Conan: I'm a zaibatsu in Tokyo

Zheng Yi kicked the door so hard that the heavy door panel slammed against the wall.

With a loud "bang," the crystal chandelier seemed to sway three times.

He strode into the room, his face so gloomy it seemed like it could drip water.

"what!"

Looking towards the source of the laughter, Vermouth pursed her lips, seemingly suppressing something.

Zheng Yi gritted his teeth and maintained his expression.

The little Ai he was holding in his arms was burying her face in his chest, her body trembling slightly.

Gin, who was leaning back on the sofa, slowly sat up straight upon hearing this.

He narrowed his eyes, his gaze sweeping back and forth between Zheng Yi and the child in his arms, and let out a low, cold laugh.

"You'd better take responsibility for that." Gin slowly tapped another cigarette out of the pack, but didn't light it, just toyed with it between his slender fingers.

"Bringing a child to a bar and causing trouble, is this your upbringing?"

"Good manners?" Masakazu scoffed, carrying Ai in his arms as he strode to the table, looking down at Gin.

"Why should I talk about manners with a jerk who almost scared my sister to death?"

Masaichi turned Ai's head so that she could look directly at Gin, and so that Gin could see Ai's expression clearly.

"Look what you've done!" Zheng Yi said through gritted teeth, enunciating each word clearly, "She's just a child! Look at the state you've terrified her!"

Gin frowned slightly, a feeling of irritation rising in his heart.

"I'm just carrying out a mission," Gin said coldly, the cigarette between his fingers snapping unconsciously.

"Besides, if she has nothing to hide, why should she be afraid? She probably knows better than you how Shirley escaped."

"She's a child!" Zheng Yi's voice suddenly rose.

Shoichi suddenly leaned forward, placing his hands on the table. Ai was forced to shrink into Shoichi's arms, gripping the table tightly, not daring to blink.

"You two grown men, carrying guns, who wouldn't be scared? As for Shirley, are you trying to use a little girl to cover up your incompetence?"

His eyes were full of warning.

The atmosphere instantly became tense, as if the air itself had solidified.

Ai wanted to say that she didn't want to pursue the matter any further.

But being deep inside the organization's territory, and face-to-face with Gin, Ai didn't dare to speak at all. She could only control her teeth to keep them from trembling.

Just then, Vermouth, who had been sitting and watching the show, suddenly moved.

She noticed that Ai's little hands were gripping the table tightly, her knuckles turning white from the force, clearly indicating that she was quite frightened.

If these two men clash, who knows what kind of trouble they'll cause.

This innocent little girl is caught in the middle and will definitely get hurt.

A kind person like Vermouth would naturally not let the little girl be in danger.

"Oh dear, Zheng Yi, what are you doing?" Vermouth stood up, a charming smile on her face, and walked over gracefully.

Completely ignoring the tension between the two men, she walked straight to Masakazu's side, extended her hand, and said gently, "Come here, Ai, come to your older sister."

Ai glanced at her warily and instinctively shrank closer to Masakazu.

"Don't worry, Ai," Vermouth blinked and said in a low voice.

"They're both in a bad mood right now, and you'll get hurt if you're caught in the middle. Come to me."

Ai shook her head stiffly.

Do not!
Vermouth is a bad woman.

Ai turned around, wanting to see where Curaçao was.

"for you."

Zheng Yi decisively let go, and with a flick of his arm, he pushed the small body away.

Vermouth smoothly took Ai in her arms, her movements fluid, as if she had rehearsed with Shoichi.

She held Ai tightly in her arms, her posture radiating maternal warmth.

Xiao Ai was completely bewildered; her brain was still in a state of malfunction.

"Don't be afraid, Ai, come to your sister." Vermouth's voice was so gentle it could melt your heart.

She lowered her head, forcibly burying Ai's little face in her chest, and gently coaxed her.

"Don't look at those bad people, your sister will protect you."

Ai, buried in Vermouth's chest, sensed a strong sense of malice.

Vermouth's embrace of her arm wasn't as gentle as it seemed; on the contrary... on the contrary, she was secretly tickling her.

"Ugh!" Just as Ai was about to struggle, Vermouth's wicked hand slid to the back of her head.

