Is Your Kidney Okay?

After hanging up with Sato Miwako, Fujino rubbed his temples and fell into deep thought.

Juzo Megure was shot with a steel arrow?

This must be part of the plot from The Fourteenth Target, right?

However, he remembered that Juzo Megure had only suffered minor injuries.

But in the phone call just now, Sato Miwako said that Juzo Megure's kidney had been stabbed with a steel arrow...

Could it be some kind of strange Butterfly Effect?

Fujino Shiraishi couldn't ride the older sister.

But thinking about it too much is useless.

Go and see for yourself.

He put away his phone and hurriedly drove his motorcycle out of the underground garage to Green Moss Police Hospital.

After parking his motorcycle and entering the hospital building, he immediately noticed a female nurse with long brown hair, dressed in a nurse's uniform, sitting behind the hospital reception desk.

"Nurse."

Fujino stepped forward and asked, "Excuse me, which ward Megure from the Metropolitan Police Department, who was admitted to the hospital this morning, in?"

"Inspector Megure?"

"That's right."

After confirming Juzo Megure's name, the nurse looked down and began to look through the admission records.

A moment later, she handed Fujino a notebook, a small notebook containing records of hospital visitors.

The nurse only responded after Fujino signed his name on it.

"Inspector Megure is currently receiving treatment in ward 622."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

The nurse had a sweet smile on her face the whole time, looking innocent and kind.

However, Fujino was not fooled by this appearance.

After all, this is the Conan World.

The more naive a girl is, the more dangerous she is.

Don't be fooled by her innocent smile one second; the next, she might turn into a murderer who killed her cheating husband or boyfriend.

Fujino strolled to the door of ward 622.

I glanced at the name on the doorplate: Juzo Megure.

After confirming that this was the correct ward, he pushed open the door and entered.

What came into view was Juzo Megure lying on the hospital bed.

At this Juzo Megure was wearing a hospital gown, his complexion was still rosy, and he looked healthy, showing no signs of being the unlucky guy whose back had been pierced by Steel Needle.

"Oh! Brother Fujino! What brings you here?"

When Juzo Megure saw Fujino enter, he greeted him warmly.

Fujino frowned slightly as he sized up the enthusiastic old fat man.

Are you sure this is a kidney pierced by a steel arrow?

Fujino glanced at the body covered by the Juzo Megure and asked in confusion, "By the way Inspector Megure... is your kidney alright?"

"Kidney... kidney?"

Juzo Megure was puzzled.

"Yes."

Fujino continued, "I heard that you were hit in the kidney by a steel arrow, which is why I rushed over here."

Juzo Megure was stunned by what he heard and immediately fell into deep thought.

Wasn't he hit in the waist by a steel arrow?

How did it become a rumor that he was hit in the kidney?

He didn't understand how the story of being shot in the waist could be misrepresented as being shot in the kidneys... Who spread the word?

It even reached Fujino's ears.

This is incredibly embarrassing...

Thinking of this, his lips twitched, and he turned his gaze to Shiratori Ninzaburo.

"Ahem."

Shiratori Ninzaburo coughed lightly, suppressing a smile from the corner of his mouth, and explained to Fujino, "That steel arrow didn't hit a vital spot. Inspector Megure's kidneys weren't injured; it was just a minor injury. He'll be discharged in a few days."

"That's good."

Fujino breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.

He thought it was some kind of messy Butterfly Effect.

It turned out to be just a rumor.

"Knock knock!"

Just then, there was another knock on the door.

Besides Fujino, Mori Kogoro also received the same news.

He brought Conan and Ran to Juzo Megure's hospital room.

Shiratori Ninzaburo explained Juzo Megure's injuries again, and then began to talk about the case of Juzo Megure's attack and the current investigation results:

"The perpetrator who attacked Inspector Megure used a steel arrow fired from a handheld crossbow. However, at present, it is still unclear what the perpetrator's motive was. Nevertheless, we have begun investigating the possibility of an arbitrary attack or premeditated retaliation."

"By the way, we also found something strange at the crime scene."

As he spoke, Shiratori Ninzaburo pulled an evidence bag out of his pocket.

The evidence bag contained a rapier that appeared to be made from a cardboard box.

"A Western-style fencing weapon?"

Fujino examined the abstract cardboard sword and rubbed his chin.

If that's the case, then everything will make sense.

This is indeed the fourteenth target incident...

His memory of the theatrical version is vague, and he hadn't seen it many times in his previous life.

However, he did remember that the murderer was a bartender whom Mori Kogoro knew... but he couldn't recall the bartender's name.

However, he still knew who the next victim would be.

That's Eri Kisaki...

The Juzo Megure corresponds to the King of Spades, which is 13. The image on the playing card is a king holding a rapier.

Eri Kisaki corresponds to the Queen of Spades, which is the English translation of "Queen".

"If we do it now..."

