Conan: I'm a zaibatsu in Tokyo

Chapter 108 Phantom Thief Kid is a Murderer (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

"Inoue Yuto, Sumitomo Shoichi has already killed even Representative Tonguchi, do you still want to resist?"

"It was Kenzo Masuyama who killed Representative Tonguchi. He had absolutely no connection with Shoichi Sumitomo," Inoue said stubbornly.

The photo was clearly displayed in the newspaper, showing Kenzo Masuyama, the murderer.

Kenzo Masuyama and Masakazu Sumitomo had no personal relationship, and he had no connection with the Sumitomo family.

Furthermore, Kenzo Masuyama had no children or relatives, so the possibility that he was forced by Shoichi Sumitomo is nonexistent.

Inoue said, "This has nothing to do with Sumitomo Shoichi. It's you who keep 'mythologizing' him. It's impossible for him to have absolute power in Tokyo."

"Don't you think about it? If Sumitomo Shoichi can do whatever he wants in Tokyo, then the Sumitomo Group in Osaka would be like an emperor emeritus."

The person opposite Inoue shook his head.

There's no such thing as an emperor emeritus; he's just a local tyrant.

This shows that if the Zhengyi Group is already so arrogant and domineering, the Sumitomo Group in Osaka will only go even further.

"Why are you doing this? You don't own any shares in Takenaka Construction Company; you're just an employee."

“That’s none of your business,” Inoue said.

I have my reasons.

……

"Kaito Kid is coming to steal your paintings, can't you just stop this exhibition?"

“I’ve already narrowed down the scope of the exhibition, and only invited a few close friends and family members,” Hirono Takenaka said with dissatisfaction.

"I asked you to come and deal with Phantom Thief Kid so that this art exhibition could be held smoothly, not to help me shut it down."

After giving Officer Nakamori a brief message, Takenaka Hirono went to greet his guests.

"Zhengyi, it's been a long time."

"It's been a long time, Mr. Takenaka. Your painting is still hanging in my living room," Masakazu said with a smile.

"Haha, it's rare to see someone like it this much."

"I'd like to take advantage of your art exhibition to buy a few more of your paintings."

"Haha, of course."

Shoichi and Takenaka Hirono got along very well. As soon as they met, they seemed to forget about the people around them and began to discuss art.

Bo Ya met Zi Qi; Zheng Yi discussed the price, while Zhu Zhong discussed the painting.

“By the way,” Takenaka Hirono said, “our company seems to be facing some competition.”

"Don't worry about it," Zheng Yi said nonchalantly. "Let those people below fight it out. Don't disturb our interest in discussing art."

"Hahaha, okay."

Ai watched Masakazu's hypocritical performance with a blank expression.

This guy is probably already thinking about how to increase the value of the painting he just bought.

Ai Haibara has recently learned some fortune-telling skills and feels that Takenaka Hirono's life is numbered.

"Mr. Takenaka, could you please sign your autograph?"

"of course can."

Hirono Takenaka chuckled as he signed his name in Ran's Death Note.

"Brother Zhengyi." Conan couldn't wait to come to Zhengyi's side, grabbing his arm and whispering to him.

Ai, standing next to him, kept frowning.

Zheng Yi could see through even her exquisite disguise, so this detective who was jumping around all the time certainly couldn't escape Zheng Yi's eyes.

You idiot detective, just wait until Zheng Yi catches you and uses you as a guinea pig.

“Mr. Takenaka, your art exhibition seems a bit deserted today,” Zhengyi said.

Takenaka said helplessly, "It's all because of that Phantom Thief Kid. Instead of stealing jewels properly, he had to make things difficult for me, a painter."

We can only invite some close friends and family to hold a more private art exhibition.

“Kaito Kid really does all sorts of bad things,” Zheng Yi said.

"Yes."

Takenaka led Masakazu and the others to the area inside the villa where the paintings were displayed.

“This is the painting that won the grand prize at the Runoars International Painting Exhibition—a portrait of my beloved daughter,” Takenaka said, pointing to the painting placed in the center.

