Chapter 79: Moon Shadow Island
The strangest aspect of the entire dysfunctional family dynamic was that although every single member was eccentric and nobody could provide Hatamoto Gozo with any peace of mind, he actively disliked everyone except for his inexplicable doting on Hatamoto Natsue.
Could this Hatamoto Natsue possibly be Hatamoto Gozo's illegitimate daughter?
It wasn't entirely impossible. Mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationships in Japan were notoriously complicated and fraught with tension.
Things were becoming increasingly convoluted, and Natsukawa felt this wasn't the appropriate time to contemplate such matters. Even if Conan himself showed up to investigate, it would require at least three full chapters to properly explain all the causes and effects.
In summary, there were likely significant ethical and moral complications involved, so it was best not to speculate further without evidence.
"Tequila, I recall you had a business transaction with someone from the Hatamoto family, correct?" Gin spoke up at that moment, interrupting Natsukawa's increasingly wild speculations.
Natsukawa wasn't remotely surprised that Gin possessed this information. After all, this was Gin they were discussing.
In fact, Gin had probably personally provided the original contact list for Tequila's previous business transactions in the first place.
What a diligent little worker bee! Natsukawa was almost moved to tears by Gin's meticulous efforts and organizational skills.
Aside from Vodka being genuine premium alcohol, the rest of the Organization's liquor selection was either counterfeit swill or expired merchandise. Not a single bottle was reliably authentic.
Natsukawa nodded affirmatively and poured Gin a glass of whiskey—a toast to the hardworking little bee managing everything so efficiently.
"That's correct. That individual is Hatamoto Gozo's second son, Hatamoto Shoji—a professional chef. Like Hatamoto Akie, he turned to that particular line of business because he couldn't obtain adequate funding from Hatamoto Gozo through legitimate family channels."
"That makes our operation considerably easier then."
Pisco's eyes lit up with predatory interest. So Tequila also maintains an inside contact. With two infiltrators embedded in that chaotic mess, things will proceed far more smoothly.
Gin had probably summoned Tequila specifically for this strategic advantage.
"Tequila, I sincerely hope you won't disappoint me," Gin stated, his gaze sharp as lightning beneath his low-brimmed fedora, his tone calm yet unmistakably menacing.
This represented a critical test for Tequila. One loyal Vodka wasn't sufficient—Gin required another capable subordinate with Vodka's reliability, and Tequila appeared perfectly suited for the role.
"I understand completely," Natsukawa replied without hesitation.
Hatamoto Gozo's death might not even require direct intervention from Pisco and myself. With Hatamoto Natsue's wedding rapidly approaching, Hatamoto Gozo will essentially orchestrate his own demise through his typical stubborn behavior.
Gin rose to depart, Vodka following closely behind like a faithful shadow.
Natsukawa remained to discuss the operational plan in greater detail with Pisco.
Pisco dominated the conversation while Natsukawa primarily listened and absorbed information.
Pisco had already made extraordinarily thorough preparations for the takeover.
This time, Pisco's godson Ireland would execute the assassination of Hatamoto Gozo. The hit would occur the day following Hatamoto Natsue's wedding ceremony in Tokyo, at the Hatamoto family's private estate.
Every member of the Hatamoto family except Hatamoto Akie and Hatamoto Shoji was designated as an elimination target.
According to the meticulously crafted plan, Hatamoto Akie and Hatamoto Shoji would each inherit exactly half of the substantial family fortune, while Hatamoto Takehiko—Hatamoto Natsue's husband who'd married into the family—would become the convenient scapegoat.
The cover story was already fully prepared: Takehiko's father had committed suicide by jumping from a building years ago after losing a catastrophic business competition against the Hatamoto Group. Takehiko harbored murderous intent because of this family tragedy, and his marriage to Natsue Hatamoto was actually an elaborate long-term revenge scheme designed to eliminate Gozo Hatamoto.
The motive was convincing and well-documented. As long as the physical evidence could be properly fabricated, Natsue Hatamoto would also be implicated in the conspiracy and stripped of her inheritance rights entirely.
After some additional corporate maneuvering and legal manipulation, Gozo Hatamoto's eldest daughter and her entire branch of the family would be systematically eliminated from succession consideration, and the Hatamoto Group would soon be completely absorbed by Pisco's automobile company.
The Hatamoto family was shrouded in perpetual gloom, with every single member harboring their own selfish hidden agendas.
The Organization coveted the Hatamoto Group's substantial assets, but so did the Hatamoto children themselves for their own purposes.
Gozo Hatamoto's toxic personality and catastrophically poor parenting skills had essentially guaranteed the Hatamoto family legacy would die with his generation.
However, before any of this corporate assassination could proceed, Natsukawa needed to address the Moon Shadow Island situation first.
