Chapter 14 Dragon Boat Festival Extra: Happy Dragon Boat Festival!
"Dragon Boat Festival Extra"
"Irrelevant to the main text"
"So, what's going on here?"
Conan, now dressed in an orange life jacket, looked at the bustling river in front of him, his lips twitching slightly, and couldn't help but ask a question.
"Still not awake, Great Detective?" Ai Haibara stood beside him, slowly fastening the straps of her life jacket, finally pulling all her hair out of the way. The composed scientist turned his head, revealing a faint smile. "We're going dragon boating."
"That's exactly what I wanted to ask," Conan said with a slight grin. The members of the Detective Boys beside him were busy helping each other put on life jackets. Ayumi Yoshida and Mitsuhiko Tsuburaya were working together, each grabbing one side of a children's version of a life jacket and desperately trying to put it on Genta Kojima.
The three elementary school students simultaneously showed expressions of pain.
"This dress—it's so small!"
"It's because you're too fat, Genta!" x2
"Put this on." Zhuge Tongzhi jogged over, carrying a larger life jacket he had just gotten from the teacher, and handed it to Kojima Genta, who was relieved. "Luckily, we're not the only ones going boating today."
To be honest, she was quite surprised. Her first time participating in a school-organized group social activity was actually participating in a special event for the Japanese Dragon Boat Festival—dragon boat racing.
Well, if we're really talking about it, the Japanese Dragon Boat Festival customs are probably hanging carp streamers and displaying five-colored dolls. Zhuge Tongzhi put on his life jacket and quickly buttoned it up completely. Why would he think of dragon boat racing?
“Yeah, this is the first time I’ve seen such a large-scale practical activity.” Genta Kojima put on the large-sized life jacket without any trouble, but the thick material quickly made him feel hot. The chubby boy tugged at the collar, feeling a little itchy. “But, it’s just rowing, you don’t need to wear this, do you?”
"This isn't just ordinary rowing, Genta!" Ayumi Yoshida said energetically, buttoning up her clothes and pointing to the long, narrow dragon boats on the river. "This is part of the International Cultural Exchange Festival—the Dragon Boat Festival!"
"International? Cultural exchange festival?" Genta Kojima and Conan, who walked in with their hands behind their heads, were both taken aback.
"Oh, you guys haven't paid any attention to this festival that tours cities all over Japan?" Mitsuhiko Tsuburaya, the most knowledgeable among the elementary school students, held up a finger and explained to his friends, "It's a large-scale event that brings together typical festivals from various countries."
"Before coming to Tokyo, the organizers had already hosted Oktoberfest, St. Patrick's Day, and... well... Day of the Dead!"
Mitsuhiko Tsuburaya then rattled off the names of the major Japanese cities that corresponded to these festivals. As he spoke, he looked helplessly at his two companions, whose eyes were puffy, and said, "Hey you guys, do you not watch TV at all? We've been seeing reports about it the whole time."
This is a cultural festival experience activity based on the city. In addition to Teitan Elementary School, which uses the activity as a practical course, many official organizations have also organized people to participate in the activity. At the same time, there are also many people who have organized their own teams. The publicity in the past few days has been quite extensive.
That's why he was surprised that Conan and Genta didn't know.
Because the TVs are all occupied by older men who watch pretty young ladies and horse racing betting.
Conan thought about how he was now forced to stop watching the daily news, and his lips twitched, revealing a pair of crescent-shaped eyes. He figured he must have just missed the broadcast time for holiday reports and such.
"Paying attention to current events should be a good habit for a detective." Knowing everything but not telling Conan, Ai Haibara, whose arm was being held by Ayumi Yoshida, smiled, her words full of teasing.
“That’s true.” Zhuge Tongzhi, who wasn’t very good at watching Japanese TV and therefore didn’t understand either, calmly agreed. She straightened her clothes and said to Conan, “Conan, you still need to practice.”
Hey, your expression just now was one of sudden realization, wasn't it?
Don't try to act like you're very knowledgeable so quickly!
Besides, there's only one TV in the detective agency. If you try to steal the TV, Uncle Mori will beat you up.
"I know," Conan said speechlessly.
