Conan: Rice Flower Spring

Chapter 389, page 383: Ireland sends you a team invitation.

What else could Matsumoto Kiyonaga say? If it were something else, he could at least express his dissatisfaction.

But both Shiratori and Megure did not expose the fake "Matsumoto Kiyonaga" because of him.

Could he possibly say that Shiratori and Megure were wrong? That would be incredibly ungrateful!

If it were an ordinary bureaucrat, they would probably "take the opportunity to back down" and pretend that being "replaced" by the thugs never happened.

The perpetrators didn't use Matsumoto Kiyonaga's identity to do anything wrong. On the contrary, they chaired a joint investigation meeting and solved a high-profile serial murder case in the shortest possible time.

Aside from being a little down these past few days, it's fair to say that Matsumoto Kiyonaga has had all good things.

However, Kiyonaga Matsumoto was, after all, a well-known "hardliner" in the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's Criminal Investigation Division.

He was tough not only on criminals, but also on himself.

"Shiratori, I appreciate your and Inspector Megure's kindness." Having replenished his energy, Matsumoto Kiyonaga stood up with some difficulty, straightening his back.

"But evil must not be tolerated."

"Hurry up and get back to headquarters now. By the way, how many officers are following that fake policeman who's impersonating me?"

Can you guarantee that the person will be subdued immediately after the order is given?

"Manager Matsumoto, what is this?" Shiratori was genuinely respectful of Matsumoto Kiyonaga in front of him.

Because this imprisoned manager had no intention of "suppressing the heat" at all, and even planned to directly confront the fake person who was taking his place at work.

Matsumoto Kiyonaga wanted to return to the Metropolitan Police Department for a simple reason: the police force needed to issue an order to arrest a supervising officer, which could not be given by inspectors like Shiratori and Megure.

If a subordinate could arbitrarily order police officers to arrest his "superior," wouldn't that create chaos?
The order to arrest "Matsumoto Kiyonaga" needed to be issued by a superior—the head of the First Investigation Division, or the head of the division's superior.

Even the order was personally signed by the Minister of Criminal Investigation, Toshiro Odagiri.

Matsumoto Kiyonaga truly has his own beliefs, and at the same time, he hates the fakes who take his place at work to the core.

He couldn't wait for the counterfeiter to return to the Metropolitan Police Department before making the arrest, so he had his men hold the person down on the spot.

"I understand, Manager, please follow me!" Shiratori immediately opened the door and beckoned his subordinates outside to come in.

Although Matsumoto Kiyonaga can now stand up unsteadily, it is unrealistic to expect him to regain his original mobility immediately.

With the help of two subordinates, Matsumoto Kiyonaga was put into the car.

Ryoma Hayashi and Shiratori followed Kiyoshi Matsumoto into the same car.

After the driver started the car, Lin Longma asked Matsumoto Kiyonaga curiously, "By the way, Matsumoto, have you been imprisoned here for the past few days?"

"No, I don't think so."

Because he was kept in a dark room, Matsumoto Kiyonaga experienced some problems perceiving the outside world.

For example, the occurrence of auditory and visual hallucinations greatly interfered with Matsumoto Kiyonaga's judgment, and the drowsiness caused by sensory deprivation and time disorder further aggravated Matsumoto Kiyonaga's bad condition.

However, Matsumoto Kiyonaga was still able to make some basic judgments, albeit with difficulty.

For example, the initial dark room was very quiet, and Matsumoto Kiyonaga could hardly hear any sounds around him unless it was time to deliver food.

But this dark room in an old apartment building in the city is different, even though the room is deliberately made to be pitch black.

But Matsumoto Kiyonaga could still hear sounds coming from outside, even from his neighbors.

It's obvious that his kidnappers moved him to another location while he was unconscious, probably to give his accomplices a chance to escape.
"Shiratori, make them go faster." Matsumoto Kiyonaga leaned back in his seat, his gaze distant.

He realized that it was now a race against time, and if he was fast enough, he could get the bastard who was impersonating him caught.

But if you're not fast enough, you'll only send people running away at the mere sight of you.

Police sirens blared on the road, and traffic officers cleared the way. Shiratori's convoy arrived at the Metropolitan Police Department building without any hindrance.

At the elevator entrance in the parking lot, Shiratori thoughtfully arranged for his subordinates to prepare a wheelchair for Matsumoto Kiyonaga.

When you do something wrong and go to see your boss, you always have to play the victim – if you haven’t done anything wrong, you have to play the victim even more.

