He's in Detective Conan, and he's the mastermind behind everything.

By arranging the characters horizontally, vertically, and diagonally from various directions, they searched for the target "Nine". From high above, the crowd looked like tiny ants, aimlessly scurrying about on a dark gray circuit board filled with transistors, futilely searching for the taste of food.

Not long after...

"As expected, it's another lie."

Shinichi Kudo didn't personally go into the search. Instead, he stood on the rooftop of a nearby low building, looking down to get a general overview. He shook his head.

“I found it strange before. If it was a note to be entrusted to a specific target, why not just write down the address clearly? Why bother writing a riddle? He couldn’t have known beforehand that the note would fall into someone else’s hands, so there was no need to keep it a secret.”

His colleague, Inspector Megure, looked grave: "So someone is misleading the police?"

Shinichi Kudo shook his head: "That note was probably forged later, but it's true that Itahara has been around in this area. Even if we can't find the key clues, we can still find some fragments. If we put them together, we'll be able to piece together the truth sooner or later."

Giving the police a vague target to search for is more like stalling for time.

Inspector Megure, the investigation inside the Shibuya club is crucial; we cannot let our guard down.

Furthermore, the person who previously bought the jewelry from Miss Kumi has reappeared. He must be connected to Kiyoko Yukimatsu, and it's highly likely he's seen the secret Mr. Itahara truly left in that box. If we can catch him, everything will be simple.

Megure said in a deep voice, "The nature of the situation has changed since Takagi and the others were attacked. After I gave Inspector Matsumoto your reasoning report, Kudo, he has dispatched the First and Second Investigative Divisions to Shibuya and Tsuburaya respectively to assist us in the investigation. We will definitely be able to catch that person."

Shinichi Kudo felt a slight sense of relief, but also a touch of regret: "That would be perfect. Kiyoko Yukimatsu's attempt to stall for time with this is a huge mistake. We might be able to use this to expose the true identity of the mastermind behind it all."

His newly identified opponent had actually lost because of a terrible teammate, leaving him speechless.

So, does this mean that in this battle of wits, women's role is indeed negative?

However, we cannot let our guard down yet.

Shinichi Kudo: "Kiyoko Yukimatsu is drinking poison to quench her thirst. If the mastermind behind this is keeping a close eye on things, to avoid getting caught in the crossfire, he might very well intervene again. He might choose one of two paths: either help Kiyoko Yukimatsu clean up the mess, or kill her to silence her!"

"Inspector Megure, have you still not found Kiyoko Yukimatsu?"

After Takagi Wataru and his companion were attacked last night, the police wanted to arrest Kiyoko Yukimatsu, or at least keep her under the watchful eye of the Metropolitan Police Department so that she could no longer do anything under the cover.

Although the case was temporarily shelved due to insufficient evidence, the police still sent people to monitor the vicinity of her new home.

The two police officers who were monitoring her kept reporting that Kiyoko Yukimatsu had been staying at home supervising the renovations and hadn't gone anywhere else.

But when Shinichi Kudo unraveled the two framing methods and tried to question Kiyoko Yukimatsu, the two policemen said that Kiyoko Yukimatsu had disappeared.

They kept a close eye on the large penthouse, making sure they didn't see Kiyoko Yukimatsu leave.

She vanished into thin air!

Chapter 65 The mastermind behind it all is Vodka!

Upon hearing the news of Kiyoko Yukimatsu's disappearance, Shinichi Kudo almost instantly realized that she had used the construction workers' tools to evade police surveillance.

But the deed was already done, and he didn't even bother to analyze the methods. Faced with the cold stare of a policeman, he simply said "sorry" and moved on to the next direction of thought.

The fact that the police couldn't keep an eye on the suspect was something he hadn't anticipated, and it was indeed a lack of foresight on his part.

Ultimately, it was because of that incident that Kiyoko Yukimatsu only received 30 million yen from the insurance payout.

Even if she was highly suspected before, after that, some doubts still arose in everyone's minds.

Could they have made a mistake somewhere?

This uncertainty about the motive for the crime once confused Shinichi Kudo, but as things have developed, he believes he has roughly figured out the details.

"Kiyoko Yukimatsu's primary target was probably her parents; the insurance money was secondary. She simply wanted those two dead. The mastermind behind her initial cooperation might have been simply helping her, or perhaps it was for the money."

Later, for reasons unknown, the two had a disagreement, the mastermind withdrew, and Kiyoko Yukimatsu continued to implement the plan, leading to the current situation.

"Could it be that the situation escalated, and the mastermind behind it wanted Kiyoko Yukimatsu to back down, but she wouldn't listen, so they separated?" Inspector Megure asked at the time.

Shinichi Kudo shook his head: "The main reason the situation escalated is that the mastermind left clues in the tree. I believe that it was not an overly arrogant mockery, but something he did intentionally."

Given the current situation, it's quite clear who he's targeting.

Instantly realizing what was happening, Inspector Megure was so shocked he was almost speechless.

"It's Cedar Kiyoko!!!"

Let's go back to the present, 1:01 PM.

The sea breeze on the rooftop was fierce, and Shinichi Kudo's voice seemed to take on a cold and aloof tone.

"The mastermind is secretly plotting against Kiyoko Yukimatsu, and Kiyoko Yukimatsu probably discovered this, which is why the two parted ways. Now that we are getting closer to the truth, there is a possibility that she will be silenced by the mastermind."

"Inspector Megure, if we can find her sooner, we might be able to break through her defenses directly."

"Ugh--"

Inspector Megure's eyes were filled with complex emotions. Kiyoko, who was repeatedly used by her parents and lover, was also a pitiful person.

