In the world of Detective Conan, however, he was bound to the Naruto System.

Chapter 277 Third-rate kidnappers

Chapter 277 Third-rate kidnappers

Akutagawa Hiko, suppressing a laugh, rang the doorbell: "I'm so sorry to bother you today, since you're off work, but my child's toothache is really unbearable. Could you please take a look at it?"

While speaking, to increase credibility, or perhaps because Conan was simply getting into the role, he yelled at the top of his lungs, "It hurts! I can't take it anymore! Waaaaah—it hurts so much!"

Because his son was kidnapped, Endo has been raising money all day and has no interest in treating patients. He originally didn't want to pay attention to people outside.

There are other dental clinics besides his; they'll leave on their own in a while. Right now, he should be figuring out how to rescue Guitai.

But upon hearing the painful screams of children outside, Dr. Endo, whose son Keita was still in kindergarten, couldn't help but soften her heart.

Moreover, children's fear of doctors is generally greater than their fear of illness. If a child is brought to the doctor but only says they have a toothache, it's probably because the pain is unbearable.

Endo sighed, "I understand. Then please come to the clinic entrance."

Conan's sobbing appearance was extremely comical to Akutagawa Hiko, but to Endo it was both conspicuous and pitiful. So what he saw first was Conan wailing incessantly, like he had ADHD.

"Please come in—please come in—"

"Thank you very much, sorry to bother you."

Akutagawa led Conan into the clinic, and even after the door was locked, Conan's wailing continued.

"Alright, how long are you going to keep yelling?"

Conan, who had been flicked on the forehead, chuckled sheepishly and scratched his round head.

Endo looked puzzled, but still dutifully prepared to examine the child's teeth, saying, "Could you please bring the examination room to me? I need to examine the child."

Akutagawa Hiko smiled and straightened his clothes: "Mr. Endo, it seems I need to introduce myself. I am Akutagawa Hiko, and I currently run a detective agency. I am a detective."

Endo, his face filled with shock mixed with a hint of surprise, carefully examined the figure and finally confirmed it matched the one in the newspaper: "You're that famous detective?!"

After briefly explaining why the two had come looking for him, Endo glanced at the composed Conan with a complicated expression, and couldn't help but think of the newspaper's description of the detective.

In the world of Detective Conan, most detectives are inevitably compared to Sherlock Holmes, and Akutagawa Hiko is no exception.

Sherlock Holmes had his Baker Street guerrilla squad, and it seems Akutagawa Hiko also occasionally had a group of children around him ready to take on challenges—

To dispatch.

In retrospect, it was indeed just a baseless rumor.

"I see, Conan overheard my phone call—"

Akutagawa Hiko nodded, looking at Endo with a serious expression: "So, can we have a proper talk? From the information we have so far, a child named Keita has been kidnapped, right? He should be your son?"

Endo's gaze was somewhat evasive, revealing that he still clung to the hope that he could pay the ransom and bring his son, Endo Keita, back safely.

If more trouble arises, he might never see his son again.

Akutagawa Hiko had developed some ability to read people's minds, and judging from this honest man's expression, he had already guessed most of what Endo was thinking, so he prepared to shatter the man's illusions.

"I think the kidnappers told you not to call the police, or they would kill you or something like that. But Conan and I can assure you that we haven't known our purpose or whereabouts along the way, so you can speak freely."

"Furthermore, if the kidnappers' faces are seen, there's a high probability they'll still kill the hostage even if they get the money. You need our help."

Endo was persuaded: "Alright then, since you guys happened to find us, it just goes to show that we are indeed destined to meet—"

He took out a photo of a child who looked two or three years younger than Conan, sitting on a toy car and waving happily at the person looking at the photo.

This afternoon, he was attending to a patient while Keita was playing happily in the front yard. When he finally had some free time to take Keita out to play, he found that Keita was gone, leaving behind a note.

"Can I take a look at it?"

Having decided to seek the detective's help, Endo didn't hesitate and took out the paper.

"It's just ordinary printouts, nothing special. Is there anything distinctive about the voice of your kidnapper?"

"The kidnapper is a very young man. He wants me to put 30 million yen in old banknotes in a bag and then ransom Keita at the place where Conan met me at 6 p.m. tonight."

However, the kidnappers showed no sportsmanship and after six o'clock, they suddenly informed him that the ransom exchange was canceled and that he should wait for further instructions.

It's like some third-rate company owners who, in an attempt to establish authority, are actually shortening the company's lifespan.

However, considering that this was just a kidnapping incident involving only two people and was not a large-scale operation, it is not incomprehensible.

Did the kidnappers say why?

"No—no, he only said he would call me again tomorrow morning."

Akutagawa Hiko stroked his chin and pondered, "There are only two possibilities for the last-minute cancellation. One is that they never intended for you to pay the ransom today, but were just hiding nearby to see if you had called the police."

"Secondly, they felt the ransom was too low and the pre-divided spoils were uneven, so they planned to ask for more. Or both possibilities exist. For example, if they find that you have indeed obeyed and have not called the police, they might as well extort more."

It's more like a company that doesn't keep its word, treats people differently based on their status, and is bound to go bankrupt in a few years.

"By the way, to put it bluntly, did you hear Keita's voice during the call? This is an important basis for us to determine whether Keita is still alive."

The thought of the counter possibly being killed by the kidnappers made the honest Endo feel suffocated, and he wished he could grab a kitchen knife and fight the kidnappers to the death.

After taking a few deep breaths, he continued, "I begged them for a long time before they let Keita answer the phone. But strangely, when Keita answered the phone, his voice wasn't scared at all; on the contrary, it was very cheerful."

Akutagawa Hiko, holding Conan's head, asked, "What kind of person is Keita? Is this just because he's brave or something else? No matter what, any child who encounters something like this would cry and call for their parents, unless they don't realize they've been kidnapped."

After all, he's just a kindergarten kid, so it's normal for him to be a little oblivious.