Conan: I'm Really Not Tokyo Ghost Story

And now, Yusaku Kudo is calling me, and judging from the caller ID, it's not an international call... Has that guy come back to Japan?

That's really strange.

...Based on Conan's experience, even if he returned to Japan, Kudo Yusaku wouldn't even let him know. He'd be lucky if he didn't secretly plot how to trick him, let alone call to say hello.

something wrong.

Conan thought for a moment, but still didn't answer the phone.

If there's an emergency, I should call later; there's no rush.

With this in mind.

After greeting Ran Mouri, Conan first went to Professor Agasa's house, intending to have a good discussion with his all-powerful, high-tech grandfather about the ins and outs of that masked equipment.

As soon as Conan got out of the car, he noticed someone standing in front of his own mansion next door.

Yes, Shuichi Akai disguised as Subaru Okiya, and the Kudo couple.

If the appearance of these three people could be considered somewhat expected, then the presence of Amuro Tooru, Mizunashi Rena, and even Akai Mary on the sidelines was also anticipated.

But all of this was beyond Conan's expectations.

Especially Amuro Tooru, who was able to quietly hang out with Akai Shuichi... even though on the surface, Okiya Subaru was just an ordinary person.

As for Mary Akai, it's not too bad.

Since visiting Sera Masumi's room, Conan has had many more encounters with her, including several times meeting the person hidden behind her, and gaining some insights along the way.

...Of course, Conan didn't know that this fake little girl was named Akai Mary.

The only two things that are relatively clear are Mary's form of address and her relationship with Shuichi Akai and Masumi Seiryo... Well, actually the latter isn't exactly clear either.

After all, there is no evidence.

It's roughly equivalent to whether each member in black belongs to the black-clad group.

Oh, and one more thing.

This mother and daughter, who look like sisters, have some connection to MI6.

If you also include the Japanese Public Security Bureau, the FBI, and the CIA, this team is definitely not quite right.

Ai Haibara also saw the people over there and frowned.

"Come here, let's have a meeting."

Yusaku Kudo waved to Conan.

Although Conan was a little confused, he probably knew what it was about.

Ai Haibara did the same, and hurriedly tried to catch up.

"Can I participate too?"

Yusaku Kudo stared at Ai Haibara for a few seconds, then smiled and said, "Whatever you like."

"it is good."

So the fake child duo joined the group and entered the Kudo mansion with a group of people, closing the doors and windows and checking them again to make sure everything was alright.

"Shinichi, you know what I'm going to say, right?"

After everyone was seated in the living room, Yusaku Kudo asked Conan a question.

"Yes, about the man in black."

Conan nodded, and Yusaku Kudo also nodded: "That's right. While you were dealing with the problem of the escaped radical leader in Singapore, we had already conducted a careful analysis of the whole matter and made some progress."

Before Conan could ask what the gains were, Yusaku Kudo continued, "However, what's surprising is that before the gains here have even been put to use, your side has already revealed a major flaw."

Conan paused for a moment, then instantly understood what Yusaku Kudo meant. He quickly explained, "Are you referring to Black Mask going to Singapore with us, and Sano being able to transform into Black Mask? If that's the case, then you've probably misunderstood something..."

"It's not just that, calm down."

Yusaku Kudo interrupted Conan, his brow furrowed: "I know you trust Sano a lot, and it's not just you, everyone here wants to believe him too."

"then you……"

"But he used hypnosis on Lyon."

"……what?"

Conan was stunned again, and Ai Haibara next to him also looked surprised.

"I'm serious."

Yusaku Kudo took out several documents and spread them out: "These are the materials my friend in Singapore sent me, and also the transcripts provided by Leon after he was arrested. They clearly mention that Sano said he saw a very magical scene after being hypnotized. There are also two transcripts from China, which also mention that they saw something abnormal on Sano... Although it's a bit unscientific and feels close to the legendary illusion, we still intend to treat it as hypnosis for now."

After carefully reviewing several documents and confirming that Yusaku Kudo's statement was not nonsense but based on evidence, Conan scratched his head with a mix of annoyance and amusement: "Wait, it was one thing to suspect him of being Rye before, but now you're starting to suspect him of being Black Fox?"

“I didn’t say he might be Black Fox.”

Yusaku Kudo pushed aside the documents and stared intently at Conan: "But it's undeniable that only Black Fox could do something of this magnitude. It's impossible for two identical monsters to be so close together by sheer coincidence."

"Furthermore, the only people who can definitively become Black Mask besides Kurosawa are Sano, and coincidentally, he is the only one suspected of being Black Mask. And coincidentally, he was Black Death and the founder of Black Death. With so many coincidences, do you still want to deceive yourself?"

Conan was stunned by his father's retort and didn't know how to refute it. After a long silence, he finally managed to say, "Then what does it mean that you've pointed out so many suspicious points? It's not like you're saying that all four of them are him, or that he trained them..."

At this point, Conan paused, his eyes widening in disbelief.

"You don't suspect that Sano is the Black God, do you?"

