Conan: I'm Really Not Tokyo Ghost Story

Before Inspector Megure could react, the men drew their guns and opened fire. The officers could only retreat to the corner of the corridor and fight back with the few police pistols they had.

...The result, of course, was that they were suppressed by firepower.

“It must be that Scroobing’s accomplices knew she had been captured and came to rescue her. We’re using her as a hostage to force them to surrender!”

A junior policeman suggested.

"Stop talking nonsense. These guys are here to kill Scorpion. Are you trying to make them laugh by pushing her out?"

The sudden sound startled Inspector Megure and his team, and when they turned to look, they were even more shocked.

"Black Mask!?"

"Black Exx!?"

"Blackace!?"

"Black Musk!?"

The four people exclaimed with four completely different names... but they all meant the same thing.

Sano's Black Mask vest is referred to within the police force as "Black Mask," which is why many people prefer to transliterate it using the English name.

For example, Black X, or Black S which is Black Super, and Black Mask which is the full name of a black mask. Of course, Sano personally doesn't like these transliterations.

It would be better to just call him Black Mask.

Looking at the group of people who were startled by his appearance, Sano calmly said, "Stop making a fuss. You don't look like a police officer at all."

Upon hearing this, Inspector Megure and the others immediately snapped out of their daze. To maintain their dignity as police officers, they forced themselves to remain calm and asked, "Black Mask, why are you here? And what did you mean when you said these people were after Scrooge?"

"It's just the literal meaning."

Sano didn't waste time talking to Inspector Megure and the others, since there were still more than a dozen assassins waiting in the lobby, and they didn't have much time to chat.

...Since Pu Si Qinglan has been arrested as a soldier, Sano's mission should have been completed, but in reality, it was not.

Therefore, Sano knew very well that the group of assassins who had their eyes on Scorpion should be arriving soon.

In particular, earlier that afternoon, Amuro Tooru had approached Sano and said that he had not found anyone suspicious among the temporary workers recruited to the ship, confirming that the danger was most likely coming from outside rather than inside.

So even though the case was closed, Sano was still operating the clone in the form of the black cat, secretly following Urashi Seiran.

Now, as expected, the group of assassins has arrived... though there are more of them than Sano had anticipated.

Sano originally thought there would be at most seven or eight people, or even as few as three or four.

I didn't expect there to be more than a dozen.

Of course, it didn't make any difference to Sano, since he could solve the problem anyway.

But all day long, Sano was the only one busy with all the work.

I feel like something's not quite right...

Sano turned his gaze to Shiratori Ninzaburo, whose face seemed to twitch slightly after he appeared, and kicked him in the butt: "Stop pretending with me, get up and get to work, there are still problems of yours to solve later."

"Um???"

Inspector Megure and the others then turned their gaze to Shiratori Ninzaburo, causing a hint of panic to appear in his eyes: "What are you talking about? I don't understand..."

Before Shiratori Ninzaburo could finish speaking, Sano reached out to grab his face.

Seeing this, Kaito Kuroba could no longer hold back and quickly got up: "Alright, alright, I know, I can do it myself, no need for you to do it!"

Then, under the bewildered gazes of Inspector Megure and the others, Shiratori Ninzaburo transformed into Kaito Kid, dressed in a white suit and top hat, and wearing a white cape. This created a stark contrast with the all-black Black Mask beside him, and due to the difference in their clothing styles, they seemed even more symmetrical, giving people an unusually strong visual impact.

"……Why!??"

Only then did Inspector Megure and the others exclaim in surprise again.

How could such a good teammate suddenly change like that?

Kaito Kuroba's cape fluttered as he raised his hand to adjust his hat. While making a toast, he was also secretly sizing up the superhero next to him who had beaten him up just yesterday, and couldn't help but mutter to himself.

My disguise should have worked perfectly, so how did this guy know I was Kaito Kid... Ah, it inexplicably reminds me of a certain annoying guy.

"what do you want to do?"

Sano glanced at Kuroba Kaito and roughly knew what the other was thinking. Of course, he couldn't tell at a glance that the other was Shiratori Ninzaburo in disguise.

But what can you do when Sano has the Lock-on cheat?

Unlike Urashi Seiran, who still needs to be found, Kuroba Kaito is located on the map.

...At the beginning, Sano was a little confused when he found that Kaito Kuroba's location was in Tokyo. He wondered if he had been too harsh, causing the kid to be too discouraged and give up the mission, going home to sleep.

Later that evening, Sano even considered sending the clone back to Tokyo first to ensure that nothing unexpected happened to Kaito Kuroba.

Unexpectedly, just after reporting the incident to the police, Kaito Kuroba's location quickly approached, and Sano realized what was going on.

Of course, that's not important. What's important is that Sano can't be the only one doing the work.

"What else can we do but take care of them?"

Sano reached directly for Kaito Kuroba's waist.

Kaito Kuroba instinctively tried to dodge, but Sano forcefully held him down, pulling out several smoke grenades and flashbangs.

...Seriously, if you want these things, just say so. Why are you getting handsy?

"Let's see who takes down more people?"

Finally, Sano waved a few balls between his fingers at Kaito Kuroba.

Feeling as if he had just been forcibly defiled, Kuroba Kaito snorted coldly with a dark face and said, "Let's compete then, I'm not afraid of you."

