Conan: Science Cartoonist Kudo Yuji

"Waishikomiya Tayu is the mother of Washiikomiya Touko, a university professor at Hakodate Hachimanzaka School of Medicine. Washiikomiya Sandai is her mother."

Gojo looked at the woman who was caressing Orange and Conan's foreheads and told Yuji all the information she had found out.

"Her husband, Ryoji Washikomiya, married into the Washikomiya family and is also the chief surgeon at Hakodate Private Hospital."

Yuji listened to Gojo's voice, his eyes fixed on the woman's hand on Conan's forehead. He regretted not beating Conan up and taking him to his side.

"I'm a little curious, how did you manage to breathe in the scent here without any protection and not fall into a coma?"

"With this green stone, the confusing scent of the red stone can be neutralized, and you can also take off your fire suits." Washikomiya Duoxi poked the woman's face with his hand until the girl drooled.

Yuuji took out the red stone from the isolation bag and hesitated whether to throw it directly into Washikomiya Taki's hands so that she would return Conan.

"Young man, I have warned you not to bring trouble to the shrine, as it will cause the displeasure of the Inari God."

The woman raised her head, and seemed to be able to see the miserable state of the shrine through the top wall inside the mountain.

"Although I don't have much attachment to this shrine, my mother placed everything on it."

It was obvious that the woman was planning to tell everything she knew, and signaled to Gojo not to take off his fire suit yet. Yuuji jumped out of it in no time, walked over the torii gate to the wooden steps of the small shrine, and pulled Conan back into his arms under the woman's gaze.

"Who are those two ghost-faced men, and what is their relationship with your shrine?"

Yuuji's hands kept rubbing Conan's face, and he found the clicking noises coming from his mouth quite funny.

"I don't know who they are, but our shrine has nothing to do with them."

Before she could answer the first question, Washikomiya Tsuki immediately felt that the boy next to her paused. He switched his right hand, which was originally playing with the child's mouth, to his left hand in order to free up his dominant hand to guard against her.

"Then... where is Keizaburo Axue's treasure hidden?"

"This...I don't know either."

"..." Yuji's hand was already retracting, obviously preparing to launch an attack. "Then...give me the original sword on the empty sword rack on the mountain wall."

"The knife is not in our hands." After saying this, Washikomiya Duoxi immediately added: "But I can tell you where the knife is."

"Oh..." Yuji calmly put the pistol he took out of his pocket back into his pocket. He also noticed out of the corner of his eye that Washikomiya Taki put the dagger hidden in his sleeve back into his pocket.

The two of them had obviously established a little trust, so Yuuji took out a recording pen, pressed it, and asked Washikomiya Tsuyoshi to explain clearly.

"The story goes back to that time more than sixty years ago..."

Not only Yuji next to him, but even Conan and Washiko Komiya Touko who were lying on his and Washiko Komiya Tsuki's laps couldn't help frowning.

Just asking about the whereabouts of a knife, but having to listen to such a long and boring story made the Kudo brothers, who wanted to be quick, a little impatient.

"It was winter at that time. Keizaburou Axie returned to Hakodate to recruit soldiers because of the order of the old army headquarters. At that time, Japan still had troops stationed in Northeast China, and the second largest army in China seemed to have just started a rather long strategic shift. The civil war was fierce, so Japan began to plan for a full-scale war."

The first thing Washi Komiya Taya mentioned was something related to China, which made Yuji stop interrupting her thoughts, especially when she mentioned the long strategic shift, he immediately realized which year Washi Komiya Taya was talking about.

"Afue Keisaburo had a very different view from other graduates of the Army School. While others believed that Japan could occupy all of China within three months, he believed that with the vast territory of China, the best outcome would be to fully digest the Northeast sent by the Chinese emperor."

"He has not learned in vain."

Yuji expressed his approval and said sarcastically, "It's a pity that the frenzied Japanese army is heading towards its own destruction."

Glancing at Yuuji in surprise, not understanding why he was so cocky, Washikomiya Tachibana added, "But Afue Keisaburo also said that he never thought there would be so many traitors in a country. If he had known that China had millions of soldiers following the emperor, he would have added North China to the Northeast."

Yuji looked grumpy and waved his hand to urge Washikomiya Taki not to change the subject and talk about the knife.

"Afue Keisaburo put his mission of returning home in second place, and his focus changed to how to preserve his family's status and wealth after a possible defeat, so he made a phone call and asked his friends in Tokyo to introduce him to some smart people..."

(End of this chapter)