Phantom Thief of Heart!but conan

Chapter 1280 Vermouth's Happy Game
"Once we get outside, we can take off this disguise."

Seeing Conan's actions, the experienced Tang Ze explained it this way.

In his normal state, Tang Ze switches between Joker and himself by switching to Phantom Thief form. Since the Phantom Thief form has been anchored by many perceptions, he can naturally maintain his white hair state stably.

As for Shinichi Kudo, he is still locked in by the concept of the God of Death, so he cannot easily change his appearance.

Once he returns to reality, he can naturally get rid of this outfit and be himself again; keeping his white hair is not easy.

"Is that so..." He tugged again, feeling the pull on his scalp as it resisted, and Shinichi Kudo looked at Joker thoughtfully.

This is a perspective that can change the world; could it be that the Joker's extraordinary appearance...?

Keeping this in mind, Shinichi Kudo didn't say anything more about his special form, but instead lamented Makoto Uta's situation.

"So, is this what caused Yata to become this monstrous state?"

When he first came to Higashi-Oku Village, he had a very good impression of Makoto Yada.

As a detective who deeply loves solving mysteries and doesn't need fame or fortune to drive him, Shinichi Kudo is someone who derives enough enjoyment and a sense of accomplishment from the mystery itself.

A year ago, he not only solved the mystery of the death of the village chief of Nihara, but also took the opportunity to dispel the mystery that had always shrouded the village, and figured out what the so-called "Death God" really was.

In short, the Death God is a skin used by Mr. Yuta, who lost his daughter, to frighten children and villagers in order to prevent further sacrifices and keep them in awe and away from danger. In reality, it is the skin that Mr. Yuta, who has been missing for many years, has been living in a cabin in the woods as a forest ranger, diligently patrolling every day to prevent others from repeating the same fate as his daughter.

After the previous generation of Shirajin passed away, Makoto Yata, who knew his father's whereabouts, took over the responsibility and would occasionally dress up as Shirajin to scare children.

Anyway, many people in the village won't believe the young people and children who claim to have seen ghosts, as long as it achieves the desired effect.

Shinichi Kudo followed the villagers' rumor that the god Shira had appeared into the forest and found a hidden path that led into the forest, which is why he met Makoto Yata.

He used to have a pretty good impression of Makoto Yata; he thought he was a warm-hearted young man.

Since even the completely unfamiliar Shinichi Kudo was drawn into this world just by putting on this outfit, could Makoto Yata's current strange behavior also be related to this?

"Not entirely, and it might even be the other way around." Tang Ze led Shinichi Kudo outside, not keeping him in suspense. "First of all, under normal circumstances, he wouldn't be naked except for this..."

Just by looking at the appearance of the Death God, you can tell that this whole set is actually a protective suit used by forest rangers to prevent mosquito bites and rain. The Yada family made it into this shape because of their own needs.

"I already said, I had no choice. This outfit was the only one in that cabin..." Shinichi Kudo was so angry that he almost twisted his tongue when the topic was brought up again.

"Secondly, he had to go to school before, so he was a part-time monster and didn't have much free time to scare people. After he disappeared for the past six months, he has been hiding in the forest, which has greatly increased the number of times the Death God has appeared. This has amplified the influence of the demon god in the local legends." Tang Ze pretended not to hear his protest and continued to list the stories.

Many children, including those born from glaciers, recently witnessed the death god.

This change has certainly increased the influence of the legend and brought the Impression Space closer to reality, making it easy for an accident like Shinichi Kudo's current state of confusion to happen.

If they hadn't come, and the legend hadn't been controlled, it would have quickly taken on new forms, such as being dragged into the realm of death by the god of death for trespassing into the jungles of the underworld—just urban legends, you can imagine.

“His poor mental state is probably related, but the main culprit in making this place like this is himself.” Grabbing Shinichi Kudo with one hand, Tang Ze pressed a few buttons on his phone, secretly activating the otherworld navigation, while still speaking, “This is the ‘Forest of Death Gods,’ so it’s naturally affected by the lord. His determination to do evil has exacerbated the corruption, so we can’t say he’s a pure victim.”

As with all similar situations encountered in the past, once a particular individual has become inseparable from the impression space, the dominant force in this interaction becomes the particular individual himself.

