Conan: I'm Really Not Tokyo Ghost Story

After complaining to Amuro Tooru, Conan looked at Sano with an even more indescribable gaze: "...Just in case, let me ask you in advance, when did you stop being a member of the Black Death Party? The one who tied me to a telephone pole and spanked me, and the one who kicked me, were you the one?"

"Um……"

Sano deliberately thought for a while longer.

"I don't remember very well. I haven't been a Black Death for a long time. Besides, whether I'm a Black Death or not has nothing to do with whether I'm attacking you or not."

...In other words, even if Sano wasn't Kokushi, he could still beat up Conan.

Yes, that makes sense.

Conan sighed, rubbing his forehead, but he knew now was not the time to talk about these things.

"So what's going on over there? That guy deliberately took Sano's place and was taken away by you. I don't think it's just a simple matter of escaping, right?"

Amuro Tooru paused for two seconds, first explaining the situation at the time, and then began to explain what happened afterward: "The current situation is that a large part of the high-ranking officials have been killed, and those who remain, whether out of fear or something else, have very decisively arrested all the radical officials involved in the Kusakabe incident and sent them to the prosecutor's office."

"...There is another possibility: the remaining ones have actually already sided with the Black-Clad Party, or even more exaggeratedly, have become followers of the Black Fox."

Conan offered a new guess, his face grave.

Amuro Tooru had long suspected this as well: "But the problem is that there is no evidence at all. There are no traces of that guy's hypnosis. We have no way of knowing who did it. Let alone intelligence warfare, even a direct confrontation would be a foul comparable to nuclear weapons."

"Yes."

Conan rubbed his temples, looking rather troubled: "But even if it's unscientific, there must be limitations, like the choice of targets and the timing... Otherwise, this war wouldn't have broken out, would it?"

"Ah."

Amuro Tooru nodded in agreement: "And the other members of the Black Organization too. If Black Fox were truly unrestricted, he would have become the Black God long ago."

"...Black God?"

Conan has discovered a new blind spot in the intelligence network.

Amuro Tooru could only offer another explanation.

Fortunately, this wasn't some particularly important piece of information, so Conan didn't bother expressing his dissatisfaction to Amuro Tooru. He then said, "Anyway, now that we've achieved our goal, they probably won't do anything else, right? We should prepare for the worst."

"Yes, we must find a way to break this deadlock, otherwise the authorities will become fish on a chopping board, and the black-clad men will be able to do whatever they want."

Amuro Tooru looked at Sano.

What do you think?

"Ok?"

Sano snapped out of his daze: "What else can I think about but lie down?"

"Alright, stop arguing with me. Let's not talk about your black death or the imposter who replaced you. The key is this file Rum threw at us. Although its authenticity is still questionable, even if it's an imposter, it's unlikely that it could fool the distillery."

Amuro Tooru stared intently at Sano, finally revealing his fangs.

"...To put it bluntly, they just don't believe me."

Sano met Amuro Tooru's gaze without flinching: "I can understand your fear of the bizarre situation Black Fox has created, and the level of trust between you has dropped significantly, but isn't it going too far to treat me the same way?"

Amuro Tooru narrowed his eyes: "Are you scared?"

Sano clicked his tongue and simply lay down: "Fine, do whatever you want. I won't resist at most, but let's skip the 'cooperate' stuff. If there's a problem, then we'll deal with it as it comes."

Upon hearing this, Amuro Tooru immediately slapped his thigh.

“Okay, surveillance cameras, eavesdropping devices, and locators are essential. In addition, I have to stay with you 24 hours a day until I feel that there are no problems.”

Sano twitched his eyelids, too lazy to reply.

...to reason with each other.

Amuro Tooru's words just now were actually on the verge of a complete falling out. It wouldn't be excessive for him to resist or even turn against Amuro Tooru.

Sano's response, on the surface, seemed to be a direct confrontation with Amuro Tooru, but in reality, it offered a way out—this was an unavoidable distrust, but the real problem was not the Black Fox's hypnosis.

It lies not in the rye's disguise technique.

Amuro Tooru wanted to believe Sano, but he couldn't.

At the same time, it was precisely in order to trust Sano that Amuro Tooru had to say some things and do some things. It was best to agree, but he had to agree even if he didn't.

To put it bluntly, disagreeing is almost tantamount to being guilty and afraid.

Logically speaking, demanding self-proof is definitely excessive, but Sano's response was still cooperative: if you can't believe it, then find a way to believe it; anyway, you have nothing to fear.

Being straightforward and honest is the best approach at present.

