Chapter 45 - Art Is Explosion!
"How is it? Have you found anything?"
Nakamori Ginzo stared intently at the surveillance monitors.
At exactly 11:30 PM, the phantom thieves were expected to steal the Queen's Tear before midnight.
In this half hour, everyone's nerves were on edge.
"Come on, can't you calm down a little?"
Megure Juuzou looked at him helplessly. He had already noticed that the three of them seemed more anxious than each other.
It was just catching a few thieves—was it really necessary to be this tense?
"Of course it is! They're world-famous thieves!"
"Maybe you're just not capable enough!"
Megure muttered to himself. This was indeed his first time handling such a case, but in his eyes, it was still just about catching a few thieves. If he couldn't even do that, where would he put his face as Megure Juuzou?
He had to catch them today, no matter what.
Of course, he didn't say this out loud. Confidence was one thing, but if he failed, at least he'd have left himself a way out.
"Conan, what are you looking at?"
Ran leaned in curiously next to Conan, seeing him focused on the surveillance screen. She followed his gaze.
"I'm thinking about how they might get in."
Conan looked innocently at Ran, but his mind was still working. Under these circumstances, how would the enemy get inside?
It was his first encounter with the phantom thieves. He'd heard of them before, but still found the situation unfamiliar.
The area was tightly secured. Unauthorized people weren't allowed in, and everything inside was under surveillance. Any small trace would be noticed immediately. So how would they sneak in?
"Haha, you little brat shouldn't bother thinking about it. If even you could figure it out, how would those thieves have remained uncaught for so long? Only the great detective Mouri Kogorou can handle this!"
Mouri Kogorou laughed proudly. Today would be his moment of glory!
"If that clueless detective actually catches them, I'll eat my hat."
Conan rolled his eyes lifelessly and muttered to himself.
If Mouri Kogorou could really catch them, they'd all have been caught by now.
"Big sis, we've got a good idea of the situation inside. Should we move?"
Inside the art museum.
The Cat's Eye sisters had already infiltrated the area and avoided the police search. They were waiting in a small room for the right opportunity.
On a small digital screen, the Queen's Tear being monitored appeared clearly.
Not only did the police install surveillance—so did they, in advance.
"How are Kaitou Kid and Lupin III doing?"
Raisa Rui thought for a moment, then shook her head. "Everyone's watching. Whoever moves first will likely fail. Kaitou Kid and the others are probably waiting too. Let's hold for now."
"Yeah, let's wait and see. It's not like it'll belong to whoever grabs it first."
Raisa Hitomi nodded in agreement.
"You bastard, you'd better not disappoint me!"
In a building not far from the museum, a woman stared at the gemstone inside through binoculars.
Fujiko Mine had already made up her mind. Once Lupin III got his hands on it, she'd just take it for herself!
All the intel about this place had come from her. As for betraying Lupin III? That was no big deal.
At the same time, Kaitou Kid was also ready. Glancing at his wristwatch, he planned to strike at his designated time.
Until then, he would wait and watch.
"Still not ready?"
"Are they coming or not? It's already time!"
In the plaza—
Many spectators were staring at the big screen in disappointment. Five minutes had passed, but the inside of the museum remained peaceful, without a single disturbance. People who came hoping to witness a grand chase between thieves and police were starting to get bored.
"Hey, what do you think about using a phantom thief girl as inspiration for my next book?"
Kasumigaoka Utaha tapped her foot unconsciously, then turned to ask Renji.
"Huh? You want my opinion?"
"Didn't you always give me feedback when I wrote novels before? Without you, how would my books have been called the most stomach-churning ones? I never expected it, but you, Renji-kun, had so many ideas—first kisses, hugs, falling for that guy... having someone you like for the first time, someone who could be a lifelong friend."
A thoughtful glint appeared in Kasumigaoka Utaha's eyes. "Renji-kun, have you ever experienced that?"
"Hmph, that guy even helped me draw manga. Has he gone through that too?"
Eriri cut in, unconvinced.
Hmph!
Don't think you're the only ones with deep bonds!
She had one too!
"Tch, when you're thinking about this stuff, Renji-kun, who are you imagining? Me? Or Megumi? Maybe Sakurajima or Yukinoshita? Oh wait—could it be Eriri?"
Noticing Eriri's murderous glare, Kasumigaoka Utaha exaggerated her tone on purpose.
"WHAT!? You jerk!! What do you mean 'could it be me'? What's wrong with me?"
Eriri furiously waved her fists, ready to teach Utaha a lesson.
But somewhat comically, her arms seemed too short. Utaha held a hand to her forehead, and Eriri's flailing fists just punched air.
"It's starting."
"Eh? Did Renji-kun say something?"
Sitting right beside Renji, Megumi Kato tilted her head in confusion. She thought she had heard him mutter something, but couldn't make out the words.
Had he really spoken?
Before Renji could answer, a loud gasp erupted around them.
"He appeared!!! He finally made a move!"
"Won't he get caught? Also—who is that!?"
This figure looked nothing like the Cat's Eye sisters, Lupin III, or Kaitou Kid.
The person on the screen was completely unfamiliar.
"Uninvited, I ask for your understanding. I'm not the one you were expecting. But tonight, I'll be taking the Queen's Tear."
On the screen appeared a man wearing an orange spiral mask and the signature black cloak with red clouds of the Akatsuki.
He waved at the screen.
Then raised a single finger and lightly tapped the reinforced glass.
Crack.
The glass shattered instantly, and the Queen's Tear was now in his hand.
"Big sis... what do we do?"
"We move!"