He hugged Ai a little tighter.

"Be good, don't move around, Ai." Vermouth whispered in her ear, her voice barely audible to the two of them.

The mischievous boy blew a breath into Ai's ear.

“Otherwise, I’ll hand you over to Gin,” Vermouth said.

As he spoke, he continued to tickle Ai's itchy spot.

Her physical reaction made her want to laugh, but with Gin right in front of her, she remained psychologically terrified.

This made Ai both anxious and angry.

Ai was so angry she was trembling all over, but she could only grit her teeth and swallow her anger.

Shoichi stood to the side, still confronting Gin, but his eyes were already glancing towards Ai.

He saw Ai's stiff back and slightly trembling shoulders, and couldn't help but curl a gloating smile at the corner of his mouth.

Instead of stopping him, he added fuel to the fire by saying, "Vermouth, protect Ai, she's my sister."

"Don't worry, Masakazu." Vermouth looked up, rolled her eyes at him, but didn't stop what she was doing, and patted Ai's back twice more.

The force was neither too light nor too heavy, as if patting a fragile item.

"I'm just trying to comfort her for you."

Gin, sitting opposite, watched this scene coldly, his brows slightly furrowed.

“Once you’ve calmed her down, let her stay here,” Gin said, stubbing out his half-smoked cigarette. “Don’t let her get in the way.”

"Oh dear, Gin, you really don't understand romance." Vermouth chuckled, then sat back down on the sofa with Ai in her arms.

He even pulled out a tissue, pretending to wipe Ai's sweat, but actually gently poked Ai's cheek with the corner of the tissue, which provoked another silent protest from Ai.

The air inside the private room remained still.

Vermouth sat gracefully on the velvet sofa, holding the still "well-behaved" little girl in her arms.

She was seemingly gently patting Ai's back with one hand, but in reality, her fingertips were casually tracing circles on Ai's spine.

Ai buried her face even deeper, her body stiff as a piece of wood, but she dared not make a sound.

He could only silently recite the names of Vermouth and Zhengyi's ancestors for eighteen generations in his mind.

"What a poor child, he must have been terrified."

Gin sat opposite him, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the table.

"Shoichi," Gin finally spoke, his voice low and deep, "what exactly do you want?"

He stood up and casually straightened his cuffs.

"Apologize to my sister and pay compensation for emotional distress."

"You're courting death." Gin's fingers stopped.

"Alright, Gin."

Vermouth suddenly spoke, breaking the tense atmosphere.

She stood up and turned Ai's face toward Gin.

"As you can see, this child is really terrified."

"So what?" Gin said coldly.

Make him apologize to a child?

It's absolutely ridiculous.

Ai was forced to look at Gin, her heart pounding in her chest.

"In this world, the weak have no right to demand an apology." Ai was forced to expose herself to Gin's gaze, her heart pounding.

"Weaklings?" Masakazu sneered, then suddenly stepped forward and blocked Ai's path.

"Gin!" Vermouth pulled Ai back and stood in front of the two of them.

“It’s all a misunderstanding,” Vermouth said.

“That’s right,” Vodka also stepped forward and said, “It’s just a misunderstanding. Big brother doesn’t know your sister.”

Besides, it didn't cause any harm to your sister in the first place.

Vodka even wanted to apologize on Gin's behalf.

"Shoichi." Gin looked coldly at Shoichi through the smoke. "I've taken note of what happened today."

“I should be the one who wrote it down,” Zheng Yi retorted without backing down.

"Humph!"

Gin got up and left without hesitation, while Vodka followed awkwardly behind him, not daring to say a word.

After Gin and the other man left, Masakazu's serious expression vanished instantly, replaced by a smile.

Vermouth lifted Ai's chin with her finger, and smiling as she thought of Ai's terrified expression.

Ai Haibara could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Then, Ai gritted her teeth and asked Shoichi, "Is it fun?"

“Of course not,” Zheng Yi said.

He took Ai from Vermouth's arms and said with a big smile:

"I'm trying to dispel Gin's suspicions about you. Look, Gin doesn't suspect you're Sherry at all."

Ai wanted to bite Masakazu to death.