"Aren't you unmarried?" Zheng Yi asked.

Rumors in business circles suggest that Takenaka's excessive indulgence in sex during his youth led to impotence, which is why he never married.

"Haha, Sakura, come here." Takenaka said, linking his arm with a girl's.

"When I was young, I had a relationship with her mother. But when we broke up, I didn't know that her mother was already pregnant."

Because the breakup wasn't very amicable, her mother didn't tell me that she already had Sakura.

Sakura saw this painting in the news, which is why she came to me.

Masahiro nodded: "As expected of a great Japanese painter, even if he relies entirely on his intuition, he can still paint the likeness of his daughter."

"Haha."

Ai pouted to herself.

Why does this whole thing seem so suspicious?
Having never met her, he drew a picture of his daughter based entirely on his intuition.

Although no murder has occurred yet, Ai is already guessing who the culprit is.

Ai glanced at the painting on the wall again, feeling that things were becoming even stranger.

Even the birthmark on his chest was perfectly replicated. This Mr. Takenaka is truly skilled.

“It’s not certain if she’s his daughter,” a young man barged in and said. “There are more than a few people who covet Uncle’s wealth, so who knows if she’s his daughter.”

"Seiji, shut up," Takenaka Hirono snapped impatiently.

Seiji Takenaka shut his mouth in protest, but clearly wasn't going to give his suddenly appearing younger sister a friendly look.

He should have inherited his uncle's property, but this extra daughter took it all away.

"You are... Sakura-san?"

Ran looked at the girl next to Takenaka Hirono and hesitated before speaking.

"Xiaolan?"

"It really is you, Sakura! I never imagined you were Mr. Takenaka's daughter," Ran said with a smile.

Sakura, holding Ran's hand, said, "I didn't expect you to come to Father's art exhibition. By the way, didn't Kudo come with you?"

"He's been busy with some big case and hasn't come back at all," Xiaolan said.

Conan tugged at Ran's clothes and asked, "Ran-neechan, do you know Sakura?"

"Yes, I know her. Sakura and I were classmates, but she suddenly transferred schools half a year ago," Ran said with a smile. "I didn't expect to meet her here again."

“I returned to Tokyo after seeing that picture in the newspaper,” Sakura said.

A woman in a short skirt walked over, put her hands on Xiaoying's shoulders and said, "Alright, since you classmates are having a get-together, go outside and have some fun."

Anyway, you probably wouldn't want to stay with the adults.

Sakura smiled and nodded: "Okay, Dr. Kaizu."

As they were leaving, Ran knelt down and asked Ai, "Ai, do you want to come out with us?"

"No, I prefer looking at these paintings," Ai said, shaking her head.

I want to watch Zheng Yi kill people inside.

If we can find clues and evidence that Zheng Yi committed the murder, that would be even better.

Takenaka said with a smile, "Your sister really has a talent for art."

“Maybe he takes after me,” Zheng Yi said.

Zheng Yi looked at the painting on the wall and said, "How about I buy this painting?"

“I intend to keep this painting, ‘My Beloved Daughter,’ and I don’t plan to sell it,” Takenaka said.

“That’s a real shame,” Zheng Yi said. “Actually, I have a particular fondness for portraiture.”

“I have a few portraits in my studio, would you like to take a look?” Takenaka said.

"Okay." Zheng Yi nodded.

Takenaka led a group of people out of the villa.

“My studio is at Lavender Manor not far away,” Takenaka said. “I usually create there.”

It'll take about ten minutes to walk there, so let's take a car instead.

Several people got in the car.

Ai clung tightly to the seatbelt.

Xiao Ai sat there trembling with fear during the short journey of just a few minutes.

Everyone is speculating about how Shoichi will kill Takenaka Hirono.

Today she just saw in the newspaper that the councilor Tunkou, who had disagreements with Zhengyi, was killed by a decorative lamp at the memorial service.

She suspected that Zheng Yi might have bribed Takenaka Hirono's butler to cause a car accident that killed Takenaka Hirono while he was in the car.

