I'm in Detective Conan, and the system has appointed Batman.

After thinking it over for a while, Hattori Heiji decided to put the matter aside for the time being.

Regardless, let's first investigate the information about the previous victims based on the connections that Otaki Goro mentioned that his father is investigating, and see if they are really related to that Goji Sotaro.

Moreover, where is there any danger in a detective's investigation?

Besides, didn't Chen En say that he would help if there was any danger?

Just as Hattori Heiji was heading to the archives with Otaki Goro and the others to retrieve relevant case files and identity information, Chen En and Suzuki Sonoko had already found a bench in the lobby and sat down.

Sonoko Suzuki asked curiously, holding her drink cup in both hands.

"Arn, how did your trip to visit people go?"

"Things don't seem to be going very well?"

Otherwise, why would Chen En not even drink coffee anymore?

In response, Chen En simply took out a cup of coffee from somewhere, took a sip, and calmly said...

"all the best."

"Then during the day, we can continue our tour of Osaka Prefecture according to the original travel plan."

After all, whether it's the investigation or dealing with various dangerous incidents back in Tokyo, it all has to wait until night.

During the day, I naturally have free time and can travel around as usual.

However, just as Chen En pulled a small booklet out of his pocket, preparing to open it and explain the upcoming tourist attraction plans to Suzuki Sonoko,

Out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly caught sight of a figure that looked extremely familiar and shouldn't be there.

A look of surprise flashed in Chen En's eyes as he looked up in that direction.

Compared to other officers at the Osaka Police Headquarters, that officer looked rather distinctive.

He was wearing an old-fashioned tan military overcoat and a slightly old-fashioned hat. He was burly, with a rugged face, and even his chin showed a slight tendency to resemble a buttock.

It was none other than the Interpol agent, Shinichi Zenigata, whom Chen En had previously contacted a few times as Batman.

The person currently communicating with Koichi Zenigata is none other than Kazuha Toyama's father, Ginjiro Toyama, the head of the Criminal Investigation Department.

Why is Koichi Zenigata here now?

Some guesses began to form in Chen En's mind.

This Interpol inspector is a formidable figure not to be underestimated.

Both his combat and reasoning abilities are top-notch among police officers.

After all, he was Lupin III's archenemy.

If Koichi Zenigata's strength were lacking, even if Lupin III had intentionally sent him a message to follow him, he would not have been able to keep up with Lupin III and would have remained entangled with him to this day.

When he encountered some trouble in Tokyo, he had considered asking Inspector Koichi Zenigata of the International Criminal Police to help deal with some criminals in Tokyo.

However, when he was investigating the whereabouts of Zenigata Koichi, he learned that Zenigata Koichi had followed Lupin III to a nearby city after learning that Lupin III had stolen from a vault and left Tokyo.

Now, almost half a month has passed.

Given Lupin III's travel habits, he should have left Japan long ago by now.

Why would Koichi Zenigata appear in Osaka Prefecture at this time and talk with the head of the Osaka Prefecture Criminal Investigation Department? Could it be that Lupin III's actions this time are unconventional and that he is now committing crimes around Osaka Prefecture?

Seeing that Chen En seemed to be looking up in a certain direction, Suzuki Sonoko also looked up and let out a small gasp.

"Hey, isn't this Inspector Zenigata?"

Lupin III, a household name as a phantom thief, is just as famous worldwide as Kaito Kid.

However, unlike Ginzo Nakamori, who is the nemesis of Kaito Kid, Koichi Zenigata is almost as famous as Lupin III, and has a high reputation and status in police forces across the country.

The reason they can't catch Lupin III is because Lupin III is awesome, not because he's a weakling like Zenigata Yuki.

The fact that Curaçao was almost captured on the spot by Zenigata Koichi last time was proof of this... In fact, it's possible that Zenigata Koichi really thought Curaçao was an imposter of Lupin III.

Even if Ireland had sent armed helicopters to rescue Curaçao, they probably wouldn't have been able to save him.

After hearing Sonoko Suzuki's words, Inspector Zenigata turned his head to look in their direction.

Even though there was a distance between them, and many police officers and citizens who came to report the case passed by, his excellent physical fitness still allowed him to keenly detect this small exclamation.

The inspector's gaze fell on Sonoko Suzuki and Chen En, his eyes narrowing slightly.

However, he didn't recognize who these two people were at all, so he just stared at them for a while before turning back to discuss the investigation with Ginjiro Toyama, treating them as ordinary passersby or fans.

After all, Inspector Zenigata had long since left the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department and joined the International Criminal Court.

Wandering the world, he could at most memorize information about the chairmen of famous conglomerates, so that when the Phantom Thief Luban III went to steal it, he could find the corresponding chairmen to understand the situation or discuss defenses.

As for the second generation who are the heirs, they are completely outside his memory.

Chen En tapped his earphones lightly with his fingers.

Noah's Ark on the other end of the headset naturally heard Inspector Zenigata's conversation with Ginjiro Toyama through the listening device, as well as Sonoko Suzuki's exclamation, and added it all to the database.

As a super artificial intelligence that had collaborated with Chen En more than once, he naturally knew what Chen En wanted to do.

Therefore, Noah's Ark didn't even need Chen En to speak; it simply stated its position directly.

