The establishment of the Time Travelers Alliance began in the first year of Conan

Chapter 386 A battle must be fought eventually

Iskandar's saying that "tomorrow is the day before yesterday" and "the day after tomorrow is the day before yesterday" undoubtedly brought Weber a little scientific shock.

As soon as he finished speaking, the armed detective standing next to him nodded in agreement.

"That's right! The old master only died the day before yesterday, which is still two days from today!"

Suppressing his anger, he gestured for Rider, whose face showed embarrassment, and Webber, who stood there like a statue, to leave.

"It seems you've got the 'time' wrong."

【Matou Sakura】walked up to Waver, who was still somewhat dazed, and then reached out and pulled out two invitations.

"However, since you two said you came because of the electricity supply to the [Academy], I remember that Uncle Kariya did mention this matter unintentionally the day before yesterday."

"Although it's been delayed by two days, it doesn't seem too late to send you the invitation now."

Weber glanced instinctively at the letter in his hand, but the next moment, the girl's act of turning away made him instinctively call out to stop her.

"Wait—since Mr. Zouken Matou said two days ago..."

“Mr. Weber,” [Sakura Matou] interrupted him, “Grandpa will not be returning to [Beihana Town] for another two days.”

"Because of preparations for the banquet, the Matou family is unable to receive guests during this period."

Seeing the dangerous glint in the purple-haired girl's eyes, Waver stopped talking.

Clearly, if they continue to argue and cause trouble, someone even more dangerous might emerge from behind the door.

In fact, there was indeed a figure who made Webber and Rider calm down immediately, and he walked out of the main entrance.

A faint sound of footsteps came from the half-open, heavy wooden door across the porch.

Although it was broad daylight, the man dressed in a hunting robe and draped in a dark blue haori sent a chill down Rider's and Waver's spines.

On the scabbard hanging at his waist, besides the patterns that looked like cherry blossoms, there were also several marks that looked like they had been slashed by someone else.

But this did not diminish the beauty of the blooming cherry blossoms at all; on the contrary, it gave them a more poignant feel.

Seemingly realizing that the two people in front of him posed no threat, Kariya lowered his hand from the hilt of his sword.

Rider relaxed for a moment; that chilling feeling he'd just experienced was no joke.

Clearly, even relying solely on his martial arts skills, this swordsman possesses power comparable to any Heroic Spirit.

However, unlike Weber and his companion who subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief, Kariya didn't pay much attention to the two newcomers in front of him.

His gaze swept over the invitation in Weber's hand for a moment before returning to Sakura.

“Sakura,” he said, ignoring everyone else, “don’t pay any attention to what the other two families are saying.”

"Leave the dirty inkstone to me, you don't need to worry about it."

Matou Sakura did not immediately agree.

She glanced back at the two people still standing there, gave them an apologetic smile, and then bowed slightly to Webber.

"In short, Mr. Weber, I'll leave the investigation of my grandfather's cause of death to you."

Sakura turned to look at Kariya, her gaze meeting his without hesitation.

"As for the matter of Grandpa's banquet, Uncle Yanye, let's go inside and talk about it."

"Okay." Yan Ye breathed a sigh of relief.

Yingken can communicate with him.

……

All I can say is that, despite Kariya's current seemingly unyielding demeanor, if Sakura really decides, she will still have to take action against Zouken.

Then he really wouldn't know what to do.

Although I hate to say it, Kariya did lose when he fought Sakura on the first night.

Besides being shaken by Sakura's words, what was more important was that he sensed the presence of a second "Sakura".

And what happened this morning—

What happened after Sakura took out the "Notice" gave Kariya a vague sense of unease.

Yes, according to the evaluation of the [Type-Moon Universe], Kariya can now be considered a "strong person".

However, it is clear that Matou Kariya's character design ensures that he is by no means a "wise man," and can even be described as quite dull-witted.

Therefore, after realizing that there might be another reason why Sakura stopped him, Matou Kariya was extremely anxious.

Such a large-scale change to the timeline was actually made by Sakura, and I was completely unaware of it beforehand!

Thinking of this, I stopped walking towards the courtyard.

Yan Ye's tone was somewhat urgent:

"I don't know why the timeline suddenly changed to the Einzbern family and the Tohsaka family discussing Zouken-kun."

"But Sakura, your safety is my biggest concern..."

Sakura sighed helplessly.

Uncle Yanye is always like this. He and I have been in this world for more than 20 years—why does he still treat himself like a child?
If he hadn't desperately signaled to him, Uncle Yanye would have "killed" all those people.

Thinking back to the messages sent to her by "another self," the former [Little Matou Sakura] felt a little helpless.