The car arrived at Lavender Manor.

There were no unexpected incidents on the way, so it seems that Zheng Yi is not in a hurry to kill anyone.

Arriving at the studio in the bamboo grove.

I saw footprints all over the ground, and a picture frame that should have held a painting was empty.

"My painting!"

"Wait a minute, Mr. Takenaka, don't go over there and ruin the scene." Conan pulled Takenaka Hirono back as he was about to go over.

Masakazu tilted his head and asked Conan, "Conan? What are you doing here?"

"We asked Sakura-neechan to bring us here because we wanted to see where Mr. Takenaka works," Conan said.

After stopping Mr. Takenaka, Conan tried to go inside, but was picked up by Inspector Nakamori, who rushed over after hearing the commotion, and put outside the house.

"Children should not go in and disturb the scene."

Conan, who had been thrown out, scratched his head, already used to it.

"I didn't expect that even with the police outside, Phantom Thief Kid could still easily steal Mr. Takenaka's painting," Masakazu said.

“That’s because Phantom Thief Kid is too cunning,” Officer Nakamori said.

“That’s right, Phantom Thief Kid is too cunning,” Zheng Yi said. “That’s why your police have been unable to catch him dozens of times.”

Even if you go into the room to investigate, you won't find anything. You might as well let elementary school students do the investigation.

Officer Nakamori angrily retorted, "Nonsense! The police aren't that useless!"

Ai, who was next to Masakazu, frowned.

I don't know what suddenly got into Zheng Yi, why he would mock a policeman.

Aren't all the people in the Metropolitan Police Department your lackeys or potential lackeys?

Why are you mocking them?
Meanwhile, Conan, standing outside, was deeply moved.

Masakazuki, you must have argued with Officer Nakamori because of me, right?

"Conan, you're not allowed to go inside and disturb the crime scene anymore," Ran said softly to Conan.

"Oh, I see," Conan said in a low voice.

Ran tilted her head, wondering why Conan seemed a little off.
"Wang Wang!"

"Wang Wang!"

Sakura's dog kept barking outside. Conan picked up the dog and a brilliant idea flashed in his mind.

"I know who stole the painting!" Conan suddenly shouted.

"What!?"

Inspector Nakamori turned to look at Conan.

No way, he was just mocked by Zheng Yi for being inferior to an elementary school student, and now you, an elementary school student, can successfully solve the case?

Ai yawned expressionlessly.

Even with such a shrunken body, they're still so high-profile. They're doomed, beyond saving.

"Conan, tell Inspector Nakamori who the thief is." Masakazu stood behind Conan, supporting him.

“Then you’ll have to ask the puppy,” Conan said.

Zheng Yi was taken aback.

Um, asking about dogs?

What breed of dog is Conan?

Conan put the puppy on the ground, and the puppy ran to Seiji Takenaka and kept barking at him.

"Is this dog crazy?" Qing Er said with dissatisfaction, kicking it aside.

The puppy that had been kicked away kept barking at Qing Er.

"The thief is Mr. Seiji Takenaka," Conan said.

"Me?" Qing Er pointed at himself and laughed loudly, "Kid, you've been watching too much anime. Do you really think an ordinary dog ​​can smell 'theft and crime'?"

"Of course not."

Conan adjusted his glasses and said confidently, "But it can smell lavender."

“The guards are stationed outside the door. To enter the studio without alerting the police, you have to walk through a whole lavender field outside and then enter through the back door.”

"So the thief must have the scent of lavender on him, and this little dog doesn't like the smell of lavender, which is why it keeps barking at you."

Zhengyi clapped along enthusiastically, showing his support for Conan.

He didn't forget to mock the police: "I told you, your police force is not even as good as a little boy."

Officer Nakamori paid no attention to Masakazu's taunts at that moment.

Instead, he pounced on Takenaka Seiji, knocking him to the ground, and shouted, "So you're the Phantom Thief Kid! I've finally caught you!"

"let me go!"

