Hokkaido, Hakodate City.
This was a coastal city located in the southwest of Hokkaido, with a relatively small population of just over 200,000. Even so, it was already the third-largest city in Hokkaido by population.
In promotional materials, the night view from Mount Hakodate was praised as the best in the world, worth a million dollars, attracting countless tourists from Japan and abroad.
Tourism was also one of the city's most important economic pillars.
Heiji stared intently at Conan in front of him. After a while, he suddenly smiled and said, "Kudo, I didn't expect you to come to Hokkaido."
Conan glanced at the dark-skinned person from Osaka in front of him with drooping eyelids, took a letter out of his pocket, and waved it. "Yeah, I didn't want to come either."
"But Kaitou Kid slipped a notice into my house, so I had no choice but to come here."
Heiji snatched the letter from Conan's hand, ignored his protests, tore it open directly, and read the contents with a frown.
"'Morning dew, the days are short, lingering and winding through the rice stalks, gone in an instant.' Kudo, what is this?"
"If you don't know, you can look it up online. It's the internet age now."
Conan complained, then explained, "This is a waka recorded in Hijikata Toshizo's Hōgyoku Hokkushū."
Heiji rubbed his chin and whispered, "Yesterday, the legal consultant of the Onoe Group was found dead on a street in Hakodate."
"We suspect that the short swords were probably hidden in his empty golf bag."
"Today, through the Hokkaido Police, we learned that an arms dealer named Brian D. Kadokura planted bombs in various locations across Hokkaido and demanded that the Hokkaido Police hand over the short swords related to the Onoe Zaibatsu."
"Otherwise, he'll detonate those bombs and carry out terrorist attacks in Hokkaido."
Conan said with a headache, "Why are people doing things on such a large scale now? Planting bombs and carrying out terrorist attacks at the drop of a hat."
Heiji was also helpless. "Too much has happened in Japan this past year. Now everyone has learned that if you want to cause trouble, you have to cause big trouble."
Heiji was chatting with Conan.
Suddenly, both of them felt something and sharply looked up, only to see a young man in a white suit and cape descending from the sky, landing right on a scrapped car beside them.
"Kaitou Kid?"
Heiji and Conan's expressions turned serious as they looked at Kaito.
Kaito sat stylishly on the roof of the scrapped car. He didn't waste any words and flicked his hand, throwing out four short swords.
Heiji had sharp eyes and quick hands, and he quickly caught all four swords.
"These are?"
Looking at the swords in his hand, Heiji's expression was full of surprise and uncertainty.
Kaito said frankly, "These are the short swords that the Onoe Zaibatsu and that arms dealer are looking for. It's said that the treasure hidden by the founder of the Onoe Zaibatsu is hidden inside these swords."
"Cracking codes and finding treasure isn't something a Kaitou is good at, so I had no choice but to invite you, little detective, to help me out."
"However, the famous high school detective from Osaka is also in Hokkaido, which is even better. You two, do your best and make sure to find this treasure."
Conan's mouth twitched. "Kaitou Kid, why should we help you find the treasure?"
Kaito grinned. "Someone died yesterday. As detectives, don't you want to solve the mystery behind that death?"
Kaito's words made Heiji and Conan's faces look very unpleasant.
The other party really had them cornered. Since someone had died, detectives would definitely find the culprit.
And since this culprit was connected to a treasure, as detectives, they had no choice but to search for this treasure.
Kaitou Kid was using them.
At this moment, Kaito's expression suddenly became serious, and he said, "You might not have gotten the news yet. Don't blame me for not reminding you."
"Just now, an explosion occurred at a hospital in Sapporo City, causing significant casualties. That arms dealer admitted that he planted the bomb and demanded that the Hokkaido Police quickly decipher the secret of the short swords."
"Otherwise, he will continue to detonate the bombs hidden across Hokkaido, create public panic, and force the higher-ups of the Hokkaido Police and the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department to step down."
"Now you're not just looking for treasure for me. You also have to stop this impending terrorist attack!"
After saying that, without waiting for Heiji and Conan to react, Kaito opened his hang glider and flew into the sky.
"Wait a minute, Kaitou Kid!"
Kaito paid no attention to the two of them and had already flown far away.
Heiji and Conan exchanged glances, then quickly took out their phones to check the online news. Just as Kaitou Kid had said, there had been a bombing at a hospital in Sapporo, resulting in dozens of casualties.
"Damn it!"
Heiji thought of something and quickly picked up his phone to make a call.
Not long after, Heiji put down his phone, his expression strange.
"What's wrong, Hattori?"
Conan noticed Heiji's unusual mood.
"Nothing."
Heiji shook his head. "My mother also came to Hokkaido and is currently sightseeing in Asahikawa."
"The whole of Hokkaido isn't safe now. I wanted her to return to Kansai first and stop staying here."
When Conan heard Heiji mention his mother, he understood why he was so nervous.
But that still couldn't explain his strange expression.
Heiji said with a conflicted expression, "My mom met Fujiwara in Asahikawa."
"Uh, Toru?"
"Yeah, they're traveling together."
Heiji only felt hollow inside. His detective's intuition told him that something was wrong.
"She said that with Toru-kun by her side, she doesn't need to worry about safety. Damn it, why does my mom call that guy Toru-kun? Why is she calling him so intimately?"
Heiji grabbed his hair forcefully.
Conan felt the same way, because his own mother had also gone to Gunma Prefecture with that guy Toru back then.
At home, his mother also called him Toru-kun, Toru-kun, so intimately that it made him wonder who was actually her son.
Conan thought for a moment and could only comfort him. "That guy Toru, although I can never bring myself to like him."
"But if Mrs. Hattori is by his side, her safety can be guaranteed. Hattori, you should feel at ease."
Heiji took a deep breath and nodded. "Kudo, you're right. With a detective's intuition, I feel that guy is very dangerous."
"But being by his side is also safe enough. Since my mom is no longer in danger, I can relax. Let's solve this case first."
...
Asahikawa, a private hot spring resort.
Toru was sitting in the hot spring, contacting someone on his phone.
"Brian D. Kadokura, a Japanese-American. It's said that he has connections with people from both major and minor powers, and he sells weapons throughout Asia."
"Very good. This guy actually dares to carry out terrorist attacks in Japan. Then there's a reason to keep him."
"Curacao, go find the hiding places for his weapons. Since he's an arms dealer, he must have a large inventory. I'm interested in that batch of weapons."
Toru pondered for a moment and gave the order.
"Yes, Boss."
Curacao responded directly, without any unnecessary words.
Just then, the sliding door beside him was opened.
Toru hung up the phone and looked over intently.
Through the steam rising from the hot spring, he originally thought the one coming to soak in the hot spring with him was Momiji, but unexpectedly, Shizuka also walked in wearing a yukata.
The two looked at each other, and Shizuka, this mature woman, was also flustered for a moment. "Toru-kun? Did I, did I go to the wrong place?"
"Is this a mixed bath?"
(To be continued.)