Chapter 499

Kuroda Hyōe didn't ask what happened to Samikawa Shinryū, but others did.

After hearing about their leader's death, Takeda Shigeru's team members rushed over and immediately noticed Kanakawa Shinryu, asking him questions in confusion.

Who is this?

Ran Mouri quickly explained, "Mr. Kankawa is with us. He used to be a detective in the Metropolitan Police Department, and he's still an advisor there. I don't think he has anything to do with this case..."

Many people around couldn't help but show expressions of confusion and doubt.

Huh? The Metropolitan Police Department has gone mad? What's going on at the Tokyo Police Academy? Were the interviewers bribed?

“That’s not quite right,” Yamato Kansuke corrected objectively. “We met Mr. Kankawa on the bridge. Although he claimed he was going to sweep the graves, we were actually unaware of his actions before that… Since he was here, Mr. Kankawa needs to provide his own alibi. Miss Ran, it’s not convenient for you to testify for him.”

Ran Mouri hesitated, then said, "Okay..."

But Mr. Hanchuan just said he was going to sweep the graves! Doesn't it feel wrong to make people repeat themselves?

Han Chuan Shenliu hesitated for a moment: "I have no witnesses. It's fine if you treat me as a suspect. I'm used to it."

Police officers: "…………"

Good, so sincere.

Ran Mouri was even more anxious than Shinryu Kankawa: "Mr. Kankawa, you can help solve the case!"

"I'm a suspect, it's inconvenient," Hanchuan Shenliu politely declined.

Conan Edogawa: "..."

No, it is permissible to work hard to find evidence to prove one's innocence, as long as it does not interfere with the police's procedures... But Mr. Hanchuan's excuse is clearly just something he made up because he didn't want to get involved.

What does this have to do with Kuroda Hyoue, who is here?

Conan Edogawa made a deliberate association.

In fact, it really doesn't matter. Hanchuan Shenliu refused to prove his innocence, partly to raise suspicion, and partly because he was too lazy to bother. He figured that with the intelligence of the Nagano group, they could definitely clear his name.

Uehara Yui felt she could try to persuade him further: "Mr. Hanchuan, if you have any clues, please tell us. It would be helpful for you."

Hanchuan Shenliu's gaze fell on the spot where the corpse had been burned.

The place is practically unusable now; there's practically nothing left. The forensic team spent most of the day trying, and all they managed to find was a toe that could barely be used for DNA testing. The rest of the body was essentially ruined.

Uehara Yui didn't understand what Hanakawa Shinryu was looking at, but followed his gaze for a few seconds. Although she wasn't particularly close to the deceased, she was still saddened by the death of her colleague: "It's been destroyed like this..."

“After all, burning is the best way to destroy evidence,” said Hanchuan Shenliu. “In this situation, it’s amazing that a small piece of a toe could still be left…”

Although Ran Mouri helped introduce Shinryu Samakawa's identity, Shinryu Samakawa's aura was still too dangerous, to the point that some police officers who considered themselves "sharp-witted" were actually suspicious of Shinryu Samakawa.

This leads some people to react to Han Chuan Shenliu's words with the following thought: "What, you're still regretting having only one toe left? What are you up to!"

However, not all police officers are as unreliable as the neighboring village magnate. Although he was a little confused in his excitement, he realized after calming down that if Hanchuan Shenliu really didn't want to see any bodies left, then he shouldn't have suggested that burning was the best way to destroy evidence.

Of course, even after realizing this, influenced by the "halo of secrecy," some will still insist that "perhaps saying this is a provocation"...

Kuroda Hyoue, on the other hand, probably because they hadn't met many times, had a strange impression of Sugikawa Shinryu. He always felt that Sugikawa Shinryu didn't talk nonsense and that his words had a sharp and beautiful quality.

He concluded that Hanchuan Shenliu was actually reminding them, but he hadn't thought it through, so he asked directly.

"Han Chuan-kun, what makes you say that?"

"...It's nothing, I just thought of Harry Potter."

Kuroda Heiwa, a middle-aged man who had spent over a decade as a "Sleeping Beauty" in the hospital and had failed to keep up with the times: "...???"

What does this have to do with Harry Potter?!

Ran Mouri, upon hearing this, suddenly realized: "I know! In Harry Potter, there's a character named Peter Pettigrew who faked his death by leaving one of his fingers at the explosion site... He's actually still alive!"

At that moment, one of the police officers in Nagano Prefecture tensed up.

...What the heck?! I was seen through right from the start?!

But that's okay, without evidence, no one will believe it...

As the culprit suspected, even Uehara Yui felt that this was only a possibility, and the probability of the culprit actually doing so was not high.

Only a few individuals, such as Conan Edogawa, Takaaki Morofushi, and Hyōe Kuroda, felt that since Shinryū Samakawa had proposed this idea, it must not have been unfounded. Perhaps they had overlooked some details and it shouldn't be taken as a joke so easily.

Yamato Kansuke pondered, "That makes sense. The body had been burned for over half an hour, but when we found the head, a lot of blood was still gushing out. It was obviously fake blood. They hung it on the bridge, calculating the time so it would fall into the water and be discovered quickly... The culprit's goal was to make us discover it quickly, and the other parts of the body were burned so close by..."

Zhu Fu Gaoming chimed in: "The head was deliberately left behind so that we could identify the deceased, but we could have simply burned the rest of the body and left it aside. There was no need to go through all this trouble. It's highly likely that something was tampered with."

