The Criminal Set Himself on Fire?

Japan flashed as Takagi was taken away by an ambulance.

"I wonder how Officer Takagi is doing..."

Ayumi watched the ambulance drive away, looking somewhat worried.

"He's just unconscious."

Sato Miwako offered a comforting remark, "The Beika Batman only stabbed Takagi with his dart; he'll wake up soon."

"But Officer Takagi seemed to be saying something just now. What if he faints? Wouldn't that be troublesome?"

Conan suddenly said in a childlike tone, "From the voice on the phone just now, it sounded like he was saying something, and then that big bat said he was the murderer who killed Officer Sato's father. So Officer Takagi must have discovered the murderer, which is why he was attacked, right?"

"Yes, that should be the case."

Sato nodded. She was still not quite sure what Takagi's intention was in calling her earlier.

After all, every time I tried to speak, I was interrupted...

However, judging from the other party's tone and the fact that the guy had just said he had caught her father's murderer, she was certain that the person who had just tried to attack Takagi was that guy.

But now that Takagi has fallen into a coma, Fujino couldn't see clearly either.

Now all we can do is wait for Takagi to wake up and then ask him in person.

"..."

Shiratori fell silent for a moment, then understood why that guy had acted so suspiciously just now...

However, Takagi actually found out who the culprit was, but he didn't tell him, planning to secretly collect the reward by himself...

On second thought, why do I suddenly feel like this guy deserved it?

Conan suddenly asked, "If that's the case, then Brother Fujino must have seen what the culprit looked like, right?"

"Judging from the noise on the phone just now, Brother Fujino must have seen someone attack Takagi -nii, right?"

"Yes!"

Sato then came to his senses and asked, "Fujino- kun, did you see what the person that guy took away looked like?"

"Appearance?"

Fujino thought for a moment, "It was a bit dark at the time, and I didn't see the person that guy dragged away very clearly. I just vaguely saw that it was an old man."

"An old man?"

Sato Miwako rubbed her chin, a thoughtful look in her eyes.

"Let's wait until Takagi wakes up before asking about this."

Shiratori said with a gloomy face, "After all, only Takagi knows the suspect's identity."

"Looks like we can only wait until he wakes up. Honestly, they found out but didn't even tell anyone beforehand..."

Sato reluctantly agreed, somewhat puzzled by Takagi's behavior.

But then she suddenly remembered what she had said earlier that day: whoever finds the murderer will have one wish granted...

This guy, surely he wouldn't do something so childish?

But thinking about it, if it were Takagi, it might actually be possible...

Sato was speechless for a moment, then pondered, "The most urgent thing is to find the arsonist... After all, if he commits a crime every day, then he will definitely take action today."

Fujino glanced around. "It should be around here."

"Around here?"

Sato was taken aback. "Fujino- kun, have you figured out his modus operandi?"

"I think I've figured it out..."

Fujino recalled for a moment and continued, "If I'm not mistaken, the motive for the crime was to draw a pattern on the map, with the first stop being Ikebukuro and the second being Asakusabashi... In other words, the person probably wanted to draw a big fire character on the map of Tokyo."

"A huge fire character..."

Ai Haibara thought for a moment, "There's a map in the back seat of Officer Sato's car, I'll go get it now."

Fujino took the map, picked up a pen, and marked the places where the arson had occurred to form the character for "fire": "Connecting the locations of each place, the only one missing is Shinagawa, where we are now."

"Piecing together the locations on the map... then the last stop should indeed be here."

Shiratori glanced at the map, then hesitated, saying, "But if it's just drawn as the character for 'fire,' that's a bit..."

"That's what mental illness is like."

Fujino put the map away and looked around. "It's a bit incomprehensible, but that's really how it is."

"Yes, I think Fujino's idea is correct."

Sato chimed in, "If the culprit's next arson site is here, then it's worth a try. Anyway, we haven't found out who the culprit is yet. If it's really as Fujino said, and if a fire breaks out just because we don't believe this theory... then it will be too late to regret it."

Around 8 PM.

A strange middle-aged man wearing a long trench coat and a hat drove up to the vicinity of Shinagawa Station.

With Fujino's spoiler, the moment the strange old man appeared, the police's internal radio channel crackled with a report from plainclothes officers already deployed near Shinagawa: "Suspected target spotted, just passed through Shinagawa 7-chome!"

"Okay, continue tracking the target, we're heading that way..."

Sato Miwako replied, "As expected, the arsonist's target today is right here, just as you said, Fujino."

Seeing no reply, she turned around and saw the empty seat behind her.

