"I didn't have my phone at the time, so I borrowed one from a student who was eating a lunch box outside."
"Then the hospital asked me about the patient's injuries, so I went back to the second-floor warehouse to describe Atsushi's condition to the medical staff."
"The students eating outside should be able to testify for me!"
Heiji Hattori spoke up: "Mmm, I've already questioned the students eating at the entrance of the annex."
"Takashi Kotegawa did indeed go to borrow a phone. They also told me that afterward, a man wearing kendo protective gear and a mask walked out of the annex, carrying a heavy gear bag toward the locker rooms."
"Inspector Otaki, I suspect the victim was carried away by that man inside that gear bag."
At this moment, Yuu Hoshimiya stood up and interjected directly: "Then let me ask you, Student Kotegawa, when you were reporting the victim's injuries to the hospital staff, was the victim dead or alive?"
Takashi Kotegawa's pupils shrank violently. He quickly stammered: "He... he should have been dead. There was a wound on his neck, and blood was everywhere!"
Then, catching the half-smile on Yuu's face, Kotegawa hurriedly added:
"But honestly, I don't know much about medicine. I'm not entirely sure if he was actually dead or not."
A playful, mocking smile appeared on Yuu's face.
"You're not sure?"
Kotegawa's hands began to tremble. Yuu's attitude made him feel as if everything he had done was being laid bare.
In fact, it was.
Although this specific event wasn't in his memory, based on the clues at the scene and Noah's assistance...
The most telling factor was Kotegawa's obviously suspicious demeanor. Yuu had already locked onto him as the culprit.
Yuu had already seen through the method. Unsurprisingly, the decisive evidence hadn't been destroyed yet.
The next steps would be simple.
Yuu turned his gaze toward Inspector Otaki.
"Inspector Otaki, have you sent anyone to cordon off that annex warehouse yet?"
Otaki shook his head. "No, actually. All the officers are here at the locker room."
Yuu couldn't hide the look of utter disappointment in his eyes.
People constantly bashed the Tokyo police, but the Osaka police were clearly cut from the same cloth.
He shouldn't just target Tokyo; he should be fair and admit that the entire Japanese police force was essentially useless.
To think this man was a top officer under the Osaka Police Superintendent and couldn't even think of something so basic.
"Inspector Otaki, surely you learned the concepts of 'primary crime scene' and 'secondary crime scene' at the academy? If what Kotegawa says is true, then the annex warehouse is the actual site of the murder."
"Even if it isn't, the transfer of the body must involve some kind of trick set up between the two locations."
Left with no choice, Yuu gave a brief explanation right there on the spot.
Hearing this, Otaki had an epiphany. Shame flooded his face. He hadn't expected to make such a rookie mistake in his first meeting with Yuu Hoshimiya.
Otaki immediately barked orders for his men to rush to the annex warehouse. Takashi Kotegawa's face turned deathly pale, practically screaming "I am the killer" to everyone in the room.
With that kind of mental fortitude, why even bother trying to kill someone?
Curling his lip, Yuu lost interest in the boy and shouted to the departing officers: "Take the forensics team with you. Check the annex warehouse for blood reactions. Send me the results immediately."
Recognizing that things were going south, Kotegawa instinctively began to step backward.
Yuu wasn't about to let him stall for time by running away, so he reached out and clamped a hand firmly onto the boy's shoulder.
"Student Kotegawa, where do you think you're going?"
Cold sweat dripped onto the floor. "I... I just need to use the restroom."
Yuu smiled, his voice leaving no room for argument: "The truth is about to come out. You've held it this long; surely you can hold it a few more minutes."
A look of utter despair flashed in Kotegawa's eyes.
By now, everyone else in the room had caught on.
Heiji Hattori and Inspector Otaki were staring in disbelief.
They had spent nearly an hour here and still didn't know the truth.
Yuu had simply listened to Heiji's summary and walked around the locker room once, and he already knew the answer. It was mind-boggling.
Shizuka Hattori's cherry lips were parted in surprise, her beautiful eyes fixed on Yuu with a mix of shock and intrigue.
Ran was stunned for a second, but she had long since adapted to Yuu being this godly. She looked at the dazed crowd and let out a proud, radiant smile.
Heiji still couldn't wrap his head around it.
"Teacher Hoshimiya, how did you identify the killer? How can you be so fast?!"
Yuu frowned slightly and began his "instruction": "Heiji, more clues aren't always better. You have to learn to distinguish the critical ones. Ignore the irrelevant noise. You gave me the whole case, but only a few points actually matter."
"First: the victim was dead-drunk before the incident."
"Second: someone called the reception to send people to the locker room."
"Third: the victim had a grudge against Masamichi Hakata, and Masamichi's waist tag was missing."
"That's how you piece the case together!"
The crowd remained confused, their minds in a fog.
Yuu shook his head, looking like a disappointed teacher. "Do you still not get it? I've made it so obvious. How can you not see through such a shallow crime?"
