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Near Beika Town Station Building.
Inspector Megure soon arrived on the scene with his team. With him were the classic duo, Sato and Takagi, along with other detectives in their usual suits. Even though it was an assault and robbery case, sticking to the principle of taking responsibility for every problem and claiming every success, the case still fell into the hands of Division Three.
"Fujino-kun, are you saying the targeted child intentionally led the culprit to the salon?"
After learning the whole story, Inspector Megure couldn't help but frown. "That's an incredibly daring move. If you had already spotted the person, you could have just gone up and apprehended them for questioning..."
"..."
Fujino glanced down at Conan.
That remark should be directed at this kid. If it had been him, he would have already started punching.
Fujino didn't dwell on it too much, coming up with an excuse: "The person's identity couldn't be confirmed yet. A rash arrest might have a negative impact. We had to wait for the salon owner to identify him before making an arrest."
"That's true..."
Takagi couldn't help but say, "But using a child as bait, that's just too dangerous."
"Indeed, if the culprit suddenly made a move, it could be very dangerous." Sato Miwako pondered for a moment and nodded in agreement.
"The culprit probably wouldn't make a move directly on the street..."
As the instigator of the plan, Conan naturally felt a bit uncomfortable hearing this and explained, "For the past few days, Genta has been targeted for assassination, but the culprit hasn't shown their face, only creating various 'accidents.' This means they can't be sure if Genta actually saw them."
"In this situation, causing accidents is safer than directly committing murder," Haibara Ai mused. "If it were intentional murder, they would be exposed quickly. But if it's an accident, even if Kojima-kun were killed, it wouldn't be linked back to them. That's probably what they were thinking."
Takagi said seriously, "But what if the culprit suddenly changes their mind? That would be terrible..."
"That's why I called you, Inspector Megure." Fujino interjected. "Genta is going to the building later, as planned. To be safe, I think we should first send plainclothes officers to follow Genta, then, before they reach the location, set up inside the station building to ambush and corner that guy."
Inspector Megure fully supported Fujino's suggestion. After all, Fujino's plan perfectly aligned with his own thoughts. So, the group headed to the salon on the seventh floor of the building to meet the owner and ask him to identify the culprit.
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### A Few Minutes Later, First Floor Elevator Entrance of the Building
Fujino had changed into a punk-style outfit, wearing a medium-length black wig, disguised as a rock youth. Sato Miwako, on the other hand, was wearing super-short denim shorts and a black loose crop top, revealing her fair legs and toned waist. With long blonde hair and sunglasses, she looked like a fashionable young woman. The salon manager wore glasses and a hat, a white shirt, and trousers, disguised as a middle-aged man.
Around the corner, Inspector Megure wore headphones, holding a newspaper, observing his surroundings with a calm expression. After some planning, the entrances and exits of the mall had been sealed, and plainclothes officers were stationed on both the first and seventh floors. Mitsuhiko and Ayumi had completed their mission and quickly arrived at the building to rendezvous, now just waiting for the fish to take the bait.
"Fujino-nii! I'm almost at the station building! That guy is still following me!" Genta's breathless voice came through the Detective Boys Badge.
Upon hearing this, Fujino nodded to Sato Miwako, who stood beside him. Sato Miwako understood, gestured to her surroundings, and the surrounding police officers discreetly hid themselves.
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### A Few Minutes Later
"Wait! Don't close it yet!" Genta hurriedly ran into the building and quickly entered the elevator.
"Little boy, where do you want to go?" Sato Miwako lowered her head and asked Genta.
"Seventh floor..." Genta frowned, then looked up at Sato Miwako's blonde disguise, feeling a sense of familiarity.
Just as the elevator doors were about to close, a man with slicked-back blonde hair blocked the elevator door, then greeted Genta, "Hey, little guy!"
"Is that the blonde big brother from that day?" Genta pretended to be clueless, looking at the blonde man. "By the way, I forgot to ask, what's your name?"
"I'm A-Jie, you can also call me Brother Jie!" A-Jie said with his hands in his pockets. "I'm really sorry about last time. I completely forgot, it just slipped my mind."
"..."
Fujino couldn't help but glance at A-Jie. That guy's name... was certainly full of passion.
"It's okay, I almost forgot too..." Genta waved his hand, then seriously added, "But, Brother Jie! I've already figured out where I met that guy!"
"Shhh!" Brother Jie crouched down, a sly smile on his face. "Don't say it so loudly, that guy might be watching nearby..."
Genta looked bewildered: "Are you also, Brother A-Jie?"
"Yeah, I just remembered too. I was actually planning to go to the police station, but it's been so long that I forgot. I was thinking we could compare our statements..."
As he spoke, A-Jie put his hand into his back pocket and pulled out a dagger, continuing with a sly smile, "To be honest, my house is pretty big, and I have some fun video games. If you don't mind, you can come to my place to play. When we're tired of playing, we can go to the police station..."
"Manager, is this the person?" Sato Miwako narrowed her eyes and asked the salon manager beside her.
"Absolutely no mistake!" The salon manager scrutinized A-Jie for a moment and confirmed, "This is the guy who came to dye his hair here a few days ago!"
"Ding!"
The elevator reached the seventh floor. Fujino couldn't watch any longer. He pulled out his fist and brutally punched Brother Jie in the face. With just one punch, he sent him flying out of the elevator. Immediately after, Fujino quickly rushed out of the elevator, pinned him to the ground, and delivered a barrage of heavy blows. After a few punches, Brother Jie's face was bruised and swollen, his nostrils bleeding. He cowered on the ground, whimpering and clutching his head in confusion.
"Fujino! Stop hitting him!"
Sato Miwako looked at the detective, who was overflowing with combativeness, and her mouth twitched uncontrollably. She turned away, unable to bear watching. In broad daylight, there was no reason to just go up and beat someone senseless. It wasn't logical...
Fujino glanced back at Sato Miwako, giving the "fierce woman" a reassuring look.
Sato Miwako: "I'd be crazy to feel relieved!"
Of course, Fujino wasn't someone who would hit people for no reason; there had to be a reason to hit someone, right?
Then he turned back and delivered two more solid punches, reaching into the blonde guy's back pocket, pulling out a dagger, and exclaiming in surprise to Sato Miwako, "Officer Sato, this guy actually has a knife?!"
Sato Miwako: "..."
He can do that?!
Now it was logical.
But you're being too obvious!
"Don't worry about it, Officer Sato!" Fujino declared with a pained expression, "Today, I'm going to deliver heavenly justice!"
Sato Miwako: "..."
I didn't even say anything...
The blonde guy: "..."
You seriously pulled that out of my pocket, didn't you?! Damn it, I knew I shouldn't have brought the knife!
Fujino threw the dagger aside, then pulled out his wooden sword from behind him and delivered another barrage of righteous blows:
"Bringing a knife, huh?"
"You think you're the only one with a knife, huh?"
"Take this, wooden sword!"
"Demacia!"
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