Conan: I'm Really Not Tokyo Ghost Story

...What the hell is this thing??

How the hell did I become the Grim Reaper?

Even if you were a reincarnation of Sherlock Holmes, he wouldn't necessarily be unable to accept it!

Is this some kind of outrageous nonsense?

What a trashy reporter, all they do is create sensationalism!

Shocked and angry, Conan then saw the black cat headline below and breathed a sigh of relief.

It seems that this reporter named Nakajima Keizo is, in a sense, an extremely stupid guy. I don't need to worry about anything else. Let him make up whatever he wants.

While Conan was internally complaining, Sano, who had already embarked on his journey home, happened to witness a brawl involving stray animals.

There were about a dozen stray cats and a few stray dogs fighting each other.

Actually, in terms of fighting ability, cats are probably stronger than dogs because they are smaller and more agile, and can attack or defend at will. For example, the cat that Sano's family raised in his previous life often overpowered the dog and would run away after beating it. The dog had no way to deal with it and would howl at Sano every time it was beaten.

However, in reality, dogs have an advantage over cats when it comes to life-or-death battles.

This is especially true for stray animals.

Because cats are generally not very large, although they are agile, they are at a significant disadvantage in terms of strength when they actually fight each other.

For stray animals, fighting and brawling over territory and food is commonplace.

Before Sano, he had been catching criminals under the name of Black Mask, and recently, while following Conan around every day, he often walked in the form of a black cat, so he witnessed many tragic crime scenes... and was also involved in them.

The same logic applies to the earliest instance where Sano returned to the hospital in his black cat form and was targeted by two stray cats.

Therefore, many stray animals in the Tokyo area have encountered Sano during this period, and some have even been... taught a lesson by him.

Apart from the initial encounter with stray animals when Sano used intimidation tactics, he has since used his black cat form to attack them.

Although the "black cat form" refers to size and attributes, it represents the average size and attributes of a black cat, and this range of black cats clearly does not include bugs like the black panther.

But if you really compare them, these stray animals are malnourished because they have been starving and sleeping in cold conditions for a long time, while Sano's average calculation mostly includes those domesticated pet black cats.

Therefore, in terms of attributes alone, Sano has the advantage.

Furthermore, since Sano is human, he has a better sense of balance in offense and defense compared to these animals, which at most have the intelligence of kindergarten children, and can basically win against them.

Even when faced with an overwhelming number of stray animals, Sano could simply choose to use cheat codes.

Therefore, even those stray animals who are slow-witted and can't understand why a new black cat could become such a large human-sized creature are well aware that they can't afford to mess with this black cat.

The situation unfolded much like how Sano had massacred the Tokyo delinquents.

Sano has become the most awesome person in Tokyo's stray animal community!

If Kokushi is the pinnacle of Tokyo's delinquent world...

So now, the black cat is the pinnacle of Tokyo's stray cat scene!

...The only downside is that these stray animals are too unintelligent, and Sano can't command them, or rather, he can't get them to execute his orders precisely.

Otherwise, this would most likely be a tool that's even more useful than the Black Reaper... well, an animal.

Should I try learning how to train cats and dogs when I get back? Maybe it will be useful?

If I could understand cat language after entering black cat form, it wouldn't be so troublesome.

...Speaking of cat language and dog language, are they mutually intelligible? Shouldn't we call it animal language instead?

"Meow!!"

Coming to his senses, Sano opened his mouth and let out a sound that could be described as a roar, instantly bringing the cat-and-dog battle to a halt.

Only one dog, completely black, whimpered and bit the other dogs twice afterward, before stopping when it realized something was wrong.

...Is this a new dog? Why is it attacking friendly forces?

Sano glanced at the dog but didn't pay it any mind; there would always be a dog to teach it manners.

Upon closer inspection of the battlefield, it became clear that the culprit behind this cat-and-dog battle was most likely a few boxes of leftover food that someone hadn't finished eating and had carelessly thrown away.

There was even some meat inside, no wonder it attracted so many stray animals.

"Meow~"

Sano let out another roar. Although he didn't know what the roar meant, the stray animals seemed to understand it with his body language. They hesitantly gathered around the boxes of food and began to share the meal peacefully.

However, for so many stray animals, this amount of food is clearly not enough.

Sano sensed the animals' hidden competitive spirit, wagged his tail, went to a secluded spot, transformed back into human form, and then went to a roadside convenience store.

By the time Sano returned with the bag of ready-to-eat items he had bought, such as sausages and chicken legs, the boxed lunches had already been completely devoured.

And because of the "black cat's" departure, the animals, now unrestrained, began baring their teeth at each other again, as if they might start fighting again at any moment.

