Conan: I'm Really Not Tokyo Ghost Story

Then, peering through the gap between the three people, he looked at Silver Fox and the others behind him.

Yoshino was entangled with Asai Narumi, while Silver Fox was being targeted by another woman dressed in white... business attire. Both sides were in the same situation as Sano.

It was a close-quarters battle.

The only one missing is Vermouth, who replaced Calvados. It's unclear whether she ran away or is being hunted down... Considering the presence of Coron and the fact that she's nowhere to be seen, it should be the latter.

But just as Sano had this thought, he heard Vermouth calling for help through his earpiece.

"Damn it, come save me!"

Perhaps because the situation was too critical, Vermouth's voice even cracked a little, and she almost couldn't hold back Calvados's voice and reveal her original voice... After all, Coron was a former member of the action team, and no matter how bad he was, he wouldn't be bad in a head-on battle.

Despite her high rank, Vermouth is not the type to engage in direct combat at all.

It's normal that they're being chased and attacked by Koren now.

Chapter 622, Vermouth: You didn't mention it beforehand?

Ok……

Sano thought for two seconds and then pressed the button on his earpiece: "Roe deer."

Before Sano could speak again, Ireland's deliberately hoarse voice rang out: "Don't count on me, I have my own troubles to deal with."

I could faintly hear a few gunshots coming from the other end of the headset.

Sano frowned slightly. The three people in front of him were Silver Fox, Yoshino, Vermouth who replaced Calvados, and Ireland.

Was there someone among the people Koren brought whom I hadn't seen?

However, Coron obviously did not expect that Calvados was actually Vermouth's replacement, and now that this pawn hidden in the shadows is about to be revealed.

That would be a decisive blow.

However, Sano did not intend to do so; to be precise, he could not do it.

Otherwise, wouldn't that be telling Vermouth that she already knew Calvados had been replaced and was even able to continue commanding?

Vermouth was probably worried that calling Calvados for help might expose her, so she didn't dare to act rashly... But when it really came down to it, she probably wouldn't care about that anymore.

After all, it's better to die for your fellow Daoist than for yourself.

Now Sano either has to deal with the three people in front of him himself and then go to support them one by one, or wait for Vermouth to ask for help.

When that time comes, Sano will naturally turn a blind eye to some things.

"Shh!"

In the blink of an eye, the three people rushed over again.

"Ah ah!!!"

Ochiai, the museum director, roared, his aged voice confirming his identity to Sano as he charged ahead. Though not fast, he wasn't slow either. Suwa Yuji stayed close by, waiting for his chance, while Maeda Satoshi moved with the agility of a monkey, nimbly traversing the walls on either side, ready to attack or provide assistance at any moment.

Fancy.

Sano loosened his tie, calmly took two steps forward, and then, as the distance between them closed to the limit, suddenly accelerated and delivered a side kick.

Before Ochiai could react, he was sent flying backward at an even faster speed than when he arrived, forcing Suwa Yuji, who was hiding behind him, to stop and dodge to the side. Sano seized the opportunity to close in on his opponent, and just as he was about to throw a punch, Maeda Satoshi rushed down from above and punched him in the head, trying to relieve the siege by attacking Wei, or perhaps he was simply planning a sneak attack.

After all, these people are criminals, and they probably can't be considered close to each other.

In any case, Sano is definitely not willing to exchange fists for fists.

So he gave up the attack and started to dodge. But Sano hadn't been completely unprepared for Maeda's move. He had already prepared and twisted his waist to deliver a spinning kick that slammed into Maeda's raised arms as he tried to block.

"boom!"

Despite Maeda Satoshi's quick reaction and rich experience, he managed to block the attack in the heat of the moment. However, he failed to land properly and still took a solid hit from Sano's kick, which unleashed his full explosive potential. The enormous force of the impact created a deafening roar, and the bones in his arms seemed to crack. He was sent flying like a sandbag.

It flew much farther than Director Ochiai.

"Sen!"

Suwa Yuji remained calm, continuously wielding his long sword at Sano, almost dancing it into a flower, using offense as defense and giving Sano no chance to attack.

...It's a bit surprising how strong this guy is.

Not to mention continuing to attack Suwa Yuji, Sano couldn't even finish off Maeda Satoshi and Ochiai Gym Leader behind him... Of course, this was also due to the advantage of the field, but he had to admit that his vision was too limited earlier.

They actually only regarded this uncle as a minor expert.

After Sano retreated about ten meters, Suwa Yuji did not rush forward again.

Instead, they halted their attack and retreated.

...very cautious, huh?

"Are you okay?"

