Digimon: I reached the top using the Knight item.

Upon hearing this question, a hint of resentment and anger flashed in the fox spirit's purple eyes.

After a moment of silence, he said in a low voice, "Originally... we were almost going to win."

"Although the Ice Demon Beast was in its mature stage, Ruki's tactics completely suppressed it."

"Just as I was preparing to deliver the final blow, the man in black robes suddenly appeared."

"The sacred plan he was holding suddenly emitted an ominous black light."

"Then, the power of the Ice Demon Beast surged in an instant!"

"I had no time to react at all, and it caught me completely off guard. After that... I was defeated."

As Bai Yu listened to the fox demon's narration, his brows furrowed deeply.

"Black light... the power of darkness?"

If it really is Ichijouji Ken, Shiraha believes he is fully capable of doing it.

Given the strength of the dark power within him, it could do more than temporarily enhance the Ice Demon Beast's power.

Bai Yu wasn't surprised at all that the Ice Demon Beast underwent a dark evolution on the spot.

After all, Ken Ichijouji was able to forcefully transform Agumon into Dark Evolution, which became Zombiemon.

Two hours later, Bai Yu received a call from Yamaki Mitsuo; the whereabouts of Ichijouji Ken had been found...

Chapter 40: You're not planning to just go over and question me like this, are you?

Mitsuo Yamaki gave the address of a school over the phone.

With a clear goal in mind, Bai Yu no longer hesitated.

After hanging up the phone, he turned to Renamon and Curamon beside him and said, "Let's go, we know the address, let's go now."

In an instant, a glimmer of hope rekindled in the fox spirit's dim purple eyes.

Gu Le Shou nodded vigorously and replied in a childish voice, "Okay! Let's go find Ruki! Gu Le!"

Without saying another word, Bai Yu immediately took the two Digimon and hurried towards the address given by Yamaki Mitsuhiro.

……

An hour later, Bai Yu stood at the entrance of a school.

The school gate was closed, but through the iron fence, one could see the spacious playground and clean teaching buildings inside.

At the gate, Yamaki Mitsuo's familiar figure was already waiting there.

Bai Yu walked over quickly.

It's almost noon now, and it's time for classes at school.

The school provides lunch at noon, and the students do not leave the school during lunchtime.

Without saying much, Yamaki Mitsuo turned and walked towards the guardhouse at the school gate.

Under the guard's watchful gaze, he took out his identification from the inside pocket of his suit and showed it to the guard.

After the security guard saw the ID, his expression immediately became respectful, and he opened the electric retractable door without any obstruction.

Mitsuo Yamaki, accompanied by Shiraha, strode into the campus.

Renomon and Clowmon naturally couldn't just swagger in like that.

However, Bai Yu was not worried about this.

With Youkomon's abilities, infiltrating a school would be a piece of cake.

Gulemon was taken care of by Youkomon.

Walking along the tree-lined path on campus, Mitsuo Yamaki took a document out of his briefcase and handed it to Shiraha.

That was Kenichi Ichijoji's personal information form.

“From this child’s information, there is no trace of him having had any contact with Digimon.” Mitsuo Yamaki’s voice was deep and serious.

They didn't say whether Kenichi Ichijoji had any Digimon around him, but directly used the word "had contact with".

The implication is self-evident: it shows that Kenichi Ichijōji's background was indeed "clean" after investigation.

It's very difficult for a child to go completely undetected if they have a Digimon following them around for a long time.

Firstly, Digimon are not very good at hiding, while Renamon is relatively good at self-concealment.

Even if you were to put a rag doll in a big-eared creature, it wouldn't work, since it can't stay still for long.

Secondly, even if the child is willing, they cannot properly conceal their partner.

Or rather, the child's ability to 'hide and cover up' is too poor.

Qi Ren was one of them.

On the third day that Akira and Guilmon were together, Mitsuo Yamaki received a report that there was a new tamer.

Bai Yu glanced at the information sheet in his hand.

The information form is very detailed, including home address, parents' information, and school performance.

But as Mitsuo Yamaki said, based on this information, Kenichi Ichijoji was just an ordinary, well-behaved student.

There is absolutely no clue as to what Digimon it is.

Bai Yu's gaze finally settled on the one-inch photo on the information sheet.

The boy in the photo has delicate features and a shy smile on his lips.

Bai Yu closed the file and said, "That's normal, because his Digimon partner has never been to the real world."

Mitsuo Yamaki frowned and said, "None of his Digimon partners have ever been to the real world, so how do you think Ruki's situation is related to him?"

Bai Yu shrugged and said in a relaxed tone, "Anything is possible. Maybe he was bewitched by the Ice Demon Beast?"

"Besides, you don't have any other suspects now, so if you don't investigate him, who should you investigate?"

Yamaki Mitsuo's face clearly showed dissatisfaction with Bai Yu's answer.

But Bai Yu's next statement made a lot of sense.

These are the current leads. If we don't investigate him, who else can we investigate?

