Chapter 104: The Incense is About to Go Out
Night had fallen, and the sea was pitch black.
On the cruise ship, silence and fear intertwined.
The restaurant corridor flickered with dim light, casting faint shadows across the deck. The sounds of waves and sea breeze filled the air.
In the distance, stars twinkled—a beautiful sight.
However, all this beauty served only to highlight the tragedy that had occurred on the cruise ship.
At the back door of the restaurant.
Ireland, enduring excruciating chest pain, restrained Hatamoto Shoji with one hand while threatening him with a short blade in the other.
"Don't come any closer, or I'll kill him!"
The sharp blade slightly cut Shoji's skin, and a trickle of blood seeped out.
"Don't do it! Let's talk this out. I have a lot of money, Butler Suzuki. You should know how much I'll inherit after the old man's death."
Hatamoto Shoji pleaded frantically, completely oblivious to the fact that the person restraining him wasn't the butler he knew.
Not receiving the response he wanted, Shoji felt extremely uneasy, his eyes pleading for help as he looked at Natsukawa—his only lifeline.
Natsukawa was connected to Tequila, someone the Organization had sent. If he intervened, he could definitely save his life.
He was still useful. The Organization wanted to take over the Hatamoto family, and having him alive would certainly make things easier.
Hatamoto Shoji could only console himself with this thought.
Natsukawa remained silent, his face as calm as still water, the fire axe in his hand practically twitching with anticipation.
Ireland felt threatened and retreated again.
This time, he retreated directly to the corridor outside the restaurant, leaning against the railing. The sound of waves and sea breeze made him glance down.
"If you don't want him to die, put down that fire axe and don't come any closer."
"Otherwise..."
Ireland didn't finish his sentence, but Natsukawa already understood his meaning.
However, Natsukawa didn't care about Hatamoto Shoji's life or death.
On the contrary, he was actually looking forward to Ireland making his move.
After all, in Hatamoto Shoji's eyes, Natsukawa's identity was connected to Tequila—he was a ticking time bomb.
Natsukawa's identity absolutely couldn't be revealed.
Even if Ireland didn't make a move, Natsukawa would find an opportunity to eliminate Hatamoto Shoji.
Natsukawa's face showed hesitation and uncertainty, but his mind was frantically urging Ireland on.
Hurry up and do it!
If you do it, not only will I avoid one more problem, but I'll also have a reason to report you to Gin.
Report what? Of course, report Pisco and Ireland for alleged infighting and killing a teammate's subordinate.
That bastard was so quick to steal credit—why was he so hesitant to act now?
Ireland's forehead was sweating. He felt something was off about Natsukawa.
But that wasn't important right now. The mission was!
Things had progressed to this point, and he had already made a major mistake.
His impersonation of Butler Suzuki had been exposed, meaning all his previous work had become useless.
Gin's takeover plan had been carried out secretly, and his exposure would undoubtedly affect the later mergers and asset transfers.
What was originally just an internal family conflict had escalated into an assassination attempt—a completely different matter.
The police might even get involved. After all, the Hatamoto family was a very powerful zaibatsu in Tokyo.
In that case, the Organization would have no room to maneuver.
It would be like working for nothing—something Gin certainly couldn't accept.
What would happen if Gin couldn't accept it? Of course, two bullets would be enough to send his godfather and him to their graves.
The guess was extreme, but not without reason.
Knowing Gin as he did, if this mission failed, his godfather Pisco and he would be in serious trouble.
They might not die, but they'd definitely be severely punished.
Damn it!
This ship had to be sunk. No one here could return to Tokyo.
"Natsukawa! You—"
Hatamoto Shoji was about to speak.
Natsukawa's expression changed instantly, his eyes like sharp swords!
He absolutely couldn't let Shoji reveal his relationship with Tequila, or things would get complicated.
The fire axe moved with practiced ease in his hand.
The wind whistled.
The fire axe flew from his hand, spinning rapidly through the air.
Its target was Ireland.
Behind him was the railing. Ireland couldn't retreat unless he jumped into the sea to escape.
But the mission wasn't finished. How could he be willing to give up?
Ireland, caught off guard, used Hatamoto Shoji as a human shield.
Although he knew Shoji was Tequila's subordinate, at this moment, he didn't care about that. Survival was paramount.
"No!"
Hatamoto Shoji cried out in terror, his eyes wide, trying to struggle, but Ireland held him down firmly.
Thud—
The fire axe pierced Hatamoto Shoji's collarbone and continued deeper, the impact nearly splitting his torso open. Crimson liquid gushed out instantly.
The blood stained the entire corridor a deep red.
Half of Ireland's face was drenched in hot blood.
The shattered disguise mask, covered in large patches of blood, looked even more terrifying.
It had the appearance of a cannibalistic zombie from some horror manga.
"Natsukawa!"
Natsukawa, who was about to chase after Ireland and deliver a few more blows while he had the chance, was restrained by Yor.
"Too dangerous!" Yor's voice was filled with worry.
The warmth of her hand made Natsukawa momentarily lose focus.
Butler Suzuki was very strong, and Yor worried that Natsukawa was no match for him, even though Natsukawa seemed to have some skill.
But the exchange was too brief. She couldn't assess his abilities from that short display.
"Anya, you're the only one left."
Natsukawa's steps faltered.
