"Just let me go alone! Believe me, I'll definitely bring them both back!"
In front of Fuko-ji Temple, Hattori Heiji made a solemn promise to the other two.
It was because he had taken out the Baihao and claimed he would hand it over to the police that the murderer had chosen to kidnap the two girls, using them as leverage. At that moment, Hattori Heiji was drowning in self-blame.
"Idiot."
"Huh?"
Hattori Heiji was surprised by what Hayashi Yoshiki blurted out.
"They want the three of us to show up together, right? If we don't appear at the same time, do you really think they'll let us go?"
"I'll use this white hair to negotiate with him—"
"But he intends to kill all three of us."
Hayashi Yoshiki's eyes darkened.
Meeting his gaze, Hattori Heiji felt even more remorseful and dejected.
Conan also noticed the shift in Hayashi Yoshiki's expression.
Is it because he heard that Ran is in danger?
As for the murderer's intent, Conan and Heiji understood clearly.
—Because the culprit had directly asked for the Baihao over the phone, it all but confirmed that he was one of the three people present at the teahouse.
If he didn't kill Hayashi Yoshiki and the others, the truth about his crime would be exposed—and he might even murder the two friends who had been with him at the time.
"If there's danger, we face it together. Besides, this isn't just your problem, Heiji." Conan said.
"…I'm sorry. I just couldn't control my emotions."
Hayashi Yoshiki raised his hand to push back his hair a little, but without hairspray, the ends fell again: "Let's go. Since we're rescuing people, we should be prepared."
"Right."
Heiji didn't say much and nodded seriously.
The fact that Ran had also been taken hostage was something Hayashi Yoshiki hadn't expected.
Originally, Toyama Kazuha had overheard Hattori Heiji talking about evidence tied to the killer and recalled that when she rescued Heiji the night before, she had broken the murderer's mask with a stone. When she returned to the woods that night to retrieve the mask fragments, she was ambushed and captured.
So now... was it Heiji's use of the white hair that had provoked the murderer?
From the moment Ran lost her memory, although Hayashi Yoshiki had intervened, he hadn't been able to stop the original course of events.
He had avoided unnecessary interference—yet unexpected deviations still occurred.
Leading the way in silence, Hayashi Yoshiki narrowed his eyes.
An hour later, the sun had set.
There was a full moon tonight.
Its pale light blanketed the moss-covered steps up the hillside of Mount Ma'an. At the top stood a timeworn temple, seated quietly amid the mountain mist.
Rows of bonfires lit the temple courtyard.
The murderer, wearing an aged Noh mask, stood at the center. Beside him, Ran and Kazuha were tied up, struggling against the ropes but unable to break free.
"You're so slow."
A deep voice came from beneath the mask.
Kazuha, ceasing her struggles, glared at the killer and shouted angrily, "Idiot! How could you fall for such an obvious trap?!"
"Really? I think you're just scared." the murderer sneered.
Ran, hands bound, silently observed her surroundings.
She couldn't use her arms—but her legs were still weapons. Yet the murderer carried a blade and was clearly trained in martial arts. If she acted rashly and provoked him, it could end very badly.
She had to wait for the right opportunity.
The killer mocked her, but she didn't answer.
Because she knew Yoshiki—he would come.
She secretly hoped he wouldn't. That he would sense the danger and choose not to. But she knew that was unlikely.
I have to think of a way...
The murderer didn't guard against them carefully, probably because they were girls. If they could knock the knife from his hands at the right moment...
While Ran plotted her move, three figures emerged from the mountain gate.
"Yoshiki-oniisan! Conan!"
"Heiji!"
"You didn't hurt them, did you?!"
"Give me the white hair, and I'll let them go."
The murderer responded loudly to Heiji's demand.
But that was a lie.
He had already decided—he would kill them along with the two girls. Only then could he ensure his crimes would remain buried.
"Let them come over, and we'll hand over the white hair,"Hayashi Yoshiki said calmly, his eyes fixed on the killer. "Mr. Nishijo Taiga."
"...How did you know my name?"
The killer was caught off guard.
But realizing it was no use pretending, he removed his mask.
Underneath was Nishijo Taiga, the antique bookstore owner seen earlier in the teahouse. But unlike the gentleman with glasses from before, this Taiga had wild, spiky hair and a twisted, ferocious expression.
Now came the reasoning.
The key clue that gave away Nishijo Taiga's identity was his unconscious behavior. Though he had claimed during questioning not to know archery, he had sat with the "half-foot dragging" posture characteristic of kyūdō practitioners.
Once exposed, he confessed.
