Dealings

Reviewing the case through Watari's laptop, L judges the killer to most likely be a student and asks whether the victims' faces had appeared in the media beforehand. That evening, Light helps Sayu with schoolwork as their father Soichiro returns home. Because Soichiro heads the police, Light siphons the investigation by tapping into his computer over the household network, learning that suspicion has landed on students. He then begins shifting when each criminal dies so that the killings land while he is occupied at school, masking any link to his routine.

A second briefing examines forty-six deaths spaced exactly an hour apart over two days, leading L to conclude the killer can dictate timing and is showing off, which hints at access to police files. Light predicts to Ryuk that L will start probing the force, that officers will resent it and turn their attention to L, and that this will expose the detective to elimination. Three officers tender resignation letters to Soichiro, having confirmed the victims' faces were broadcast first. Watari informs L that the FBI has slipped into Japan to vet police personnel, and on his walk home Light learns from Ryuk that a tail has been placed on him.

Once home, Ryuk explains that death gods extend their own lifespans by recording human names, and that they perceive the name and remaining years of anyone they see. He floats a deal: the Shinigami Eyes offered at the price of half Light's remaining years. Light recognizes that even a halved lifespan would let him wield the notebook far more efficiently. The episode also clarifies a rule, that whoever holds the notebook is shadowed by its original death god owner until death. Raye Penber debuts here, drawn from the chapters Family and Eyeballs. It premiered in Japan on October 17, 2006, and in English on November 4, 2007.