Town Hall, Tsukikage Island.
A faint click-click-click echoed through the quiet building. Then—snap!—the lock gave way.
The main door creaked open just enough for a small figure to slip inside.
Once through, Conan Edogawa quickly closed it behind him.
He adjusted the knob on his wristwatch, twisting it gently until a narrow beam of light projected forward. The thin line of illumination swept across the hall, cutting through the darkness.
He'd done it—he was inside.
Wasting no time, Conan hurried toward the storage room that supposedly housed the "cursed piano."
Ever since hearing about it from the clerk, Hirata, his instincts had been screaming. Something about that piano was wrong.
Logically speaking, if it really was cursed, why keep it here in the town hall? Why not destroy it or toss it away?
There had to be a reason. A secret.
Driven by that thought, Conan arrived at the door to the piano room and tried the handle—locked.
He clenched the flashlight between his teeth, pulled a small pick set from his pocket, and went to work on the keyhole.
Click… click…
Snick!
Got it.
He eased the door open and slipped inside.
There it was—the so-called cursed piano, sitting solemnly in the moonlight.
Without hesitation, Conan approached. His mind was racing. What are you hiding…?
He ran his hands carefully along the instrument's frame, and before long, his fingers found something odd—a hidden compartment beneath the base.
His pulse quickened. He slid the cover aside and reached in. His hand brushed against something—soft, yet solid.
When he pulled it out, he froze.
A square, tightly packed bag of white powder.
"What is this…?" he muttered, frowning.
He tore the corner slightly, dabbed a bit on his finger, and—recklessly—tasted it.
The realization hit him like a shockwave. "No… this is drugs!"
For a split second, his mind went blank—then everything connected at once.
Asou Keiji's death… could it have been tied to narcotics?!
Snapping out of his daze, Conan reached back into the compartment, pulling out bag after bag.
One… two… three…
By the time he was done, six identical packets lay on the floor.
His face hardened. The cursed piano wasn't cursed at all—it was a stash. This was no ordinary murder case. This was an entire drug network.
And before he could process what to do next—
BOOM!
A thunderous explosion shook the ground beneath him.
Conan's head snapped up, heart pounding. He quickly shoved the packets back into their hiding spot, closed the panel, and ran outside.
Looking toward the mountain, he saw flickering orange light—and the distant sound of more detonations rolling across the night sky.
"What's going on…?" he whispered, startled.
Without thinking, he started running toward the source.
He'd only made it halfway down the road when—
BOOM!
Another explosion. This one sounded different—lower, heavier.
He turned. The blast had come from the direction of the Kuroiwa estate.
For a moment, he hesitated.Then he chose to keep running toward the mountain. Whatever was happening out there, it wasn't random.
Tsukikage Island – Outside a Seaside Villa
Elsewhere on the island, under the red glow of fire and moonlight, Ren Kuroda followed Akemi Miyano through the trees until they stopped at the edge of a lavish villa.
"That's the place, Mr. Azuma," Akemi whispered, pointing toward the brightly lit building.
Ren adjusted his mask slightly. "You're sure? I'd rather not blow the wrong house off the map."
"No mistake," Akemi said firmly. "Two days ago, I saw members of the smuggling group coming and going. Some were carrying guns when the gate opened."
Ren nodded, satisfied. "Alright then. Stay here and keep watch. I'll handle this."
Akemi blinked. "Wait—how exactly are you planning to get in?"
"You'll see," he said, smirking.
Without another word, he disappeared into the bushes.
Akemi wasn't worried about him failing—she'd seen enough of his methods to know how terrifyingly resourceful he was.
Still, curiosity got the better of her. What's he going to use this time? Another box of C4?
Her question was answered seconds later.
Ren emerged from the shadows, carrying a massive four-barreled rocket launcher.
Akemi's jaw dropped. "Wh—what is that!?"
Ren's grin widened. "Impressed? It's an M202, sixty-six millimeter, four-tube rocket launcher. Effective range, four hundred meters. Can fire one round at a time… or all four in under a second."
He hefted it proudly. "You've seen Commando, right? The governor used this exact model in the movie."
Akemi just stared, dumbstruck. This was far beyond anything she'd imagined. How does he even get this stuff?!
"Stay low," Ren said calmly. "I'm going in."
He didn't wait for her reply. He was already moving, shoulders squared, the weapon gleaming under the moonlight.
A moment later, he raised it, sighted down the barrel, and squeezed the trigger.
Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—whoosh!
Four rockets screamed out in rapid succession, streaking across the night sky like burning comets.
BOOM!
The explosion tore through the villa's main gate, blasting it apart in a shower of splinters and fire. The shockwave rippled outward, shaking the ground beneath their feet.
The blast lit up the sky—flames roaring, smoke twisting violently upward. The villa's walls shuddered under the force of it, glass shattering as heat rolled outward like a living wave.
Ren barely felt the recoil. Instead, he simply admired his work with a look of pure satisfaction.
He calmly reloaded, pulling the spent tubes from the launcher's rear and slotting in fresh rockets with practiced ease.
"Bit heavy," he muttered, "but manageable."
Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted movement—a man poking his head out of the security booth by the gate.
Ren tilted his head. "Didn't get the memo, huh?"
He aimed and fired again.
Whoosh—BOOM!
The security booth vanished in a ball of fire.
The guard had barely managed two steps before the explosion consumed him.
Flames rolled across the ground as debris rained from the sky.
The villa's interior erupted into chaos.
"Enemy attack!"
"Grab your weapons! We're under fire!"
"Hurry! Move, move, move!"
The doors burst open, and a dozen men in shorts and t-shirts poured out, armed with rifles and SMGs.
Ren didn't hesitate. He raised the launcher and fired again.
BOOM!
The rocket struck dead center. The nearest men were obliterated instantly, the others thrown like rag dolls by the shockwave.
A few unlucky ones screamed as they were hurled several meters into the air before crashing down with bone-crunching force.
Ren exhaled slowly, lowering the smoking launcher.
"Beautiful," he murmured to himself, watching the inferno rage across the hillside.
The night of Tsukikage Island burned red.