The Phantom Thief of Heart! But Conan.

"Oh, this is the Sannoji Temple..."

"Well, this is where the client who entrusted Dad this time is."

"Is this a request from a monk? How rare..."

"This place is quite famous, I think..."

A few people following Kogoro Mouri were chatting idly, but in fact their attention was all focused on Karasawa, who was at the end of the team and was almost being dragged by Souji Okita.

Tang Ze, who had taken out a hooded sweatshirt from somewhere, was wearing a mask and had the hood pulled tightly, looking as if he was too embarrassed to face anyone.

"You don't have to be like this, do you? Your situation is very special, and you're a minor. Considering your personal safety, the TV station wouldn't dare to disclose your personal information casually, right?" Okita Souji still had that cheerful smile on his face. "It's unlikely anyone would recognize you."

Tang Ze rolled his eyes and didn't respond.

According to Japan's Juvenile Law, the real names and appearances of juvenile offenders cannot be made public.

Therefore, in the mass media, when discussing a juvenile criminal, code names such as Boy A or Girl A can only be used instead of the real name.

With the occurrence of some major juvenile crime cases, this nickname has gradually become a reference to juvenile offenders. Therefore, even though Tang Ze is already the most famous boy A, it does not actually involve any information security issues.

After all, what is discussed most about Tang Ze is not his own behavior, but the judicial fraud in the case involving him, of which he is the victim.

Having said that, the specific details of the case have been discussed, and there has even been a large-scale petition to help him overturn the verdict. It would be a lie to say that no one has any idea who this teenager A is referring to.

Thinking of this, Tang Ze clenched his fists and squeezed out a sentence from between his teeth: "...What do you mean by investigating the case? I don't think that guy Hattori dares to come to see me."

They're investigating a case, isn't it just about that bandit gang called Genji Hotaru? It's not that serious.

It doesn't make sense that Hattori Heiji, who was the one who instigated this incident, didn't come to pick someone up himself, but instead informed Okita of his itinerary.

The only reason could be that he also knew that this style of play with the most barrage would kill Tang Zechuang, and he felt a little guilty about it.

"Oh, it doesn't matter," Okita Souji patted Tang Ze's shoulder with a smile, "After all, he used the best method he could think of..."

"Then he should have told me in advance."

"Well, he was able to push it this far without you knowing anything about it. Doesn't that mean his approach was actually quite successful? It didn't bother you, and it did produce results."

"Then he'd better not let me find out before the court reopens..."

Kogoro Mouri, who was walking in front, shook his head, quickened his pace, and distanced himself from the noisy high school students behind him.

"Mr. Maori, thank you for coming all this way. I'm Long Yuan, and this is the abbot Yuan Hai..."

The monk who came forward in the lead glanced at the people behind him, quickly restrained his gaze, and smiled peacefully.

The detective who accepted the commission said it was for work, but it wasn't a serious commission, so it made sense for him to bring his family along on the trip...

"Hello. Who are these people?"

"Ah, these three are the donors of our temple..."

The normal self-introduction process began there. In addition to the temple's client, there were three very classic tourists who filled the suspect positions.

Kogoro Mori greeted them, while Karasawa glanced at the two older ones.

These two people are probably the main participants in this incident, the last two remaining survivors of the thief group called Genji Hotaru.

It's hard to say whether this group of people are influenced by the cultural atmosphere or because their leader himself is a fan, but all of them use code names related to Yoshitsune.

The problem is that Minamoto no Yoshitsune's life is indeed full of legends and is indeed fascinating, but considering his ending, including the ending of his entire force, he can only be said to be a famous tragic figure.

Why doesn't it seem surprising that the band of thieves who chose such a code name ended up with all of them killed or injured?

This shows that code names are very important for bandit groups...

"Are you fellow kendo enthusiasts?" Hearing the abbot's introduction, Maori Kogoro was stunned for a moment, but quickly returned to proper social etiquette. "No wonder you're so energetic. Exercise really does have a positive effect on one's mental state..."

We can't blame Kogoro Mouri for being prejudiced. We can only say that this group of tall, short, fat and thin people don't look like they have great martial arts skills.

However, Okita Souji, who had been interrupting Tang Ze to talk, turned his head and looked at the few people for a while when he heard this. He quickly frowned and his hand holding Tang Ze's arm tightened a little unconsciously.