Even if you hadn't pulled this stunt, Gin wouldn't have suspected me. On the contrary, having me appear in front of Gin is more likely to make him suspicious.

Gin isn't blind!

Seeing how much I resemble Shirley when she was little, how could he not have any doubts?

Seeing Ai's anger, he put a finger to her lips, wanting her to bite it to vent her anger.

But for some reason, Ai seemed even angrier.

Ai bit her lip.

She felt that Zheng Yi was teasing her like a kitten or puppy, which was disrespectful.

"Was it exciting today?" Zheng Yi asked curiously.

"Humph!"

Xiao Ai snorted coldly and ignored him.

I was terrified.

……

Kudo House.

Yukiko stared wide-eyed at the changes taking place in her son's body.

She even wanted to take out a camera to record the scene, but was stopped by Yusaku Kudo.

Shinichi Kudo can transform very quickly.

Not long after, Shinichi became Conan, and his height was drastically reduced.

Conan wiped the sweat from his forehead and sighed helplessly.

"It's turned into this again," Conan muttered under his breath.

Yukiko patted Conan's head and said, "Alright, this time it lasted a particularly long time, maybe it will be completely restored next time."

Perhaps it was his mother's confidence that made Conan feel a little better.

Suddenly, Yukiko's expression turned dejected.

She said weakly, "Doesn't this mean that we still have to spend a lot of money to research an antidote?"

Kudo Yusaku's body also felt a little weak.

The organization researching drug A is enormous and has been conducting research for decades.

Developing an antidote would be extremely difficult and require a significant investment.

Moreover, as a drug with only one function, it is almost impossible to make a profit.

"We're going to have to endure some tough times again," Yusaku Kudo said.

He and Yukiko exchanged a glance, both filled with despair for the future.

Conan said softly, "Sorry."

"No need to apologize," Yusaku Kudo said. "The antidote research is progressing rapidly, and I estimate that the finished product may be ready today."

He sighed and said, "It's just a year of hard work after all."

So much has happened, and it hasn't even been a year yet.

Yusaku Kudo patted his head.

Why does this year feel so long? Is it because there are just too many things to do?

Conan waved his long sleeves and said, "So, what should I do next?"

“Of course, we’re going to find your little Ran-neechan.” Yukiko looked at her son mischievously.

Conan blushed slightly.

Yusaku Kudo said, "Your explanation to Ran was that Conan went to America to visit his parents. It doesn't make sense for him to be at the Kudo residence now, so let's go back and find Ran."

"Oh." Conan nodded.

When will he finally become the real Shinichi Kudo again?

"I have to go to elementary school again," Conan said sullenly.

I haven't been in high school for very long, and now I have to go back to elementary school.

"Okay, I'll go get you some clothes." Yukiko tugged at Conan's clothes and put them down with a look of disgust.

Conan nodded.

It was covered in sweat, and it was too big for me right now.

Soon, Yukiko came over carrying a large pile of clothes.

Yukiko placed the clothes on the sofa and said with a smile, "Come on, pick one."

She held up a small skirt and said, "How about this one?"

"Why are all these clothes girls wear?" Conan questioned his mother.

Yukiko lowered her skirt and said quietly, "Who said they were going to say goodbye to Conan completely? And who threw away all of Conan's clothes?"

Conan's head stiffened for a moment.

After transforming back into Shinichi Kudo, he did indeed say goodbye to his past.

"Then why are there so many girls' clothes?" Conan asked, puzzled.

He looked at Yukiko with suspicion.

I feel like my mom started plotting something after she heard that my antidote wasn't complete.

Yukiko's expression was very calm.

She looked at Conan and said, "These are all old clothes."

"How is that possible!"

How come there are these old clothes in my house?

"Have you forgotten? This is a dress I bought for you when you were little. I even have a picture of you in it."

Yukiko laughed and said, "You said goodbye to the past and threw away Conan's clothes, but you didn't throw these away."

She picked Conan up and said in a threatening tone, "Alright, hurry up and change your clothes. Look how dirty your clothes are."

Conan shook his head, determined to refuse.

While resisting, Conan tilted his head and saw the camera on the coffee table.

My mom was actually recording me, trying to capture me dressed as a woman! (End of Chapter)