"Understood. Next, I will access the Osaka Police Headquarters' internal database to investigate the details of the joint arrest operation between the International Criminal Organization and the Osaka Police Headquarters."

"Once I can confirm the specifics, I will send you the details directly."

Under normal circumstances, Chen En would not participate in the battle of wits between Zenigata Koichi and Lupin III, but the current situation is somewhat different, because he suspects that Lupin III may have done something unethical.

It is known that the puppeteer Flying Dragon Warrior's gem has been stolen. This gem was a gift from the Tang Dynasty emperor and is of great value.

There are many wooden mechanical puppets guarding the gems, but these puppets not only fail to hold onto the gems, but they also leave behind no useful information for the thieves.

Meanwhile, Inspector Zenigata was at the Osaka Police Headquarters discussing an arrest operation with Ginjiro Toyama.

Then he began to suspect that it might have been Lu Ban III who did it.

Don't blame me for being ruthless later and stuffing takoyaki into your hands, Lupin III...

Chapter 1176 Suspicion Arises

Hattori Heiji and the others, who were originally going to the Osaka Police Headquarters to investigate information related to the deceased with Inspector Otaki Goro, came out of the information retrieval room at this moment, and their expressions were visibly solemn.

Of course, the main reason was that Hattori Heiji's expression was serious, while Mouri Kogoro's was just faking it.

Although he didn't understand anything, it didn't stop him from pretending. He acted as if he had already figured out the connection between the victims, determined that the murderer was targeting Goji Sotaro, and was deep in thought about who the murderer was.

"...So it seems that it's related to that embezzlement and bribery case from back then?"

Kogoro Mouri stroked his chin and muttered a few nonsense words.

According to the photo in the internal files of the Osaka Police Headquarters, all the current victims are people related to Soutaro Goji, and they all happened to be those who left Soutaro Goji after the corruption and bribery scandal broke out.

"From this perspective, shouldn't we start the investigation from the perspective of the victims of that original corruption and bribery case?"

Hearing this, Goro Otaki sighed and had no choice but to speak.

"There were no clearly identified victims at the time."

"So it's possible that someone couldn't stand it anymore and took action against Goji Sotaro and those involved in that incident back then, but that would make it even harder to investigate."

"If you insist on saying there are any clear victims in this incident, then it can only be all the residents of Osaka Prefecture, since the funds embezzled were from the Osaka Assembly."

"We can't possibly drag out every single citizen of Osaka Prefecture and ask them all, can we?"

"Although the Osaka Police Headquarters has a relatively large number of police officers, it is not this large. Otherwise, Chief Hattori would not have chosen to protect Soutaro Goji instead of looking for the murderer."

You can't guard against thieves forever if you're a thief for a thousand days.

If there were any possibility of catching and arresting the murderer in advance, Hattori Heizo would not have resorted to this time-consuming, laborious, and highly likely to fail approach.

Listening to the conversation between Goro Otaki and Kogoro Mouri next to him.

Heiji Hattori gently stroked his chin with his fingers.

His gaze fell on Officer Sakata Yusuke, who was with Goro Otaki and the others at the Osaka Police Headquarters. He sensed that Officer Sakata Yusuke seemed to be paying much more attention to this case than usual.

Even the photograph that proved all the dead were related to Goji Sotaro and the bribery case from back then was found by him.

If the relevant photos hadn't been accessed beforehand, it would have been impossible to retrieve them so quickly and accurately... Dad wouldn't specifically consult with criminal investigators about the case; the person in charge of this case, Goro Otaki, was only temporarily assigned to the case.

Could it really be as Kogoro Mouri said?

Is this elite police officer, Yusuke Sakata, from the Osaka Prefectural Police Headquarters really connected to the murderer?

...Perhaps we could try contacting my father or Uncle Ginshiro to see if we could access Officer Sakata Yusuke's file and maybe find some other clues.

At this moment, Yusuke Sakata had no idea what Heiji Hattori was thinking, and simply said...

"In that case, why don't we go directly to the village councilor's house?"

"Anyway, Chief Hattori is with Councilor Goji right now. If we want to understand the case, why don't we just have Heiji ask Chief Hattori and have a discussion with him?"

Before Hattori Heiji could say anything, Toyama Kazuha nodded in agreement.

"That's true."

"Uncle Hattori must have already learned about the case quite well. With him involved, he can solve any case with ease."

Although Heiji Hattori is the famous high school detective in the Kansai region.

However, everyone knows that as the head of the Osaka Police Headquarters, Hattori Heizo is naturally superior to Hattori Heiji in reasoning skills, so Toyama Kazuha trusts Hattori Heizo quite a bit.

Heiji Hattori, who was originally thinking about whether to talk to Ginjiro Toyama at the Osaka Police Headquarters, also turned his head to look at Yusuke Sakata, wondering what Yusuke Sakata wanted to do, but in the end he didn't say anything.

He simply nodded slightly, then glanced at Chen En, who was chatting with Suzuki Sonoko about something.

Once his mind was settled, he immediately spoke to Yusuke Sakata.

"Then let's settle on that."

"Uncle Mori, let's go."

Then, Heiji Hattori turned to look at Ran Mouri and Kazuha Toyama, and continued speaking.