People are in Conan, but Ace Attorney

Chapter 1011 Reversal, and then another reversal (11)

Saruhashi Masaru's appearance surprised Mugen Hikaru.

He felt that Saruhashi Masaru didn't seem like the kind of person who would kill his senior brother and then frame his teacher. Could it be that Saruhashi Masaru's fabrication of an alibi for Tsukigata Ryutaro wasn't actually an attempt to frame Tsukigata Ryutaro?

Or did they genuinely believe that this fabricated alibi would exonerate Tsukigata Ryutaro?
Xiang Yuanguang pondered in his heart.

His fingers lightly touched the inside of the coffee cup.

The presiding judge nodded and said seriously.

"Indeed, the reason this court has summoned you to the courtroom is to give testimony."

"As for the main content of the testimony..."

"Attorney Xiang Yuan, what do you think?"

The presiding judge posed the question to Xiang Yuanguang.

However, this is indeed a right of the defense.

Although it was the prosecution's suggestion to have Saruhashi Masaru testify as a witness, it was the defense that actually called Saruhashi Masaru to the scene, had the right to have him give testimony on certain aspects, and asked questions.

The prosecutor's power does not increase with the change of roles between the parties.

Hearing the judge's question.

Xiang Yuanguang said without hesitation,
"Mr. Saruhashi, please recall the entire events of that day."

"Also, this matter is related to Mr. Tsukigata Ryutaro."

—This question is a bit tricky.

Saruhashi Katsumi was somewhat surprised and remained silent for a moment.

He seemed to be thinking about something.

Until the judge lowered the gavel, and then said,

"Witness, please give your testimony as requested by Attorney Xiang Yuan."

"To cooperate with the proceedings of this court hearing."

Upon hearing this, Saruhashi Katsu finally nodded.

He opened his mouth and said,
------

[Testimony related to the murder of Yuichi Hisaka]

[Testimony begins]

"Hisaka and I were both students of the same teacher, but we didn't get along well. We would even start arguing after only a few words."

"Therefore, I had no idea that Hisaka would come to Tokyo that night."

“I just followed my normal routine. I went to an izakaya for a drink at 8:30, and then went home to sleep. I only found out the next day that Hisaka had been murdered in Tokyo that night.”

"As for the teacher..."

"I believe the teacher is innocent. He simply doesn't have an alibi. His physical condition doesn't support the ability to kill Hisaka. That's my opinion."

[End of testimony]

------

Saruhashi Katsumi quickly completed his testimony.

Compared to Chiba Kazunobu's testimony, Saruhashi Masaru's testimony was brief and not very informative, to which Mugen Hikaru merely raised an eyebrow.

He felt there was something slightly wrong just from hearing this testimony.

However, that's only problematic if Saruhashi's testimony is based on his preconceived notion that Saruhashi is the murderer, from an outsider's perspective.

It seems that Saruhashi Katsumi has no real connection to this case.

The only connection is that he and the deceased Yuichi Hisaka were fellow disciples, and that Masaru Saruhashi and Yuichi Hisaka had a bad relationship; that's all.

Upon hearing this, the many audience members in the courtroom's gallery began to murmur amongst themselves. One possibility previously suggested to Minamoto Kou was that the deceased, Hisaka Yuichi, had come to Tokyo to kill his fellow disciple, Saruhashi Masaru, but was instead killed by Saruhashi Masaru and his body disposed of.

However, judging from Saruhashi Katsumi's current demeanor, he doesn't seem like someone who would be so ruthless.

That's why they started discussing this topic so much.

Hearing the commotion in the courtroom, the presiding judge raised his gavel, then brought it down and slammed it onto the table. Instantly, the entire courtroom fell silent because of the judge's imposing presence.

The highest authority of the Third Trial Chamber solemnly stated,
"Silence! Silence! This court requires quiet!"

"Witness, have you finished giving your testimony? If you have, then Attorney Xiang Yuan will begin the questioning phase. Is that alright?"

"Prosecutor Sugiura, what are your thoughts on this?"

Prosecutor Sugiura answered without hesitation.

"The prosecution has no problem."

The testimony given by Katsuyuki Saruhashi is essentially meaningless.

Whether Saruhashi Masaru is the murderer, and whether there is any evidence to prove that Hisaka was killed in self-defense during an attempted murder, all of this information must be obtained from Saruhashi Masaru's subsequent testimony.

Therefore, it's not just Yuan Guang who's focusing on this questioning phase.

Even Prosecutor Sugiura considers this questioning phase very important; Saruhashi Masaru's subsequent testimony might be the key testimony that determines the direction of the entire case!

Saruhashi Katsumi was not very familiar with the procedures of these courts.

He looked somewhat blankly at the presiding judge, then at Prosecutor Sugiura in the prosecutor's dock, who nodded to him, indicating that Saruhashi Katsumi had agreed.

Although prosecutors are not equivalent to defense lawyers or nannies.

However, if a case they have filed is at risk of backfiring, prosecutors will still take into account the circumstances of the witnesses and, at their discretion, ensure that the witnesses' testimonies remain valid.

Therefore, in the vast majority of cases, prosecutors will not harm their key witnesses.

Saruhashi Katsu immediately replied,

"Yes, Your Honor, I am ready to proceed with the questioning phase."

With the consent of both the prosecution and the witnesses.

The questioning phase has finally begun.

However, Xiang Yuanguang did not ask the questions that Saruhashi Katsu had raised in his testimony. He simply rested his chin on his hands, stared at Saruhashi Katsu, and asked calmly and seriously,

"Mr. Saruhashi, may I ask, have you ever killed anyone?"

—What kind of question is this?
Saruhashi Katsutoshi looked somewhat surprised.

This doesn't seem to have anything to do with the testimony he just gave, does it?

Prosecutor Sugiura frowned and was about to raise his hand to indicate that it was unrelated to the case, but after being glanced at by Hikaru Mukamoto, he abandoned his previous plan.

Okay, let's talk about whether it's related to the case.

Prosecutor Sugiura certainly didn't believe it, but given that Hikaru Muto had already concluded that Saruhashi Katsumi committed the murder, it was quite normal for him to ask this question, as he was on the opposite side of Saruhashi Katsumi.

Saruhashi Katsu hesitated for a moment before answering the question.

"Of course, I have never killed anyone."

Just as Xiang Yuanguang had expected.

Chains wrapped around Saruhashi Masaru's body, and then, one red heart lock after another appeared. There were three heart locks in total this time. Relatively speaking, this secret was not too important to him.

This surprised Xiang Yuanguang.

If this secret isn't even a five-star lock for Saruhashi Katsumi, then what secret could be considered a five-star lock in his heart?
Although I was confused.

However, Xiang Yuanguang did not ask that question, but asked other questions instead.

(End of this chapter)