Phantom Thief of Heart!but conan

Chapter 1278 Idols and Fans

"How could you make such a statement—"

"So far, I haven't found any evidence to support the existence of a third person at the scene." Hoshikawa Teru simply shook his head, not intending to listen to Hikawa Motoyuki's further words. "Unless you can come up with other arguments besides the fact that the village chief's suicide reason is untenable, my opinion is that Kudo Shinichi's judgment is correct."

He was the first detective to give a positive answer, and everyone's eyes immediately turned to him.

"You seem quite certain..." Hattori Heiji lowered his brows, a hint of displeasure in his expression, as if he had lost somewhere. "I've never seen you trust Kudo's judgment so much before?"

"Don't get me wrong, I didn't trust his judgment." Hoshikawa Teru glanced at him sideways.

He simply trusted Tang Ze's judgment, and Tang Ze had asserted before setting off that Shinichi Kudo wouldn't be a fool like Junya Tokitsu who would easily inform the police of a flawed judgment. He would only submit the answer after multiple verifications and confirmations.

However, he couldn't say it aloud, even though he thought it. He simply replied, "I just made my own judgment, and it just so happens that my judgment is the same as Kudo's conclusion, so I think he's not wrong."

"Interesting. So what do you think about the possibility that the village chief's reasons for suicide might not match the published statements?" Koshimizu Nanatsuki pursed her lips.

"Well, there are probably other hidden details we don't know about." As he said this, Hoshikawa Teru glanced deliberately at Tang Ze. "You know Kudo better than I do. What do you think?"

This is a clear indication that they don't want to continue drawing attention and are instead trying to shift the blame elsewhere.

Having finished taking photos of Shinichi Kudo's poster, Tang Ze put down his phone, looked at Hikawa Moe, whose eyebrows were furrowed and who was clearly very dissatisfied, and still gave an affirmative answer.

"People can lie, they can fake it, and they can have psychological trauma unknown to outsiders that causes them to break down for simple reasons. You think Kudo-kun's statement is insulting and a disgrace to the former village chief, but the hidden story behind it is not something that can be explained in a few words." Tang Ze gave his affirmative opinion. "I am also more inclined to believe that Kudo is not a person who would lie. As for Mr. Yuda Makoto's question, Ms. Hikawa, I believe this is not the first time he has tried to contact Kudo Shinichi, is it?"

“…Indeed.” The anger that had been rising in the glacier subsided slightly under Tang Ze’s gentle tone. Seeing that this young man, at least with kind features, was willing to answer his questions, he said, “Before Makoto disappeared, he had been in contact with Shinichi Kudo, writing letters and making phone calls, wanting to discuss the case again…”

"Didn't get a reply?"

"No, there were replies at first, but then there were no more." At this point, Hikawa Moe glared at "Kudo Shinichi" standing to the side with dissatisfaction again. "In the end, it's just a matter of being perfunctory and impatient, isn't it? I think even if the person who wrote to you was really Makoto, it only means that Makoto had no other choice but to ask other detectives for help."

Despite her defense, Makoto Uta himself did not listen.

He was staring intently at Hoshikawa Teru, who asserted that Kudo Shinichi was not wrong, his gaze extremely somber.

"Well..." Ran Mouri smiled awkwardly, unsure how to answer for a moment.

Shinichi did reply. In fact, as a detective driven by interest, Shinichi Kudo would often check the letters to avoid missing any invitations or questions—which was why he was able to show off his love letter to his classmates back then; he really did read the letters.

As for why he stopped replying later, it's probably because Shinichi was no longer able to reply to letters in a timely manner at that time.

Shinichi Kudo himself has disappeared, and the letter has been forwarded to Professor Agasa, so how can he reply? And it's even more impossible for him to receive a phone call.

Nowadays, Shinichi Kudo's niche in Tokyo has been replaced by Kogoro Mouri, Goro Akechi, and others; the only people who would think to contact Shinichi Kudo immediately are the media...

"Is it possible that in his later replies, Kudo had already received the news that the village chief could not have committed suicide due to cancer, yet he still did not overturn his previous view and was not worried at all that this case would tarnish his resume, which means that Kudo Shinichi really has enough evidence to support his argument?" Tang Ze did not dwell on the issue of Kudo Shinichi not replying, but asked in return.

