Di-Jun Huang (body double)

"Teikun Ō (body double)"

- There have been countless attempts on my life. Not just once or twice. Countless! And yet, why must I be the only one to face the danger? When I stand before the people, I garner the same respect as the president does. Tell me, just what is the difference between him and me!?

Due to the hazards of his job as the president of Zheng Fa, Teikun Ō hired a look-alike. However, having to put up with the dangerous nature of being the president with none of the perks caused Teikun Ō's body double to develop a growing resentment towards his employer. This body double was nothing more than a cowardly and inferior shadow of the man he impersonated for over 12 years.

Assassination and identity theft

 * Main article: SS-5 Incident

Resentful of having to put his life on the line everyday without having the power and respect of being the real Teikun Ō, the body double resolved to have his employer assassinated and then assume his identity. With the help of corrupt Chief Prosecutor Bansai Ichiyanagi and Happy Family Home orphanage owner Marī Miwa, the body double began to put his plot into motion. Knowing that Ō would be visiting the Happy Family Home orphanage in order to visit his secret lover Ami Aizawa, the conspirators hired the deadly blind assassin Ryōken Hōinbō and sent him to murder the president. Ō was soon dead and the body double began his new life as the deceased man.

A photojournalist called Ryūji Kamei witnesses the assassination from the entrance of the orphanage, but was promptly murdered via a blow to the skull with a brick by "Ō". The conspirators then removed Ō's body and replaced it with that of Kamei in order to obfuscate where the photographer had been killed and to disguise Ō's bloodstains on the surrounding snow.

The group had planned to then betray and kill Hōinbō, but a boy at the orphanage called Sōta Sarushiro (who had been saved by the assassin when he was younger) overheard and warned Hōinbō so that he could escape. Although that one aspect of the plan had been foiled, the rest had gone perfectly. "Teikun Ō" then pretended that he had been been kidnapped and, after the group had been paid a hefty ransom, the body double began his new life as the president of Zheng Fa. However, the body double, along with his co-conspirators Bansai and Miwa, had become the subject of a strong resentment within Sarushiro.

A fake assassination

 * Main article: Turnabout Target

The speech
For the next 12 years "Ō" ruled over Zheng Fa as its president. However, the imposter was nowhere near as good a leader as the real Teikun Ō had been, and so his approval ratings gradually saw a decline, particularly due to his inept handling of counterfeit money being smuggled into the county by an international smuggling ring that had crippled the country's economy. Fortunately, that particular problem would eventually be solved by the intervention of prosecutor Miles Edgeworth, who brought down the ring by having its leader arrested.

Eager to capitalize on this, "Ō" travelled to Gourd Lake in his private plane in order to personally thank those who had helped save his country via a speech. During his tenure, "Ō" became increasingly paranoid about those around him, even the Zheng Fa police. He therefore hired a private security firm for protection, with Gai Tojiro leading the team and Manosuke Naitō acting as second-in-command. Feeling that he was in the shadow of the more skilled Tojiro, Naitō came up with a plan to boost the president's ratings back home in an effort to show that he was more loyal and useful than his superior. However, Tojiro was against the idea, causing the other two to pretend to call off the plan.

Two days before he was due to give his speech, the infamous assassin Shelly de Killer made an attempt on the life of "Ō", but was foiled by the quick actions of Tojiro, who managed to seriously injure the assassin's arm. Unfortunately, this was not before de Killer was able to grasp Naitō by the throat so tightly that the latter was forced to wear a neck brace. This injury meant a slight adjustment to the security plan for the upcoming speech due to Naitō being unable to turn his head to the right.

Later, upon arriving at Gourd Lake, "Ō" exited his private plane onto an already set-up podium and proceeded to give his speech to the awaiting crowd, wherein he thanked those who had helped bring down the smuggling ring and promised to bring the remnants of the organization to justice. At the climax of the speech, Naitō put the staged assassination into action by surreptitiously firing into a nearby balloon. Although he was well aware that it was not a real assassination attempt, "Ō" was still frightened at the sound of gunshots. His bodyguards quickly escorted him back into the plane and into a special panic room, where he proceeded to cowardly hide under the bed. He was still there when Tojiro was found dead inside his plane, and thus had no idea what had happened to his subordinate.

The plan falls apart
The body double's "strategic retreat" under his bed was soon interrupted by the arrival of Miles Edgeworth, who was investigating the "assassination" and Tojiro's murder. Accompanying him was Kay Faraday, Mikiko Hayami, and Shelly de Killer with a knife to Manosuke Naitō's throat; the assassin had taken the bodyguard hostage partially in order to get on board the plane, but was also forcing Edgeworth to continue his investigation. Once inside the plane, de Killer knew that the security cameras around him would be linked to the panic room, and so announced to "Ō" that if he didn't come out then Naitō would die. Valuing his own life above that of his bodyguard, "Ō" did not respond. De Killer eventually gave up, cut the power, and escaped in the ensuing confusion.

