Conan: I'm really not the mastermind behind the scenes

Gunma, Anzhong City.

At four in the morning, a time when people should be in deep sleep, the largest hot spring hotel in Anzhong City was bustling with people coming and going.

The receptionist, who had been dozing off, looked nervous. The boss, who had gone to rest, was woken up again. He also looked pale, and two serious-looking people were asking him to confirm something.

Ran Mouri was in her room with the lights on. She listened to the sounds below, her gaze shifting from the night outside the window, her fingers nervously clenching on her knees.

Sitting next to her, Kogoro Mouri looked at her, then at the stranger making a phone call in the corner of the room, and felt terrible.

For them, it was a very lively night.

Around 2 a.m., they were suddenly woken up by Aoyagi Akimitsu knocking on the door. The FBI agent said seriously that Conan and the police officer were missing and told them to notify the Metropolitan Police Department immediately. Then, ignoring their questions, he ran out.

Then, less than half an hour later, the police arrived and took over the hotel. They questioned the hotel staff, demanded to see the surveillance footage, and also questioned the Mori father and daughter, asking them more detailed questions. Kogoro Mori even felt like they were interrogating criminals.

After telling them everything they knew, they just sat in the room and waited.

Kogoro Mouri shifted his gaze from the police officers in the room and whispered to his daughter, "Ran, go and rest for a while. I'll keep an eye on things here."

Ran Mouri moved. She looked up at him and slowly shook her head.

"Mr. Aoyagi, Inspector Morofushi, and Conan-kun, they are all missing. I really can't sleep," she whispered.

Kogoro Mouri was helpless; Ran Mouri was much more worried than him after learning that the three had gone missing.

He was about to say something more to persuade his daughter when he heard the sound of brakes coming from downstairs.

Ran Mouri seemed to sense something, and suddenly got up from the sofa and quickly walked towards the living room window. Their living room faced the same direction as the neighbors', with the windows facing the street.

The police officer, who was on the phone, was startled when she suddenly came over. Then, realizing what was happening, the two of them looked downstairs together.

A black sedan with Nagano license plates was parked in front of the hotel. The door opened, and a man with a cane and a small braid at the back of his head got out of the passenger seat. Then the back door opened as well.

Ran Mouri's eyes widened.

Conan Edogawa jumped out of the car and closed the door behind him. As if sensing someone watching him, he looked up, and their eyes met.

"........."

Ran Mouri felt a lump in her throat; her long-suppressed emotions seemed to have been punctured, and tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.

……

Conan Edogawa was brought back by the Nagano Prefectural Police from next door.

The policeman named Yamato Kansuke and his partner didn't linger. After exchanging a few words with the Metropolitan Police Department's Public Security Bureau officers present, they left directly, their expressions rather unpleasant throughout.

Once they left, everyone else's attention naturally focused on Conan Edogawa.

Seeing that he was unharmed, Kogoro Mouri breathed a sigh of relief, then angrily demanded, "Hey, Conan, what happened? How did you end up in Nagano? Where are the other two?"

Seeing that the father and daughter were safe and sound, Conan Edogawa felt a sense of relief. He scratched his head, looking conflicted, and said, "This..."

He really didn't know what to say.

He thought for a moment and finally chose a way to speak: "They are at the Nagano Prefectural Police Headquarters now. Mr. Aoyagi has found out who killed the international students."

……

Let's go back half an hour.

"...What does this mean, Mr. Aoyagi?"

In the forest, Conan Edogawa spoke somewhat reluctantly.

In fact, he was still in a daze.

They had barely escaped from the organization's base when, just a few minutes later, a group of people approached them with weapons and ordered them to raise their hands.

Conan Edogawa's first thought was the police—the explosion was so loud that residents would definitely call the police after hearing it—but he didn't expect that someone among those people would suddenly open fire.

This can't be easily resolved now.

They dared not gamble on who those people were. The shooting had been too sudden, and this wasn't America. Even a slight delay in surrendering would alert the police. Many Japanese police officers had never actually fired a gun in their entire lives and would never directly take action.

Then Aoyagi Akimitsu acted, shouting "Call the police!" and rushed towards the group.

Then... Conan Edogawa looked at the people all over the ground, and now he could finally see that many of them were wearing SWAT uniforms.

He glanced again at the police car that had been thrown out as a weapon, and at Furuya Rei who was rushing over from not far away, and felt that he had never had such a headache, not even on the day he shrunk.

“The Nagano policeman standing at my feet is a corrupt cop.”

Aoyagi Akimitsu looked at him, his tone softening a bit, but his words startled both Morofushi Kagemitsu, who was still lying on the ground, and Furuya Rei, who ran to help him up.