Matsumoto Kiyonaga was tough, but not reckless. The moment he saw the wheelchair, he staggered into it and had someone push him to the head of the criminal investigation department's office immediately.

Not long after, Shiratori and Megure were summoned by the secretary of Criminal Investigation Department Chief Toshiro Odagiri.

This was their "family matter," so naturally they wouldn't involve Lin Longma. So Lin Longma conveniently found a place where the surveillance cameras couldn't reach him and sent an email to Ireland.

Less than a minute later, Ireland sent a reply.

The email from Ireland contained no text, only an "OK" emoji.

Of course, it's also fine to see it as manipulation.

This symbol indicates that Binga has obtained what he wanted from the suspect's hideout and has successfully escaped.

This is also normal.

Binga still retains the face of "Matsumoto Kiyonaga," and to the surrounding police officers, he is the superintendent of the First Investigation Division.

Even a future section chief.

Would these ordinary frontline criminal police officers dare to meddle in the affairs of the future section chief?

So Binga can come and go as he pleases.

Ireland's orders were issued decisively, and Binga left just as quickly. But this left the officers who had gone on the "mission" with Binga in a difficult position.

As expected, Criminal Investigation Department Chief Toshiro Odagiri took the matter of his subordinate being "switched" very seriously and immediately issued an order for the First Investigation Division to arrest the fake "Matsumoto Kiyonaga".

The order was issued by Toshiro Odagiri, confirmed by Kiyonaga Matsumoto, and relayed by Shiratori and Inspector Megure.

However, by the time Odagiri Toshiro's order reached the frontline police officers, Matsumoto Kiyonaga had already disappeared!
"What? What did you say? What do you mean that Manager Matsumoto has already returned to headquarters?"

"What do you mean Matsumoto, the management officer, has been gone for over half an hour? He should have arrived by now!"

Where is he?!

Just as Matsumoto Kiyonaga had predicted, they were still a step too late. The imposter who was supposed to take Matsumoto Kiyonaga's place had already received the news and fled.

"Alright, I understand. You can call it a day after you've finished your site survey." Shiratori said helplessly as he hung up the phone, looking at Matsumoto Kiyonaga.

It wasn't that their police officers were incompetent; it was just that the criminals this time were too cunning.

Now that the criminals have escaped, what can they do? They can't just issue an arrest warrant for Matsumoto Kiyonaga himself, can they?
That doesn't make sense.

"He actually managed to escape." Matsumoto Kiyonaga's expression was grim. He had gone so far as to reveal that he had been imprisoned and replaced in order to catch the criminal's "tail." But in the end, he was still a step too late.

However, it's not all bad news.

It's understandable that the police officers in charge of the on-site investigation were terrified upon learning that such an important target had escaped from their grasp.

Driven by a sense of compensatory obligation, they are certain that they will successfully complete this task.

After the investigation team returned to the Metropolitan Police Department building, Shiratori arrived with Matsumoto Kiyonaga's orders.

Shiratori brought the "search list" to the suspect, Benjou and Shu, and asked him if the investigators had overlooked anything.

That's a really good question.

“A few things are missing.” After glancing at the list, Honjo Kazuki immediately said, “The pendant on Jinno Shuhei’s body, the wallet on Kaga Shizuko’s body, and the good luck charm on Okakura Masaaki’s body.”
The makeup box on Kitajima Azusa's body and the guitar decoration on Zaitsu Kozo's body were things I took from the victims after committing the crimes.

These things were originally kept in my hiding place; I intended to use them as offerings when I held a memorial service for my sister.

"Are all the detectives in your Metropolitan Police Department this careless during investigations? How could they forget something like this?"

Honjo and Shu are in a state of arrogance and fearlessness; they certainly cannot plead not guilty after killing so many people.

Since both sides will go to jail, the death penalty, life imprisonment, or even a fixed-term imprisonment will make little difference to Ben and Shu.

Because he can't die.

The Metropolitan Police Department is only responsible for investigating cases and making arrests; the courts are only responsible for sentencing. Even if he is sentenced to death, the Minister of Justice must approve the execution.

However, given the nature of successive ministers of justice in island nations, it's unclear when this "decision" will be reached.

A minor offense wouldn't warrant an acquittal, while a serious offense wouldn't warrant immediate execution. Alone and without any ties, Honjo and Shu could say whatever they wanted, and naturally, they had no scruples.

But he still tried his best to cooperate with Shiratori, because he still hoped to be assigned to the same prison ward as Mizutani Kosuke.