Seiji Takenaka struggled frantically beneath Inspector Nakamori: "You say I stole the painting? Where's the evidence? And besides, I'm not some Phantom Thief Kid."

"Stop making excuses, Phantom Thief Kid." Inspector Nakamori pressed down hard on Takenaka Seiji.

Phantom Thief Kid has a variety of methods, so we must not let our guard down. We must make sure he can't even move a finger.

then.

At Inspector Nakamori's call, Takenaka Seiji's body was transformed from one large man into three large men.

Takenaka Hirono seemed to be acting as his nephew for the first time, and said incredulously, "I never imagined that you were the famous Phantom Thief Kid."

"I'm not Phantom Thief Kid!" Seiji said, dissatisfied.

Why are you all so convinced that I am Kaito Kid?
You crazy police officer, you're obsessed with getting merit awards, aren't you?

"If I were Phantom Thief Kid, would you have caught me so easily?" Seeing that he was about to be caught and falsely accused, Seiji said helplessly, "I stole the painting, but I'm really not Phantom Thief Kid!"

"Because I was unwilling to let my uncle's paintings be stolen by that imposter, I stole all the paintings and hid them."

When Seiji spoke, his eyes were fixed on Sakura.

Sakura seemed frightened by Seiji's gaze and took a step back. Ran gently hugged Sakura's arm to reassure her.

"That's amazing! A little boy actually found the murderer before the police did."

Conan looked up, thinking that it was Zheng Yi praising him again.

But this time it wasn't Zheng Yi, but a woman he didn't recognize.

The woman stepped forward, patted Conan's head, and said with a smile, "I am Kaneko Yuzuki, an art journalist."

Then Kaneko looked at Sakura and said, "Mr. Takenaka's 'Portrait of My Beloved Daughter' was also the painting exhibition I signed him up for."

Kaneko's direct gaze made Sakura lower her head shyly.

Officer Nakamori felt very uncomfortable after being mocked by another woman.

So what if I'm not as good as a little boy?
This shows that the next generation is full of hope.

"Are you really not Kaito Kid?" Inspector Nakamori asked.

Seiji shouted loudly, "If I were Phantom Thief Kid, do you think you could catch me?"

Although Qing Er's words were hurtful, they were indeed the truth.

Officer Nakamori reluctantly released Takenaka Seiji.

“Come on, we’ll go with you to get the stolen painting back,” Officer Nakamori said.

Following Takenaka Seiji to an open space, the police began digging a hole with shovels.

Hirono Takenaka is kicking his nephew.

"You bastard, you actually buried my painting in the ground! I'll beat you to death!"

"No, Uncle!"

Qing Er ran around the pit dug by the police.

The police officers inside the pit had switched to small shovels.

There are paintings worth hundreds of millions buried down there. If they damage them, he can't afford to pay for them.

"Mr. Takenaka."

"Zhengyi, what's wrong?"

Zheng Yi pointed to the pit and said, "What I like most are works of art with a story. I'll buy your painting."

"Oh, you're actually interested in my painting?" Takenaka said in surprise.

This painting is merely a self-portrait.

“That’s right, I’ll offer two hundred million to buy your work,” Zheng Yi said.

After Zheng Yi stated his price, the police in the pit became even more cautious.

If a painting worth 200 million yen is damaged, even if they work for several lifetimes, they still can't pay it back.

“Haha, I’ve already decided to retire from painting, and I wasn’t originally planning to sell the rest of my paintings. But since you like them, I’ll sell them to you,” Takenaka said.

"Since you've decided to stop writing, I'm the one who benefits."

The police in the pit have started digging at the painting by blowing air into it.

This is no longer a matter of 200 million yen; how could a painting possibly sell for such a high value?

Ai looked at the police officers working in the pit with low efficiency.

She even suspected that Zheng Yi bought the painting simply to put some psychological pressure on the police officers.

"Oh no!"

A policeman rushed over from the direction of the studio.

He said breathlessly, "The stolen painting has been returned to its original place."

"How is this possible?" Officer Nakamori asked, frowning.

