Conan: I'm Really Not Tokyo Ghost Story

As for whether this is a big or small matter, adhering to the principle of better to kill the innocent than let the guilty go free, the authorities have every reason to detain Sano and take him away, demanding his cooperation in the investigation, and detain him for a day or two.

But in response to Amuro Tooru's probing, Sano merely twitched the corner of his mouth.

"What purpose could you possibly have? If you had to go to such lengths to keep an eye on things like this, do you think you'd still be Zero by now, huh, Lord Zero?"

...That's right. Just knowing each other and having potential connections is enough to fuel such intense suspicion. If that's enough, then let alone Amuro Tooru and Sano, the tens of thousands of Black Reapers in Tokyo alone would be enough to give the authorities a run for their money.

Also.

Sano knew even better that the people stalking him near his home were not radicals at all, but rather there to protect him, to prevent the radicals from actually doing anything to him. As for who had sent them, he didn't know.

Sano didn't say anything.

Seeing that Sano was unmoved by reasoning, Amuro Tooru rubbed his temples and, disregarding everything else, went straight to the point: "You know rye?"

"rye?"

Sano pretended to be confused and thought for a few seconds.

"Ah, that winery executive, I've heard of him, what's up?"

"...I'm not talking about having heard of him or having met him, but whether you know him or not. Conan already told you, right? He hasn't appeared in the organization's sights, it seems like it's because you discussed something with that guy."

Amuro Tooru is really getting anxious.

The current situation is urgent. Although Amuro Tooru is willing to trust Sano's character, the information that might come in handy must be obtained as soon as possible. The faster the better. If it is delayed by even a minute, there is a high possibility that one, ten, or even hundreds of people will lose their lives. Among them, there may be many innocent bystanders who are completely unaware of the situation.

In this situation, even if Sano is a good person, from his perspective, he certainly wouldn't want this to happen, so he just had to resort to force.

Amuro Tooru has to do it too!

"……Yeah."

Sano raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised by Amuro Tooru's unusual toughness... After all, he was an intelligence officer, always used to playing the game of superficiality and getting things done in a roundabout way, but considering the level of this matter, it was understandable.

“I don’t know what I did, but he said it was, so I guess it is.”

Sano then looked at Conan and teased, "You owe me a huge debt of gratitude for saving my life, so you'd better remember to treat me to a meal later, and a really good one at that."

"..."

Conan was speechless for a moment, while Amuro Tooru was getting a little exasperated. He raised his voice and said, "Sano, stop being so nonchalant and irresponsible at a time like this. This is serious. Do you know how many people have died? What do you even know? Can't you just tell me?"

"First of all, I really don't know what I can say. Secondly, if I really had something that would be useful if I said it, do you think I would stay silent?"

Sano also seemed quite exasperated.

"Is there no trust left at all?"

Toru Amuro: "..."

The road is now completely blocked.

Logically speaking, Sano's statement is indeed correct and reasonable.

Because Sano is a good person, he will definitely do something useful if he does it. But if he deliberately does something useful and sits and waits for death, then he is a bad person. But if he is a bad person, what can we ask of him?

From a sentimental standpoint, they've already brought up the issue of attitude. If Amuro Tooru keeps making trouble, wouldn't it make it seem like the two of them don't trust each other?

If there's no trust left, what's the point of talking about Sano?

...Amuro Tooru couldn't say for sure whether Sano did it on purpose or was just expressing his true feelings.

They fell silent, unsure of what to say.

After a while, Amuro Tooru tried to find another way to break through and asked, "Do you have a way to contact them? I don't need you to do anything special, just ask them if they are willing to negotiate, and then I'll handle everything else."

Amuro Tooru had already lowered his attitude to the lowest level; he was practically kneeling down to Sano.

But Sano gave a completely different answer: "No, putting aside whether I can deliver the message for you, the key point is that there's no need for you to send this message out, is there?"

"what?"

Toru Amuro was stunned.

Sano then looked at Conan: "I'm asking you, what did Rye say last night?"

"Hey?"

Conan blinked, hesitated for a long time, and still couldn't give an answer.

"That's a messenger of justice."

Sano sighed and rubbed his forehead: "Perhaps you think a lot of people are dying right now, but to put it bluntly, most of them were people who deserved to die anyway. Yes, some innocent people have been implicated, but that's only a tiny minority, so the impact isn't significant. I know what you're trying to say, but the real point is that if we really go into a full-scale war with the authorities, then far too many innocent people will die. Sacrificing a small number of people to protect a large number is barely justifiable, but to wipe out a large number of people to the point that only a small number remains, that's something that can't convince anyone."

"Putting the cart before the horse."

