Kaito slowly opened his eyes.
It was a basement. The sound of machines operating echoed around him, and the sharp mechanical noise grated on his nerves.
His hands were tied to an iron pipe as thick as an arm. Ropes were wrapped tightly around his body, and tape sealed his mouth. No matter how you looked at it, he was a kidnapped hostage.
The moment he realized he had been captured, his first thought was to use magic escape techniques to free himself.
After struggling for a while, he completely gave up.
His hands were not only bound by ropes tied by professionals, they were also secured with handcuffs.
Unless he knew the legendary bone-shrinking technique, escaping from such meticulous restraints was absolutely impossible.
"You're awake, Kaito."
A familiar yet unfamiliar voice sounded.
Hearing his real name spoken, Kaito's eyes widened in panic.
The basement door opened. A beam of light from outside shone in, forcing him to squint.
He struggled again. He clearly saw who it was. Toru, whom he had seen at the Beika Hotel not long ago.
Of course, it might not have been recent. Kaito had no idea how long he had been unconscious.
Beside Toru stood a silver-haired woman. She was the one Kaito saw just before losing consciousness, the one who shot him.
Toru slowly walked up to him and tore the tape from his mouth.
The pain made Kaito gasp. Forcing a smile, he said, "Hi, we meet again, Mr. Fujiwara."
"Yes, we meet again, Mr. Kaito. Or perhaps I should call you Mr. Kid?"
Kaito's smile stiffened further. His lips trembled. "...How did Mr. Fujiwara find me?"
Toru did not answer. He simply reached into his collar and pulled out an extremely small tracker.
Seeing it, Kaito's eyes widened. "How is that possible? We never even touched. How did that get on me?"
Toru crushed the tracker in his hand. It no longer mattered.
With a faint smile, he said, "Kaito, Class 2B student at Ekoda High School."
"Your father is Kuroba Toichi, the first Kaitou Kid. Your mother is Chikage Kuroba, who once committed numerous thefts alongside Kaitou Kid and is currently working in Las Vegas, America."
"In your home in Japan, only an old butler who has followed Kuroba Toichi for decades remains. Am I right?"
Kaito clenched his teeth. "You want to hand me over to the police?"
That was the outcome he least wanted to see. Although he acted as the second Kaitou Kid and stole gems everywhere, he had his reasons.
Moreover, besides being Kaitou Kid, he had his real identity. If that identity were exposed, it would be social death. The name Kaitou Kid would completely lose its mystique.
"If I wanted to hand you over to the police, you wouldn't be seeing me here, Kaitou Kid."
Kaito's heart trembled. He had already guessed this. The other party must want something from him, otherwise there would be no need to tie him up in a basement.
His mind raced.
"You want me to steal something for you? A precious gem? Or confidential documents from your political enemies or business rivals?"
Toru gently clapped. "Smart. Although I don't need you for that right now, it is within my considerations."
What should I do? Pretend to cooperate and regain my freedom first?
But my real identity has been exposed. That is the most dangerous part. Do I have to go into hiding and change my identity?
If he did that, Kaito would be socially dead. All the connections he built as Kaito would disappear.
This Toru, who appeared righteous and was called Japan's hero, even risking his life to save a comedian's daughter, making everyone believe he was just.
Now it seemed that was merely a persona. He was an old schemer.
And I fell right into his hands.
"Don't overthink it, Kaito. Your real identity is exposed. Your criminal evidence is in my hands. You have nowhere to run."
"Even if you change your name, it won't help. No matter where you run in this world, I will find you. Both you and your mother are in danger now."
"So you can only cooperate with me, cooperate with us."
Kaito looked shocked and furious. "...You're threatening my mother? Wait. Us? Do you have some kind of Organization?"
He was the heir of the Fujiwara family. What kind of secret organization could he possibly have?
Toru smiled and took out an ID card.
"Normally, people in our line of work don't carry specific ID cards. But sometimes this can prove identity."
"I'm at least in management now. I don't need to work on the front lines, so I naturally have my own ID."
"American Intelligence Agency. CIA."
Kaito was stunned when he saw the name.
If it was this organization, then everything made sense.
If one were to rank the world's largest or most terrifying organizations, the CIA would undoubtedly be at the top.
It was infamous for overthrowing regimes and controlling smaller countries. The number of people who had died because of it was immeasurable.
No one could give an accurate number of how many people died in poverty after their countries were destabilized.
Kaito felt utterly hopeless.
If Toru had merely been part of some international criminal organization, there might have been hope.
But the CIA was an official agency. He truly had nowhere to run.
The CIA identity was extremely useful. Most importantly, it was official, answering only to the American President and recognized by the United States.
With this identity, Toru could openly violate laws without punishment. He even stood on the side of justice, occupying the moral high ground.
Which was why Toru intended to turn this department into his private property.
"Kaito, you actually believed me so easily. I thought you would doubt my identity."
"There's nothing to doubt. This clears up my confusion about why the Special Investigation Department of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office treated you so respectfully. If you're CIA and in management, it all makes sense."
Kaito forced a smile.
This was the worst possible outcome.
Was he angry that his mother's life was being threatened? Of course.
But what could he do? Become an enemy of the CIA?
He was confident, but not delusional enough to believe he could fight an American intelligence agency.
If the CIA could be defeated by an individual, the United States would have collapsed long ago.
"You want me to work for the CIA?"
"Freelance personnel. Your political background doesn't qualify. You can't formally enter a CIA department. We're also worried you might steal intelligence."
"..."
Kaito wanted to curse.
In the end, he gave up.
"Fine. But can you untie me first? I'm willing to cooperate."
"My real identity is already in your hands. Even if I abandon it, I would spend my life on the run. I don't have the confidence to oppose you."
He comforted himself. Becoming a freelance member of the CIA was not entirely bad. It might even make it easier to act as Kaitou Kid.
With the CIA behind him, he would not fear being caught.
And perhaps he could use the CIA's intelligence network to investigate his father's disappearance or death.
Searching for that gem alone was too difficult. The CIA held more intelligence than any organization on this planet. With their help, he might find the truth.
Toru looked at him deeply and said quietly, "Pandora, a legendary gem. It is said to possess the power of immortality. You've been searching for it, haven't you?"
"Your expression already gave you away. Don't deny it, Kaito. Coincidentally, I'm also interested in that gem. After all, it's immortality. Who wouldn't be interested?"
He patted Kaito's shoulder.
"You have a major flaw, your performative personality. Before every theft, you always send a notice card to satisfy your need for spectacle and vanity."
"When you're acting as Kaitou Kid, I won't interfere. But when you work for me, you need to restrain yourself."
"Curacao, untie Mr. Kaitou Kid."
Toru walked toward the basement door. The light from outside poured in, making it hard for Kaito to look directly at his back.
"Return to your daily life, Kaito. When I need you, I'll contact you. Don't pretend to obey while secretly resisting. Next time, you won't just be captured unconscious."
The basement door slowly closed, plunging the room back into darkness. Only the machines continued humming.
"Pandora, and the Silver Bullet..."
After leaving the building, Toru sat inside his Porsche 911.
In the driver's seat, he strongly suspected the two were closely connected.
"Could it be that Haibara's parents obtained Pandora's Tears and researched it, which led to the creation of the Silver Bullet?"
Otherwise, he could not understand how the Miyano couple managed to develop such a drug.
If they could create it, why couldn't so many other top biologists and pharmacologists?
The only possibility was that they had obtained a mysterious substance no one else had ever seen.
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)