Chapter 184: Research Data
Only hard-earned intelligence was truly valuable.
He'd keep Conan in suspense until the right opportunity arose, then reveal it.
Besides, Conan clearly wanted to confide in him too.
Maybe he should just let it be. He didn't actually want Conan to reveal his true identity. If he did, Natsukawa would be playing both sides, which would be far too troublesome to manage. Now that he'd become Gin's right-hand man, things would likely get even more complicated. If he ended up caught between both sides, he wouldn't be able to juggle the Natsukawa and Tequila personas simultaneously.
Unless he called Kaito for help... Hmm, that actually seemed like a viable option.
While Natsukawa was lost in thought, Conan suddenly asked, "Natsukawa-san, do you think it's possible for an adult to turn into a child?"
"..."
Sure enough, this little brat was about to reveal his secret.
How should he respond? He definitely couldn't let Conan have his way.
Natsukawa didn't know how to respond for a moment. After thinking for a few seconds, he casually replied, "You should watch less TV and read more books. Anyone who's studied knows about the law of conservation of mass.
The mass of matter is conserved. Adults turning into children doesn't conform to basic scientific principles.
You're usually so smart—why are you spouting such nonsense now? Watch fewer tokusatsu shows and do more homework.
Also, lay off the magical girl anime. Those aren't worth emulating. Look what happened—several countries banned certain shows because the protagonists were terrible role models."
What magical girl anime? Conan had never heard of such a thing.
Considering it was probably some show he had no interest in, it was normal he didn't know about it.
However, at the mention of homework, cold sweat started appearing on his forehead.
He'd heard the phrase "mountains of homework" so many times today. What was wrong with these adults? How could children grow up happily like this?
The car stopped in front of Professor Agasa's house.
The two got out one after another, and Natsukawa walked up and rang the doorbell.
The Agasa residence was still brightly lit. It seemed the reason they hadn't gone to sleep yet was because they were waiting for Conan.
This was a perfect opportunity to meet Professor Agasa, the most scientifically impossible scientist in the Detective Conan world—someone whose reputation he'd long admired.
Besides, he also wanted to see what Conan's purpose was in coming to Professor Agasa's house so late.
Soon, Professor Agasa appeared at the door, wearing a white lab coat and sporting a beer-and-fried-chicken belly.
Professor Agasa's hairstyle was very similar to Jii Konosuke's—slicked-back hair on top with loose hair on the sides.
Their physiques, however, were polar opposites: one was extremely rotund, the other as thin as a rail.
They did somewhat resemble Gin and Vodka in that regard.
"Conan, you've finally arrived."
Professor Agasa opened the door, noticing another person beside him.
The other person had been standing near the doorbell, blocking his view, so he hadn't seen him until now. Fortunately, he'd spoken quickly enough to avoid any slip-ups.
"And this is?"
"This is Anya's father, the one I mentioned to you, Professor."
"So you're Anya's father! Anya often talks about you. You're as handsome as she described." Professor Agasa smiled and nodded warmly.
After introducing Natsukawa, Conan turned to him and introduced Professor Agasa. "This is Professor Agasa, a very accomplished inventor."
"So you're the legendary Professor Agasa! I haven't been in Japan long, but I've already heard many stories about you. Conan's watch and shoes are also your creations, right?"
Hearing someone praise his Conan-specific inventions, Professor Agasa immediately perked up. "Haha, yes, just something I made in my spare time. They're not particularly impressive, but at least they can protect Conan. After all..."
Natsukawa nodded. Since Conan often acted recklessly when solving cases, frequently provoking suspects to suddenly attack or injure people.
When he was seventeen, he'd had some self-defense capabilities, but now, as an elementary school student, he couldn't do many things.
"These aren't just random inventions—they're epoch-making products. I guarantee that even twenty or thirty years from now, it'll be difficult to find such fantastical wearable devices."
The tranquilizer watch was relatively straightforward to develop—someone would probably create something similar in a few years. But these power-enhancing shoes were truly remarkable.
They looked exactly like ordinary shoes, yet they could generate hundreds of kilograms of force when kicked. And judging from Conan's reactions after each kick, they didn't cause any damage to his feet. This was completely absurd.
If these things entered professional sports, the consequences would be catastrophic.
What, there's a goalkeeper?
No problem—with just a gentle twist of the dial, the ball, goalkeeper, and goal would all become one.
Natsukawa always felt that Aoyama's inspiration for inventing the power-enhancing shoes came from Captain Tsubasa.