With just this one step, Amuro Tooru's tense nerves relaxed considerably.

Before Amuro could implement the methods he had just mentioned, a sudden text message forced the small meeting, which was already almost over, to end prematurely: "Sano, come out with me."

"Hey……"

Sano picked at his ear: "I'm not going to say anything more. Just do whatever you want. I won't resist, but I definitely won't cause trouble for myself. Don't expect me to cooperate."

...The implication is that going out is such a hassle.

Amuro Tooru paused for two seconds: "Dinner's on me, the best of everything."

Sano jumped up: "Fine, let's put in some effort for justice."

Conan: "..."

Toru Amuro: "..."

Sure enough, no matter how you look at it, this person doesn't seem like a qualified terrorist.

After the suspicion was reduced again.

The three of them went out and came downstairs, then parted ways.

On the rooftop opposite, two figures watched the white Mazda depart.

"...So, the authorities are now completely under your control?"

Sano turned around and glanced at Curaçao.

"You made a special trip just to ask this?"

"if not."

Sano lit a cigarette: "Not quite, but it's pretty close."

...Just as Amuro Tooru worried, the remaining high-ranking officials in Japan are now completely obedient to Sano's side. Of course, it would be a stretch to say that they have all become believers.

Sano hasn't had time to reach that level yet.

According to the original plan, Sano wanted his followers to secretly control the situation and form a small group without making a sound. In this way, he only needed to kill the most key leaders in the upper echelons and then take care of those annoying opponents, leaving some neutral individuals.

Once that matter is over, the official command structure will naturally be replaced.

Just before the operation, quite unexpectedly, a leader within his own faction showed a clear desire to defect to Sano's side... Although the original plan could have worked, there was a risk that if the command structure fell into chaos, it would be impossible to control the situation.

Fortunately, Sano left behind this leader and took direct control of the situation afterward.

As for whether there are any hidden dangers in doing this,

Sano didn't think it was a big problem. Anyway, the current matter had been dealt with, and even if this guy turned against him again, he wouldn't care at all.

If needed in the future, then we'll find another opportunity to brainwash them.

Is there a problem?

completely fine.

However, Curaçao was still dissatisfied: "You've gone too far this time. Even if you control the Japanese government, it doesn't mean you can act with impunity. There will be even more people watching you."

"so what."

Sano asked calmly, while Curaçao clicked his tongue and replied, "So I want to ask what you plan to do. To be honest, I don't care whether you want to die or not, but unfortunately I don't want to die. Not to mention that you've implicated those kids. Why don't you just abandon your public identity and hide for now until you've completely taken control of the situation?"

Curaçao made her point clear.

...This is probably a question that most people who know the inside story would have: Black Fox's brainwashing methods are invincible, like nuclear weapons. Given enough time, he can easily win without losing a single soldier. But in the end, Black Clothes still insists on keeping a close eye on the Kusakabe matter.

It seems a bit inappropriate to be so eager to show your face.

Is it not that they don't want to do it, but that they can't?

Normal people would probably have such conjectures, as well as conjectures that it is impossible or unnecessary to do, if we only consider the current situation.

Curaçao was right to think that the Black-Clad might not be able to solve the huge trouble that was about to be faced, and it was also right for him to be worried about his teammates who were on the same side as him, and to try to get a sense of reassurance.

"...Get this straight, if I can replace one Japanese official, I can replace many more."

Sano glanced coldly at Curaçao: "It's just that there's no need for it."

"Then what is truly necessary?"

"Of course, it's the most taboo part of human technology."

Upon hearing Sano's words, Curaçao was immediately stunned.

"You bastard, are you planning to..."

"Shhh."

Sano put his index finger to his mouth, signaling him to be quiet: "It's good that you know what's going on."

Curaçao remained silent for a long time, but finally couldn't help asking suspiciously.

"...Are you really not the Black God?"

Sano turned around and smiled mysteriously: "Be scientific, there's no such thing as God."

Curaçao: "..."

To be honest...

Although the identities of the various members of the Black Organization seem to have been largely clarified, upon closer examination, several still remain in a somewhat ambiguous neutral state, with Rye being one of them.

Some people think so, while others think it's just a connection.

Of course, overall, we still lean towards the former. Among them, Curacao knows more about the existence of rye and is the only one who clearly knows that Sano is the real person, so he is the one who feels it the most.

...The Black Fox's hypnosis is unfathomable and extremely dangerous?

No, in Curaçao's view, the most unfathomable one is Sano.

Because this thing's disguise was just too good.