Have You Ever Been a Hokage?

"Just a little trick to play with time."

Fujino pondered for a moment, "Mrs. Shibata did leave before five o'clock, but that doesn't mean Mr. Shibata died at eight o'clock."

"Didn't Mr. Shibata die at eight o'clock?"

Yokomizo Sango somewhat puzzled. "But the programs on the television videotapes at the time were clearly recorded at eight o'clock, and the newspapers at the time were only available at six o'clock in the morning. Could it be that Mr. Shibata could have come back to life?"

Fujino nodded seriously. "Hmm, maybe."

"Huh? Really?!"

Yokomizo Sango was stunned; his astonishment was practically written all over his face.

If a normal person said that, he would just think that person was a fool.

Are you kidding me? Do you really think this is a ghost story?

But what if the other person is Fujino, the high school detective who came with Mr. Mori...?

He had reason to suspect that the body might have actually gotten up on its own!

"I was just joking. There's no way I could come back to life."

Fujino glanced at Yokomizo speechlessly.

He didn't expect that the guy would actually believe it.

The Japan police are so trusting...

Fujino snapped out of his thoughts and explained, "What I mean is that Mr. Shibata didn't actually die at eight o'clock, but rather before Mrs. Shibata left home at five o'clock."

"It is quite reasonable for a couple living under the same roof to know that the husband eats, reads the newspaper, and watches TV at eight o'clock every day."

"I think she put the newspaper on the table when she came back later, and she also recorded the TV videotape."

Fujino then turned to Shibata Kyoko: "The purpose of doing this is to cover up the truth, to create the illusion that he died at eight o'clock, to establish an alibi, and to clear oneself of suspicion, right?"

"But, whether it was when the newspapers were delivered at six in the morning or when the TV recording started at eight, Mrs. Shibata was playing golf with her friends."

Yokomizo Sango frowned and looked at Shibata Kyoko suspiciously. "If it's really as you said, Detective Fujino, then her friends must have hidden the fact that she left halfway through."

"That's not the case. Her friends probably weren't lying. Whether it's that she came back around 7 a. m. or that she went to play golf before 5 a. m., it's all true."

Fujino shook his head. "It's just that 7:10 is also a little past 7, and 7:30 is also a little past 7. I think Mrs. Shibata did these things after she came back, like taking the newspapers out of the mailbox and putting them on the table. As for the videotape, she just arranged to start recording at 8 o'clock before she left, which was before 5 o'clock."

"I see..."

Mori Kogoro chimed in, "If that's the case, then Mrs. Shibata had already returned before we arrived, which would make people mistakenly believe that Mr. Shibata actually died at eight o'clock in the morning."

"Yes, that's it."

Fujino then brought up the matter, saying, "Actually, Mrs. Shibata had already shown some unusual behavior when we entered, and that's when I started to pay attention."

"An abnormal expression?"

Mori Kogoro paused for a moment, then asked, "Really?"

"Mouri-niisan, didn't you notice?"

Fujino looked at Mori Kogoro with some confusion, but after thinking about it, he understood how flustered he had been and how he had apologized so hastily. He then asked, "When we arrived, Mrs. Shibata must have said that I was going to call the police because of what you were doing in my house, right?"

"That's true..."

Mori Kogoro pondered for a moment, chin in hand, but clearly couldn't quite figure it out.

"That must be Mrs. Shibata's reaction!"

Ran was standing nearby, thought for a moment and then leaned forward like a well-behaved student, saying, "Did Mrs. Shibata already know we were at her house?"

"That's right."

Seeing that Ran seemed relatively normal, Fujino nodded with relief. "Generally speaking, if someone behaves like this when they see a stranger in their home, there are only two possibilities: either they know their husband is not home, or their husband is dead."

"But what really made me think of this was that when we arrived at the Shibata family's door, we heard faint breathing sounds."

Fujino looked at Shibata Kyoko: "At the time, I didn't pay attention to those breathing sounds, after all, there were quite a lot of people there... But now that I think about it, it must have been you, Mrs. Shibata. Shibata, hiding somewhere and watching us, right?"

Conan listened silently to the reasoning and agreed with what Fujino said.

The idea was the same as his, but the starting point was a little different.

Because of things like the sound of breathing, I started to have doubts...

Are you sure Fujino is still a human, and not some kind of Mike or something?

"..."

Shibata Kyoko didn't reply; she just lowered her head and silently swallowed.