There's no need to try to excuse Makoto Uta by saying he was mentally affected.

Shinichi Kudo remained silent for a while, unsure of what to say, and finally could only sigh helplessly.

Standing in the small house where Makoto Uta had lived for half a year, he had witnessed firsthand what had happened to Makoto Uta.

The walls were covered with news reports about Shinichi Kudo, and the overlapping knife marks filled with hatred, along with the attacker's unusually familiar face. Clearly, in order to take revenge on Shinichi Kudo, his imagined enemy, Makoto Yata chose to destroy everything he had and become a demon to drag Shinichi Kudo into hell.

If a righteous detective commits an unforgivable crime, his past achievements will be tarnished.

The media will sensationalize this news, and even if Shinichi Kudo himself comes forward to clarify, the public opinion will be irreversible.

"Fortunately, he restrained his impulse and waited until I arrived before taking action." Shinichi Kudo sighed again. "If he had been any more impulsive and let the long-silent Shinichi Kudo appear in the newspapers again, it would have been a fatal disaster."

There are quite a few people in the organization who know that Shinichi Kudo is dead. It's fine to make a small, ambiguous commotion, but if it develops into a nationwide news story, it's tantamount to announcing that Shinichi Kudo has survived Gin's clutches.

Whether it's to uncover the truth or to eliminate future troubles, the organization will definitely contact Makoto Yata and then kill this man who insists he is Shinichi Kudo.

“If that really happens, it’s his own fault.” Tang Ze switched to the Joker’s everyday attire, pulled up his hood, and said calmly, “It’s not a bad thing for you.”

The most important secret in Conan's story is not whether Shinichi Kudo is alive or not, but that Shinichi Kudo has turned into a child.

If the organization were to capture Makoto Yata and take him away as Shinichi Kudo, Makoto Yata, unaware of the truth, would have no chance of revealing any secrets to the organization and would simply be executed as Shinichi Kudo himself.

In that case, the organization that saw Shinichi Kudo's body with their own eyes would no longer question his life or death, and Conan's identity would be safer.

"How could I possibly do that?" Shinichi Kudo quickly shook his head. "Luckily, it's not too late."

Tang Ze glanced back at him with a subtle look, but didn't respond.

What we should really be thankful for is that Vermouth didn't find out about this.

Otherwise, just like how she would choose to take Sherry away to keep Conan Edogawa's secret, just so she could bring back Shiho Miyano instead of Ai Haibara's body to report back, if Vermouth discovered such a useful pawn, Makoto Uta would definitely not have a good ending.

Killing an unknown nobody to ensure the safety of Shinichi Kudo and Ran Mouri was incredibly satisfying for Vermouth. "So now, are you planning to expose his disguise right now?" Tang Ze stopped discussing the topic, took a jacket similar to his own from his backpack and tossed it over, asking Shinichi Kudo what his next plan was.

"Did Ran recognize him?" Having finally removed his wig and tattered clothes, Shinichi Kudo wrapped himself tightly in his coat, but instead of answering, he asked a question.

"How would I know?" Tang Ze casually deflected the question.

"They must have already noticed something." After thinking for a moment, Shinichi Kudo nodded firmly.

What Makoto Yata took from him was the cell phone he was using at the time, which is Conan's phone.

For Makoto Yata, the person who came was Shinichi Kudo. After knocking Shinichi Kudo unconscious, he took all of Shinichi's belongings and went to drown himself in the lake. He shouldn't have given anything away. He was probably completely dumbfounded when people questioned him about why he had Conan's phone.

While we cannot rule out the possibility that Shinichi Kudo has truly lost his memory and doesn't realize this isn't his own phone, this also leads to another possibility: the reason he didn't use Shinichi Kudo's own phone is because that phone couldn't be unlocked with a fingerprint sensor.

"As long as Ran won't admit her mistake and get upset, that's fine." Having confirmed this, Shinichi Kudo nodded. "Yada won't cause any trouble with Uncle Mori and the others."

The fact that Makoto Yata was able to defeat him doesn't mean the other party is strong; it's just that Yata chose him from among their group, someone with average fighting ability who wasn't on guard against his malicious intent.

