People are in Conan, but Ace Attorney

Chapter 1001 Reversal, and then another reversal (1)

—————June 20th, 8:30 AM—————

—————Tokyo District, Third Court——————

On the defense stand, Xiang Yuanguang stood there holding a cup of coffee.

Where others couldn't see, the figure of 'Xiang Yuan', dressed in a black suit, appeared to Xiang Yuan Guang's left, while Conan stood to Xiang Yuan Guang's right under the table.

In just one court appearance, the defense team already included three of Tokyo's most skilled strategists.

Anyone who sees this has to admit it's an illegal team formation.

However, given the bald judge's pathetic eyesight...

He could neither see the presence of 'Xiangyuan' nor the figure of Conan. Before the trial began, the presiding judge even asked a question out of curiosity.

“Attorney Xiang Yuan, you always bring a legal assistant with you when you appear in court to defend your clients.”

"Why are you the only one representing your lawyer this time? Where are your legal assistants? Didn't they come with you? That's quite unusual."

In the judge's memory, Xiang Yuanguang was accompanied by a tomboyish lawyer assistant at almost every trial.

This time, the stylishly dressed lawyer's assistant who habitually carried a radio was not with them.

Even the presiding judge felt a little out of place.

It was as if something was missing from the courtroom.

However, Xiang Yuanguang merely twitched the corner of his mouth and said with a hint of helplessness,
"Yue Shui has gone on vacation, and if nothing unexpected happens, I will be appearing in court alone for a long time."

"Your Honor, I may not have told you this before."

"Although Yue Shui is my resident legal assistant, she is not an employee of my firm, so it is her personal freedom to go wherever she wants, and I have no right to interfere."

presiding judge:!

Is there such a thing?
If you're not employees, why do you all appear in court together for every case?
What exactly are you trying to do?
The presiding judge shook his head, asked no further questions, and turned to look in the direction of the prosecutor's bench.

From the moment he entered the courtroom until now, the prosecutor's seat has been empty, without a single person in sight, which made him wonder—why hasn't Prosecutor Sugiura arrived at the courtroom yet?

Given Prosecutor Sugiura's personality, he wanted to avoid being ignored due to his low profile.

He usually arrives at the courtroom early to make arrangements and increase his presence. Why has he changed his personality this time? Has he really given up on his weakness of having a low profile?

The presiding judge placed the gavel back in its original position and questioned the bailiff at the door.
"The trial for the murder of Yuichi Hisaka is about to begin. Has Prosecutor Sugiura, the prosecutor in charge of the case, come to the courtroom yet?"

"If he is not there yet, please go to Prosecutor Sugiura's lounge and check if he is in the courtroom lounge. If not, please come back and report to me."

"If Prosecutor Sugiura is in the lounge, please ask him to come and participate in the court hearing. Thank you."

The two bailiffs at the door exchanged a glance.

One of the bailiffs immediately pushed open the door and came out. He looked around and, seeing that no one else was there, walked towards the prosecutor's lounge.

He was actually a little surprised.

It wasn't surprising that Prosecutor Sugiura would arrive late to participate in the trial at this time.

It's understandable that a prosecutor like Prosecutor Sugiura, who is well-known locally but only considered mid-to-lower caliber in the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office, would be intimidated and arrive late when facing a lawyer of Mukamoto Hikaru's caliber.

The bailiffs were curious as to why Prosecutor Sugiura dared to file charges even though he knew his opponent was Hikaru Mukamoto.

Does Prosecutor Sugiura have the confidence to take action against Minato and win?
—Do you have that confidence?
The answer is no.

of course not.

Others may not know how Prosecutor Sugiura managed to suppress both Hikaru Mugen and Kensuke Komikado during the trial at Honikedai, but how could Prosecutor Sugiura himself not know? He was able to suppress Hikaru Mugen and Kensuke Komikado during the trial at Honikedai.

That's entirely because the criminals were far too skilled.

She single-handedly manipulated everyone, and the forged evidence alone was enough to make Prosecutor Sugiura think hard about how to play it as a card.

Are there any players of this skill level this time?
Prosecutor Sugiura disagreed.

He had met the defendant, Tsukigata Ryutaro, as well as Tsukigata Ryutaro's disciple, another suspect, Saruhashi Masaru. He thought Saruhashi Masaru had thick eyebrows and big eyes, and didn't look like a scheming person at all.

Ryutaro Tsukigata may be cunning and shrewd.

However, it's unlikely that someone with cunning and skill would be caught out and brought to trial. Moreover, if someone is truly cunning and skillful, it would be Tsukigata Ryutaro.

If he were to be paired with Xiang Yuanguang as an opponent, he would be truly doomed.

"Prosecutor Sugiura, will we win?"

Chiba Kazunobu stood somewhat nervously on Prosecutor Sugiura.

He came to report on the follow-up investigation to Prosecutor Sugiura, and also to inform him that Hikaru Muto had joined the case as a defense attorney.

However, what he didn't expect was that while he was flustered, Prosecutor Sugiura seemed even more flustered than he was.

The elite prosecutor from this station said in a low voice,

"Damn it, why did they have to accept a job in the middle of the night?!"

“If you had accepted the case during the day, I wouldn’t have filed a lawsuit. Tama set me up, didn’t he… Now, I have to appear in court even if I don’t want to… Could you find another temporary prosecutor to replace me…”

"No, no, the only temporary prosecutor with time, Gode, has a close relationship with Xiang Yuanguang."

"If Prosecutor Gold were to appear in court as a temporary prosecutor in my place, wouldn't that be an even worse defeat than if I appeared in court myself? The result would be even more disastrous..."

Prosecutor Sugiura scratched at his wig in a state of near collapse.

So what should we do next?

Facing an opponent of Xiang Yuanguang's caliber, you can't win, right? There's no way you can win, can you?

While I was thinking, the door to the prosecutor's lounge was suddenly pulled open.

The bailiff stood outside the door and said loudly,
"Prosecutor Sugiura, the courtroom is ready!"

————I see.

Prosecutor Sugiura stood up with a somber expression.

Now that things have come to this, there is no way to escape.

Then let's go for it.

Regardless, revealing everything he knows might still offer a chance to turn the tables on Xiang Yuanguang...

If Xiang Yuanguang can win against a stronger opponent, then he might be just as capable.

After all, he's an elite prosecutor in Honiketai, and he wouldn't be considered bad even within the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office...

"I avoid his edge?!"

"Chiba, let's go! Let's show Mukamoto Hikaru what we're made of!"

(End of this chapter)