[As the two arrived at the next crime scene, it was still two members of the Dreamjolt Troupe. Sparkle had changed the setting again, but this time… Black Swan no longer wanted to play detective games with them.]
["I suppose right now… Miss Sparkle is carefully preparing the next crime scene? Why not skip those complicated steps and have an open-hearted exchange with me? It might feel a bit itchy though."]
[Saying this, Black Swan placed her hand on the Dreamjolt Troupe member's head. Amid their cries of surprise, Black Swan successfully locked onto Sparkle's location.]
[Suddenly, Sampo and Sparkle asked in unison: "How are you cheating!"]
["Oh?"]
[Things were getting interesting. Black Swan narrowed her eyes and looked at Sampo beside her: "What's wrong? Mr. Detective Assistant? You seem quite anxious?"]
——
Detective Conan.
The bitter aroma of coffee filled the basement of Dr. Agasa's house. Haibara Ai lazily curled up on the sofa, her fingertips continuously tapping on the laptop as she organized intelligence from the Celestial Screen.
"This man named Sampo has finally shown his tail…" Conan let out a long breath.
"Wow." Haibara Ai lightly raised an eyebrow. "As expected of you, conducting serious reasoning in such an absurd case… How should I put it? It's like doing handwriting analysis on a kindergartener's doodles."
"This is different from those cases. Of course I know those cases are fabricated, but Sampo this Fool's motive is very suspicious." Conan watched as Sampo on the Celestial Screen began his classic "fly-rubbing hands" motion. "At first I thought he was Sparkle in disguise, but that simultaneous reaction just now—"
"Eliminates that possibility?"
"Yes." Conan nodded firmly. "They must be working together. That Memokeeper must have noticed it too."
Haibara Ai took a light sip of coffee: "So… Sampo is willingly cooperating with Sparkle to put on this farce? But why? Are Fools that united?"
"They probably aren't very united when fighting, but they should be quite consistent when it comes to having fun and escaping."
——
["Ah, no… I, this… haha, this locked-room murder case is quite interesting. I still wanted to try guessing…" Sampo hurriedly tried to cover it up.]
["Let's go— we can't keep a girl waiting too long."]
[The two Dreamjolt Troupe members were about to stop Black Swan, saying that Lady Sparkle still had one more thing to announce—]
[The scene suddenly changed. Sparkle appeared brightly, wearing a detective's newsboy cap. She held a pair of detective toy glasses and a fake mustache, dressed up as a detective. In short, she looked very cute.]
[She suddenly turned toward the viewers in front of the screen and happily announced:]
["Ta-da— Now comes the most exciting and romantic moment of a drama: the audience challenge segment!"]
["As everyone knows, the terrifying Masked Fool Sparkle can transform into the appearance of others. In this performance, the great villain Sparkle has disguised herself as another character."]
["So the question is— who exactly is this character!"]
["Additionally, if any of you are interested in the locked-room murder case that the Memokeeper didn't want to challenge, feel free to try reasoning it out. Sparkle worked hard to come up with this puzzle, so don't waste it!"]
——
Naruto.
"As expected, this girl… can see us too."
In the cave, Uchiha Madara crossed his arms, frowning as he watched Sparkle's declaration to the crowd on the Celestial Screen. She seemed to hold no malice toward them "viewers" and was simply inviting them to join her little detective game.
Obito sat on a rock. His withered half-face looked particularly hideous in the shadows. He stared at Sparkle's radiant smile on the screen, a trace of irritation flashing in his eyes.
"I'm increasingly feeling this Celestial Screen is related to [Elation]. It seems only Fools can see us through the Celestial Screen. Other Paths… even powerful Emanators, cannot detect our existence." His voice was hoarse and low, like sandpaper scraping against rock. "Madara, in your era… did the Celestial Screen ever appear?"
"There are no records of such a thing even in the earlier Warring States period." The corner of Madara's mouth pulled into a cold smile. "However, if they can see us, so be it. As long as they don't interfere with our plans, it's fine."
"Even if Fools want to interfere, can they actually do it?" Obito said. "So far, the abilities Sparkle and Sampo have shown aren't particularly special. Ninjutsu and dojutsu can achieve them too."
"Foolish." Madara coldly interrupted him. "If Fools only had these few methods, do you think they could freely travel to various worlds to play? What they have shown is not everything—"
"For people like them, excessively using power to interfere might affect the fun of the 'performance'… I'm afraid unless absolutely necessary, you won't see a Masked Fool's true strength."
——
[The two arrived at Clockie Square. The place was empty except for a lone trash can, a specialty product from Belobog.]
["Hey! Yo! Dear Memokeeper, and Uncle Cold Legs—you've finally arrived!" Sparkle started the conversation in rap form.]
["I didn't expect you to dare skip the previous puzzle. That was my masterpiece! Oh well, Lady Sparkle is magnanimous. Come on, this is the final question—"]
["Listen carefully! What creature has four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three legs at night?"]
[Black Swan smiled slightly: "Why isn't it a murder case this time?"]
[Sparkle's voice came from inside the trash can: "We have to have some lighthearted moments occasionally! Come on, darling, give me your answer~"]
[Considering it was a classic riddle, Black Swan answered without hesitation: "Humans, right?"]
[The trash can immediately rejected her boring answer, stating the final answer was—[Sparkle]!]
["In the morning, too sleepy to get out of bed. At noon, running around busily everywhere. At night, so tired I collapse, but I still have to raise my hand to brush my teeth—poor Sparkle! So of course it's [four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, three legs at night]~"]
[Sampo no longer wanted to complain and held his forehead: "What kind of nonsense is this…"]
[But the trash can had no intention of letting Black Swan off. Due to her cheating earlier, it directly attacked her! Unfortunately, before it could even kick twice, it was stacked to death by the mysterious card-stacking lady's stacked mystery.]
[Sampo was curious why there was suddenly no sound from the trash can. He was about to pull Sparkle out of the trash can, but what awaited him… was Lady Sparkle's corpse, covered in wounds and showing no signs of life!]
["Ah… Aaaaaah! Sis, you… you beat Sparkle to death!"]