And my sister is the same. She's the same person as me, but she left me alone and left with TDD.

As for revealing ZC-01's plan to Uncle Kariya...

Sakura looked up and glanced at Matou Kariya, who was still earnestly trying to persuade her.

How can we tell Uncle Kariya about those plans when he can't even distinguish between himself and his other self?
Remembering her sister's warning to be wary of another version of herself "stealing her home," Matou Sakura felt a headache coming on.

How many versions of himself have appeared in Mr. Holmes's world?

All I can say is that Sakura wouldn't want to keep it from Kariya unless it was absolutely necessary.

Unfortunately, she and her sister had already tried it a long time ago—

That was also the first time she truly began training in "swordsmanship".

Perhaps Kariya Matou didn't know that when Sakura was still young, she cried several times because of this incident.

Even though my older sister is already an adult! Why does Uncle Yanye still mistake two versions of me that are different heights?

This shows that the character design of [Matou Kariya] has a significant impact on Kariya himself.

His desire to save others, or rather, his inability to distinguish between each of the [Matou Sakura] characters.

According to his character design, all characters who are Matou Sakura are the same.

In fact, unlike "Future Sakura," who became taciturn after experiencing many things, she is not like the future Sakura.

The real Sakura is quite lively at heart—she even acts cute towards her older sister, the older Matou Sakura!

In order to prevent Kuro Sakura from sneaking in and trying to get information out of her uncle under her own name, Sakura maintained her "cold" demeanor very well in front of Kariya.

after all--

Although [Matou Kariya] has never changed in more than 20 years.

However, Sakura Matou's life trajectory is completely different from the past and the future.

"So the real problem is... [historical inertia]."

……

To be honest, it might be because in the past they had tried to reach out to that "endless sea of ​​resentment".

Of course, it's more likely that he simply has absolutely no feelings for that guy named [Emiya Shirou]—

After all, he had never even met that "partner of justice" once.

In fact, every time Sakura heard Kuro Sakura talking about "senpai" and all that, she felt that she herself in that state was somewhat... somewhat frightening.

If I were to encounter that guy in the future and he would become like that because of his "persona," then I'd better stay far away from him.

In short, all the reasons combined, that dark guy has always treated me fairly well.

Of course, to use the words of [Great Matou Sakura]—

"No, we will never be on the same path."

This judgment is clearly correct.

"So, this time I still have to face my dark version of myself."

After the negotiations broke down, Matou Sakura thought to herself, trying to find some humor in her predicament.

……

Unlike Mr. Weber, who chose the least bad move—going backwards along the original path.

Even the fact that the timeline was reversed didn't significantly delay these "powerful individuals" from going to the Matou residence for negotiations.

This is also why Matou Kariya said that on the morning of the third day, the three families were discussing how to deal with the dirty inkstone.

Even Lin Sheng would get a headache just thinking about this.

None of these guys who have survived from the "Branch Wars" are easy to get along with.

Black Alice voluntarily yielded a step under Conan's power, but she was unwilling to give up even a single step in terms of control over [Emiya Kiritsugu].

—She wanted Kiritsugu to make a wish upon her, to resurrect Illya, whom he had killed.

Considering that the Black Grail would only achieve this in the most unacceptable and malicious way, the Alliance could not possibly accept this condition.

As for involving Ilya and persuading Black Alice to side with the Alliance...

The Lesser Grail, which allows for the use of the Third Law to a certain extent, is of paramount importance; neither Conan nor Lin Sheng would agree to it.

But it's impossible to completely ignore Irisviel's situation—

Black Alice is, after all, a strong person.

Moreover, theoretically, the "hole" inside the Holy Grail can be directly connected to the Root.

Although Merlin's memories emphasize that no one can enter the control room.

However, the Alliance doesn't really want to be her enemy unless absolutely necessary.

Black Sakura goes without saying; she's even more extreme than Black Alice.

Although all she wanted was for Shirou Emiya to be given to her.

Heh, the Alliance would like to know, who exactly has Shirou Emiya in their hands!
There's no need to say much about Merlin; this guy directly defected to the Alliance, making him a semi-undercover agent.

Of course, what surprised the League the most was that Webber also came.

The guy who calls himself "Wave, the Planeswalker" finally couldn't hold back during Conan's universe-wide upheaval.

Of course, Lin Sheng and Conan were not surprised at all.

They had suspected Iskandar of having a problem from the beginning, at the very least his Reality Marble was faulty.

In this reversed timeline, a traveler who was once inspired by Iskandar knocked on the door of the Matou family this morning.

My goodness, all I can say is that the Type-Moon universe is truly full of hidden talents.

