Chapter 365

The two arrived at the next crime scene; it was still the two members of the Surprise Dream Troupe, and Huo Hua had changed the setting again, but… this time, the Black Swan no longer wanted to play detective with them.

Surprise Dream Troupe, Huo Hua, Black Swan

I suppose Miss Huo Hua is probably busy setting up the next crime scene, right? Instead of going through all those complicated steps, let's have an open-hearted chat. It might get a little itchy.

Huo Hua

The Black Swan placed its hand on the Surprise Dream Troupe's head, and amid their startled cries, it successfully locked onto Huo Hua's position.

Black Swan, Surprise Dream Troupe, Huo Hua

Suddenly, Sanbo and Huo Hua exclaimed together, "How are you cheating?!"

Sanbo, Huo Hua

Oh?

Things were getting interesting; the Black Swan narrowed its eyes at Sanbo beside it and asked, "What's up, Detective Assistant? You seem rather eager."

Black Swan, Sanbo

—— (just a separator line, no content). We still need to output 【7】 with translation? The line is "——". Probably it's a line containing just an em dash. We need to translate it? It's just a separator; we should output the same? The instruction: translate each line. For a line that is just "——", translation would be "——" (same). We'll output 【7】 ——.

Detective Conan.

The doctor's basement was filled with the bitter aroma of coffee; Haibara Ai lounged lazily on the sofa, her fingers constantly tapping on her laptop as she organized the information coming from the celestial screen.

"That man named Sang Bo finally showed his true colors…" Conan let out a long sigh.

"Wow." Haibara Ai raised an eyebrow slightly, "Truly worthy of you, conducting serious reasoning in such a nonsensical case… How to put it? It's like doing handwriting analysis on kindergarten scribbles."

"This isn't like the cases; of course I know those cases are fabricated, but Sang Bo's motive as a Fool is suspicious." Conan watched Sang Bo begin the classic "fly rubbing hands" motion on the celestial screen, "I initially thought he was impersonating Huohuo, but just now they spoke in unison—"

"You ruled out that possibility?"

"Yeah." Conan nodded firmly, "They must be in cahoots. That Rememberer surely figured it out too."

Haibara Ai took a light sip of coffee: "So… Sang Bo is willingly cooperating with Huohuo to put on this farce? Why would they? Are the Fools really that united?"

"Probably not united when fighting, but when it comes to having fun and escaping, they're still pretty consistent."

—

""Ah, no… I, this… haha, this locked-room murder case is a bit interesting, I still want to guess…" Sang Bo hurriedly tried to make up an excuse."

""Let's go—can't keep the girls waiting.""

"The two Shocking Dream Troupe members were about to grab the Black Swan, indicating that Lady Huohuo still had one more announcement to make—"

"Just then the screen shifted, and Huohuo wearing a detective cap appeared dazzlingly, holding a toy detective's glasses and mustache, dressed as a detective—overall, just very cute."

"She suddenly turned to face the audience before the screen, happily announcing:"

""Ding-ding—now is the most thrilling and romantic moment of this play: the audience challenge segment!""

""As everyone knows, the terrifying masked Fool Huohuo can change her appearance to resemble others, and in this play, the great villain Huohuo has already disguised herself as another character.""

""So tell me—who exactly is this character!""

""Also, if you're interested, the Rememberer who doesn't want to challenge this locked-room murder case can try to solve it too. Huohuo painstakingly came up with this riddle—don't let it go to waste!""

—

Naruto.

"Indeed, this girl… can also see us."

In the cave, Uchiha Madara crossed his arms, furrowed his brow, and watched Huohuo's declaration to the crowd on the celestial screen. She seemed to bear no ill will toward these "spectators," merely inviting them to join her detective game.

Obito sat on a rock, his withered half-face in the shadows looking especially sinister. He stared at Huohuo's beaming smile on the screen, a flicker of annoyance flashing in his eyes.

"I'm increasingly convinced this celestial screen is related to 【Joy】; it seems only Fools can see us through it, while other paths… even mighty Emissaries cannot perceive our presence." His voice was hoarse and low, like sandpaper scraping stone, "Madara, in your era… did the celestial screen ever appear?"

"Even in the earlier Warring States period, there's no record of such a thing." Madara's mouth twitched into a cold smile, "But if they see it, they see it; as long as it doesn't interfere with our plans, it's fine."

"Even if the Fools wanted to influence things, could they actually do it?" Obito said, "So far, the abilities Huohuo and Sang Bo have shown aren't special; ninjutsu and doujutsu can handle them."

"Foolish." Madara coldly cut him off, "If Fools only had these few tricks, do you think they could freely travel between worlds to play? What they've shown isn't everything—"

"For people like them, overusing power to interfere might ruin the 'performance'… fearing that unless absolutely necessary, you won't see a masked Fool's true strength."

—

"The two arrived at the Clock Boy Plaza, only to find the place empty except for a lone trash can bearing the specialty of Belobog."

""Hey! Yo! Dear Rememberer, and Cold Leg Uncle—you've finally come!" Huohuo launched into a rap to start the conversation."

""I didn't expect you to skip the previous riddle, which was my proud creation! Well, well, Lady Huohuo doesn't hold grudges against small fry—come on, this is the final question—""

""Listen up! What creature walks on four legs in the morning, two at noon, and three in the evening?""

"The Black Swan smiled faintly: "This time it's not a murder case?""

"From inside the trash can came Huohuo's voice: "Sometimes we need a little relaxation! Come on, dear, hurry up and give your answer~""

"Considering it's a classic riddle, the Black Swan didn't hesitate and gave her answer: "Humans, right?""

"The trash can immediately rejected her boring answer, declaring the final answer to be—【Huohuo】!"

""In the morning she's too sleepy to get up, at noon she's running east and west busy, at night she's exhausted but still has to lift her hand to brush her teeth—poor Huohuo! So of course it's【morning four legs, noon two legs, night three legs】~""

"Sang Bo had already given up on complaining, rubbing his forehead: "What nonsense is this……""

"But the trash can also wasn't going to let the Black Swan off; seeing her cheating, it directly swung at her! Unfortunately, before it could land two kicks, the mysterious Throwing Card Girl piled on and knocked it out."

"Sang Bo wondered why the trash can suddenly went silent, preparing to drag Huohuo out of it, but what awaited him was… already lifeless, covered in wounds, the corpse of Lady Huohuo!"

""Ah… ah ah ah ah ah! Sis, you… you killed Huohuo!""