An Unexpected Invitation
The day after Natsukawa's meeting with Gin, Kogoro Mouri came to visit again.
Natsukawa initially assumed it concerned Dr. Ogawa's case, but Kogoro Mouri confidently assured him that with the famous detective personally handling the investigation, such problems were trivially minor.
He'd successfully solved a million-yen case in a single day and even saved an adorable little boy from danger in the process.
Now, Dr. Ogawa was providing Kogoro Mouri with massive free publicity throughout the entire hospital network to properly repay the famous detective for heroically saving his son, Yuuta, from certain death.
"Does Uncle Mouri mean he wants to invite Anya and me to Moon Shadow Island for a free vacation?"
Natsukawa felt genuinely surprised and scratched his head with confusion. He recognized this as Kogoro Mouri's good-intentioned gesture, but visiting Moon Shadow Island wasn't exactly tourism. Uncle Mouri's only consistent activity at any destination was solving murder cases.
"Yeah! You were too busy last time during the World's First Night Festival, but you should definitely be free this time, right? I, the world-renowned detective, have now invited you twice already. You're not going to refuse me again, are you?"
"I was originally planning to depart tomorrow, but since Dr. Ogawa's case concluded ahead of schedule, I suddenly have unexpected free time. I wanted to take advantage of this early departure to properly enjoy the scenic beauty and fine sake of Moon Shadow Island!"
(O_O)
Kogoro Mouri stared at Natsukawa with an almost pleading mixed expression of hope and determination.
Natsukawa felt both amused and somewhat exasperated. He genuinely hadn't expected Uncle Mouri to be so persistently insistent about inviting him, but this time there really was no legitimate reason to refuse, so he nodded in agreement.
Besides, he absolutely needed to personally address the Moon Shadow Island situation anyway.
Once the complete truth about Moon Shadow Island's criminal conspiracy came to light through Conan's inevitable investigation, the accumulated evidence against those criminals might inadvertently implicate the identity of "Tequila." To prevent unnecessary complications from being noticed by the Japanese Public Security Bureau, he had to accompany the group to systematically eliminate that evidence.
Additionally, Moon Shadow Island and the Hatamoto family's private Hatamoto Island weren't geographically far apart, and the timing aligned almost perfectly. He should be able to catch the Hatamoto family's luxury cruise ship on its return voyage to Tokyo.
If Pisco doesn't want to proceed with his original timeline, that's his problem. I have my own strategic calculations and fully intend to strike first, taking advantage of Conan's incredible case-solving abilities to claim operational credit.
However, executing this plan would likely require postponing his cherry blossom viewing date with Yor.
No big deal. The cherry blossom season isn't particularly short anyway. We can reschedule easily enough.
Anya peeked out from behind the doorway, observing her father and Mr. Mouri's animated conversation with a carefully blank expression.
A trip to Moon Shadow Island—that actually sounds pretty enjoyable.
But her father's thoughts were incredibly complex and layered: the Organization, the Hatamoto Group corporate takeover, destroying evidence on Moon Shadow Island...
Papa's thoughts are so impossibly complicated, they're giving me a headache just following along.
But it was alright. Maybe her telepathic superpowers had only just recently returned, so she remained slightly unaccustomed to processing so much mental information simultaneously.
That's right—Anya's mind-reading superpower had mysteriously returned.
The specific reason for its restoration remained completely unknown, but Anya understood with absolute certainty that she could never, ever touch Aunt Yor's stew again. Otherwise, she risked losing her superpowers a second time. Who knew if they would return after another incident? This was absolutely forbidden territory.
"Anya wants to go!"
The little girl leaped up enthusiastically and clung to Natsukawa's arm, swaying back and forth with maximum adorable energy. Her cute behavior made Kogoro Mouri sigh wistfully, wishing he could have another child. Unfortunately, his wife had abandoned their marriage, and he definitely couldn't handle raising an infant alone.
"Alright then! Let's not waste any time—we need to prepare quickly!" Kogoro Mouri rushed back toward his own apartment to pack.
"Is it really necessary to be in such a tremendous hurry?" Natsukawa shook his head with mild exasperation and headed inside to pack appropriate clothing.
As for Yor, he would naturally bring her along as well. That way, Anya could sleep with Yor that night, providing him the perfect cover to sneak away and systematically destroy all incriminating evidence.
Natsukawa extracted his phone and called Yor immediately.
After briefly explaining the situation and extended invitation, Yor agreed with surprising speed, seeming somewhat relieved by the change of plans.
Natsukawa felt puzzled, uncertain whether Yor was genuinely interested in visiting Moon Shadow Island or simply indifferent to the cherry blossom viewing date they'd scheduled. You really can never predict what's going through a woman's mind.
(End of Chapter 79)
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