The unscrupulous detective in Conan

Chapter 1402 Hakuba Saguru Understands Again
The trip to Osaka lasted three days.

Originally, the plan was to explore the area a bit the next day and then head back, but plans don't always go as expected. Akemi had been to Osaka before, but the Nana sisters didn't seem to have been there much, so Kazuha dragged the two sisters along to see the scenic spots.

Momiji had already adopted the role of a submissive wife, and after exploring Osaka, she took Akemi and the Nana sisters directly to Kyoto.

This back-and-forth took three days.

In the meantime, Fujino's commission payment arrived, exactly one hundred million.

The money was deposited into a publicly disclosed account.

He doesn't even have to pay a single penny of tax.

The Suzuki family has already paid for it on his behalf.

Suzuki's service was indeed attentive.

After looking around, the group returned to Tokyo.

We were traveling in Xiao Hongye's helicopter.

After all, the airship had already returned yesterday, and it would obviously be very inconvenient for these people to take the Shinkansen or a passenger plane.

So, Hongye called over her family's helicopter, which was nearby.

You can just find a building with a helipad nearby and walk there, which is very convenient.

…………

After hearing about Fujino's request, Koyo decided to go with him.

The helicopter made a brief stop in Tokyo to drop off the others before carrying Fujino and his group to Nagano Prefecture.

After hearing about Fujino and Hattori Heiji's request, Hakuba Saguru became interested in the matter and decided to go and see what was going on.

Yeah, I was just curious and joining in the fun.

It was definitely not to steal knowledge.

The two houses were located in the same village, quite close to each other. After the helicopter landed in a nearby city, Fujino rented a van and drove a van full of people to the client's house.

Conan chose to go with Heiji Hattori, and Ran, along with Kazuha and Heiji, went to the house of Ryuo, who had asked him for help.

Fujino, on the other hand, took Ai Sonoko and Momiji to the Torada family.

Hakuba Saguru naturally followed behind.

"Is this the Torada family's residence?"

"It seems the owner of this house is quite interesting."

The Torada family's house is in the Japanese style, with a courtyard and walls that retain the style of ancient Japan, which made Momiji feel that this family had a bit of class.

The head of the Torada family was a bald, bearded man with a fierce look, named Torada Naonobu.

He led everyone to the reception room and said, "My son, the police said he was hit all over his body and died from blood loss."

"The methods used were extremely cruel; it's as if only a demon could have made such an arm."

"They actually used such methods to kill my only son who could inherit the family business..."

"It must have been done by someone who holds a grudge against our family!"

Fujino looked at the photo handed to him on the table, scrutinizing it with his eyes.

Hakuba Saguru, who was standing nearby, asked, "Did the police give a specific explanation of the cause of death?"

"For example, what killed him, or what clues the killer left behind."

Ai Haibara pondered for a moment before calmly saying, "Injuries like this are usually caused by falls from a great height. If we're going to find someone, we'll probably have to find the person who caused the fall."

“That’s true.” The head of the Torada family readily agreed with what Ai Haibara said, and then explained, “My son was actually swept up by a tornado and ended up falling onto the rocks…”

At this moment, Sonoko tilted her head and said, "If that's the case, then there's no murderer, right?"

“No, that’s not it.” The head of the Torada family said coldly, “Many people were swept away at the time, but our son was only discovered a day later.”

As he spoke, he pointed to the photo: "Look here, this centipede is one of the pieces of evidence."

"So, in that case, it's a serial murder case?" Hakuba Saguru frowned. "And this centipede represents a certain murderer or something."

“That’s not it…” the head of the Torada family explained in a deep voice, “It’s because this centipede was placed there after he died. If you look closely, the centipede is not congealed with the blood at all.”

At the same time, the lady of the Torada family, carrying a teapot, also walked in, her tone equally somber: "This clearly means that someone deliberately stood by and watched someone die, and it's almost as if they were saying 'they deserved it.'"

The head of the Torada family then resumed the conversation: "Moreover, Hanji, who discovered the body, also said that there were no centipedes nearby, so someone must have let my brother die without helping him."