The group returned to the studio and found that the self-portrait of Takenaka Hirono fishing, which had been stolen, had been returned to its original place intact.

There was also a note pasted on the frame of the painting.

Behold, gentlemen, today's scene is nothing but a farce. The painting that has been coveted is not destined for its rightful place.

The real Phantom Thief Kid has already made this place his stage. Next time, when the moon and stars align in a mysterious pattern, Kid will traverse the darkness and mist, effortlessly stealing the painting.

Phantom Thief Kid Arrives!

"The real Phantom Thief Kid has arrived."

After a flurry of activity, it was already evening.

Because this place is some distance from downtown Tokyo, Mr. Takenaka invited the group to stay overnight at the villa.

After dinner, everyone viewed Zhu Zhong's paintings together.

"I've seen art that I can appreciate," Conan suddenly said, opening his mouth wide.

Zheng Yi also looked curiously in Conan's direction and saw that Conan's eyes had been covered by Ran, and Ran herself was also covering her eyes with one hand, looking shy.

After seeing the painting, Masakazu covered Ai's eyes, who hadn't even had a chance to see it yet.

“Mr. Takenaka, would you be willing to part with this painting?” Masakazu asked.

"Ahem, this isn't a good idea," Mr. Takenaka said.

Because this painting is a nude portrait of his personal physician, Dr. Kaijin.

"Is it not allowed?" Zheng Yi said with some regret.

His desire to buy the painting this time was truly for art, and had nothing to do with money.

Takenaka Hirono skipped over the topic.

Conan pried Ran's hand away and asked Takenaka Hirono curiously, "Mr. Takenaka, why did you draw a self-portrait on Dr. Kaizu's forehead?"

“Because I only paint what I see,” Hirono Takenaka said. “My paintings are all of the scenery I see, and I don’t like to be disturbed when I’m painting, so I simply had Dr. Kaizu as my model.”

Conan nodded.

Oh, so you've seen it before.

"Alright, it's getting late, I'm going back to rest," Zheng Yi said with a yawn.

"Then Conan, let's go and rest too," Ran said to Conan.

"it is good."

Because of the shortage of rooms, not only do the guests need to rest, but even the police have to take turns to rest.

Therefore, Shoichi and Ai share a bedroom.

"Stop messing around, okay?" Masakazu frowned and said to Ai, "Where are you going to find so many rooms for you to stay in? You should also be considerate of the police."

They stood guard all day, but they couldn't stop Kaito Kid or Seiji Takenaka.

But they also work very hard.

"Can't you be a little more considerate and stop asking them to give you a separate room?"

Ai said with a straight face, "Then I'll go share a room with Ran, and you can stay with Conan."

“No, Conan doesn’t want to,” Shoichi said.

As he spoke, he carried Ai to the bed.

"It's not like we've never slept together before, what are you shy about now?" Zhengyi muttered softly.

Ai blushed and said, "I'm eighteen!"

"Eighteen years old?"

Shoichi gestured with his arm to indicate Ai's height, seemingly mocking her silently.

Then the arc of the gesture quickly decreased.

Ai understood; this was a mockery of her figure.

"My mental age is eighteen!"

"Then you also like pink backpacks and often act cute towards me," Zheng Yi said.

He even dug up old photos and recordings.

He really loves documenting his life.

"Ow~"

"hey-hey!"

In another room, Ran covered Conan's side with an extra blanket and asked softly, "Conan, what's wrong?"

"It's okay, I'm going to sleep," Conan said softly, his back to Ran.

I just remembered the scene where Brother Zheng praised him for having the potential to become a famous detective, and I felt a little happy.

"Good night then."

Even in the dead of night, Conan still had a smile on his lips.

"Boom boom boom!"

"Boom boom boom!"

"Get up! All of you, get up!"

"what happened?"

Conan came out of the room wearing slippers and looked at Inspector Nakamori, who was knocking on the door incessantly, with a puzzled expression.

