Being in Detective Conan, being officially part of the organization is just too awesome!

"Later, he even went to his door with gifts, insisting on becoming Uncle Mori's apprentice."

"You know what level Uncle Mori is at..."

Heiji Hattori paused for a moment when he got to this point.

He didn't finish his sentence at once; he wanted to give Kudo time to think.

As expected, Hattori Heiji immediately noticed Conan's increasingly unpleasant expression after hearing these words.

From what Heiji Hattori had just said, Conan concluded that everything could be summed up in two words—

unexpected!

That was so abrupt!

Ai Haibara suddenly appeared beside him, and he didn't even know where she came from. She was like an unregistered person, with no information about her.

Everything was told to her by her.

The same goes for Amuro Tooru.

When he and Professor Agasa went to investigate the organization, he suddenly appeared, and then coincidentally discovered that they had the same goal, so they went together.

After that, he quickly integrated into his circle and became Uncle Mori's apprentice...

Deliberate! Too deliberate!

Conan hadn't realized it before, but now, after Heiji Hattori's explanation, he immediately understood.

This deliberate feeling is just like those cases I've experienced before, where suspects constantly make deliberate arrangements and alibis to cover up their murders.

Yes, Ai Haibara initially told herself she was a traitor who escaped from the organization, but after she was exposed, she told herself she was American child star Grace.

Amuro Tooru also told himself that he was an undercover agent for the Japanese Public Security Bureau.

But that's what they told themselves!

Aside from the organization, they seemed to have absolutely no connection with themselves!

This is abnormal, this is far too abnormal...

"Kudo, you've noticed something's wrong too, haven't you?"

Hattori Heiji then spoke slowly again.

"Their relationship is not quite normal."

“Normal social interactions involve people who, in addition to you, have other relationships that are not established through you.”

"For example, I have Kazuha, my parents, and Inspector Otaki and the others. These relationships have nothing to do with you, Kudo."

"But these two are different. Their relationship is connected to you and was established through you."

"Whether it's those kids or Uncle Mori, Kudo, think about it, weren't they established through you, or perhaps they were established at the same time as you?"

"........."

Conan didn't speak, but instead fell into deep thought.

Heiji Hattori, however, struck while the iron was hot.

"Think about Uncle Long and the others again."

"Uncle Long goes without saying. He's on good terms with you and Uncle Mori. He also often plays cards with those detectives who have nothing to do with you."

"Mr. Kurosawa also has connections with Sonoko Suzuki and Uncle Ryu, and his relationship with Miss Sonoko was also established by chance."

“Mr. Charlie also has a girlfriend, and his relationship with his girlfriend has nothing to do with you.”

"Most importantly, they won't revolve around you!"

"Kudo, you don't actually think your existence is unimportant, do you?"

After saying this, Hattori Heiji stared straight at Conan.

Conan swallowed hard, making a gurgling sound, realizing what Hattori Heiji was trying to say.

If that's the case, wouldn't my existence mean...?

"Kudo, you expected this too, didn't you?"

Hattori Heiji spoke seriously.

"I noticed before that girl named Ai Haibara and that Tooru Amuro were too close to you."

"I've been wondering, what exactly are they after?"

"Later, I realized that they were after you!"

"Let's assume that there really is such an organization that has developed a drug that can shrink you. That alone is enough to show that this organization is exceptionally powerful."

"This is like turning back the clock! If word gets out, who wouldn't go crazy for it!"

"But if this organization develops this drug, wouldn't they know how useful it is?"

"Even if this drug was initially a deadly poison, they have the capability to conduct extensive experiments, enough to discover its hidden functions."

"So, could it be that the people who poisoned you... already know you're Shinichi Kudo?"

Could it be that... they already know I'm Shinichi Kudo?!

When Conan heard Heiji Hattori say this, he already had a guess in his mind, but dared not believe the possibility, and felt a chill in his heart.

Yes, if the other party knew that he was Shinichi Kudo, what would they do?

It's obvious that the other party will be observing me and paying close attention to my every move.