"What's wrong?" Tang Ze noticed his change in attitude and looked in the direction he was looking.

Okita Souji stared at the secondhand bookseller named Nishijo Taikawa for a while, then lowered his voice and said, "They all do practice kendo, and some of them might even be martial artists."

"Oh? Can you tell that?" Tang Ze was really surprised. "Could it be that there is some kind of 'sensory connection between masters'?"

"Can't you sense it?" Okita Souji glanced at him. "I clearly heard Hattori say that you are practicing Taijutsu now, and you are learning very quickly. You are quite talented. He doesn't even have the confidence to beat you."

"I can't help it. My purpose in learning Taijutsu is different from yours." Tang Ze shrugged. "It's really hard for him to beat me because I don't talk about the rules of competition with others."

I don't know if it's because his super-standard physical skills were acquired quickly and he didn't go through a steady practice process. Even though Tang Ze, who has gained the power of Kyogoku Makoto, can easily knock down many people, he doesn't feel any different from the past in appearance or inwardness.

He could not understand the so-called "martial arts spirit" of people like Kyogoku Makoto or Okita Souji.

There are only a few purposes for practicing physical skills. Besides strengthening the body, it is either for competitive purposes or to practice the art of killing. Why so many fancy things?

"You're still so realistic, you know." Okita Souji shook his head before finally answering Tang Ze's question. "Although his breath and footsteps are relaxed, I can tell he's quite capable in fighting. And the calluses on his hands are definitely the result of practicing with a sword and a bow..."

The more he spoke, the more subtle Okita Souji's expression became.

Using the word "able to fight" is a bit conservative. Among the five people standing in front, it is possible that the combat power of several of them is higher than that of Hattori Heiji.

So what kind of club is this that the abbot said they were all kendo enthusiasts? Could it be one of those martial arts gyms that's ostensibly a club but actually a gang?

Okita Souji, who didn't know that he had revealed the truth to a certain extent, still cautiously grabbed Tang Ze's shoulders and pulled him back.

"It doesn't seem like a small trouble. Please be more careful."

"Mori-san is the one who accepted the commission. Honestly, he should be the one to be careful..."

The social etiquette of the previous few people was almost coming to an end, and finally they mentioned Shanneng Temple’s most famous "tourist project".

That is the main Buddha statue, the Medicine Buddha statue, which is exhibited once every twelve years.

When Monk Long Yuan, who was following Abbot Yuan Hai, heard this word, he took a few steps uneasily. The expressions of the three people standing beside him also changed.

Abbot Yuankai was very patient. When Maori Kogoro expressed his anticipation for the exhibition, he simply smiled and said, "With such anticipation, I'm sure Yakushi Tathagata will be very happy too."

Kogoro Mouri didn't notice anything. He just thought that the greetings were finally over and it was time to understand the content of the commission.

Then he was immediately shocked to be informed...

"The main Buddha was stolen?" Kogoro Mouri couldn't help but widen his eyes.

The Buddha statues at Shanneng Temple are exhibited once every twelve years, and there are less than three days left until the next exhibition.

It's easy to imagine that the reason they asked him to handle this commission was definitely to bring the Buddha statue back before the exhibition. He didn't expect that this commission would suddenly become an expedited task.

"Yes, that happened eight years ago..." Monk Long Yuan smiled bitterly and opened the shrine behind him where the Buddha statue was placed.

There are two kind-looking Bodhisattvas on the left and right, facing either side, but the largest position in the middle is left empty. I think this is where the most famous and valuable Medicine Buddha statue of Shanneng Temple is placed.

"Eight years?" Maori Kogoro exclaimed, "Your abbot is really patient..."

I didn't take care of it for eight years, and just before the exhibition, I remembered to ask someone to look for it.

Mending the fold after the sheep have been lost is indeed an effective method, but your sheep has been lost for eight years. It may have been reincarnated several times. Even a god can't find it...

"We clean and maintain it regularly, so we discovered it then," explained monk Long Yuan. "I wanted to call the police and look for it, but the abbot stopped me. He said, 'If there's a destiny, the statue will return.'"

He said this without much confidence, and Kogoro Mori's eyebrows twitched when he heard it.

"He's too open-minded..."

