Chapter 328: Hattori Shizuka wants to see a good show

"It's too late, he's already dead." Hattori turned off the faucet and examined the body with a grave expression.

"The body that several college students originally found in the warehouse of the annex has moved to the locker room by the swimming pool."

"There are other students sitting at the entrance of the annex eating lunch boxes; if they had carried a man covered in blood out, they should have been discovered immediately."

"Since that's the case, how did the body get here?"

Hattori thought as he walked out of the locker room, just in time to run into Kazuha, who was rushing over to find him.

"Heiji! What are you doing?!" Kazuha asked unhappily: "Why did you run here instead of eating? Seriously, you run away the moment someone isn't looking, and the semifinals are about to start!"

"Shut up," Hattori pointed to the locker room, "What do you mean run away? A murder case happened here! Someone was killed in the locker room!"

"A, a murder case?" Kazuha's expression froze.

"Yeah," Hattori frowned irritably, "Because there are still some things I don't understand, I can't care about the competition right now."

Kazuha came back to her senses: "Then why don't you ask Akaso-san? Isn't he right here?"

"You don't need to rack your brains at all; he'll definitely solve it for you in a few seconds. You just focus on the competition, and leave the murder case to him!"

Hattori Heiji's eyebrows twitched, and he warned Kazuha gloomily: "You listen to me clearly, you are not allowed to tell him about this! Do you hear me?"

"Why are you yelling? You're simply inexplicable!"

Toyama Kazuha turned and walked away unhappily.

In the contestant rest area, Kazuha carefully looked at the spectator stand and whispered to the club members: "Anyway, that's how it is; this matter cannot be publicized yet."

"Then what about Hattori? Could it be?"

"Yeah, he said he's not in the mood to care about the competition right now and that solving the murder case is more important." Kazuha sighed helplessly.

"How can this be?"

"The semifinals are about to start!"

The club members wailed repeatedly; Hattori was the strongest captain participating in the competition and their hope for winning the championship, and without Hattori, there was no suitable substitute.

Kazuha followed them and looked at the first-year club member who was sweating, waving her fist with high morale.

"There's no other way. Since that's the case, we'll just have to ignore him and fight for victory ourselves! I must properly deflate that deduction maniac's arrogance!!"

The club members wiped their sweat repeatedly: "But, we are the ones playing."

Akaso Kaze was listening from the side, and Toyama Kazuha suddenly turned her head: "Akaso-san, do, do you know Kendo?"

At two in the afternoon, the semifinals started on time, and the gymnasium venue returned to a bustling atmosphere.

The popularity was several times hotter than in the morning; most people were here for the finals, but the semifinals were also quite popular.

Akaso Kaze entered the venue wearing Hattori Heiji's protective gear, wearing a mask, chest protector, and waist protector, holding a bamboo sword and standing in the preparation area.

"I hope it doesn't come down to Akaso-san having to play." Toyama Kazuha muttered in the spectator stand.

Hattori Shizuka curled her lips and said: "The opponent's captain is the highly anticipated Kendo genius Okita Soshi; even Heiji was injured by him in the last competition. If the Onmyoji plays, it's going to be embarrassing."

Toyama Kazuha was shocked and hurriedly stood up.

"I'll go call him back..."

"It's too late. If he withdraws now, it will be discovered that he was faking it; not only will his results be canceled, but he will also become the laughingstock of all the schools, and perhaps even the Onmyoji's reputation will be damaged..."

Hattori Shizuka said lightly.

"Then, then what should we do?" Toyama Kazuha wanted to cry with regret.

"What can we do? We can only let him endure the pain and take a few hits."

Hattori Shizuka's lips curled slightly, revealing an expression of waiting to see a good show.

Gymnasium swimming pool locker room.

After receiving the news, Officer Otaki of the Osaka Prefectural Police arrived at the scene to handle the case. This flat-topped uncle was a subordinate of Kazuha's father, Police Superintendent Toyama, and he had a very good relationship with Hattori and a very gentle personality.

"The victim's whole body is covered in wounds from a Japanese sword, and the body was drenched in hot water, probably to confuse the estimated time of death."

Officer Otaki approached the body to check the situation; the appearance of the Japanese sword made it seem like they had traveled back to ancient times. Such cases were indeed very rare.

"Is he your classmate?" Otaki turned to ask several college students.

"Y-yes, we are all college classmates."

"We waited for a long time at the venue but didn't see him go, so we looked for him everywhere, and then..."

Several college students, like the other schools participating in the Kendo team competition, were equipped with five people.

The vanguard, Tarumi Atsushi, was the victim.

The second-in-command, Menya Mineo, had a rough appearance, with a big nose and a big mouth, looking very fierce.

The center, Dōguchi Noriyuki, was just a little chubby guy wearing glasses; he had helped mediate when the team members were arguing earlier.

The vice-captain, Kote-gawa Shun, was a young man with a long face and a side part.

Finally, the captain, Hakamada Masamichi, was a tall, short-haired man with thick eyebrows and big eyes; among them, he was the one with a very dignified leadership role.

