Problems and Free Meals

Tokyo, Beikacho.

In March, when the cherry blossoms are in full bloom, there are few pedestrians on the streets in the early morning. A cool breeze blows through the cherry trees that are full of blossoms, making a rustling sound among the treetops, and cherry blossoms fall to the ground like rain.

This street is a famous spot for viewing cherry blossoms, so there are benches every so often under the trees for people to rest.

At that moment, a person was lying on the bench closest to the stone bridge. The person was wearing a rhine blue sweatshirt with a white cartoon dog embroidered on the front, light-colored straight-leg jeans, and white canvas shoes.

He lay on the chair, sleeping, with a newspaper he'd somehow acquired, his long arms and legs stretched out, looking rather cramped. Pink cherry blossoms had fallen all over him, some even on the newspaper, making soft pattering sounds like raindrops.

Suddenly, the other person sneezed, rolled over, and removed the newspaper from their face. Cherry blossoms fell on their body, chest, and the ground.

Tsurumi rubbed the tip of his nose, his eyes looking sleepy. He looked up and around in a daze, then lowered his head to shake the cherry blossoms off his clothes.

Three days and nights have passed since he came into this world, but time seems to have gone awry. In the blink of an eye, it jumped from a day when the New Year's atmosphere had just dissipated in early January to a Saturday at the end of February, and then in the blink of an eye, it became late March when the cherry blossoms were in bloom.

Time here is chaotic and disjointed.

Upon realizing this, Tsurumi Kawakami stared blankly for a long time, then subconsciously touched his stomach.

"No wonder I feel hungry so quickly." The boy, with black hair and golden eyes, had grown much taller and was about to break the 1.8-meter mark, murmured to himself.

Just like the first time he changed worlds, Tsurumi Kawakuri had nothing with him except the clothes he was wearing. He had no phone, no wallet, and naturally no money to fill his stomach. For the past few days, he had been sleeping in parks or on benches.

But today, Tsurumi Kawa was so hungry that his stomach kept growling. He clutched his stomach and started wandering aimlessly.

Just then, a sushi restaurant at the end of the street came into his view. Tsurumi Kawaru stood under the streetlight outside the restaurant, peering into it through the glass for a long time. In the end, hunger prevailed, and the hesitation and indecision in his eyes were replaced. He pursed his lips and walked into the sushi restaurant with a somewhat unnatural expression.

"Welcome to Iroha Sushi Restaurant." A waiter with a sweet voice greeted them and led Tsurumi Kawaru to a window seat.

Tsurumi Ryu accepted the menu somewhat reservedly. Upon seeing the various sushi dishes with pictures and descriptions, his initial trepidation about dining for free vanished like morning dew. His dull golden eyes suddenly brightened, and his gleaming eyes were completely captivated by the sushi.

"Give me one of everything!" Tsurumi Kawakami snapped the menu shut and said to the waiter with a bright look in his eyes.

The waitress exclaimed in surprise, "Eh, all of them?"

Tsurumi Kawakami nodded. The waitress, who was a little confused by the affirmative answer, quickly recovered due to her good professionalism. She nodded and left with the menu.

The sushi restaurant wasn't crowded in the morning, and the sushi that Tsurumi Nagare ordered quickly arrived one after another, with various flavors of sushi laid out on the long table. Having been hungry for a long time, Tsurumi Nagare couldn't help but swallow, and then eagerly began to eat. His eating manners weren't unsightly or rude, but he ate very quickly.

The waitress almost lost her smile, said "Enjoy your meal" and left with her tray.

Back in the kitchen, the waitress couldn't help but chat with her colleague who was in charge of serving and plating the food about Tsurumi Kawakami, going from food critic to competitive eater, guessing his identity back and forth.

The middle-aged chef who had just arrived in the kitchen not far away, named Kenjiro Wakita, slowed down his wiping of the counter and listened to their chatter.

Tsurumi Nagaru was unaware of what was happening in the kitchen; he was busy filling his stomach and his eyes were only on the sushi on the table in front of him.

So when a group of thugs pushed open the glass door of the sushi restaurant and started harassing the owner behind the counter who was in charge of collecting money, and the verbal conflict escalated into a physical one, Tsurumi Nagare didn't even look up from the sushi in front of him.

Until the gang leader decided to make an example of him, he targeted the only person still eating in the restaurant, Tsurumi Kawaru. He strode over, looked the black-haired boy up and down as easy to bully as a boiled chicken, and then arrogantly overturned the table.

"Since you don't have the money to pay protection money, there's no need for your shop to stay open!" The gang leader threatened the sushi shop owner in an extremely arrogant tone, and his henchmen began to jeer and smash the tables and chairs in the shop.

The commotion reached the kitchen, and several waiters and the new chef came out.

Tsurumi Nagare, whose table had been overturned, was still reeling from the other person's actions. His cheeks were bulging, his mouth was stuffed with a salmon sushi, and he was holding a caviar sushi in his hand, ready to dip it in soy sauce.

Amidst the mess, the sushi he had ordered but hadn't finished eating was trampled beyond recognition by the thugs, and a few seaweed sushi rolls down and bumps into his feet.

Tsurumi Kawakami blinked and slowly raised his head. After finishing the sushi in his mouth and hands, he got up, walked behind the gang leader, and patted him on the shoulder.

"You spilled the sushi I ordered. Wasting food is shameful, don't you know that?" The boy's clear voice rang out in the messy sushi restaurant.

The gang leader was stunned for a moment before realizing the other party was looking for trouble. "Ha, you little brat, are you talking to me? Do you know who I am?"

Tsurumi Kawakami paused for a second, then shook his head. He didn't care about such a question, so he took another step forward and said with a serious expression, "Pay up."