Amuro Tooru roughly understood what Sano was trying to say, but he was still a little doubtful and asked, "But is what that guy Kuromei said really credible? What if this champion of justice was just talking offhand? Also, if it's really as you say, the Black Cloths wouldn't do that, then how will this war that they started end? They can't just surrender, can they?"

Sano didn't reply, he just looked at Amuro Tooru.

A few seconds later, Amuro Tooru realized: "Are you trying to force the authorities to take the initiative to negotiate?"

"probably."

Sano snapped his fingers, but out of caution, he also added a patch.

Amuro Tooru stroked his chin, deep in thought.

"But if it's going to be a negotiation, why can't we just talk without going to war?"

Conan, who had been listening in the whole time, asked in confusion, "Wouldn't that have prevented a lot of unnecessary casualties? Even if we don't talk about that, it's still a waste of energy, isn't it?"

Sano and Amuro Tooru looked at Conan with expressions that suggested they were looking at an idiot.

"...W-what's wrong? Did I say something wrong?"

Amuro Tooru sighed and rubbed his forehead in exasperation: "Do you think the authorities will really listen to the black-clad officials if they do nothing and just want to negotiate? Negotiations rely on bargaining chips, and it's all about who has the bigger and smaller hand. Besides, if things were as simple as you say, there wouldn't be any problem at all. The authorities would just solve the root of the problem, which is the radical faction."

Conan gradually realized what was happening.

"Is the government trying to protect the radicals?"

"What else did you think?"

"But they are the masterminds behind this, and they must be brought to justice!"

Do you have any evidence?

"...Didn't Kusakabe explain that?"

"What use is it if all he did was make an excuse to be a scapegoat?"

"..."

Conan was completely speechless... He originally thought that it was a foregone conclusion that the radicals would suffer, but the Black Rye and his group were not satisfied with just letting these people be punished by the law, and planned to take their lives to carry out justice.

That's how things got to this point.

Unexpectedly, there was such a deeper story behind it.

"But since there's no evidence, there's no point in negotiating, right?"

With a studious attitude of asking questions when he didn't understand, Conan continued to express his doubts, and this time Sano finally answered on his behalf: "Just let them admit it themselves."

Conan blinked: "Torture?"

"more or less."

"But then the rye side can totally do it themselves, right?"

Conan was confused again, while Sano smirked and said, "Even if they want to confess, the authorities might not want them to. Do we need to explain the principle of not washing dirty linen in public? Besides, if this were to work, why do you think the authorities wouldn't immediately force a confession? Isn't it because they want to hide it?"

Upon hearing this, Conan was stunned.

Looking at Amuro Tooru next to him, silence was the best answer.

...It's really unexpected that there are so many twists and turns within the official organization. This has truly refreshed Conan's worldview to the point that he couldn't feel angry for a moment.

It feels like I've opened the door to a new world.

No wonder he was looked down upon by Rye... Sano, on the other hand, seemed to know everything. It's true that just being good at deduction isn't enough to make a living.

"Well, now that we know the other side's goal is to force negotiations, there must be a bottom line. If the authorities also stick to their guns and a stalemate ensues, what will the final outcome be?"

Conan had barely uttered his question when he sensed something was wrong.

...because the authorities were unaware of this; only he and Amuro Tooru knew.

Putting aside Amuro Tooru for now, should he have delivered this important information to the authorities? If he hadn't, the Black Organization would have achieved its goal; if he had, the authorities would have had a chance to delay. But in the end, it would be the cannon fodder and innocent bystanders who would have suffered. The key lies with those radicals, judging from what Sano just said.

It seems impossible for the law to punish such behavior except in the current context.

Neither side is a good person, and favoring either side is not a good deed.

But we can't do nothing, that would put us in a difficult position.

Conan suddenly went bald.

"It depends on which side's position is being taken into account in this matter; we need to be more resolute."

To Amuro Tooru and Conan's surprise, Sano actually provided an answer.

"Or rather, see which side is crazier."

Toru Amuro: "..."

Conan: "..."

Alright, now I don't even need to look at it.

With rye there, who the hell can be as crazy as him?

"Dudu-"

Suddenly, Amuro Tooru took out his phone, and his expression changed a few seconds after the call connected.

"Has the authorities taken action against Black Reaper and All-Knowing?"

Upon hearing this, Conan's expression changed. The official response was so quick and forceful. He wondered what this response was all about.

What kind of return gift will the Black Death give?

"No, I have to go back and keep an eye on things. Contact Sano if anything happens."

Amuro Tooru left, and Conan naturally followed.

After watching the two get into the car and leave, Sano threw away his cigarette butt, exhaled the last puff of smoke, and knew it was time to get down to business.