Upon hearing this, Fujino spoke up: "In that case, you must have someone you suspect, right?"

As he spoke, he picked up his hot tea and took a sip: "If there were no suspects, then they wouldn't have come to me to help you settle things."

"Tell me who this person is?"

Hearing this, the head of the Torada family was not surprised. He simply sighed inwardly that he had invited the right people. Then he continued in a deep voice, "The Ryūo family, it must be them."

"Dragon tail..."

Fujino murmured upon hearing this, finding the surnames of the two families rather interesting.

Dragon and tiger, right?
He thought of a certain anime name and then asked, "So what grudge do you have against them?"

The head of the Torada family immediately explained: "That's because not long ago, their son was punished by the heavens, and then they took it upon themselves to believe that our family killed his son."

The woman from the Torada family, standing nearby, said with a gloomy expression, "They even hired a detective, which is why we asked you to come and deal with them."

Upon hearing this, Bai Ma's expression became somewhat interesting.

Okay, so these two guys really did match up...

And indeed, these two companies did end up working together.

What a coincidence!

…………

"It seems that the two families have a deep-seated grudge."

As Sonoko left the Torada family's house, she recalled what had just happened, "They actually suspected them of killing their own child..."

Hongye was not surprised by this. Her expression was calm, as if she had long been used to it: "The two families seem to be the local leaders, and their power must be mutually restraining. Since they are mutually restraining, one side will definitely want to replace the other."

"So, when something unfortunate happens in the family, the first person you think of is definitely the other person."

Ai Haibara shook her head slightly: "A battle between dragons and tigers?"

Bai Ma listened intently, stroking his chin: "So now we need to determine what the connection is between the deaths of the sons of these two families..."

"I'll call Hattori and ask," Fujino said, taking out his phone. "We'll find out what's going on when we meet up. After all, if this is the case on our end, then it should be the same on his end."

Soon, Hattori Heiji also finished meeting with the Ryūo family.

They each came out and entered the forest, where the two groups exchanged information.

It's similar for Heiji Hattori's side.

The son of the Dragon Tail family was buried in the ground dressed as a ginseng, and even played a game of whack-a-mole.

It means burying someone in the ground with their head sticking out...

Moreover, there are centipedes here as well.

The Ryūo family also suspected that the Torada family was behind it.

The discoverer was Longwei Jing, another son of the Longwei family. At that moment, Longwei Jing was playing archery in the forest…

Upon hearing this, the group headed into the forest and soon discovered a man and a woman playing archery on horseback.

Of course, this archery is a very proper form of archery.

The man was riding on a horse, holding a bow and shooting arrows at the target.

The shot was very accurate.

As for the answer, it's quite simple.

He was riding a horse and shooting arrows when he got home and found his brother dead.

It's so simple that it can't even provide any information.

Turning around, the group returned to the Torada residence and began questioning another witness, Hanji.

That is, the brother who discovered the murdered son of the Torada family.

The description is similar to that of the mounted archer from earlier; it involves seeing dead people and centipedes.

Upon hearing this, Bai Ma immediately realized something: "If that's the case, then these two cases are very likely the work of the same murderer..."

Hattori Heiji nodded in agreement: "Yes, after all, they all left the same mark."

"That's what I meant."

The son of the Torada family also largely agreed, saying, "Although at first I also thought it was the Ryūo family who did it, then their child also died, and there were even similar centipedes and such..."

Conan then pressed on, "Hey, brother, do your family and their family have anything related to centipedes?"

"Centipedes? No, but if we're talking about a dragon and tiger fight, that would be quite fitting..."

The son of the Torada family made a joke, teasing the topic, and then pondered, "But if it's a centipede, then I do recall the festival where the men in the village wear armor and perform horseback archery, imitating people from the Warring States period..."

"It seems I've seen a picture of a centipede at a festival."

Hongye frowned upon hearing this, pondered for a moment, and then parted her lips slightly: "If that's the case, then it might be related to the customs of this village..."

"custom?"

Kazuha swallowed hard upon hearing this, while Sonoko stroked her chin and said, "Could it be that someone died because of this, and then that person turned into a vengeful spirit and came back for revenge?"

