Conan: I'm a zaibatsu in Tokyo

The morning sunlight streamed through the gaps in the heavy curtains, dazzling the floor of Gin's apartment in Beikacho.

The air was filled with a lingering smell of tobacco.

Gin was awakened by a series of urgent knocks on the door.

He frowned, casually grabbing the pistol from the bedside table, but stopped when he heard the lazy, laughing voice outside the door.

“Gin, wake up. If you keep sleeping, your ‘glorious image’ will spread throughout the entire organization.”

Gin's fingers trembled slightly as an ominous premonition welled up in his heart.

He quickly got up and opened the door.

Outside the door, Vermouth held an open newspaper in her hand, a look of anticipation on her face.

"Look what you've done." Vermouth threw the newspaper at Gin's chest.

Gin grabbed the newspaper, his eyes scanning the front page headline, his face instantly turning ashen.

Shocking! Two mysterious men forced their way into the women's restroom at a high-end restaurant but were subdued by security guards!

The accompanying picture is blurry, showing only a head of silver hair and two sets of black clothes.

“Zhengyi was right last night.” Vermouth covered her mouth and chuckled, her eyes sparkling with excitement. “I thought he was making up a story, but I didn’t expect you two… to have such unique tastes.”

Vermouth looked at Gin with a mischievous grin.

I always thought you were indifferent to women, that you had so much money but didn't seek them out, so I assumed you were frigid and had no interest in women.

It turns out he wasn't uninterested in women, he just preferred something more exciting.

Gin didn't say anything, he just stared intently at the newspaper.

Gin crumpled the newspaper into a ball and casually threw it into the trash can.

"boring."

He turned to go back to his room.

"Are you leaving already?" Vermouth stopped him, her smile widening.

"Aren't you going to explain? Or are you actually on some secret mission and accidentally wandered in?"

Gin stopped and turned back to give her a cold look: "Get out of my way."

Just then, Vodka walked over, carrying two cups of coffee and a bag of breakfast, humming an off-key tune, looking quite relaxed.

He clearly hadn't seen the morning news and had no idea what awaited him.

"Brother! Good morning, Vermouth, you're here too." Vodka greeted him warmly, completely oblivious to the awkward atmosphere.

"Good morning, Vodka." Vermouth smiled and handed him another newspaper. "Come see your 'heroic deeds'."

Vodka took the newspaper, glanced at it, and froze on the spot as if struck by lightning.

The coffee bag slipped and fell to the ground, spilling brown liquid all over the floor.

"This...this..." Vodka stammered, his face instantly turning a deep liver color. "This is definitely photoshopped! It's absolutely fake!"

“Oh? Is that so?” Vermouth raised an eyebrow.

The photos in this newspaper don't show any faces.

Gin isn't the only one with silver hair.

Vermouth pointed to the broad, fat figure in the photo and asked, "Who is that guy in the photo who's holding his head?"

“I…that was…” Vodka was pacing around anxiously, his brain racing. “That was…that was, yes! We were on a mission.”

“Oh—” Vermouth drawled out.

"So, forcibly entering the women's restroom was your mission?"

"This……"

Gin leaned against the wall, hands in his trench coat pockets, and said expressionlessly, "Vodka, explain."

Vodka said, "We went to catch Sherry, but the boss saw her go into the bathroom."

"Did you catch Sherry?" Vermouth asked.

"No."

Vodka blushed and stammered, unable to speak.

My brother's eyes are playing tricks on him; he insists that Shirley went in. What can he do?
Of course, I'll join in my brother's antics.

“Alright, Vodka,” Gin suddenly spoke, interrupting the awkward farce. “Stop talking.”

He turned to look at Vermouth, his eyes cold: "Sherley got away again."

"Oh?" Vermouth's smile deepened. "Since you put it that way, of course I believe you. After all, Gin would never lie about something as trivial as this, right?"

She said she believed it, and she believed it in her heart, but she just had to show that she didn't.

I don't know how Zheng Yi managed to get Gin and Vodka to sneak into the women's restroom in public, and Sherry wasn't arrested.