"This..." Bingchuan Mengsheng pursed his lips, unable to answer either.

“Kudo isn’t the kind of detective who’s afraid to admit his mistakes. He repeatedly insists that his judgment is correct, but Mr. Yuda Makoto just can’t accept that viewpoint. It’s really hard to say who the stubborn one is.” Tang Ze also shook his head.

In this matter, Shinichi Kudo was truly an innocent victim.

His decision not to reveal the true reason for the village chief's suicide was entirely out of good intentions.

The real problem that the hospital checkup uncovered wasn't his tumor, but rather the emotional relationship between him and his wife, which was hidden beneath the veneer of family harmony.

During his physical examination, he discovered that he had type AB blood.

His wife and son are both blood type O. Anyone who has seriously studied high school biology should know that it is impossible for a couple with blood type O and blood type AB to have a child with blood type O.

In the inheritance of blood type, A and B are dominant genes, while O is a recessive gene. Only when both parents have type O blood can they have a child with type O blood.

Regardless of where the genetics went wrong, in short, Daiki Nihara could not possibly be the biological son of Takitoku Nihara.

No one knows what kind of conversation he and his wife had that night that escalated to the point of causing death, but if this reason were to be revealed, it would certainly have a very bad impact, especially on Daiki Nihara himself who was left behind.

As I said before, Higashio Village is a small place, and rumors here tend to become more and more exaggerated.

At that time, what will inevitably accompany this child, Daiki Nihara, is scandalous gossip, malicious speculation about his mother, and prejudice against him...

The best course of action for the victims is to keep the truth out of the public eye. It can only be said that Makoto Uta's failure to learn of this information is entirely his own fault.

"Hmm, so Mr. Yuta Makoto's admiration for Kudo Shinichi really needs some questioning." Hoshikawa Teru snorted, glancing at his watch. "I've seen enough of the scene here. If there are no other questions, I'll head back to the hotel. As for other questions, we can always visit the village tomorrow to confirm them."

"Eh, they just left like that?" Koshimizu Nanatsuki, who had been bending over to examine the bookshelf, straightened up. "Aren't there still some questions we haven't figured out? Like the whereabouts of the murder weapon or something."

"I think the police handled those details well. If you want to investigate further, then continue your inspection. I'm going to look for what I'm looking for instead of wasting my time here. See you later."

After speaking, he bowed to the others present, turned, and left. Koshimizu Nanatsuki shrugged, making a helpless expression: "That's just his personality. Efficiency is paramount; he rarely maintains relationships unrelated to the client's needs. Sometimes it's quite annoying, isn't it?"

"I'll go with him, just in case anything goes wrong." Tang Ze straightened up and said quickly, "I'll leave things here to you."

As he spoke, he quickly gestured across Hattori Heiji's eyes.

If there are no new developments in this case, the most urgent thing is to find Conan.

Heiji Hattori, understanding the unspoken message, said nothing. After watching him leave quickly, he secretly changed his position, blocking the view of "Shinichi Kudo," who was staring intently in the direction Akechi Goro had left.

The chances of this guy being Kudo himself are getting lower and lower; we can't let him get in the way of finding Kudo.

Not long after leaving the Nihara residence, Hoshikawa Teru relaxed his tense expression, and his face immediately fell.

"Shall we head to the Impression Space now to find that detective who disappeared without a trace?" He glanced at his watch. "Anyway, even if this fake Kudo wants revenge, he'll only target me and won't hurt anyone else. The situation is safe, right?"

"I asked you to stir up some hatred, but I didn't ask you to say such harsh things." Tang Ze slapped him, laughing and crying at the same time, "I think Makoto Uta is about to glare you through the roof."

First, they denied his admiration for Shinichi Kudo, calling him a fake fan. Then, they joined in to say that Kudo was right, and that it was just that ordinary people like them didn't understand detectives and couldn't understand his answers.

There's no need for any further output or to establish an unlikable character role; these two points alone are enough to completely ignite the extreme mentality of Makoto Yata.

