"Haibara! Haibara! Can you hear me? Haibara!!"
Her mind felt like fog.
As she struggled to open her eyes, Haibara Ai realized her eyelids were unusually heavy.
Her limbs felt weak.
But amidst the haze, she heard a frantic voice calling out.
"Kudō?"
"Haibara! Is that you?! Where are you?!"
"I'm in the Doctor's car out front. I'm using the microphone and intercom built into your glasses!"
"…What just happened to me?"
"That's what I was about to ask you! What happened in the hallway just now?"
Hallway...?
Haibara touched her forehead. Dizzy. Fragments of memory came rushing back.
She had been following Hayashi Yoshiki, but after the reporters stormed in, she was swept away by the crowd. She lost sight of Conan, and then—someone had drugged her from behind. Everything went black.
When she recalled that moment, her expression turned pale.
There was probably only one person capable of silently drugging and abducting her: Pisco.
My identity… it's been exposed.
What about Cointreau?She had been standing right next to him. If she was compromised—
Haibara Ai's thoughts raced. Her face darkened with realization. She pushed herself up, intending to tell Kudō her situation—then she noticed her mobile phone lying beside her.
Didn't Pisco take this away...?
She grabbed it, unlocked the screen, and found two unread text messages:
Hayashi Yoshiki: "The door isn't locked. If you wake up, leave immediately."Hayashi Yoshiki: "By the way, help me hold Conan back."
Cointreau...
Without hesitation, she deleted the texts, and then made her way to the door.
The place looked like a wine cellar.
She pulled the handle gently. It wasn't locked.
Without wasting another second, Haibara stepped out.
Next... hold Kudō back.
She wasn't sure what Cointreau was planning, and that uncertainty filled her with dread—but she would follow Hayashi Yoshiki's instructions. It wouldn't be hard to fake being trapped—just enough to distract Conan, keep him from interfering.
Shortly after she exited the cellar and sent her message to Hayashi, the wine cellar door opened again.
Kenzo Masuyama entered, followed by Hayashi Yoshiki.
The older man's expression was wooden.
"Mr. Masuyama, would you kindly write down the code names and real names of the organization members you know on this sheet?"
"Understood."
Kenzo took the paper and pen handed to him by Hayashi.
While Masuyama wrote, Yoshiki glanced at his watch.
Pisco's current task was the greatest value he could offer. As a man obsessed with longevity and loyalty, he had spent decades cultivating relationships throughout the Organization. As a veteran, he knew many of the true identities behind the code names.
Masuyama filled almost an entire sheet, but only seven or eight included real names.
—Of course, the paper was not from the Death Note.
Hayashi Yoshiki had no reason to kill off half the Black Organization—not yet. Not when he himself was listed among those names.
"Thank you, Mr. Masuyama. May I ask... the Boss—does that gentleman ever contact you personally?"
"Rarely…"
"But you've seen him face-to-face before?"
"Yes. I met him over 30 years ago… but after the organization expanded, I never saw him again."
"Do you remember his appearance? His name?"
"I do. I remember everything…"
Masuyama swallowed. Yoshiki could see the man was trembling with deep-rooted fear.
"His name is... Karasuma Renya."
"Would you mind sketching his face and writing his name on this page?"
Kenzo did as instructed.
He recalled Karasuma Renya's appearance from decades ago.
Even if Karasuma's face had changed through plastic surgery, Hayashi Yoshiki wasn't concerned. Back at Blue Castle, he'd learned that writing the original name and face—pre-surgery—was enough for the Death Note to take effect.
As long as this was his real identity, it would work.
After Kenzo handed over the paper with "Karasuma Renya" on it, Yoshiki added several lines with his own pen:
[Karasuma Renya][Cause of Death: Heart Failure][At 18:47 on the evening of December 16, personally contacted Pisco to confirm mission completion.][After 13 days, secretly met with the operative known as Jundō. During this meeting, he disabled surveillance and dismissed guards, placing full trust in the agent.][Died of heart failure at an unknown location at 13:56 on January 7.]
Karasuma Renya had been in hiding for years.
Even Rum, the organization's No. 2, had no idea where he was. This worked perfectly in Yoshiki's favor.
Once Karasuma followed the script in the notebook, Hayashi Yoshiki could quietly assume command—impersonating Karasuma to control the Organization. Any resistance from Karasuma's personal guard? He'd use the Death Note to neutralize them once in power.
The time was now 18:45.
Less than two minutes remained.
Yoshiki glanced at the laptop that Kenzo had placed in the wine cellar.
In the original incident, Gin and Vodka couldn't reach Masuyama due to police interference. Later, Vodka traced activity on Masuyama's laptop, prompting the two of them to storm the wine cellar.
"One last thing, Mr. Masuyama—can you please open your laptop and show me all sensitive files?"
"Of course."
Like a puppet, Masuyama complied.
He unlocked the device.
Yoshiki scanned through folders and files, monitoring the countdown on his wristwatch.
Then—at exactly 18:47...
Ding-ling-ling! Ding-ling-ling!!
Masuyama, startled by the ringtone, quickly pulled out his phone and looked toward Hayashi Yoshiki.