Four people have been forced to come out into the open; who knows if there are others hiding in the shadows?

Although everyone insisted that they had absolutely not revealed this information to anyone.

But whether there's a backup plan or not, only the people involved know for sure.

……

In the meeting where Matou Kariya was sent away, Matou Sakura's stance was quite clear.

She glanced at Irisviel, who was subtly showing hostility towards her.

"I have absolute confidence that I can roll all of this back to where it all began."

Sakura Matou paused, her words carrying an uncompromising tone.

"If I can do it once, I can do it a second time."

In the eyes of others, this undoubtedly shows that the "strong person" who appeared as Matou Sakura had already communicated privately with the unknown "headmaster".

Merlin's security measures are quite good.

Aside from him, [Gemstone Elder], and [Aozaki Aoko], the others who "smuggled" in using other methods were unaware of the specifics of the [Alliance].

Of course, this also illustrates how terrifying they are—

In just one day, they were able to grasp the essence of a "detective" from the movements of all parties, and even set a trap...

This is the first time the Alliance has faced such an enemy.

Faced with Matou Sakura's unyielding stance, Waver also relentlessly fanned the flames:
"Yes, if there is anything you can do for me, I will do my best to help Miss Matou."

"Aren't we all trying to save this universe?"

As soon as Weber said that, everyone present couldn't help but smile—it was probably a kind of mockery.

Even Black Alice and Black Sakura would say this.

Sakura Matou didn't believe a word he said.

Considering that Webber's original plan, which followed the "Alliance," ultimately turned into a pre-prepared trap.

If you say this guy didn't communicate with Black Alice or Black Sakura in private, Matou Sakura and Lin Sheng would be the first to disbelieve it.

Even Lin Sheng, who was also on her wrist at the time, had a lot of doubts about one thing:
Are all the people behind the scenes really present?
Looking back, the crime rates that occur around the world and require the dispatch of detectives to "suppress" them...

It might not just be due to Conan's character design.

However, considering Alaya's somewhat contradictory actions—it didn't object when Conan reversed the timeline.

Which of the following is the Alaya-vijnana due to historical inertia, or have they all come?

Considering that this thing is just a "defense mechanism" and its inexplicable judgment criteria.

[Alliance] It's hard to say whether or not to consider them as friends or enemies.

After talking with Merlin, Lin Sheng realized that Alaya definitely couldn't be "suppressed" right now.

The first branch of the Type-Moon universe now appears to have won big.

The concepts of "human reasoning" and "pan-human history," which are based on deception and lack substance, seem difficult to contend with without finding like-minded "teammates."

At least whether it's the "Four Wars" or the "Five Wars," the importance of [Alaya] is not insignificant.

Lin Sheng even suspected that Emiya Shirou was the one who hid it.

As the collective unconscious of all humanity, or rather, the "consensus," it is not surprising that it has achieved this.

Currently, only Gaia seems to be behaving relatively peacefully. However, considering that in a world where Heroic Spirits exist, Gaia would be suppressed by Alaya, which is quite normal.

Thinking this, Lin Sheng secretly sent a few messages to Matou Sakura, asking her to speak on his behalf.

"In that case, Mr. Weber, please take your own life."

This statement made it difficult for Weber to maintain his composure.

He simply turned his head away quietly, ignoring what he had just said, and continued:

"In short, we only have half a day this morning—I'm sure no one wants to keep wasting their energy fighting that detective, right?"

"Does Mr. Weber already know who he is?"

Merlin asked curiously, genuinely curious about the headmaster's identity.

“Hmm,” Weber nodded, speaking amidst the surprised expressions of the others.

"It's Sherlock Holmes."

"I stumbled upon this in the central database while reviewing Gilgamesh's [Spirit Origin] information."

Lin Sheng immediately realized that this "Weber" was lying.

After Gilgamesh's test, he read the entire record of the event in TDD.

That golden [Spirit Origin] was truly "burned away".

Otherwise, Conan's probe into the Throne of Heroes would have been successful.

And considering what [Wilber] knows, it is indeed related to Conan...

Is it just his guess, or is there someone else behind him?

Therefore, Lin Sheng did not let Matou Sakura expose the lie.

He told Matou Sakura to keep quiet for the time being, wanting to see what this guy was up to.

Meanwhile, Weber leisurely picked up the cup of black tea in front of him and took a sip.

He seems much more mature and dangerous than the young man who's with Rider now.

"I suppose none of you are confident of winning against Sherlock Holmes?"

The very first sentence from Weber almost made Lin Sheng burst out laughing.