"Garden!"

Xiaolan was born with zero resistance to mental magic, and she trembled when she heard her best friend say such strange things.

Kazuha's expression also changed slightly, as if she was also a little scared.

Upon hearing this, the son of the Torada family's expression changed slightly: "If that's the case, it's quite possible."

"Nani?"

Kazuha and Ran were both startled by these words, just like frightened cats.

He explained, "About six years ago, someone suddenly died under mysterious circumstances. That person was named Kai Genjin. He had always been the archer in the festival. I heard that he fell off a cliff during a practice session..."

Upon hearing this, Hakuba Saguru frowned and asked, "Then where is the person who discovered the body?"

"That's not clear."

The son of the Torada family shook his head slightly, looking helpless. "When I first saw him, it seemed to be a woman. I forgot her name, but it seemed to be a girl from the Uehara family..."

"understood."

Fujino nodded and immediately took out his phone.

Hattori Heiji and Hakuba Saguru, standing nearby, looked at Fujino with some confusion: "Why are you taking out your phone?"

"Shake someone."

Fujino calmly explained, "I know police officers in Nagano Prefecture as well. Speaking of Uehara, I happen to know a police officer with the surname Uehara. We might be related."

"Even if you don't have any relatives, you can ask them to help you check the records."

Hakuba Saguru: "..."

So, I feel like you're even more arrogant than me, the son of the Metropolitan Police Department Chief of Staff?

How come you have people everywhere?
Fujino immediately made a phone call to Yamato Kansuke.

When Yamato Kansuke received the phone call and heard that Fujino was investigating Kai Genjin, he was immediately taken aback.

She immediately replied, "I understand. She was the one who discovered the body. I'll take her there now."

"Is it really someone we know?"

Upon hearing this, Bai Ma narrowed his eyes, sensing that the matter was somewhat outrageous.

This guy Fujino...

Why do I encounter so many acquaintances everywhere when I'm handling a case?
I was assigned a case and the opponent was someone I knew. It was bad enough, but after discovering a murder, the key witness was someone I knew, and even the police officer handling the case was someone I knew.

What I'm saying is, who isn't someone we know?

He started complaining to himself.

But as I was complaining, I realized something was off...

He couldn't help but fall into deep thought: "Come to think of it, he seemed to have said before that being a detective is about human relationships, not fighting and killing..."

"Is this what human relationships are all about?"

"Because everyone involved was an acquaintance, the case proceeded exceptionally smoothly. And because they were acquaintances, when the case hit a deadlock, we could directly reach out to them for information..."

"I see!"

"I got it!"

"That's why being a detective isn't all about fighting and killing; it's about understanding human relationships and navigating social interactions!"

Hakuba suddenly remembered what Fujino had said before, and his mind seemed to suddenly become clear, making him feel like he had been elevated.

His expression suddenly changed in an instant.

However, this subtle change went unnoticed by F3 beside him.

Soon, Yamato Kansuke arrived with Uehara Yui.

Yamato Kansuke was still the same, dressed in a black suit, looking fierce and menacing. He was blind in one eye, and although his legs had some aftereffects, they weren't completely crippled.

As for Uehara Yui, like Yamato Kansuke, she wore a white suit and looked quite sharp.

However, because she is not married, she doesn't feel like a wife yet.

She just looks a little more mature.

Whenever he sees this couple, Fujino can't help but sigh.

Pure love is definitely better.

Fujino greeted them both: "Inspector Uehara, Inspector Yamato, it's been a long time..."

Yamato Kansuke simply nodded in agreement, then glanced at Uehara Yui beside him and urged, "Hurry up and tell me what you saw at the time."

Uehara Yui didn't seem displeased by the other party's attitude, and simply said, "At that time, I found his body... He looked very thin, and he was thrown to his death along with the horse. The estimated time of death was not long, but the time he fell off the cliff was quite long, which means that he was alive before that..."

As she said this, it was heartbreaking: "The cause of death, to be precise, was that she was too injured to move and just starved to death."

(End of this chapter)