"Heh, Ryuen and I trained at the same kendo dojo."
"But then I discovered an ancient sword style—Yoshitsune-ryu. I left the dojo two years ago and became its successor."
The Yoshitsune-ryu was said to be passed down from Musashibo Benkei, the legendary retainer of Minamoto no Yoshitsune.
But Taiga wasn't satisfied.
"Because I want to be Yoshitsune—not Benkei! Do you know how much I crave that name?!"
"But the leader of our gang took the Yoshitsune role, and I—the strongest fighter—was just 'Benkei.'"
"After the leader's death, I killed the others and took the Buddha statue. I wanted money—to build a Yoshitsune-ryu dojo in Kyoto!"
"This temple—Gyokuryuji—belonged to our leader, the former abbot. I asked him to give it to me before he died. But now that he's gone, the temple will be demolished!"
Taiga's yelling turned his face red with fury.
But the three people facing him remained unmoved.
Hayashi Yoshiki even muttered, "In short, you're just into extreme roleplay, huh?"
"What did you say?!"
Infuriated, Taiga nearly drew his sword, but Hayashi's next words stopped him cold:
"We'll give you the Buddha statue's location and the white hair—but first, release the girls."
"You found it?"
"Yes."
"...Then hiring a detective wasn't a mistake after all."
Satisfied, Nishijo Taiga shoved the girls forward, allowing them to walk back.
"Kazuha!"
"Ran-nee-chan!"
Heiji and Conan sighed in relief.
But as Ran and Kazuha moved forward, Taiga quietly drew the blade at his waist.
He had never intended to let them go.
In the next second, he lunged.
Heiji, sensing the threat, rushed to intercept with his own blade.
Clang!
The two silver swords clashed.
But Heiji's injured left shoulder limited him. Within moments, Taiga overwhelmed him and kicked him away.
Then—masked swordsmen in kendo gear surged from behind the gate.
"These are my loyal disciples. You won't escape."
Taiga smiled cruelly. "Give me what I want, and I'll grant you a painless death."
"That's why I made preparations."
Facing blades from all sides, Hayashi Yoshiki drew his sword.
A real one.
To move more freely, he discarded the scabbard.
"Can you do it...?"
Conan wasn't sure—but the blade in Hayashi's hands was real. A good one. Though he didn't know where it came from, now wasn't the time to ask.
"Yoshiki-onii-san..."
Ran looked on, worried.
Hayashi Yoshiki calmly untied his collar's bow and ripped open the top button, revealing his firm chest.
"I'm not trained in swordsmanship. But I'm not fighting bare-handed. Honestly, I'd rather have a light machine gun."
…
Even now, he was cracking jokes. Conan couldn't help but twitch a smile.
One of Taiga's men jeered, "Outsider."
To him, Hayashi's stance was laughably amateur.
Then he charged.
Taiga intended to fight Heiji himself—but if this fool wanted to handle Hayashi Yoshiki, so be it.
"Careful!"
As the attacker swung down with both hands from an overhead stance, Hayashi Yoshiki raised his blade to block cautiously with both hands.
The strike missed.
The enemy lifted his blade again—but Yoshiki had already seen through his rhythm.
He sidestepped swiftly.
The enemy tried to swing again.
Too late.
A silver flash arced through the air.
The man's grip loosened.
Thud.
Two hands, still clutching the sword, dropped to the ground.
"Wha—?!"
"Oh... this knife's really sharp?"
Even Heiji and Conan were stunned.
Hayashi Yoshiki gazed at his blade and touched the tip lightly with his index finger.
Blood oozed.
"My... my hands!?"
The man stared in horror at his bleeding stumps and screamed as blood pooled at his feet.
"Don't be so upset. You came here intending to kill me."
Hayashi Yoshiki spoke casually, like discussing the weather. Then he smiled:
"I was just defending myself. If you hurry to a hospital, they might reattach your hands... depending on whether your friends pick them up for you."
…
That smile sent chills down Conan and Heiji's spines.
This wasn't the always-smiling Yoshiki they knew.
Hayashi Yoshiki had shown a terrifying, ruthless side.
"Yoshiki-onii-san..."
Ran wasn't afraid.
But she was worried.
Meanwhile, Nishijo Taiga's face contorted.
"Kill them! Leave no survivors!"
More swordsmen charged forward.
Ran twisted her arms and shouted, "Untie us! We can fight too!"
Without hesitation, Heiji swung his blade to cut their ropes.
And Hayashi Yoshiki stepped forward.
Toward the Prajna-masked killers.
Toward the blood.
Toward the war.