Prisoner: “…………”

Is it reasonable for you to extrapolate to this extent from just one casual remark?!

Seeing that the two men were following Han Chuan Shenliu's line of reasoning and getting closer to the truth, the prisoner couldn't hold back any longer.

"Hey, doesn't the team leader have a woodpecker-like mark on his head? Could it be a serial killer case, and the head being deliberately cut off and thrown into the river is some kind of hint or symbolism?"

Everyone looked at the prisoner.

"..." The prisoner suddenly came to his senses and realized that he had talked too much.

It's a bit bad, but I should be able to get by. After all, it's normal for a detective to think outside the box. Wasn't that how all the previous cases were?

As expected, Uehara Yui simply refuted the claim without suspecting the culprit.

She only said, "It might not be the beginning of a series of murders, right? When I was at my ex-husband's house, I heard about a group in the Nagano Prefectural Police called the Woodpecker Society. They didn't seem like a respectable group, but I don't know anything more about them... Could they have done this?"

The prisoner had just breathed a sigh of relief because he wasn't suspected, but that breath came in again.

Kuroda Hyoue raised an eyebrow: "Oh? I haven't heard of that."

Police officers from other Nagano prefectures also either shook their heads or vaguely indicated that they did not know.

Conan Edogawa's intuition told him that the Woodpecker Society might be the key to this case.

But there are so few clues...

By the way, isn't Mr. Hanchuan quite familiar with the yakuza? Illegal organizations might know something from each other, so why don't you ask Mr. Hanchuan...

Before Conan Edogawa could speak, Hyoue Kuroda spoke first.

"Hanchuan-kun, you have more information. Have you ever heard of the Woodpecker Society?"

Conan Edogawa: "...!!!"

This officer named Kuroda Hyōe is so familiar with Mr. Kanakawa's business?!

However, it is still uncertain. After all, Mr. Hankawa's reputation is rather Schrödinger's cat, and it is hard to say whether Kuroda Hyoue has heard anything from the Metropolitan Police Department.

However, this confident attitude, and the tone when addressing the other party as "Kankawa-kun," suggests that it's not just a matter of "having heard of" him. It's as if he has indeed met and interacted with Mr. Kankawa...

But if they are acquaintances, why don't they greet each other when they meet? Mr. Hanchuan also acts as if he doesn't know them.

Kuroda Hyoue, who had specifically reviewed Samikawa Shinryu's file in an attempt to recruit him, was unaware that he was being suspected. He simply waited patiently for Samikawa Shinryu's reply.

Upon hearing Kuroda Hyōe's question, the young man with deep red hair tilted his head.

"Hmm, I think I've heard of it."

The prisoner's palms were sweating, and he was internally screaming—"I've heard of you, I've heard of you, I haven't heard of you, what are you talking about! Can't you just give me a quick death?!"

Kuroda Hyōe also disliked this vague answer, and he frowned: "What do you mean?"

"I need to think about it; it will probably take me a while to remember what it means."

Kuroda Hyōe: "…………"

Conan Edogawa: "…………"

The two of them finally found common ground.

This guy is doing it on purpose. He's definitely remembered something, but he just doesn't want to say it now!

Conan Edogawa has seen a lot, especially since he personally witnessed the incident where Shinryu Samikawa used Heiji Hattori as bait to catch a criminal in the act. Combined with the information he had gathered, he immediately guessed that Shinryu Samikawa was trying to set up another trap.

Was the intention to make the criminal worry about being exposed, so that he would target Mr. Hanchuan and catch him in the act?

I don't even know if this is considered convenient or not. Directly reasoning, finding evidence, and identifying the culprit shouldn't be difficult for Mr. Hanchuan, right? Does he really have to challenge himself?

Conan Edogawa really wants to complain.

Kuroda Hyōe was speechless, but as a mature adult, he chose to go along with what Hanakawa Shinryū said: "Then I'll leave it to Hanakawa-kun to think it over carefully."

Han Chuan Shen Liu nodded lazily.

Despite this unexpected incident, the investigation proceeded normally. The forensic team remained at the scene, while the other officers returned to the Nagano Police Station with the clues and intelligence they had gathered.

While the police officers were resting, Conan Edogawa approached Yui Hara to inquire about Hei Kuroda.

"It's said that he was in a coma for ten years due to an accident more than ten years ago, which is why he was sent abroad at this age... Are you curious about the section chief?" Uehara Yui asked with a smile.

“It’s normal to be curious,” Yamato Kansuke, who had just bought drinks, overheard and chimed in. “After all, he looks like the big boss of some organization.”

Zhu Fugao joked, "Your appearance is just as impressive."

Perhaps because they both lost an eye, Yamato Kansuke and Kuroda Heibo both give off a fierce and malevolent feeling.

Kogoro Mouri said speechlessly, "Speaking of which, there's someone who seems more like a member of an illegal organization than you guys, right? He's received countless offers from yakuza organizations... I wouldn't be surprised if he suddenly said he'd become the Boss of the Yamaguchi-gumi one day."

Conan Edogawa: "…………"

If he were just the boss of the Yamaguchi-gumi, that would be fine; at least it's a legal organization in Japan…! What I'm worried about is that Mr. Kankawa went to an organization that's even more troublesome than the Yamaguchi-gumi!

--------------------

Conan: Mr. Hankawa wouldn't have joined the Black Organization, would he?

Hanchuan deep current: mea