Conan: I'm Really Not Tokyo Ghost Story

Sano lit a cigarette: "Why don't you just ask around? Do you think you'd believe me just because I tell you?"

Gin narrowed his eyes and immediately made a call to Amuro Tooru.

A moment later, Gin, having received all of Amuro Tooru's observations, asked a few more questions before hanging up the phone.

At the same time, Amuro Tooru met Black Mask and Sano.

Amuro Tooru confirmed that Black Mask had dodged the assassin's bullets.

Based on these two points alone, Gin can be basically certain that the black mask that Amuro Tooru saw was indeed the real black mask, and that Sano was indeed not the black mask.

Then there's the later appearance of Kokushi, who was shot in the upper arm by an assassin, while Sano was unharmed... The former might have been intentionally manipulated, but the latter is irrefutable proof that Sano and Kokushi are not the same person.

Chapter 277, Are you afraid, Gin?

Am I overthinking things?

Gin finally put his gun away.

...In fact, given the Beika Hotel incident, it's not surprising that Gin would take the "Sano might be the Black Mask" so seriously.

But Gin's further inquiry into whether Sano is a member of the Black Death seems rather illogical.

The root of the problem lies in the fact that Gin does not allow Sano to hide anything from him, even if it is just a small matter.

Secondly, a strange connection was formed between Black Death and Black Mask during this incident.

These two guys likely know each other, or even, to put it more broadly, are teammates or allies.

Whether it's Gin's observations in the newspapers or Amuro Tooru's descriptions, this information is revealed.

So if Sano isn't Black Mask but is still Black Death, then the problem remains unchanged.

"Find out Black Death's identity, and then start with him to find Black Mask."

Although Sano is no longer a Black Death, as a former Black Death, in Gin's opinion, no one can penetrate the Black Death's inner circle more easily than him.

Whether considering his abilities or his identity, Sano is the best candidate to uncover the true identity of Black Mask.

"impossible."

However, as soon as Gin issued the order, Sano rejected it outright.

"reason."

Gin didn't immediately get angry, but instead asked Sano for a reason.

"Does Lord Gin think I'm a fool? After what happened last night, do you think I didn't try to ask Black Death about Black Mask?"

Upon hearing Sano's words, Gin raised an eyebrow, a thoughtful look appearing in his eyes.

According to Sano, he had already investigated the relationship between Kokushiki and Black Mask. To put it more deeply, this could mean that he had anticipated being suspected upon his return.

Of course, there's nothing strange about that.

Let alone the famous detective Sano, even an ordinary person in his position would surely understand that such a situation would arouse suspicion.

That's why, if Sano were really Black Mask or Black Death, he wouldn't have done something so self-inflicted.

Although this might be Sano trying to take advantage of others' mentality and deliberately guide them... This kind of stupid operation, which is close to predicting whether the fleeing enemy will predict whether their side will take the left or right path, is ridiculous.

Gin, of course, was too lazy to waste his brain cells.

The real question is, what did Sano do when he knew he would inevitably be suspected?

Generally speaking, when an innocent person is suspected, they will naturally try their best to clear their name and prove their innocence.

But Sano is not an ordinary person, so you can't use an ordinary person's perspective to understand him.

Based on Gin's personal speculation, Sano's two most likely reactions are...

First, be indifferent and composed.

You can doubt all you want, but if I make a move, I'll admit defeat.

...This is also the most troublesome reaction for Gin: neither admitting nor refuting, only offering the bare minimum of explanation, which is both frustrating and frustrating.

Second, if you feel displeased, then resolve these doubts in a unique way.

...This reaction is also troublesome, because Gin can't be sure how Sano will "uniquely" clear his name.

In the best-case scenario, Sano would directly eliminate Black Mask, solving the problem at its root.

Even in the worst-case scenario... we still need to address the problem at its root.

However, the root cause may be even deeper than the former.

If you can't solve the problem, solve the person who raised it... Gin seems to have heard Sano mention this phrase before.

Gin hadn't forgotten that quite some time ago, Sano had almost defected on the spot because he had suspected him and pointed a gun at him according to standard procedure.

...Looking at it this way, have I really gone a bit too far all this time? After all, Sano has mental issues and is the type who is particularly prone to losing control.

Gin suddenly calmed down.

Perhaps I should try to provoke this guy as little as possible?

...In fact, if he were in a calm state, Gin should have made this deduction long ago, instead of waiting for Sano to bring it up before he made the connection.

The problem is that Gin failed to calm down.

