The Pirated Onmyoji of the Detective World

She looked around blankly, but couldn't find Aragaki Yu's figure on the vast expanse of water.

Damn!

The next moment, with a heart full of inner turmoil, Ai Haibara gritted her teeth and was about to dive into the water to return to the tunnel exit to search for Yu Aragaki's whereabouts.

A wave suddenly crashed hard against her.

"what!"

"Watch out, Haibara-san!"

"Ai!"

With a gasp, Ai Haibara, preoccupied with worrying about Yu Aragaki, was completely unaware of the undercurrents that were beginning to stir around her.

In an instant, a wave carrying countless silt and sand rushed in like a ferocious beast, suddenly dragging her into the surging floodwaters.

The icy water instantly flooded her nasal cavity and throat, and Ai Haibara coughed violently in fear of suffocation, her limbs instinctively flailing wildly in the murky whirlpool.

She struggled to grasp something, but all she could touch was the raging floodwaters. The rolling waves relentlessly pulled her, whose mind had gone blank, into deeper darkness.

Chapter 728 Me, the one who should play along with your act...

Seeing this, Kaito Kuroba's expression changed drastically, and he was about to dive into the water to rescue the little girl.

But then a figure suddenly appeared out of nowhere, grabbed Ai Haibara's hand, and pulled her out of the surging torrent.

"Cough, cough..."

Ai Haibara, who had been pulled to a safe spot on the roof, slumped down, coughing violently, muddy water dripping from her soaked hair.

It took Ai Haibara a long time to recover from her panic. When she looked up again, she found that Yuu Aragaki, who had been nowhere to be seen, was now standing beside her.

At the same time, Kaito Kuroba, along with the other children and Conan, moved to the rooftop.

Finally, Sudo Izumo returned the diamond to its original position and emerged from the water. With the help of others, he struggled to climb onto the roof, and the raging floodwaters finally began to calm down.

However, perhaps because the underground cave had collapsed, Aragaki noticed that the surrounding water level probably wouldn't be able to return to normal for a while.

If they want to leave this place, they'll probably have to wait for Professor Agasa to get the police to send a rescue helicopter.

However, given Professor Agasa's abilities, he's probably still leading the police astray in the forest.

In that case, there's only one option...

Thinking of this, Yuu Aragaki subconsciously looked towards the location where Kaito Kuroba was disguised as an old woman.

But then he noticed that the other person had winked at him without making a sound, and then quietly moved to the edge of the roof.

Meanwhile, Sudo Izumo, who had narrowly escaped death but was completely exhausted, collapsed on the ground and couldn't help but sigh, "So, Misui Kichiemon really didn't intend to let anyone take his treasure!"

“Yes, diamonds have been called ADAMASS since ancient times because of their hardness and inaccessibility, meaning something that is difficult to conquer. The point he made us realize is that he will never let us take it away.” Conan lowered his head and said in a low voice, “That’s right, it also fits the style of the pro-shogunate faction Kichiemon, who strongly resisted having his property confiscated by the anti-shogunate faction when the shogunate collapsed.”

Then, amidst everyone's astonished gazes, Conan suddenly turned back to look at Kaito Kuroba on the edge of the roof, "So that's why you wanted to steal it but then gave up, old lady... no, the world's most notorious thief."

"A master thief!?"

Upon hearing Conan's words, Izumo Sudo and the Detective Boys looked at Kaito Kuroba with shock in their eyes.

They simply couldn't connect the old woman in front of them with the phantom thief.

However, Ai Haibara, who was tightly clutching her wet coat, didn't show much surprise.

After all, compared to the fact that the other party is actually Kaito Kid, it's more suspicious that a lonely old lady would come to this place under the pretext of paying respects at the grave of Misui Kichiemon.

Thinking of this, Ai Haibara subconsciously looked at Yuu Aragaki.

As expected, Yuu Aragaki did not show any surprise on his face. Instead, he watched with great interest as Conan and the "phantom thief" suddenly found themselves in a standoff. Clearly, he had already noticed this.

Seeing that everyone was looking at him, Kaito Kuroba, who was on the edge of the roof, stopped hiding and slowly straightened his hunched body.

His wrinkled skin peeled off like molting skin as he gently pulled at his fingertips. His slender fingers deftly swept across his chin, and the latex mask made a soft tearing sound.

The old woman's soaked gray wig and clothes were blown off by the wind.

The next moment, a phantom thief wearing a white cloak suddenly appeared before everyone's eyes.

"It's...it's appeared!?"

"It's Kaito Kidd!"

Amidst the gasps of Ayumi and the others, Kaito Kid lightly touched his white top hat with his fingers, bowed slightly, and moved with elegant and fluid movements, like a nobleman stepping out of an ancient painting. "You're quite the observant one!"

Faced with Kaito Kid's flattery, Conan didn't take it seriously, but a confident smile still appeared on his face unconsciously. "The wall with the foundation slightly exposed, the underground passage that leaks due to the tilt, the diamond that wasn't stolen and is completely opposite to the one on the card you left, plus your exclamation of 'No!', of course I can guess that you are Kaito Kid."

