Contact (chapter)

Contact (連絡, Renraku) is the 1st chapter of Volume nine and 71st chapter overall.



Plot
After the kidnapping incident, Sayu is in a constant state of shock. Soichiro feels terribly guilty.

Near finds out that the president of the U.S. is dead, along with the troops that he deployed to Mello’s hiding place. The SPK deduces that they were definitely killed using the notebook, and their helmets were taken off because they had to see their faces. Near wonders who it was that discovered Mello’s hideout.

Frustrated, Light asks Misa to hand him her notebook, which he will strap on to him. He gives up ownership, once again, of Ryuk’s Death Note, but does not lose his memories since he has Misa’s notebook strapped to him. He instructs Ryuk to follow whoever was the next owner of the Death Note, which he predicted would be Matsuda. Then, Light orders Misa to pretend to be Kira and call his father.

Two days later, Soichiro receives a call from Kira, and the investigators listen in. Kira tells him that he knows the notebook is in enemy hands. He will send to them his Death Note as well as the location of Mello’s hideout. However, he tells them that on November 10th at 11:59 p.m., most of the mafia members from Mello’s group will die. He instructs them to ambush the hideout and get the Death Note back. Kira tells them that he believes that they are enforcers of justice in his world, and no harm will come to them. However, he can’t bear to see the notebook in the Mello’s hands.

Three days later, the investigation team receives the Death Note, and they can all now see Ryuk. Matsuda is overly eager to take advantage of the situation, but the rest of the members are hesitant to trust Kira. He, then, volunteers to make a trade for the shinigami eyes so that they can go and retrieve the Death Note on November 10th from Mello with no mishaps. However, Soichiro steps up and says that he’ll make the trade for the Shinigami eyes because he thinks it’s his fault that the notebook was lost in the first place. In addition, if he has to use the Death Note, he is willing to use it and die 13 days later.

Conception
Ohba said the chapter's title "Contact" refers to the contact made between Light and Ryuk with the members of the task force and also Sayu's contact with sunlight after she was freed.