Lin Sheng really didn't expect that the disguise he and Conan had initially discussed would actually come in handy here by some unexpected twist of fate.

This is a perfect misunderstanding!

"Sherlock Holmes?" Irisviel questioned. "Shouldn't he have been..."

In the "Branch Wars" game, these witty "strongmen" are often ganged up on as soon as they appear.

Its original character design was already incredibly intelligent, almost supernatural. If it were to add the power to break limits and make some plans, it would be even more powerful beyond measure.

The way to deal with this kind of "stronger" is actually quite simple.

—Just get rid of him first.

Weber waved his hand casually, looked at Irisviel, and said:

"What's so strange about a Sherlock Holmes suddenly appearing out of nowhere?"

"Logically speaking, this is the first time we've met, isn't it?"

Black Sakura was the first to nod – considering her own unique nature of being “one is the whole, and the whole is one,” she was not surprised by this.

Although the Type-Moon universe currently only has three main branches.

However, the scattered branches, the sectors on the branches, the individual universes within the sectors... there are simply too many of each.

Unless one of those powerful beings, so powerful that there is no way to avoid them or even know about them, suddenly appears someone we haven't seen before, no one will be surprised.

For example—【The Great Merlin】.

This is one of the reasons why Lin Sheng called him "useless".

Everyone else knew this guy, but he didn't know any of them.

Even at the very beginning of the meeting, the other three people seemed to be conspiring to isolate Merlin.

After all, the brilliance of that [sword sheath] is just too easy to recognize.

Of all those Merlins, there's only one who was so crazy and almost succeeded.

With only one Starry Sea remaining, lead the Knights of the Round Table to conquer it...

That was during the most intense period of the "Branch Wars" in the Type-Moon universe!
Of course, that doesn't refer to the current state of Merlin, who's just giving up.

……

At this point, everyone's gaze unsurprisingly turned to Merlin.

In everyone's eyes, this guy who kidnapped Rin Tohsaka the moment he appeared was truly worthy of the title "Great Merlin".

They kidnapped Rin Tohsaka, openly sent a notice to the Detective Academy announcing their intention to steal the Holy Grail, and even stole Gilgamesh's identity...

Powerful, incredibly powerful!
Despite being able to alter the entire timeline with a wave of his hand, he still directly opposes her and even declares his intentions in advance, truly deserving of the title "great"!
"Uh... I wonder if they'd be shocked if they knew I'd already defected to the enemy."

Thinking this, Merlin remained calm and made no response.

All I can say is that he understood perfectly well the meaning behind the gazes of the people in front of him.

Besides being wary of themselves, they also hope to fool themselves into being the first to stand out.

Oh... do I seem like an impulsive person?
Merlin was even somewhat helpless for a moment.

However, considering his previous reputation and the current reversal of the timeline, it will definitely affect Wang.

Perhaps my past self would have actually rushed in.

Anyway, with the sword sheath in hand, I've shared the same fate of "invincibility".

Probably, possibly, maybe...

That's how "arrogant" they were back then.

……

One can only say that a true hero doesn't dwell on past glories.

Merlin had already planned it out—

The king must be saved.

It now appears that they have been completely deceived.

In that case, our last hope lies in believing in the Alliance.

Moreover, at that time, I was talking to that other [Matou Sakura].

The "Limit Breaking Power" on her watch was vast and boundless, many times greater than her own.

Even a mere [Matou Kariya] deserves such treatment from the [Alliance]. As long as I work hard and beg the [Alliance] to save the King, I'm sure I can do it!
Anyway... he had no other choice.

Things had deteriorated to such an extent that, having failed at everything, the only thing he could do was not to disrespect the king's last wishes.

So, he lived up to expectations with his "toughness"—after getting permission from the powerful figure behind him, Merlin was just that tough!

"Reversing time like this should be the limit for that person."

[Merlin] began spouting nonsense without hesitation.

"According to the information I have received, this meeting of ours will be 'revised' later into a discussion between the three families regarding the headmaster's proposal to take on students."

Matou Sakura, standing to the side, seemed to nod slightly in agreement.

The result was just as Conan had predicted—

Merlin's words, and Matou Sakura's implicit statement that they had already secretly communicated, caused everyone else's expressions to change slightly.

[Waver] naturally does not belong to any family, while the [Tohsaka family] appears to be in the hands of [Merlin], and the [Matou family] is in the hands of [Matou Sakura].

The only thing left is...

The relatively harmonious atmosphere among the three, which had just begun to subtly suggest an alliance, vanished instantly.

Both Black Sakura and Black Alice can be considered the Holy Grail, and Black Sakura is not afraid of another "Black Holy Grail".

