The cross-dressing master in the world of Detective Conan

Although it was an attempt to change the subject, he still found his "best friend's" behavior strange. While Sato wasn't a brainless person, she certainly wouldn't do something like this kind of reasoning.

"You guessed right, it was Inspector Megure's idea. He wanted to put forward someone in the police force who could rival the detectives. After all, continuing like this would only make people's trust in the police decrease."

Kaoru Kazama nodded. Indeed, it might not seem like much on TV, but if you put it into reality, it's really unreliable for the police to rely on detectives to solve cases.

As a national law enforcement agency, how can it have sufficient credibility and deterrent power if it has to rely on the power of the people?

The police exist not only to enforce the law and eliminate crime, but also to deter potential criminal activities. If the police are incompetent and the situation worsens, crime will become rampant.

This is also a very strange thing after Kazama Kaoru transmigrated. Logically speaking, it is really strange that the Conan world, with such a high crime rate, can still have such a harmonious social order.

Just as Kazama Kaoru was deep in thought, all the lights in the hall suddenly went out, as if the power had been cut off. Everyone lost their sight, and the surrounding environment became pitch black.

"what!"

"what!"

"How is this going?"

"Why did the power suddenly go out?"

The people in the hall screamed in terror. Even though Kaoru Kazama had publicly stated that the real culprit was not Xiao Wu, people tend to subconsciously believe their own judgment. In this situation, Xiao Wu, who had already disappeared, was clearly the more suspicious person.

"Everyone, calm down, don't panic, don't make a scene."

"Our police are all here, so there won't be any accidents. Please don't worry."

After Kogoro Mouri spoke up to calm everyone down, Inspector Megure also spoke up.

Kaoru Kazama quietly took out his phone and turned on the flashlight function. As expected, imported products are really good. Compared to the flip phones and tablets around him, this one is much more high-end.

"Alright, let's make do with this for now, Miwako. Your phone should have this function too."

"Oh, right, I forgot."

Immediately afterwards, Sato turned on the flashlight on his phone, and everyone rushed toward the light source like moths to a flame.

"Ichiro, Ichiro hasn't come back yet!"

When Mariko Hatamoto, who was deeply concerned for her son, realized that her son was not among the people around her, she panicked and screamed in a chilling voice.

“Ms. Hatamoto, we will search for them. Please stay here and keep quiet, otherwise it will be troublesome if the criminals take advantage of the situation.”

"Inspector Megure said in a deep voice, then gestured for Kaoru Kazama and the others to go to the nearby power room to check the cause of the power outage."

"Why is there such a strong smell of blood? Could it be that Ichiro has already made his move?"

If Hatamoto Ichiro isn't stupid, he should know that he was suspected at the time, and he would definitely try to get away with it. Judging from the current situation, he has chosen to be ruthless and take action against himself to clear his name of suspicion.

"You're really underestimating me."

With his animalistic intuition, he could clearly confirm that Ichiro Hatamoto was still inside the men's restroom. He leisurely walked to the power room, turned the main switch back on, and then headed towards the restroom.

"Hatamoto Ichiro, how are you? Are you alright?"

As Kaoru Kazama had predicted, as soon as they entered the restroom, they saw Ichiro Hatamoto sitting on the floor clutching his thigh, surrounded by traces of blood. His thigh was already stained red with blood, and nearby lay a bloodstained dagger, which looked like a kitchen knife.

"Ichiro, what's wrong? Are you alright? Cheer up, Ichiro!"

It's quite remarkable that Mariko Hatamoto, dressed in a heavy kimono, could still run up to Ichiro Hatamoto's side. However, just as Shoji Hatamoto noticed the kitchen knife in the corner and was about to pick it up, Kaoru Kazama suddenly spoke up:

"Mr. Xiang, please do not touch that murder weapon."

Upon hearing this, Hatamoto Shoji paused for a moment: "But this looks like my kitchen knife!"

"What? Uncle Xiang, did you do this?"

"What nonsense are you talking about? I was clearly in the living room with all of you when the power went out. How could I possibly have taken a knife and stabbed Ichiro? Besides, what reason would I have to do that?"

Faced with Akie Hatamoto's questioning, Shoji Hatamoto retorted without backing down, and it seemed that the scene was about to descend into chaos again due to a family dispute.

