Death Note Episode 3: Dealings

The police task force reviews updates on the Kira case, with Matsuda reporting a significant drop in violent crime in Japan. L, communicating via Watari's laptop, analyzes the data and concludes that Kira is very likely a student, asking the team to check if victims' faces appeared in media before their deaths.

That night at home, Light helps his sister Sayu with homework as their father, police chief Soichiro Yagami, returns exhausted. Using the shared home network, Light hacks into his father's police computer and learns the investigators suspect Kira is a student.

Recalling Death Note rules, Light experiments by specifying causes of death after the initial 40-second window, allowing him to kill criminals at precise intervals while maintaining his school routine—killing one every hour over two days, resulting in 46 deaths exactly one hour apart.

In the next task force meeting, L notes the patterned timing and deduces Kira can control victims' time of death, interpreting it as a taunt and privately suspecting Kira has police information access.

Light tells Ryuk his plan: L will soon suspect police insiders, sparking conflict when the force learns of it and investigates L in retaliation, exploiting their mutual distrust due to L's anonymity and Light's police family ties.

Three police officers resign from the Kira task force, citing fear of exposure after L's theories make them feel vulnerable.

While walking home from cram school, Ryuk alerts Light that a human is tailing them; Light spots a shadowy figure but continues casually.

Back in his room, Ryuk explains Shinigami mechanics: they write human names to steal lifespans, visible as floating names and timers above humans' heads, and he knows Light's remaining lifespan exactly. Ryuk offers Light "Shinigami eyes"—the ability to see any human's name and lifespan by looking at their face—in exchange for half of Light's remaining life. Light considers it, noting it would make the Death Note far more efficient despite the cost.