The shop owner, an older woman, glanced at Nao Kawagoe, feeling a weariness deep in her bones.
Mermaids, the goddess Minami-sama—it was all a charade. From the beginning, it had been the women of the Shimabukuro family playing those roles. Aside from her, many of the old-timers on the island knew this secret.
Yet, even with their full awareness, they chose to play ignorant, fearing that speaking out would expose the truth. They never breathed a word of it to their children.
Three years ago, after the fire at the warehouse, they had considered abandoning the Dugong Festival. But when they discovered that the last remaining daughter of the Shimabukuro family intended to continue impersonating Minami-sama, they set aside their reservations for the sake of profit. They all silently agreed to keep the truth buried.
Amami Island was quite secluded, lacking any major industries. Most of the islanders made their living fishing. While the Dugong Festival didn't bring in a massive economic boom, the influx of tourists during the festivities still allowed them to earn a substantial amount.
Her souvenir shop, in particular, relied on these visitors to survive.
Ultimately, it all came down to profit. No one wanted to see that extra income vanish.
"Ding-a-ling!"
Just then, the crisp sound of the shop door's bell suddenly chimed.
"Welcome!"
Snapping out of her thoughts, the shop owner enthusiastically raised her head to greet the newcomer. However, upon seeing the person's face, she froze slightly.
It was someone dressed in black, with a somewhat peculiar appearance.
As for why it was peculiar... while she wasn't one to discriminate based on looks, this person was simply too dark! Even darker than that dark-skinned young man she'd seen earlier!
[Heiji Hattori: They're talking smack about me even when I'm not around?]
"Can't see their face... completely shrouded in black..."
Nao Kawagoe's face turned ashen. She swallowed hard. "A mermaid's ghost?!"
"Nao Kawagoe?"
Hearing that, Fujino silently pulled out a stun gun from his pocket, slowly stepped forward, and asked in a low, muffled voice.
"Don't come any closer!"
Nao Kawagoe screamed, clutching the Dugong Arrow hanging around her neck and wildly swinging it in front of her. While the Dugong Arrow was indeed an arrow, its tip wasn't particularly sharp, but it could still cut someone.
Fujino's eyes narrowed slightly as he tracked the constantly flashing silver gleam of the Dugong Arrow, deftly dodging her haphazard attacks. At the same time, the stun gun in his hand was brought up high, precisely timed, and then brought down.
"Sizzle!"
Accompanied by a sharp crackle of electricity, the large, black stun gun landed squarely on Nao Kawagoe's forehead. In an instant, her vision swam, and then she was knocked unconscious by the large, dark, electrically charged stun gun.
"Tsk..."
Fujino looked down at Nao Kawagoe, lying stiffly on the ground, then glanced at the stun gun in his hand, which was faintly flickering with electricity. He clicked his tongue.
With his experience of knocking people out with a wooden sword, getting the hang of a stun gun was surprisingly quick. And from the very start, it avoided the awkwardness of not being able to knock someone out.
A stun gun really was a better tool...
Muttering a silent thought to himself, Fujino put away the stun gun. Then, he expertly helped Nao Kawagoe up, hoisted her over his shoulder with her backside facing forward, turned around, pushed open the shop door, and departed.
The shop owner: "..."
At this moment, she still hadn't processed what had just happened. After all, it had unfolded too suddenly. From entering the shop to pulling out a stun gun and taking her away, the entire sequence of events hadn't taken more than ten seconds.
Being kidnapped in broad daylight would make anyone stunned, wouldn't it?
"Ah—a kidnapper!"
Coming to her senses, the shop owner let out a piercing shriek. This scream successfully drew the attention of passersby outside the souvenir shop.
"A kidnapper?!"
"Hey, hey, isn't that Naoko?"
"That dark person, it looks like the one who kidnapped Saori and attacked Sumi!"
"Damn it, how dare they kidnap one of our people on Amami Island! Grab your weapons!"
The surrounding villagers' attention was drawn, and they immediately spotted Fujino, who was carrying a person. Realizing something was amiss, they all grabbed whatever was at hand and, agitated, surrounded him.
"Well, well... kitchen knives, wooden sticks, and even brooms?"