"Hey you guys, can you please calm down? Tomi, could you please do a fingerprint analysis on this knife? Also, show Inspector Megure the stuff we found in the bloodstains at Hatamoto Gozo. He'll understand what I mean."

Seeing Kazama Kaoru's firm tone and smooth handling of the situation, Ichiro Hatamoto, who had thought his plan was flawless, suddenly felt a little guilty, as if he had been seen through.

Chapter 67 The Final Chapter of the Luxury Cruise Ship Murder Case

"So, until the test results are available, please stay here. The police will be responsible for your safety."

After nodding to Inspector Megure, Kaoru Kazama addressed the group seated in the restaurant:

"But is this really okay? Won't anyone else be in danger?"

Xiaolan said worriedly, having witnessed Hatamoto Ichiro lying in a pool of blood, she couldn't help but feel a little afraid of Xiaowu, who was supposedly hiding in the shadows.

"Xiao Lan, you're a karate expert, are you really afraid of just an ordinary man?"

To allay Ran's fear, Kaoru Kazama half-jokingly said:

"Really, Sister Xiaoxun, even so, I'm still a delicate girl."

Hearing this, Conan's lips twitched. If Ran could be called a gentle girl, then there would be no violent people in the world.

"But when did Xiaolan become so close to this woman?"

Conan was puzzled. In his eyes, Kaoru Kazama was always a woman he couldn't understand. There was no way around it; when a great detective's paranoia met the mysterious aura of a time traveler, it really was an unsolvable problem.

"Officer Kazama, the investigation report is in. The fingerprints found on that kitchen knife belong only to Ichiro Hatamoto."

Denmi's voice wasn't quiet, so everyone present could hear it clearly.

"What? How is that possible? There should be Xiaowu's fingerprints on that kitchen knife. Oh, I see, Xiaowu must have been wearing gloves, which is why he didn't leave his fingerprints. Ichiro's fingerprints must have accidentally gotten on him during the fight with Xiaowu. That must be it."

It seems that Mariko Hatamoto is really addicted to being a detective, presumptuously deducing the so-called truth, which is nothing but wishful thinking.

"Alright, now that everyone's here, I can begin my reasoning."

"What? Isn't it obvious already? The murderer is that Xiao Wu. Do we still need to deduce this? All you police need to do is try your best to catch that man."

"That's right, the culprit must be that Xiao Wu."

It seems that Kaoru Kazama's words didn't leave much of an impression on Mariko Hatamoto and Akie Hatamoto, the aunt and niece.

"The reason you're so sure the murderer is Kobu is simply because you found the flowers that Hatamoto Gozo left in front of his door. Well, I'd like to ask, if Hatamoto Gozo was killed outside the door, then why wasn't there any blood found outside?"

"This must be because the murderer wiped away the bloodstains outside the door in order to delay the discovery of the body."

"If that's the case, why did the murderer take so much time to wipe away the bloodstains on the floor, but not notice the flower he had dropped?"

Shoji Hatamoto was stumped by Kaoru Kazama's question and stood there, unsure of what to say.

"If the flower had fallen after the perpetrator hastily committed the crime, it would have been normal for him not to notice it. But the truth is that the murderer carefully cleaned up all traces at the scene before leaving."

"Regarding this point, the traces collected by our police forensic department at the scene also support this. In other words, the flowers should have been discovered whether they fell after the crime or when he was wiping the blood off the floor."

"Therefore, we can be certain that the murderer is not Mr. Xiao Wu as you think, but someone else who wanted to frame Xiao Wu. After wiping away the bloodstains, he deliberately placed the flower outside the door, which is why it was discovered by Butler Suzuki."

Upon hearing this news, the Hatamoto family members were utterly astonished, their eyes wide as they stared at Kazama Kaoru, eager to hear what other shocking truths he might reveal.

"We found this during the previous search of the scene."

Kazama Kaoru gave a signal with her eyes, and Denmi, being very perceptive, placed the dark blue box that had been there earlier on the table.

"Hey, isn't this my kitchen knife case? How did it get here?"

The first person to notice was, of course, Shoji Hatamoto, the owner of the knife box. Of the six knives arranged from largest to smallest, the two in the very center were missing.

"Based on our previous comparison, the kitchen knife that stabbed Ichiro's thigh is the same shape as the knife that stabbed Hatamoto Gozo, so we can be sure that the two missing items in this kitchen knife box are the murder weapons, but we have only found one so far."

