Detective Conan: Developing a younger version of Ran Eri, and the stunning Yukiko.

Chapter 94

Hearing her son praise her so highly in front of others, Hattori Shizuka gave him a reproachful look and said, "Heiji, don't talk nonsense."

Then, Hattori Shizuka turned to Toyama Kazuha and said, "Kazuha, your father is here too. He's sparring with my master in the inner courtyard right now. Let's go and take a look."

Kazuha Toyama exclaimed in surprise, "My dad's here too!"

Hattori Heiji exclaimed excitedly, "My dad is having a kendo match with Kazuha's dad? This is truly a rare sight!"

With that, Hattori Heiji urged, "Then let's hurry over there."

Hattori Shizuka turned slightly to the side and made an elegant gesture of invitation, indicating that the three guests should proceed.

The group passed through two Japanese-style buildings, and Hattori Heiji stepped forward and opened a wooden door, revealing the inner courtyard.

In one part of the inner courtyard, which resembled an open-air dojo, two men were seen wielding bamboo swords, fighting fiercely back and forth.

Based on his familiarity with the anime's plot, Shiraishihara immediately recognized the two men.

The one with squinting eyes was Hattori Heiji's father, Hattori Heizo, while the one with a more refined appearance was Toyama Kazuha's father, Toyama Ginjiro.

Shiraishihara carefully examined Hattori Heizo. Although his skin was darker, it was different from Hattori Heiji's natural tan. It was obvious that he had been tanned from long-term fieldwork. Moreover, his squinting eyes contrasted sharply with Heiji's big eyes.

Shiraishihara found it hard to imagine how the Hattori couple could have given birth to a son like Hattori Heiji. It was as if a genetic mutation had occurred, as he bore almost no resemblance to the couple.

In comparison, Ginjiro Toyama and Kazuha Toyama are quite similar, both being fair-skinned and refined.

Kazuha Toyama seemed to notice Shiraishi's confusion and said, "Shiraishi-kun, you've been staring at Heiji's parents. Is it because you think Heiji doesn't look like them?"

"Uh... I do feel there's a significant difference," Shiraishi admitted honestly.

“I heard that Heiji inherited his looks from his grandfather, and that he looks very much like his grandfather.”

Kazuha Toyama explained enthusiastically.

He thought this would dispel Shiraishihara's doubts, but unexpectedly, this explanation caused Shiraishihara's thoughts to drift in a strange direction.

"Miss Toyama, if you say that... does the Hattori family... have such... incestuous relationships?"

"Ah... don't talk nonsense! That's not what I meant! Besides, how could such a thing be possible!" Toyama Kazuha was startled by Shiraishihara's words. She had never thought of it in this way, but after Shiraishihara's reminder, she inexplicably felt that something was wrong.

"Miss Toyama, why are you so sure it's impossible?"

"Because nobody has ever seen Heiji's grandfather!"

After saying that, Toyama Kazuha cautiously looked around, afraid that someone else might overhear her.

At this moment, Hattori Heiji was completely absorbed in the exciting kendo match at the open-air dojo and was oblivious to the conversation between the two. However, a woman had overheard their entire exchange.

"How dare he slander the Hattori family for incest! This kid is simply courting death!"

The woman gritted her teeth, a surge of hatred rising within her for Shiraishihara.

A cold killing intent flashed in her eyes, and in an instant, Shiraishihara felt a chill surge from the soles of his feet up his entire body.

Shiraishi Hara quickly turned around and saw Mrs. Hattori glaring at him fiercely. He had a bad feeling; he had completely forgotten that Mrs. Hattori was right behind him.

Just then, Hattori Heiji suddenly spoke up: "How is it, Shiraishi-kun?"

Shiraishihara snapped out of his daze and exclaimed, "Ah! What? How?"

Hattori Heiji said, "Of course it's this kendo match."

Shiraishi scratched the back of his head. He hadn't paid any attention to the match, so he could only vaguely reply, "Oh...it was very exciting. Both of you are quite professional in your swordsmanship."

Hattori Heiji asked skeptically, "Wonderful? You don't actually think kendo is just for show, do you?"

Shiraishi countered, "Isn't that so?"

Hattori Heiji said somewhat angrily, "Who says kendo can't be used in real combat? My kendo skills are very good. At school, I can take on five people by myself."

"That's because of your personal ability, which can't be equated with the way of swordsmanship itself."

