Conan: I'm Really Not Tokyo Ghost Story

But Sano has spent quite a bit of time with Ran Mouri, so how come he never knew that there was such a person by her side?

A high school detective, the protagonist's childhood friend... definitely the female lead too. Vermouth is a core member of a criminal organization, so how did the two of them get involved?

Judging from her attitude, Vermouth doesn't seem to be on the opposite side... Could she also be an undercover agent?

Sano looked at the sea and rubbed his fingers thoughtfully. Considering the number of undercover agents Gin catches every day, it wasn't impossible. Didn't he have an undercover agent by his side?

Or, after we get to Shikishima, we can use Ran Mouri to test her?

...In fact, Sano had considered using the Hammer of Justice to test it, but he himself was now a little confused about the Hammer of Justice's function.

Logically speaking, the heavier one's sins, the greater the pain one will experience when struck by the hammer of justice.

But how exactly is this "evil" defined?

At first, Sano didn't think much of it, but later he gradually realized that the scope of this thing was too vague.

Just like Amuro Tooru.

Although Sano had already concluded that the other party was an undercover agent and a "good person," in truth, does an undercover agent have no sins?

As an undercover agent, the principle is that you can't catch tiger cubs without entering the tiger's den. You can't catch wolves without risking your cubs. Through Sano's intentional or unintentional exchanges with Gin, he can tell that Amuro Tooru has a lot of blood on his hands.

Just because someone is an undercover agent, does that mean these crimes are not crimes?

Take Conan, for example; he's the same way.

At first, Sano didn't react when he hit the other party with the hammer of justice, nor did he think much of it. But now it seems that the other party is a detective after all, just like he said when he tricked Kogoro Mouri before, this is a gray industry.

Even though Conan doesn't need to follow and secretly film like Kogoro Mouri, Sano has witnessed countless petty evils.

For example, there was illegal wiretapping in the Full Paradise case, trespassing in the haunted house and twin corpse cases, and the last time he used a modified skateboard to overload and speed, etc...

At the very least, taking a bath with a woman whose body has shrunk and with whom you have no established relationship is, well, that's indecent assault.

Although it's not as heinous as murder, it's still a sin.

Even under these conditions, the hammer of justice still did not react to Conan.

What exactly constitutes evil? Is it based on the heart or the actions? If it's the latter, then which actions are being considered?

If we calculate it according to Japanese law, would the calculation method change if Sano were in a different country?

It's unclear.

Sano had assumed that the enhancements provided by the system would be meticulously designed, but now he felt that... it was almost in line with the timeline of this world, just like Conan.

It's a real headache.

Amidst the silence on both sides, a small ship finally slowly approached the shore.

Then another man in a suit appeared. It was unclear whether he was a tourist or a resident of the island. He didn't interact with anyone, but his face was gloomy.

After boarding the ship, Sano glanced at the man out of the corner of his eye. His intuition and experience told him that this man was very likely also related to the Shenlong.

It could be a direct relationship, or it could just be a smokescreen.

In any case, it's always good to pay more attention.

On the ship, apart from the regular staff, there was only an old man wearing glasses who looked like he was about to retire.

The old man seemed to be some kind of government official on the island, who had come specifically to "welcome" the Mori family of three.

Sano overheard their conversation and learned that Kogoro Mouri had come not because of any request, but because he had been invited to give a speech.

Chapter 163, Page 162: It feels so good to slap someone in the face with money.

The old man was clearly well-versed in the ways of officialdom, constantly calling himself the greatest detective in the world, which made Kogoro Mori so flattered that he was practically wagging his tail in the air.

It's worth mentioning, however, that the man standing on the deck was startled upon hearing the name "Detective Kogoro Mouri" and ran into the cabin.

...That guy's strange behavior seems to be even more obvious now.

Sano did not return to the cabin, but continued to openly eavesdrop on the conversation between Kogoro Mouri and the others as if nothing had happened.

Now the man's identity, at least his public identity, has been revealed.

An employee from a travel agency in Tokyo seems to be trying to use the Shenlong ship as a gimmick to turn Shikishima into a tourist attraction.

At the same time, Sano and Vermouth's public identities were also revealed, though of course, they were all fake, whether it was the registered names or the excuse for traveling to Shikishima.

Sano organized personnel specifically responsible for this aspect to produce more than a dozen types of identity documents, including but not limited to residence permits, driver's licenses, and work permits.

Each certificate has a different name.

Characters like Kaneki Ken, Sakata Gintoki, Ichimaru Gin, Zoldyck Killua, Hatake Kakashi, and so on...

Well, Sano rarely watched anime in his past life. It was only because one of his closest friends, who called himself a "2D fan" all the time, dragged him to watch anime together that he gradually absorbed a little bit of knowledge from him.

Of course, Sano used the black-clad identity card to board the ship.

I randomly picked one from several identity cards belonging to Sakuragi Hanamichi, Onizuka Eikichi, Urameshi Yusuke, Hanma Baki, and Serizawa Tamao.