There's still that damned blond guy who hasn't settled the score with my own sister.

Having obtained clues from the tree and the tree, the white bird immediately returned to question the police officer in charge of the scene investigation.

Upon learning that these items were not found at the scene, he immediately realized that they had probably been taken by the counterfeiter.

"So that means the counterfeiter was after these things?" At Shiratori's workstation, Ryoma glanced at the list in Shiratori's hand and clicked his tongue in amazement.

"I suspect there must be one or more very important things in here, otherwise those thugs wouldn't have taken such a risk."

“That’s for sure.” Shiratori wholeheartedly agreed with Ryoma’s statement.

The criminals, risking discovery, first kidnapped Kiyonaga Matsumoto at the Metropolitan Police Department building, and then disguised themselves to preside over the joint investigation meeting in Matsumoto's place.
They probably wanted to take those things away as soon as possible.

Although Shiratori was not sure what exactly they wanted, it did not stop him from taking the gang of thugs very seriously.

This group of people really made so many dumplings just for this dish of vinegar!

"By the way, what about Manager Matsumoto? Has your Department Head Odagiri announced how Matsumoto Kiyonaga will be dealt with?"

Lin Longma asked the white bird curiously.

To be honest, Matsumoto Kiyonaga was truly wronged. He was simply working overtime in the Metropolitan Police Department building when he was kidnapped.

Can he be blamed for this?
The blame should fall on the department responsible for security at the Metropolitan Police Department building, and on the officers who were on duty in the monitoring room that night.

If they had discovered the problem with the surveillance earlier, would Matsumoto Kiyonaga have been caught so easily?

Ultimately, Matsumoto Kiyonaga suffered an undeserved misfortune, and it did not cause any serious consequences.

As for Matsumoto Kiyonaga, the situation is basically somewhere between dealing with him and not dealing with him. Everything depends on Odagiri Toshiro's own decision.

"This matter has been suppressed by Minister Odagiri," Shiratori told Ryoma Hayashi about the current situation.

"The impact of the kidnapping and replacement of Matsumoto, the management officer, is limited to the Criminal Investigation Department."

After a while, the supervisor will return as section chief, but then Section Chief Matsumoto will need to find the gang of thugs who kidnapped him.

"That's no easy feat," Lin Longma said, clicking his tongue in amazement. "By the way, your promotion to manager this time should be a sure thing, right?"

When asked about his promotion, Shiratori gave a reserved smile: "If nothing unexpected happens, the management position should be mine."

But who can predict when something will be airdropped?

Shiratori did indeed show some modesty.

The "parachute drop" he mentioned could be applied to any police officer without connections, but it couldn't be applied to Shiratori.

Everyone has a background, and since their backgrounds are all similar, what gives you the right to parachute in and reap the rewards?
With the good news from Shiratori, Ryoma Hayashi got into his Maybach and left the Metropolitan Police Department building.
-
"So, Masaaki Okakura really did keep a list of undercover agents for himself."

I wonder if he's leaving himself a backup plan or putting a death sentence on himself?

Lin Longma did not return directly to the Isshin-kai base, but instead came to a base of the Intelligence Support Department at Ireland's invitation.

The base's Nebinja hacked into the memory card left by Masaaki Okakura and saw the list of undercover members of the official organization that Okakura had recorded on the memory card.

Of course, this list is limited to members of the Intelligence Support Department who were placed in official agencies through Masaaki Okakura's connections.

"I should congratulate you, Ireland. This time you've not only gained a great player, but you've also acquired a valuable asset."

Binga and Ireland are a perfect match. Both of them were transferred back from overseas branches.

One lacks subordinates, and the other lacks a powerful backer—this is truly a perfect match for cooperation.

Lin Longma had no interest in this list at all, because he had better options within the Yixin Society.

Those who are "arranged" into institutions by others will inevitably encounter criticism when it comes to promotion.

Okakura Masaaki didn't have much influence when he was alive, but now that he's dead, the connection to him is gone.

Unless Lin Longma finds another backer for these people, they are just a bunch of useless chicken bones to him, neither worth eating nor worth throwing away.

But for Ireland
This group of undercover agents, who were about to run out of options, was a perfect fit for Ireland, which didn't have many suitable resources to recruit.

These two players are matched in skill level, making them "evenly matched opponents".

At the same time, when Ireland takes over this group of men, it means that his conflict with Rum in the intelligence support department will officially begin.

"So, Chairman Lin, are you interested in getting involved?" Ireland gave Lin Longma an ambitious smile.

(End of this chapter)