Beyond the Truth: Mouri's Odyssey

Chapter 12: The Gap Between Anime and Reality

Time flowed like a river. Kogoro Mouri spent his day in a café reading the newspaper. Women nearby couldn't help but glance at him. After all, handsome older men like him were quite rare.

Around 3 p.m., Teitan Elementary's school bell rang, and a group of children poured out of the building.

Kogoro folded the newspaper and carefully observed the crowd.

As expected, on Conan's first day of school, he had already teamed up with those three little troublemakers: Genta, the chubby boy; Mitsuhiko, the freckled one; and Ayumi, the cute little girl. The four of them walked in the same direction, chatting and bickering all the way.

Genta and Mitsuhiko competed for Ayumi's attention, their behavior far too precocious for their age. Quietly, Kogoro followed the children.

With his skills and heightened senses, it was easy for Kogoro to remain unnoticed by a group of kids.

Following Genta's lead, the four children arrived at the Tokyo Museum of Fine Arts and began exploring inside.

Kogoro stayed outside quietly. His memory served him well: this was the spot where Genta would later pick up a treasure map drawn by a notorious criminal. Thinking about how that gang of international thieves planned to recover the map, Kogoro knew he needed a thorough plan to deal with them.

Turning into an alley, Kogoro pulled out a human-skin mask from his system's inventory and put it on. His face rippled like water, transforming into the visage of a young, wandering artist.

But this disguise wasn't enough. Using his perfected disguise skills, Kogoro removed his suit, smeared mud from the ground onto his pants, and tore holes in his clothes. His transformation was complete; he now looked like a bohemian street artist.

Returning to the museum entrance, Kogoro waited patiently. Soon enough, Genta and the others came out, chatting enthusiastically.

"There are so many treasures in the world! I'm going to become a treasure hunter. If I find treasure, I can buy lots of eel rice bowls!"

"Idiot. Without a treasure map, you won't find anything," Mitsuhiko retorted.

"I've decided! Let's form a treasure-hunting team. From now on, we'll be the Junior Detective League, and I'll be the leader!" Genta declared, his round face brimming with excitement.

"Wow, that's amazing! Long live the Junior Detective League!" Ayumi cheered, clapping her hands.

Conan, meanwhile, looked utterly unenthusiastic, rolling his eyes in exasperation.

Just then, Genta picked up a piece of paper. "Huh? What's this?"

Before Genta could examine it closely, a large hand snatched the paper away. "Thanks for picking this up for me, little boy," said Kogoro, who had been waiting nearby. He deliberately altered his voice.

"Wow! Mister, are you an artist? You look so cool!" Ayumi's eyes sparkled as she admired Kogoro's shabby yet stylish appearance.

"Ayumi, don't get too close to this guy. He might be a homeless man who'll kidnap you," Mitsuhiko said with jealousy, his tone particularly unpleasant.

Kogoro ignored their remarks and glanced at the group of men in black hiding around the corner. Without further ado, he walked away.

The Junior Detective League noticed nothing unusual, though Conan felt something was off. That man's silhouette seemed familiar, but before he could dwell on it, Genta dragged him away.

Meanwhile, Kogoro observed the three men tailing him: two Italians and one Japanese, all dressed in black trench coats with fierce expressions.

Confident in his restored karate skills, Kogoro led the men into a secluded alley.

"Hey, you! Stop right there and hand over that piece of paper!" barked the Japanese man, who appeared to be their leader.

"You mean this?" Kogoro waved the treasure map, then casually folded and tore it in half.

"You're dead!" The three men lunged at him, but Kogoro was ready. With a swift block and a powerful punch, he sent one of the Italians flying into a wall, where he collapsed like a rag doll.

One strike was all it took to incapacitate him. The other two men hesitated, realizing they were up against a martial arts expert. They drew their guns.

Kogoro's pupils narrowed. 'Damn it! Three against one, and they pull guns?'

Tensing every muscle, Kogoro launched himself forward at full speed. Before the men could react, he delivered a high kick to the second Italian, who crumpled to the ground. Only the Japanese man remained, retreating while firing his weapon.

Kogoro quickly used the unconscious Italian as a human shield. The Japanese man hesitated, unwilling to risk hitting his comrade.

Summoning all his strength, Kogoro hurled the unconscious man at the Japanese assailant. Sliding low to the ground, Kogoro closed the distance and executed a precise low blow. The Japanese man collapsed, completely incapacitated. Kogoro finished him off with a swift chop to the neck.

"Damn it. Almost got taken out by these thugs," Kogoro muttered, tying up the three men with their belts and confiscating their firearms. 'Reality really isn't like anime,' he thought bitterly. 'In anime, they never pull guns. I got too careless.'

Leaving the men tied up in the alley, Kogoro called the police from a nearby public phone to report their location.

As for the treasure map, Kogoro had already memorized the symbols. His intellect, enhanced by the system, quickly deciphered the map's clues: the symbols referred to neon signs.

As night fell, Kogoro followed the neon markers to an abandoned riverside building.

Climbing the stairs cautiously, his instincts screamed danger. Without hesitation, Kogoro dove forward.

A gunshot rang out, then silence.

'Crap! Never should've trusted the plotline,' Kogoro thought, taking cover. Despite his quick reaction, he couldn't avoid the bullet entirely. His arm was grazed, and the pain reminded him that even peak human reflexes couldn't outrun a bullet.

Meanwhile, on a nearby television screen, a news anchor reported: "Breaking news: Italian gang leader Dino Cavane escaped custody this evening after injuring a guard. Be advised, he is armed and dangerous..."