Fujino surveyed his surroundings, his eyebrow twitching slightly. These islanders were really quite aggressive... If he got caught by this group, wouldn't he be lit up like a human torch?
Wait, how did he become a kidnapper?
---
Meanwhile, the group arrived at the Menkawa family's residence.
Compared to the Shimabukuro family, the Menkawa house was noticeably larger and newer in style.
"What do you want with me?"
Menkawa Benzo, dressed in a worn black suit, his face red like a baboon's backside from a hangover, burped as he opened the door, asking the group in an unfriendly tone.
"Mr. Menkawa."
Kogoro Mouri stepped forward and greeted him, "We have some questions for you."
"Questions? For me?"
Menkawa Benzo was a bit confused. "What kind of questions?"
"It's about the Dugong Arrow from last night."
Heiji Hattori suddenly interjected, his tone serious. "Every year, names are recorded for the lottery on the island, you should be aware of that. But your name wasn't on that list... Yet, the arrow from last night was recorded under Ms. Sumi Ebihara, who was attacked. So, how exactly did you get your hands on that number tag?"
"Hmm..."
Menkawa Benzo's face immediately changed upon hearing this. In his drunken state, he was somewhat disoriented. But he could still grasp the seriousness of the situation. If he couldn't explain how the number tag ended up in his possession, it would mean he was the culprit who attacked Sumi Ebihara.
"I picked it up!"
Menkawa Benzo's voice rose a few octaves. "I was taking a stroll in the forest last night and just happened to find this number tag!"
"Picked it up? Are you kidding me?"
Despite being a heavy drinker himself, Kogoro Mouri clearly didn't believe a fellow drunkard's words. He stepped forward, grabbed Menkawa Benzo by the collar, and asked suspiciously, "How is it that you just coincidentally happen to pick up everything?"
"Alright, Mouri-san!"
Fujino stepped forward, trying to mediate. "We can't be sure he's the culprit just yet."
"Hmph..."
Kogoro Mouri snorted and released his grip. "Then, after he found the number tag, why didn't he return it to Ms. Sumi, but instead went back to the festival himself to claim that arrow?"
"I bet it was for money, wasn't it?"
He continued in a deep voice, "To get that arrow, sell it for money, and then knock out Ms. Sumi."
"Huh?"
Menkawa Benzo was stunned. "Sell it for money... I wouldn't go that far for that arrow... After all, I just sold one yesterday..."
"Hmm?"
At this moment, Heiji Hattori noticed a blind spot. "You said you already sold one yesterday?"
"That's right!"
Menkawa Benzo answered without thinking. "I just sold an arrow yesterday and made a million yen. I'm not so hard up for money right now."
Kogoro Mouri was shocked to hear that a single arrow could sell for a million. He never imagined such a simple arrow could fetch so much. Amidst his surprise, he also felt a pang of envy.
"The arrow you sold, that must have been Saori Menkawa's, right?"
Fujino suddenly asked, "And you sold it to an elderly couple."
"Ah, that's right."
Menkawa Benzo didn't deny it. "How did you know who I sold it to?"
"Miss Kimie mentioned earlier that our number tags were returned by an elderly couple."
Fujino pondered for a moment. "Thinking simply, it must have been you who sold the arrow to that elderly couple, and then they returned the number tag, which then came to us."
"They certainly were unlucky then."
Menkawa Benzo scoffed, "Wasting a million yen on something so intangible."
"How awful..."
Kazuha Toyama looked down at the Dugong Arrow around her neck, feeling indignant. "That was an arrow that Miss Saori finally managed to win after all."
Ran also nodded in agreement, expressing her displeasure at Menkawa Benzo's actions. Everyone cast disapproving glances at Menkawa Benzo.
"It's my freedom to do as I please, isn't it?"
Menkawa Benzo, seeing the scornful looks directed at him, grew irritated. "The one I sold was indeed the one my daughter won a year ago, but so what? I'm her father!"
"In that case, it only further proves you had intentions for that arrow, doesn't it?"
Kogoro Mouri cast a suspicious gaze at Menkawa Benzo. "You must have gotten a taste of the profits, which is why you attacked Ms. Sumi, planning to sell that arrow for money again!"