"..."

Sato Miwako paused for a moment, then sighed.

Could it be that he went off on his own?

On the other side.

The arsonist, carrying a gasoline can and humming a song, found a corner of a wooden warehouse, found a hemp rope, poured the gasoline down, and then took out a lighter.

"Good child, good child, grow up quickly..."

As the arsonist watched the flames gradually rise before him, a somewhat sinister smile crept onto his lips.

In his eyes, his 'masterpiece' is like a child.

But just as he had been warming himself by the fire for a while and was about to stand up, a shout came from behind him:

"Hey! Playing with fire will only make you pee in your pants!"

He was stunned and was about to turn around when suddenly, a dark figure wielding Wooden Sword kicked him hard in the back.

"Bang!"

With a muffled thud, the arsonist was kicked directly into the fire.

The flames touched the clothes and immediately began to burn.

"Ah--!"

The arsonist immediately felt flames erupting on his body.

Although in his eyes his fire was like a child.

But if it actually burns yourself...

Although he was mentally ill, he was also afraid of dying.

Before he could even call out twice, Fujino immediately pulled him out again.

Watching the uncle whose body was about to catch fire, Fujino's lips curled up slightly. Then he picked up a Wooden Sword pressed it against the man's stomach!

"Ah!!"

The Wooden Sword pressed against his stomach caused a sharp pain, as if a real knife had been plunged into his abdomen, causing the man to scream in agony.

Then, Fujino grabbed the uncle's arm and threw him to the ground.

Without saying much, he picked up the Wooden Sword and swung it at him again.

When Sato arrived with his men, they saw, in the firelight behind them, a figure that looked like a demon, holding a stick-like object, viciously striking the prisoner's body under the orange light behind him, causing a painful scream.

That person, doesn't he look like Fujino?

Sato hesitated for a moment, then, regaining his composure, shouted, "Stop fighting!"

"Ah, Officer Sato, you've arrived."

Fujino handed him another Wooden Sword, then looked up and greeted Sato and the other plainclothes officers who had strange expressions.

"What is he doing..."

Sato was speechless for a moment, then glanced at the uncle whose clothes were partially burned, and seemed somewhat hesitant.

"Oh, he accidentally burned himself. I'm putting out the fire."

Fujino wiped the sweat from his forehead and replied with a light laugh.

To be fair, this fire was indeed quite hot.

With his physique, he was sweating even from the slightest movement.

"The prisoner lit spicy food for himself?"

Sato glanced at the older man, looking somewhat hesitant.

But after seeing the burn marks on the man's body, he believed Fujino's explanation.

The people behind him also reluctantly believed it.

Hmm, beating the suspect with Wooden Sword to put out the fire seems quite reasonable.

"Ouch! Officer, it was him who kicked me..."

When the uncle heard that the police had arrived, he suddenly felt that the officers he used to be afraid of were somewhat kind and approachable.

Especially that lovely policewoman!

He wailed and tried to explain, but before he could finish, Fujino slashed his head with a Wooden Sword again. "Shut up!"

With one stab, the old man fell silent.

The world has become much quieter.

All that remained were the sounds of fire burning behind them.

Sato Miwako: "..."

The plainclothes officer behind him. "..."

Didn't someone just mention kicking someone?

Did this guy kick the suspect into the fire, then drag him out and beat him up under the guise of putting out the fire?

Although it is normal to follow the proper procedures and nothing will happen, even if there is an investigation, it will be explained as an accident caused by the criminal's resistance during the arrest. The beating can indeed be said to be a necessary procedure to 'put out the fire'.

But this guy, dressed all in black and carrying a Wooden Sword, is just too ruthless and too professional...

It's hard not to suspect that it's from the Osaka side.

"Ahem, everyone hurry and put out the fire! The fire isn't too big yet, we can still control it!"

Sato Miwako didn't care whether Fujino had just been putting out a fire or just beating up a suspect; she turned around and called out to the plainclothes officers.

With the cooperation of plainclothes police officers, the fire that had started was quickly extinguished.

Although it was indeed burning quite fiercely, there were no chemical agents that could help it burn.

Moreover, nearby shops also have fire extinguishers.

"Officer, this person..."

Two doctors lifted the arsonist onto a stretcher and were about to ask Sato Miwako if they should take him to the hospital and if someone should accompany him, but Sato Miwako suddenly interrupted them, "Is he burned?"

"Judging from the burn marks on the clothes, there should be some normally."

One of the doctors thought for a moment and said, "But after our examination, he wasn't unconscious. We suspect he inhaled an excessive amount of smoke..."

