Chapter 179: Kaito's Intervention
Fishing was just an excuse. Natsukawa planned to call Gin, then head to Shiho's pharmaceutical company to plant some misinformation while conveniently handing over the one billion yen to Gin.
Therefore, Conan became even more convinced that Natsukawa frequently went night fishing.
He had a complete set of equipment, all seemingly from extremely expensive brands—only a seasoned angler would be willing to invest so heavily.
It appeared night fishing was Uncle Natsukawa's personal hobby.
Natsukawa hadn't expected his casual excuse would make Conan believe him even more.
"Well then..."
"Uncle Mouri, would you like to go fishing together? I have two rods here, and I can share some bait with you later. This stuff is custom-made—you definitely won't go home empty-handed!"
Kogoro Mouri waved his hands repeatedly, checking his watch. "It's almost 8 o'clock. I need to get back to watch Yoko-chan's variety show."
Kogoro Mouri had zero interest in fishing.
His hectic life was already dull enough—he needed to watch Yoko Okino to relieve the monotony. Besides, he was absolutely terrible at fishing, always returning home empty-handed.
So instead of standing in the cold sea breeze, it was far better to go home and enjoy beer, cigarettes, and Yoko Okino.
Watching Conan and Kogoro Mouri leave, Natsukawa headed straight for the shoreline.
Fishing didn't matter—the main thing was finding a quiet spot to call Gin.
Natsukawa found a suitable location, cast his line, and sat down. Before he could even dial Gin's number, his phone rang—the man himself calling, as if anticipating his move.
It was already past eight o'clock. Thinking about it, Gin should indeed be checking on his progress around now.
"Mission accomplished. One billion yen secured, Miyano Akemi is dead, and I even recorded video evidence. I'll send it to you when I get back."
Before Gin could speak, Natsukawa reported the situation directly.
"Understood. Are you still at Tokyo Bay?" Gin's tone carried unusual urgency, completely skipping over the topic of Miyano Akemi and not even asking for the video. This reaction truly baffled Natsukawa.
Could it be that the dog heist failed?
That shouldn't be possible. The plan had been so meticulous, with Vermouth even disguising herself as Ayako Suzuki. There shouldn't have been any issues.
I should have called Calvados first. He installed surveillance cameras near the Suzuki estate—maybe he caught something.
"Yeah, the police seemed to have found a lead and showed up, but I'd already dealt with Miyano Akemi, so they left empty-handed."
"Mm, we'll discuss that later. I have another task for you right now." Gin's tone relaxed slightly.
Although the dog heist had an unexpected complication, Natsukawa's operation had gone surprisingly smoothly.
Even though the police had arrived, based on Gin's understanding of the Metropolitan Police, those incompetent officers were good at crime scene cleanup but terrible at actually finding anything useful.
"A task?"
Natsukawa murmured, listening carefully to Gin's explanation.
Bright moonlight reflected off the sea, waves spreading the moon's shimmering image across the water.
Natsukawa, the fisherman, leisurely reclined in a folding chair, his fishing rod motionless—no fish biting.
However, the angler didn't care about such details. All his attention focused on the phone in his hand.
"What?! (O_o)
Phantom Thief Kid!?"
Natsukawa was genuinely astonished, never expecting that Kid would ruin their dog heist.
Gin briefly summarized the situation.
Basically, they'd started the operation around 7:00 PM. Vermouth, using Suzuki Ayako's identity, had entered the dog's private kennel to take Lupin, only to encounter Phantom Thief Kid dressed in white.
His objective appeared to be the same as the Organization's—Lupin.
Because they'd been completely unaware of Kid's arrival, the Organization hadn't prepared any countermeasures.
Furthermore, Kid's bold and direct actions quickly alerted the Suzuki family's security team.
Their perfect plan was ruined. Alarms blared throughout the Suzuki estate, and bodyguards and security personnel swarmed in from all directions like disturbed ants.
Then, right in front of Suzuki Jirokichi, Kid revealed that the "Suzuki Ayako" was actually someone in disguise.
"I remember Phantom Thief Kid always sends advance notices before his heists. Didn't he this time?" Natsukawa asked, suppressing a laugh.
"He did!" Gin ground his teeth. "Found it in that damn dog's kennel."