"Ugh... never mind... I don't think you understand swordsmanship at all..."

Hattori Heiji was furious at Shiraishi's disrespectful remarks about swordsmanship. However, since Shiraishi was a guest he had invited, he couldn't exactly lash out on the spot.

At this point, Hattori Heizo and Toyama Ginjiro finished their match, with Hattori Heizo having a slight advantage.

Hattori Heizo put down his bamboo sword and slowly walked towards Shiraishihara.

"Detective Shiraishihara, welcome to Osaka. I've heard of your great name for a long time."

"Superintendent, you flatter me. I'm just an ordinary high school detective."

"Huh? Young and promising..."

Hattori Heizo responded politely.

Shiraishi couldn't help but sigh. In this world full of detectives, their status seemed to be quite extraordinary, even the Superintendent General treated them with such courtesy.

The group sat down to rest in the house in front of the inner courtyard. Not long after, Goro Otaki arrived. Mrs. Hattori, with her small feet clad in white stockings, walked to Heizo Hattori's side and whispered in his ear.

"Heizo, would you like to have a match with this young and promising detective, Shiraishihara?"

Hattori Heizo was taken aback: "Shiraishihara?"

Hattori Shizuka nodded.

"Why do we need to spar?" Hattori Heizo asked, looking puzzled.

"I want you to teach this young man a lesson," Hattori Shizuka said softly.

What did Shiraishihara do?

Hattori Shizuka was angry because Shiraishihara had falsely accused the Hattori family of incest, but she was too embarrassed to say it directly, so she made up an excuse:

“This young man has no respect for Kendo, saying it’s just a fancy move. Heizo, go and teach him a lesson so he’ll remember it.”

Hattori Heizo is currently in a difficult and awkward situation.

Despite his wife's request, he found it difficult to bring himself to reprimand Shiraishihara.

After all, the other party was a junior who was close to the age of his son, and he simply couldn't bring himself to bully a junior as an elder.

However, he couldn't completely ignore his wife's words, so he turned his attention to his son.

"Heiji, would you like to spar with Shiraishi Haramoto?"

"Me and Shiraishihara?"

Hattori Heiji was somewhat surprised. He himself did not think there was anything wrong with it, but it depended on whether Shiraishihara was willing.

Hattori Shizuka chimed in, "Heiji, you heard what Detective Shiraishihara said about kendo just now. Shouldn't you let him see what real kendo is like?"

Provoked by Shizuka Hattori's words, Heiji Hattori was instantly enraged, his fighting spirit completely ignited.

"Shiraishi-kun, how about we have a match?"

"Hattori-kun, I think we should forget about it."

Shiraishihara didn't want to make things difficult for Hattori Heiji, after all, he was a guest in someone else's home, and there was no need to make the atmosphere unpleasant.

"Don't worry, I'll know my limits. I just want you to experience the charm of Kendo. Maybe you'll fall in love with this sport from now on."

With things having come to this point, Shiraishihara couldn't find a reason to refuse, so he had no choice but to agree.

Afterwards, the two went to the changing room to change into their kendo gear and then went to the open-air dojo in the courtyard to prepare for their match.

They stood at opposite ends of the open-air dojo, each assuming a fighting stance.

Hattori Shizuka was worried that her son would deliberately let her win, so she had a sudden inspiration and came up with an idea.

"A simple competition is too boring. How about we add some prizes?"

Heiji Hattori asked with a puzzled look, "Mom, what are you thinking about now?"

When her son called her "Mom," Hattori Shizuka's forehead instantly creased with anger. She wanted nothing more than to tap him with her folding fan, but it wasn't convenient at the moment, so she had to hold back for now.

"Detective Shiraishihara, if my Heiji beats you in the contest, you have to grant me a request; if my Heiji loses, then Heiji will grant you a request."

Shiraishihara immediately understood that Hattori was now retaliating for the bad things he had said about her behind her back.

"I have no objection, you can do whatever you want."

Shiraishi Hara's lips curled slightly upward, thinking that this Mrs. Hattori's wishful thinking was destined to fail.

Shiraishi had no objections, but Hattori Heiji had a lot of objections.

"Why should I?" Hattori Heiji said angrily. "You get the benefits when you win, but I have to bear the consequences when I lose. Mom, you're dreaming!"

"Heiji, what do you want?" Hattori Shizuka and her son looked at each other, their eyes seemingly sparking.

