Chapter 57: Kamen Rider (True)

"It's nothing, just a few scratches," Kinoshita said, showing his left upper arm. "He shot me and then ran away..."

Conan's eyes narrowed sharply. There were scorch marks on the shirt, which proved that the shot had been fired at point-blank range. This shot had not been fired by that employee at all; rather, it had been inflicted by the old man himself standing right in front of him.

However, Conan had no time to ponder further. Through the window, he clearly saw that the employee was fleeing in the exact same direction the man had headed that afternoon!

Given the varying depths of Hamada's wounds, it was highly likely he had been tortured by the employee beforehand. The employee had probably extracted the location of the gold from Hamada.

And if he escaped in that direction and stumbled upon the Organization's affairs...

He would inevitably be silenced.

Based on his deduction, if the gold was hidden anywhere on the island, there was only one place—

The Sea Marauder's Cave!

Although the villagers were all too terrified to approach the Sea Marauder's Cave, should any daring soul follow them there, it was inevitable that an innocent bystander would be casually eliminated by the Organization.

Conan sprinted out, chasing in the direction the employee had fled.

Therefore, he had to take the lead in subduing that employee to prevent any villagers from running into the Organization members—

Inside the inn, Kinoshita watched the distant figure of Conan running away, his expression instantly turning gloomy.

Why on earth did this brat have to chase after him for no reason?

His plan was already set. Torture and kill Hamada, frame the employee, and then disguise it as a suicide out of guilt. Why was this brat sticking his nose into this?

He weighed the pistol in his arms. So be it; if worst came to worst, he would just have to eliminate one more person. He sneaked out of the house, trailing far behind the running Conan.

...

The Sea Marauder's Cave.

Under Molay's direction, the thugs were methodically hauling the gold.

Halfway through the work, Molay checked his watch.

Hmm... Shunen should be arriving soon. Huh? Footsteps?

He raised a hand to signal a halt, interrupting everyone's work.

An old man jumped down from above the cave, his face livid as he glared at the crowd.

An unrelated person? Molay narrowed his eyes, only to see the old man grit his teeth and draw a pistol.

Unfathomable and courting death...

A few minutes earlier.

Conan finally caught up to the fleeing employee. After deploying a barrage of reasoning and appeals to emotion, followed by his deeply earnest persuasion—absolutely nothing happened.

Of course it was completely useless. That was ten billion in gold! Right there in the cave! Did he really think a mere child could talk him into giving up that fortune?

It was impossible for Conan to leak information regarding the Black Organization. His tranquilizer dart had already been used up while clearing Mouri Kogoro's name, so in his desperation, he could only channel the full power of his Red and White Power Shoes, picking a suitable stone to kick the employee flat onto the ground.

He squatted down and rubbed his foot. "A bit painful... Tsk."

"Isn't there any gadget that can produce a soccer ball anytime and anywhere? I'll have to ask Professor Agasa when I get back..."

Suddenly, a rustling sound echoed from far behind him.

Conan was startled, using his diminutive size to crawl forward stealthily through the bushes.

A moment later, Kinoshita's voice came from his side.

"How did this guy end up falling here? Oh well, saves me the trouble."

The sound of a gunshot rang out.

Conan was suddenly startled, holding his breath as much as possible.

"Where's that brat?" Kinoshita scanned his surroundings with a gloomy expression. In the dim woods, a target the size of Conan was completely untraceable.

He turned his head to look at the distant Sea Marauder's Cave.

"Ah..."

Stepping over the shimenawa rope at the cave entrance, he cocked his gun.

Seeing the displaced memorial tablets in the distance, followed by the small path behind them, he revealed a cruel smile.

"Little kid? Uncle is here to save you, you know?"

He drew closer while speaking into the cave.

"Little kid, come back with uncle... Huh?"

There were no little kids at all.

There were only a few men in black moving bricks under the supervision of a silver-haired man.

No... Kinoshita Goro's eyes were filled with a sinister glint. These bricks were not right; beneath the peeling outer layer was a brilliant golden color.

Gold!

He raised his gun at the crowd.

