Chapter 52 Different Paths, Same Destination
Looking back on this day, Amuro would always marvel at the wonder of fate.
He carried out two missions, following different clues, but under the guidance of a mysterious force, he arrived at the same destination.
"Edogawa Conan, you really are everywhere!"
Amuro gazed at the small figure with a hint of melancholy.
Looking up, you see two boys holding bamboo swords talking to Conan.
One had dark skin, while the other had fairer skin.
Amuro came for the latter.
Even before he got close, just a glimpse from afar made Amuro understand why the organization had sent him here.
Because that person's face wasn't exactly different from Shinichi Kudo's; at the very least, it was exactly the same.
The biggest difference between these two might just be their hairstyles. But as we all know, hairstyles are the easiest thing to manipulate.
"They look so alike, I'd believe they were twins!"
Amuro muttered to himself.
According to Amuro's preliminary investigation, the boy who looked very much like Kudo was named Okita Souji, and the other boy with a sword was named Hattori Heiji.
The two of them were there because a kendo competition was being held there.
Unfortunately, during the interrogation by Gao Ming and others, the accomplice Sanada Shu confessed that she had overheard Maruyama Ken and Sanada Haru about to conduct a transaction here.
Nagano police then deployed a large number of plainclothes officers, waiting for the criminal to appear.
Let's set aside the issue of child trafficking for now and return to the organization's mission.
"Hey! Conan-kun is here too!" Amuro stepped forward and greeted the young detective warmly.
The pupils behind the non-prescription lenses dilated instantly, and a look of surprise appeared on the little boy's face.
The two boys also curiously sized up the unfamiliar blond man.
"Amuro-nii, what are you doing here?" Conan asked, forcing himself to be brave.
He was asking two other people for information about the suspect when he was betrayed by the police!
"I've come to watch the match!" Amuro replied with a beaming smile, then turned to look at Okita, his eyes immediately lighting up as he excitedly asked, "This must be Okita, right? I'm a big fan of yours; I've watched so many of your matches!"
"Huh? Really?" Okita had never seen such an enthusiastic male fan before, and he was momentarily at a loss for words, but felt a little flattered.
Next, Conan and Heiji witnessed Amuro's fangirling scene:
The man chatted enthusiastically with Okita, from their first swordsmanship coach to today's match. He not only got Okita's autograph but also obtained two strands of Okita's hair, saying he would use them to make amulets.
Heiji, left out in the cold, looked like he was saying, "I don't understand, but I'm deeply shocked."
The Kansai detective leaned close to the Kanto detective's ear and whispered, "Kudo, who's this guy?"
"He's a waiter at the cat cafe downstairs from the detective agency, and his name is Amuro Tooru."
"So this is a waiter! He's such a fan of his idol! He even uses his hair as a talisman, that's crazy!" Heiji couldn't help but marvel at how powerful the idol's influence could be.
Conan was also completely baffled, unable to understand why Amuro was so interested in Okita.
He originally thought Amuro came to Nagano because of Officer Date's son, but now...?
"What on earth is that guy doing?"
Conan looked at the blond man with a gloomy expression and thought to himself.
Actually, it's quite normal that Conan couldn't guess Bourbon's intentions.
Because at that time he was unaware of the organization's bioinformatics database management mechanism.
Simply put, everyone associated with the organization, whether an internal member or a target of an assassination mission, needs to have a separate biological profile created for them.
The specific entries in each file vary in complexity, with the most basic information including fingerprints and blood type. More detailed entries may include iris characteristics, voiceprints, bone age, past medical history, medical records, and even genome sequences.
However, this system has extremely high access levels; even a medical expert like Shirley needs that man's approval to access any information she wants.
Amuro demanded Okita's hair so he could extract DNA to report back to the organization.
After years of development, the organization has acquired an extremely large bioinformatics database.
Sherry was among them, as was Shinichi Kudo.
In other words, if one day the organization suddenly becomes interested in Conan or Ai, and compares them with the people in the database, then their true identities will inevitably be exposed.
In fact, Amuro is currently facing such a big problem:
Pisco asked Bourbon for a 200 ml blood sample from Conan, the specific purpose of which was not disclosed.
Amuro was worried that veterans of the Black Organization like Pisco should have higher authority. If they discovered Conan was actually Shinichi Kudo, things would get complicated.
So he temporarily brushed it off by saying that the amount of blood was too large to handle.
Just as Amuro finished his mission, a girl with a ponytail ran over and asked the dark-skinned boy, "Heiji, where are we going to have lunch later?"
"I heard there's a good teppanyaki place nearby, let's go there for a meal," Heiji replied.
However, compared to the delicious teppanyaki, the girls seemed more interested in the cute little thing in front of them.
"What an adorable little boy! What's your name?" the girl asked with a smile as she crouched down.
"Eh? My name is E-Edogawa Conan." The little detective stammered under the intense gaze of his friend in Osaka, a rare occurrence for him.