The gang leader's eye twitched. He suspected the man was out of his mind and, impatient with further nonsense, waved his hand and said, "Get him!"

Upon hearing the boss's words, the four or five henchmen who were smashing things stopped and surrounded him. When Tsurumi Kawaru saw that he didn't intend to pay compensation, he pursed his lips angrily. He ignored the henchmen's attacks and instead reached out to grab the gang leader's collar.

Five minutes later, the thugs, who had suffered a crushing defeat and a beating, helped each other out of the sushi restaurant as if their lives depended on it. Before leaving, the thug leader, whose lip was cut, uttered a vicious threat and then disappeared.

Tsurumi Kawaru stood unharmed amidst the chaos. He clapped his hands and turned to meet the grateful gaze of the sushi restaurant owner.

Tsurumi Kawakami: "

The sushi restaurant owner was a chubby middle-aged man who had been running the restaurant for over ten years. Recently, a small gang moved to the area, and the thugs would come to the restaurant to extort protection money.

The shop owners on this street are having a terrible time. They have called the police before, but these thugs often escalate their actions, smashing things and driving away customers every time they come. After a few times, some shop owners have given in in order to continue operating normally.

"They're getting more and more outrageous," said Fujiwara Ichiro, the sushi restaurant owner, wiping the sweat from his brow. "This time, we're determined to arrest them."

After saying that, he turned to the waiter and asked him to tidy up, then took out his phone and called the police. The restaurant originally didn't have security cameras, but they installed a few after those thugs started causing trouble.

After calling the police, Fujiwara Ichiro waited for them to arrive. At that moment, he suddenly remembered Tsurumi Kawaru. His plump body nimbly emerged from behind the counter, grabbing Tsurumi Kawaru's hand and repeatedly expressing his gratitude. If it weren't for him, those thugs would have punched him.

Tsurumi Kawakami was a little unaccustomed to his enthusiasm. His fair face flushed slightly, and he gave a shy smile: "No need to thank me. They started it. I was just unhappy that they wasted food."

At this point, Fujiwara Ichiro remembered that Tsurumi Kawakami was the customer who ordered all the sushi. So, the words about getting a free meal stuck in his throat, and he gave a dry laugh, his expression slightly changing.

Tsurumi Kawa didn't notice the change in his expression, but after speaking, he suddenly remembered that he had come to dine and dash. His first attempt had been met with an unexpected incident, leaving him not only unsatisfied but also embarrassed to admit that he had dined and dashed.

The black-haired, golden-eyed boy hesitated for a moment, his lips moving slightly, but his gaze was firm as he said, "Um, I don't have any money on me. Can I pay for the sushi I ordered with my wages?"

The sushi restaurant owner's expression froze, and his gaze toward Tsurumi Kawakami was filled with a complex emotion.

At that moment, the new chef, Kenjiro Wakita, standing behind the counter, suddenly spoke up: "Mr. Fujiwara, isn't the restaurant short of a waiter to deliver meals?"

Fujiwara Ichiro was surprised that the new chef would speak up for Tsurumi Kawa. A hint of surprise flashed in his small eyes, and then he fell silent at the suggestion. After thinking for about a minute, the sushi restaurant owner sighed and said helplessly, "Alright, in that case, you can come work at the restaurant. But let's make it clear that there will be a probationary period. Only after you pass the probationary period will you be considered a full-time employee. The restaurant provides lunch, but not accommodation."

Upon hearing his words, Tsurumi Kawakami's eyes lit up; this outcome was already very good for him.

Tsurumi Kawakami didn't forget to speak up for the chef, saying, "Thank you, chef. My name is Tsurumi Kawakami."

"You're welcome. Having one more person makes things easier for me. I'm Kenjiro Wakita." The new chef was rather unattractive, with a square face, buck teeth, a bulbous nose, and a patch over his left eye that seemed to have a problem. Overall, he was quite uniquely ugly.

Tsurumi Kawakami blinked and obediently called out, "Uncle Kyoda."

After getting a job at the sushi restaurant, Tsurumi Nagare was finally free from homelessness. His job was relatively easy: delivering food on a small electric scooter. The sushi restaurant had been open for over ten years, and some regular customers would call to order, which required someone to deliver the food. Usually, this task was assigned to the chef, Wakita Kanenori.

Tsurumi Nagare was very satisfied with the job, riding his electric scooter through the streets and alleys, quickly becoming familiar with the streets of Beika Town. After the probation period, he successfully passed the assessment and became a member of the sushi restaurant.

The sushi restaurant owner took good care of him, and the chef, Kenjiro Wakita, was unexpectedly a chatterbox who liked to talk to him and was usually very nice to him, often making sushi for him privately.

"Where did you learn your martial arts?" After they had gotten closer, Kenjiro Wakita finally asked this question.

Tsurumi Kawara puffed out his cheeks and swallowed a piece of sushi in his mouth. "Hmm, my friend taught me some, and I've also learned some myself."

A dark glint flashed in Wakita Kanenori's right eye as he recalled the intelligence report on Tsurumi Kawakuri. He subtly inquired about more details, and Tsurumi Kawakuri, oblivious to anything amiss, provided fragmented information.

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The Last World: Detective Conan

Consumption Guide [Must Read]:

①The current timeline is about 7-5 years before the first year of Conan's existence. The timeline has been slightly modified to include Kenji Hagiwara's death.

②Wakita Kanenori appears in chapters 975-977 of the manga, meaning he appears much later in the first year of Detective Conan. Here, he's being introduced earlier for plot reasons.

③ The outline of the Detective Conan world doesn't include Shinichi Kudo shrinking, meaning it's unlikely that Shinichi Kudo will transform into Conan (the studio might not write about that before then).

④ That's all for now. I'll add more later if there's anything else to mention.