were, coincidentally, old friends and beneficiaries of the Tenryuu family—was gravely concerned about the shadows that had fallen over Tokyo. They didn't mention the Black Organization directly, but they spoke of sophisticated, transnational crime that defied conventional police methods.
The result of the audience was a decree that bypassed every layer of bureaucracy:
Tenryuu Kaito was granted the ceremonial title of General of Special Operations—a position with no public affiliation to the NPA, the military, or any existing ministry. It was a title created purely by Imperial decree, granting him, under the age of eighteen, unlimited command authority over any non-affiliated domestic security or intelligence assets required to maintain national security.
Kaito didn't want the title for ego; he wanted the legal shield. This decree made every future operation of the Cerberus Network—from digital infiltration to The Hound's physical interventions—legally untouchable under the highest level of governmental protection.
The AP-X Acquisition
With his legal status secured, Kaito turned his attention to the most scientifically advanced challenge: the drug that had shrunk Shinichi Kudo—APTX 4869.
He knew the drug was a unique form of technological leverage. To understand the enemy, he had to understand their science.
"Shiori," Kaito instructed from the Azure Blend command center. "Find the greatest, most specialized doctor in the world—not a doctor of medicine, but a master of molecular biology and genetic manipulation, capable of reverse-engineering a compound like APTX 4869."
Shiori smiled, already typing on her console. "The System has already anticipated this. It highlighted Dr. Elara Vance. Currently heading a private, highly secretive research lab in Switzerland. She is brilliant, entirely independent, and needs a lifetime of unlimited, guilt-free funding for her most esoteric research."
Kaito deployed the Acquire People function on the highest strategic level.
Dr. Vance received an anonymous, encrypted offer: a private, billion-dollar research facility, absolute secrecy, unlimited resources, and only one initial condition—reverse-engineer a proprietary compound that she would receive anonymously.
Dr. Vance, driven purely by scientific curiosity, accepted within the hour. Her lab was immediately moved, lock, stock, and barrel, to a custom-built, deep-underground research facility beneath the Tenryuu Tower—a place more secure and advanced than any government laboratory.
The AP-X 1111 Project
Within days, Kaito had his initial sample: a single, deactivated capsule of the APTX 4869, acquired by a highly placed Tenryuu asset within a medical examiner's office.
Dr. Vance began the work, labeling the project: "AP-X 1111"—an allusion to its predecessor and its ultimate purpose.
Kaito's instructions were precise:
Do not attempt to replicate the poison. Focus on understanding the cellular mechanism that causes apoptosis (cell death) in all cells except nervous system cells.
Develop a perfect antidote. An irreversible counter-agent to the shrinking effect.
Develop a stable, reversible compound based on the drug's shrinking mechanism, allowing control over human age for strategic infiltration (an invaluable tool for Cerberus).
Kaito now controlled the military-level authority (The General's Decree), the enforcement arm (The Hound), the intelligence apparatus (Cerberus), and the crucial scientific key to the Black Organization's greatest achievement.
He was ready to shift from defense to active strategy.