"In short," Officer Otaki picked up the Japanese sword, "if we find out who the owner of this murder weapon is, we will immediately know who the murderer is."

"Then you are wrong, Officer Otaki." Hattori appeared at the door and interrupted.

"That sword is a real sword used by the Kendo teacher for demonstration performances in this Kendo tournament. I just asked, and the teacher said that the sword disappeared before noon and hasn't been found."

"Heiji?" Otaki said in surprise, "Why are you here?"

"Of course, I'm here to compete."

"Speaking of which, today is indeed the Kinki Kendo Tournament for high school and university divisions. But shouldn't you be at the competition venue?"

Semifinals, it wasn't Akaso Kaze's turn to play.

Just the first few won the victory.

"Great!" Kazuha grabbed her fists excitedly, "Even without Heiji, we can still win! At this rate, the championship will be ours..."

Thud!

A heavy hitting sound came from the next field.

Okita suddenly landed a direct thrust to the opponent's face; as the bamboo sword flew, the opponent's mask was also knocked off by the great force.

The contestant's feet left the ground, and he fell heavily onto the wooden floor of the field, losing a tooth and being knocked out of the game.

A one-hit victory.

"Kyoto Izumi High School wins!!"

The venue instantly became noisy, and everyone was amazed by Okita's powerful momentum.

A second-kill, and it appeared in the semifinals; the eyes of the girls nearby turned into heart shapes.

"So cool!"

Okita exhaled lightly, took off his mask to wipe his sweat, and turned his gaze to Akaso Kaze, who hadn't taken off his mask on the field next to him, and smiled lightly.

Toyama Kazuha swallowed her saliva and suddenly became unconfident.

"No, we definitely can't beat this level."

In the gap while waiting for the finals, Toyama Kazuha came to Akaso Kaze with a flushed face.

"Akaso-san, it's all my fault for causing you such big trouble."

Akaso Kaze smiled and rubbed her little head.

"What are you saying, silly? How can Toyama Kazuha's business be trouble? Just wait, watch me get you the championship."

"By the way, is the murder case outside not over yet?"

"It shouldn't be; I didn't go ask."

Akaso Kaze thought for a moment and said: "You call the officer in charge and tell him that Kotegawa did it, the method of the crime is this... the evidence is this..."

Beep.

The whistle sounded.

The finals began.

Toyama Kazuha could only return to the spectator stand.

After she sat down, she took out her phone and called Officer Otaki.

Her father was the Criminal Department Chief of the Osaka Prefectural Police Headquarters, so of course, she knew the phone number.

"It's too late to call now, right?" Hattori Shizuka next to her said, "Even if Heiji comes now, he won't be able to play."

Toyama Kazuha shook her head, "I'm not looking for him; I'm calling Officer Otaki, who is in charge of the case. Akaso-san said he knows who the murderer is."

"What? He didn't go to the scene, and he deduced the truth of the case just by listening to you?"

Hattori Shizuka was taken aback.

As the wife of the Osaka Prefectural Police Chief, she naturally knew how difficult it was to solve a case.

This Akaso Kaze didn't go to the scene, didn't investigate, and just solved the case by listening to Toyama Kazuha's introduction; this is too unscientific.

Don't tell me he's just talking nonsense.

"Auntie Shizuka, you don't know, Akaso-san is very powerful; in Tokyo, he is a famous crime-buster." Toyama Kazuha said while waiting for the other party to answer the phone.

"Now the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department treats him as an idol; they only look for him for very difficult cases, and he has never missed."

"Is that so? Is he that powerful?" Hattori Shizuka looked skeptical.

"Hello, Officer Otaki? This is Kazuha. Akaso-san asked me to tell you that the criminal is Kotegawa, the method of the crime is this... the evidence is this..."

Toyama Kazuha didn't hang up the phone, and after waiting for a while, she smiled.

"Is that so? The criminal confessed? That's great. Oh, no need to thank me; this isn't my credit, it's all what my Akaso-san said..."

Listening to Toyama Kazuha's words, Hattori Shizuka felt a bit stifled.

Son, compared to others, you seem to be far behind.

"Oh, I won't say anymore, Akaso-san is about to play!"

Toyama Kazuha suddenly hung up the phone nervously and stared at the field with wide eyes.

Hattori Shizuka also turned her attention there.

Okita from Kyoto Izumi High School stood on the field, his murderous aura chilling.

Opposite him, Akaso Kaze was holding his sword casually, not looking like he was using any strength at all.

Seeing him like this, for some reason, Hattori Shizuka felt uncomfortable.

She curled her lips and said: "This Akaso Kaze is too careless; it's as if his opponent is much worse than him. At this rate, he'll probably lose in a few moves."

"No, definitely not, Akaso-san will definitely be able to..."

Toyama Kazuha wanted to say he could win, but thinking about it, it was a bit too exaggerated.

This is Kendo, after all.

It seems Akaso-san has never touched a sword before.

Akaso Kaze hadn't touched one.

But he is a magician.

And a magician who knows high-level magic, True Illusion.

As long as he casts magic on himself to become a very powerful Kendo master, it will be fine.