Seeing their reaction, the FBI agent raised an eyebrow, ripped off his wig and face mask, stuffed them into his coat pocket, and asked in surprise, "Don't you police officers usually keep an eye on your own officers? How come you didn't know?"

Rei Furuya's mood had shifted from "This guy actually beat up so many people" to "We must appease him to prevent it from escalating into an international dispute." He politely said, "Mr. Aoyagi, there might be some misunderstanding here."

Aoyagi Akimitsu looked at him, seemingly confirming that the other party's attitude was acceptable, and he also concealed his sharp edge accordingly:

“I haven’t been in Japan for long. I’m only familiar with Tokyo. I’ve been to Osaka and Kanagawa a few times. I’m very unfamiliar with the Gunma and Nagano areas. So after I received the investigation assignment, I first used my personal connections to get some information.”

"The other party reminded me that there is a Woodpecker Club in Nagano Police Headquarters that steals and sells confiscated guns and contraband. They usually like to trade in some remote locations, so I should be careful."

"Her hacking skills and connections are exceptional, and her intelligence is highly reliable—you should have already experienced that, right?"

Aoyagi Akimitsu turned to Morofushi Kagemitsu and Edogawa Conan.

Morofushi Kagemitsu: "The one... who gave you directions in the base just now?"

He didn't hear a sound the whole time. Aoyagi Akira was wearing headphones and communicating with the other person. The only thing he could be sure of was that the other person seemed to be a woman—Aoyagi Akira kept using the pronoun "she".

Aoyagi Akihiro nodded, his expression momentarily subtle before quickly returning to normal.

He then stopped mentioning this seemingly knowledgeable and mysterious helper, and instead brought up his own mission:

"Because of this reminder, I decided to avoid Nagano and go to Gunma to investigate first. It just so happened that the people who were with them were in a hospital in Annaka City, Gunma, so I asked them about what happened that day."

“One of the international students is of Japanese descent and is very familiar with the area around Nagano. He was temporarily separated from his companions because of a foot injury and planned to go to a nearby rest stop to take care of it.” Aoyagi Akimitsu sighed, “Unfortunately, those rest stops in the forest are one of the places that gang of corrupt police officers often use for their transactions.”

Conan Edogawa realized something: "Could it be that the '911' he sent refers to..."

“It must be referring to the police,” said Aoyagi Akimitsu. “He had encountered a murder case shortly before the incident and was considered a suspect. He had seen many Nagano police officers at that time, so he recognized the other party.”

Rei Furuya was quick-witted; even though Aoyagi Akihiro's explanation was very brief, he quickly pieced together the whole story.

His eyebrow twitched violently. The entire investigation was based on mere speculation, without any concrete evidence, yet they were certain the murderer was a corrupt police officer from Nagano? And just because one of the officers was among those responding to the call, they were convinced the officer attempted to silence him?
Rei Furuya was furious, but he knew he absolutely couldn't lose his temper now.

That's how public opinion works in modern society. By saying ambiguous things or reversing the order of events, a completely different story is presented to outsiders.

Even if there is a subsequent clarification, the public will no longer pay attention.

He summoned the absolute patience he had cultivated during his undercover work, and soothed him gently, "We'll investigate these things. Now, please..."

Aoyagi Akimitsu looked at him. "She gave me the evidence—the email records, the unusual bank statements, and several surveillance videos. One of them was about a street shooting. A guy who bought a gun went on a shooting spree while on drugs, killing a passing student. Afterwards, they talked about it, and the tone of their conversation..."

He paused, looking regretful, "It's almost like discussing how to trample a stray cat to death, it's really going too far. I had originally planned to hand over the evidence to you after identifying the specific culprit."

Naruto Zero was speechless.

Kazami Yuya walked over; he had been too afraid to get close before, and had listened to everything from a distance.

Seeing that his boss remained silent, he couldn't help but ask a question: "Mr. Aoyagi, your informant, since he has so much evidence, why didn't he report it to the police?"

"And the discussion about shooting indiscriminately in the street," Kazami Yuya vaguely felt something was off. "They didn't kill anyone themselves. If it was just a matter of inappropriate tone, it can't be used as evidence, right? Why would she send that to you as well?"

Aoyagi Akimitsu glanced at him, looking thoughtful.

"...Probably because she can't stand it."

He smiled but didn't continue.

……

Conan Edogawa sighed silently as he finished reminiscing.

This time, he and Morofushi Kagemitsu were arrested and taken to the organization's base. After hearing so much, the police will probably come looking for him again... How should he deal with that?
He lowered his head and began to think.

He hadn't seen it because he was looking down; Ran Mouri's eyes were still slightly red, but she was looking at him with a different gaze than before. (End of Chapter)