I am Iris.
Urban legends are never just mere stories—
they are fragments of hidden truths waiting to be uncovered with you.

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The Akimaru Institute – Phantom Intelligence

Birth of a Secret Think Tank

In the turbulent years leading up to World War II, the Japanese Army established a clandestine group known as the Akimaru Institute. Officially, it was a research unit. In reality, it functioned as a secret think tank—its sole mission: to analyze the industrial strength, supply lines, and war potential of the world’s leading powers.

Unlike propaganda-driven institutions, the Akimaru Institute relied on cold numbers, logistics, and economic realities. Their findings were brutally honest, and far from what military leaders wished to hear.

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A Grim Forecast

The analysts of the Institute reached a devastating conclusion:
If Japan were to fight against the United States, the nation would face inevitable defeat.

Their simulations predicted Japan’s resources would collapse under the weight of America’s overwhelming industrial capacity. Oil, steel, and food production—Japan lacked the reserves to sustain a prolonged war.

This knowledge should have reshaped Japan’s future.
But the truth was too dangerous.

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Suppressed Reports

The findings of the Akimaru Institute were buried.
Top brass within the military refused to accept them. The documents were classified as too “defeatist,” and the organization quietly vanished from official records.

Some say the reports were intentionally destroyed to silence dissent. Others whisper that only fragments survived, hidden in forgotten archives.

The result? Japan marched into war blind to reality, guided by arrogance instead of reason.

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The Legend Lives On

The Akimaru Institute has since become a legend—
a ghostly reminder of intelligence ignored.

What if those reports had been heeded?
Would Japan’s destiny—and the world’s—have taken a different path?

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Closing

The tale of the Akimaru Institute is not just about history.
It is a warning: to disregard knowledge is to invite disaster.

Next time—together we will uncover another fragment of truth.
And I will return, as always, to continue the tale.