She never expected that her overreaction upon entering would expose her.

It should be said that she didn't think much about it at the time...

"Thinking about it that way, that's true. If Mrs. Shibata did that, she would have an alibi."

Yokomizo Sango, but he still raised a question that had been bothering him, "But why is Ms. Ikenami's photo being held so tightly in Mr. Shibata's hands?"

"It's probably to frame Ms. Ikenami!"

At this moment, Mori Kogoro suddenly said in an unusually serious tone, "If the deceased had a photo of someone who was present, then that person would be the first suspect! And they would immediately eliminate themselves from the picture!"

"So that's how it is!"

Yokomizo, a huge fan of Mori, immediately believed this statement. He then became even more excited and began to mutter to himself, "No wonder you said, Mr. Mori, that Ms. Ikenami wasn't the murderer. Did you figure out who the murderer really was?"

"You must have kept quiet earlier because you were looking out for Fujino, your junior, right?"

"Truly worthy of Mr. Mori!"

"Ahem."

Mori Kogoro scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "It's nothing."

"Um?"

Hattori Shizuka also glanced at Mori Kogoro with curiosity.

Although she was somewhat skeptical of the policeman's explanation, after all, from what she had seen earlier, Mori Kogoro seemed like an irresponsible and confused old man.

But the other party is, after all Sleeping Kogoro. If you think about it, it really is possible.

Moreover, that last sentence vaguely revealed that he already knew about the plan he had discussed with Shibata Shiro...

Is it really because they are taking care of the younger generation?

Hattori Shizuka gradually became confused and fell into deep thought.

"..."

Shibata Kyoko remained silent for a moment.

Forget about framing her; she simply put something there.

That woman named Ikenami was just a coincidence; she hadn't expected her to come...

"While that's part of the reason, I think the main reason is to cover something up, isn't it?"

Fujino glanced speechlessly at the group of people who were making up their own ideas, and interrupted them from continuing their discussion.

"The same thing?"

The group, who had been interrupted, looked at Fujino with some hesitation.

Wedding ring.

Fujino lowered his head and said in a deep voice, "Mr. Shibata's left hand was covered in blood, but there was a spot on his ring finger that wasn't bleeding. His right hand, which was holding the photo, was stained with blood. If I'm not mistaken, that hand was holding his wedding ring."

"Just like what Fujino- kun said!"

Yokomizo Sango quickly stepped forward and glanced at Shibata's body. "The circular bloodstain does indeed look very much like a wedding ring."

"When Mrs. Shibata returned home, she was shocked to find that her husband had climbed into the study before he died, intending to call the police. Although he died before he could touch the phone, it still left her with some lingering fear."

Fujino raised his head and squinted at Shibata Kyoko. "Afraid of being exposed, Mrs. Shibata quickly checked the body again, only to find that Mr. Shibata's ring was missing. It was on his left hand. Afraid that her secret would be exposed, Mrs. Shibata quickly took out the ring and intended to put it back on."

"But at that time, Mr. Shibata's body was already very stiff, and his fingers could not be straightened at all. So, she thought of hiding the ring and, in order to prevent anyone from noticing that his hand was unnaturally open, she also held the photo in his hand... This created the illusion that Ms. Ikenami would be suspected of being a suspect."

As he spoke, Fujino turned his gaze to Shibata Kyoko's tightly clenched hand. "From the first moment I met you, I have never seen your hand loosen. If I'm not mistaken, that ring is on your hand right now, isn't it?"

Startled by being seen through, Shibata Kyoko instinctively opened her palm, and a ring fell to the ground, making a clear, ethereal sound.

"You killed Mr. Shibata because of his gambling, didn't you?"

Fujino glanced down at the blood-stained wedding ring.

"That's right, just as you said."

Shibata Kyoko sighed, "It's because of that guy's gambling that I wanted to kill him... He even said that the next thing he'd sell is my golf ball, and even the family heirloom sword my father gave him..."

As she spoke, she glared fiercely at Yoshikawa: "The reason things have turned out this way is all because of this guy! I simply couldn't watch him continue like this, so I..."

At this point, she stopped talking and turned to Fujino, asking, "Actually, from the moment you exposed that guy's gambling... even after I walked in, you already guessed that I was the murderer, right?"

"I just guessed that guy was gambling."

Fujino crossed his arms, without giving a direct answer.

"So that's how it is."