Fujino was pondering something, about to say something, when he was interrupted by a phone ringing.

It's Mori Kogoro's cell phone.

Under Fujino's watchful gaze, Mori Kogoro answered the phone, and before he could even say two words, he shouted, "What did you say?! Eri has been poisoned!"

The call was disconnected, Mori Kogoro looked gloomy.

"How is my mother?!"

Ran, who was standing nearby, asked anxiously.

After a moment of silence, Mori Kogoro took a deep breath and replied, "She has been taken to Tohto University Hospital, but we haven't figured out her exact condition yet."

"How so..."

Ran's pupils widened slightly, revealing a worried expression.

Soon, the group headed to Tohto University Hospital, with Shiratori Ninzaburo following along.

By the time the group arrived, Eri Kisaki had already completed the first aid.

Eri Kisaki was wheeled out of the emergency room by two nurses. Her hair was disheveled, and she lay on a mobile hospital bed, looking somewhat pale.

To be honest, Eri Kisaki with her hair down is quite beautiful, almost on par with Yukiko Kudo, both being top-tier beauties.

No wonder there were so many Cao Thief in my past life.

After the doctor explained the situation and said that Eri Kisaki needed to stay in the hospital for observation for a few days, he sent her to a ward.

Meanwhile, at the crime scene, the police officer in charge of investigating the case also produced key pieces of evidence: a chocolate bar and a white flower.

"Glico Chocolate?!"

Mori Kogoro looked at what the other detective had taken out and exclaimed in surprise, "This is Eri's favorite chocolate!"

"Mouri-niisan, let me take a look."

Fujino took the evidence bag from Mori Kogoro, and frowned as he examined the chocolate wrappers and flowers inside.

After pondering for a moment, he said to everyone in a deep voice, "If I am not mistaken, the murderer in these two cases should be the same person."

"Fujino- kun, have you discovered some pattern?"

Upon hearing this, Shiratori looked at Fujino in surprise.

Then, Fujino recounted the patterns of the murderer's crimes from his memory.

"So, the killer decided the order of the attacks based on the order of the playing cards?"

After listening to Fujino's reasoning, Shiratori Ninzaburo nodded in agreement, "Juzo Megure's name contains the characters for thirteen, k, Eri Kisaki's 'Queen' corresponds to 'Empress,' and the evidence from the perpetrator at the scene also matches up."

"So the next person the killer will attack should be number 11, which is j..."

Mori Kogoro, his face grim, scratched the back of his head, racking his brains for a long time but still couldn't think of anyone who fit the criteria. "But even so, it's still unclear who that guy's next target is..."

"Actually, it's not difficult to find them. If Inspector Megure's attack was a coincidence, then Lawyer Fei's attack was not accidental, but rather a deliberate act of revenge against someone."

Fujino paused for a moment, then continued, "If I'm not mistaken, the murderer should be someone who knows Uncle Mori... and they probably have some kind of grudge against him."

"Could it be that guy?!"

Upon hearing this, Mori Kogoro's face darkened.

"That guy?"

Conan looked somewhat puzzled upon hearing this.

"Murakami Jo."

At this point, Shiratori Ninzaburo explained, "Murakami Jo committed murder for gambling ten years ago and was arrested by Mr. Mori and Megure. He was just released from prison a week ago. That's why we notified Mr. Mori... We suspect that Murakami Jo is deliberately seeking revenge."

"I don't think it's Murakami Jo. If Murakami Jo had just been released from prison a week ago, then logically speaking, he shouldn't have been so well prepared."

Knowing that the murderer was a bartender, Fujino paused, organized his thoughts, and continued, "And the fact that he only knew the brand of chocolate that Lawyer Fei liked to eat clearly means that the culprit was actually an acquaintance of Lawyer Fei or Uncle Mori."

In his memory, this Murakami Jo, was indeed not a criminal.

The reason he was suspected by the police, and the reason Inspector Juzo Megure and Eri Kisaki were attacked, was all because that bartender, whom Mori Kogoro knew, deliberately guided the evidence.

Murakami Jo was murdered a week earlier when he went to see Mori Kogoro ...

In other words, Murakami Jo was merely a scapegoat to cover up the truth.

If Fujino remembers correctly, the next victim should be Professor Agasa.

Although he had no connection with Professor Agasa, there was no need for him to help without any reward.

But they just gave us two million a few days ago, so it wouldn't be right not to help.

Thinking of this, Fujino said, "Although we cannot confirm the identity of the perpetrator, we can predict who the next person to be attacked will be. As mentioned before, the perpetrator attacked in the order of thirteen down, so the next target should have eleven in their name."

"But that's still too general."

Uncle Mori looked troubled. After thinking for a moment, he suddenly said seriously, "It's hard to think of someone whose name contains the number 11... Could it be Miss Matsushita Jyuichiko from the cabaret?"