Violence supervision in Conan

Chapter 760: The Regretful "Kappa Dream," Oni Takeshi Takes Action

After Tokubi Rokuro pointed out the direction, Conan and his two friends walked along the mountain path towards the villa.

"Conan, what are you thinking about?"

Ran Mouri noticed Conan following behind, looking deep in thought.

"It's nothing." Conan shook his head.

For some reason, he had a feeling that something was off about what had just happened, which made him a little uneasy.

Without giving it much thought, Ran looked up at the sky and, seeing that dusk was approaching, urged, "It's getting dark soon, let's hurry, Director Onino and the others must be getting impatient."

She didn't want to walk through the woods in the dark.

The three of them immediately quickened their pace.

The sound of flowing water in their ears indicated that they had been walking along the riverbank.

About half an hour later, the villa came into view in the distance.

The three of them breathed a sigh of relief.

"I'm finally back." Sonoko Suzuki wiped her forehead.

Ran Mouri also felt a sense of relief, thankfully she didn't encounter any kappa or anything...

The thought had barely formed in her mind when, in a casual turn of her head, her gaze inadvertently swept over the river not far away... The next moment, her eyes widened in surprise!
In Ran Mouri's eyes, on the opposite bank of the river, a dark shadow suddenly appeared from the shadows formed by the trees!

Its appearance is bizarre, with a blue face and fangs, it doesn't look like a human at all!
Seemingly noticing Ran Mouri's gaze, the shadowy figure suddenly turned its head, its scarlet eyes instantly fixing on Ran Mouri.

A chill ran down the girl's spine.

"what!!!"

The terrified screams startled the flock of birds in the forest, causing them to flutter and fly away in panic.

……

"So, Xiaolan, you said you saw a kappa?"

Oni Takeshi looked at Ran Mouri, whose expression was still not very good, and asked curiously to confirm.

The latter nodded immediately, his face still showing lingering fear, clearly shaken.

"That's right!"

Ran Mouri said in a voice that was both firm and terrified, "I'm sure that's the legendary kappa!"

Conan looked helplessly at his girlfriend and spread his hands, saying, "But Sonoko and I didn't see anything."

Sonoko Suzuki nodded in agreement: "The little brat is right. Ran, are you sure you're not mistaken? Maybe it's just a tree branch or something?"

Ran Mouri opened her mouth.

The dark figure flashed by and disappeared in an instant; only she saw it. When Conan and the others heard her scream and looked over, they found nothing. No wonder they were skeptical; if it were her, she probably would have thought it was nonsense.

This made Ran Mouri feel suspicious.

Could it be that I really misread it?

Ultimately, the idea of ​​a kappa is indeed absurd; perhaps she really did see things wrong.

Thinking of this, Ran Mouri felt much better, comforting herself that the dark shadow she had just seen was just an illusion.

The others didn't continue the discussion.

Only Ono Takeshi seemed to furrow his brows slightly, almost unintentionally.

Conan and his two companions returned safely to the villa, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Dinner was prepared by a dedicated person and was quite lavish.

After dinner, Ono Takeshi left the villa under the pretext of taking a walk.

……

In the stillness of the night, the collapsed graves lay forlornly scattered in the darkness along the riverbank.

A moment later, a figure hurriedly emerged from the night.

"Chenyan, I'm so sorry, please forgive your father."

With a sigh, a figure appeared in the moonlight—it was Namayama Banzo.

The man's face was no longer fierce as it had been during the day; his eyes were filled with deep guilt and heartache. He deftly piled the scattered stones back together, his careful manner as if he were holding a priceless treasure.

Soon, the grave was restored to its previous state.

After doing all this, Namayama Banzo stroked the grave with a complicated expression, reluctant to leave for a long time, a stark contrast to his unreasonable demeanor during the day.

Conan and the others were unaware that Numayama Banzo had done those things intentionally during the day.

The purpose was to cover up the accidental death of Tatsuhiko Numayama, to downplay his image in people's minds, and to prevent them from approaching the river.

It wasn't out of a guilty conscience, but simply to prevent anyone from imitating Tatsuhiko Numayama and disguising themselves as a kappa, which could lead to an accident.

That's right, the rumors about kappa in the surrounding area actually originated from Tatsuhiko Numayama.

In order to help his father save their struggling inn, the sensible Tatsuhiko Numayama came up with a plan: to paint his entire body green and disguise himself as a legendary kappa to create an attractive gimmick.

Over time, rumors about the appearance of kappa spread, attracting many tourists, and the business of the inn owned by Tatsuhiko Numayama did indeed improve considerably.

However, accidents always happen unexpectedly.

On a stormy day, Tatsuhiko Numayama insisted on dressing up as a kappa again to refute the various doubts from the outside world, but unfortunately drowned.

His life was forever frozen at the age of ten, causing irreparable pain and regret to his family and friends.

The most grief-stricken person was undoubtedly his father, Namayama Banzo.

However, despite his unappealing appearance, Numayama Banzo is an extremely responsible man.

The unexpected death of his son dealt him a heavy blow, but Banzo Numayama suppressed his grief and warned and reminded others in various ways not to imitate Tatsuhiko Numayama's behavior, so as to prevent similar accidents from happening again.

This includes deliberately kicking over his son's cenotaph in public, just to prevent those who don't know the truth from investigating further, and also to prevent others from approaching the riverbank and causing an accident.

Every time he kicked the grave, he would secretly come back at night to repair it, just like this time, because it was built by his son's friends, and it was just as important as a real grave.

Gazing at the statue of Namayama Banzo standing before the grave, Onino Takeshi, hidden in the shadows, recalled the relevant plot.

After hearing Conan and his friends' experiences, the others didn't take it to heart, but Takeshi Onino had a feeling of déjà vu.

Moreover, because of the involvement of the Grim Reaper, Onino Takeshi had already prepared for encountering cases before setting off.

After thinking it over carefully, he immediately understood.

However, when recalling the relevant details, Ono Takeshi couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

This is undoubtedly a case full of regret.

All the tragedies actually stemmed from misunderstandings.

Whether it was the murderer Tokubi Rokuro or the deceased Numayama Banzo, their motivation stemmed from concern for Numayama Tatsuhiko.

Numayama Banzo monitors the riverbank every day, actually out of concern that someone might do the same thing as his son and be swept away by the river again.

He appears to be a fierce person, but in reality, he is a loving father who cares deeply for his son and a caring man who is also concerned about others.

Such a person should not have died so mysteriously.

Therefore, Ono Takeshi decided to intervene and change the tragic ending of Numayama Banzo's murder.

This is also a form of redemption for Tokubi Rokuro, who wanted to avenge Numayama Tatsuhiko but had completely misunderstood Numayama Banzo.

So that the rest of their lives won't be spent in painful regret.

Therefore, after seeing Numayama Banzo leave alone with a lonely figure, Onino Takeshi immediately followed him silently.

(End of this chapter)