Chapter 461

When asked if it was Kaito Kid, the other party replied, "Guess."

...Hmm, this answer sounds like something from Usaku Saiki.

Morofushi Kagemitsu was confused, but he had to close his eyes and have someone disguise his face, so his desire to observe more closely was objectively impossible.

During the disguise process, the other party did not speak again.

If it were vodka, it would probably be in a state of unease by now, because when Usoppai is quiet, it always feels like he's brewing something big.

However, Morofushi Kagemitsu understood Usuiba Saiki better—although Usuiba Saiki could be so talkative that he could drive Gin and Vodka crazy when needed, most of the time he was actually too lazy to talk.

When Usoya Saiki suddenly becomes more talkative, most of the time he is actually planning to say strange things or to torture people with a wicked sense of humor. Vodka mainly receives this kind of treatment, so he can even be stressed by Usoya Saiki's silence.

Morofushi Kagemitsu wouldn't normally have been too concerned about Usaku Saiki's silence, but at this moment, some strange doubts from before made him uneasy.

The only reason he could still sit comfortably in the chair, closing his eyes and accepting being manipulated, was because even if the other party wasn't Bo Yezhaiji, he was introduced by Bo Yezhaiji. He believed that Bo Yezhaiji—if he really wanted to harm him, he wouldn't need to go through all this trouble!

It was unclear how much time had passed before Morofushi Kagemitsu heard the other party speak again.

"Alright, open your eyes and take a look."

Moribu Kagemitsu opened his eyes and looked into the mirror in front of him.

“Black hair is very common, so there’s no need to dye it. Just use your natural hair color and change your hairstyle.” The person holding the mirror pondered, “Since you’ve changed your face, I think you don’t need to change your eye color either. There’s nothing wrong with being more common.”

Zhu Fujingguang thought he was right.

The person in the mirror had the same hair and eye color as before, but had a different, more youthful face. There were subtle adjustments made to the area around his eyes, slightly altering their shape, which made his somewhat dull demeanor, honed by years of undercover work, strangely more lively.

"...Isn't he a bit too young?"

After a long silence, Morofushi Kagemitsu finally couldn't help but say, "I'm actually almost thirty."

To make himself look more mature, he even started growing stubble after graduating from police academy, trying to increase his "mature masculinity." Now, this disguise has made him look like a college graduate who has just graduated or a newcomer who has just entered society and has not yet suffered any hardships. This does not meet his expectations.

"You still care about that? Bourbon is almost thirty, isn't he? He can still pretend to be a college student, and sometimes it's more useful to be younger."

Zhu Fujingguang suddenly looked up at him.

He knows Bourbon...?! Surely Usakabe Saiki wouldn't just blurt out this kind of information?!

No, it's really hard to say. Sometimes Morofushi Kagemitsu trusts Usaku Saiki a lot, thinking that Usaku Saiki wouldn't do anything he's not sure of. Other times, he worries that Usaku Saiki might act on a whim, thinking that everything is under control and then do something reckless.

This tone is very similar to Usaku Saiki, but if the other party is disguised as Usaku Saiki, then imitating Usaku Saiki is only natural. It's just that the imitation is somewhat incongruous, with too many flaws in the beginning, and the current attempt to patch it up seems very strange.

While Motofushi Kagemitsu watched with a mixture of surprise and uncertainty, the other party nonchalantly moved on to the next step.

"Alright, next up is the advanced content. Actually, most people don't really need it. In most cases, changing your face is enough to fool people. But if you want to completely become another person, you need to start with the details... However, you're not Phantom Thief Kid or Vermouth. You're going to create a new character yourself, so whether you need these details or not is entirely up to you."

Morofushi Kagemitsu: "...In terms of details, for example?"

“Didn’t you notice? I made it so obvious!” the person opposite said confidently. “The simplest thing is your walking posture and demeanor—why can some people recognize their acquaintances from a distance just by looking at their back? If you don’t want to change your physique, your demeanor is the most likely detail to expose you.”

Morofushi Kagemitsu: "…………"

He certainly understood this fundamental principle.

Just like when he was very young, when his parents were still alive, he might not be able to see the adults' faces clearly when he looked up, but he could still recognize his parents from their backs. Body shape, demeanor and posture are indeed a very important aspect. This is why he just suspected that the person who disguised him was not actually Usaku Saiki, even though he was wearing Usaku Saiki's face.

But now he began to doubt whether his speculation was the conclusion that Usaku Saiki wanted him to reach.

As for the reason... a direct demonstration is more intuitive than words?

"...So, the way you suddenly seemed different today, was that something you were acting?" Morofushi Hiromitsu's lips twitched. "But you said you were wearing colored contact lenses..."

“I did wear it,” said Saiki Usaba. “Because sometimes details matter. You did suspect I was a different person just now, didn’t you?”

Morofushi Kagemitsu remained silent for a long time: "...If you changed your way of speaking, I would be even more easily fooled."

Usakabe Saiki said cheerfully, "No, because if it sounds like there's nothing wrong, Bourbon on the other end of the line will definitely be wondering what happened here that made you suspect me... He must have been very anxious just now."

Morofushi Kagemitsu: "…………"

It can now be confirmed that this is indeed Usaku Saiki himself!

