Bronze Statue with Violet Pupils

"I see."

After Director Ochiai's explanation, Fujino finally understood the cause and effect of the matter.

Eri Kisaki truly deserves the title of Queen of the Legal World. After he introduced her to Director Ochiai Eri Kisaki, he helped Director Ochiai win that case.

The lawsuit ultimately ruled that the deal between the business owner and the curator of the Museum where Ochiai was invalid.

But Ochiai was once again in a dilemma.

The Museum is not getting many visitors anymore, and Museum will be unable to continue operating without a new owner.

However, things suddenly took a turn for the better a month ago.

The Suzuki Zaibatsu has acquired Medieval Museum.

When the contract was delivered, he realized that the person who frequently came to him to buy insignificant and strange collectibles was actually Suzuki Jirokichi, an advisor to the Suzuki Zaibatsu.

After the Suzuki Zaibatsu acquired the Museum, he also met the youngest daughter of the Suzuki family.

It was the little girl named Sonoko who came with Fujino that day, the Suzuki family's daughter!

Ochiai began to fill in a whole bunch of wild imaginations.

Then, the scene inexplicably became chaotic.

"Ahem, Director Ochiai, I really didn't do this."

"I understand, I understand."

Director Ochiai nodded, revealing a meaningful expression, much like his last time at the Museum late at night. "Even if it wasn't you, Fujino, just preventing me from doing something irreversible is already a great favor. If it weren't for you, I might never have seen my Museum again."

Fujino: "..."

Okay, so it's no use explaining it to him now, right?

If it's useless, then it's useless.

Fujino sat on the sofa, took a deep breath, and then turned his gaze to another elderly man who had arrived with Director Ochiai. "I forgot to ask at the beginning, who is this?"

"My name is Arima Koushou, and I am the director of the Ekoda Museum. Nice to meet you."

Arima Koushou stood up and handed a business card to Fujino.

"So it was Arima Curator."

Fujino took the business card, Arima Koushou's name, contact number, and the address of the Ekoda Museum printed on it.

'Ekoda Museum?'

Fujino scrutinized the address on the business card, his eyes narrowing slightly.

He remembered that Kuroba Kaito should live in Ekoda.

Is this Museum located in Kuroba Kaito's hometown?

"Arima Curator is a friend of mine who has been with me for many years."

At this moment, Director Ochiai spoke up, "Just yesterday, Arima Curator's Museum received a notice from Kaito Kid, saying that he would steal the Bronze Statue with Violet Pupils at 8 pm tomorrow."

"Kaito Kid?"

Fujino narrowed his eyes slightly upon hearing this.

It's not just located in Kuroba Kaito's hometown.

That kid actually wanted to steal something from the Museum in his hometown.

People from my hometown are considered to be from there.

"If possible, I hope you can help Fujino deal with Kaito Kid."

At that moment, Arima Curator suddenly stood up and made a request to Fujino.

"Dealing with Kaito Kid?"

Upon hearing this, Fujino adjusted his glasses, frowned, and said, "If it's Kaito Kid, protecting the items is fine, but if we were to catch him... even I wouldn't have much of a chance."

Kaito Kid isn't actually impossible to catch.

It's just unnecessary.

If Fujino wanted to catch Kaito Kid, he only needed two steps.

First step: Run to his school gate and block him; second step: knock him unconscious and take him away.

However, doing so is simply too much trouble.

That old Kaito Kid is as slippery as an eel; his amazing little magic tricks sometimes leave even him helpless...

Besides, it's fine to keep it.

Last time, the Suzuki family gave him five million yen, and this time the Museum gave him one million yen. He could even take the opportunity to extort some pocket money when he met them on vacation.

Judging from the current situation, Kuroba Kaito's Old Sister-in-law has become his cash cow.

Don't even think about it if you want him, Teng, to cut down his cash cow.

You'll have to pay more.

"There's no need to catch him. Just protect our prized treasure, the Bronze Statue with the purple pupils. The police have been trying to catch Kaito Kid for so many years. If they could catch him, they would have done so long ago."

Arima Curator paused for a moment, then continued, "I didn't expect you, Detective Fujino, to know Ochiai. If you are Fujino, who once helped the Suzuki Zaibatsu fight against Kaito Kid, you should be able to protect the Purple Pupil Bronze Statue, right?"

"Yes, if it's just about protecting items, I can manage that."

"That's great."

"However..."

Fujino hesitated for a moment, then spoke again, "Regarding the commission..."