Then, as he listened, Sano heard another rumor about the Shenlong.

Ghost ship.

That's what the people of Shikishima call the Shenlong.

It is said that before the Shenlong went missing seven years ago, it sent out a distress signal, but when the people of Shikijima were preparing to go out to sea to rescue it, the distress signal was cut off again. It was not until the next morning that the ship owner's body was found on the nearby coast.

The residents of Shikijima believed that it was the vengeful spirits of the navy who were causing the mysterious disappearance of the Shenlong.

As for what the "naval ghosts" were, the old man didn't mention it again.

Tsk, if you're going to say it, just say it all at once! Why keep me in suspense? Riddler, be careful you don't get dumped at sea!

Sano secretly grimaced, having failed to gather complete intelligence and hear any gossip.

...Just mentioning dumping corpses into the sea immediately raised a question in Sano's mind.

Sano originally thought that this mission would be the same as last time, where he wouldn't encounter Conan, but he did. This likely means that something unexpected is bound to happen on the island.

Therefore, a problem similar to that of Moonshadow Island arises.

Will Vermouth survive this mission?

Even excluding all external possibilities... does Sano really not need to "silence" Vermouth?

Unlike on Moonshadow Island, Vermouth might not harbor any ulterior motives as early as Coron, and even if she did, Sano might not make the same choice as he did on Moonshadow Island.

Let's pray for Vermouth for three seconds.

...The rest of the conversation was just casual chatter. Sano lost interest after a while and started to daydream.

After sailing at sea for several hours, the ship finally arrived at Shiki Island just before lunchtime.

Before even disembarking, Sano saw a large crowd gathered at the ferry terminal, waving small flags and cheering, "A warm welcome to the famous detective Kogoro Mouri for his speech!"

After disembarking, a chubby little man with Mediterranean features enthusiastically grabbed Kogoro Mouri's hand and exchanged pleasantries, explaining that he was the village chief of Shikijima and was very grateful and welcoming.

Another thing that interested Sano was the little girl who popped out in the middle; she was probably the village chief's granddaughter.

Sano wasn't interested in the little girl herself, but rather found it amusing that she seemed genuinely interested in Conan.

"Your name is Conan Edogawa. My name is Suzuka Mikami. But I think I'm older than you, so you're my younger brother. But that's okay, it seems like relationships between older women and younger men are the most popular these days!"

Seeing the girl with two little tufts of hair on her head, who was holding Conan's arm, Sano couldn't help but curl the corners of his mouth. This kid has good luck with women.

Following behind Sano, Vermouth couldn't help but chuckle softly: "Junior, do you also like relationships between older women and younger men?"

This guy was secretly observing me...

The smile on Sano's lips faded, and he glanced at Vermouth: "Senior is joking. In my eyes, feelings are the most important."

Vermouth smiled again and didn't continue the topic, as if she had just asked casually.

However, Sano thought that Vermouth's question might have been a way of testing his age range.

Tsk, I have a feeling this senior is not simple...

Soon, Sano followed Vermouth, who had inquired about the location of the Shenlong, and arrived at the site where a dilapidated ship was placed.

"Is this the Shenlong spacecraft?"

Vermouth wanted to go up and take a look, but the islander on guard refused with a serious expression, saying that this thing could only be viewed from afar and not touched.

At that moment, Kogoro Mouri and his companions arrived at the Shenlong, surrounded by the islanders.

The man from the Tokyo travel agency who came on board the ship rushed onto the Shenlong without saying a word, and no one stopped him.

This is discriminatory treatment.

Sano and Vermouth both pursed their lips, but the other's eagerness only made him more suspicious in Sano's eyes.

After all, which employee would be so eager to complete the work assigned by the boss? Unless there is an urgent matter that requires leaving quickly, then they must have their own agenda.

For example, a billion dollars worth of gold.

Suddenly, Sano turned around sharply to look behind him, and Vermouth, who was standing next to him, immediately frowned and asked, "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing, I just feel like someone is watching me."

Sano frowned slightly, but unfortunately he couldn't see anything amiss behind him. If he had to say, there was only one thing... a lighthouse?

Could someone be spying on us from up there?

"Let's go eat first, then find a place to stay."

Vermouth said lazily, while Sano naturally went with the flow.

Just as Sano and Vermouth were about to leave, Conan noticed something was wrong.

"The Shenlong only has severe rust on its hull; it doesn't look like it's been submerged at the bottom of the sea for many years."

Kogoro Mouri scoffed, "Of course! Otherwise, how could it be called a ghost ship?"

Sano withdrew his gaze, continuing his steps, but narrowed his eyes slightly, wondering if there was such a saying.

If that's really the case, then the Shenlong has actually been floating on the sea all these years?

The probability of it drifting for many years without being discovered is too small, so it means... someone has fixed the Shenlong's movements.

Inside a noodle shop, Vermouth casually asked, "So, have you got any ideas yet?"

Sano counted on his fingers: "There is a little bit. I'll go with Kogoro Mouri later, and you can go and inquire about that naval ghost thing, senpai."