Chapter 14: This Isn't a Detective
Shikishima Inn - Late Night
Kogoro Mouri lay peacefully on his futon, mumbling the name of his favorite idol Yoko Okino in his sleep.
Suddenly, a shadowy figure materialized behind him.
Moonlight streamed through the window, illuminating the distinctive silhouette of samurai armor.
If Natsukawa had been present, he would have immediately recognized it as the same armor displayed at the Navy Archives earlier that day.
But Kogoro Mouri remained blissfully oblivious, still deep in his dreams.
The armored figure slowly raised a gleaming katana above its head—
"Uncle Mouri!"
Conan's voice rang out just before he burst through the door.
"Huh?"
The sudden, childish shout shattered the inn's nighttime silence, jolting Kogoro awake. He rolled over irritably, then immediately cried out in pain and sprang from his blankets.
He'd accidentally pressed against his burn wound.
"Who the hell is making all that noise in the middle of the—"
Before Kogoro could finish his complaint, he spotted the armored samurai standing before him, katana already raised high!
Shiiing!
The blade sliced through his blankets like they were made of paper. But the attack didn't stop there. Seeing his first strike had failed, the armored samurai immediately launched a second assault.
"Dad, what's going on?!"
Ran, returning from the bathroom, rubbed her sleepy eyes and slid open the shoji door.
"Ran, stay back!"
"Who are you?! Why are you trying to kill me?!"
The armored samurai offered no response, continuing his relentless hacking and slashing.
"Uncle, are you okay?!"
Conan finally arrived, though rather belatedly considering his earlier warning.
The armored samurai struck several more times, but couldn't land a single blow on Kogoro Mouri.
Being a skilled judoka, Kogoro dodged the strikes while simultaneously delivering a powerful kick to the samurai's midsection.
Realizing he couldn't kill his target, the armored samurai clutched his side and staggered toward the courtyard through the open sliding door.
So that's how he broke in.
The traditional sliding doors were one reason why breaking into Japanese houses could be surprisingly easy. If an intruder could scale the wall, they could enter virtually undetected.
Courtyard - Moments Later
Natsukawa, leading Anya back from their investigation, suddenly heard a commotion coming from the courtyard.
So I was right after all. Hamada really did attack—though it seems he failed miserably.
Looking at the armored samurai stumbling about with one hand clutching his side and the other gripping his sword, Natsukawa had to suppress a laugh.
What a pathetic assassin. Did he get kicked in the kidney?
Anya, on the other hand, seemed genuinely anxious. Her pink hair practically stood on end like a frightened cat's fur. Moving with surprising agility, she swiftly climbed onto Natsukawa's shoulder like a nimble monkey.
"Papa, beat up the bad guy!"
"Alright."
Natsukawa steadied Anya on his shoulder, then his feet were already moving.
His blonde hair gleamed brilliantly in the moonlight, his sharp eyes locking onto the armored samurai's staggering form like a predator tracking wounded prey.
Clang!
The samurai sword struck the ground and rose again, sparks flying as it swung through the air.
One second later.
Natsukawa came to a leisurely stop, gently setting Anya down on the ground.
Anya stood perfectly still, eyes blinking innocently. She raised her thumb and pointed her index finger at the armored samurai, the other three fingers curled into her palm, forming a finger gun.
"Bang!" she whispered.
The samurai collapsed to the ground with a heavy thud, his katana clattering across the stone.
"Are you alright?"
Kogoro Mouri emerged from the inn, still clutching his injured backside.
Natsukawa shook his head calmly, glancing back at the fallen armored figure.
Fighting against Twilight the Spy? This guy clearly wasn't thinking straight!
"I'm glad you're okay."
Despite tears of pain welling in his eyes, Kogoro forced himself to walk over to the collapsed samurai.
At that moment, Conan appeared seemingly out of nowhere. He'd been conspicuously absent during the actual fight, but arrived with incredible speed the instant the samurai fell.
He reached the armored figure before Kogoro could.
"Kid, get out of the way."
Kogoro was still irritated, and seeing Conan about to remove the mask from the samurai's face made him even more annoyed.
This kind of dramatic reveal should be done by adults, not children.
"Kinoshita-san?!"
"Kinoshita Goro?!"
As the mask came off, both Conan and Kogoro exclaimed simultaneously in shock.
"How could it be him?!"
Kogoro was stunned that such a large elderly man could carry dozens of kilograms of armor and move around so quickly. Conan was equally shocked that the person before them wasn't Hamada Koji.
According to his deduction, all the evidence had pointed squarely to Hamada as the culprit.
What is this old man doing getting involved?!