"Since you don't want to say more, then I won't bother you any longer." Vermouth straightened her clothes, turned around to leave, and gave Gin a meaningful look before leaving. "However, I suggest you wear masks when you go out these days. Reporters these days are very shrewd."

After saying that, she walked away gracefully in her high heels.

Gin stared at her retreating figure, his eyes filled with a terrifyingly gloomy expression.

Vodka wailed, "It's all over, it's all over. Now everyone in the organization will know we're perverts."

"Shut up."

Gin coldly uttered two words.

Vodka immediately fell silent, shrinking into a corner like a wronged wife.

Vermouth walked out of the apartment building, immediately took out her phone, and dialed a number.

"Hey, Chianti? I have some great news for you..." Vermouth lowered her voice, her tone full of excitement, "Gin and Vodka did something big at the restaurant last night, and it made today's front page... Yes, the one about breaking into the women's restroom..."

She vividly described the contents of the newspaper she had just seen, as well as the expressions on Gin and Vodka's faces, as if they had swallowed flies.

Chianti on the other end of the phone was clearly surprised and let out a low laugh.

"Haha, really? Gin would do something like that?"

“Absolutely true.” Vermouth hung up the phone with a smile. “Just wait and see, within an hour, this news will have spread to every corner of the organization.”

After saying that, Vermouth made calls to others, trying to make as many members of the organization as possible aware of Gin's true nature.

"Hey, tequila, uh, never mind, Gin is the news that's perverted, you're the one who got those reporters to publish it."

Vermouth, feeling bored, wanted to hang up the phone.

Tequila works at Zheng Yi's newspaper company and is responsible for guiding public opinion for him. The fact that Gin's news made the headlines must have been due to Tequila's efforts.

"It wasn't me, I didn't do it. It was those reporters and editors who made the decision on their own. It has nothing to do with me."

……

Inside the apartment.

Gin sat on the sofa, toying with the silver pistol in his hand, its barrel gleaming coldly in the sunlight.

Vodka cautiously leaned closer and whispered, "Brother, I think there's definitely something wrong with this."

Gin stopped what he was doing and glanced at him: "Speak."

"That restaurant may be upscale, but it doesn't warrant so many newspapers reporting on it at the same time," Vodka said, scratching his head with a rare thoughtful expression.

"And how could those reporters just happen to be there? And the angle of their photos...it was so professional."

"You mean..."

"It must be Zheng Yi!" Vodka said through gritted teeth. "No one else would be this bored, and he was there last night. He must have leaked the information to the media. Brother, we've been tricked by him!"

Gin fell silent.

Is that all you need to think about for so long?
Besides that bastard Zheng Yi, who else would do such a thing? Look at the news in the newspapers!
Is it normal that the news of the two men entering the women's restroom overshadowed a murder case?

Gin's grip on the gun handle was so tight it made a cracking sound.

"Big brother, what do we do now?" Vodka asked timidly. "Should we go and teach him a lesson?"

Gin took a deep breath and looked at vodka.

Your tone doesn't sound like you're going to take revenge on Zheng Yi at all.

"Need not."

Gin had no interest in playing along with Shoichi's antics.

It was just a rumor, and he didn't care.

"But……"

Vodka whispered, "Judging from Vermouth's expression, she'll definitely tell everyone about Big Brother's affair."

Gin remained expressionless, not taking Vodka's words to heart.

So what if the people in the organization find out?

Aside from Zheng Yi and Vermouth, who would dare say such things in front of him?
Moreover, since these two people have already spoken to him, there's even less to worry about.

Vodka gritted his teeth.

The older brother doesn't care about these rumors, but I do.

He cautiously reminded Gin, "Brother, this matter has had such a huge impact; we're at risk of being exposed."

He didn't care what his foolish companions thought, nor did he care about Vermouth's mockery.

However, if this matter really blows up, hindering the organization's operations, or attracting excessive attention from the FBI and the police, then it would be a losing proposition.

"you're right."

Gin's voice remained cold and hard.

He pulled back a corner of the curtain and cautiously observed the situation on the street below.

Vodka.

"Yes, brother!" Vodka straightened his back as he saw that his brother was finally taking it seriously.