"Hey, hey, what are you doing!"

The arrival of this strange human, Sano, changed the atmosphere again. The cats and dogs were no longer confronting each other, but were just eyeing Sano with apprehension.

"What are you looking at? If you want to eat, sit down properly!"

Sano casually peeled open a sausage, broke it into small pieces, and threw them on the ground.

Upon seeing this, the animals almost immediately tried to start fighting for food again, but unfortunately, the few that bared their teeth were all slapped on the head by Sano.

"All of you, behave yourselves!"

A few minutes later, the stray animals finally realized that although the human in front of them did not have any ill intentions, he was certainly not someone to be trifled with.

Most importantly, the other party can also provide an absolutely sufficient amount of food.

With this guarantee in place, the animals finally settled down and began lining up one by one to receive food from Sano.

Sano was surrounded by the animals, as if he had truly become their master.

"...Sano?"

Conan's voice came through, and Sano, who was engrossed in feeding the children, came back to his senses and glanced at the two fake children and the three real children standing straight behind them.

Oh, and there's also Nakajima Keizo, although Sano doesn't know his name yet.

"...I didn't realize you would feed stray animals?"

Ai Haibara moved closer and glanced at the pile of packaging next to Sano, as well as a pile of unopened ready-to-eat food items at the other end. Judging from the scale, it must have cost quite a bit of money.

"Do you think I'm that heartless?"

Sano raised an eyebrow and asked.

Ai Haibara shook her head: "No, what I mean is, someone as stingy as you doesn't seem like the type to spend money just to do charity."

The three real children, a few meters away, were nearly scared out of their wits when they heard Ai Haibara's answer, just like the two fake children who were lying below when Sano teased... well, when he teased Gin.

Chapter 256, page 255, this is a greyhound...

That's incredibly audacious! Aren't they afraid of getting hammered?

...If you say that Ai Haibara doesn't understand anything, then that's fine.

But if they remember correctly, Ai Haibara was clearly hit by a hammer in that counterfeit money case back then, right?

Why don't they learn from this?

That's really brave of you.

Under the trembling gaze of the three real kids, Sano stared at Ai Haibara expressionlessly for a few seconds. Realizing that he seemed unable to refute her, he continued to break the sausage with his head down.

...Luckily, I didn't hold a grudge against my good friend.

The trio of "real kids" breathed a sigh of relief. Unlike Conan, if Ai Haibara were to actually get hit, they would have to agonize over whether or not to plead for her.

If things go wrong, you'll end up getting hammered along with them.

What? Why doesn't Conan worry about being hammered?

Better to die for your fellow Daoist than for yourself...

After Sano fell silent, no one else spoke.

Ai Haibara and Conan are familiar with Sano, so they don't feel awkward even if they don't speak. The trio of real kids, on the other hand, feel that they should try to avoid communicating with Sano.

...After all, the more you do, the more mistakes you make. If you do nothing, you will never make a mistake!

Only Nakajima Keizo looked at Sano thoughtfully.

The elementary school student who just shouted "Death God" sounded like... Sano, right?

Shinichiro Sano?

No way, what a coincidence! Could they have the same surname?

No, actually, there seem to be quite a few reports of Shinichiro Sano and Kogoro Mouri appearing together in a real sense.

For example, in the recent reports about the Sano Osaka case, it seems that Kogoro Mouri and his family were also there.

Oh, right, I think there was a report that said Kogoro Mouri and Shinichiro Sano were master and apprentice, with the former being the latter's... uh, apprentice?

No wonder the elementary school Grim Reaper knows each other.

Having figured out the answer on his own, Nakajima Keizo began to work on the camera.

Shinichiro Sano is currently the most famous detective in Tokyo, although he has solved fewer cases than Kogoro Mouri.

But it remains incredibly popular.

Nakajima Keizo researched the reasons, and the fact that his real appearance has never been exposed and there is little related information about him—that is, his high level of mystery—is probably the biggest factor.

This is similar to another well-known figure who is currently enjoying great popularity, Kaito Kid.

No one has seen his face, only knows his name or nickname, and they've heard he's handsome and powerful. Doesn't that immediately raise the level of anticipation?

If I could just expose Shinichiro Sano's real appearance, wouldn't I instantly gain a lot of attention, and even hit the key point?

...Especially from an objective point of view, this guy is so handsome that it makes people jealous.

But it seems like Shinichiro Sano has powerful backers. I can't afford to mess with him. If I act recklessly, I might get stuffed into a sack and thrown into Tokyo Bay.

"Bang!"

"Ok?"