Chapter 154: You're Shinichi Kudo's Uncle
Ekoda District
Natsukawa sped along in his van, one hand on the steering wheel, cigarette dangling from his lips.
"Hey, can you at least respect the fact that there's a minor in the car? Is it really okay to smoke like this?"
Kaito crossed his arms, looking thoroughly annoyed.
"A minor shouldn't be stealing jewels either, and you throw enough smoke bombs to choke an army. I thought you particularly enjoyed smoky environments."
Kaito pretended not to catch Natsukawa's meaning, rolling down the window for some fresh air.
The irony of the situation wasn't lost on him. After jumping from the clock face, he'd immediately disguised himself as a random bystander and prepared to slip away. Spotting the van about to leave, he figured he'd hitch a ride—maybe drug the driver and take over. But the moment he opened the door, he discovered the driver was Natsukawa.
Well... this is awkward.
The two stared at each other for several seconds before Kaito gave an uncomfortable smile and turned to leave.
Unexpectedly, instead of shouting that Kid was right there, Natsukawa grabbed him by the collar and 'invited' him to sit in the passenger seat. Now here they were, heading to his house.
"Don't even think about stealing someone else's car next time. You do realize you're underage and don't have a driver's license, right?" Natsukawa shook his head with a sigh. Kids these days are too reckless.
Last time, Koizumi Akako pulled the same stunt—driving to the mountains without a license, even damaging a car in the process.
It just proved that the rule about needing to be eighteen to drive existed for good reason.
Just like Conan.
That kid could pilot boats and planes, but Natsukawa had never seen him drive a car.
Proved that cars were the hardest.
"I'm—cough cough—I'm Kuroba Kaito with an IQ of 400. Driving is child's play for me. If it weren't for the law explicitly stating you have to be eighteen to get a license, I'd definitely have one by now."
Natsukawa didn't comment. That's debatable.
Kaito's hang glider was an aerial vehicle. There were no other hang gliders in the sky, no passing lanes, no overtaking, no traffic lights, no complex traffic laws. The difficulty level was practically zero—once you learned the basics of a hang glider, you were pretty much set.
"Speaking of which, do you know my father?"
"Yeah, I knew the first Kaitou Kid. We used to be friends, selling diamonds together in the Middle East back in the day."
"..."
"I'm asking seriously here. Also, I don't know any first or second generation Kaitou Kid. I'm just a regular high school student who enjoys magic."
Kaito remained stubborn. He didn't care if others knew his identity—he just wouldn't admit it! He didn't know any "Kids" or anything of the sort.
"Whether you admit it or not doesn't matter. I'm convinced." Natsukawa didn't bother with evidence. If the other party blindly denied it, he'd blindly confirm it!
Ten minutes later, the car stopped at the Kuroba residence in Ekoda.
"You know where my house is. So it really was you who snuck into my place that day!"
Kaito hesitated for a few seconds before tentatively reaching out toward Natsukawa's face.
"No need to check. I'm not your dad, but if you want a godfather, I wouldn't mind."
"You're overthinking it. I just think your disguise technique is similar to our family's style."
Kaito's lip curled in disdain. This guy wants to take advantage of me? No way!
"So you admit you're Kaitou Kid?"
"Just kidding. Disguise techniques aren't exclusive to Kaitou Kid, you know. Speaking of which, you wouldn't happen to be my dad's student, would you? This disguise work is definitely the same style as ours. I remember hearing when I was little that my dad took on disciples—don't remember exactly how many—but he definitely passed down the disguise technique."
Natsukawa shook his head in denial and changed the subject. "Speaking of which, your dad taught Kudo Yukiko her disguise skills. By seniority, you and Shinichi Kudo's mother are from the same generation, which technically makes you Shinichi Kudo's uncle."
"Oh?" Kaito's eyes lit up. Such a connection exists?
But how did this guy know? Unless someone was his dad's student or close to him, there was absolutely no way they could know this.
And knowing his identity as Kaitou Kid but not revealing it, even specially driving him home—nobody would believe they weren't connected somehow!
Fine. If he doesn't want to talk about it, I'll ask Mom when I get inside. Maybe she knows something.
"Alright, go inside and get some sleep. You've got school tomorrow morning." Natsukawa opened the car door for Kaito and practically kicked him out.
The car sped away, leaving Kaito standing there, wondering if he'd met this person when he was younger.
"Young Master, are you alright?"
Butler Terai had just arrived home when he found Kaito lost in thought at the entrance.
If it weren't for his sharp eyes, he might have hit him.
"Sitting by the road like this is dangerous. Visibility is poor at night—something could happen."
"Grandpa Terai, you were Dad's assistant for so long. Have you ever heard of someone named Natsukawa?"
Kaito thought for a long time but couldn't recall ever seeing Natsukawa when he was a child. Grandpa Terai had been with Dad for years—he might know some inside information.
"Natsukawa? Never heard of him. Master Toichi was always a lone wolf back then. He basically never cooperated with others, and I've never heard of any Natsukawa among the international phantom thieves."
Kaito frowned, pondering. The figure he'd seen on the skyscraper crane the first time he dressed up as Kaitou Kid suddenly came to mind.
But Natsukawa had clearly been at the exhibition hall that day. The timing didn't match up.
Kaito shook his head, unable to figure it out. There's plenty of time. I'll find out eventually.
After dropping Kaito off, Natsukawa returned to Franky's house.
He'd collected some incriminating evidence against Kitano Company yesterday and was just in time to deliver it.
After reviewing the evidence, Franky's smile grew increasingly satisfied. "Combined with what I've found, this is enough to prosecute Kitano Tomoaki. You've done excellent work for the Tax Bureau."
Natsukawa nodded nonchalantly. For him, this kind of infiltration and evidence-gathering mission was far too easy.
"If there's nothing else, I'll head back. Is the fish I asked you to prepare ready?"
He glanced at the time—almost 2:30 AM. Anya was sleeping at Yor's place tonight, so he wasn't worried about drawing their attention.
After all, they were still a couple who hadn't been dating long, and Yor hadn't moved in yet.
"The fish is ready, but..." Franky forced an awkward yet polite smile.
Natsukawa, quick to read between the lines, immediately understood that Franky needed his help with something.
"Go ahead. You helped me find information about Yuri last time, so this time I'll reluctantly return the favor."
Franky beamed, leading Natsukawa to the kitchen.
At 2:00 AM, a large spread of food was still laid out on the table—it seemed Franky had planned this all along.
"Just say what you want to say. No need for all this beating around the bush."
Natsukawa said this, but his actions were anything but polite—he sat down and started helping himself to the food.
"Hehe, this matter is actually somewhat related to Kaitou Kid."
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