The boy soldier next to the famous detective

Meeting Jonah's gaze, Shuichi Akai explained the reason he had learned from Hideyoshi Haneda.

It wasn't Shuichi Akai who revealed Jonah's existence during their conversation; Hideyoshi Haneda's encounter with Jonah was purely coincidental.

Just before, Jonah and Conan Edogawa encountered Rei Furuya, who was disguised as Shuichi Akai with a scar on his face, in an attempt to contact Jodie to investigate whether Shuichi Akai was really dead. During the incident where they encountered bank robbers, Hideyoshi Haneda was also one of the hostages who were taken hostage by the robbers.

At the time, he was engrossed in studying a chess manual, so much so that he had run out of food at home. When he was starving, he realized he had no cash on him. If he wanted to eat, he had to go to the bank to withdraw money. Unfortunately, he happened to run into a robbery.

Then, Hideyoshi Haneda, who was among the hostages, heard how the once arrogant robbers were shot down by Jonah, and how Jonah took control of the scene.

Unlike the other hostages who were panicked and confused due to fear, Hideyoshi Haneda, with his superb memory and analytical skills, immediately identified the person who had taken control of the situation as the child Jonah the moment his sight returned.

Even though Haneda Hideyoshi was a man of great experience, the thought that several armed robbers had been subdued by a child still aroused his curiosity about Jonah.

On the day Jonah accompanied Yumi Miyamoto to the luxury apartment to handle the case, Hideyoshi Haneda saw Jonah again. Due to his curiosity and affection, he acted somewhat enthusiastically despite his slightly eccentric personality, which aroused Jonah's suspicion.

"That's all?"

After listening to Shuichi Akai's account, Jonah blinked. Although he found it somewhat absurd, it also seemed to make sense.

More importantly, Shuichi Akai had no reason to deceive himself about this matter; otherwise, his younger brother would have been the one to suffer in the end.

"Of course, I couldn't help but laugh when I heard the news."

With a smile and a shake of his head, Shuichi Akai looked at Jonah, who was still deep in thought, and continued to explain.

"You must have observed the hostages when you were surveying the scene, right?"

"Hmm, but I have no memory of him. Even if his eyes were covered, I should still have some memory."

"That's right. Xiu Guitar looked a bit too sloppy at the time. His hair wasn't styled, and it covered his forehead and eyes. He looked lazy and wouldn't attract much attention from those around him."

"...Was it that person who was wearing a baggy yukata and looked like a homeless person?"

"Haha, yes, it seems you still remember."

That made sense. After recalling the scene, Jonah nodded, confirming that Shuichi Akai had not lied to him.

"Now that we've finished talking about his matter, let's move on to something else."

Jonah glanced sideways at Professor Agasa's house next door, which could be seen through the glass, and then revealed the real reason he wanted to talk to Shuichi Akai.

"Sera-neechan is always around Haibara. I know she's not a bad person, but her behavior has put a lot of pressure on Haibara."

Looking directly at Shuichi Akai, Jonah's words to those who were not considered close were always direct and forceful.

"You're her brother, and I want a solution from you."

"...First of all, I want to apologize for my sister's behavior. As for this matter, I'm sorry, I really don't have any good solutions at the moment."

Looking at Jonah with a serious expression, Shuichi Akai shook his head and sighed softly: "As for Masumi and Mary, I'm already a dead man. In my current state, I can't contact them directly."

"We also know why Masumi and Mary came to Japan. Mary has become the way she is now, and they are determined to get that antidote."

After learning from Hideyoshi Haneda that Sera Masumi and Akai Mary had come to Japan, Shuichi Akai secretly went to check on their situation.

When Shuichi Akai saw the shrunken Mary Akai, he was shocked, but because there had been precedents, he remained very calm.

There was no question of mistaken identity. That was Shuichi Akai's biological mother. Shuichi Akai recognized the mature and aloof young woman as Mary Akai at a glance.

It was also through Mary Akai that Shuichi Akai finally confirmed another of his conjectures.

Both Conan Edogawa and Ai Haibara are people who shrunk after taking a drug.

Conan Edogawa is Shinichi Kudo, and Ai Haibara is Shiho Miyano.

In his conversation with Jonah, Shuichi Akai only hinted at it subtly, without directly revealing that Conan Edogawa was Shinichi Kudo, which could be considered a gesture of goodwill.

Shuichi Akai initially chose to infiltrate the Kudo residence by leveraging his relationship with Conan Edogawa, partly to protect Ai Haibara for Akemi Miyano, and also to further collaborate with the organization on behalf of Conan Edogawa, whom he considered very capable.

When an attack by Jonah and Dave revealed to Shuichi Akai that Jonah was the Dwarf Killer, Shuichi was amazed by Jonah's fighting prowess, but his politeness stemmed more from his affection for Conan Edogawa and Ai Haibara.

Shuichi Akai was also a proud man. He felt that the previous attacks by Jonah, as well as the one at the Kudo residence, were battles where the information was unequal, and that he was the one who was ambushed.

If you put yourself in an equal position, you won't always be the one who suffers losses.

Of course, Shuichi Akai also knew that the so-called fair battle was an illusion. The battle was about the difference in information between the two sides. The reason he thought this way was simply because Shuichi Akai's pride was at play. He felt that he would not lose to a child.

Then, after being invited by Dave to participate in the battle to defend the forest on the east side of Kitasawa Village, Shuichi Akai was convinced.

Although he was flying a plane in the air at the time, working with Dave to take down the organization's armed helicopters, it was precisely because he was in the helicopter that he had a clearer view of what was below.

It can be said that Shuichi Akai was the only person on the battlefield at the time who clearly saw how Jonah single-handedly slaughtered nearly 20 of the organization's best members in the forest.

After returning home, Shuichi Akai seriously considered whether he could do the same if he were in Jonah's environment and position. The more he thought about it, the more terrifying it became for Shuichi Akai.

If the chases that Akai Shuichi had encountered in the city made him think that Jonah was a dangerous enemy, then after witnessing Jonah's performance in the mountains, Akai Shuichi felt that Jonah was simply the Grim Reaper.

Therefore, Shuichi Akai is now completely afraid to let himself, or even the people around him, provoke Jonah.

Otherwise, if Jonah suddenly got carried away and ordered Dave and the others to take care of him, Shuichi Akai would be left crying somewhere.

"I don't care about that, I just want to know how to make things easier for Haibara."

"...Give me some time, I'll help you think of a solution."

"Okay, I won't force you, right?"

"Not at all, not at all."