Violence supervision in Conan

Chapter 759 The Accident 11 Years Ago, Tokubi Rokuro's Murderous Intent

The grave was made of several disc-shaped stones piled together, looking somewhat simple and rough, and there was no tombstone in front of it.

And so it stood alone by the river.

A chilly wind blew by, and Ran Mouri felt a chill run down her spine.

Deep in the mountains and forests, nameless graves... this feeling is just awful.

"Quack! Quack!"

The cawing of crows suddenly rang out from overhead, and Ran Mouri instinctively shuddered, letting out a scream as she hid behind Conan.

"what!"

"It's alright, Ran," Conan quickly comforted her softly. "It's just a cenotaph; there are no bodies inside."

Sonoko Suzuki wasn't gloating at this moment. She stepped forward and hugged Ran Mouri, then turned to Conan and asked curiously, "Little brat, how did you know this was a cenotaph?"

"It's very simple."

Conan smiled confidently and pointed to the grave. "Someone came here to pay their respects not long ago. If it were a cemetery, there would definitely be a tombstone with the deceased's information to make it easier for relatives and friends to pay their respects. But this grave doesn't have one."

"Moreover, this is not a place with good feng shui, so I guess it is most likely a cenotaph."

Suzuki Sonoko and her companion peered over and, sure enough, saw offerings of incense and candles on one side of the grave. They hadn't noticed them immediately because of the angle.

Conan continued his analysis: "The fact that this grave is located by the river suggests that the deceased's death is very likely related to this river."

"Little friend, how did you guess that?"

A surprised voice suddenly rang out from behind the three of them.

Conan reacted the fastest, turning around to see a middle-aged man carrying a hiking backpack walking out of the woods.

Seeing that it wasn't some mountain spirit or monster, the three (mainly Ran Mouri) breathed a sigh of relief.

Conan immediately pretended to ask in a cute voice, "Uncle, it sounds like you know who the owner of this grave is?"

A complex look flashed across the middle-aged man's eyes, but it disappeared in an instant, followed by a smile: "Yes, I came here specifically to pay my respects to Chen Yan."

"Tatsuhiko?"

Conan keenly noticed the name.

The middle-aged man's expression darkened: "Eleven years ago, a little boy had an accident in this river. The search and rescue team eventually found his body in a reservoir downstream. The boy's name was Tatsuhiko Numayama."

Conan and his friends' gazes fell on the grave, their eyes simultaneously revealing sympathy and pity: "So this cenotaph belongs to little Tatsuhiko?"

The middle-aged man nodded: "This cenotaph was built by Chen Yan's classmates as a memorial. His real grave is in another place."

"And who are you?" Conan asked curiously.

The middle-aged man replied, “My name is Tokubi Rokuro. I am a painter. More than ten years ago, I was a primary school teacher in Kuchibashi Village. Tatsuhiko was my student. I happened to be passing by this place and thought I would come to pay my respects.”

The three of them were stunned.

Upon hearing that the grave belonged to a 10-year-old child, all three felt heavy-hearted, especially Ran Mouri, who was the most empathetic. Thinking of Tatsuhiko Numayama, who had lost his life at a young age, her eyes welled up with tears.

The three watched silently as Tokubi Rokuro paid tribute to his former student.

The atmosphere was somewhat silent.

After finishing everything, Tokubi Rokuro looked at the three of them and asked, "Are you here for sightseeing?"

The three exchanged a glance, their expressions somewhat awkward. Finally, Sonoko Suzuki spoke up: "Yes, but we accidentally got lost."

Tokubi Rokuro laughed: "I'm going to Kuchihashi Village anyway, why don't you come with me?"

The three of them naturally did not refuse, so after paying their respects at the cenotaph, they prepared to leave with Tokubi Rokuro.

"Did you also come here because of the rumors about kappa?" Tokubi Rokuro asked curiously, looking at their attire.

Ran Mouri tensed up immediately. Seeing this, Rokuro Tokubi laughed: "It's just a rumor in the surrounding villages. Nobody has ever actually seen a kappa. And since Tatsuhiko's accident, there have been far fewer rumors about kappa appearances. Now they've almost disappeared."

Mao Lilan breathed a sigh of relief.

Conan noticed something in the other person's words and a thoughtful expression appeared on his face.

As the group prepared to leave, another figure emerged from the woods.

Before the person even arrived, impolite questions had already begun to rang out:

"What are you doing here!"

Conan and his two companions were startled, while Tokubi Rokuro greeted the newcomer, saying, "Mr. Numayama, it's been a long time."

The newcomer had a fierce appearance and a menacing demeanor, which made Conan and his friends somewhat wary. They only felt relieved when they heard that Tokubi Rokuro knew the person.

"It's you?" The newcomer looked at Tokubi Rokuro in surprise.

"This is Mr. Numayama Banzo," Tokubi Rokuro introduced to Conan and the others, pausing slightly before continuing, "He is Tatsuhiko's father."

Numayama Banzo quickly suppressed his surprise and glared at the group, demanding again, "What are you doing here?"

His tone and expression were full of dissatisfaction and a sense of being driven away.

When Conan and his friends heard that he was Tatsuhiko Numayama's father, they were initially sympathetic, but his rude attitude made them frown.

Ran Mouri assumed that the other party was unhappy that they had disturbed Tatsuhiko Numayama, and wanted to explain, "Sorry, we got lost."

Tokubi Rokuro said, "I have come to pay my respects to Tatsuhiko."

Surprisingly, instead of being pleased by these words, Tatsuhiko Numayama glared angrily, kicked over his son's cenotaph, and shouted, "What's the point of commemorating a pile of broken stones?! Get out of here!"

Tokubi Rokuro's face instantly turned cold, and a flash of anger appeared in his eyes.

Conan and his friends were equally surprised that Banzo Numayama would be so unreasonable, even destroying his own son's cenotaph; it was simply incomprehensible.

Not wanting to get entangled with the other party any longer, the group left under the stern-faced leadership of Tokubi Rokuro.

"What the hell? That old man was just being ridiculous!"

On the way, Sonoko Suzuki grumbled indignantly.

The kind-hearted Ran Mouri also disapproved of Banzo Numayama's behavior, nodding and saying, "That's right, no matter what, you shouldn't destroy your own son's cenotaph, right?"

Sonoko Suzuki immediately chimed in, "Exactly! Absolutely cold-blooded and heartless!"

Unbeknownst to the two, with each sentence they spoke, Tokubi Rokuro's expression grew increasingly gloomy.

Conan, however, was more rational and advised, "Perhaps there's something more to it, and besides, this is their family matter."

His words were agreed upon by Ran Mouri.

Sonoko Suzuki scoffed, "Hmph, what secret could there be? He's just an irresponsible father. I don't think he cares about his son at all!"

pat!

As soon as he finished speaking, Tokubi Rokuro, who was in front of him, suddenly stopped.

"Mr. Debi?" The three looked at him strangely.

“Going that way should take you back to your villa,” Tokubi Rokuro said to the three of them, pointing to a fork in the road not far ahead.

"Let's say goodbye here."

After saying that, he turned in another direction.

Conan and his two friends were a little puzzled by Tokubi Rokuro's attitude, but they still politely expressed their gratitude and said goodbye.

However, they failed to notice the chilling killing intent hidden in Tokubi Rokuro's eyes the instant he turned away...

(End of this chapter)