"Kaito, it's rare for you to contact me first."
In the Koto Ward Mayor's office building, Toru stood in his office, looking out the window while holding his phone.
This office building was not very tall, so even standing by the window, he could not overlook the entire Tokyo skyline.
However, even without towering buildings, the steady flow of pedestrians through the streets below still brought a different kind of elevated feeling.
"Boss, I need to go to Hokkaido."
Kaito's voice came from the other end of the phone. "I have something I need to do next, and I'm afraid you'll assign me a task, so I'm telling you in advance."
"Kaito, I told you when I was in America that I wouldn't ask you to work for me again for a while. You're free during this period, and my promise still stands."
Toru spoke slowly.
He walked back to his desk, sat down, picked up the cola in front of him, and took a sip.
Kaito seemed to let out a long sigh of relief. He had been worried that Toru would go back on his word.
Now that he saw Toru keeping his promise, he felt a little more relaxed.
"But what are you going to Hokkaido for? I don't remember there being any major jewelry exhibitions in Hokkaido right now that Kaitou Kid needs to steal from."
As Toru said this, he opened the laptop in front of him and searched on Google.
Just as he had said, there were no jewelry exhibitions in Hokkaido recently.
That was one of the poorer regions of Japan, and even if there were a major jewelry exhibition, it would not be held there.
"Boss, that's not stealing. I'm just borrowing them to use. I always return the jewels to them afterward."
Kaito complained. After thinking for a moment, he decided to tell Toru the truth, lest Toru keep wondering about it.
"This time, I'm not going to steal, I'm not going to borrow any gems."
"Have you heard of the Onoe Group?"
Toru had not heard of it, but he could search online. Soon, he found information about the Onoe Group and read it out verbatim.
"The Onoe Group, a conglomerate established in the Hokkaido region during the war, has just reached its third generation."
"Hmm, online information shows that the group's situation has been very bad recently. It seems to be facing major financial problems and is selling off its collections to repay debts."
Kaito said, "That's right, but there are some things that probably can't be found online."
"It's said that the founder of the Onoe Group once left a secret treasure somewhere in Hokkaido."
"There are all kinds of theories about this treasure. Some say it is a huge fortune, while others say it is a mysterious weapon, one powerful enough to even change the course of the war."
"And the founder of the Onoe Group hid the secret of this treasure inside six short swords related to Hijikata Toshizō."
"As long as you obtain these six short swords and decipher the secret hidden within them, you can find the treasure."
Upon hearing this, Toru had no interest in the so-called treasure. He only sneered.
"Kaito, do you actually believe this kind of treasure rumor?"
"What kind of treasure could a small regional conglomerate have left behind when it was first established? Even if they left behind a ton of gold, at the current market price, it would only be worth fifty to sixty million dollars."
"As for the so-called weapon that could change the war, that's even more laughable. At that time, America had already developed the atomic bomb."
"Do you think a certain conglomerate in Hokkaido stole the results of the Manhattan Project from America?"
"If there really is a secret weapon hidden there, then it can only be one thing."
Toru's eyes suddenly turned cold. "Poison gas."
If the Onoe Group had indeed hidden a large amount of poison gas, then Toru would have to personally take action and send all of the group's descendants to hell.
Kaito seemed a little embarrassed and chuckled dryly. "Boss, of course I don't believe there's some treasure that can rival a nation's wealth, and I don't believe there's a weapon that can change the course of the war either."
"The reason I want to find that treasure is simply because..."
In a mansion in Tokyo, Kaito was sitting on his bed, holding a notebook.
He had just found this notebook in the basement of his house. It was a note left behind by his father.
In this note, Kuroba Toichi had written down information about the Onoe Group's treasure. He seemed interested in it and wanted to steal it.
Kaito was interested in this treasure because he wanted to see what that man had wanted to steal.
Kaito told Toru his thoughts, and Toru did not say much more.
He thought for a moment and said, "Since it's a so-called puzzle, then go find a detective. They're best at things like this."
Toru was subtly telling Kaito that he should bring Conan along. He would definitely be able to help him solve the mystery.
But be careful, people might die.
As for Toru himself, he was not interested in participating. He would rather spend time with Ōoka Momiji and enjoy himself.
After hanging up the phone, Toru lightly tapped the table with his fingers.
"Kuroba Toichi."
After thinking for a moment, Toru dialed a number.
"Toru, I'm at a crucial stage in my research. Why are you calling me?"
Haibara's annoyed voice came from the other end of the phone.
But even during the most important stage of her experiment, when faced with a call from Toru, she still chose to answer.
"Haibara, use the computing power inside the research institute to activate the full-age recognition system and help me find someone."
On the artificial island provided by the Sakayanagi family, there were many technology research institutions built by various conglomerates.
Toru had borrowed this portion of computing power under the pretext of using Haibara's drug research to create new industries.
At the same time, the Black Organization had left a backdoor when they invaded Interpol. Combining the two, they could activate the recognition system that everyone thought had already been destroyed.
Seeing that Toru was serious, Haibara did not waste any more words and directly asked him for a photo.
The photo was of Kuroba Toichi. As a once world-renowned magician, his photos were widely circulated online and were not difficult to find.
With the massive computing power activated, Haibara's recognition system, once coveted by the Black Organization and major intelligence agencies around the world, demonstrated its powerful capabilities.
Several hours later, with the support of that computing power, Haibara sent the recognition results to Toru.
In buried surveillance footage from just two years ago, Kuroba Toichi had appeared on the streets of Tokyo.
This was the only trace of Kuroba Toichi found by the full-age recognition system.
"Without Haibara's system, it would have been almost impossible to find this single flaw in such a vast amount of data."
"Indeed, science and technology are the primary productive forces. Kuroba Toichi, you haven't remained disguised for eight years. You've shown your real face before."
"I'm afraid you never expected such a tiny flaw to be caught by me."
Through this photo, Toru quickly located the corresponding place. It was near the Kuroba residence.
"Your father truly cares about his son. Perhaps he's even been secretly protecting him. Two years ago, well, that was the day Kaito first tried to become Kaitou Kid."
"You were afraid he'd be caught, so you secretly followed him."
Toru clasped his hands together and rested them beneath his chin.
Kuroba Toichi was not dead. Although Toru had long suspected it, he had finally found evidence.
"Should I spread some false information, information that would be harmful to Kaito, and then lure Kuroba Toichi out?"
Kuroba Toichi might possess some extremely important confidential information, such as information about the Pandora Gem.
...
At the same time, Osaka Prefecture.
"Mom, I'm going to Hokkaido for a kendo competition. What are you going there for?"
Heiji said with a hint of helplessness.
The beautiful and charming Mrs. Hattori pursed her lips and smiled.
"I want to have some fun in Hokkaido. Is that not allowed?"
"Don't worry, son. I won't bother you. I'll just look around by myself."
(To be continued.)