"Ran-neesan, Sonoko-neesan."
"Conan, what are you doing here?"
"I came with Uncle Mouri," Conan said with innocent sweetness. He had already learned before that school trips were peak times for school romances. He wasn't comfortable leaving Ran alone. This time, since Mouri was here to investigate the phantom thief, Conan had pestered, cried, and clung until Kogoro finally agreed to bring him along.
"Then where's Dad?" Ran didn't see him.
"Uncle Mouri is meeting with the police. I just came out on my own."
"You little rascal, so sneaky." Sonoko thought it must have been Kudou who sent Conan to keep an eye on Ran.
Ran, though, was more curious about the island itself. "Could there really be treasure here? Otherwise, why would Kaitou Kid send a notice?"
"It's real. 300 years ago, two female pirates really came here. Legend says they left their treasure hidden somewhere on this island," Conan explained.
"Female pirates?" Sonoko, as usual, latched onto the strange detail.
"According to the stories, the two women were very brave. When they fought against British warships, all the men ran and hid. Only they stood back to back and fought the enemy together."
"Trusting each other enough to guard one another's backs… they must have had a very strong bond," Ran said.
Sonoko nodded. "Of course. Just like me and you, Ran." She spoke with admiration.
After the chatter, Conan asked curiously where they were going. Ran answered that they planned to go diving.
Naturally, Conan couldn't join them. His focus was tracking the phantom thief and uncovering the treasure's hiding place. Seeing that Ran only had Sonoko by her side, Conan felt reassured. He hoped Sonoko's notorious bad luck with men would rub off on Ran too—that way, he could relax even more.
What was Kaitou Kid's real target? Conan suspected it was the treasure hidden on Koumi Island. But since no one yet knew the treasure's location, no one could predict where Kid would strike.
Since Kid was the criminal who had stolen Mount Fuji, this time the police had dispatched heavy forces all around the island. Patrol ships circled with no blind spots.
Conan also noticed the treasure hunters had split into two groups. One searched on the island itself, while the other went diving to look for ruins beneath the sea. Conan decided he needed to investigate the treasure himself. If he couldn't find it, he wouldn't know where Kid might show up.
The souls of the pirates will never die. When two girls gather together, the Azure Coffin will open once again.
This notice clearly connected to the pirates. "Azure" meant deep blue, so the "Azure Coffin" probably referred to the underwater ruins, Conan reasoned. But searching underwater was like finding a needle in the ocean. Better to start with the history of the pirates.
So Conan investigated Anne Bonny and Mary Read, eventually finding their pirate flag. On the skull's teeth, he noticed letters etched like shapes.
DOS DIOSAS. In Spanish, it meant "two goddesses."
Near Koumi Island there had once been another island called Koumi Island. But over a hundred years ago, methane ice shifts caused tremors, sinking most of it beneath the sea. Later earthquakes collapsed the "Two Goddesses" shrine on the island. That shrine had been the land entrance to the treasure, but it no longer existed. That was why so many treasure hunters were diving underwater, trying to find a new passage.
Combining the notice with his deductions, Conan quickly concluded the treasure lay under the sea. But as a child, he had no way to explore it himself. He would have to steer Mouri Kogoro and the police toward it.
"Wow, so many pretty young girls!" Lupin the Third's only real flaw was his lust. Seeing the beach full of bikini-clad seventeen-year-old girls, he didn't even know where to rest his eyes.
"Hello, girls!" Lupin the Third completely forgot about the treasure. He always stole based on his mood anyway. Whether he stole or not didn't matter to him—unless it was something Fujiko Mine asked for, then he'd listen.
Now? Forget the treasure. Lupin was ready to dive headfirst into a sea of girls.
On the island, under the sun, surrounded by girls, Lupin the Third felt like he was in heaven—even though police patrol ships were circling just offshore.
"That guy looks like a monkey," some of the schoolgirls giggled. To them, Lupin the Third looked kind of cute.
Meanwhile, at the police station, Mouri Kogoro, guided by Conan, had turned the officers' attention to Koumi Island. The police checked the collapsed cave entrance there and reported back that it was so narrow only one person could fit inside.
"As expected of Detective Mouri, solving a riddle that has gone unanswered for 300 years and finding the pirate treasure's entrance," the officers said, their admiration as vast as the sea itself.
"When I, Mouri Kogoro, take action, there's nothing I can't solve," Mouri declared proudly. "So then, Inspector, let's go in right now and prepare a nice surprise for Kaitou Kid."
"We can't. A low-pressure system is approaching tonight—it could turn into a typhoon. It's too dangerous to go out to sea now. Tomorrow we'll set out. For tonight, please return to your hotel and rest."
"A typhoon, huh? That really would be too dangerous. But since we've already found the treasure's location, I'll just go enjoy a few drinks." Mouri didn't even try to hide his craving for alcohol.
To the police, though, this only made him seem more like a true great detective—carefree, unconventional, and unique.
"Conan, we're leaving!"
"Uncle, Ran-neesan has already arrived on the island. I saw her this morning."
"I don't care, I don't care. For a school trip to come to a place like this—the schools these days are falling apart," Mouri grumbled. "A proper school trip should be to places with long history and famous landmarks, a journey to learn about Japan's proud culture. How can it just become some regular trip? A place like this, you can visit anytime on vacation. But no, they had to schedule it as a school trip—so unserious."
Conan shot him a look, too drained to argue. Uncle, those historical sites you're praising are also places you can visit anytime. And honestly, your views are way too outdated. Conan himself didn't really care where the school trip was held. The only regret was that he couldn't travel alongside Ran.
"You wouldn't understand, kid," Mouri waved him off. "Go ask the tourism bureau if there's a nice izakaya nearby run by a pretty lady boss. After solving such a big case, I deserve a good drink."
Conan looked at the slouching uncle and sighed. Is this useless old man really going to get anything done?
Night fell. The wind rose.
Kaitou Kid stood on the seaside cliff, gazing toward Koumi Island. The gusts, like the hand of the sea, tugged at his cape. The most important thing was the look—the image. Right then, Kid looked like a tall white flagpole, elegant and calm, as if awaiting an even fiercer storm.
"So that's the so-called copycat of me, Kaitou Kid?" From afar, Lupin the Third immediately felt a wave of pretentious air coming off him.
As a master in the art of showing off, Lupin the Third judged Kid's style harshly. "Too shallow, unnatural, posturing just for the sake of posturing."
But Jigen Daisuke cut in with a single sharp shot: "Kaitou Kid's younger than you." Dead on target. Compared to Kid, Lupin really was just an old man.
Lupin tried to comfort himself. Girls liked older men nowadays. Compared to him, Kid was still too green.
But just as Lupin was sizing him up, Kaitou Kid also noticed Lupin. Without turning his body, Kid only moved his neck, sending his gaze straight toward Lupin the Third.
The eyes of two legendary phantom thieves collided.