Beyond the Truth: Mouri's Odyssey

Chapter 0034: Mouri's Deduction

At that moment, Shirō Suzuki stormed into the gymnasium with a furious expression, while his assistant kept bowing apologetically beside him.

"How can you be so careless? The Chidori sword I entrusted to you has gone missing! Do you still want to keep your job? Didn't you assure me it would be fine in the school exhibition hall? How am I supposed to explain this to the martial arts tournament organizers?" Shirō Suzuki entered, only to find a much graver situation than the theft of the Chidori sword—there was a dead body in the gymnasium.

"What's going on? Did the martial arts tournament start already? And someone died during the matches? Weren't wooden weapons supposed to be used? Why are the police here? Oh, perfect! Officer, I'd like to report a theft. Last night, the Chidori sword, a blade once wielded by the famous swordsman Yukimichi Tachibana and entrusted to the Beika University exhibition hall, went missing. That sword was intended to be the prize for the tournament's strongest fighter, and now it's been stolen!"

Upon hearing this, Hattori Heizō, Miyamoto Shinbu, and others looked concerned. For these martial artists, the allure of the Chidori sword was undeniable.

As Shirō Suzuki, the head of the Suzuki conglomerate, brought this up and Megure began questioning him, Kogoro Mouri took the opportunity to approach Kang Shin-cheol's corpse.

Hattori Heizō glanced at Kogoro with his fox-like eyes but quickly lowered his head again.

In Hattori Heizō's mind, Kogoro, who hadn't stayed at Beika University the previous night, was almost entirely free of suspicion.

The deceased's muscles were already stiffened, far too quickly for the circumstances.

'This guy really met his end prematurely. He probably wanted to make a name for himself with this tournament and expand his dojos in Kyoto. Now, all of that is nothing but a pipe dream in the afterlife.'

But something felt off. The golden robe the deceased always wore was missing, and the abdominal wound didn't look right. It didn't seem to match the blade of the small knife nearby.

Noticing Kogoro also staring at the wound, Hattori Heizō whispered, "You've realized it too. This small blade from Miyamoto Shinbu's dual-wielding set isn't the murder weapon. For a penetrating wound like this, it must've been a large blade… or a sword."

"So you've chosen to withhold that information," Kogoro replied quietly.

Hattori Heizō motioned towards Miyamoto Shinbu with his chin. "Tch, I don't want to end up like that fool and get detained by the police. I'll reveal it when the truth comes out."

Kogoro's mind raced: stiffened muscles of the corpse, the peculiar penetrating wound, Miyamoto Shinbu's panicked demeanor, Kobayashi Sumiko's expertise in martial arts, Kuroba Hajime's silence, Oki Saddle's sharp instincts, the expanding taekwondo dojo, the missing Chidori sword, and the golden robe...

Each clue spun in his mind like a whirlwind until a sudden flash of insight struck him.

"V-chan, I need to submit my deduction."

V-chan said, [Confirm submission?]

"Of course. If I wait, the culprit might escape!"

Inspector Megure, after recording Shirō Suzuki's report of the Chidori sword theft, planned to take Miyamoto Shinbu and Kobayashi Sumiko back to the station for further questioning. One was connected to the murder weapon, and the other had a motive related to the victim. To Megure, the culprit was likely one of the two.

Yūsaku Kudo sighed as he watched Inspector Megure preparing to wrap things up. "If only we had the latest fingerprint scanners from the U.S., this case would be much easier to solve."

In this era, Japan lacked fingerprint scanners, and autopsy methods were rudimentary.

Inspector Megure turned to Shirō Suzuki. "Don't worry, Mr. Suzuki. We'll do our best to recover the Chidori sword. Alright, team, let's wrap it up."

At this moment, Kogoro Mouri spoke up. "Inspector Megure, if you close the case now, you'll not only miss recovering the Chidori sword but also let the culprit get away."

Everyone turned to look at Kogoro in surprise. Even Yukiko had a shocked expression.

Shirō Suzuki immediately asked, "So, are you saying you know where the Chidori sword is?"

Inspector Megure, now facing Kogoro, locked eyes with the young detective. "Alright, let's hear your theory."

"This theft of the Chidori sword and Kang Shin-cheol's death were committed by the same person. The fatal wound on the deceased couldn't have been caused by Miyamoto Shinbu's small knife. The true murder weapon was none other than the Chidori sword."

Hattori Heizō fell into deep thought upon hearing this. Of the three weapons capable of causing such a wound, one was the large blade Miyamoto had carried, which had shattered in front of everyone the previous day. The second was Hattori Heizō's own sword. But everyone had overlooked the third: the Chidori sword, intended as a tournament prize.

Forensic personnel reexamined the wound and confirmed Kogoro's claim, nodding towards Inspector Megure.

"So, who's the culprit?" Megure asked, his eyes full of anticipation as he looked at Kogoro. Miyamoto and Kobayashi both seemed hopeful their innocence would be proven.

"It's none other than the 'hidden master,' Oki Saddle."

Oki Saddle recoiled in shock, taking two steps back and waving his hands. "That's impossible! Didn't everyone see yesterday's match? I'm no match for Kang Shin-cheol!"

"Indeed, you lost yesterday's match—but it was intentional. You're faster and stronger than Kang Shin-cheol, yet you deliberately dragged out the fight for thirty minutes. Upon examining the corpse, I noticed the body shouldn't have stiffened this quickly. The prolonged fight yesterday left Kang Shin-cheol covered in bruises and severely weakened, setting him up for your attack later that night."

Oki Saddle's face darkened further.

"Late at night, you knocked on Kang Shin-cheol's door. Exhausted and sore from the fight, he was no match for you and quickly passed out. You then carried him to the gymnasium's martial arts arena under cover of darkness, retrieved the Chidori sword from the school exhibition, and stabbed him to death. Afterward, you planted Miyamoto's small knife to frame him."

"While I'm unsure why you went to such lengths, I suspect you were mesmerized by the beauty of the Chidori sword and couldn't resist letting it taste blood. You even staged Kang Shin-cheol's body to mimic a traditional Japanese warrior's ritual suicide—truly twisted behavior."

"Your execution was clean and meticulous, leaving no loose ends. A professional killer's approach."

Oki Saddle sneered. "Mouri-san, slander is a criminal offense. Do you have any evidence?"

"Evidence? Oki Saddle, your confidence is impressive, considering you're carrying so much in your outfit."

"Strange, isn't it? A sumo champion's build is only slightly larger than average. You avoided wearing traditional sumo attire yesterday because you didn't dare reveal your physique. Right now, under your uniform, you're not hiding your body but the Chidori sword and its golden sheath."

"Additionally, you're left-handed. Your right arm swings broadly as you walk, while your left arm stays close to your body. Though your fingertips lack calluses, you've clearly developed habits consistent with wielding blades skillfully. How could anyone believe you're Oki Saddle, a man who conceals his identity and avoids showing his true face?"

Eri Kisaki, watching from the side, smirked proudly. 'As expected of my boyfriend.'

Yūsaku Kudo and Hattori Heizō both sighed in admiration.

Yukiko looked doubtful. "Wow, that's unbelievable!"

Inspector Megure stepped forward. "Oki-san, I'll need you to cooperate."