Chapter 40: Beating People Up Is What I Do Best

Night had fallen.

Fujino and Miwako Sato had been tailing the robbers to a building named Onizakura.

"The Maple Leaf Coins that Cabane hid should be inside that building."

Hiding around a corner, Fujino watched as Conan and his group entered the building, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"They followed those kids to the treasure?"

Beside him, Miwako Sato was equally peeking around the corner, unable to hide her surprise.

"Don't underestimate those kids," Fujino replied calmly. "Sometimes, talent for deduction is something you're born with. Those kids just haven't had the chance to show it off yet."

Miwako nodded in agreement.

As a detective herself, she deeply understood that statement.

Some people could see through the truth of a case at a glance, while others might work their whole lives and never solve even a single one…

Thinking of that, she couldn't help but glance at Fujino, lowering her voice, "By the way, Fujino… were you born with your detective skills, or did you develop them later?"

Truthfully, she was curious.

The way he could deduce the truth from a single, seemingly trivial detail…

It was already beyond what she thought normal people could do.

"Maybe I was born with it… maybe I developed it later… Hard to say. It's a bit complicated," Fujino said with a smile. "But if I had to describe it, I'd call it… the will of a person."

"The will of a person?" Miwako was completely puzzled.

"People in high-pressure environments often unlock hidden potential…"

As he spoke, Fujino smiled faintly. "After all, that's what being a detective is like. Unlike you civil servants, if a detective doesn't improve, he doesn't get paid. Might not even be able to afford property taxes."

"Is that so…"

Miwako frowned slightly.

If she remembered correctly, Fujino was an orphan.

She could still vaguely recall the sight of the young boy kneeling beside two cold corpses, quietly sobbing.

Thinking of that, a ripple stirred in her heart.

She lowered her head, and after a moment, softly murmured, "I'm sorry… I didn't mean to bring up something painful."

"It's nothing. I'm used to it."

Looking at the young man's indifferent expression, Miwako didn't feel any better she felt even worse.

"Prepare to move in."

At that moment, Inspector Megure's voice came through the concealed earpiece.

Miwako immediately gathered herself. Then, before even Fujino could react, she shot forward like lightning, launching herself at the criminals and kicking two of them flying with a single strike.

Fujino stared blankly at the scene before him.

When he finally came to his senses, he caught sight of one of the robbers escaping, sprinting away from the scene.

...

Not far from the scene of the bust—

"Damn it… who was that crazy woman?!"

The lone escaping robber panted heavily as he fled. After glancing back to confirm that no one was pursuing him, he finally relaxed a little.

The memory of his companions being kicked into the air still sent chills down his spine.

That woman… was she even human?

"Mr. Robber, isn't it a bit rude of you to call such a pretty lady a crazy woman?"

A calm voice suddenly spoke up behind him.

Before he could even reach for his gun, a heavy wooden sword smashed down on the back of his head.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

With dull thuds echoing through the alley, the robber's miserable screams rang out into the night.

"Robber, are you? Pulling a gun, are you? Crazy woman, huh?"

Fujino muttered to himself, swinging the wooden sword over and over.

The blade in his hands left afterimages in the air, each blow landing firmly on the back of the robber's head.

[Detective Enhancement Time Over]

As the voice of the system rang in his ear, Fujino wiped the light sweat from his temple and finally let out a long breath.

"You sneak attack people like this?"

Just as Fujino was raising his wooden sword to start a new round of strikes, a familiar voice spoke behind him.

He turned his head to see Miwako Sato staring at him, her face full of disbelief.

"Officer Sato, you finished over there?"

"It's handled, yeah…"

As she spoke, her gaze drifted to the robber twitching on the ground, foaming at the mouth. She involuntarily gulped. "You… you didn't break him or anything, right?"

"Nah."

With that, Fujino was about to go over and give the robber another solid whack.

Seeing that, Miwako hurriedly reached out with her fair, delicate hand and grabbed his arm. "He's already unconscious—stop it! If you hit him again, you really might kill him."

"If he dies, you would be responsible by law, you know…"

She added softly, with a touch of grievance in her voice, "Even I wouldn't be able to help you then."

"Don't worry, Officer Sato."

Fujino confidently patted his chest. "I'm a professional when it comes to beating people up. Even a medical exam won't show anything."

Well, he had tested that out on Numabuchi Kiichiro before, using the Okamoto 0.01 technique—nobody had died yet.

As for whether someone might be beaten insane…

That was another matter.

A short while later, forensics officers arrived at Miwako's call and began examining the unfortunate guy who'd just taken dozens of hits to the head.

"Heartbeat and breathing are normal, eyes rolled back—it's just a faint."

The forensic officer then turned to Miwako and asked, "Are you sure this guy was hit in the head dozens of times by that kid?"

"I saw it with my own eyes."

Miwako frowned slightly, speaking with certainty.

"That's weird…"

The officer scratched his head, then gave the fainted robber another careful look. "He's unconscious, but… there's not a single external injury on his body. No bruises, no signs of concussion…"

"What?!"

Miwako was stunned. "You're saying… he doesn't have any injuries?"

"Not a scratch."

The forensic officer nodded solemnly, then shot Fujino a meaningful glance. "I used to think that stabbing someone over a dozen times and it only counting as 'minor injuries' was already absurd… But this—knocking someone unconscious without causing any visible harm—that's a first in my career."

"So… he doesn't need to go to the hospital?"

"Forget the hospital… I'm guessing a bucket of water would wake him up just fine."

Hearing that, Miwako finally let out a sigh of relief.

Originally, she had been planning to take the blame for everything, to cover for Fujino.

But now… it seemed that wouldn't be necessary at all.

"Troublesome guy."

The officer shook his head, then muttered under his breath, "Forget this lucky bastard—we should probably go check on those two with broken ribs… Hopefully, they hold out until the ambulance gets here…"