The Eel-Eating Incident

"It's Brother Fujino!"

Ayumi waved excitedly and greeted, "Are you here to pick up Haibara from school?"

"Um."

Fujino smiled and nodded, "I didn't see you guys at the school gate, so I thought I'd come over and wander around... But what exactly is this about the assassin you mentioned?"

"Genta has seemed distracted lately, and we want to ask him what's wrong..."

Ayumi offered an explanation, then smiled and said, "But the assassin thing is definitely a joke!"

Mitsuhiko nodded in agreement, saying, "After all, how could elementary school students be targeted by an assassin?"

Ai Haibara's expression remained unchanged. She glanced down at herself with a stern face, then turned to look at Conan, muttering to herself, "Even elementary school students aren't immune to being chased..."

Conan couldn't help but tease, "You didn't eat too much eel rice, did you? And now the King of Eels is taking revenge on you?"

"The King of Eels?"

Mitsuhiko, Ayumi, and Genta looked at Conan with surprise.

"I was just joking."

Conan awkwardly explained, "The 'King of Eels' thing was just something I made up!"

"Why don't you guys believe me!"

Seeing that his friends didn't believe him, and that Conan even teased him about his favorite eel rice, Genta felt a wave of disappointment. Despairingly, he turned around and ran away quickly, saying, "I should have known better than to tell you!"

"Wait a minute, Genta!"

Mitsuhiko watched Genta's departing figure and scratched his head. "What's wrong with him?"

Conan clicked his tongue. "Could it be that the child is throwing a tantrum because their lie was exposed?"

Fujino pondered for a moment, then said in a low voice, "I think it's possible that what he said was true."

"Well?"

Ayumi and Mitsuhiko were puzzled. "But why would he be being chased by assassins?"

"Maybe they stumbled upon a crime scene or something?"

Fujino pondered for a moment, "Tokyo has a pretty high crime rate. It's not impossible that if he happens to stumble upon a murder scene, the killer might take notice of him."

"Isn't he in great danger right now?!"

Mitsuhiko and Ayumi clearly listened to Fujino; after a surprised look, they quickly chased after him.

"How is that possible... In a city as big as Tokyo, how could just any elementary school student stumble upon a crime scene and then get chased down by someone?"

Conan, who was following behind, felt a little embarrassed and muttered to himself, "Fujino is just too sensitive. Could he have some kind of paranoia?"

Ai Haibara, walking beside Conan, overheard his mutterings, glanced at him briefly, and then said calmly, "I think Kojima might not be lying."

"Um?"

Conan was taken aback. "Did you notice something? Explain in detail..."

Ai Haibara shook her head, and retorted without changing her expression, "Don't you often encounter murder cases yourself?"

Conan: "..."

How can these be the same?!

He's a high school student, okay?!

Conan's face darkened. He took a deep breath, then leaned closer and chuckled, "You're not defending Fujino, are you?"

"Isn't what I said the truth?"

Ai Haibara looked at Conan with the eyes of someone looking at an idiot.

Don't you have any idea how often you encounter murder cases?

Conan: "..."

This shrewish woman is just too sharp-tongued!

He couldn't refute it!

The street near Teitan Elementary School.

"Wait, Genta, can you tell me what's going on?"

"We were wrong just now, and we definitely won't laugh at you this time!"

"Genta, you think something must have happened for you to be being chased, right?"

Mitsuhiko and Ayumi caught up with him, giving him an awkward smile. Conan, who was left speechless by their teasing, also felt a bit embarrassed and asked along with the two of them.

With his hands in his pockets, Genta noticed that everyone was getting serious. He lowered his head and explained in a deep voice, "Actually, this morning, when I was on my way to school and passing the tram tracks, I heard strange footsteps. It was very dark inside, and I couldn't see very clearly, but I could hear them! When I stopped, they would stop, and when I ran after them, they would run after me!"

A moment of silence fell over everyone.

Conan's eyebrow twitched; he realized that it wasn't Genta who had paranoia, but rather this kid.

"That must be your footsteps, right?"

Having said he wouldn't make fun of Genta anymore, Mitsuhiko could only awkwardly explain, "You were in the tunnel at the time, and the sound of your footsteps bouncing back after hitting the wall would have the same effect."

"It's not just that!"

Genta suddenly became agitated. "A few days ago on the overpass, I was pushed by someone, and just last night, I was almost hit by a motorcycle!"

Fujino: "..."

Is it confirmed that the assassination was not carried out by the ETO?

"Genta, is it because of these things that you're afraid?"

Ayumi gave a gentle, childlike smile and comforted her, "Those things must all be coincidences!"

"It's definitely not a coincidence!"

Genta retorted irritably, then said with lingering fear, "Just a few days ago, he called me and said, 'If anyone tells anyone about seeing him, no one around you will live!'"

"Well?"

The group of children were all surprised. Clearly, the explanation of being threatened by the thugs had convinced most of the children who had initially disbelieved it.

"Bite!"

Just then, a crisp sound suddenly rang out.

Fujino was taken aback when he heard the sound, thinking that some kind of System Task had been triggered.

However, he was the first to react, and when he looked to the side, he saw a huge screw lying on the ground.

"A screw?"

Mitsuhiko couldn't help but complain, "This is so dangerous! Where did it fall from?"

"Above..."

Fujino crushed the Advanced Strength Enhancement Card in his pocket, looked up, and saw a huge Japan with a large "R" on it fall from the department store next to them and crash down on them.

Alright, it's not the King of Eels, nor is it ETO, so it's you!

Team Rocket —the team that shuttles through the galaxy!

So you've switched from catching Pikachu to catching the King of Eels, huh?

Fujino imagined the possibilities in his mind, then pulled out Wooden Sword from behind him and leaped into the air, slamming the large "R" onto the street in front of him.

"Boom!"

The Japan, cut in half, smashed through the stone bricks on the ground with a loud roar.

The few smaller ones who hid behind and avoided being hit were stunned and trembling.

As for whether they are afraid of Japan or Fujino, that remains to be seen.

Conan glanced at the Japan, which had been split in two and even had its steel plate on the back broken, then looked at Fujino and couldn't help but shudder slightly. "Fujino is getting more and more terrifying..."