"Teitan Elementary School—Students of Class 1-B, Teitan Elementary School—" The loudspeaker hanging behind them began urging the elementary school students to line up and board the ship.
The Junior Detectives boarded the long, narrow dragon boat with the crowd, each taking an oar specially prepared for children. Kojima Genta tugged at his life jacket impatiently, his eyes bulging with heat: "Even if this is some kind of cage boat, there's no need to wear such thick life jackets."
"Not necessarily, Genta." Zhuge Tongzhi sat on the slightly swaying dragon boat. This was her first time rowing a dragon boat. The girl explained the necessity of the life jacket to her companion, "Dragon boats can be super, super fast when you row them."
"Besides, dragon boat racing is a speed sport, and it's easy for two boats to capsize if they get too close together," Conan casually remarked while rapidly expanding his knowledge on his phone. "But for elementary school students, it's just a precaution."
A bunch of little kids rowing a boat, the boat's speed is about the same as a paper boat on the river.
Besides, it's just a trial activity, so it won't go too far. Conan put his phone in his pocket and zipped it up.
The elementary school students from Teitan Elementary School were slowly boarding the boat, while the other teams that had already boarded on the river had lined up and were waiting for the referee's instructions.
“However… I don’t think it’s necessarily ‘not yet’.” Zhuge Tongzhi looked at the group of people on the river and didn’t think it would be an ordinary retirement boating activity. Conan was taken aback when he heard this and turned his head to look at the next group of dragon boats that was about to set off.
A loud whistle rang out from the arched bridge in front of them, soaring into the sky. In that instant, several dragon boat teams under the bridge shot out from the river like arrows. The waves on both sides of the boats were suddenly parted by the force, as if two long, narrow wings made of water had been spread, propelling the dragon boats forward at high speed.
Conan could feel the waves they created rocking the boat beneath him, a testament to the force of the impact.
Competing against a boat like this, there is indeed a high possibility of capsizing. Genta Kojima held onto the swaying boat and did not mention taking off his life jacket again.
Well... who are these people? Conan adjusted his glasses to magnify his view and recognized many familiar faces on the three boats.
The middle one must be the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's social boat. He saw familiar faces like Miwako Sato, Wataru Takagi, and Officer Shiratori on it. Some of them were obscured by Wataru Date's tall figure. This well-trained team was indeed rowing the boat almost into the air.
To their right was another boat filled with police officers. He saw two officers from the Explosive Ordnance Division and quite a few traffic police officers on board... well... the largest investigation unit, the First Investigation Division, also had a significant number of officers on this boat.
The male police officers looked at Takagi Wataru sitting side by side with Sato with eyes that were practically burning with rage. They roared and rowed their oars with all their might, as if surpassing the dragon boat that Takagi Wataru was on would win back the heart of the policewoman from the First Investigation Division.
If you look closely, you can see that Takagi Wataru was splashed with a lot of water by his colleagues, while Officer Sato was completely unaware and gave him a hearty thumbs up.
You've been bullied again, Officer Takagi.
Conan ignored the police officers who were getting serious and focused their attention on the ship on his left.
Next door, there's a boat with the University of Tokyo's emblem on it.
Conan adjusted his glasses and saw, through the splashing water, a pink-haired Shuichi Akai disguised as a man, and Hikaru Midorikawa sitting behind him with a serious expression. The blond head next to Hikaru Midorikawa caught his attention.
Mr. Amuro? This ship isn't all made up of college students; is it a self-organized team?
Um...wait a minute! Why are Ran and Sonoko on that ship too?!
And the person sitting next to Ran, chatting and laughing with her, is that Kaito Kid? That guy inexplicably logged into his own account again!
No, this dragon boat exhibition does indeed have a gemstone prize segment. Conan lowered his hand, his face immediately turning sour as he clenched his fists.
This guy... The three-headed elementary school student raised his head slightly, a dangerous white light flashing on his glasses. Don't ignore the real Shinichi Kudo, you bastard!
Unlike Conan, who had already devised ninety-nine ways to capture Kid and whose body was beginning to emanate an evil shadow, Zhuge Tongzhi squinted for a while before suddenly realizing, "Hikaru-chan and Mr. Amuro are on the ship too!"