"If I win, Shiraishi-kun will naturally grant me one request."

"no!"

"If it doesn't work... then if I lose, Mom, you have to promise Shiraishi-kun one thing: don't drag me into this!"

"Ok."

Hattori Shizuka reluctantly agreed. She took out her folding fan, pointed at her son, and said, "Heiji, if you dare to go easy on me, just wait and see how I deal with you later."

Seeing Hattori Shizuka's aggressive demeanor, Hattori Heiji felt a little flustered and didn't dare to hold back: "No, I won't. So many people are watching, I don't want to lose face."

"Alright, watch my performance."

The two sides exchanged a gesture of respect, and the battle officially began.

If Shiraishihara were to use the power of Persona, defeating Hattori Heiji instantly would be effortless. However, he didn't want Hattori Heiji to lose too badly, after all, Hattori Heiji was a person who cared about his reputation...

On a sudden inspiration, Shiraishihara activated the newly synthesized Persona—Ōkuninushi—to take this opportunity to test its power.

Legend has it that Ōkuninushi obtained Susanoo's Totsuka-no-Tsurugi (Ten-Fist Sword), defeated his seventy-nine brothers who vied for the throne, and thus became the ruler of the country. Ōkuninushi's swordsmanship was clearly extraordinary.

Shiraishi held a bamboo sword, assuming a standard fighting stance.

He had never used a bamboo sword before, but as soon as he held it in his hand, he felt a strange sense of familiarity.

The bamboo sword in his hand seemed to require no conscious control; every move was already integrated into his instincts!

Hattori Heiji initially appeared relaxed, but when he actually faced Shiraishihara, he felt a chilling pressure.

He felt that Shiraishihara's entire aura had changed, radiating a chilling sword intent.

"He's a master!"

Hattori Heizo assessed Shiraishihara's strength, then turned to his wife, who looked anxious, and said, "Shizuka, you misjudged him this time. It's probably our son who will be taught a lesson."

Hattori Shizuka gritted her teeth and said, "Heizo, are you saying that Shiraishihara has been hiding his strength and pretending to be weak?"

Hattori Heizo replied, "Shiraishihara is quite strong, he's not just pretending to be weak! Good, Heiji is usually too arrogant, it's good that someone can curb his arrogance."

After a tentative exchange, large beads of sweat appeared on Hattori Heiji's forehead.

He took a deep breath and gripped the bamboo sword tightly in his hand.

When faced with equally matched opponents, he was not discouraged; instead, his fighting spirit soared even higher.

Hattori Heiji gripped his bamboo sword tightly with both hands, pointing it diagonally forward. Shiraishi Hara also gripped his sword with both hands, simply standing still, calmly responding without making any unnecessary movements.

"Drink!"

With a loud shout, Hattori Heiji pushed off the ground and rushed towards Shiraishihara like an arrow released from a bow!

With a sharp whistling sound, the bamboo sword in his hand slashed fiercely towards Shiraishihara's left shoulder!

Seeing this, Hattori Heizo's eyes widened, and he nodded in praise of his son's performance: "Not bad, that momentum, Heiji did a great job."

If Hattori Heiji's all-out sword strike had hit Shiraishihara, even with protective gear, his shoulder would probably have been injured!

However, just as Hattori Heiji's sword was about to strike, Shiraishi Hara suddenly exerted force in his arm, and his bamboo sword drew an arc, directly blocking Hattori Heiji's bamboo sword with an upward slash! Immediately afterwards, he thrust forward, aiming straight for Hattori Heiji's chest.

Hattori Heiji's pupils suddenly contracted, and he quickly drew his bamboo sword horizontally.

"boom!"

The tip of Shiraishi Hara's bamboo sword pierced the side of Hattori Heiji's bamboo sword, making a loud noise. The latter was forced to stagger backward more than ten steps!

"What!" Hattori Heiji's mouth dropped open, he could hardly believe what he was seeing. "You're even better than... Okita Souji!"

In the previous Kansai High School Kendo League, Hattori Heiji narrowly lost to Okita Souji by 0.1 points. Okita Souji had always been regarded as his strongest opponent, and now he has encountered a peer who is even stronger than Okita Souji.

Seeing that her childhood friend was at a disadvantage, Toyama and Hazuki couldn't help but worry.

"Dad, is Heiji going to lose?"

"Yes... the difference between Heiji and Shiraishihara is indeed quite obvious."