The music on the upper deck slowly faded.
Passengers were still laughing, unaware that their lives had nearly ended moments ago aboard the Aphrodite Cruise Ship.
Under the stage lights—
Two detectives stood silently.
Haruki Akizawa.
And Conan Edogawa.
The bomb had been disarmed.
The mastermind had escaped.
But now…
A different kind of tension filled the air.
Conan's Question
Conan stared at Haruki.
"You predicted the cargo hold."
"You knew the stage was the next location."
His eyes narrowed.
"And you stayed calm the entire time."
Haruki didn't answer immediately.
Conan crossed his arms.
"That's not normal."
Haruki looked down at him calmly.
"And you're not a normal child."
Conan froze.
For a brief second—
Both of them realized the same thing.
Neither of them were ordinary.
Mental Calculation
Haruki's thoughts moved quickly.
Conan Edogawa.
The shrunken form of Shinichi Kudo.
A genius detective.
And someone extremely dangerous to lie to.
If Haruki said too much—
Conan would start investigating him.
But if he said nothing—
Conan would become even more suspicious.
Haruki chose the safest answer.
"I observe."
Conan blinked.
"What?"
Haruki continued calmly.
"Patterns."
"Human behavior."
"Crime logic."
Conan stared for a few seconds.
Then sighed.
"That's a vague answer."
Haruki simply said:
"Correct."
Conan scratched the back of his head.
For now…
That explanation was barely acceptable.
But the suspicion remained.
System Notification
Haruki's mind suddenly heard the familiar tone.
DING
[ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ]
Hidden Mission Triggered
Mission Title: Shadow Behind the Bomb
Objective:
Identify the true mastermind behind the cruise ship bombing.
Reward:
• New System Ability Unlock
• Intelligence Points +10
• Black Organization Data Fragment (???)
Difficulty:
S-Rank
Haruki's eyes narrowed slightly.
Black Organization.
That phrase was extremely dangerous.
If the system mentioned them…
It meant the situation might already be connected to them.
But that contradicted the original timeline.
In canon—
The Organization would not appear until the night at Tropical Land.
Which meant…
The timeline was already shifting.
Because of him.
Outside Deck
The night ocean stretched endlessly around the ship.
Passengers slowly began leaving the party hall.
The cruise was ending soon.
Conan leaned against the railing.
"So."
"What's your next move?"
Haruki looked toward the dark horizon.
"Observation."
Conan smirked.
"You really like that word."
Haruki replied calmly.
"It works."
Conan looked up at him again.
"You know…"
"You'd make a pretty good detective."
Haruki answered simply.
"I'm not a detective."
Conan raised an eyebrow.
"Yet."
Unknown Location
Somewhere on the ship—
The mysterious bomber entered a small private cabin.
He removed his black suit jacket.
Then checked a secure communication device.
A distorted voice spoke through it.
"Report."
The man replied calmly.
"The test is complete."
The voice asked:
"And the target?"
The man smiled slightly.
"More interesting than expected."
A brief pause.
Then the voice asked another question.
"Did he notice anything?"
The man replied quietly.
"Not yet."
Then he ended the transmission.
On the device screen—
Two names appeared in a small data file.
Shinichi Kudo
And
Haruki Akizawa
System Status
Haruki quietly checked his system again.
[ STATUS ]
Name: Haruki Akizawa
IQ: 148
Observation: 84
Deduction: 82
Psychology: 70
Memory: 88
Skills:
• Observation Boost Lv.2
• Logic Acceleration Lv.1
• Crime Scene Reconstruction Lv.1
• Strategic Foresight Lv.1
• Danger Prediction Lv.1
Items:
• Evidence Scanner Lens
• Signal Interference Chip
Relationships:
• Conan Edogawa — Suspicious / Curious
Haruki closed the screen.
Everything was progressing faster than expected.
Too fast.
If the timeline kept shifting—
Future events from the anime might change.
And that meant…
His knowledge of the story could become unreliable.
Which made things much more dangerous.
Conan's Final Thought
As they walked toward the ship exit—
Conan secretly glanced at Haruki again.
His mind was already analyzing.
Haruki Akizawa.
Extremely calm.
Extremely intelligent.
Predicts danger before it happens.
Solves complex bomb logic under pressure.
And appears suddenly in Beika City.
Conan whispered quietly to himself.
"You're hiding something."
And Conan Edogawa always solved mysteries.
Eventually.
Final Scene
The cruise ship slowly approached the harbor lights of Tokyo.
Tomorrow would be a normal day.
Or so everyone believed.
But Haruki knew the truth.
Tomorrow—
The most important canon event would begin.
The day Shinichi Kudo goes to Tropical Land with Ran Mori.
The day the Black Organization appears.
The day everything changes.
Haruki looked at the rising sun over Tokyo Bay.
And quietly whispered:
"Tomorrow begins the real story."
End of Chapter 20