"Bingo~ Perfect answer!" Kaito Kid snapped his fingers with a smile in response to Conan's explanation. "However, the reason I didn't steal that diamond is because it wasn't the gem I was looking for."

"That's why you kept telling us to stop looking and go home!"

"So that's how it is. I understand now. Even pushing Yuan Tai aside and rushing to grab that sword was to let Yuan Tai avoid those traps."

At this point, the children of the Junior Detective League finally understood the strange behavior the old woman had exhibited in the house and the tunnel.

"So, he waited for us in the basement on purpose so we wouldn't accidentally trigger any traps in the house!" Ayumi looked at Kaito Kid with admiration.

Kaito Kid smiled slightly at the children's admiration, about to say something, but Ai Haibara's next words made his smile freeze.

"Oh dear, this thief is really kind-hearted!"

Although Ai Haibara said those words, Kaito Kid saw the teasing look on her face.

He glanced at Ai Haibara in front of him, then at Yuu Aragaki standing behind her with the same expression, and his lips twitched involuntarily. "It's a great honor to be praised by you, Miss..."

Haha, I really don't understand...

Even if you're a lolicon, you should be into little girls like Ayumi Yoshida!

Of course, Conan couldn't possibly guess what Kaito Kid was thinking. Looking at the conflicted expression on his face, he assumed that the other was troubled because he had exposed his identity and couldn't get away.

"We'll spare your life this time because you helped us!"

After saying that, Conan suddenly remembered Aragaki Yu, who had been standing silently at the back, and turned around to look at him somewhat awkwardly.

I almost forgot about this guy...

If it were just him and the children here, he would naturally have the final say.

But with Aragaki Yu still around, it seems like it's not his place to make the decisions.

"Haha... I was right, right, big brother Aragaki..." Conan, suddenly realizing that he had been a bit too over the top, skillfully switched back to a primary school student's tone and blinked as he asked Aragaki Yu for his opinion.

"Uh...hehe..."

Faced with Conan's clumsy performance, Aragaki Yu was momentarily embarrassed and at a loss for words.

However, he had to play along, so at this moment he could only pretend not to see all the ridiculous things and spread his hands in a nonchalant manner, saying, "I don't care. Anyway, someone needs to escape first and call the police for help. After all, if we rely on Professor Agasa to bring the police to this place, who knows when we'll be able to get here!"

Chapter 729 I am the real Shiho Miyano!

"..."

Conan was slightly taken aback upon hearing this.

He wanted to say a few words in defense of Professor Agasa, but he found that what Aragaki Yu had just said was indeed a veiled attack.

Given Professor Agasa's usual style, they're probably getting further and further away from him by now, and it's highly unlikely they'll see his rescue team before dawn.

Normally it wouldn't be a problem, but now they're trapped by the flood on this dilapidated roof, and who knows what other accidents might happen overnight.

In other words, he went from kindly letting Kaito Kid go to having to let him out to inform the police and ask for help.

So annoying...

……

As the hang glider disappeared into the night as a silver phantom, half an hour later, the people trapped on the roof finally received a police rescue helicopter.

Meanwhile, on the rescue helicopter were Professor Agasa, whom they had picked up along the way, who had gotten lost in the forest, and police officers from a nearby police station.

Inside the helicopter cabin, Conan couldn't help but think about the Phantom Thief Kid, while Genta and the others chattered around the lost Professor Agasa.

Ai Haibara, sitting next to Yu Aragaki, turned her head and stared at him, looking him up and down with a puzzled expression.

"Ai, is there something you need?" Under Ai Haibara's scrutinizing gaze, feeling a little uncomfortable, Yuu Aragaki finally couldn't help but turn his head to meet Ai Haibara's amber eyes and speak, breaking the stagnant air between the two.

He knew there must be a reason why Ai Haibara deliberately sat next to him after boarding the plane.

"..."

Ai Haibara did not avoid eye contact with Yu Aragaki, but remained silent without saying anything.

Just before Aragaki Yu couldn't help but speak again, Haibara Ai finally spoke softly, "So, where did you go after you disappeared in the underground passage?"

She paused subconsciously at this point, looked around to make sure no one was watching, and then continued, "I can confirm that you were definitely not around us before you pulled me out of the water."

Ai Haibara is certain that she is not the only one who has doubts about this matter; once Conan comes to his senses, he will definitely think about it too.

"Just now..." When Aragaki Yu heard Haibara Ai's question, he wasn't too surprised. He just lowered his eyes and smiled, giving the reason he had already thought of. "I was just secretly soaking in the hot spring in the tunnel when, for some reason, the surrounding area suddenly started to collapse, and I was swept directly outside by the hot spring water."

This nonchalant tone makes it seem as if what they're doing is perfectly natural.

Haibara Ai: (┙>∧<)┙へ┻┻

Although Aragaki Yu seemed to be speaking very sincerely, Haibara Ai had to exert a great deal of effort to suppress the urge to take off her wet shoes and slap them on his face, given how fake his answer sounded.