The Phantom Thief and the Phantom Thief

As Tang Ze, with their appearance altered, sprinted towards the Haido Grand Hotel, another small figure was also running in the same direction.

With their CPU running at high speed, the detective's eyes locked onto the brightly lit hotel in the night, and they smiled confidently.

"That's right, it's here! The only place that fits this direction and offers a view of the Beika Museum is here, the rooftop of the Haido Grand Hotel!"

Arriving at the top floor, Conan placed the prepared fireworks and stood on the rooftop, where the night wind howled. He looked at the Beika Museum, which was illuminated by the spotlight of a helicopter.

He glanced at his watch, answered Professor Agasa's call, and while waiting for the phantom thief's arrival, he listened to information about Phantom Thief 1412.

"There's a young novelist," Professor Agasa thought, that's your dad, he almost blurted out, but decided against revealing that he hadn't given Yusaku Kudo a nickname, "who is very interested in this 1412, who has been playing all the countries' police forces for a fool. So, he rewrote and simplified '1412,' pronouncing it as KID."

"KID?"

"That's right, Phantom Thief 1412, also known as—"

As Professor Agasa announced this over the phone, Conan's eyes widened, and he turned his head. Against the crescent moon, a figure in a white cape leaped down from mid-air.

"'Kaito Kid'!"

Kaito Kid looked down at the small boy standing at the edge of the rooftop and smiled with amusement.

"If a phantom thief is an artist who steals their prey with exquisite skill—

"Then a detective is, at best, just a nitpicking critic following in their footsteps!"

After performing a voice-changing act that drew all the police attention, surrounded by police helicopters and pursuing officers, Kaito Kid leisurely recited his famous line. He pulled open his glider with one hand and a flashbang fell from the sleeve of his other arm.

He grabbed the hem of his coat, preparing to quickly change his disguise and blend in with the police to escape.

"—I agree."

A clear voice brushed past his ear. Startled, Kaito Kid agilely rolled to the side, but the flashbang, about to hit the ground, was wrapped by a fleeting red shadow and pulled away. The bright light did not occur as expected.

"Who!" Ginzō Nakamori, who had already raised his arm to shield his eyes, was also startled by the unexpected voice. He lowered his arm and looked over.

A figure seemed to be climbing the outer wall. With a front flip, they jumped onto the rooftop edge, landing in the spot where Kaito Kid had just been standing.

"—This is quite lively." Kaito Kid, his plan disrupted, wasn't flustered. He tilted his head, looking at this sudden variable.

The person raised their arm, and the red shadow that had just snatched the flashbang was pulled back. It wrapped around their neck, transforming into a red scarf. The two trailing ends fluttered behind them in the wind stirred up by the helicopter, like flickering candlelight.

"What kind of strange person is this?" Inspector Nakamori gritted his teeth and yelled into the intercom, "Didn't I tell you to be on alert! Why didn't you notice someone on the outer wall!"

Because Conan's aura-concealing halo is really useful! Tang Ze smiled.

Conan took a step back, looking left and right in astonishment.

On one side was Kaito Kid, dressed all in white, with black hair fluttering under his top hat, wearing a monocle, and his cape billowing wildly. On the other side was a figure in all black, with white hair disheveled, eyes covered by a mask, and a scarf waving in the wind…

Like opposite mirrors.

Judging by the exposed lower half of his face, this new arrival was also very young, like Kaito Kid, with a smooth, collagen-rich complexion. He held a card in his hand. Due to the way he gripped it, the specific content couldn't be seen clearly; only a crimson edge was visible…

A red card?

Conan's nerves twitched. If this were an anime, a beam of light would probably shoot through his background.

"'Phantom Thief of Hearts'?" He blurted out the title that immediately came to mind.

The person, who had been staring intently at Kaito Kid as if no one else existed, finally turned their head towards Conan upon hearing the shout.

Without denying Conan's address, he smiled and said, "You can call me, 'Joker,' little detective."

After saying this, he turned back to Kaito Kid, completely ignoring the surrounding police.

"'Phantom Thief of Hearts'… Ah, it's you." Kaito Kid also smiled. "You're quite the sensation lately, aren't you, my Copycat."

Tang Ze immediately understood Kaito Kid's implication.

Kaito Kid was suggesting that his method of creating preview letters was copied, and the Phantom Thieves' Guild logo also bore a resemblance to the simple sketches Kaito Kid often left behind, implying plagiarism and intellectual property infringement.

"That sounds rather unpleasant, Mr. Kaito Kid," Tang Ze said, spreading his hands innocently. P5 is like that, what does it have to do with me? "Since you've heard of my name, you must have also heard what kind of phantom thief I am, right?"

