BWDC:SDDK Chapter 101: Kaito Kuroba, You Are Phantom Thief Kid!
In the afternoon, at the Suzuki Foundation Exhibition Hall.
After accompanying Ren Ichimonji to the exhibition hall in the morning, Sonoko Suzuki returned for a second round in the afternoon, this time bringing Ran Mouri and the others. Although Saguru Hakuba had also extended an invitation, the destination was the same; it didn't really matter who brought whom inside.
Kogoro Mouri moved between the collections in the various exhibition halls, letting out frequent exclamations of wonder. It had to be said that the wealth of the Suzuki Foundation was truly staggering. If he were to try and collect the items in these halls himself, he probably wouldn't earn enough in a lifetime of private detective work to buy even the cheapest piece among them!
"It's good to be rich," Kogoro Mouri remarked with heartfelt emotion.
He had said those exact same words once before in front of the Nagatomo Group's villa. Back then, it had been a bit of polite flattery in front of the butler, but this time, it was pure, unadulterated shock at the sheer scale of the Suzuki family's fortune.
However, despite his surprise, Kogoro didn't forget the main reason for their visit. He left the appreciation of the exhibits to Ran and Sonoko, while he took on the heavy responsibility of helping the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department check if the anti-theft measures were airtight. After all, when it came to dealing with Phantom Thief Kid, he was Saguru Hakuba's senior!
Standing beside him, Conan looked at the suddenly guffawing Kogoro with a look of utter exasperation. If they weren't old acquaintances, Conan would seriously suspect that Kogoro had some mental health issues. The man had likely just thought of a clever way to boast about himself and was laughing in anticipation of putting it into practice.
Conan didn't bother observing Kogoro's antics any further. He walked forward a few steps to the front of the Pink Sapphire, leaning over the cordon to look up curiously at the largest pink sapphire in history.
This thing was truly massive. It was bigger than Conan himself. It was hard to imagine what method Phantom Thief Kid would use to transport it out of here. This wasn't like the Black Star—a normal-sized gem that could be slipped into a pocket.
If Conan had to solve this puzzle, he thought the Kid might try an old trick again.
That had been Conan's first encounter with Phantom Thief Kid back when he was still Shinichi Kudo. At the time, Kid claimed he would steal the time of the clock tower. In the end, the hour, minute, and second hands of the clock tower had indeed vanished into thin air. Many people claimed the Kid had truly stolen time, but Conan had grabbed a police officer's gun and fired at the tower.
It proved that Phantom Thief Kid had no way of stealing something that large. He had simply hung a cloth with the same pattern over the clock, minus the hands.
To be honest, Conan hadn't considered Kid a real rival back then. So much so that when Ran and the others mentioned the name later, Conan didn't even remember who he was. It wasn't until their first moonlit meeting on the rooftop of the Haido City Hotel that Conan suddenly realized he had crossed paths with this thief before.
There were only two ways to steal this Pink Sapphire. Either open the skylight and "pull" the gem upward to transport it through a hole in the ceiling, or use a typical illusion to make people believe the sapphire had already been stolen.
"Which possibility will it be..." Conan rubbed his chin.
Suddenly, he heard Ran Mouri's startled cry.
"Shi... Shinichi?!"
Conan: ?
What? He had heard Ran say earlier that she ran into him in Shibuya District. Why was she shouting "Shinichi" again? Had that look-alike from Shibuya appeared here too?
Conan quickly turned toward Ran's position. He saw Inspector Nakamori, whom he had met once before on the Queen Selizabeth, accompanied by a girl who looked remarkably like Ran and a boy who looked exactly like the original Shinichi Kudo.
Conan: ?
What was this? Another version of himself? It was one thing to look similar, but how could their "configuration" be so identical as well?
"Eh? Who is Shinichi?" Aoko Nakamori covered her small mouth in surprise.
A moment later, she turned to Kaito Kuroba, hands on her hips, leaning forward as she interrogated him, "Kaito, did you use another alias to go out and trick girls?"
"If that's the case, I advise you to come clean as soon as possible!"
Kaito Kuroba: ?
It's one thing for others not to believe me, but how can you say that too?
Kaito waved his hands dismissively and said quickly, "Miss, you have the wrong person. I'm not Shinichi Kudo."
"I'm Kaito Kuroba from Ekoda High School, and this is my classmate, Aoko Nakamori. I know of the Shinichi Kudo you mentioned, but I really am not him. You've truly mistaken me for someone else."
The explanation felt a bit weak. However, Aoko stopped teasing him and helped explain, "Yeah, he's not that famous great detective; he's my friend Kaito Kuroba."
"We grew up together since we were kids. If he were Shinichi Kudo, how could I not know?"
Conan, who had quickly moved to Ran's side, looked up. He stared at the person who looked exactly like him, feeling a bit bewildered, but he still chimed in, "Yeah, Shinichi-niichan hasn't returned to Tokyo yet. It's just someone who looks a lot like him, right?"
Seeing that everyone agreed, Ran nodded tentatively, though she still seemed doubtful.
Next to her, however, Sonoko Suzuki was eyeing Kaito Kuroba with deep suspicion. She remembered very clearly that when they left the Tokyo Budokan, Ren Ichimonji had told her jokingly:
[The face hidden under Phantom Thief Kid's monocle looks exactly like Shinichi Kudo's.]
At the time, Sonoko had scoffed, thinking there was no way such identical strangers could exist. But now, she wasn't so sure. Because Kaito Kuroba really did look exactly like Shinichi Kudo.
If it weren't for the fact that Kaito lacked Shinichi's insufferably arrogant detective aura, Sonoko might have thought Shinichi had changed his name and identity just to play a prank.
Could it be that this person is Phantom Thief Kid...
"Kaito Kuroba, you are Phantom Thief Kid!"
Sonoko thought this in her head and was startled by the thought. She instinctively covered her mouth, thinking she had accidentally spoken her mind aloud.
But at that moment, she realized everyone was looking in a different direction. They were looking at where Saguru Hakuba was standing!
"June 23rd, 3:27 and 42 seconds PM. The real Phantom Thief Kid has appeared before me."
"Am I correct, Mr. Kuroba?"
Saguru Hakuba stood beside Inspector Nakamori and Kogoro. Although it was phrased as a question, he spoke with the absolute certainty of a statement of fact!
End of Chapter
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