Inside the room, Raisa Ai and Raisa Hitomi exchanged a glance and prepared to move.
Such a golden opportunity surely wouldn't be missed by those other two either. With this unfamiliar guy drawing all the attention, they could take advantage. They had been wondering how to sneak in—now that he had become a decoy, infiltration had become much easier.
"Tell me! Where did that guy even come from!!?"
What!?
Inside the surveillance room, everyone stared dumbfounded at the unbelievable scene before them.
All the surrounding cameras were confirmed to be functional.
How could someone possibly get in without being seen!?
"Conan, where are you going?"
"Hurry over there! That person's gone!"
Conan was the first to react, rushing out of the monitoring room and heading straight for the gallery where the Queen's Tear had been kept.
The others quickly snapped out of their stupor and followed.
When they reached the exhibit, the man was long gone—and so was the Queen's Tear.
"No way..."
Megure Juuzou wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. It was... just gone?
"Hah, phantom thieves? What a joke. They stole a fake—what kind of so-called thief would fall for that?"
A trace of disdain flashed across the museum director's face.
"Wait... he might've known..."
From a nearby corner, Conan pulled out a gemstone. Attached to it was a note, and the gem was unmistakably the same one taken earlier by the man in the orange spiral mask.
[Even though I knew it was fake, I still wanted to show that I'm no less than those other phantom thieves. Also... I've taken the real one.]
Reading the handwriting on the note, the director's face instantly changed, and he ran off toward the basement without a moment's delay.
When he received the notice, the first thing he did was move the real gem to the basement.
He hadn't told anyone!
Rushing into the basement, they found the door already open and saw the back of someone hastily leaving. Everyone followed without hesitation—this path led straight to the rooftop.
On the rooftop—
The Cat's Eye sisters, Lupin III, Kaitou Kid, and Renji each stood at one corner.
"Hands up! You're all under arrest!"
The sudden arrival of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police shattered the silence.
The rooftop door slammed shut behind them. Nakamori Ginzo grinned smugly at the group—tonight, even if the gods descended, none of them were escaping.
"Agh, what a pain. You knew this was the rooftop—why'd you bring the gem up here!?"
Kid looked helplessly at Renji.
In fact, all five of them knew where the real gem had been—but none had made a move.
They were planning to use the chaos Renji created to grab it amid the distraction.
But Renji had been one step faster. After he took it, the rest followed and ended up here.
Fortunately, Kid still had his glider.
Wait—was Renji a glider user too?
"Because the stage was set. Without an audience, the performance would be a failure. Only a show can bring me to the peak."
He could have just taken the gem in the basement and left.
But leaving like that felt... lacking. He longed for attention.
Perhaps because he lived in peaceful times, he sought something different from other Renjis. He loved being admired—and craved those reverent gazes.
"A stage? Jail is your stage, you masked lunatics. I'll tear off each of your masks one by one!"
Nakamori Ginzo looked triumphant. Seeing the news helicopter hovering above, broadcasting everything live, he felt even more proud.
Aoko, watch closely—your father has finally caught Kaitou Kid!
"Everyone wears a mask. That fleeting joy before the curtain rises... remember me. This is my beginning. I rise from filth and mire—I am the blazing blue lotus. I am beauty itself."
Renji whispered softly, and just then, thunder cracked across the sky.
He clapped his hands together and shouted, "Art is explosion!!"
Boom!!
His clone exploded.
A thick smoke instantly engulfed the rooftop, obscuring everyone's vision.
And when it cleared—Renji was gone.
In the plaza, everyone watching the big screen froze, stunned by the turn of events. Even Kaitou Kid had run to the edge, looking for his glider. Renji lowered his head and gently brushed the Queen's Tear in his pocket with his left hand.
"It's over. Let's go."
Renji gave one last glance at the screen, then turned to Kasumigaoka Utaha and the others and walked away.
There was nothing more to see.
"Hey! I feel like you really fit the image of a phantom thief. What if I write a romance between a phantom thief and a novelist girl based on you?"
Utaha quickly caught up to Renji. That scene just now sparked her inspiration—imagining Renji as the phantom thief, and herself as the novelist girl.
Since her last book had been criticized for being too cruel, this next one would be a sweet love story based on the two of them!
"Renji's not a phantom thief!"
Eriri shot back, muttering as she stared at Renji's back.
Don't think you can just steal the spotlight like that!
"Renji-kun does fit the role quite well."
Megumi Kato covered her mouth with a laugh as the three girls quickly caught up and surrounded Renji on both sides.
"He just ran off like that?"
"What do we do?"
"We're leaving!"
Raisa Rui, Raisa Hitomi, and Raisa Ai exchanged a glance, then jumped off the building together.
Not to be outdone, Kaitou Kid followed them.
This time was a total embarrassment.
They sent the invitation, yet not only did they fail to steal the gem—it got taken by someone else, who even showed off before leaving!
"Lupin! Don't you run!"
"What kind of fool wouldn't run!?"
Lupin III tossed a smoke bomb to the ground and flew off on his glider.
Today was truly a rocky start.
The Queen's Tear—if he'd gotten it, he could've made a fortune. But now that it was in Renji's hands, Lupin wouldn't forget this.
Next time, he would settle the score!
"They all got away?! Huh!?"
Megure Juuzou stared blankly—he'd personally taken charge, and still didn't catch a single one.
"Inspector Megure, I think we'll be on the front page tomorrow. All the police, Kaitou Kid, Cat's Eye, and Lupin III... all became that guy's background props."
Shiratori Ninzaburou rubbed his forehead, already imagining the explosive headlines of tomorrow's news.
(End of Chapter)
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