Shallow?
Heiji and Otaki were nearly driven insane. How could this case be called shallow?
Yuu let out a resigned sigh. He wasn't trying to show off, but compared to Conan, Heiji really was lacking.
If Conan were here, he would have solved it the moment Yuu finished those three points.
"First, the people who discover the body are always suspects. Noriyuki, Takashi, and Mineo all 'found' him together, so they were all under suspicion."
"But they all claimed they didn't have phones, so they all ran off to call the police, the ambulance, and Masamichi. No one stayed behind to tend to the 'bleeding' Atsushi Tsurumi. That in itself is a massive red flag!"
The officers leaned in, nodding like eager students as Yuu explained the investigative method.
"Thus, the suspicion falls heavily on those three. And the most suspicious is the one who was the last to leave: Takashi Kotegawa."
"Regardless of what he claims he went back to the warehouse for, isn't it true that the person who went back is the only one who had the opportunity to handle Atsushi?"
"That makes Kotegawa the primary suspect. Add to that his own admission that he borrowed a phone. In other words, he's the only one of the four who admitted to touching a phone, right?"
"And you remember the receptionist saying someone called to report the body in the locker room. Obviously, the one who made that call could only be the real killer, right?"
At Yuu's relentless questioning, every eye in the room turned toward Takashi Kotegawa.
The boy stood with his head bowed, his face the color of ash, unable to meet their gazes. He was clearly guilty to the core.
"Therefore, the killer is none other than Takashi Kotegawa!"
"I said the case was simple because every word out of the killer's mouth only added to his guilt. He couldn't even keep his story straight—his claim about checking the injury was a complete lie. A check of the hospital's call logs will prove it in an instant."
"If you're patient, you can connect the entire case."
"The truth is like a necklace; the clues are the beads. Only when you find the beads of the same color and string them together does the necklace of truth shine with its proper brilliance."
Hearing this, everyone in the locker room looked at Yuu with eyes of pure worship.
However, Heiji still didn't understand: "Teacher Hoshimiya, I still don't get it. How did Kotegawa move the body?"
Heiji didn't even care if there was proof yet; he had already accepted Kotegawa as the killer.
He was treating the case like a lesson, seeking the answer from Yuu.
Conan also lifted his head to stare intently at Yuu.
Shizuka Hattori's eyes shimmered with curiosity. She felt that Yuu, standing in the middle of the crowd radiating wisdom, was exceptionally attractive. Her heart gave a few restless thumps.
Yuu chuckled. "Who said Kotegawa had to move a body? At that time, Atsushi Tsurumi wasn't even dead."
The crowd fell into shock once more!
"The situation was likely this: Atsushi was dead-drunk. Kotegawa slipped sleeping pills into his bottle to knock him out."
"Then he moved him to the warehouse, smeared him with red dye, and placed a stolen katana on him to create the illusion of a murder."
"Then, Kotegawa 'found' the body with his two classmates. The warehouse is usually dark and dim; in their panic, the other two didn't notice the trick."
"He immediately sent Mineo for the police and Noriyuki to find Masamichi, getting rid of the witnesses. He then used the excuse of checking the injury to return and wake the sleeping Atsushi."
"Next, he used the grudge between Atsushi and Masamichi."
"I suspect he used the stolen waist tag, along with a common mannequin from the gym storage and a standard kendo uniform, to set up a 'fake corpse' of Masamichi in a dark corner of the warehouse. He tricked the dazed Atsushi into believing he had committed a murder in his drunken state!"
While Yuu was speaking, the officer sent to the warehouse returned, rushing into the locker room to give a loud report.
"Reporting, Inspector! We found something unusual inside a vaulting box in the annex warehouse! There's a mannequin dressed in kendo gear and a mask, covered in red dye. We also found Masamichi Hakata's waist tag on its belt! Here are the photos from the scene!"
The officer handed the photos to Otaki and Heiji, and they were passed around. The images matched Yuu's description perfectly.
"Furthermore, the forensics team tested for blood as the Consultant suggested. There was no blood detected in the warehouse—only a large amount of dye residue on the floor."
After the report, the gaze the crowd directed at Yuu turned into one of pure awe.
He had never even set foot in that warehouse, yet he had predicted everything inside.
His foresight was terrifying!
Takashi Kotegawa collapsed to his knees the moment the officer finished speaking.
Yuu continued: "Atsushi Tsurumi woke up to find himself covered in 'blood' with a real sword in his hand and Masamichi's name tag nearby. He naturally believed he had killed him while drunk."
"Kotegawa only had to tell him to put on the protective gear and the mask, giving him a chance to escape before the police arrived."
"Then he told him to go to the showers in the locker room to wash off the blood first so he could leave the city undetected."
"The confused Atsushi obediently followed his instructions and headed for the showers."
"That explains why the other students only saw a 'strange person' walking by."