Moreover, Conan has now deduced that they are all "fake".

—Perhaps Weber is unaware of this, but Black Sakura is well aware of it.

Sakura Matou's agreement with Merlin made the others hesitate.

Is Matou Sakura cooperating with Merlin or with Sherlock Holmes?

It seems she's trying to benefit from both sides – so if it's not an alliance, there's no need to target her too much.

It wasn't because the guy wielding the sword looked intimidating when I tried to attack Zouken Matou that day.

Thinking of this, Weber gritted his teeth.

With just a few words, he was about to be eliminated from this game.

He tried to steer the conversation away from the topic, "Merlin, what did you mean when you said that reversing time is the limit?"

Seeing the fish take the bait, Lin Sheng secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Thus, with the somewhat unnatural expressions on the faces of [Black Irisviel] and [Black Matou Sakura]...

After receiving instructions, Merlin spoke directly: "I'm sure everyone will see it later, so I'll just say it directly."

"Although that [headmaster] moved that day forward, or even reversed time."

"But Zouken Matou's death is already a foregone conclusion."

Irisviel feigned a thoughtful expression.

"what do you mean……"

In fact, Irisviel didn't understand at all.

Only the being that is the Holy Grail knows this—

Once it's deemed a fake, without the Holy Grail's identity to "wish" for increased wisdom and luck, it's completely impossible to create a trap like the one on the first day.

Fortunately, it seems that Merlin and the others are unaware of this.

Black Sakura and Black Alice exchanged a glance. Although they were both annoyed by each other's presence, they reached a consensus on keeping this a secret.

—Don't show weakness.

Weber merely glanced at Irisviel and began to explain:
"There's only one Holy Grail now. If we don't care about the headmaster's 'wish'... then we just need to get it."

"In this way, the death of [Zoken Matou], who is involved in the so-called 'Three Strongest Tournament', becomes an unavoidable link."

Weber paused, then continued, "After all, everyone has obtained that identity, right?"

“The meanings of ‘detective’ and ‘criminal’ are very clear: only ‘criminals’ are likely to succeed in stealing.”

"This [Realistic Marble] will also give the 'criminal' an 'undetectable bonus,' otherwise..."

He spread his hands out to the crowd as if he were confessing.

"I'll be frank, my identity is that of a 'detective'."

“Oh dear… what a coincidence, Mr. Webber, my identity is also that of a ‘detective’.”

Irisviel, who works as a lawyer, said the same thing.

"Yeah, me too!" Even though nobody believed her, Black Sakura said it anyway.

Merlin smiled and said, "It seems quite unfortunate that we're all detectives!"

"In that case, how about I, as the 'Phantom Thief,' steal the 'Holy Grail' that will be used for display during tonight's 'Triple Championship'?"

As soon as Merlin finished speaking, everyone's expressions froze.

“I can’t pretend I didn’t hear that, Mr. Merlin.”

[Matou Sakura] spoke slowly.

"Although the [Headmaster] can't leave the office to maintain the status quo, unfortunately—I have two wishes..."

For a moment, everyone began to ponder.

"Two wishes...if both of them come true..."

Knowing a little about Matou Sakura, Kuro Sakura thought that if she could, she wouldn't want another rival in love—well, definitely not because she wanted to help that version of herself.

Meanwhile, Weber, who had been observing the "Battle of the Harbor," also began to think.

"Based on previous intelligence, this God is indeed a possibility..."

"Could it be something left behind by Sherlock Holmes, or something related to Ritsuka...?"

“In that case…” [Irisviel] began softly, “then let’s each rely on our own abilities?”

Upon hearing this, the various "strongmen," each with their own thoughts, couldn't help but laugh.

Hahaha, just like in the "Branch Wars," every conflict has the same reason for starting a fight.

As long as a strong person remains on the surface of the world, unless there are existing entanglements.

In today's Type-Moon universe, no one is content to do nothing and simply obey orders.

Even if Fujimaru Ritsuka were to be resurrected, it wouldn't work; it's impossible to avoid a fight.

However—

It all comes down to individual ability.

……

And just as Sakura successfully dissuaded him.

Under the twelve "withdrawal orders" issued by [Matou Sakura].

Realizing he wasn't a wise man, Matou Kariya eventually withdrew his "abilities" in the room next to the conference hall.

【Matou Kariya】snorted coldly and sheathed the half-drawn blade back into its sheath.

These annoying guys who are always scheming and plotting, just like [Matou Zouken].

Kariya, who considered himself to be quite skilled in martial arts, said—

Hmph, if Sakura hadn't stopped him, he would have killed them all long ago.

(End of this chapter)