Because at this moment, in the eyes of the other party, one is not a living being, but an experimental subject that has undergone an extremely low probability event.

Once this idea came to mind, Conan felt that no matter how he looked at Ai Haibara and Tooru Amuro's behavior, he couldn't stand it.

Their goal seems to be to have complete control over their whereabouts and to fill their lives to the brim.

My life now consists of basically going back and forth between two points—school and home.

At school, there's Ai Haibara; at home, there's Uncle Mori asking for favors, and when there are cases, there's also Amuro Tooru, his top disciple.

It's practically a seamless transition...

Conan couldn't help but sigh to himself.

If they are one entity, wouldn't my every move be completely exposed to their eyes...?

"Kudo, I won't say any more. I'll just say one more thing."

Seeing that Conan seemed to have some ideas as well, Heiji Hattori patted him on the shoulder with satisfaction.

“We have witnessed the good deeds that Mr. Kurosawa and Uncle Long have done, and we have never seen them do anything illegal or criminal.”

"As for those two over there, you know them better than I do."

"You can judge for yourself."

After saying that, Hattori Heiji covered himself with the blanket and closed his eyes.

He believed that someone as intelligent as Kudo would surely figure it out...

Just as Heiji Hattori had thought, Conan felt his thoughts becoming clearer and clearer.

Yes, Uncle Long and his colleagues have done many good deeds and helped the police solve many cases.

The reason I've always been wary of them is because of preconceived notions, which led me to selectively ignore the good things they've done.

Looking back now, they really didn't do anything criminal in front of me. The only thing that made them seem extraordinary was their exceptional fighting skills.

But this thing can't be defined in a single way!

If we're talking about high combat skills, specifically within a criminal organization, then Xiaolan is definitely at least a leader-level member, and one with immense potential...

Most importantly, they seem completely oblivious to their own existence, showing no concern whatsoever.

Uncle Long and the others really treated themselves like children, just kids from Uncle Mori's family.

In contrast, there are the performances of Ai Haibara and Tooru Amuro.

They didn't treat themselves like children at all; Ai Haibara pointed out her identity as Shinichi Kudo from the very beginning.

When he was exposed by himself, he immediately changed his identity and said he was a child star.

And yet, I actually believed it without hesitation. At the time, I thought it was because I had a good eye for people, but now I think there might have been some subjective influence involved.

She considered Uncle Long and Mr. Kurosawa as enemies, and she also considered Mr. Kurosawa and the others as enemies. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, which is why she quickly developed a sense of trust in them.

This is an application of psychology!

Conan sighed inwardly, realizing that he had unknowingly fallen into a trap without even realizing it.

By the same token, Amuro Tooru is also very abnormal.

I went to find Itakura Taku's things and just happened to run into him?

Either he's constantly watching Itakura Taku, or he's constantly watching himself!

Later, he even became Uncle Mori's apprentice and entered into his life.

The timing was also quite interesting, as it happened to be shortly before he discovered Ai Haibara.

Presumably, the other side also realized at that time that they were about to discover that Ai Haibara's identity was not right, so they sent Amuro Tooru again to make up for it.

As for that Kazami Yuya, he probably wasn't killed by the organization. Rather, it was a tragic ending fabricated by Amuro Tooru and his group to deceive him and gain his trust.

I wasn't even there at the time, so wasn't it all just Amuro Tooru's word?

What a good idea!

Although Conan was annoyed at being deceived, he couldn't help but secretly admire their actions.

Thanks to Hattori's reminder, otherwise I don't know how long I would have been fooled by this series of tactics...

No wonder no matter how I tried to probe, I couldn't see that Uncle Long had any criminal issues.

No matter how you observe, you can't see anything wrong with the relationship between Mr. Kurosawa and Sonoko.

It turns out I was going in the wrong direction; they had no problems at all!

The real problem lies with those two guys whom I've always considered my partners!

hehe........

Conan sneered inwardly.

Unfortunately, no matter how ingenious your plan was, Hattori and I still discovered it.

Now, let's see who emerges victorious in this battle of wits...