Shaking his head, Mitsuo Yamaki did not ask any further questions.

Mitsuo Yamaki, leading Shiraha, walked through the corridor of the teaching building and finally stopped outside a classroom.

Through the window, Mitsuo Yamaki pointed to a boy in the classroom and whispered, "That's Kenichi Ichijouji."

Bai Yu looked in the direction he was pointing.

A boy with smooth purple hair was sitting quietly in his seat, listening attentively to the teacher's lecture.

His appearance is exactly the same as the one I just saw in the file photo, except that he looks even more handsome in person.

Compared to the image in Bai Yu's memory, she appears somewhat immature.

This is normal, since there's still some time before the second generation's story officially begins.

"Ding-a-ling—"

After a while, the crisp sound of the school bell rang.

The quiet teaching building instantly became noisy.

Students emerged from the classrooms in twos and threes, laughing and joking, heading towards the cafeteria.

Kenichi Ichijoji closed his book, stood up from his seat, and prepared to leave the classroom.

Upon seeing this, Mitsuo Yamaki immediately lifted his foot and was about to walk towards the classroom door.

However, he had barely taken a step when Bai Yu swiftly grabbed his arm.

Bai Yu lowered his voice, looked at Yamaki Mitsuhiro, and asked, "What are you going to do? You're not planning to just go over and question him like this, are you?"

Looking at Shiraha's nervous appearance, Yamaki Mitsuo revealed a hint of nonchalant confidence.

"I can tell whether he has a problem or not just by asking him."

Mitsuo Yamaki doesn't have any extra tricks up his sleeve when it comes to dealing with children, nor does he need any. He just asks them directly.

In his view, children can't withstand his serious questioning.

Looking at Yamaki Mitsuo's confident demeanor, Bai Yu thought to himself: Ordinary kids can't handle the questioning of a 'serious man in sunglasses' like you.

But who is Kenichi Ichijouji? He's a genius! And a ruthless individual who will become a Tyrannosaurus Rex cyborg in the future!

What can you possibly get out of him with just a few words of intimidation?

If Ruki's matter is really related to him, Shiraha doesn't think Yamaki Mitsuo can get anything useful out of him.

Bai Yusong suggested with a serious expression, "Chief Yamaki, if the person is really in Ichijoji Ken's hands, I think we should not alert him."

"After all, our most important thing now is to find Ruki safely."

Yamaki Mitsuo naturally understood Shiraha's concerns.

But he just snorted dismissively and said, "You're afraid he'll be stubborn? No problem, if I'm sure it's him, I'll just arrest him!"

"Now that its master has been captured, can that ice demon beast still hide?"

Upon hearing this, Bai Yu looked at Yamaki Mitsuo with some surprise and said, "You want to exchange hostages?"

Yamaki Mitsuo looked at Shiraha and nodded, his cold face showing no superfluous expression.

Seeing this, Bai Yu immediately released Yamaki Mitsuo and said with a hint of sarcasm, "If that's your plan, then I have no objection."

"As long as you're not afraid of the negative impact."

Chapter 41: Reencounter with Koushiro

If it really is Ichijoji Ken, then Yamaki Mitsuo's method is undoubtedly simple, crude, and effective.

But what if it isn't?

Detaining a child who has an excellent school record and no bad behavior without cause.

Moreover, the reason for the detention seems absurd to ordinary people.

If the headmaster really investigates and publicizes the matter, Mitsuo Yamaki will definitely be held accountable.

Don't assume that being the head of such a special department is easy; normally, they do have a lot of power.

However, if a mistake is made, it can easily be used by malicious people to attack it.

Upon hearing Bai Yu's words, a clear hesitation appeared on Yamaki Mitsuo's usually confident face.

After reconsidering the matter, Yamaki Mitsuo asked Shiraha, "So, what are your plans?"

Bai Yu shrugged and revealed his plan: "It's simple, just follow him and observe him secretly."

"If I really find Ruki by following him, I'll take action immediately."

"If it turns out in the end that it really has nothing to do with him, we were following him secretly anyway, so he won't know anything."

"In this way, we won't alert the enemy, and we won't have any worries about the future."

After listening, Yamaki Mitsuo nodded in agreement; it was indeed possible to use the underworld.

but……

Yamaki Mitsuo looked at Shiraha and voiced his concern: "Aren't you afraid that if this drags on too long, Ruki will be in danger?"

Bai Yu had naturally taken this into consideration.

“Last night, I severely injured that ice monster.”

"If it wanted to heal, it would definitely contact Kenichi Ichijoji within a short time."

Bai Yu's words made a lot of sense, and Yamaki Mitsuo nodded in agreement.

He then made a decision, saying, "Then let's do as you say. I'll entrust this matter entirely to you."

Then, Mitsuo Yamaki continued, "I have other things to do, so I'll be leaving now."

Yamaki Mitsuo was decisive; once he said he was leaving, he really turned around and left.