Yusaku Kudo nodded solemnly: "Under that mask, anyone can be. You should know that, right? I originally thought that only referred to the existence of Black Mask, but what if it includes other people in black? Don't forget that Black Rye has a flawless disguise technique. If Sano also has it and helps to take his place when necessary, or uses the identity of a member to act, that makes sense, doesn't it?"

Conan's head seemed to explode with a "boom".

"Then, you don't have any evidence either?"

"There is no evidence. It's not just Sano; the core members of the black-clad group are the same. Even if we find them and capture them, there's no real evidence to show in court."

"So who exactly are you?"

As Conan felt his thoughts becoming clearer, he also felt increasingly confused. Yusaku Kudo probably realized he had been rambling on, so he got to the point: "So we've decided to start with the outsiders of the Black Organization: the Black Reaper, the Black Organization, the FFF Group, and the Zoo."

"...Will this really work?"

"I don't know, but we have no other choice but to try."

Kudo Yusaku pulled out a large stack of documents: "Using surveillance to wait for the rabbit to come to the tree stump won't work. Others have already tried it before. Even if they do manage to catch the rabbit, they can't follow it very far and will lose track of it soon. These people are too elusive. Using bait is even less likely to work. That would be tantamount to starting a war directly. To be honest, I'm not confident either."

"...In the end, isn't it just that it simply doesn't work?"

Conan scratched his head and said, "And to be honest, if Sano really is one of the men in black, then he must know very well who on our side will get involved. Wouldn't he have planned ahead? Hypnosis is like a ghost. Not to mention the people here, can we really trust our teammates?"

"Don't worry about that. We already have a way to deal with the Black Fox's followers."

Yusaku Kudo simply pushed half of a pile of documents to Conan.

"These are the enemies currently within the upper echelons of the Japanese government."

Conan blinked: "How can you be so sure?"

"It's very simple."

Yusaku Kudo looked at Tooru Amuro: "The hypnosis here is more like brainwashing than hypnosis. This kind of method is not particularly rare. For example, Rum from the Distillery once had a confidante who was brainwashed. You should know that she was the kind of person whose emotions were wiped out and turned into a killing machine who was only loyal to Rum."

Conan thought of Curaçao and nodded thoughtfully.

"Black Fox's approach is different. His followers still have their own emotions, and his brainwashing mainly relies on the followers' fanatical emotions. Therefore, it is difficult to find problems on the surface, but this is also the biggest problem, which is the worship of gods by his followers."

Amuro Tooru picked up the thread: "Therefore, as long as you try to speak ill of Black Fox in front of the target, anyone who has been brainwashed will show some abnormal behavior, which is something they cannot control themselves."

Conan: "..."

Holy crap, you can actually do that?

Who came up with this method?

Conan couldn't help but ask, and Yusaku Kudo smiled and said, "Of course it's your dad."

...That's just right.

"In this way, the problem of mutual suspicion among teammates can be considered resolved for the time being. What we still need to pay attention to is Rye and Sano, who may be able to disguise himself. But even if we don't really need the human skin mask, he is still just an imposter. There are still many ways to distinguish him based on his memory and other aspects."

As soon as Yusaku Kudo finished speaking, Tooru Amuro added, "And Vermouth, the brewery is now under Rye, so she's practically one of their people."

"...What the hell??"

Conan, upon receiving the new information, was filled with question marks.

"Oh, I haven't told you yet, rye is now the boss of the brewery."

Amuro Tooru then uttered a very familiar statement.

Conan was speechless and also felt a little numb... Damn, this is really something. He thought it was a boss that was not much different from the other boss. Although the level difference between the two sides seemed to have become a bit big after the radical faction incident, it shouldn't have become the gatekeeper elite monster of the other one. This is too outrageous.

Among the various departments under the Black Clothes organization, the distillery holds an exceptionally high position.

However, upon closer inspection...

It makes much more sense for Amuro Tooru to choose to ignore Sano and stay in Japan.

"...And there's also Kaito Kid, right?"

Kudo Yusaku suddenly added, "Although it's not entirely reasonable, this person has had some contact with Sano and Black Mask. This is a serious matter, so it's best to consider the worst-case scenario for now."

"In short, character customization is still a must, and only then can we take measures to deal with the kind of disguise techniques that are useless to character customization."

Shuichi Akai made a summary.

"Although those methods may not necessarily work, it's better to do them than not to do them."

"There is no such thing as a foolproof plan in this world. Dealing with the black-clad man is the most dangerous thing to do... Also, I have something to say. Everyone here has had some contact with the target. I don't want anyone to mix personal feelings into the operation, because you may not even know that your feelings have been manipulated. You all understand, right?"

Yusaku Kudo glanced at Ai Haibara.

The fake loli twitched the corner of her mouth, knowing that she was being targeted.

“I’m not sure what actions you can take under these circumstances, but you yourself said that this matter is very risky. Why don’t you think about whether such a big risk is really worth the reward?”

"How is it not equitable?"

Yusaku Kudo tilted his head: "If we can succeed, even if we are wiped out, it will be worth it... Of course, if possible, I would like to resolve this matter without losing a single person."

Ai Haibara frowned: "In your eyes, are the men in black really that despicable, that you'd even risk your own wife and children to get rid of them?"

These words were spoken.