This Man's Damn Competitive Streak

At this point, Takashi Shimoji and Yoshitsugu Kume were getting restless.

As participants in the robbery that year, they naturally knew where the screen was hidden...

That's why, after hearing Fujino's words, they couldn't help but feel a chill run down their spines.

"..."

Fujino glanced at the two out of the corner of his eye, subtly tugged at his chin, and lowered his eyes to speculate. "If things are really as I think, then the truth behind those codes is actually quite simple... The place where the Princess sleeps is A, not B. The Princess in this code refers to the screen, and A, not B, means that it is not underwater, but on an island."

Upon hearing this, Momiji twitched her chin, her quick wit racing, and immediately thought of something, "If that's the case, then the person who died on this island a year ago, could he have been a member of a bandit gang?"

"That's my gut feeling."

Fujino nodded slightly, looked at the undulating sea behind him, and explained, "The seawater here flows very fast. If you use something like an anchor to sink a small boat, it might be swept ashore over time... I think that person must have discovered the screen that was swept ashore. After realizing that his days were numbered, he left a signal and hid the screen."

"Hey hey!"

Kazuha said excitedly, "If that's the case, then the screen should still be on this island, right?"

"That's not necessarily true."

Fujino shook his head slightly. "After all, that code was too obvious. If they couldn't even find it, then the people in that bandit gang must all be people with an IQ of 250."

Yoshitsugu Kume: "..."

Takashi Shimoji: "..."

Thank you, I was offended.

"But isn't this a bit too much of a coincidence?"

At this moment, Hattori Heiji suddenly spoke up and retorted, "Putting aside whether those bandit gangs have come here or not, the Princess mentioned in the code has absolutely no connection with bandit gangs."

"But Brother Fujino said does make some sense."

Conan then spoke up, "His intuition is always very accurate."

"That's just intuition."

Hattori Heiji crossed his arms and said, "There is absolutely no conclusive evidence."

"You bastard..."

Conan glanced at Hattori Heiji and whispered, "Could it be because he's still upset about losing to Fujino again?"

How could I?

Hattori Heiji frowned slightly and murmured, "I just don't believe his intuition is always this accurate..."

"Hehe..."

Conan rolled his Hattori Heiji.

This man's damn competitive spirit.

"What are you 'he'ing about?"

Hattori Heiji gave Conan a deadpan look and muttered, "If his intuition is accurate every time, wouldn't he become a superhuman who can predict the future?"

As a hot-blooded young man, he was certainly unwilling to lose.

However, rather than feeling resentful, he was more inclined to disbelieve.

After all, we've lost so many times already, one more time won't make a difference...

What he didn't believe was Fujino's absurd intuition that allowed him to see through the truth of the case at a glance.

He does have intuition, but it's just a vague feeling and it's not always accurate. Logically speaking, Fujino's intuition shouldn't be that reliable either.

After all, if it were truly possible to achieve such accuracy this time, it would be absolutely outrageous.

It's as unscientific as having superpowers that can predict the future!

Conan: "I'd rather believe he's a superpowered person."

Fujino: "..."

Is it possible that I am not a superhuman with the ability to foresee the future, but a great prophet?

Fujino listened to their conversation and remained silent for a moment.

Coming to his senses, he looked at the two of them and chuckled, "Actually, Hattori isn't wrong. These are just my gut guesses, and there's no solid evidence to prove whether they're true or not."

"Ahem..."

Hattori Heiji felt a little embarrassed upon hearing this, and coughed awkwardly, "Although there is no evidence, that anchor is indeed somewhat suspicious."

"Yes."

Conan pondered for a moment, "It seems that what Miss Taira was looking for before was that thing."

"However, compared to all that, it would be better if we found Miss Taira as soon as possible."

Fujino glanced at the two of them, then changed the subject, turning back to look at the forest of Onikiri Path behind him. "If it's not on the beach and not in the sea, I reckon there's another possibility: Miss Taira might be trapped in the forest because of an injury or something..."

"Um..."

Hattori Heiji nodded. "If he's injured and trapped somewhere, that's certainly possible."

"In that case, let's hurry and go find it..."

Are you stupid?!

Toyama Kazuha was very enthusiastic, but before she could finish speaking, Hattori Heiji turned around and looked at her speechlessly. "It's almost dark now. Going into that desolate forest like this is practically suicide."

"But..."

"Heiji is right. Let's go back to the ship and get the flashlight."

Fujino glanced at everyone and suggested, "If possible, it would be best to use the ship's satellite phone to call for help from the outside world; that would be more convenient."

"Well, that's all we can do for now."

"I agree with Brother Fujino's suggestion!"

The group returned via the same route.

As darkness fell, a night breeze began to blow from the horse's head on Ghost Turtle Island, giving the abandoned villas standing by the sea a somewhat eerie and sinister atmosphere.

However, just as everyone approached the dock, they were all stunned.

"What... what on earth is going on?!"

"Where has the boat gone?!"

Ran Kazuha were both surprised and couldn't help but shout it out.

"Hey, what happened?"

Yoshitsugu Kume, the dark-skinned, blond thug following behind, couldn't help but look at Takashi Shimoji: "Captain, you didn't forget to drop the anchor when we left, did you?!"

"How could I possibly make such a basic mistake? Besides, even if the anchor was removed, the ship couldn't possibly be swept far away by the waves."

Takashi Shimoji's face darkened. "I think someone must have taken advantage of our absence, lowered the anchor, and sailed away!"

"But who would have sailed the boat away?"

Following behind Fujino, Ooka Momiji asked in confusion, "Besides us and the missing Ie Taira- san, there's no one else on this island..."

"Heh heh, this is getting more and more interesting."

Kanahiko Daito sneered and said meaningfully, "Either that Miss Taira took the ship herself, or there are other people hiding on this island besides us."

"Others?"

"Didn't that detective just mention it? Those bandit gangs back then..."

Kanahiko Daito turned around and glanced at the forest behind him, then said in a deep voice, "Maybe they deliberately steered the ship away to cut off our retreat and then slowly kill us all."