Since the bomb was still in the black-clad men's possession, there was no need to wait for the transaction to be completed.
As long as they knew a bomb was involved, they would not dare to detonate it easily.
The best choice was to deal with it now.
With that in mind, Natsuyu made an excuse about going to the restroom and left her seat.
As she passed by the two men in black, she pretended to trip, deliberately stumbling closer to the suitcase.
Sure enough, the two men immediately became alert. The moment they noticed someone approaching, they hurriedly shifted the case away.
Natsuyu steadied herself.
"Ah—sorry, I lost my balance just now. I think I accidentally bumped into your case. Is everything inside all right?"
The men looked impatient. They clearly didn't want any complications before the deal and just wanted to send this stranger away as quickly as possible.
"It's fine! If you don't have anything else, leave!" one of them snapped.
Seeing they had no intention of speaking further, Natsuyu wisely withdrew.
All of this was witnessed by Conan, who had just returned to the carriage. When he saw Natsuyu suddenly approach the two men in black, his heart nearly leapt into his throat.
He still believed these two were the culprits from the amusement park—the ones who had shrunk him.
If they truly were ruthless criminals, what if they hurt her?
Thankfully, it had only been a brief encounter. They probably hadn't noticed anything.
One day, I'll reclaim the identity of Kudo Shinichi—and I'll catch you.
"Conan…"
Lost in thought, he suddenly heard someone call his name.
He looked up to see Natsuyu waving to him by the carriage door.
Why would she suddenly call for me?
Did she discover something when she got close to those men?
His spirits lifted instantly as he rushed over.
"Sister Natsuyu, did you need something?"
Natsuyu glanced in the direction of the black-clad men. Seeing they weren't paying attention, she reached out and gently pulled Conan into the next carriage.
Noticing her cautious behavior, Conan became even more convinced this was about those two men.
"Conan, I've always known you're a very smart child," Natsuyu said softly, trying to calm him.
"I'm going to tell you something—but don't be afraid."
She lowered her voice.
"I suspect there's a bomb inside their suitcase."
Conan's eyes widened in shock.
"A bomb…? Sister Natsuyu, how do you know?"
"Well," she said, "my sense of smell is unusually sharp. When I got close to the case just now, I caught a faint scent of bitter almonds.
Dinitrotoluene—the explosive used in bombs—has that smell. And those two men don't look like good people at all. They're extremely protective of the case and reacted the moment I got close. That's why I suspect it's a bomb."
She paused.
"But in the end, it's still only a guess. I don't have proof."
Placing both hands gently on Conan's shoulders, she said,
"That's why I need your help. Adults are always less guarded around children. And even if we're wrong, it can just be dismissed as childish curiosity."
Conan now strongly suspected there really was a bomb in that case.
Smelling DNT through the suitcase…
And that strange night vision at the amusement park…
For the first time, he felt genuinely curious about who Natsuyu truly was.
But there was no time to think about that now.
Still, one question lingered.
"Sister Natsuyu… why did you choose me to help?"
He worried that she might have noticed something unusual about him.
Not the truth—but perhaps that he was different from other children.
Natsuyu had already prepared her answer.
"You're always very smart," she said with a gentle smile.
"And you're more mature than most kids."
Even if you're reckless… always skating on the edge of the law—eavesdropping, invading privacy, ignoring traffic rules…
"I believe you'll definitely find something."
That part, at least, was true. Conan was always reliable when it came to these things.
Hearing her praise, Conan felt a little embarrassed.
"I-I'm not that amazing…" he muttered shyly.
"But don't worry. I'll help."
Natsuyu nodded.
"Be careful, Conan."
Conan returned to the carriage.
Just as he expected, the men were extremely protective of the suitcase, keeping it resting carefully on their knees.
After a moment of thought, he suddenly ran up to them, pretending to be a curious, clueless child.
"Huh? Mister, what's inside your case? Can I see?"
He reached toward it.
One of the men immediately grabbed his wrist.
"What are you doing, you brat?!"
"Ah—ow!"
The grip was so tight that Conan cried out.
Only then did he see their faces clearly.
…So they weren't the men from the amusement park after all.
But that didn't matter anymore.
He was now almost certain there was a bomb inside the case.
When he got close, he could clearly smell the faint trace of bitter almonds.
And the way they handled the suitcase—careful not to shake it even now—suggested it might contain a device that would explode upon strong impact.
At that moment, Ran noticed the disturbance.
Seeing a stranger grabbing Conan's wrist while he cried in pain, she hurried over.
The men released him and barked at her,
"Watch your kid. Don't let him touch other people's things!"
Then, after checking the time, they picked up the suitcase and headed toward the dining car together.
Before Ran could react, they were already gone.
She turned back to Conan, about to ask what had happened—but he had already dashed off.
"Sister Ran, I have something to do!"
What could be so urgent?
Not long after leaving the carriage, Conan spotted Natsuyu standing to the side, talking with Genta and the others.
When Natsuyu saw Conan following the two men, she immediately understood—he had confirmed her suspicions.
There was no point in waiting any longer.
The more time passed, the greater the risk of an accident.
Natsuyu's gaze sharpened.
She was ready to act.