People are in Conan, but Ace Attorney

Chapter 1013 Reversal, and then another reversal (13)

—This is not inexplicable.

Prosecutor Sugiura frowned and hesitated before speaking.

"Didn't I already say that the murderer's purpose was not to obtain the valuables on the deceased Yuichi Hisaka's body? Therefore, the murderer did not touch the deceased's wallet, and all the money, documents, etc. were still there."

"But the pen..."

As he spoke, he realized something was amiss.

Yes, if the murderer is Saruhashi Masaru, then according to Hikaru Mukamoto's theory that Saruhashi Masaru killed Hisaka Yuichi in retaliation, Saruhashi Masaru moved the body from his home to Beika Kita Park.

He then left hastily after leaving the body, not noticing that the pen that fell out was normal. If Saruhashi had found the pen, he would not have left it there.

However, the same principle applies to the reverse.

If the murderer is Tsukigata Ryutaro...

Since Tsukigata Ryutaro's murder was a different kind of premeditated killing than Saruhashi Masaru's, how could Tsukigata Ryutaro not have paid attention to the details of the scene after killing Saruhashi Masaru?

Where can you find a murderer who doesn't even take away important evidence that could prove their identity?
If Ryutaro Tsukigata killed the person, then Ryutaro Tsukigata should take away this pen that can prove his identity; this is a theory that both parties can argue.

However, the defense presents a hypothesis, while the prosecution presents a presumed criminal process.

One for one, the prosecution is at a huge loss!
"Prosecutor Sugiura, you can take a short break now."

"Regarding this issue, no matter what the prosecution says, the final result regarding whether the pen can prove that Tsukigata Ryutaro committed murder is uncertain and cannot be used as conclusive evidence."

"In addition, the person questioned by the defense was witness Katsutoshi Saruhashi."

"When the defense is questioning you, the prosecution should remain silent, or at least wait until the witness has answered the defense’s questions before offering their opinion."

"Your Honor, what do you think?"

Xiang Yuanguang quickly shut up Prosecutor Sugiura's mouth.

He looked at the presiding judge.

The presiding judge naturally could not tolerate such disruption of the courtroom's order.

He immediately said,
"Yes, as Attorney Xiang Yuan said, Prosecutor Sugiura, please give your opinion after the witnesses have answered, and show sufficient respect for the defense's questioning phase."

"This is a warning from the court to you, and we hope you will realize the problem you have."

That's what the presiding judge said.

Prosecutor Sugiura sighed immediately.

Okay, now I'm speechless.

The presiding judge is the highest authority in the courtroom. Once he speaks, there is no room for rebuttal. Perhaps Xiang Yuanguang could go against the presiding judge, but he certainly couldn't.

What can a failed prosecutor do?

Prosecutor Sugiura couldn't help but feel somewhat discouraged.

He had worked so hard to get to this point, but in the end, it seemed that he would still fail, with no chance of victory.

Alas, Xiang Yuanguang is too strong; I am no match for him.

"Witness Katsumi Saruhashi, please answer the questions raised by the defense now."

"Is the pen projected onto the evidence table really Ryutaro Tsukigata's?"

The presiding judge asked sternly.

Faced with the judge's question, Saruhashi Masaru finally answered,

“Your Honor, that pen did indeed belong to my teacher, Tsukigata Ryutaro.” “However, that pen was also a gift from my teacher, Tsukigata Ryutaro. I lost it some time ago, and my teacher knew about that.”

—So, you admit that the pen is yours?
The presiding judge was a little surprised.

This kid is surprisingly honest.

He turned to look at Tsukigata Ryutaro, who was sitting in the defendant's dock, and asked,

"Defendant, is what the witness said true?"

Upon hearing this, Tsukigata Ryutaro hesitated for a moment before replying.
"Your Honor, that is indeed the case."

“That pen is indeed mine, but it was also a gift I gave to my student. I remember Saruhashi mentioning to me about the pen being lost before, but a long time has passed.”

"I don't remember the pattern on that pen very clearly, so I didn't recognize it at the time."

Upon hearing this, Prosecutor Sugiura sighed again.

Now it's troublesome.

The pen with the unique pattern definitely belongs to Saruhashi Katsumi.

Therefore, the suspicion against Saruhashi Masaru is now even higher than that against Tsukigata Ryutaro. In fact, the motive for the deceased Kusaka Yuichi to kill Saruhashi Masaru is becoming increasingly clear.

— It is clear that Tsukigata Ryutaro has a bias towards his disciple, Saruhashi Masaru.

It is highly likely that Yuichi Hisaka stole Saruhashi Masaru's uniquely patterned pen and carried it with him until the body was found in Beika North Park, at which point the pen was rediscovered.

It is said that Yuichi Hisaka planned to murder Masaru Saruhashi because his teacher favored him and wanted him to come to Tokyo to serve his teacher. However, this also increased the possibility that Masaru Saruhashi would kill him instead.

"It seems that what he said is indeed the truth."

He nodded slightly to Yuan Guang.

His gaze fell on Saruhashi Masaru. The topic of the pen seemed to have reached a dead end, since Tsukigata Ryutaro had admitted that Saruhashi Masaru's pen had been stolen.

At most, it can only be proven that Yuichi Hisaka wanted to kill Masaru Saruhashi, and that Masaru Saruhashi had a stronger motive to kill Yuichi Hisaka.

Otherwise, there is no way to set a trap for Saruhashi Katsumi using this pen, as Xiang Yuanguang originally envisioned, and then quickly unlock and defeat him with a series of verbal attacks.

Without lies, even verbal attacks are futile.

Xiang Yuanguang returned to his position.

—Now, there seems to be nothing left to question regarding Saruhashi Katsumi's testimony.

The first two sentences are clearly true. The third sentence has a problem, but it's not a big one, because Saruhashi Masaru does have a habit of going to izakayas to drink, and his testimony supporting Tsukigata Ryutaro's innocence is even less problematic.

Upon questioning, it was confirmed by Tsukigata Ryutaro that the pen had been stolen.

When questioned about the izakaya, Prosecutor Sugiura gave a vague answer, stating that unless there was evidence proving that Saruhashi Masaru was drinking at the nearest izakaya because he was moving a corpse.

Otherwise, even Xiang Yuanguang would find it difficult to decipher this tune without using his abilities.

Therefore, Xiang Yuanguang tapped his fingers lightly on the table.

In the next instant, the chessboard rose up from the center of the defense table, and four pieces appeared in front of Saruhashi Masaru. A countdown appeared beside it and began to descend.

Facing the somewhat troublesome Saruhashi Katsu.

Xiang Yuanguang finally used the champion's combo of logic chess and mind lock.

He was preparing to show Saruhashi Katsumi his true strength.

(End of this chapter)