"If Detective Fujino is able to protect the purple Bronze Statue, our Ekoda Museum will pay one million yen as a token of our gratitude."

Arima Koushou immediately spoke up when Fujino brought up the matter of the commission fee.

One million yen?

Fujino's ears perked up at the mention of this.

Although it wasn't as much as the Suzuki family's five million yen, one million yen was still a considerable temptation for Fujino.

That's quite a substantial commission...

But what will be the price?

Fujino understood that not everyone was a sucker.

Even without his deception, the other party was willing to pay such a large commission...

They didn't even haggle over the price.

There must be some unspoken secret behind this, right?

Of course, it's also possible that I'm overthinking it...

After thinking for a moment, Fujino stopped dwelling on it and agreed, "I still have some unresolved grudges with Kaito Kid. Since your esteemed establishment is so sincere, I will accept this commission. Rest assured, I will do my utmost to prevent that Phantom Kaito Kid from stealing the Bronze Statue."

"Thank you so much."

Arima Koushou bowed his head and thanked him.

After signing the contract, Fujino watched as Director Ochiai and Arima Curator drove away and nodded.

Sometimes, connections are just that wonderful and unpredictable.

You never know when someone will bring an acquaintance to you to accept a commission.

That should be the situation with Director Ochiai.

Yes, thank you, Taro.

The next day was Sunday.

Okay, a much-anticipated day off.

Early in the morning, Fujino changed into his sportswear and went out for a morning run.

Ai Haibara, although she did not stay at Professor Agasa 'Professor Agasa house, still frequently visited his home.

Could they be researching an antidote for aptx4869?

Who knows?

God knows how that old bastard Conan managed to convince Ai Haibara.

In Beika Park, the weather was sunny, a gentle breeze was blowing, and the shadows of the trees were dappled.

It was still early morning, and there wasn't much in the park except for Fujino, who was doing his morning exercise alone.

Fujino sat on a park bench, lightly wiping away the tiny, almost invisible beads of sweat on his forehead and temples, and couldn't help but sigh, "The increase in physical ability and physique is truly visible to the naked eye..."

Physical abilities determine physical constitution, and physical constitution, in turn, determines physical abilities.

The two complement each other.

Suddenly, Fujino realized that he was no longer the frail young man he once was.

"Perhaps this is the most obvious change brought about by the system."

Fujino stood up from the bench and looked around.

After finding no one around, he walked to a large tree nearby.

"My physical strength has already been enhanced by 300%, I wonder how effective it will be."

Fujino pondered for a moment, then stretched out his hand and slammed it down on the large tree in front of him.

Bang!

Accompanied by a sound.

The birds in the surrounding trees scattered, and all the small animals on the ground fled in all directions.

The tree that Fujino smashed around had a small dent in its bark from that punch.

Fujino lowered his fist and glanced at the injury on it.

The wound wasn't even broken.

"It should be due to the increased defense across all attributes, right?"

Fujino examined his unharmed hand and murmured.

The all-attribute boost is the most cost-effective boosting effect he currently possesses.

While it cannot enhance learning abilities or certain special attributes, it can strengthen physical abilities, as well as perception and reaction capabilities.

Defensive capabilities are naturally included.

The 180% increase in defensive capabilities is enough for him to punch someone without harming himself.

The Fisherman's Fishing Hat still has a 50% defense boost.

But that thing is really a bit of a waste.

If you encounter someone you can handle with your bare hands, that's fine.

If you encounter someone with a gun, just lure them to shoot you in the head, and you're done for.

"I just don't know how effective it will be if I go all out now..."

Pulling himself out of his thoughts, he took out a Strength Enhancement Card from his Pocket Dimension and activated the Detective Enhancement at the same time.

With his original 270% strength, plus the 425-point timed enhancement, his strength has now reached 700%.

After the enhancement was completed, Fujino reached out and smashed it straight at the big tree.

The fist pierced the air, followed by a heavy thud.

The next moment, because of this punch, the leaves on the top of the tree began to fall continuously.

Is it that scary?

In Konoha, Fujino looked at the large tree that he had punched, leaving a deep crater, and immediately frowned.

He paused for a moment, then covered his hands again.

It has a few small cuts, and it hurts a bit.

Even with defensive capabilities as a backup, there are still fighting skills to avoid harming oneself.

But even if you punch a big tree, it will still get hurt.

This is actually the drawback of being enhanced, like a Super X-Man suddenly going into overdrive and experiencing a sudden surge in power.

Unable to properly control their strength.