Satoshi Maeda and Director Ochiai had also gotten back up and joined Yuji Suwa, regrouping and striking their respective poses.

Yuji Suwa couldn't help but glance at Satoshi Mendo's slightly trembling arms, while the armor on Director Ochiai's chest, which had shrunk considerably, was even more alarming.

...What kind of terrifying explosive power is this?

Thankfully, he didn't get hit by this guy. Otherwise, without Maeda Satoshi's top-notch resilience and defensive skills, and without Ochiai Gym Leader's steel armor, he probably would have died on the spot.

"Be careful, this guy is dangerous."

Looking at the three men who were ready for battle, Sano clicked his tongue. He barely managed to suppress the urge to pull out his gun, to teach them a lesson that times had changed, and to let them experience the new era of Iaijutsu... to reason with them.

In life-or-death battles, guns are always king.

Perhaps a few people can overwhelm an enemy with a gun by relying on their experience, physical attributes, and various skills, but they are ultimately only a minority.

Even these few individuals, in certain situations—such as in an open environment, engaging in a direct, mid-range confrontation—may not necessarily defeat a gunman who has only undergone ordinary training.

They're like executives at the brewery, a bunch of tools for Sano.

Outstanding individuals like Shuichi Akai and Tooru Amuro always carry a gun.

The real reason why a monster like Makoto Kyogoku doesn't carry a gun is not only because he genuinely doesn't need one, but also because he can't get his hands on one or it's inconvenient for him to carry one.

Aside from avoiding trouble when being investigated and searched at crucial moments, Sano really can't think of any other benefits of not using guns as weapons... His various aliases are because he has cheat codes.

So it's okay not to carry a gun.

But what is this white-clad thing? Is this some kind of children's game?

Aside from Koren, it seems that only that unidentified person was involved in combat with a gun.

What are you thinking?

Feeling puzzled and speechless, Sano shook off those distracting thoughts.

Given the current situation, the previous approach failed to subdue these three people.

This is disadvantageous for Sano.

Because of the Black Cat's modus operandi, it is destined to be a surprise attack type of operation.

Ideally, it should be done in a second.

Otherwise, the longer it drags on, the more disadvantageous it will be for Sano.

Therefore, we need to change the mode... to be precise, we need to enter the second phase.

It's like a boss in a game going into a berserk state.

Sano's green eyes behind his glasses glowed red, and under the sunlight, his long shadow became distorted, extending outwards in an illogical way.

However, unlike game bosses...

That mechanism is triggered only after losing a significant amount of health, and Sano...

Without losing a single drop of blood, they entered the second stage in just one exchange.

"Game time is over, mice."

Suwa Yuuji and the other two had their pupils constricted, still unable to recover from the unscientific scene before them and the sudden surge of oppressive aura.

Sano had already stretched into a shadow and gotten very close.

So fast!

Even faster than before!

Almost instinctively, Suwa Yuji unleashed a defensive technique from his own swordsmanship school... A sword is a sword after all; what he called defense was actually offense in disguise. The blade's light enveloped the entire area in front of him, forcing his opponent to retreat.

However, Sano dodged the attack with just two quick steps.

This was nothing unusual.

Because Suwa Yuji originally wanted people to avoid him.

The problem is that Sano's way of dodging—retreating is only one way to dodge, and sidestepping can also achieve the effect that Suwa Yuji wants, but continuing to launch an attack while dodging is obviously not right.

Increased speed.

Leaving aside sprint speed, reaction speed has clearly improved by more than one level.

...It's almost over.

As Suwa Yuji lowered his center of gravity to dodge the final horizontal slash, Sano, who seemed to be pressed against the ground, raised his left hand. The sharp claws at the tips of his five fingers, like daggers, gleamed coldly and stabbed towards his chest. The scene in Suwa Yuji's eyes seemed to be slowed down countless times, but his body just couldn't move.

Death is imminent.

Get out of the way!

I heard Director Ochiai's angry shout beside me.

Yuji Suwa was forcibly pulled back a little, which still didn't allow him to avoid Sano's attack, but it gave Director Ochiai an opportunity to intervene.

A silver-white arm guard blocked Suwa Yuji's chest.

With a piercing sound, Sano's claws pierced into the armor.

...Tsk.

Sano frowned, and as he exerted force with his legs, he rotated his waist. The ear-piercing sound rang out again, and this time it lasted even longer.

"Shh!"

Sano bent his five fingers and cut several slits, each more than ten centimeters long, on Ochiai's arm armor. He then forcibly hooked the man and, like throwing a sandbag, lifted him into the air and hurled him away.