When Gin saw in the newspaper that Sano and Black Mask had both appeared on the Suzuki family's ship, he was like a little girl who had seen her boyfriend entering and leaving a hotel with another woman... cough cough.

Although this metaphor is somewhat exaggerated, it is the most vivid one.

In that state, how could Gin possibly remain calm? Of course, he was eager to question Sano.

"...So what did you find out?"

After a moment of silence, Gin asked.

"We didn't get anything out of him. Black Death is very wary; he doesn't want to trust anyone."

Sano said this: "The more you say, the more mistakes you make. One lie often requires countless lies to cover it up. Not admitting or denying this is not just about the perspective of the person using the pseudonym. It is the same even from the perspective of the real person as an outsider."

That's right, this is to avoid risks and even bigger troubles, and it's definitely not because Sano was too lazy to make up a story.

Gin responded to Sano's answer with a row of dots.

Although I expected it, isn't this just pure nonsense?

Gin lit a cigarette and exhaled a long white dragon: "To be honest, Rye, the reason you're so reluctant to do this is because you're afraid of the trouble and too lazy to go, right?"

Sano blinked innocently: "How could that be? You're overthinking it, sir."

...Intelligence work is always the most troublesome work.

Unlike combat missions involving silencing witnesses and fighting, intelligence cannot be obtained in a short time through force. Perhaps a small portion can be obtained, but the vast majority cannot. Instead, it requires a considerable amount of time and effort.

Especially in situations like now, it's necessary to start from scratch to build rapport with a highly wary stranger until the relationship becomes "good" before moving on to the next step.

As for Sano's personality, Gin has naturally gained some understanding of it after spending so much time with him, but... it's impossible to understand.

...Perhaps because of some mental illness, Gin felt he had a hard time knowing what this guy was thinking, but one thing he was certain of was...

Sano is someone who highly values ​​"cost-effectiveness" and hates doing things that have low "cost-effectiveness".

The evidence is that some time ago, Sano was frantically boosting his performance for some reason, and even asked Gin for tasks. For the tasks that Gin assigned, which were "may take more than three hours", he always asked to change them to other tasks with shorter durations.

It's not that Sano is unwilling to accept long-term missions.

After all, it wasn't like Sano hadn't been sent on missions that took a long time before.

However, in Gin's view, Sano was unwilling to waste too much time on tasks that were originally assigned to peripheral members and therefore did not count as high in terms of "performance".

To put it more bluntly, Sano felt that it was a waste of time to complete tasks that only resulted in small performance targets and bonuses.

This statement may seem to simply reveal that Sano is "shrewd," but it actually reveals his inner thoughts.

...Furthermore, since Sano hadn't "demanded" any more missions from him since his last trip to Osaka, Gin felt he had every reason to be suspicious.

This kid has become picky, or you could say lazy.

As for the task Gin just mentioned, "get close to Black Death first and then find Black Mask," although he could personally elevate this to a high level, it would still take a considerable amount of time.

In terms of cost-effectiveness, it's even worse than the "low-level" tasks that Sano did before.

...What Gin didn't know was that the reason Sano asked him to change missions during that period was not to pursue "cost-effectiveness," but purely to pursue "speed," because he wanted to complete the number of organization missions that met the mission requirements as soon as possible.

"What if I told you this task was mandatory?"

Gin's sudden question made Sano raise an eyebrow in surprise, but just a few seconds later, he shrugged and said, "Well, there's nothing we can do about it."

Well, Sano only said he would do it, but he didn't say he would definitely succeed.

The old method: delaying tactics.

If you feel you can't do it later, then just let Gin find someone else to do it; it's unlikely to "succeed" anyway.

"Well then, if there's nothing else, I'll be leaving now."

After the exchange, Sano waved and left.

But as he approached Gin from behind, Sano suddenly turned around and said, "But speaking of which, it's quite surprising that Gin-sama would value someone who only knows how to hide so much."

"what?"

Gin subconsciously turned his head to look at Sano.

"Nothing, I'm just a little curious about what Gin-sama is thinking. Is it because your previous operation was disrupted that you're angry, or... wary?"

Sano tilted his head and laughed: "Anyway, seeing your reaction, I've actually become a little interested in that guy."

...Is this guy mocking me?

Gin frowned again. Sano's shift in tone regarding the word "fear" made him realize that Sano hadn't originally intended to use that word. Judging from Sano's usual speaking style, it was probably...

Fear, that kind of word.

Although what Sano said was not entirely without reason.

Why would I care so much about someone who doesn't even dare to show his face?

The last time something like this happened was when Shuichi Akai betrayed us.

Is it really as Sano said?