Stay away from Conan.

"Yes..."

Hearing "Matsumoto Kiyonaga's" words, Inspector Megure, who was initially pleasantly surprised by Shinichi Kudo's appearance, couldn't help but feel a little puzzled.

Speaking of which, since Kudo has already begun investigating the incident and even asked Hattori Heiji for help, why didn't he tell me about it?

Moreover, we have no idea how far his investigation has progressed. If he discovers something and communicates with the police, the matter might be resolved quickly.

Thus, these questions inevitably surfaced in Inspector Megure's mind, but he quickly put them aside for the time being. In any case, the police investigation was progressing steadily, and there was no further news yet, so he might as well take this opportunity to ask Mouri and the others what they thought...

Furthermore, there are still no further leads regarding last night's attack on the detective agency.

Therefore, Inspector Megure, having thought of this, decided to personally visit the place to see what was going on.

Upon seeing this, Matsumoto Kiyoshi expressed his desire to have more exchanges with the detective who worked closely with the police, and decided to go along to take a look.

Inspector Megure naturally had no objection to this. After temporarily handing over the command work at the Metropolitan Police Department to Inspector Shiratori, Inspector Megure went out with "Matsumoto Kiyonaga".

First, they went to the Mouri Detective Agency, where Kogoro Mouri works.

Here, Inspector Megure first approached the officer who had been keeping watch over the detective agency all day. After confirming that no suspicious persons had been found throughout the day, Inspector Megure instructed the officer to continue his stakeout, while he followed "Matsumoto Kiyonaga" into the detective agency to have a chat with Kogoro Mouri.

Faced with the personal visit of Inspector Megure and "Matsumoto Kiyonaga," Kogoro Mouri, who was still depressed about the damaged window, immediately ordered Ran to prepare tea. Inspector Megure, however, indicated that it was unnecessary and, to get straight to the point, first asked Kogoro about the attack he had experienced the previous day, to see if Kogoro had any thoughts on the matter.

However, for Kogoro Mouri, who had never even personally faced the attacker, this completely inexplicable attack left him speechless and helpless.

Seeing that there was no further progress on the matter, Inspector Megure, though frustrated, didn't waste any more time on it and instead began to discuss a new clue regarding the serial killings—

"Now there's no doubt about it! That guy named Mizutani Kosuke must be the murderer!"

As a result, after listening to Inspector Megure's new information, Kogoro Mouri immediately became interested and decisively concluded:
"To avenge his girlfriend who died in the fire, he wants to kill the people who occupied the elevator, preventing her from escaping in time, as a way to appease her spirit in heaven!"

"Hmm...that makes sense, but...if that's the case, then who would be the eighth target?"

Seeing Kogoro Mouri's confident demeanor, Inspector Megure couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. After all, it was obvious that he would have preferred to hear Kogoro Mouri provide a more useful analysis.

Meanwhile, Matsumoto Kiyonaga, observing Kogoro Mouri's reaction, felt increasingly that this person was far removed from the "Sleeping Kogoro" mentioned in the rumors and files, and that such reasoning and analytical abilities could not possibly be genuinely displayed by this individual.

Therefore, even if Conan and Shinichi Kudo's identities may be questionable, there is definitely something wrong with Kogoro Mouri. The question is whether the reason for this situation is what he originally thought, or whether the low-key Shinichi Kudo is actually hiding behind him.

Just as Matsumoto Kiyona was thinking this, Mouri Kogoro answered Inspector Megure's question with great certainty:
"Is there even a need to think about it, Inspector Megure? There's only one candidate for the so-called 'unforgivable eighth one,' isn't there?"

As he said this, Kogoro Mouri adopted a pretentious air.

Upon hearing this, Inspector Megure was immediately taken aback, looking at Kogoro Mouri with anticipation and asking him:

"Really? Brother Mori?"

But Matsumoto Kiyonaga didn't seem to care much about this, probably just another one of Kogoro Mouri's wild guesses from the previous meeting. "Of course, the eighth target is none other than Mizutani Kosuke himself, isn't it?"

Soon, when pressed by Inspector Megure, Kogoro Mouri gave his answer:
"He should have been by his girlfriend's side, but he wasn't there when the fire broke out. Doesn't that indirectly contribute to his girlfriend's death? Perhaps in Mizutani Kosuke's mind, he was thinking that if he had been by his girlfriend's side at the time, he might have been able to save her!"
"This feeling of remorse has kept Kosuke Mizutani from getting over it for the past year, and he has finally chosen to take revenge for his girlfriend as the last thing he could think of to make amends!"

"Oh! Now that you mention it, it actually makes sense... Could it be that he intends to end his own life in the end?"

After hearing this, Inspector Megure couldn't help but exclaim in surprise. Even Matsumoto Kiyonaga glanced at Kogoro Mouri with slight astonishment, thinking that what he said did make some sense, but...

"uh-huh--

"Speaking of which, Mori, Shinichi Kudo is also investigating this incident. Has he contacted you about him?"

After clearing his throat, Matsumoto Kiyonaga thought for a moment and then changed the subject to Shinichi Kudo.

Upon hearing this, both Kogoro Mouri and Ran were taken aback.

"Detective Kid?"

"Shinichi?"

"What? You don't know either?"

Seeing their reactions, Matsumoto Kiyonaga probably realized he wouldn't get the information he wanted from them, so he casually said:

"According to our police investigation, during the investigation of this serial murder case, Shinichi Kudo had already investigated relevant personnel before our police. We thought it was because you had contacted him that we came to conduct this investigation..."

"Hmm, it seems that's not the case..."

"Oh! Right! Where's that kid Conan? Isn't he here? Maybe he's the one who contacted Shinichi Kudo!"

As they talked, Matsumoto Kiyonaga turned his attention to Conan.

Kogoro Mouri looked at Conan with disgust, while Ran explained:

"Conan, he went to Professor Agasa's house today..."

……

A Li's house——

After learning from Ran and the others that Conan had gone to Professor Agasa's house, "Matsumoto Kiyonaga" realized something. After thinking for a moment, he then instructed Inspector Megure to go to Professor Agasa's house with him, but the reason given was "to ask Conan about the details of the attack last night."

But in reality, what Matsumoto Kiyonaga wanted to confirm was something else entirely—

Are Conan and Shinichi Kudo the same person?! (End of Chapter)