Conan: I'm Really Not Tokyo Ghost Story

"You're dead if you dare interfere with my work."

"Ah... I understand."

Conan scratched the back of his head, still staying close to Sano.

"Speaking of which, Sano, this request of yours was arranged by Mr. Amuro, wasn't it?"

"No."

"……Why?"

Conan was taken aback when his guess was denied: "Then where did it come from?"

"I told you, it's about client privacy. Kids shouldn't pry into adults' business."

After returning to the corridor from the doorway.

Sano happened to see the last member of the Takeda group and hurriedly went to Morofushi Takaaki, saying that someone had reported seeing Yamato Kansuke.

Therefore, I want to borrow a car to take a look.

Morofushi Takaaki refused the request, but his reason was that the man was driving too recklessly and he was worried about his car... Sano was too lazy to complain and just watched from the side. In the end, Kuroda Hyōe came out to give the order.

Zhu Fugao reluctantly lent out the car.

Then Sano followed them out of the police station, hailed a taxi, and had the driver follow him. He was the fourth candidate for the death, driving Morofushi Takaaki's car.

"...Do you think this was the killer's plan?"

Conan, who had also boarded the car, sat next to Sano and asked curiously, "Although I mentioned before that the real target of the murderer was likely Inspector Saegusa, that also included Inspector Yamato. Now that the police believe Inspector Yamato is the murderer, it means my reasoning was wrong. Even so, do you still think Inspector Saegusa is in danger?"

Why does this kid talk so much nonsense?

Sano didn't bother with Conan.

But Conan remained enthusiastic: "You think Inspector Yamato isn't the culprit and was framed, right? Then the real culprit should have achieved their goal, right? If that's the case, why do you still think Inspector Saegusa is in danger? Even so, why do you think now..."

"Well."

Conan's voice abruptly stopped.

Sano, who had manually muted Conan, turned his head slightly and looked at the other person, asking, "Do you think I definitely don't know who the real culprit is or what their purpose is, so you feel you've already won and want to provoke and mock me?"

"..."

Conan, whose little scheme had been directly exposed, stiffened and his eyes flickered.

"No, no..."

...It's not that Conan looks down on Sano.

Although, in terms of their involvement in the entire case, the two were roughly equal.

But in reality, Conan has too many advantages.

The acquaintances from previous cases, the earliest discoverers of the body, had ample time to think and learn more from other participants, and the only round in which the two of them participated together in the Akiyama segment.

Even though Conan has already revealed quite a few things, both overtly and covertly.

Putting aside whether those things are enough, the key point is that Conan felt Sano was distracted the whole time and didn't really listen to what he was saying.

And that is precisely why.

Conan would be even angrier—"Serves you right for not listening to people and not understanding anything, huh?"

……Wait a moment.

According to what Sano just said.

"...You already know the truth?"

Conan asked, somewhat surprised.

But Sano still ignored him, only looking at the car in front of him.

To prevent the driver from losing track of them.

Seeing this, Conan knew he wouldn't get the answer and could only wait to witness it firsthand.

However, given Conan's understanding of Sano and the current developments...

That's probably right.

...This is really frustrating. Is this guy a monster? He went to Mount Wife and Daughter.

The truth is already right before our eyes?

Despite Conan's displeasure, the two cars quickly returned to the cabin on Mount Tsumabu. After getting out of the car a short distance away, Sano didn't immediately follow the policeman named Mie, but instead looked at Conan.

"If two people are taking the bus, you'll have to split the fare with me later."

Conan: "..."

Are you out of your mind to say something like this at a time like this?

And how could you possibly ask your child for money?

Furthermore, has Sano already forgotten that because of his earlier antics, he's now practically penniless? Conan really wanted to yell at him and then reason with him, since he's just a kid and his size is small, so even if he really had to steal money, it should only be a quarter of it.

...It has to be at least half price!

cough.

However, considering the tense situation, Conan didn't say much.

After reluctantly gritting his teeth and nodding in agreement, Sano continued walking towards the hut. However, before he had taken more than a few steps, he saw someone else coming out of the hut.

"Crack!"

After loading the pistol, Akiyama walked around to the back of Morofushi Takaaki's car and fired several bullets into the trunk, creating several holes.

Hmm... Morofushi Takaaki's intuition was correct.

No, to be precise, Morofushi Takaaki knew from the beginning that things would turn out this way.

That's why we have "intuition"?

...That's about right. Anyway, Kuroda Hyōe will reimburse me, right?

While Sano was lost in thought, Conan's expression had already changed drastically.

Akiyama came out of the hut.

Putting aside what happened to Sane, how is Yamato Kansuke, who was hidden in the trunk, doing?

Damn it, I shouldn't have delayed just now!

Conan was just about to use his power-enhancing shoes to subdue Akiyama.

Then I saw Sano walking towards Akiyama.

After reaching into his pocket, Sano pulled out a pure steel baseball bat.

They arrived silently behind Akiyama.

Grip the stick with both hands, assume a stance, and swing it with all your might.

"boom!"

Unaware of what was happening, Akiyama's head collided with the baseball bat with a crisp sound.

"what!!"

Akiyama let out a scream and collapsed to the ground.

"Home run!"

Sano put his bat back on the ground and nodded in satisfaction.

Conan, on the other hand, looked completely blank... In fact, he had wanted to ask this for a long time.

From the small hammer at the very beginning, to the baton that recently appeared in connection with the bounty, to the shovel last time and the baseball bat this time, Conan is really curious as to why Sano suddenly thought of changing his weapons. Moreover, he changed these three items one after another. Was he trying to find a new and suitable weapon? As for the small hammer and baton, that's understandable.

How the hell did Sano manage to carry a shovel and such a long baseball bat on his person?

The Weapon Master even gave him a four-dimensional pocket?!

I wonder what new weapon Sano will pull out of his pocket next time.

……wrong.

Conan shook his head; now was not the time to think about such things.

It's all Sano's fault; he's managed to get all the focus off to the side.

Chapter 659 Living Bodhisattva or Living Yama?

Just as Conan was about to run to the back of the car and open the trunk to check if the person inside was still alive, the trunk opened by itself the next second.

Yamato Kansuke, holding a riot shield riddled with bullets and full of cracks.

He climbed out of the trunk, looking at the scene before him with a somewhat bewildered expression.

...Hmm, he's a very cautious person; he even carries this kind of thing with him at all times.

Sano sighed inwardly.

Conan breathed a sigh of relief and then rushed into the cabin to check on the other person.

A few seconds later, Conan walked out of the cabin and nodded to Sano.

...Sange didn't die. He was probably just ambushed by Akiyama and knocked unconscious. At least Conan checked his pulse and confirmed that he was still breathing.

Fortunately, it didn't turn into the worst possible situation.

Sano was also a little surprised by this.

If Yamato Kansuke's survival due to this maneuver can be considered pure luck, then the fact that neither side died is truly unforgivable.

Of course, Sano had anticipated this from the beginning.

After all, Sano didn't hear any gunshots before Akiyama came out, and there was no blood on his body. In the short half minute that he and Conan exchanged a few words, it's unlikely that he was strangled with a rope. Although hitting someone with a blunt object doesn't get as dirty as hitting them with a sharp weapon, it shouldn't be completely clean.

Therefore, Sano has every reason to suspect that Mie is not dead.

But Sano really didn't understand why Akiyama didn't just kill the person directly.