"I told you, I picked it up!"
Menkawa Benzo grew impatient. But before he could continue, a sudden clamor of shouts erupted from behind him.
"Catch him!"
"Don't let him get away!"
"It's a kidnapper!"
Everyone froze at the sound. Curious, they turned their heads and saw a shadowy figure, carrying a woman on their back, running from a distance. Behind him trailed a large group of islanders, armed with various 'weapons'. The numbers had swelled from just a few at the start to dozens.
Everyone's eyes widened in disbelief: "..."
The scene was so shocking that for a moment, no one knew what to say.
Conan: "..."
Heiji Hattori: "..."
Are the black-clothed folk really this bold nowadays? Kidnapping in broad daylight... and being chased by a whole mob.
"That person on his shoulder... it looks like Naoko!"
At this moment, Kimie Shimabukuro came to her senses and quickly exclaimed.
"What?!"
Heiji Hattori was startled and looked closely. "It... it really is her?"
Meanwhile, Conan, who had already reacted, looked at the indistinct black-clad figure and the unconscious Nao Kawagoe slung over their shoulder. Conan was certain that the black figure was the true culprit behind this series of incidents.
Without hesitation, he scanned his surroundings, searching for his super electromagnetic cannon weapon. Soon, he spotted a classic projectile—a flowerpot.
Conan immediately moved the flowerpot into position, then activated his power-enhancing shoes and kicked it.
"Bang!"
With a loud crash, a blinding white light shot out, directly aimed at the black-clad figure fleeing with Naoko.
"It's that kid again..."
Fujino and the black-clad figure both glanced at Conan, feeling a bit speechless. How did this kid always find something to kick? And a flowerpot... Are you sure a flowerpot you kick won't kill someone?
The thought was fleeting. Fujino believed his physical strength wouldn't be able to withstand a flowerpot accelerating to at least two hundred kilometers per hour. So, controlling the black figure, he took a big leap, gracefully turned, and landed on an adjacent wall.
The flowerpot, out of control, slammed into the wall, creating a large hole in the stone after a resounding crash.
Heiji Hattori looked down at Conan: "..."
Getting hit by that thing would surely be fatal, wouldn't it? He, too, was startled by Conan's sudden act of kicking the flowerpot without a word.
"He's the culprit who kidnapped Sister Menkawa and attacked Sister Sumi!"
Conan immediately rushed forward, joining the pursuit of the black-clad figure. The others, having also reacted, followed without a second thought.
---
Amami Shrine.
"Everyone should be here by now, right?"
Fujino placed Nao Kawagoe on the shrine's rooftop, then looked back at the over one hundred people in the shrine courtyard below.
In a game of cat and mouse, the initial group of dozens had steadily grown. From being chased from the souvenir shop to the shrine, the pursuers had eventually swelled to a crowd of hundreds. The black-clad figure ran ahead, with a large crowd hot on his heels. It was like a massive marathon.
Of course, this was all part of Fujino's plan. If he wanted to escape, he could easily shake off everyone. However, his goal wasn't just to attack Nao Kawagoe and then disappear without a trace.
He intended to expose the truth of the island.
Snapping out of his thoughts, the black-clad Fujino pulled out his stun gun and slammed it onto Nao Kawagoe's leg.
"Ah—!"
With a scream, Nao Kawagoe was jolted awake from her unconscious state by the sharp pain. This action, naturally, ignited the fury of the islanders. They were all agitated, ready to form a human ladder and climb up to apprehend the black-clad figure.
"This guy, he's gone too far, hasn't he?"
Among the crowd, Heiji Hattori frowned as he watched the black-clad figure standing on the rooftop. Conan also looked up, straining to see the black-clad figure through the crowd, his mind rapidly strategizing how to salvage the current situation.
Given the circumstances, he had no doubt that the black-clad figure might be beaten to death by the enraged islanders. He didn't want to see that happen. Even if the person was a kidnapper and an assailant, the right to punish them shouldn't be given to the islanders, but to the police. If the person were to be beaten to death now, he absolutely couldn't accept it.
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