Yuanhai has been the abbot of Sanneng Temple for so many years. Being the abbot of a temple is not a poor job, so he must have quite a bit of private property.

Logically speaking, no one should suspect him of the loss of the Buddha statue in the temple.

But after Yuan Hai's words and his words, there was a strong atmosphere of embezzlement, making it difficult for people not to suspect him...

"I do have some experience in finding things, but if I go back to look for them after eight years..." Feeling that there was something fishy going on here, Kogoro Mouri immediately backed down.

If the Buddha statue had actually been taken away by Yuan Hai, there would be little point in him symbolically searching for it here. There was no need to lower his chances of success for a lost cause...

"The reason we asked you to come here is because we suddenly received such an email five days ago..." Long Yuan, who could guess what Maori Kogoro was thinking, hurriedly explained and handed over an envelope.

Kogoro Mouri took it and looked at it. It was a standard envelope with the words "To Sannoji Temple" written on the front.

There was no stamp or postmark, nor any sender's information. When I turned the envelope over, I saw only a tiny bit of offset printing on the seal...

Even Kogoro Mouri, who had never had a sensitive sense of smell, could understand that this letter was not sent by normal mail. The sender must have stuffed the letter directly into the temple mailbox.

Thinking this in his mind, Kogoro Mouri carefully opened the envelope and took out the contents.

The envelope contained two A4 papers facing each other. On one was written in calligraphy, "Solve the puzzle in the painting and you will find the Buddha statue." On the other was a simple painting made up of some colorful symbols and lines with unknown meanings.

"What, this painting..." Kogoro Mouri frowned.

"That's why I've come to you. I don't know why the messenger did this, but this is the only clue we have about the statue."

Long Yuan bowed deeply to show his seriousness.

The Buddha statue they are guarding is one of the foundations of Shanneng Temple. As long as there is hope, he certainly does not want to give up.

Kogoro Mouri looked at the painting in his hand for a while, reached out to touch the paint and lines on it, and looked at Long Yuan strangely.

He finally figured it out. The contact person was Long Yuan, and the one who came to negotiate was also... To put it bluntly, although Abbot Yuan Hai did not object to Long Yuan's approach and even provided an advance deposit for the commission, the other party was indeed not that positive about this matter.

Whether it was because the abbot's realm was indeed high, so high that he could even treat such an important temple treasure as a personal possession, which would be lost if it was lost, or because the abbot himself might be inextricably linked to the loss of the Buddha statue, in short, the problem here was not something he needed to worry about.

He only had to do one thing, and that was to solve the mystery.

"Okay, I understand. I'll give it a try. Master Long Yuan, please help me find a room for me to study..."

Conan saw that Kogoro Mouri was about to ask Ryuen to add other information, including making a copy of the painting in the letter and putting the original document away. Before the painting was taken away, he jumped up and took a closer look.

There are obvious traces of brushstrokes in the color blocks and lines. At least this painting was indeed drawn.

In other words, it is very likely the original copy of the "treasure map".

But there was no need to get close to compare carefully, Conan could see that the ink used on the letter sent with the painting was completely different from the black ink used for painting.

The person who wrote the question and the person who sent the letter are probably not the same person...

"Five murders, Hotaru Genji... Hmm, this mystery might be related to Yoshitsune? Then, let's go to Gojo Bridge first..."

"...This guy has been mumbling on his phone for a while. Do we really want to follow him?" Okita Souji reached out and quickly grabbed Conan's collar before he bumped into someone else. He couldn't help but complain to Tang Ze, "You don't have to follow him if you don't want to go out with the girls, right?"

Kogoro Mouri fell into silence as he pondered the puzzle. The others, unable to sit still, naturally suggested leaving to fulfill their original purpose, which was to travel.

Perhaps because they missed the atmosphere of their last trip to Osaka, Mao Lilan and Suzuki Sonoko made an appointment with Toyama and Ye, but they hit a wall when they asked Tang Ze to go too.

Conan said that he wanted to act alone, and Tang Ze used the excuse of taking care of the children to decisively express his willingness to follow Conan.

Originally, Souji Okita could act as a guide, but now he had no choice but to follow them on the city walk.

"You don't understand." Tang Ze narrowed his eyes, like a soldier on the alert, secretly gathering his strength, "This is called waiting for the rabbit by the tree."

I just don't believe that we can't catch Hattori Heiji like this...