This is a super hater who, driven by love turned to hate, personally underwent plastic surgery to resemble Shinichi Kudo, willing to ruin her own life to tarnish Shinichi Kudo's reputation...

If it weren't for his relatively pure intentions, and his plan to bring Shinichi Kudo to him first, knock him out, and then go out and cause trouble, he wouldn't even need to break the law. Just by wandering around with that face, indulging in debauchery, and creating a lot of gossip while Shinichi Kudo was out of sight, he could have given Conan a real headache...

"Isn't what I said the truth?" Taking advantage of the fact that there was no one else on the road, Hoshikawa Teru rolled his eyes rudely. "If he really trusted his own intelligence and thought that his judgment was more accurate than Kudo Shinichi's, then he shouldn't have come to Kudo Shinichi in the first place, right? Others' objective facts are only considered objective if they match his subjective ones. If other people's objective facts don't match, then they are wrong, right?"

"Don't judge others by your own standards." Tang Ze glanced at him. "Not everyone in the world is as omnipotent as your leader. Idols cannot make mistakes. Idols that make mistakes will be destroyed by their followers. That's only human nature."

"Where did I judge others by my own standards?" Hoshikawa Teru curled his lip. "Stop bragging. It's not like you've never made a mistake."

Deep down, Hoshikawa Teru didn't think his feelings for Tang Ze were the kind of emotions a fan has for an idol.

He was rescued by Tang Ze and witnessed firsthand how Tang Ze meticulously planned and gradually broke free from the organization's control, turning the organization's conspiracy into an asset, and using that power to regain control of his own destiny.

That was a scene that even Hoshikawa Teru couldn't imagine in his most beautiful dreams, yet Tang Ze made it happen with ease.

During that time, he observed Tang Ze closely and was an important part of Tang Ze's plan. From being indifferent to it, to being skeptical, to being shocked by Tang Ze's spirit and ability, his mentality was gradually reversed, and he was reborn as a result.

He had witnessed Tang Ze's moments of frustration or vulnerability before, and his decision to follow Tang Ze was not a momentary impulse or driven by emotion.

He just...

"As your teammate and follower, I simply never questioned that about you," Hoshikawa Teru summarized. "If I had to question anyone, it would only be myself. I just find that person's worship ridiculous."

Both involved changing appearances and a strange relationship of identity theft and being the one whose identity was stolen. Hoshikawa asked himself, if this situation had happened between him and Tang Ze, he would only question himself.

She questioned whether Tang Ze hadn't shared all the information with her, whether she had done something wrong, whether she hadn't gained Tang Ze's trust, or whether her understanding was flawed, leading to the misunderstanding.

She even questioned whether she could keep up with Tang Ze's pace, whether she could play a role, or whether she would become a stumbling block.

No matter how you count it, it won't turn into the situation that Makoto Uta is in now.

"Really?" Tang Ze subtly observed his expression as he opened the otherworld navigation. "I have a feeling you're thinking about something even more dangerous than him..."

Before Asai Narumi told Karasawa about Hoshikawa's unusual behavior, he had already noticed it through the teammate list.

Ever since he started pushing for a retrial of his own case, Hoshikawa Teru has been preoccupied with something.

He might be pondering the meaning of his double now that Tang Ze's criminal record is gone and his identity is freed, or he might be considering whether Tang Ze's case, even if it is retried and he is exonerated, can truly improve Tang Ze's situation.

No matter how you look at it, his next move has to be quite significant.

“How could that be?” Hoshikawa Teru followed his footsteps and stepped into the Impression Space, calmly retorting, “I would never do anything to make things difficult for you. I’ve already said, I won’t question you.”

Even if there is danger, it is his own responsibility. Taking too extreme a step would affect Tang Ze, and he has no intention of doing so.

"Alright, I hope you keep your word..."

Tang Ze shook his head, flicked the red scarf on his shoulder, and looked up at the gloomy, towering, and sky-covering primeval forest in front of him.

"Now I understand why Noah didn't pinpoint Kudo's location immediately. You saw it too, right? His name on the navigation?"

"Ah, I see it, 'Forest of Death Gods' or something. I hope Kudo doesn't die here quietly."

(End of this chapter)