"My name is Kazuha Toyama, and I'm Heiji's childhood friend. I just saw you guys talking. Conan-kun, do you know Heiji?"
"Mmm." Conan nodded gently, his shy expression adding even more to his cuteness in Kazuha's eyes. However, she didn't notice that her childhood friend's face had darkened even more.
"Kazuha, let's go!" Heiji said irritably.
However, Kazuha showed no sign of leaving and turned to ask, "Conan-kun, have you had lunch yet?"
The little boy shook his head, too frightened to speak.
"Then I'll take you to eat something delicious, okay?" Kazuha said enthusiastically.
Before Heiji could beat the other person up, Conan quickly hid behind Amuro, blinked his big eyes, and timidly replied, "Mom said I can't eat food given by strangers."
"But my sister isn't a stranger!" Kazuha felt a little wronged after being rejected by the little cutie.
"Heye, I don't know this kid well. Let's go, I'm starving."
"But I clearly saw you chatting with Conan, and you seemed really comfortable with him!"
"Oh, you must have mistaken me for someone else..."
"I'm sorry, this child is shy and just recovered from a cold a couple of days ago. I'll take him to eat instead. I hope you two have a great time in Nagano. Goodbye for now!"
Without hesitation, Amuro picked up Conan and strode out.
Thus, Conan tragically realized that he had just escaped Kazuha's "clutches" only to fall into Amuro's trap.
"Damn it! Put me down!" the little detective yelled, brandishing his claws.
Amuro abandoned him with disgust.
"What did you find out?" Amuro asked, his tone calm and collected, completely devoid of the warmth he had shown just moments before.
"Huh? You really came here for Yang Sheng?" Conan asked, puzzled. "Then why are you trying to get close to Okita?"
"half."
"What?"
“You only guessed half the reason correctly,” Amuro said, looking directly at the other person.
"And what about the other half?" Conan pondered for a moment before realizing what was happening, breaking out in a cold sweat. "What are they going to do to Okita?"
Amuro watched with satisfaction as Conan's terrified expression appeared, and said, "Very good, you finally know how to be afraid."
"I'm asking you what will happen to Okita?!" Conan shouted angrily.
“It’s just saving a file. Okita isn’t the target. There’s no need to make a fuss.” Amuro gave the other person a dark look. “You should be thinking about your own safety.”
"You won't betray me, will you?" Conan asked tentatively, startled by Amuro's somewhat threatening tone.
"Just because I can't doesn't mean others can't."
Who are you talking about?
Amuro glanced at the teppanyaki restaurant across the street.
"Hattori won't betray me!"
"Why should I tell him?" Amuro asked sternly.
"Hey, you actually heard that? I thought..."
"What do you think? Do you think I'm deaf? Or do you think those people will let you off so easily? How many times have I told you, your identity is a bottom line! The more people who know, the greater the danger. Not only are you in danger, but you'll also put those who know in danger. Are you ignoring what I'm saying?"
Conan was speechless after being bombarded with questions: "I-I'm sorry, I promise it won't happen again."
Amuro sighed, his tone softening slightly as he asked, "Any progress in the investigation of the culprit?"
"Hattori told me that a child abduction case also occurred in Osaka last week, and the perpetrator has not yet been found. It is not yet certain whether these cases are related. However, according to Sanada's confession, the perpetrators seem to have a leader who would hand over the abducted children to the leader and then receive money."
"Any leads on that leader?"
“Sanada knows nothing about this, and she doesn’t have the leader’s contact information either. Currently, arrest warrants for the two criminals have been issued at all checkpoints in and out of Nagano, and since there’s no news of them, they must still be trapped within Nagano territory. I think if the rendezvous point is correct, the criminals will meet that person here soon!”
Amuro nodded in agreement.
Conan continued, "I was walking around here a few times, and at that snow mountain hot spring in the back, I encountered a rather suspicious man."
"What kind of person?"
“A man with an unfriendly appearance, in his fifties. In the locker room, I also noticed that he was missing two toes.”
"An octopus?!"
Amuro's first thought was this nickname, but then he realized it was too much of a coincidence.
He asked nervously, "Was that person wearing anything around their neck?"
"Hey, why do you ask that? He only has a towel around his neck."
Amuro let out a long sigh, and said with a sense of loss, "Oh, okay, it's nothing. I was just asking."
Conan, however, keenly sensed something suspicious and asked, "Is Amuro-nii hiding something from me?"
"It has nothing to do with you."
"Amuro-nii has always been so mysterious, never telling me the full plan. What will you do if something unexpected happens one day and you end up isolated and helpless?"
Amuro gave the other person a deep look and asked, "So what do you think I should do?"
"Ask me for help!" Conan volunteered. "I can definitely save you!"
Amuro chuckled noncommittally and said, "Let's talk about it when you're still alive!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