"He told me before that he was short of labor credits and wanted to recruit people to participate in an off-campus competition." The girl punched her palm and speculated, "Does getting first place add points?"
“First, there’s a huge prize,” Mitsuhiko Tsuburaya replied immediately, “and you’ll also have the chance to try on the gem ‘Emerald Eye’ yourself.”
He pointed to the award stage that had been set up at the front, where a glass display stand was faintly visible in the center, surrounded by heavily guarded police officers.
"I heard that even the Phantom Thief Kid sent out invitations," Mitsuhiko Tsuburaya added to his companions, his hand sweeping over the crowds lining both sides of the river. "So there are an unusually large number of people at this event, and a huge number of teams participating."
I see. That explains why so many police officers are participating in the competition – they're trying to kill two birds with one stone.
Zhuge Tongzhi looked at the newly refreshed O-De navigation mission in the void.
Next stop: Witness the Phantom Thief's Spectacular Performance (Completed: 60%)
Perhaps it's because Phantom Thief Kid belongs to the Red Team? The triggered mission had no path guide or waypoints displayed, only a small red dot marked on Hikaru Midorikawa's ship, as if to prevent her from not recognizing where the versatile Phantom Thief was.
It's a very easy task to just watch.
With nothing else to do, Zhuge Tongzhi withdrew his gaze and settled down to laziness.
But Conan clearly wasn't going to give up. After confirming where his destination was, he ripped off his life jacket, nimbly slipped out from among the volunteers maintaining order on the shore, pulled out his skateboard from his backpack, and headed towards his destination.
"SmithMassey! My stomach hurts!"
"Hey—Conan!" The Junior Detective League turned around in unison, looking at their companion who was about to run out of steam. Their reaction speed, honed by numerous incidents, made them quickly jump ashore and run in the direction Conan had gone.
"Hey! The boat's about to set sail! There's no way around it..." Zhuge Tongzhi's shouts obviously didn't reach the ears of the hot-blooded kids. The girl helplessly rubbed her forehead, stood up at the same time as Haibara Ai, and together they found a direction in the chaotic crowd and chased after them.
Despite praying earlier, being in the center of the incident, my mission to observe was ultimately thwarted.
Forget it, what are you hoping for?
Zhuge Tongzhi shook his head and casually picked up an unlocked bicycle parked by the roadside.
Just consider it as going to get a personal signature.
...
It turns out that even with a shorter land distance, [the problem persists].
But their speed still couldn't match that of a group of young and energetic police officers and high school and college students.
As Conan skillfully weaved through the crowd and arrived at the awards stage, Kaito Kid dodged Ran Mouri's fist, which whistled through the air, and ripped off his disguise.
The phantom thief, dressed in a white suit and cape and wearing a top hat, nimbly dodged Ran Mouri's follow-up sweeping leg and flipped onto the gem display case.
As he elegantly pushed up his top hat with one hand, revealing the monocle underneath, it was as if the emerald green gem that had gathered the essence of summer appeared at his fingertips, and was carefully examined by the boy's sapphire-like eyes.
"Lord Kaito Kid!" Sonoko Suzuki was still standing on the boat. The brave girl was not afraid of the swaying of the boat beneath her feet. She stood up and waved her arms excitedly at Kaito Kid, shouting loudly, "It's morning! Why are you here!"
"Good morning, beautiful lady." Kaito Kid bowed gracefully to Sonoko Suzuki, using his playing card gun to fend off the police officers who attacked from the side. He raised the jewel in his hand and smiled, "Today's performance was indeed a last-minute impromptu performance."
"As for the reason," he casually tossed the gem to the policeman beside him, who hurriedly caught the priceless gem, but the usually jewel-loving Phantom Thief Kid treated it like trash, "it's because someone is using my name to increase the value of this... fake."
"What? I saw it being transported out of the museum with my own eyes." The organizer's face darkened. He decisively rejected Kidd's assertion, but Kidd clearly had no intention of explaining anything to him.