"I am the village administrative officer," he said sharply. "Put down this batch of gold immediately. This is the property of the village!"

A village administrative officer?

The crowd exchanged glances.

Molay seemed to have thought of something, pulling out his cell phone and opening it in front of them without a care. Kinoshita shifted his muzzle toward him, but Molay raised a hand to signal him to wait a moment.

Molay flipped to an email and read it aloud: "Kinoshita Goro. Served as village administrative officer for thirteen years, embezzled a total of four hundred and thirty million in public funds from the village office, made eighty-two million illegally selling the island's forest resources, violated..."

Kinoshita Goro fired a shot into the air.

"So, stop pretending to be dedicated to the public good." Molay shook his head.

"How do you know? Well, whatever." Kinoshita Goro revealed a cruel smile. "You're all going to die here today anyway. However, if anyone is willing to work for me, I might just spare their life."

"Only one person can survive! If you know what's good for you, carry the gold to your speedboat. For every minute you hesitate, I'll kill one person first!"

He brandished the gun in his right hand. "Or do you not understand this?"

The crowd looked at each other, then back at Molay.

Molay nodded. Whereupon, four subordinates simultaneously drew their guns.

Kinoshita Goro's expression froze, his entire body shuddering as his gun dropped to the ground.

Molay lowered his raised hand.

After a few gunshots, Kinoshita Goro, riddled like a sieve, collapsed limply to the ground.

The group looked at Molay again. He nodded, and they resumed hauling the items.

The village administrative officer earlier had said, "Where's that brat?", which meant that Kudo kid had come too.

Molay frowned.

Don't go charging in recklessly, or I might not be able to protect you.

...

Outside the cave.

Several minutes passed, and Conan's heart was in his throat.

Could it be...

He slowly pressed against the cave entrance and peered inside—

Empty.

Noticing the existence of the small path, he pressed further inward. Finally, voices drifted from within the cave.

"Embezzlement... Illegal sales..."

"All going to die... Kill one first..."

It's over, isn't he just courting death? Conan frowned. Facing Organization members and even drawing a gun to threaten them first...

Sure enough, a few gunshots rang out shortly after.

These people...! Conan's mood was somewhat complicated; he could only clench his right hand into a fist and slam it fiercely against the ground.

But immediately following that, the faint sound of an engine drifted over.

What is this...?

Conan gritted his teeth and decided to take a risk once more.

He concealed his figure and eavesdropped on the situation inside the cave.

...

Inside the cave.

The faint sound of an engine drifted from afar. Looking into the distance, a speedboat was heading straight toward them.

"Sir, is this something you arranged...?"

Molay frowned and shook his head, though inwardly he thought: Yes, I arranged it.

He gazed into the distance at that billowing cape, signaling everyone to draw their weapons.

That person, however, showed no intention of slowing down whatsoever. After charging straight over, a powerful tail-spin kicked up a massive splash of water, and the entire speedboat stopped precisely stern-first about a meter behind the Organization's speedboat, completely sealing off any possibility of the Organization's craft escaping.

The figure on the boat soared into the sky, executing a superhero landing right in the middle of the Organization's speedboat. The cape draped down, enveloping his body.

He wore futuristic silver-white armor, its sharp geometric facets crisply defined, and the solar ring on his chest turned half-black and half-gold under the moonlight, standing out remarkably against the white armor. The blue pipelines on his body pulsed on and off with his breathing.

One of the thugs quietly asked, "Is this the filming location for some tokusatsu show?"

"I don't know... I've never seen this kind before."

"What a pity. If I saw this normally, maybe I could take a photo with him..."

Shunen's rising figure paused for a fraction of a second, but he stood up as if nothing were wrong.

"Per perfectionem astra et sublimationem humanam, catena invisibilis ordinem regit."

(Through the perfection of the stars and the sublimation of humanity, the invisible chain governs order.)

He flicked his cape.

"What a pity," a hoarse voice came from beneath the mask. "This batch of gold does not belong to you."

That being the case, there was nothing more to say.

The crowd scattered and opened fire on Shunen!