"Call Sumitomo Shoichi," Gin coldly ordered. "Have him take down all reports about this. And all the online messages, I want them all to disappear within an hour."

"understand!"

Vodka's heart was pounding.

Should I come?
Can Zheng Yi respect my opinion?

Moreover, the elder brother's tone was completely commanding. If Zheng Yi really did follow the elder brother's wishes completely, it would be strange if he listened to him finish speaking.

He skillfully flipped to Zheng Yi's number and pressed the dial button.

The phone was answered after ringing twice, and Zheng Yi's signature gentle smile came through the receiver.

When you hear Zheng Yi laughing like that, it usually means there's a stumbling block in his business dealings, and he's about to be murdered by his relatives or friends.

"Hey, isn't this Vodka? What's up, calling so early? Want to invite me to breakfast? Or ask me to go to the bathroom together?"

Vodka's face flushed instantly, but he suppressed his anger and said in a pleading tone:
"Jun Du, please stop playing dumb. Brother, please remove all the news from this morning. Those reports about the women's restroom, please clean them up immediately."

Zheng Yi on the other end of the phone was silent for a second, unable to analyze what Vodka's tone was like.

It sounds very assertive, but it's all about using humble words like "please," "ask," and "please."

"Hahaha, Gin gets flustered over something this small?"

Vodka's hand holding the phone was trembling as he glanced at Gin.

Gin was standing by the window, his back to him, but he could feel the suffocatingly low pressure emanating from his older brother.

Vodka gritted his teeth and said, "This is Big Brother's order. If you don't want me to be missing a part when we meet next time, you'd better do as I say."

Zheng Yi fell silent again.

You're using parts of your own body to threaten me?
“Alright, I’ll give you face since we’ve been colleagues,” Zheng Yi said.

"Tsk tsk." Masakazu said gloatingly, "Let Gin answer the phone."

Vodka hesitated for a moment, then handed the phone to Gin: "Big brother, Shoichi wants to talk to you."

Gin turned around and took the phone expressionlessly.

He didn't speak, but simply held the phone to his ear, staring coldly at a point in the void.

On the other end of the phone, Zheng Yi's voice came through clearly, and he even put it on speakerphone so that Vodka in the room could hear it clearly.

"Hey Gin. I heard you're going to pull the news?"

Gin tried to make his voice sound less murderous: "Take down the news."

"Withdraw the news? That won't do."

Zheng Yi said lazily, "This is big news! 'Mysterious man forces his way into women's restroom,' what an eye-catching headline! I was hoping to boost newspaper sales with this story."

"You're asking for it." Gin's voice was terrifyingly deep.

"Oh, are you angry?" Zheng Yi not only didn't back down, but instead intensified his anger. "I want to enjoy this news for a few more days."

"Why aren't you saying anything? Are you angry or embarrassed?"

"Beep-beep-beep-"

The call was disconnected.

Vodka was so frightened that he didn't dare to breathe, standing in the corner with his neck hunched over, cursing Zheng Yi's ancestors for eighteen generations in his mind.

You got your satisfaction from talking, but you left me with an angry older brother.

"Brother... what do we do now?" Vodka asked cautiously.

Gin took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the urge to rush to Masakazu and tear him to pieces.

"He doesn't need to withdraw."

Gin said coldly, turning around to pick up the car keys and sunglasses from the table.

Vodka.

"Yes!"

"Go and get my sniper rifle."

Vodka swallowed hard, and asked tremblingly, "Brother, are you planning to... kill me to cover your tracks?"

This marks the beginning of an era of massive infighting within the organization.

If the eldest brother and Zheng Yi were to fight, it would unleash a bloodbath within the organization.

Vodka stood still, wondering how to persuade his older brother to calm down.

“No.” Gin opened the door, and a gust of cold wind blew in. “I’m going to teach them what ‘freedom of the press’ means.”

Vodka breathed a sigh of relief; so they were going to kill the newspaper staff.

It's good that it's not about killing Zheng Yi.

Gin walked out of the apartment with a cold expression.

Zheng Yi could kill those newspapers that spoke well of him against their conscience, and he could also kill those newspapers that shut up.

"Yes!"

Vodka quickly followed. (End of Chapter)