Apart from him, none of the other detectives in this team are pushovers. Together, they have the strength to crush an entire violent gang. If Makoto Yata tries to harm any of them, he will immediately understand what it means to kick a hornet's nest.

"So what about you? What are you going to do?"

"Of course, it's about fixing the minor flaws in our reasoning back then. Once we find the 'murder weapon,' everyone will be speechless, right?"

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Ran, why are you so calm?" On the way back to the hotel, Kazuha Toyama observed Ran Mouri's expression for a while before finally asking, "The person you've been longing to see has appeared before you, yet says they've lost their memory and become so unfamiliar. If it were me, I definitely couldn't accept it..."

"Hmm?" Ran Mouri turned her head. "So, what would you do if you were in her shoes?"

"I..." Putting herself in Hattori Heiji's shoes, Toyama Kazuha couldn't think of a good solution either, so she could only say, "I'd at least have to cry my eyes out, right? The joy of finally being reunited, combined with the sorrow of being forgotten by him, would overwhelm me, and I absolutely couldn't control myself..."

Of the two of them, Heiji is always the smarter one. If even someone as smart as him turns into a fool, then there's even less he can do.

Aside from crying and grieving, I really can't think of any other solutions.

“Crying won’t help at a time like this. Although, it’s true that you can’t help but shed tears.” Ran Mouri smiled faintly and lowered her head. “But I believe that Shinichi won’t let himself get into this situation.”

That's Shinichi, the famous detective praised by everyone.

Whether or not one likes detective work and deduction is one thing; his intelligence is beyond question. Even before she realized she had special feelings for him, Ran Mouri was always very proud of his cleverness.

Even in his current state, in a state of utter despair, Shinichi still found a way out and seized the initiative, didn't he?

“But…” Toyama Kazuha gestured with his eyes to the person standing in front.

Because she knew nothing about Conan's true identity, she was one of the few people who did not question Shinichi Kudo's identity.

At this moment, she felt that a living example was standing right in front of her, and Ran Mouri's statement was somewhat untenable.

“It’s because I believe him that I feel he’s not Shinichi.” Ran Mouri lowered her voice even further. “It’s not just a matter of memory; my intuition tells me the same thing. The memory is just temporarily forgotten, not completely gone. Intuition doesn’t lie.”

If this really is Shinichi Kudo, the more I get to know him, the more familiar I feel with him.

Ran Mouri, who once suffered from amnesia to the point of forgetting even her own name, knows that feeling very well. Even when she doesn't remember anything, just hearing the name Shinichi evokes a sense of familiarity or concern in her.

"But if he's not Kudo, then who is he?" Kazuha Toyama, whose story seemed to have a touch of urban legend, frowned and asked a crucial question.

"Yes, who is he..." Ran Mouri repeated softly, looking at the figure in the distance.

Besides their group, everyone in the village now thinks the person who fell into the water is Shinichi Kudo, and she has a feeling that something is wrong.

Hopefully, since this guy has a face so similar to Shinichi's, he won't do anything to ruin Shinichi's reputation; otherwise, she might lose control of her emotions...

Following behind Kogoro Mouri, Makoto Yata neither heard nor paid attention to the whispers of the two girls behind him. His gaze fell on the innkeeper, whom Kogoro Mouri was questioning.

"Those two haven't returned yet?" Kogoro Mouri frowned.

The Ode Hotel is a Japanese-style inn, and it is quite small in scale, considering that there are not many tourists here.

When this group of people arrived, they booked all the rooms on the second floor. The hotel staff must have been familiar with these guests.

The signal here is poor, making it impossible to contact anyone in time. It's already past eight o'clock, and Akechi Goro and Karasawa, who left earlier, haven't returned yet, which is a bit worrying.

"Ah, those two young men with brown hair? They came back once, asked some questions, and then went out again, saying they wanted to wander around the village and inquire about some things." The innkeeper, dressed in a kimono, looked up and answered gently.

"Oh, to ask a question?"

"Yes, they are all rather strange questions, such as 'Have you ever seen the God of Death?' or 'Have you ever been to the forest?' and things like that..."

Makoto Yata's already cold expression darkened further upon hearing this.

What is that guy named Goro Akechi trying to do...?

(End of this chapter)