"And there's something else strange!"

At this point, Kaoru Kazama paused, stopping to admire the thirst for truth in everyone's eyes. It was truly intoxicating, and he began to understand why Shinichi Kudo was so obsessed with deduction.

"Something strange? What is it?"

The person who played the straight man for Kaoru Kazama in this mystery show was none other than Uncle Mori.

"On the surface, the cases of Hatamoto Gozo and Tatsuo seem to have no necessary connection, and their motives also seem unrelated. This makes the reason intriguing. What prompted the killer to murder Tatsuo after killing Hatamoto Gozo? The answer lies in this kitchen knife box!"

"What? You're saying the reason Long Nan was killed was in this kitchen knife box? What exactly happened?"

Akie Hatamoto asked anxiously, as the truth about her husband's death was at stake; how could she not be worried?

"The reason is simple: two knives are missing here. However, only one knife was found at the third crime scene, which is where Ichiro Hatamoto was stabbed. Combined with the two strange sounds I heard before Mr. Tatsuo was murdered, I can confirm that the first splash sound was the sound of something falling into the water, and the second, heavier sound was the sound of the murderer hitting Mr. Tatsuo's head."

"Based on these two points, I can confirm that the reason why the murderer killed Mr. Long was because Mr. Long, who was smoking on the deck at the time, inadvertently saw the murderer throwing the murder weapon into the sea. Once exposed, the murderer took drastic measures and killed Mr. Long."

"Wait a minute. Before we discovered that Long Nan had been murdered, we found that the door to the warehouse where Xiao Wu was being held had been opened. Doesn't that prove that Xiao Wu is the murderer?"

"That's right, the murderer is definitely Xiao Wu, officer. Are you sure you're not mistaken?"

For some reason, the Hatamoto family members all seemed to want Takeshi to be the murderer. It was as if they would explain themselves every time they caught someone. It couldn't be because their kinship made them unable to bear seeing someone else become the murderer, could it?

Kaoru Kazama has witnessed the "loving" scenes of the Hatamoto family many times, but apart from money, there is basically no family affection.

“Mr. Ichiro, you are really calm. I was thinking of having you turn yourself in so that your crime would be less serious.”

Seeing Hatakemoto Ichiro's tense expression yet feigned composure, Kazama Kaoru sneered. Despite his outward appearance as a gloomy and cowardly otaku, he was still ruthless in nature.

To be able to commit murder to silence someone simply because they were seen discarding the murder weapon—how could such a person be a simple otaku?

"Ah, what? Could it be that Ichiro is the murderer?"

"No, that's impossible, Miss Officer. Ichiro could never be the murderer. He's such an honest and timid boy. He's never even been in a fight, let alone killed anyone. He's even been bullied at school all along. How could he possibly be the murderer who killed Dad and Ryūon?"

"In order to help her son get off the hook, Mariko Hatamoto even revealed the fact that her son had been bullied at school for a long time when he was a child."

"Mom, how can you tell anyone about something like this?"

Ichiro Hatamoto seemed particularly concerned about this matter. Upon hearing his mother reveal it, he immediately stood up despite the wound on his leg, his expression a mixture of shock and anger. The eye not covered by his hair glanced at Natsue Hatamoto standing to the side, seemingly very concerned about her opinion.

"It's obvious that the warehouse where Xiao Wu was held was locked from the outside. It's impossible for him to open it himself; it could only have been opened from the outside. I've already mentioned this before. The only purpose of releasing Xiao Wu was to make him take the blame for the murderer."

"It would be better to have the key witness we identified earlier explain this matter in person."

"Important witness? What important witness? Who could it be?"

Kazama Kaoru suddenly brought up some important witness, immediately drawing everyone's attention to Kou Qiu.

"Then, Mr. Xiao Wu, please come out and explain yourself. Don't worry, our police will prove your innocence."

It wasn't until Kazama Kaoru said those words that Kobu, who had been hiding in the closet in Hatamoto Akie's room, slowly walked out. Ignoring everyone's various gazes, he stared straight at Natsue and began to slowly recount how he had been released.

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"Then, Mr. Ichiro, could you please tell me why, in complete darkness, the murderer was able to clearly know your location and stab you?"