"Okay, three, two, one, go!"

Several balls were tossed into the hall by Sano, landing near the feet of the assassins who had already approached the corridor in the half-minute that the group was exchanging words.

A flash of white light, followed by purple smoke spreading through the hall. The assassins closed their eyes, coughing incessantly, tears streaming from their eyes.

...This guy is really amazing. He can pinpoint the exact location of the armed men without even looking, and he can make sure that the smoke grenades and flashbangs land in the right places to maximize their effect.

Sano and Kuroba Kaito exchanged a glance before simultaneously bursting out from the back of the corridor, charging towards the disorganized group of assassins.

Inspector Megure and his men peeked out from around the corner... to watch the commotion.

It's unbelievable that the Phantom Thief and the Masked Man, who should be enemies, have actually joined forces.

The world is truly full of wonders...

...Because Sano used an unexpected control tactic from the very beginning, the assassins were already on the defensive, and once they got close, they were like chicks to be easily handled.

Not to mention, Kaito Kuroba was also helping to deal with it next to Sano.

However, these assassins were clearly not all useless. After a brief period of complete passivity, they gradually began to fight back... Although they were mostly shooting wildly without any accuracy, their sheer number made them quite terrifying.

Inspector Megure and his team were forced to pull their heads back in.

Kaito Kuroba glanced at Sano on the other side, rolled and rushed to one of the assassins, easily knocking him unconscious. He then dodged two bullets and charged towards another assassin, moving as fast and gracefully as a human-sized black cat. His movements were dazzling and astonishing.

This guy seems even more skilled than last night. Could it be that he was holding back before?

Kaito Kuroba fired a tranquilizer dart, sending one assassin to his death, while simultaneously dodging another's shot. His cloak billowed behind him, making him look like a large white dove.

The two also differed significantly in their attack methods.

Sano mainly relies on his fists and feet. Once he closes the distance and gets into close combat, he immediately unleashes a combo that is fast, agile, and clean.

Kaito Kuroba mainly relies on tranquilizer darts. However, although it is a long-range attack, his marksmanship does not seem to be very good, and the effective range of the tranquilizer gun is not as good as that of a regular pistol.

Therefore, Kaito Kuroba cannot maintain too much distance. In order to improve "efficiency," he basically stays on the edge of the battlefield, or even moves around the battlefield.

Looking at it this way, their fighting styles are actually quite similar.

Because both of them rely primarily on their superior agility in combat, their movements are nimble and graceful, making it seem less like a battle and more like a performance.

Occasionally, when the two sides are close together, they can even pull off a beautiful combination play.

...Of course, the above is purely Kaito Kuroba's personal embellishment.

The reality is that while this guy did help Sano a little, he caused him much more trouble.

Chapter 271, 270, The Ship: Danger!

Despite having good agility and the advantage of Sano's initiative, Kaito Kuroba is not as good at dodging bullets as Sano.

In complex environments, Kaito Kuroba might demonstrate considerable fighting prowess through kiting and stealthy maneuvering tactics, but in open, close-quarters combat...

That would really put Kaito Kuroba in a difficult position.

Especially considering the close proximity of the two sides and the considerable firepower of the assassin group.

Several times, Kaito Kuroba was almost shot by the assassins who were firing randomly. It was Sano who helped him and pulled him away, preventing him from being shot. Sometimes, he even had to use his own bulletproof vest to shield the assassin from bullets.

This isn't helping at all; it's clearly making things worse...

Sano somewhat regretted forcing Kaito Kuroba to do the work; if he had done it himself, it might have been easier.

However, to outsiders, Sano and Kuroba Kaito's "cooperation" seemed very tacit... In just two or three minutes, more than a dozen assassins had been knocked to the ground and lost consciousness by the two of them.

It was only at this point that Conan and the others, who had been observing from the sidelines, finally emerged, now that the risk of being hit by stray bullets had disappeared.

"Kaito Kid, he really didn't die, and there's also... Black Mask."

Looking at the two figures standing amidst a dozen or so "corpses," their colors contrasting sharply, almost everyone present wore a strange expression.

...because the current situation is so complicated that it's even inexplicably awkward.

After all, Kaito Kuroba, the Phantom Thief Kid, and Sano, the Black Mask, are already enough to give people a headache.

The former is a thief the police have been pursuing, and should be in an adversarial relationship with the police and the others on the ship. The latter, although he is a superhero, because he does good deeds anonymously, if investigated, he could be considered dancing on the edge of the law, so his relationship with the authorities...

It doesn't seem to be that good.

It's just not as obvious as the former.

Not to mention, a conflict broke out between the two yesterday, so they can be considered to be in an adversarial relationship.

However, when faced with the assassin's attack, the two briefly joined forces, so they could be considered teammates. Furthermore, their goal was to deal with the group of armed men, and they seemed to be on the same side as the people on the ship...

Inspector Megure was getting more and more of a headache. He couldn't take it anymore; his mind was starting to go blank, and he couldn't figure out how he should react next.

In this strange silence, the only sound was the frantic clicking of Nakajima Keizo's camera shutter... If it weren't for the previous examples of more than a dozen deadly gunmen lying on the ground, Sano would have suspected that this guy might have wanted to stick his face right up to the two of them to take pictures.