"I didn't expect it to be him either." Natsukawa shook his head thoughtfully. "I noticed him eavesdropping when I was talking with Mikami Takeo earlier. I found it suspicious, but I never imagined he was the actual mastermind behind everything."
After all that thinking and burning through so many brain cells, both he and Conan had reached the exact same conclusion: the culprit should have been Hamada.
The commotion at the guesthouse was loud enough that many nearby residents heard it. Village Chief Mikami Takeo came running as well.
Seeing his assistant, Kinoshita Goro, lying unconscious on the ground, his expression turned deathly pale.
"What... what happened?" Mikami Takeo's face was grim. He seemed to have some suspicions, but didn't dare voice them definitively.
"What do you think happened?!" Kogoro snapped. "What kind of psychopaths are working in your village office?! You won't let us leave unless we investigate, and then your assistant tries to kill us when we do!"
Natsukawa grabbed Mikami Takeo by the collar and lifted the already short man clear off the ground.
"Do we look like easy targets to you?"
Neither Kogoro Mouri nor Conan made any move to stop him. Their expressions were equally grim, clearly fed up with this entire mess.
Conan, in particular, looked on the verge of tears.
Why?! The culprit was definitely supposed to be Hamada! What does Kinoshita Goro have to do with anything?!
"Twenty million yen! I'll pay upfront after this is resolved—no, wait, I have cash! Twenty million yen in cash right now!"
Natsukawa loosened his grip on the man's collar and casually straightened his disheveled clothes.
"You're quite wealthy for a village chief."
Mikami Takeo's face had gone deathly pale, clearly terrified.
This isn't a detective—this is a yakuza gangster!!
Natsukawa wasn't actually interested in the relatively small amount of money. He just wanted to thoroughly frighten the man. Besides, the compensation was meant for Kogoro Mouri, not himself.
Even at this critical moment, the village chief was still obsessing over those gold nuggets. It was unclear whether that made him incredibly bold or incredibly foolish.
"Is he going to be alright?"
Natsukawa recalled not using much force, but considering the man's age, there would likely be some injury—though certainly nothing permanent.
"He's fine, just knocked unconscious. Where exactly did you hit him?" Kogoro asked curiously.
The man was completely out cold. If it weren't for his pulse and breathing, one might think he was already dead.
"The neck. Just the back of the neck, slightly to the side." Natsukawa shrugged. "I've seen it done on TV before."
Conan's eye twitched. "..."
Okay, maybe I should stick with saying 'Hawaii' next time. 'TV' sounds way less credible.
"By the way, if Kinoshita Goro was the one who tried to assassinate Uncle Mouri, what about Hamada?" Conan's detective mind was already racing. "He should be the only one who knows where the Ryujin is hidden. Kinoshita Goro wouldn't just let him go."
"The Ryujin! It must be at the Navy Cave!" Kogoro's eyes widened with realization. "It's so late, and the Navy Cave is quite far away. It would take considerable time to get there and back."
Conan immediately took off running at full speed.
Kinoshita Goro was so desperate to assassinate Uncle Mouri that he probably hasn't discovered the gold in the Navy Cave yet. Hamada Koji must have been captured and interrogated about the Ryujin's location!
And that Uemoto Yasuo guy is suspicious too. He was brought here by Kinoshita Goro, and he seemed to know Hamada from before—he even called him 'Aoki.' There's definitely more to this story!
"Hey! Conan, you're killing me here! Stop right there!"
Kogoro Mouri chased after him, still clutching his injured backside. There was no way he could let a little kid wander around such a dangerous place this late at night.
Ran hurriedly followed her father.
"Anya is sleepy and wants to sleep..." Anya tugged at Natsukawa's sleeve, her eyes drooping with exhaustion.
"You're being way too careless about this."
What kind of father figure did I turn out to be?
"Alright, you can lie on Bond's back and sleep for a while."
Natsukawa beckoned to Bond, then gently lifted Anya onto the large dog's back. The two of them followed after Ran, who had already disappeared into the darkness.
At that moment, Mikami Takeo stood up briskly, dusted off his pants, and called over several nearby villagers.
"You guys tie up Kinoshita and take him to the village office. I'll decide what to do with him when I get back."
He pointed at one particular villager. "You—yes, you—come with me."
"Village Chief, I don't think—"
The person who'd been called looked extremely reluctant.
"Hurry up! You're the only police officer in this entire village. If you don't come with me right now, I'll have you stripped of that badge tomorrow and give it to someone else!"
In a small, isolated place like Shikishima with no more than three hundred residents, there were naturally very few police officers.
There was only one officer on the entire island—and he was the type who collected a paycheck while doing virtually nothing, comparable to the elderly police officer on Tsukikage Island.
A token lawman for a forgotten island.
[End of Chapter 14]
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