Because Conan hadn't mentioned anyone else coming over when he'd called earlier, Professor Agasa was confused but could only invite both of them inside.
There was no helping it—Anya's father was quite pleasant to talk to, which suited his taste.
Unlike Anya, who often made cutting remarks and dismissed his riddles as terrible jokes.
Father and daughter were truly worlds apart.
The front section of Professor Agasa's house had a duplex layout, with a very spacious first floor filled with various instruments and equipment.
Even the smart bed developed by Kigeki Enterprise was included, though the design seemed slightly different—it was essentially the same smart bed product from Kigeki Enterprise.
Natsukawa, with his keen eye, quickly scanned the area and confirmed that the total value of the equipment in this living room was no less than one billion yen.
Computers were a small portion. The main items were various research instruments.
This didn't even include the products modified by Professor Agasa himself, so the actual value of this living room was clearly much higher than his estimate.
He also discovered something quite remarkable—Professor Agasa's house was riddled with security cameras.
From every conceivable angle.
After thinking about it, he realized there were also cameras at the entrance and in the foyer.
It seemed the entire villa was like this.
Well, given how valuable the living room equipment was, the research labs were probably even more priceless. Installing surveillance was entirely reasonable, and there might even be alarm systems connected to the Metropolitan Police Department.
"Let me pour you some tea."
Natsukawa had made an excellent first impression on Professor Agasa. He was a very proper gentleman, and with his vintage green suit, he looked like an 18th or 19th-century European aristocrat.
This kind of gentleman must enjoy black tea, right?
Seeing Professor Agasa about to prepare tea, Natsukawa waved his hand to stop him.
"I just brought Conan over to pick up his weekend homework. No need for tea, Professor Agasa. That's really too much trouble."
"Not at all. After all, Conan is a distant relative's child. It's nothing." Professor Agasa chuckled, stroking his bald head while glancing at Conan from the corner of his eye, waiting for an explanation.
Homework? What was going on here?
Shinichi had told him before coming that he was going to Shinjuku to retrieve something Miyano Akemi had asked him to get.
At first, he'd thought Natsukawa might be a helper Shinichi had recruited.
Now it seemed that wasn't the case at all.
Thankfully, he hadn't called Shinichi by his real name when he'd first seen him.
"Why don't you head back first, Natsukawa-san?
I'll just sleep at Professor Agasa's house tonight and go straight to school tomorrow.
So you don't need to take me home.
It's already so late—you should go home and get some rest."
"You haven't finished your homework yet, have you?" Natsukawa squinted at Conan, offering him a convenient excuse.
"Y-yes... Natsukawa-san figured it out, so I'm going to catch up on my homework at Professor Agasa's house."
Conan almost blurted out: How could a high school student like me not have finished elementary school homework? These problems wouldn't take me more than a few minutes.
But thinking about his current academic level, he felt a bit deflated.
Ugh, so annoying. I want to grow up already.
Natsukawa looked at Professor Agasa. "Professor Agasa, is this alright with you?"
"It's fine. Conan can stay here with me. I'll take him to school tomorrow."
"But Conan, you probably haven't told Ran or Mouri-san, have you? Ran will definitely be worried if she doesn't see you tomorrow morning."
"Don't worry, Natsukawa-san. I'll call Ran first thing tomorrow morning."
Conan just wanted to get rid of Natsukawa quickly so he could retrieve what Miyano Akemi had left at her Shinjuku apartment.
Since Natsukawa couldn't help with that right now, there was no need for him to stay. He needed to leave as soon as possible.
It was already so late, and he didn't know if Miyano Akemi had told Public Security about that item.
He had to hurry!
"I understand." Natsukawa and Professor Agasa chatted for a few more minutes, mainly about research topics.
Although Natsukawa wasn't an expert in Professor Agasa's field, as a spy, he needed to know a little about everything, so naturally they had plenty to discuss.
The two were quite engrossed in their conversation until Conan became visibly impatient, at which point Natsukawa said his goodbyes with a smile.
After seeing Natsukawa off, Conan's childish expression suddenly turned serious. He checked the time and discovered that his watch had been broken by Jodie.
"Professor Agasa, could you repair my watch too?"
"I know, but it's almost three o'clock. If we go to that place you mentioned now, will the thing still be there?"
Professor Agasa couldn't help but worry.
Shinichi had told him everything—Miyano Akemi apparently had some research data on the Black Organization's drug, which she was hiding at her Shinjuku residence.