Kaito Kid smiled knowingly, crossed his arms, and continued the conversation as if no one else was present. "A righteous thief who hunts evil and judges villains, meaning, 'heart thief,' correct?"

Tang Ze snapped his fingers. "Precisely."

"It seems this copycat has set their sights on the real deal this time."

Ginzō Nakamori clenched his fists in anger, furious that the two criminals were completely ignoring the heavily guarded police and were actually chatting. He waved his hand, "What are you all waiting for! Go, take both of them down!"

The bewildered police officers from the Second Investigation Division snapped back to attention at his shout, responding with a roar. They split into two groups and charged towards the two strangely dressed phantom thieves, one from the left and one from the right.

Unfortunately, neither of them paid much attention to them.

"You don't mind a little competition, do you, 'Artist'? Let's see if you can escape safely first, or if I can succeed first." Tang Ze raised the flashbang he had taken from Kaito Kid.

The old-school, purist phantom thief couldn't stand this. After all, in the comics, even a public challenge through the news could make Kaito Kid show up willingly. With someone specifically coming to his face to issue a challenge, there was no reason not to accept.

"It's a deal. It seems that 'critics' aren't entirely useless after all," Kaito Kid said, pulling out another flashbang. "After all, the quality of art also needs to be judged by the onlookers, doesn't it?"

"Cover your eyes!" Ginzō Nakamori, experienced in dealing with Kaito Kid, shouted. "Don't let him use his glider to escape!"

"Bang!" "Bang!"

With two thuds, one after the other, two bright flashes erupted. Conan, who had been internally debating and had initially chosen to aim his gun at Kaito Kid, had already quietly raised his watch dial. However, the intense light from both sides simultaneously blinded him, forcing him to cover his eyes and retreat again.

When everyone lowered their hands, the ground in front of them was empty. Both Kaito Kid and the Joker who had appeared later were nowhere to be seen.

"Where are they!" Ginzō Nakamori shouted into the walkie-talkie. "I told you to maintain aerial surveillance, what were you watching! Use the radar to track them immediately!"

"But, sir..." the helicopter pilot's voice came through weakly. "Besides the four police helicopters, there are no other flying objects in the air."

Ginzō Nakamori took two steps forward and quickly found a piece of paper with a rose taped to the ground. It was Kaito Kid's new preview letter, clearly stating that he would go to the Queen Elizabeth to take the real "Pitch Black Star."

"Damn it!" He slammed the walkie-talkie in impotent rage. "Then search the hotel for me!"

Kaito Kid, who had quickly changed his clothes in the blinding light of the flashbangs, tugged at the brim of his police hat. He blended in behind the police officers from the Second Investigation Division who were searching the area, followed them out of the rooftop door, and quietly slipped into the safety passage.

Kaito Kuroba quickly went downstairs, quietly wiping the sweat from his forehead.

Seriously, I thought the plan had gone wrong and I'd have to fly out with my glider and have an aerial dogfight with the helicopters.

Fortunately, this inexplicable "colleague" who appeared later seemed to be someone who liked to show off. After taking the first flashbang, he just stood there, playing along. The police, who were unexpectedly fooled, didn't pounce immediately, which allowed him to escape according to his original plan.

Thinking of that "Joker," Kaito Kuroba clicked his tongue.

Although I have some complaints about copycats, it's actually flattering that someone is imitating my methods and even reviving preview letters in a retro style. Does this mean "Kaito Kid" is quite recognized in the industry!

He felt a little bit secretly pleased.

I wonder how this Joker makes people "change their hearts" on time. Judging by his build and physique, he doesn't look much older than me.

No big deal, I'm an old hand who's been chased by the police for a long time. Now I just have one more colleague chasing after me, it's a small matter.

Full of confidence, Kaito Kuroba patted the police uniform again, preparing to change it on the next floor, switch to another outfit, and leave the hotel safely and stylishly.

As he patted himself, he suddenly felt something hard in his chest pocket.

"Hmm?" He stopped at the safety door and pulled out the item from his pocket.

It was a red card, with a logo of a top hat and a fiery eyepatch on the back. It was the type of preview letter that the "Phantom Thief of Hearts" often sent, and the one that Tang Ze had been holding in his palm just now.

Kaito Kuroba had a bad feeling. He turned the card over to the front.

There were no judgmental words, like those the Phantom Thief of Hearts usually wrote, but rather a line of letters and a symbol.

"Kuroba?"

This was the Romanization of "Black Feather."

Kaito Kuroba: "?!"