Because there were police all around, Kaito Kid dodged Matsuda Jinpei's vicious whip kick with apparent elegance but actually with a bit of a mess, then dodged Hagiwara Kenji's hook punch, and out of the corner of his eye saw Conan arriving with his glasses gleaming white.
Oh dear, this is troublesome.
Kaito Kid, or rather, high school student Kaito Kuroba, is having a bit of a headache. The great detective warned him not to steal accounts again, but he doesn't have a suitable identity.
It's easy to get close to Lucky Gem, you just want to log into his account!
Conan pressed his belt and launched a soccer ball that inflated instantly. He then kicked the ball at Kaito Kid, who was about to open his hang glider.
Leave me here, you bastard!
To avoid the soccer ball, Kaito Kuroba had to change his mind about flying away. He threw a smoke bomb to the side, quickly dodged Date Wataru who was running right behind him, and darted into the alley behind the Tokyo University dragon boat team he had come from.
Hikaru Midorikawa and Shuichi Akai simultaneously adjusted their sleeves, while Tooru Amuro watched intently as the phantom thief, rapidly changing his attire, departed through a cloud of smoke.
Kaito Kuroba thought to himself that if he transformed himself into an ordinary middle-aged man and blended into the crowd, he would soon be caught up by the great detective.
As he was pondering, a bicycle blocked his path.
Huh? Kaito Kuroba paused, looking down to see a short girl pushing an adult bicycle, who was looking up at him.
"Well, watch out, little sister..." / "Can you give me your autograph, Phantom Thief Kid?"
Zhuge Tongzhi looked at the red dots on the person in front of him, tilted his head back and asked in a crisp voice. Kuroba Kaito, who was disguised so much that even his own mother wouldn't recognize him, was stunned when he heard this.
Before the newcomer could offer any excuses, she suddenly reached out and pulled two small metal discs from the hem of her dress in front of her, crushed them with her foot, and then glanced behind Kaito Kuroba. "Conan is almost here. I can tell you how to leave here with 100% success."
"Did they plant a listening device on her before I even had a chance to check her clothes?" Kaito Kuroba glanced at the girl's school uniform. "Do you know Conan? Are you a classmate of the great detective?"
Sure enough, a commotion of footsteps and inquiries immediately came from behind him. The girl took out a notebook from her body and handed it to him, her obsidian-like eyes looking at him quietly.
Well, whatever, let's try anything.
Kaito Kuroba bent down and quickly signed the girl's signature, a mark unique to phantom thieves. She then carefully closed the notebook, put it back in her pocket, pushed aside a pile of old furniture, grabbed his hand, and crawled into a hole that had inexplicably appeared in the wall.
In the darkness, the black-haired girl seemed to know the direction they were going very well, and soon led the person through a winding path to a small door.
Pushing open the door, a small, flowing river came into view, but it smelled strongly of fish.
“If you swim out from here, you’ll reach the park, and you can avoid the police searching for you.”
Amidst the fishy smell, Kaito Kuroyu frowned deeply, quickly recalling from the map he had studied beforehand that there was a fish processing plant nearby.
"I'm off! Don't tell anyone about what happened today." Zhuge Tongzhi waved casually, completely trusting the phantom thief's reputation, and turned to leave.
Ah, those wretched fish.
Kaito Kuroba, who was left behind, pinched his nose and plunged into the water.
He hates fish!
...
"Watching the Phantom Thief's Spectacular Performance (Completed: 100%)"
"Additional Path: Help the Phantom Thief Escape Capture (Completed: 100%)"
Zhuge Tongzhi, in a cheerful mood with two 'complete' tags on her phone, strolled back to the dragon boat at Teitan Elementary School. All the runaway elementary school students except for her had been captured and brought to justice. Wakasa Rumi was calling for Conan, who was wearing a sour face, to return to the team.
Zhuge Tongzhi naturally returned to his position and gripped the oar.
With the referee's signal, the dragon boat of Class 1-B from Teitan Elementary School slowly set sail.
Amidst the gentle breeze and waves, Zhuge Tongzhi murmured to himself.
Happy Dragon Boat Festival, the fifth day of the fifth lunar month!
A note from the author:
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Happy Dragon Boat Festival, everyone!
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