"I never wanted to go down this path, but I had no other choice!" Wakisaka Shigehiko slammed a fist into the nearby utility pole, then suddenly gave a cold laugh.
"Since you've already figured out who the charred corpse in the Moat three weeks ago was, I'll tell you who the charred corpse in the Moat thirteen years ago was too.
"—He was my grandfather."
Hattori Heiji realized something. "Was he the old man in the very center of the group photo?"
Wakisaka Shigehiko nodded.
"Grandpa Masakiyo was a fan of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. When he was alive, he often told me about the Scroll of the Dragon and Toyotomi Hideyoshi's Treasure. But later, he suddenly gave up searching for the treasure and decided to donate that scroll to the country.
"Thirteen years ago, he persuaded his treasure-hunting companions and went to Osaka alone. Then he never came back. Over the years, I started with that group photo and finally found the four murderers who killed him... Heh. If one of them hadn't gotten plastic surgery, I would've taken care of all of them long ago!"
At the thought of it, raging fury flared in Wakisaka Shigehiko's eyes. He had successfully fooled the police, yet somehow failed to fool a detective. If only that bastard "Tokugawa Ieyasu" hadn't gotten plastic surgery—if he had recognized him sooner and dealt with him sooner, then the detective standing before him, who had seen through everything, would probably still have been some brat in elementary school. Naturally, he wouldn't have been caught...
But things had reached this point. No matter how much it pained him, it was too late. All he could do was sigh at fate's cruel twists.
Wakisaka Shigehiko looked at the students across from him and softened his voice slightly. "A life