"Finally, Kotegawa followed the drunken Atsushi to the locker room, took the sword, and killed the man while his senses were dulled by alcohol. He then used the hot water to wash away the dye and the actual blood, completing the murder!"
As Yuu finished the explanation, the officers broke into spontaneous applause, looking as though they had just witnessed a masterpiece of a deduction show.
Ran and Kazuha both wore expressions of immense pride, as if the achievement were their own.
The other Shinnai University students stared at Kotegawa in utter disbelief.
Yuu walked forward slowly. Kotegawa, kneeling on the floor, could only see Yuu's shoes.
"You've already reacted this way. Do I really need to present the physical evidence?"
Kotegawa shook his head bitterly. He knew he was finished. He had a handkerchief soaked in the victim's blood hidden in his pocket; there was no way to explain that.
He lifted his head, his throat dry as he spoke: "Consultant Hoshimiya... are you a god? How do you know everything?!"
"Heh... I confess. It's exactly as you said. I was the one who killed Atsushi Tsurumi!" Kotegawa slammed his head against the floor in defeat.
Masamichi Hakata frowned. "Kotegawa! Why would you kill him?"
A cold, vicious smile appeared on Kotegawa's face.
"I did it to help you all! A piece of trash like him deserved to die. Were you really going to let him blackmail us for the rest of our lives?"
"Six months ago, he was the one who went too far and beat that freshman to death during club practice. We covered for him, and he had the nerve to turn around and threaten us! A guy that ungrateful is better off dead, isn't he?"
The expressions of the other Shinnai students shifted instantly.
Inspector Otaki's face turned stern as he approached the remaining university students.
Mineo Mendo shouted: "Takashi! You actually sold us out!"
Masamichi looked at him with icy hatred. "You bastard, you should have just died with Atsushi!"
The sight of them turning on each other was truly repulsive.
The imposing Inspector Otaki stood before them.
"Is this story about the kendo club killing a freshman true? If you covered it up, you are all accomplices. Please come with me to the station for questioning!"
At his words, the four university students in kendo gear all hung their heads in defeat.
Outside the Naniwa Central Gymnasium, amidst the shocked and curious gazes of the Osaka students.
Inspector Otaki gripped Yuu's hand with both of his, bowing low. His previously stern face was now covered in a flattering smile as he thanked Yuu repeatedly.
The surrounding officers all looked at Yuu with pure admiration.
The Osaka students began to gossip, and it wasn't long before someone recognized Yuu. He was immediately flooded with the worshipful gazes of the female students.
"Is that the famous police consultant from Tokyo? I heard he's a high school teacher too. He's so handsome! Why isn't he teaching us?~"
"I heard he solved a murder in our gym in just minutes. He's incredible."
"I can't believe I got to meet a guy that hot today. Coming to see the matches was the best decision ever!"
Yuu finally managed to shake off Inspector Otaki. Under Heiji's lead, the group pushed through the crowd and headed back into the gymnasium.
Fortunately, the students were well-behaved enough not to shove or swarm them.
Or perhaps they were simply intimidated by the police.
Against criminals, the Japanese police were often incompetent, but in front of ordinary citizens, they were a privileged class!
Daring to offend them would give them any excuse to drag you to a holding cell for a meal of pork cutlet bowl.
It wasn't even 2:00 PM yet; the finals of the kendo tournament hadn't started.
Ran hooked her arm with Kazuha's, her face full of smiles.
"Kazuha, did you see everyone's faces back in the locker room? It was hilarious. They looked like they'd seen a ghost when Brother Yuu spoke."
Kazuha tossed her high ponytail.
"I could barely believe it myself! I picked you up at the station and was with you the whole time."
"To see Teacher Hoshimiya just walk into a crime scene and find the killer that smoothly... it was unbelievable!"
Ran waved her hand dismissively, clearly enjoying the moment. "You'll get used to it, Kazuha. That's just how Brother Yuu is. No case can stump him."
Ran was delighted, her face glowing with pride as the Osaka officers and students looked at their group with reverence.
Shizuka Hattori also let out a light laugh behind her hand.
"Heiji, I told you your help wasn't needed. You should have just focused on your match. Look at you—running around like crazy for an hour, and you couldn't even match five minutes of Mr. Hoshimiya's time!"
Heiji's face turned an even darker shade of soot. He gave his mother a resentful glare, but looking at Yuu, he had to admit he had been thoroughly outclassed!
Heiji began to ask Yuu about his methods.
Since Shizuka was right there, Yuu decided to give the kid some face and offered a few perfunctory tips.
"...It was just a simple substitution method. I assumed the most suspicious one, Kotegawa, was the killer and tested the theory. If the logic didn't hold, I would have moved to the next person..."
"...It's much like a puzzle game. Solving a case is a process of imagination. You have to be good at associating and fantasizing. No matter how wild a trick seems, as long as it's possible, it's a valid lead..."
Heiji nodded incessantly, and Shizuka, watching the exchange, felt her gaze toward Yuu grow increasingly soft and warm.