One of the police officers asked doubtfully, "Are you sure he doesn't have any injuries?"

"Of course!"

The doctor patted his white coat, as if to demonstrate his professionalism, and continued, "We have examined him from head to toe, and his pupils are in a normal dormant state, so we suspect that he lost consciousness because he inhaled smoke."

"..."

The surrounding police officers looked as if they had seen a ghost.

What is all this nonsense?

This guy was stabbed so many times and was beaten to a pulp, how come he doesn't even have a scratch?

"It's good that there are no burns. Then just leave it to the police to handle."

Sato Miwako wasn't surprised to hear that the prisoner had no injuries.

They beat the prisoner until he passed out, but no injuries could be found on his body.

She'd seen plenty of cases where someone beat a Sunflower Seeds so badly they didn't even get a concussion.

Seeing this, the doctor had no choice but to remove the poor prisoner from the stretcher, hand him over to two policemen, and help him into the police car.

After dealing with the crime scene, it was already quite late.

Shiratori took the kittens home, while Fujino, along with Sato and a group of police officers, returned to the Metropolitan Police Department to visit the interrogation site.

He used to be a detective; it's really inconvenient for him to get involved in this kind of thing...

However, now that he has become an advisor, Fujino has also participated in the interrogation, adhering to the principle of using any power he has.

The interrogation began quickly, presided over by Sato, with Fujino observing.

Although he's called an uncle, this big, unkempt tree looks to be only twenty-eight years old this year.

His surname Yamamoto, and his profession is programmer...

Judging from his long, slightly uneven hair, Fujino thought that his skills probably weren't very good.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have been fired.

Sato was questioned according to standard procedure, such as about his motive and method of committing the crime.

However, the men didn't mention Sato's question at all, only saying things like "for a noble ideal" and "where the sacred flame burns... life goes on and on."

"What the heck is going on..."

Sato scratched his head, his hair disheveled, looking a bit of a headache, and sighed.

I feel like I've encountered a mentally ill person.

Looks like I'll have to stay up all night again...

"Officer Sato, can I have this?"

However, Fujino was not going to tolerate it. He gave the man a cold look and tried to stand up to turn off the camera.

"Forehead..."

Sato swallowed hard, leaned close to Fujino's ear, and whispered in a low voice, "Advisor Fujino, calm down, calm down, we can't do this here... um, you should understand."

"Oh..."

Fujino nodded thoughtfully. "Then we'll go back to the detention center later."

Yamamoto's expression immediately turned strange.

Sato also noticed the change in Yamamoto's expression. After thinking for a moment, he added, "The environment in the detention center should be acceptable. Letting him stay for 24 hours should make him willing to talk."

Yamamoto: "..."

There are no cameras in the detention center, right?

Yamamoto recalled the terrifying scene that had just occurred, and a cold sweat immediately ran down his back.

He quickly confessed to the entire crime.

There were also plans to blow up a gasoline tank, plunging the entire city of Tokyo into flames again...

After leaving the interrogation room, Sato Miwako thought about persuading Fujino not to beat up the suspect so violently next time.

After all, if one misses, they could be killed instantly.

But then I thought about it again, Fujino had done it so many times without ever failing, so I didn't bring it up again.

After leaving the Metropolitan Police Department, Fujino rushed to Shinagawa Station, where he had been before.

He changed into a white robe, put on a mask, then took out a grappling hook and shot it towards the roof.

Following his memory, he quickly found the previous location.

"You're awake."

Fujino stepped forward and saw that Shikakawa was tied with red ropes and struggling on the roof. However, because his mouth was stuffed with two pairs of socks and some rags, and even tied with tape and rope, he could not make a sound.

"..."

Shikakawa looked at Fujino with a bewildered expression.

Before he lost consciousness, he didn't know what had kicked him.

When I opened my eyes, I felt a wave of gagging, and I even swallowed what I had vomited back down...

But now it seems that this is the person.

"How are you feeling, Mr. Shikakawa?"

Fujino walked forward slowly, his tone somewhat mocking. "The real culprit who murdered Sato Masayoshi eighteen years ago and robbed a bank?"

"...??"

At this moment, Shikakawa realized that the person in front of him was... Beika Batman?

But why... for no reason at all...

He believed he had disguised himself perfectly, and no one had discovered it for eighteen years.

He racked his brains but couldn't figure it out.

"Hmm, you should still have 550 million in cash on hand, right?"

Fujino slowly walked forward, looked at Shikakawa's face, and smiled slightly, "If you share some with me, I'll consider letting you go."