After making sure the coast was clear, "Ō" finally emerged. He introduced himself to Edgeworth, but immediately had him surrender his investigative authority and evidence, and then declared that this was a Zheng Fa matter that was none of the prosecutor's business. "Ō" did all this in an attempt to prevent the truth of the "assassination" being revealed. However, after a quick battle of wits, Edgeworth declared that he still had the right to investigate since the "assassination" had taken place on his own country's soil, thus rendering the extraterritoriality rights of the presidential plane irrelevant.

"Ō" reluctantly agreed to testify about the speech. He told Edgeworth about the round red balloon that had burst from the gunshot he heard, and that when his two bodyguards attempted to escort him to the plane, a second gunshot had hit Tojiro. However, it turned out that the red balloon that had burst was a modified balloon Steel Samurai, which should have been obvious to anyone who saw it. "Ō" then claimed that a flag flapping in the wind had blocked his field of vision, but this ended up proving instead proved that Naitō had been the one who had shot the balloon, due to a bullet hole in said flag. Upon having his fake assassination plot revealed, the body double was shocked into dropping his proud, commanding, and muscular persona to reveal his true self: a cowardly, fat, and pitiful man. Edgeworth would go on to discern that it had been Naitō who had murdered Tojiro due to being jealous of his fellow bodyguard's superior abilities.

With the case resolved, "Ō" reverted back to his presidential persona and thanked Edgeworth for solving the case and exposing his most trusted bodyguard as a murderer. He went on to state that he believes that his own anxiousness about the plan had given Naitō his impetus for Tojiro's murder. Edgeworth reminded him that since the president was in on the plan, he had to take responsibility for his subordinate's crime. "Ō" agreed (though it doesn't seem that he assumed any responsibility at all), thanked Edgeworth one final time, and told the prosecutor that he would always be welcome in Zheng Fa if he decided to visit.

Death

 * Main article: The Grand Turnabout

Almost two weeks after the Gourd Lake incident, "Ō" met with Hakari Mikagami on the top floor of Big Tower at her request. Mikagami revealed that she wished for him to meet "his" illegitimate son, Shimon Aizawa (offspring of the real Teikun Ō and the now deceased Ami Aizawa, and now the adopted son of Mikagami). Completely unaware that the boy even existed, the body double was forced to fake an understanding of what she was talking about until she left. However, while "Ō" was alone on the roof, he spotted a hot air balloon rapidly heading towards him. In a panic, the body double drew a gun he had on his person and fired at this oncoming threat. Unfortunately for Teikun Ō's body double, he failed to stop it; the balloon flew into him, with its basket crushing him to death.

Unbeknownst to the now deceased body double, the pilot of the balloon had been none other than Sōta Sarushiro, who had not intended to meet the imposter, but was convenienced by their chance meeting since he had been targeting the body double due to how he betrayed his father figure 12 years prior. Sarushiro transported the corpse to the walk-in freezer of a warehouse near Sunshine Coliseum. The following night, Sarushiro transported the body to a filming lot at the base of Big Tower that was being used by Global Studios, with the hope that Mikagami being the last one seen with "Ō" would make her the prime suspect. Seeing a large prop Borumosu in the filming lot made Sarushiro decide to dump the body there, hoping that it would seem that he had been crushed underneath it. Unfortunately for him, Miles Edgeworth became involved in the case and not only figured out the true identity of the Teikun Ō he had met earlier, but also that Sarushiro had been the one who had murdered him.

Personality
Despite his fearsome appearance, the body double was a coward who was only a shadow of the man he impersonated. In fact, once Edgeworth proved that he staged the assassination attempt, his fearsome appearance was proven to be a facade covering his chubby and unimpressive true face. He had no qualms about betraying his employer for power, nor did he co-operate with the orders of an assassin who had been holding a knife to his subordinate's throat to come out of his hiding place when, proving he has no regard for Knightley's life and was willing to risk it for his own protection. Also, his cowardice displayed when he refused to show himself before the assassin is likely what caused de Killer to begin to question whether or not he was the true president.

Development

 * There are deliberate design and personality parallels between the body double and his subordinates and chess pieces. The body double himself is the king (due to his authority and seemingly commanding presence; however, Bansai Ichiyanagi could alternatively be seen as the king due to his own authority as chief prosecutor and head of the Prosecutorial Investigation Committee), Marī Miwa could be considered the queen (due to her gender and the seemingly extravagant furs she wears), Gai Tojiro is the rook (due to his hairstyle, head shape, name pun, and his desire to protect his "king"), Ryōken Hōinbō is the bishop (due to his prayer beads, Buddhist-like leitmotif, and even the shape of his head), Manosuke Naitō is the knight (due to his mane-like hair, name pun, and his desire to protect his "king"), while everyone else could be considered mere pawns to him.