Yuji Kudo, the manga artist behind Detective Conan.

"Just as we suspected, it was indeed Mr. Sakon who murdered Miss Kano."

On the drive home, Kudo tossed the information disk that Inspector Hagiwara had given him into the car's storage compartment, while Conan kept observing Sayoko, who was sitting in the back car chatting enthusiastically with Inspector Hagiwara, through the rearview mirror.

"This Officer Hagiwara mentioned her mother before... Could it be...?" Conan suddenly remembered that among the people he knew, there seemed to be only one family with a child named Hagiwara.

"Ah, that's Superintendent Sato, the current head of the Criminal Investigation Department of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department." Old Kudo lit a cigarette for himself. "Kyoko Hagiwara is the girl that Sato and the others adopted back then, and she's exactly thirty years old."

"As expected... Speaking of which, you keep talking about the Eastern Capital, the Eastern Capital, and there's also something about a Prime Minister? What's going on here?"

After a moment of silence, Old Kudo explained, somewhat dejectedly.

"Ten years ago, a large-scale war that broke out in the Middle East spread to the whole world. The United States, which had been completely defeated, launched a military operation against West Asia in the East Asia region with the help of various neighboring countries in an attempt to make a last-ditch effort."

"That's not a sure thing... Japan is also on the list of countries the US is requesting action on, right?" Conan immediately understood.

"In order to refuse to send troops, and also to fulfill the secret plans of the Ooka faction in earlier years, the police department led by Yoshioka launched a plan to go to America in Hokkaido, which was deliberately exposed by them and turned into an independence revolution."

"Yoshioka?!"

"Gulp..." Conan swallowed hard, stammering, "That is to say..."

"About a year after the war, Emperor Kyuka announced to the nation in Tokyo that he supported the United States policy and appointed... Yuji Kudo, who had been supported by Minami Masamune to become the chairman of the National Public Safety Commission twenty years earlier, as the Prime Minister of Japan and the Prime Minister of Tokyo."

The spitting noises finally stopped, and Conan's mouth was agape. He'd only just now grasped the difference between the Prime Minister and the Chancellor. Simply put, the Prime Minister held real power, while the Chancellor only nominally governed the country…

"The division between the North and the South led to a ten-year civil war that continues to this day. It was precisely because of this civil war that Japan did not participate in the siege of West Asia and was not made a special territory like some other countries."

Old Kudo stared at the red light at the intersection, his hand resting on the car window, while Conan recalled the old Chinese television that Yuuji used to watch at home, and images involuntarily popped into his mind.

"

"No one but Chairman Kudo can save Japan."

"In that case, let's appoint Mr. Kudo as the Prime Minister of Japan."

The scene shifts, and the Emperor is looking at Kudo Yuji, dressed in minister's robes and elected prime minister by the crowd, preparing to accept a bow, when he sees this 45-year-old "elderly man" suddenly clutching his back.

"Mr. Kudo's back is so sore from working so hard for the country that he can't even bow properly anymore. Does His Majesty the Emperor have to be so concerned about such a small matter of etiquette?!" The surrounding members of parliament launched a barrage of criticism against the Emperor, leaving the man, who was not yet forty, covering his face in frustration. Kudo Yuji, meanwhile, slowly stood up in front of the national media.

'

Wow, what a villain! He has the face of a complete evil person...

As Conan stared at the sign for the Kudo Detective Agency, the image of his younger brother in his mind gradually matured and became more sinister.

"The White Organization, and the boy who suddenly showed up at the detective agency..." Conan pushed open the door and got out of the car. He noticed that Officer Hagiwara had driven away after dropping Sayoko off, and rushed ahead of the two of them to the third floor.

"Is this child staying with us tonight, Dad?"

Sayoko, who had walked up to old Kudo, stared suspiciously at Conan's back: "Edogawa Conan, it seems like Inspector Takagi knows him. Is Grandpa close to him? Tell me, old man, are you hiding something from me again!"

"Don't let kids think so much nonsense all day long." After giving his daughter a hard tap on the head, Old Kudo immediately urged Sayoko to bring dinner to the living room to eat.

"It seems your aunt has a talk show tonight, I need to watch it while eating."

"There's no dinner! I didn't even cook anything." Noticing that Poirot had also closed the door, the girl had no choice but to pick up her phone to order delivery, and took the opportunity to search for information about Conan Edogawa.

"Kiddock Star..."

She seemed to have discovered some secret.

"The boyfriend's method of inducing his girlfriend to commit suicide... This guy is out of his mind. It would be much more reliable to invite her to a picnic in the mountains and then push her off the cliff."

At a distance in the Beika Shopping Street, Kudo Yuji, who had placed his Prime Minister's office on the top floor of the Metropolitan Police Department because he liked high places and was concerned about safety, tossed the report on tonight's case onto his desk and impatiently pressed the desktop button while watching Matsuda Jinpei pacing back and forth in front of him and complaining.

"...Are they going to throw Matsuda out again?"

The blond man who knocked on the door and entered looked at Kudo, who was still awake in the dark because of the coffee, and grabbed Matsuda Jinpei by the collar with some disdain.

"Hey, Zero! I'm the Prime Minister's secretary, at least give me some face..." (End of Chapter)