In that very instant, Ireland casually tossed Hatamoto Shoji's body into the sea.
Using the railing for leverage, he nimbly climbed to the second-floor railing and disappeared from Natsukawa's sight.
"Uncle Natsukawa, where's that guy?"
Conan arrived late.
Because Ireland had left the restaurant, Conan hadn't seen him from his position.
Natsukawa's action of throwing the fire axe made him mistakenly think that Butler Suzuki was about to kill the hostage, which was why he'd rushed out so quickly.
At this moment, he was carrying a thick ceramic basin, and his power-enhancing shoes were glowing with their activation light.
The striker was in position, but the target had vanished.
Greatly disappointed.
Conan's glasses reflected the light.
The glaring bloodstains made him break out in a cold sweat!
Conan's attention was drawn to the blood remaining in the corridor, and then he leaned over the railing to look into the sea.
The cruise ship's movement stirred up rolling waves, making it impossible to see if anything had fallen in.
"Did he fall in?" Conan asked.
Natsukawa shook his head. "After Hatamoto Shoji was killed by Butler Suzuki, he was thrown into the sea."
"What about Butler Suzuki? Did he jump in too?"
Conan was practically jumping in frustration. It was very difficult to retrieve a body that fell into the sea, especially from such a large cruise ship. The body had probably been swept into the deep sea by the waves already.
Judging from the amount of blood, it would definitely attract the attention of sharks in the deep sea, and the body would probably be impossible to preserve intact.
This murderer actually killed people in front of him, and not just one person!
Damn it, he doesn't take me seriously at all!
This seemed to be another professional assassin.
Conan felt a strong sense of powerlessness and frustration.
Encountering two killers in three days—his luck was unbelievable.
Three people died on Tsukikage Island, and the police were probably still searching for the killer there.
Five people had died on the luxury cruise ship so far, and now the murderer had escaped. He wondered if the rest of the Hatamoto family would be targeted.
In addition, he'd inexplicably encountered a gunfight before that. His luck lately was too "good."
Moreover, his deductive reasoning was completely useless against this type of person. Brain-type players and combat-type players simply weren't on the same wavelength.
"He just got to the second floor. He's probably already escaped."
"Escaped?"
Hearing this, Mouri Kogoro, who was rushing over, didn't even bother to catch his breath. He took off again, his destination the second floor.
He absolutely had to find Butler Suzuki. This was insane.
Hatamoto Mariko and Hatamoto Shoji were also dead.
Now, five members of the Hatamoto family had perished.
The Hatamoto family, already small in number, had lost half its members in one night, and almost all of them were men. Now the family line was about to end, leaving only one heir.
This situation could only be described in four words:
Utterly tragic!
Natsukawa didn't know Mouri Kogoro's thoughts. Otherwise, he would have told him—
The Hatamoto family was finished, and the only male heir had two lives on his hands—a serious crime, with a minimum sentence of twenty years.
Twenty years was both a long time and a short time. First, he had to survive this ordeal.
Fortunately, in Japan, adopted sons-in-law were common. To put it optimistically, as long as the Hatamoto surname remained, the Hatamoto family would still exist.
For some reason, Hatamoto Takeshi, the last surviving adopted son-in-law of the Hatamoto family, suddenly felt the burden on his shoulders grow even heavier.
At that moment—
Hatamoto Ichiro, the only male heir of the Hatamoto family, knelt before his mother, heartbroken.
He held her body, weeping bitterly, ignoring the blood that had soaked his clothes.
The loss of both parents overnight, and the impending inheritance of a large fortune—it was truly tragic.
A classic orphaned protagonist template.
Next came being framed, his girlfriend breaking off their engagement, and being left with nothing.
Thirty years in the east, thirty years in the west—Hatamoto Ichiro's path to revenge was about to begin.
However, things weren't so simple. With two lives on his hands, Hatamoto Ichiro didn't need to wait until he was left penniless to awaken!
His bloodied hands had completely robbed him of his reason.
His bloodshot eyes expressed his rage. He was like a raging bull.
"Damn Suzuki! I'll kill you!"
He now understood that Suzuki was also behind his father's death.
When parents are sacrificed to the heavens, their power is boundless.
Ichiro felt a surge of strength rising from the soles of his feet, his body controlled by the burning rage of revenge.
"Ichiro, what are you doing?"
Akie's voice drew Natsukawa's attention.
Turning his head, he saw Ichiro stride out of the kitchen, a black case in his hand.
Was it a gun?
But why was it in the kitchen? Had it been hidden there all along?
Before Natsukawa could speculate further, Ichiro had already opened the case.
He swiftly pulled out a kitchen knife about thirty centimeters long.
"What are you doing?" Natsukawa frowned and snapped.
The situation was now developing in the direction he wanted. He didn't want Ichiro to do anything that would disrupt his plans.
However, anger had made Ichiro reckless, and no voice could sway his decision.
He'd already killed two people. What was one more?
Besides, this was his enemy—the one who killed his parents.
These thoughts filled Ichiro's mind.
"Do you want to die?" Natsukawa spoke again.
This guy probably wanted revenge on Ireland, and he was carrying a knife.
Although it was slightly longer than Ireland's short blade, in a real fight, length wasn't everything. This guy going after him would undoubtedly be suicide.
End of Chapter 104
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