Apparently, Kid had left a notice a day in advance, but Lupin had treated it like a toy and carried it to his doghouse, so no one had noticed.
It wasn't until Vermouth was about to abscond with both the kennel and the dog that the notice was discovered.
By then it was too late—Kid was already standing right in front of her.
To this, Natsukawa could only say the Organization had been incredibly unlucky this time.
"Kid is only interested in jewels. When did he sink so low as to steal dogs? Oh, right—Lupin wears a collar with three gemstones."
After muttering to himself for a moment, he suddenly remembered Gin hadn't explained why he was calling. "So, what mission do you want to give me at this hour?"
If he wasn't mistaken, it should be related to Kid.
Natsukawa lifted his fishing rod and discovered the bait on the hook was completely gone.
Fish these days are clever. They only eat the bait and don't bite the hook at all.
"Right now, Phantom Thief Kid is flying toward Tokyo Bay. I recall your transaction location tonight was in Tokyo Bay."
Gin's voice turned ice-cold. "I want the dog, I want the jewels, and I want Phantom Thief Kid's life too!!!
Bourbon and Vermouth are already heading toward Tokyo Bay. In about fifteen minutes, Phantom Thief Kid will be passing through Tokyo Bay on his hang glider—probably arriving in about five minutes. Stop him!
Korn and Chianti will provide backup support later."
"What about you and Vodka?" Natsukawa asked.
"I've told you everything you need to know."
"Understood."
Hanging up, Natsukawa tossed his fishing rod aside and walked to his car.
Fortunately, Tequila's outfit and equipment were still in the vehicle.
A few minutes later, Natsukawa had donned Tequila's clothes, leaving the mask off for now.
He retrieved a flashlight, leaned against the car, and scanned the sky with binoculars, waiting for Kaito to arrive.
He left the mask off so Kaito could recognize him later, and the clothes shortened the disguise time since Bourbon and Vermouth would be arriving soon.
Before long, he spotted a small white dot flying in from the city center.
As the dot approached and grew larger, Natsukawa flashed his light at Kaito.
Two hundred meters above ground, Kaito controlled his hang glider with one hand while holding a limp puppy in the other.
This dog was Suzuki Jirokichi's beloved Lupin.
Because Vermouth had drugged it, the dog was still unconscious.
"Jii-chan, where are you?"
He spoke into his headset.
The port near Tokyo Bay Warehouse District #4 was the escape point he'd arranged with Konosuke Jii beforehand. The old man and their getaway boat should be at the coastline by now.
"Young master, the police just showed up at Warehouse #4. I was worried about being discovered, so I moved the rendezvous point one kilometer offshore."
"The police?" Kaito frowned, somewhat puzzled.
Today's operation was really going south. Now the police were appearing at his designated meeting point too.
He glanced at Lupin, still unconscious with his tongue lolling out, and felt a headache coming on. The notice he'd sent yesterday had been secretly hidden in the doghouse, preventing Suzuki Jirokichi from receiving it.
He'd been wondering why Inspector Nakamori was unusually home cooking for Aoko when he'd arrived, only to discover the oversight.
There'd also been a minor incident.
Someone had disguised themselves as Suzuki Ayako and planned to kidnap Lupin before him.
Fortunately, he'd arrived in time—otherwise that would have been awkward.
It was truly bizarre that someone would even consider kidnapping a dog. That was something else entirely.
Initially, he'd assumed they shared his objective—the jewels.
Naturally, he'd assumed the person disguised as Suzuki Ayako was from the Black Organization.
Having had several encounters with the Black Organization, he knew a mysterious syndicate was competing for the gems.
Those people even knew about his father—they were connected to the circumstances surrounding his father's death.
Therefore, he'd resolved to find the Pandora gem those organizations had always targeted.
However, he'd later discovered that the organization he encountered this time didn't seem to be after just the gems on the collar.
No, to be more precise, it wasn't just the gems on the collar.
They were after both the collar and the dog.
This was different from the Black Organization he'd encountered before, whose sole goal was the gem—to find the Pandora hidden within it.
Come to think of it, this mysterious organization planning to kidnap Lupin seemed quite capable.
Especially the person disguised as Ayako Suzuki—their disguise techniques seemed masterful.
The technique just wasn't quite perfect, lacking certain subtle details.