Whether she was prepared to be arrested or was simply too panicked, Shibata Kyoko did not try to deny it.

Hattori Shizuka glanced at Shibata Kyoko with a hint of pity, showing a slight sense of regret for the other woman.

Gambling, gambling until you're bankrupt, and eventually, unable to bear it anymore, you commit murder...

Although she didn't understand, she could still imagine the other person's situation.

In her view, killing is wrong no matter what.

"In that case, Mrs. Shibata, Mr. Yoshikawa, please cooperate with me and go back to the police station."

Once Yokomizo Sango had finished his deduction, he immediately stepped forward, glancing at Kyoko on the left and then at Yoshikawa.

This case is indeed quite outrageous. Not only did they encounter Mori Kogoro and Fujino, but they also stumbled upon a large-scale gambling case that was linked to the murder case.

While it's true that stealing experience from other departments isn't a good idea, the credit...

Who would complain about having too much?

At that moment, Shibata Kyoko, who was about to leave with the police, suddenly remembered her father's gift in her bedroom—a samurai sword.

After thinking for a moment, Shibata Kyoko absentmindedly asked Yokomizo, "Um... can I go change my clothes?"

"No problem..."

Yokomizo naturally agreed to such a basic request.

They didn't even consider that the suspect might commit suicide.

Fujino glanced silently at Shibata Kyoko as she entered the bedroom.

He couldn't quite understand Shibata Kyoko's case.

If your husband gambles, you can just get a divorce...

It's not worth giving that old gambler a chance to win gold coins.

However, considering that one party might absolutely refuse to divorce, this is quite normal.

After thinking for a moment, Fujino turned around and pushed open the door.

Murder is not considered a serious crime in Japan. If you behave well, you can be a fine man again after eighteen years. Moreover, cases like this usually only last for a little over ten years.

At this moment, Shibata Kyoko had already picked up her katana and drawn it from its sheath.

"Don't come any closer!"

Shibata Kyoko held her katana to her neck and screamed hysterically, "I had no choice but to kill him. I had no other way to stop him!"

"Hey, Mrs. Shibata!"

Yokomizo Sango followed and saw Shibata Kyoko trying to commit suicide, and immediately panicked.

If someone really dies, and the blame is placed on him, he'll at least be dismissed from his post.

Hattori Shizuka followed, her eyes narrowed as she watched Kyoko, who held a knife to her neck.

"Get out of the way..."

Hattori Shizuka pulled a fan from her waistband and carefully stepped forward.

Shibata Kyoko was clearly not in a stable mental state. She pointed the katana pressed against her neck at Hattori Shizuka in front of her, slightly stunned. "What... what are you going to do?!"

A dark figure suddenly darted out from behind Hattori Shizuka, then drew Wooden Sword from the suit behind her and struck Shibata Kyoko with a fierce blow.

"Bang!"

With a sharp metallic clang, the samurai sword was flung away by tremendous force and slammed into the floor.

"Well?"

Hattori Shizuka looked at Fujino, who was holding Wooden Sword, and was slightly taken aback.

She didn't even notice when Fujino rushed up to her.

And...

Where did that Wooden Sword come from?

"I just wanted to commit suicide..."

Shibata Kyoko finally realized what was happening, knelt on the ground, clutching her arm that was throbbing from the shock, and burst into tears.

"AHO!" (Idiot)

Hattori Shizuka felt that since she had come all this way, she shouldn't just sit idly by. She stepped forward and cursed at him, then knelt on the tatami mat, silently pulled the samurai sword stuck in the ground, and sheathed it. "You idiot, after killing someone, do you want to end your own life and commit further murder? Every life is precious, there is no distinction between you and me, even your own life is the same! I really don't know what you're thinking."

"Ms. Ikenami, were you once the Hokage?"

Just as Hattori Shizuka stood up, Fujino walked over and asked a question.

"Huh? What shadow?"

Hattori Shizuka looked up, clearly not understanding what Fujino was saying, and revealed her Osaka accent in surprise.

"Never mind what I said."

Fujino silently shook his head and quietly hid the Wooden Sword inside his suit jacket. "It's also because I met my first love again."

That word "idiot" just now inexplicably reminded him of Tsunade.

To be honest, Hattori Shizuka's voice does sound quite similar to Tsunade's, to the point that he even wondered if she was Tsunade had traveled through time.

However, judging from the current situation, she has never been Hokage, so she is probably not Tsunade.