Of course, there is a price to pay for gaining the power obtained through a sudden attack.

Fujino's price was that he was unable to adapt to his suddenly increased power in an instant.

The cost wasn't obvious, but Fujino felt somewhat uncomfortable about it.

He didn't like the feeling of being out of control of his body.

Fortunately, after a period of observation, he discovered that as long as he trained, he could infinitely reduce that feeling of sudden surge in power.

Therefore, in addition to the purpose of strengthening the body, Fujino exercise also aims to adapt to his own physical strength.

Now, through kendo training and morning practice, he has completely overcome this drawback.

After a short morning workout, Fujino headed to the Konoha Kendo Hall to begin his day's training.

The day passed quickly, and Fujino, who had been training at the Konoha Kendo Hall until evening, drove to the Ekoda Museum.

At this time, the Ekoda Museum was surrounded by reporters.

Fujino took out a baseball cap from his Pocket Dimension, put it on, took out his phone, and dialed Arima Koushou's number.

A short while later, Arima Koushou came out and welcomed Fujino inside.

Upon entering the Museum, Fujino immediately spotted the object of his mission to protect: Bronze Statue with violet pupils.

The Bronze Statue is large, but from the outside, it doesn't actually look particularly special.

The most unique feature is the eyes of the Bronze Statue.

It was a very beautiful purple diamond.

To be honest, these diamonds are indeed very tempting.

"Tonight is the time to show the strength of our Japan police!"

In front of the Bronze Statue, Nakamori Ginzo was making a grand statement. "Eight police helicopters have been deployed overhead, two hundred police officers have been stationed inside the museum, and infrared sensors and cameras have been activated in the basement! Not even a mouse can break into this Museum today, let alone Kaito Kid!"

A row of uniformed police officers stood in front of him, while on the other side, a camera was broadcasting the entire process live.

"Squeak squeak squeak!"

Just then, a sound came from behind.

Fujino looked in that direction and saw a mother mouse leading a bunch of mice running past the Bronze Statue.

Fujino: "..."

Everyone: "..."

"You bunch of idiots!"

Enraged by the rat's slap in the face, Nakamori Ginzo pointed at the rat that had just escaped and stomped his feet in anger, shouting, "Go over there and catch those stinky rats and throw them out!"

"Officer Nakamori, it's been a long time."

Once things calmed down and Nakamori Ginzo regained his composure, Fujino stepped forward to greet him.

"Ah, Fujino."

Nakamori Ginzo glanced at Fujino, paused for a moment, then continued, "By the way, how exactly did you get in?"

As he spoke, Nakamori Ginzo felt somewhat speechless.

He had just said that even mice couldn't get in, and then the mice proved him wrong.

Goto Fujino walked in again, and he was slapped in the face once more...

Well, he's been slapped in the face countless times over the years; he's numb to it all.

"I invited Detective Fujino to come and protect the purple Bronze Statue."

Arima Koushou stepped forward and explained.

"Don't you trust our police?"

Nakamori Ginzo leaned forward and whispered, "Agreeing to broadcast the capture of Kaito Kid on TV is already our bottom line. You actually went and asked High School Detective to do it. Isn't that a bit inappropriate?"

There's nothing inappropriate about it.

Arima Koushou waved his hand, "I think that the success rate can be greatly increased if the police and detectives cooperate. Last time, didn't Fujino team up with you to defeat the Kaito Kid?"

That's what they say...

Nakamori Ginzo wanted to say something more, but after a pause, he fell silent.

He then walked over to Fujino, glanced around to make sure no cameras were filming him, and asked, "Fujino, how do you think that Kaito Kid will make his appearance tonight?"

"Well, I don't really know either."

Fujino chuckled and said, "It's not important to figure out where Kaito Kid will sneak in from. What's important is that we know what Kaito Kid will steal. No matter how he sneaks in, the final result will only be that he steals the treasure that was foretold. Now we just need to wait for him to come to us."

"That's easy for you to say."

Nakamori Ginzo pursed his lips, though he knew Fujino was right.

But isn't that what he does every single time?

That guy still managed to escape.

"Alright, let's check the time now..."

Nakamori Ginzo glanced at his watch, then called out to the surrounding police officers, "What time is it now..."

"Sunday, September 2nd, 6:12:16.09 PM"

Just then, a slightly arrogant voice suddenly came from behind.

Fujino turned around and saw a blond man wearing a shawl, hat, and even a Blondie just like Sherlock Holmes's.

Thanks to: Teen Boy Nemesis; Legendary God of War for their generous donations.