Conan: I'm Really Not Tokyo Ghost Story

"cough."

In the end, Kaito Kuroba decided to break the atmosphere, but as soon as he coughed, Sano suddenly raised his hand to signal him to be quiet.

"Ok?"

Under the puzzled gazes of Kaito Kuroba and the others, Sano tilted his head slightly to the sides.

...The current group of assassins has been dealt with, so in theory, Pu Siqinglan's mission should at least be considered complete, but in reality, it still isn't.

The same applies to Kaito Kuroba's mission.

This means that it is possible that Sano confused the assassins' target, and that the other party actually wanted to kill Kuroba Kaito instead of Urashi Seiran, the Scorpion.

...The reason why Sano guessed that this group of assassins was after Urashi Seiran was quite simple.

To outsiders, the identities of Phantom Thief Kid and Scorpion are a mystery. These two groups of assassins may not even know who their targets are or where they are.

So when they were still in Osaka, neither side made any move.

Therefore, Sano can suspect that these two groups have been observing the center of the whole situation—the Egg of Memories—from an undetectable shadow, waiting for their opportunity.

Sano previously exposed the identity of Urashi Seiran Sakaki, so if the group of assassins who were watching her were still observing, they should naturally make their move.

...In fact, Sano had also wondered if the two groups of assassins might have cooperated since they were likely on the same ship and their targets were likely the same.

However, this conjecture is just one of many possibilities that arise due to the limited current information.

The only thing Sano is absolutely certain of right now is that the danger is not over yet, and if the two groups of assassins are not cooperating, then the next assassin to appear will likely launch an indiscriminate attack.

That's why neither Kaito Kuroba nor Seiran Urashi's lives were ever truly in danger.

A strong sense of crisis stimulated the cerebral cortex.

Sano's intuition told him that the second wave of assassins would be on a completely different level of danger compared to the first wave.

...The structure of the entrance on the first deck of the Suzuki family ship is that there is a large hall behind the door, and at the end of the hall, there is a corridor on the front and left and right sides.

It formed a T-shape.

Suddenly, Sano's gaze turned to the middle corridor of the hall, the one Conan and his group had come from. A group of people emerged from the corner, their numbers no less than the number of the unconscious assassins in the hall.

At the same time, a similar number of people entered through the main entrance of the hall.

Most importantly, both sides are still basically armed with submachine guns, which have a high level of firepower.

...This guy isn't an assassin, he's more like a mercenary!

"hidden!"

Sano cursed inwardly, and without thinking, grabbed Kaito Kuroba's cloak and ran to the side.

At the same moment, gunshots rang out.

The doubled number of troops and the upgraded weaponry made this wave of firepower several times stronger than the previous one.

Fortunately, thanks to Sano's warning, everyone dispersed in time, and there were no casualties immediately.

Two groups of people approached while firing shots from the corridor and the main entrance, causing Sano's group to be roughly divided into two groups and flee in panic.

Sano... his black-masked clone, dragging Kuroba Kaito along with Inspector Megure and his men, including Urashi Seiran, and Amuro Tooru and Nakajima Keizo, ran wildly down the right-hand corridor.

Meanwhile, Sano's true form was with Conan and the others, escaping their pursuers in another corridor.

"Stop running, it's a dead end!"

As a temporary worker on the ship, Amuro Tooru had already figured out the ship's structure and spoke up to remind him.

So the group huddled behind their only cover—the corner at the end of the corridor—and fought back with the few pistols that Inspector Megure and his men had.

However, faced with overwhelming firepower, the counterattack was limited to peeking out a gun barrel from around the corner and firing a few shots haphazardly.

Fortunately, for some reason, the group didn't seem to have any intention of pursuing them. The gunfire continued for two minutes without them showing any signs of getting closer.

Amuro Tooru frowned and pondered for a few seconds before his expression suddenly changed: "This is bad. They probably plan to blow up this ship and wipe out everyone on board!"

"What?!"

Upon hearing this, Inspector Megure was immediately taken aback: "How did you know?"

Before Amuro Tooru could answer, Sano spoke up first: "I think I did see two of them carrying a large box just now. Although I can't be 100% sure, it's the most likely possibility given the current situation."

"The most direct difference in combat power also requires the most direct environment to be brought into play. The complex environment inside the ship is actually not conducive to the opponent's actions."

“They probably know we’re in a dead end, so all they need to do is block us here, prevent us from getting involved, and then plant the bombs to end the battle with minimal risk.”

Amuro Tooru glanced at Sano and nodded, confirming that he shared the same idea.

...I never expected that this Black Mask would be so intelligent, in addition to his physical abilities. He's quite something.

However, what Amuro Tooru, who was feeling sentimental, did not know was that the above was actually Sano's hindsight.

Although Sano did see the big black box among the group at first, who could have immediately guessed that it was a bomb?

Sano was so certain because just now, he had suddenly received a new mission.