Because they were also targeting the gems on Lupin's collar, he'd researched everyone in the Suzuki family beforehand. Given the flaws in the disguise, he'd easily spotted the deception.
Besides, what kind of owner would drug their own dog? That simply didn't make sense.
"Have you found out why the police are there?"
Out of caution, he needed to understand the situation.
"It seems they're arresting some suspect. My contact at the Metropolitan Police reported it's related to the one billion yen bank robbery that happened this afternoon. However, the First Investigation Division came up empty-handed—seems they couldn't find the culprits."
"I see. At least it's not Inspector Nakamori."
Kaito pulled the control stick, lowering his flight altitude.
The wind over Tokyo Bay was strong. Flying too high would affect his landing, so he needed to descend in advance.
He glanced back, not seeing the taxi that had been chasing him since the Suzuki estate.
This was normal—there were no traffic lights in the sky, and the airways were wide open.
And Tokyo traffic was heavy at 8 PM, especially on a weekend, so it was perfectly normal for a taxi to lose him.
Unless they chased him in a helicopter, there was no chance of keeping up.
Suddenly, a bright white light flashed across his face.
Kaito shielded his eyes with his hand, squinting at the source.
He wanted to know which brat was playing with a flashlight so late at night.
"Huh?"
Following the direction of the light, Kaito quickly locked onto a figure.
The person noticed him looking and turned off the light.
Kaito flicked his wrist, and a monocular telescope appeared in his hand. He held it up to his eye and looked in that direction.
Although his eyesight was excellent, he was still over 150 meters above ground, and the straight-line distance between him and the other person exceeded 300 meters. Without the telescope, he couldn't see who it was at all.
He wasn't worried it was the same group from before. After all, his appearance had been completely accidental for them—they couldn't possibly have known his escape route in advance.
The telescope focused, and a figure dressed entirely in black came into Kaito's view. He moved his gaze upward, focusing on the face.
He noticed the other person was also looking at him through binoculars.
"Is that... Natsukawa?"
Kaito stared blankly for a few seconds, then noticed Natsukawa had lowered his binoculars and was waving, seemingly calling him down.
Despite some doubt, Kaito began his descent.
"Jii-chan, bring the boat to the shore of Warehouse District #4. I need to meet someone first."
There were no tall buildings in the warehouse area suitable for hang glider takeoffs, so he could only call Konosuke Jii to the shore.
Kaito was curious about Natsukawa appearing in this location at this hour.
Especially since his attire resembled that of the group he'd encountered earlier.
When he'd left the Suzuki estate, he'd even been shot at by a sniper, proving this organization was no ordinary criminal syndicate.
Under such circumstances, Kaito was still willing to land and meet with Natsukawa. Was it boldness or trust in Natsukawa?
The elegant white phantom descended gracefully before Natsukawa.
Natsukawa glanced at his watch and said, "We have ten minutes to talk."
After speaking, he looked toward the sea and noticed a speedboat approaching.
Although the night was dark, the gleaming bald head naturally reflected light, especially under the bright moonlight.
Therefore, the person's identity was obvious—Konosuke Jii.
"So, what did you want to see me about?" Kaito pressed the control stick twice, and the glider disappeared with a whoosh, transforming back into a white cape.
Natsukawa definitely hadn't just called him down for a casual greeting, and he was curious why Natsukawa was dressed like this.
Also, he could clearly see that Natsukawa's height had increased by at least ten centimeters—those platform insoles were excessive.
He didn't know the reason, but it looked somewhat ridiculous.
It might look better if he put on that disguise mask in his hand.
"Who are you planning to disguise yourself as?"
Natsukawa put on the mask right in front of Kaito, not afraid of being discovered at all. Once the mask was completely secured, he adjusted it around his mouth and said, "On a mission. I heard you stole a dog from the Suzuki family. Your dad always targeted jewels—why did you go for the dog this time?"
"Please, my objective is the three gemstones on Lupin's collar. I have zero interest in dogs."
Kaito removed Lupin's collar and detached the gems right in front of Natsukawa.
He only removed the largest one in the center, then examined it under the shimmering moonlight.
Natsukawa paused, realizing Kaito already seemed to know about the Zoo.
After all, Kaito had only learned about checking if jewels under moonlight were Pandora after his encounter with the Zoo organization.
[End of Chapter]
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