This was a long-planned investigative operation.
The investigation and evidence collection lasted nearly a year, digging into the sources of YOO's funding and meticulously examining every industry it was involved in.
During this phase, there were even mysterious hackers who occasionally provided the Special Investigation Division with intel, which further solidified evidence of Nagao's shady dealings. Even if Nagao had ten mouths, he wouldn't be able to justify himself.
Any publicly listed company that aggressively expands from the start and constantly takes in capital is bound to have skeletons in the closet.
In certain circles, this kind of thing isn't considered too surprising — it all depends on whether someone chooses to take it seriously.
In this world, companies like Gamestar Electronic Entertainment are rare exceptions. YOO-type companies are the norm.
This time, the Special Investigation Division was acting under direct orders from the Prime Minister's office — the highest level of authorization.
Block us? Are you stupid? Do you want to go to jail? If that's your goal, then go ahead and try. We're here on the Prime Minister's special orders. Anyone who blocks us will be arrested on the spot, and we'll have full legal grounds to lock you up.
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That level of authority immediately scared the front desk staff into silence. They didn't dare make another move and could only watch helplessly as the investigators headed upstairs.
Everyone working that day was ordered to stop whatever they were doing, put their hands on their heads, and squat in a corner awaiting instructions. Meanwhile, the Special Investigation Division began combing through every computer at YOO, extracting all transferable data. Anything that couldn't be carried away on the spot was flagged, and reinforcements were called in to help move it. Not a single document would be left behind.
All regular employees were detained and monitored. As for YOO's management, they were immediately handcuffed and taken away.
Whether you were guilty or not didn't matter — everyone was taken in for questioning. But the real target, of course, was Nagao. The rest of the executives were just collateral.
This time, the Special Investigation Division operated with unprecedented speed and efficiency.
In addition to YOO's headquarters, investigators also raided Nagao's private residence.
His home was completely turned over by a special unit — nothing left untouched — all in the name of "collecting evidence."
According to their statements, informants had reported that Nagao had serious financial issues. The tax authorities had reason to suspect that YOO had a history of accounting fraud. A thorough investigation was now required.
Takayuki was the first to hear about this — far earlier than the media.
He was the one who had tipped off the Kitada family, giving them just the opening they needed to finally bring Nagao down.
He also knew that Nagao's time was up. His career was officially over.
Of course, he had brought it upon himself. Takayuki felt no sympathy.
Even without his interference, those financial conglomerates weren't the type to forgive and forget. Anyone who kept nibbling at the turf of the old money elite would face the same outcome.
In Japan, the only way to fight the zaibatsu is to become one yourself. But Nagao got too cocky before he even reached that level. The rapid success of the internet had made him blindly trust in his own judgment.
This scene looked eerily similar to the downfall of a real-life Japanese internet company in Takayuki's past life — the ending was nearly identical. History really does have a way of repeating itself.
A week later, Nagao was officially arrested in the Kansai region of Japan. The charges included violations of securities trading laws, bribery, falsifying financial records, and more.
Naturally, Nagao denied all accusations. He announced plans to appeal and prove his innocence. But his opponent wasn't just a government body — it was the Japanese zaibatsu class. His failure was already sealed.
The zaibatsu would never allow someone capable of annexing their territories to grow unchecked.
This guy had dared to extend his hands into entertainment, media, investment… practically every sensitive industry. There was no way the old powers would tolerate that.
Letting him live was already a show of mercy.
They knew Nagao had backing from American capital, and the zaibatsu at least respected that — to avoid provoking sanctions from the U.S., they chose to simply ruin Nagao's reputation rather than go for total destruction.
Still, Nagao's arrest sent shockwaves far beyond Japan. YOO had expanded into multiple industries and was already working toward becoming a multinational conglomerate. It had earned name recognition in several countries. With its CEO arrested, the international community was stunned.
People began seriously re-evaluating the company — and were shocked to discover that YOO had been burning cash all along, with barely any profit model in sight.
Japan reacted first — and violently.YOO's subsidiaries saw their stock prices plummet. You could call it a crash. Panic selling swept the market.
The Japanese stock market had only recently begun to recover after the burst of the economic bubble. Now, YOO's collapse once again shattered public confidence in the market.
As Japan's turmoil grew louder, American investors finally realized that without Nagao, the money they had poured in might never return.
YOO had held shares in TV stations, well-known publishers, and even a few small newspapers. But as the scandal exploded, those companies scrambled to distance themselves from Nagao, publicly condemning him and even threatening to sue him for damages. The moment the wall fell, everyone kicked it.
To American investors, all these once-promising assets turned to vapor.As for things like game development, streaming platforms, and e-commerce — none of that could survive without continuous cash injection.
Only then did they realize: internet companies… maybe they weren't as glamorous as they seemed.
Sure, a tech company could gain tens of millions of users with a few lines of code.
But turning those users into actual revenue? That was a whole different problem.
The internet in this world was still in its exploratory stage.Aside from Facebook, which had found a stable profit model, most internet companies were still feeling their way forward.
That journey required nonstop spending — until they found the right path.
When YOO suddenly fell from the clouds, capitalists started to see the internet as a whole as lacking in substance. All those impressive numbers… started to look fake.
And that mindset quickly translated into capital behavior.Investment in internet companies became extremely cautious. Some even outright declared the internet to be too unpredictable — advising the public not to invest in internet startups at all.
At that moment, internet companies went from being darlings to pariahs.
And just like that, this world's internet bubble… had finally arrived.