[Please ensure that the Suzuki family's ship is not destroyed. Completion will earn you 100 enhancement points. Mission time remaining: 00:19:59]

...Faced with this sudden development, Sano seemed to see a large red "danger" character appear on the Suzuki family ship beneath his feet.

The reward is a bit meager, but there seems to be plenty of time.

Just as Sano was about to figure out how to resolve the current situation, he received a series of notifications in the next second.

[Please ensure Ran Mouri survives within the mission time limit. Completion will earn you 50 enhancement points. Mission time remaining: 00:14:59]

[Please ensure that Sonoko Suzuki survives within the mission time limit. Completion will earn you fifty enhancement points. Mission time remaining: 00:14:59]

[Please ensure Conan survives within the mission time limit. Completion will earn you fifty enhancement points. Mission time remaining: 00:14:59].

Please ensure Ai Haibara survives within the mission time limit. Completion will reward you with fifty enhancement points...

Everyone who had just escaped with Conan down the other corridor triggered a rescue mission at Sano's place.

...Except for the three real kids, who were bundled together at a discounted price of 100, everyone else was basically paid 50 points.

Hmm... this is getting a bit troublesome.

That Conan kid is such a damn jerk! He not only died himself, but he also dragged those who ran with him down with him.

Sano frowned slightly. What puzzled him was why these rescue missions, including the one to prevent the ship from being blown up, were included.

Why are they all triggered so late?

...Could it be that these people were not actually in danger, but some anomaly changed later, causing them to face death, which triggered the event temporarily?

Wait a minute, according to my original speculation, this group of assassins probably only showed up because Kaito Kuroba, or rather, Kaito Kid, revealed his face.

It's highly likely that this group of people chose to blow up the ship because the first wave of assassins made it too difficult for them to kill Kaito Kuroba directly.

So, isn't that... my own fault?

...Furthermore, following this line of thought, unlike the Scorpionist who needs to be exposed, Kaito Kuroba doesn't actually need to show his face at all.

If this guy doesn't show his face, will this group of people still show up?

Ok? ? ?

Why does this pot seem to get bigger the more I think about it?

No, no, that's not right.

Since the mission clearly states that the goal is to ensure Kaito Kuroba's survival, even if Sano does nothing and prevents the guy from showing his face, he should still be killed.

That's right, Sano shouldn't be blamed for this!

If we follow this line of reasoning, Kaito Kuroba only boarded the ship after Ryu Saikawa's death, excluding the influence of Sano himself.

There's only one reason why Kaito Kuroba would die even without showing his face: blowing up the ship is inevitable... which brings us back to reality.

Sano, whose mind was wandering unconsciously, shook his head... and stopped thinking about these questions that might never have answers.

"...What should we do now? We're completely trapped here and can't get out at all. Even if we ask the central government for help, it's unlikely that reinforcements will arrive so quickly."

Inspector Megure felt like he was going crazy. He was just an ordinary police officer who thought he was just here to solve a simple murder case. He never expected that he would be involved with the internationally wanted criminal, Scrooge.

That's bad enough, but then assassins appeared, and they were actually a group of people who were more dangerous than mercenaries.

Is it really necessary?!

"The ship will definitely be blown up before reinforcements arrive!"

"So sitting idly by and waiting to die is definitely not an option."

Amuro Tooru patted Inspector Megure on the shoulder, then first unlocked the handcuffs on Urako Seiran, and then took the pistol that originally belonged to Urako Seiran from Inspector Megure, checked the magazine, and loaded it: "Let's give it one last shot."

...Amuro Tooru wasn't joking. In his view, even in the current situation, they weren't entirely without hope of a successful counterattack.

Chapter 272, page 271: Sano is the one with terrible sense of direction, what does that have to do with me?

After all, unlike others, they can only look at things for fun or on the surface.

As a seasoned veteran with extensive combat experience, Amuro Tooru knew very well just how astonishing Sano's... or rather, Black Mask's, combat performance was during the last wave of assassins.

Several times, bullets that should have hit the other party were unexpectedly dodged by him. There were even a few bullets that should have hit Kaito Kid, but he helped dodge them or simply blocked them with the clothes he was wearing that seemed to be bulletproof.

This person is undoubtedly the main force in the next operation.

If the opponent can gain the upper hand, with their skills, it's not impossible for them to work together to take down these assassins.

"Don't act rashly."

However, to Amuro Tooru's surprise, Black Mask, whom he considered crucial to the operation, actually rejected his proposal.

"If we wait any longer, it will only get more and more dangerous for us. Police support won't be able to arrive so quickly."

Facing Amuro Tooru's serious expression, Sano shook his head: "Listen to me, don't move."

"I need a reason."

Sano fell silent, leaving Amuro Tooru feeling breathless for a moment.

If the other party is unwilling to exert effort, Amuro Tooru cannot force them to.

However, if the other party doesn't put in any effort, Amuro Tooru has absolutely no chance of success.

...Damn it, the operation hasn't even started and it's already been stalled?