Inspector Nakamori knocked on each door one by one, saying to Conan as he did so:

“Kaito Kid has already stolen the painting. And that guy has also killed someone. We must gather everyone together to see if there are any other victims.”

"What!? Kaito Kid committed murder?" Conan exclaimed in disbelief.

Upon hearing this news, Conan instantly snapped back to reality.

I had never heard of any news about Kaito Kid committing murder before.

Although that guy was keen on stealing gems, he would always return them in the end, and he never killed anyone, making him a relatively 'safe' criminal.

"Why can't people sleep at night?" Zheng Yi walked out of the room looking sleepy.

"Someone died."

“So what if someone dies? People die every day in Japan. We can’t stop people from sleeping just because someone dies,” Zheng Yi said, dissatisfied.

Inspector Nakamori emphasized, "Someone died inside the villa. Phantom Thief Kid committed murder!"

"Two paintings on the wall are missing," Qing Er said, pointing to the wall.

Xiaolan looked at the wall and said, "The two missing ones seem to be 'Portrait of My Beloved Daughter' and Dr. Haijin's portrait."

Officer Nakamori said with a grim expression, "Dr. Kaizu is dead."

"Oh no! Miss Sakura!"

Conan shouted and ran straight towards Sakura's room.

He displayed a strength beyond that of a child, kicking open Sakura's room door.

Sakura was lying on the floor of the room, with a huge pair of scissors placed next to her, and a lot of her hair had been cut off.

"How is it?" Officer Nakamori asked as he came over.

"He's still breathing, and there don't seem to be any injuries on his body," Conan said.

Officer Nakamori nodded and helped Sakura to bed.

“I’ve already called a doctor,” Officer Nakamori said.

"So, are you going to call Inspector Megure over?" Masakazu asked Inspector Nakamori.

"What do you mean?"

Officer Nakamori glared at Masakazu.

The police are already in charge here, so why did you call Inspector Megure over? Do you think I'm unreliable?

“I just feel that Inspector Megure specializes in murder cases and would be more experienced than you,” Shoichi said.

I absolutely did not mean to look down on you.

Of course, having experience doesn't guarantee success.

It's like you have a lot of experience catching Phantom Thief Kid, but you still can't catch him.

“Furthermore, Dr. Haijin’s death also requires a forensic doctor to perform an autopsy,” Zhengyi said.

Officer Nakamori stared at Masakazu.

Everyone in the Metropolitan Police Department knows the relationship between Shoichi and Inspector Megure.

Inspector Nakamori suspected that Shoichi wanted Inspector Megure to come over simply because he thought Inspector Megure would be more convenient to use.

This would make it easier for Zhengyi to conceal some of the truth.

But Inspector Nakamori could hardly believe that Shoichi was connected to the deceased Dr. Kaizu.

“Okay, I’ll call headquarters and have Inspector Megure and the forensic team come over,” Inspector Nakamori said.

After saying that, he added, "Kaito Kid might not have escaped. I still need to focus on dealing with him."

Kaito Kid's first murder must be taken seriously.

Rubbing her eyes, Ai came to Masakazu's side and whispered, "Did you kill him again?"

“I don’t kill people,” Zheng Yi said.

"So you had Kaito Kid kill him?" Ai asked.

“I would never order someone to kill.” Zheng Yi shook his head.

Ai looked at Shoichi, clearly not believing his words.

She rested her chin on her hand.

There is definitely a deeper meaning in Zheng Yi's words.

Ai looked at Takenaka Hirono, whose brows were furrowed.

Only the death of Takenaka Hirono would benefit Shoichi; the deaths of Sakura and Dr. Kaizu would have no effect on him.

But he said he wouldn't kill anyone.

A sudden inspiration struck Xiao Ai.

Does Masakazu intend to frame Takenaka Hirono as the murderer and send him to prison?

Not long after Inspector Nakamori made the call, Inspector Megure immediately arrived at the scene with his men.

When the forensic doctor Changzong, who had come along, saw that Zhengyi was also there, he immediately understood.

Megure also saw Shoichi, and seemed to understand something in his heart.

(End of this chapter)