"Brother Kudo, so you're saying that Kiyoko-kun isn't necessarily avoiding us, but rather avoiding the mastermind behind it all?"

Shinichi Kudo nodded heavily: "That's possible, but it could also be an even worse situation."

"What……"

Buzz buzz!

Before Inspector Megure could finish speaking, his phone rang. He looked down and saw it was the police officer who was stationed near Kiyoko Yukimatsu's house!

His face lit up with joy, and he quickly answered the call, only to hear:

"Inspector, Kiyoko Yukimatsu hired a group of delinquents who beat up Tetsuya. I had to run over and show my police ID to stop them. She said that this morning she discovered Tetsuya was spying on her with ill intentions, so she asked the construction workers for help and had them hide her in a closet and take her out. She then called her friends to come and help her."

"This this……"

The situation was so bizarre that it seemed completely unrelated to the main matter, leaving Inspector Megure speechless for a moment.

But Shinichi Kudo's expression was complicated when he heard this.

"The worst has happened."

Unaware of the situation, Inspector Megure ordered his subordinates to bring Kiyoko Yukimatsu back to the Metropolitan Police Department and then immediately began questioning her.

Shinichi Kudo sighed softly: "I don't know why the mastermind behind this harmed Kiyoko Yukimatsu, or how great the conflict between them is."

But now, Kiyoko Yukimatsu has reappeared before us in this way, no longer hiding from the mastermind behind the scenes, nor worried about losing the initiative after being controlled by the police. She can only let us uncover the truth step by step, except to say one thing.

The two of them reconciled.

The mastermind behind it all, who could be considered her other half, is about to clean up the mess for her, and things might take a different turn.

"!!!"

Megure's pupils shrank sharply: "Brother Kudo, if we exert our efforts simultaneously in Shibuya, Tsuburaya Town, and here, we could all potentially uncover the truth. Even if the mastermind re-enters the scene, it's impossible for one person to reverse everything!"

Shinichi Kudo nodded emphatically: "This is indeed a great opportunity for us!"

After saying that, he turned and went downstairs.

He stayed here to find clues about where Itagaki might have been hiding by observing the overall layout of the dock. He has now roughly identified several locations.

At the very first place, Shinichi Kudo noticed something amiss!

This is an open space surrounded by numerous abandoned shipping containers. One of the containers is riddled with bullet holes, and the sheet metal has been violently torn open, with shattered metal fragments and discarded brass shell casings scattered all over the ground like rubble.

“This was probably caused by a gang fight, and it has nothing to do with Mr. Itahara,” Inspector Megure said.

Shinichi Kudo quite agreed with the idea, but out of caution, he still walked around and observed the surroundings.

When he walked behind a blue container, he couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

"right here!"

Upon hearing this, Inspector Megure immediately ran over and saw Shinichi Kudo staring intently at a spot on the concrete floor near the shipping container. He quickly followed his gaze and saw some crooked scratches that didn't seem to have any particular meaning.

"These scratches came from two people!"

Shinichi Kudo said something, and seeing that Juichi Megure still looked confused, he simply squatted down and pointed with his fingers.

“Look closely at these. They are generally haphazard, and the marks are shallow and discontinuous. This indicates that the person who left the scratches did so intentionally. They were probably just distracted and used very little force. When they encountered small pebbles, the tip of the knife would bounce off.”

Look at this one. It's straight and deep, with a shallow entry point and a deep center. It's definitely not a random scratch, but a slash, and the distance was perfectly controlled!

As for my saying it came from two people…

Ignoring the dust on the ground, Shinichi Kudo pressed his face against the ground and stared intently at the scene.

“The scratches that were originally random were wiped with a foot, but there were no knife marks. This kind of behavior, similar to stepping on a cigarette butt, is usually done subconsciously when leaving. It is unlikely that he would cut the spot again after his behavior changed.”

Shinichi Kudo stood up and looked around. His view was blocked on three sides, with only a corner of the ocean stretching endlessly out.

His eyes lit up: "Hiding in a place like this, distracted, most likely waiting for someone, feeling uneasy, but not smoking... Inspector Megure, does Mr. Itahara smoke?"

Inspector Megure immediately called Ms. Kumi, and the answer he received was:

I won't smoke!

Moreover, there is a crucial piece of evidence: the surveillance footage clearly shows that Itagaki had a long, narrow object wrapped in his clothes tucked under his armpit.

Now it looks like it was definitely a samurai sword!

“The person Mr. Itahara is waiting for here is most likely the mastermind.” Shinichi Kudo walked to the open space and carefully examined the surroundings. “If the marks here weren’t just made by the yakuza, then did those two fight?”

"Brother Kudo!"

Beside a dilapidated oil drum made of solidified cement, Inspector Megure suddenly looked at the ground and exclaimed in surprise.

There's blood here!

Chapter 66 Mizuki Hotaru in Shinichi Kudo's Eyes

The blood has been dried on the ground for several days, making it difficult to detect useful biological information.

Furthermore, the police haven't even found a single suspect who might be behind this, and even if they did find something, they couldn't compare it. Megure's agitation was actually unnecessary.

Shinichi Kudo walked to the oil drum and carefully examined the bloodstains. In the damp sea breeze, he suddenly smelled a faint, putrid odor.

Although the scent vanished in the next second, Shinichi Kudo was very confident in his sense of smell. He only needed to make a quick judgment in his mind before his eyes changed.

That's the stench of a corpse!

With nothing around and the target clear, Shinichi Kudo looked at the oil drum next to him, told Inspector Megure to move away, covered his mouth and nose, and then yanked off the lid of the large pot on top.