“I thought you two were getting along very well,” sighed Morofushi Kagemitsu. “Don’t bully him too much.”

"We'll see," said Usakabe Saiki heartlessly. "After all, it can be quite boring sometimes."

Rei Furuya on the other end of the listening device: "..."

Is it okay to torment him just because you're bored?! What kind of demon is this?!

Damn it, he had been agonizing for a long time because he didn't understand what Morofushi Kagemitsu was suspecting, and he was wondering who the people who came today were...

For the sake of his childhood friend, Morofushi Kagemitsu chose to sacrifice vodka: "Actually, vodka's reaction is more fun. You can play with vodka."

"I'll definitely do it next time."

Usakabe gave a perfunctory reply, then examined Morofushi Kagemitsu's face, told him to close his eyes, and removed the disguise mask, soaking it in some kind of liquid.

“In that case, this mask can be reused for a period of time, and I won’t have to come over every time.” Saiki Usaba casually said the words that made Rei Furuya furious, “That’s how Shuichi Akai disguises himself.”

Morofushi Kagemitsu secretly rejoiced that Furuya Rei wasn't there: "Did you also help Shuichi Akai disguise himself?"

He had been helping the FBI for so long and keeping it from them; if Zero were angry, he could completely understand.

"No, it was Yukiko who did it. Yukiko is Toichi Kuroba's disciple. Vermouth also learned from Toichi Kuroba back then."

Usakata stroked his chin: "Unfortunately, it's useless against me. When I went to the Kudo family, I could tell at a glance that he was faking his death."

"...?" Morafushi Kagemitsu was taken aback. "Didn't you orchestrate his faked death?"

Usakabe Saiki looked surprised: "Why would I help him fake his death? Their deaths wouldn't make any difference, would they? This was obviously a plan he discussed with Kir. I just saw Akai Shuichi in disguise and thought it was quite interesting, so I didn't report it to the organization."

Morofushi Kagemitsu: "…………"

I feel like I can already hear Rei Furuya laughing at me.

Now it seems he was overthinking it. Bo Yezaki didn't actually intend to stand on their side and help them; he just thought it was fun...

Sigh, even though Usuha is the adopted son of the Japanese Public Security Bureau, why did he develop such a confused sense of good and evil?

Usakabe Saiki even encouraged him: "If you see Shuichi Akai, you can pinch his face. The worst thing about disguise is ruining the mask... He won't have any psychological reaction if I pinch his face, but he will be very surprised if a 'stranger' suddenly pinches his face!"

Morofushi Kagemitsu felt he wouldn't do such a thing, but after a moment of silence, he suddenly asked, "Can I pinch your cheek?"

Bo Yezaki raised an eyebrow: "Still wondering who I am?"

Morofushi Kagemitsu tacitly agreed, smiling somewhat embarrassedly.

Bo Yezaki said generously, "Go ahead and knead it; this is part of the teaching process."

Morofushi Kagemitsu pinched him without any hesitation.

Indeed, it has a very realistic feel; the area that was pinched turns pink after you let go, something a mask can't do.

Reflecting on how he had started to doubt the other person's mindset based on just a few details, Morofushi Kagemitsu couldn't help but exclaim, "Your acting... is really amazing."

Bo Yezaki immediately became smug: "I think so too!"

Suspicion value system: [...]

The skepticism system held back for a few seconds, but finally couldn't hold back any longer: [Didn't you say your acting was terrible?!]

[How many times have you questioned this...? I'm talking about Usui Saiki's poor acting skills, what does that have to do with Hanakawa Shinryu?]

The skepticism system wasn't buying it: [You didn't even exchange the 'acting skills' for Han Chuan Shen Liu! In that respect, there shouldn't be any difference between your main body and your alternate identity! But you usually pay close attention to details like your walking posture and demeanor between your two identities… and you call that bad acting?!]

It had been fooled before because it hadn't realized it, but now that Usaku Saiki was suddenly giving Morofushi Kagemitsu an acting lesson, it realized that these details were actually very difficult.

You just don't understand, do you?

Usoppei said in a tone that suggested the system definitely wanted to learn something from me.

[When I initially designed the alternate identity, I gave Han Chuan Shenliu so many skills, which inevitably affected his basic physical stats. Changes in muscle mass naturally affect a person's posture, so I didn't need to do anything special; the original body and the alternate identity would naturally have different poses.]

His physical body wasn't weak, but Sugawa Shinryu's physical stats were already at a level where he could fight Furuya Rei without being at a disadvantage. Although it wasn't obvious from the outside, his internal abilities were quite different.

The skepticism system is full of doubt: 【Although what you say makes a lot of sense, I don't believe it... After all, you always manage to find a reason...】

Bo Yezaki: [...Do you still want to earn points?]

The suspicion value system has been muted.

Usaku Saiki's attention returned to Morofushi Kagemitsu.

"Alright, next I'll teach you how to disguise yourself..."

Morofushi Kagemitsu nodded, then suddenly asked curiously, "By the way, who did you learn your disguise from? Vermouth?"

Saiki Usaba calmly said, "I can, because I'm from Hawaii... I came back from the Middle East."

Morofushi Kagemitsu: "…………"

You were just talking about Hawaii, weren't you? Why would you think of Hawaii at a time like this?

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Okay, the next chapter of Conan's guess about who Potts is is coming soon.