Conan: I'm Really Not Tokyo Ghost Story

"What's wrong, has Emilia been here too long and can't understand Japanese anymore?"

Shuichi Akai: "...I don't understand why you want to join the FBI and what you want from me."

"Then I don't know what you're doing here, since you've already been killed by Gin."

Threatening oneself?

And it was an open and blatant threat?

At this point, Shuichi Akai, who had originally planned to make a last-ditch effort and put up a stubborn resistance, understood very well that his disguise had been completely torn off.

But who exactly is this person?

He knew not only his true identity but also how he "died."

It feels like being seen through from head to toe, yet knowing absolutely nothing about the other side.

It's really quite annoying.

"...Why would you want to join the FBI?"

Since they hadn't completely broken off relations, Shuichi Akai was still willing to maintain the peace, so he casually asked Sano about his reasons for joining the company.

"Because he's handsome."

Sano picked at his nails: "I really liked those FBI agents in the movies when I was a kid. Now that I'm bored, I want to get one of those identities to use."

...What kind of outrageous reason is this for being hired?

Even if he didn't say he was sacrificing himself for peace and justice, or had some irreconcilable hatred for evil forces, even if he said the FBI's salary and benefits were good, so he wanted to join, Shuichi Akai would be more willing to accept it, right?

After a long silence, Shuichi Akai stared at Sano across from him for a few seconds.

"What would you do if I said no?"

"Just do what needs to be done."

Sano leaned back lazily on the sofa: "At least Subaru Okiya and Ai Haibara are definitely not going to be able to live peacefully in this world anymore."

"……I see."

Shuichi Akai let out a long sigh: "However, I can't make that decision either. All I can say is that I will help you submit your application and try to put in a good word for you. As for anything else... that's beyond my control."

That's your problem, not mine.

After delivering a single sentence as if issuing an ultimatum, Sano stood up and headed straight for the door, giving Akai Hide no room for negotiation whatsoever. It wasn't until he pushed open the door that he suddenly stopped and turned around.

"By the way, if I can get the job, I'm not comfortable providing my identity information to the FBI. I think you can take care of that for me, right?"

Shuichi Akai: "...Hmm."

"That's good."

Sano nodded in satisfaction, turned and left, closing the door behind him.

Shuichi Akai sat on the sofa for a while before taking his hand off the pistol at his waist and wiping his face hard... The feeling of being raided and having his home raided so suddenly was really unpleasant.

Fortunately, the situation did not spiral out of control.

After thinking for a while, Shuichi Akai got up and took a miniature camera from the corner of the living room wall. He then went upstairs, turned on his computer, and pulled up a photo.

It was Sano who had just left.

...If Shuichi Akai wants to help Sano get a job at the FBI, he'll definitely have to contact James.

Originally, no one knew about Shuichi Akai's faked death plan except for himself and Conan... Sano may know some inside information.

Unexpectedly, another one has appeared now.

This forced Shuichi Akai to bring in even more people.

In particular, the issue of identity information is what Shuichi Akai cares about the most.

Fabricating information is actually harmless.

But this is still a bit troublesome... Furthermore, if possible, Shuichi Akai also wants to figure out who this mysterious person who suddenly appeared is, and why he always feels unable to be on guard when facing this guy, but instead feels a strange sense of peace and an involuntary urge to relax.

Therefore, after opening his email, Shuichi Akai typed out a line of text.

"Help me look up someone."

……

To be honest, Sano didn't have any particular purpose in wanting to join the FBI.

He was just looking for an excuse to get in touch with Shuichi Akai.

After trying to control the emotional changes of dozens of people with his fox-eye technique, Sano discovered that these people's willpower seemed to be somewhat low.

I can't tell anything from it.

However, the will attribute is not like the three external attributes.

It is possible to roughly distinguish the skill level.

Therefore, Sano had no idea how to find high-quality test subjects.

After much deliberation, Sano decided to target someone he knew.

Characters like Conan, Gin, and Amuro Tooru would never be low in price.

Shuichi Akai, as the FBI's ace investigator, is the same.

In reality, Sano wanted to manipulate Shuichi Akai's emotions.

It was indeed much more difficult than for ordinary passersby.

However, putting aside the strength of Shuichi Akai's willpower, the main reason is that he is mentally tense and not as relaxed as others.

Similarly, since this guy spends most of his time in the underground world, the chances of his actions being affected by his emotions are relatively small... Of course, this doesn't mean that Sano gained nothing at all, not even a little bit, but as long as it accumulates, it will definitely achieve some effect.

Otherwise, this conversation would definitely not have gone smoothly.

I wonder if Shuichi Akai will be able to control his emotions once he calms down.

What questions arise?

...Besides that, Sano wouldn't mind getting an FBI identity.

Joining the FBI was an excuse, but not entirely.

Leaving aside Sano's detective identity under his real name, there are his other four identities.

One is absolutely affirmative, one is absolutely negative, one is positive but biased towards negative, and one is negative but biased towards affirmative.

But the one that is absolutely right is not really absolute.

Only by affiliating with an absolutely righteous organization can one be considered legitimate.

Japanese police officer Sano also considered it.

But organizations like that have too many rules, like the FBI, especially Shuichi Akai's group.

Frequently walking the line, one should be much more lenient in this regard... holding an FBI certificate and shouting things like "FBI open the door."

It seems pretty good?

Chapter 525, 528, The Smiling Tiger

To Sano's surprise,

Shuichi Akai's movements were surprisingly swift.

Not even twenty-four hours had passed since the conversation began.

The phone rang on Sano's cell phone.

...In order to make it easier to get the "interview results", Sano naturally left his number with Shuichi Akai, of course, he left the fifth black card he bought.

For this reason, Sano bought a sixth mobile phone.

That's right, it's the sixth one, not the third.

Back when four SIM cards were still in use, Sano bought dual-SIM phones; two were enough. Later, even though he acquired the Black Cat alias, he didn't need to make calls with that thing, even after a new team joined the team.

It's still pretty much the same.

Sano has never bought a cell phone.

And now.

Sano finally bought a new phone, and the price doubled.

I originally only brought two phones because it was inconvenient to carry more.

Now, it's fine to just put it in the armory.

Even the style of the phone, Sano specially chose a different one.

Of course, none of this matters.

The important thing is the content of Shuichi Akai's phone call.

"The issue of your identity information has caused quite a bit of trouble. Although I have tried my best to speak up for you, the higher-ups still say that you need to produce certain results before they can overlook these details and let you join our FBI."

"Results?"

"Hmm... I've fabricated some favorable factors for you, such as your extensive knowledge of the distillery. If you join, it might be helpful for our FBI's plans in Japan... So, the higher-ups said that as long as you can successfully infiltrate, you'll be allowed to join."

...To go undercover?

So after all that deliberation, it seems we still have to align ourselves with the opposing organization?

Sano, who had instantly lost interest, was about to make one last threat, or else go his own way if all else failed, when he received a mission the next second.

[Please obtain the FBI agent identity within the mission time limit. Completion will earn you 100 enhancement points. Mission time remaining: 47:59:59.]

That's more or less.

"Okay, I got it. I'll call you again if it works."

Hearing Sano agree so easily, Shuichi Akai on the other end of the phone was somewhat surprised and asked, "...Don't you need any help from me? We have some influence in the organization, and perhaps we can lend a hand in helping you infiltrate the organization."

Sano was also somewhat surprised.

Shuichi Akai only got involved in this matter because he was coerced by me. How could he possibly do it on his own initiative? Let alone try to use the FBI's power to help me before he even knows my situation. Isn't he afraid of exposing the FBI's "resources" to me and causing bad results?