However, it had been more than six hours since Miyano Akemi was taken away by Public Security. If she had the research data, wouldn't she have already informed them?
If the police already knew about it, or had even retrieved the item, wouldn't their late-night trip be completely pointless?
Besides, the police might leave officers behind to monitor the location, putting both Conan and himself at risk of exposure.
Forget about their identities being discovered—they'd probably be sent to a lab for study.
Come to think of it, when he'd first learned that Shinichi had shrunk, he'd had the urge to study him scientifically.
If it weren't for their close friendship despite the age difference, and the considerable research funding the Kudo family had provided over the years, he might have actually gone through with it.
"No matter what, I have to go check." Conan took a deep breath. He understood Professor Agasa's concerns, but he didn't want to miss this opportunity.
Even the slightest chance was worth pursuing if it meant obtaining that research data.
With Professor Agasa's research talent, he was confident they could develop an antidote.
Soon, a yellow Volkswagen Beetle sped out of the villa's driveway.
"So it's about that item."
Around the corner, Natsukawa pulled off his listening device earbuds—he'd overheard their entire conversation.
"Conan, I'm afraid you're going to be disappointed."
Natsukawa had already retrieved the data yesterday.
Sherry had accidentally sent her research data to Miyano Akemi a few years ago, and it should have been at Hirota Masami's residence.
The research progress from a few years ago was vastly different from the current state. If Conan obtained the latest research data, Haibara and Professor Agasa working together could develop an antidote for APTX 4869 very quickly.
To be on the safe side, it was temporarily confiscated.
It would be returned when the timing was right.
Otherwise, if the story hadn't progressed much and Conan suddenly reverted to Kudo Shinichi, wouldn't all that effort be wasted?
With Kudo Shinichi's incredible case-solving record, if he solved a few more high-profile cases and the newspapers hyped up the return of the savior of the Japanese police, the entire Kudo family would be hunted down by Gin.
This wasn't the outcome Natsukawa wanted to see.
In fact, he was doing this for Conan's own good.
The whole family consisted of ordinary people. Besides being intelligent, their physical capabilities were practically zero, and they certainly couldn't withstand Gin's relentless assassination attempts.
This was a "hero" who'd dared to shoot down helicopters and destroy submarines.
It was safest for Conan to remain in the shadows while the Black Organization stayed in the light.
Conan's late-night excursion was destined to be fruitless.
Rewind Time
Inside the underground Public Security facility.
Jodie sat in the interrogation room, her hands clasped together, her gaze sharp and penetrating.
Opposite her sat Miyano Akemi, a member of the Organization's outer ranks whom she'd just arrested.
Miyano Akemi looked haggard—not due to any torture from Jodie, but rather because she'd stayed up all night and experienced so much today, inevitably leaving her somewhat exhausted.
"Where is your sister?"
"I don't know."
"Where is the Organization's base in Tokyo?"
"I don't know."
"Why didn't Tequila arrive at the transaction location tonight?"
"I don't know."
"What do you know?"
"I don't know anything."
"..."
Jodie rubbed her forehead, saying somewhat impatiently, "If you continue to be so uncooperative, I might have to resort to more aggressive interrogation methods."
"I'm just an outer member. I've never been to the base. Every time I meet with Tequila, it's at a location chosen on the spot. I only know that my sister is somewhere in the Beika or Haido area, and perhaps the Organization's research facility is within that range, but I don't know the exact location.
My sister doesn't dare tell me where the base is either.
But every time we meet, it's in Beika or Haido, so it must be nearby.
As for why Tequila didn't show up today, I'd like to know that too. However... I'm more curious about how your FBI obtained the specific location information for this transaction."
Conan was understandable—he'd discovered her when she was at the Beika International Hotel, installed a tracking device on the taxi she'd used, and happened to see her change vehicles and leave, which was how he'd followed her.
The FBI's situation was more peculiar.
They'd appeared stealthily, right at Tokyo Bay Warehouse 4-04, a location she and Tequila had only just decided on not long before.
And they'd come with only two people, which wasn't typical FBI protocol.
Although FBI operations were usually quite secretive, there were definitely many agents involved in backup.
Two people—either they were reckless or they knew something.
Suspicious. Very suspicious.
Looking back now, she was starting to doubt Tequila's identity.
Tequila's behavior today had been too strange. Traffic jams and all that?
Impossible! Like Conan's—no! Like Kudo Shinichi's deduction—there was definitely some major secret involved.
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