Nagano Prefecture Mt. Saijo
Wait. Wait a minute.
I'll apologize. I'll apologize!
Besides, think about it.
If this gets out, you won't get off easy.
Your life will be over.
Those desperate to live, die.
Those desperate to die, live.
I am Bishamonten.
The god of war who will destroy the woodpecker.
With the same feelings we've always held still in our hearts,
we fly powerfully into our twentieth year.
The sounds of woodpeckers are heard across an ancient battlefield.
An incident occurs that shakes the police force.
Always determining the one truth with the body of a child and the mind of an adult,
his name is Detective Conan!
The Darkness of the Prefectural Police (Part One)
"The Darkness of the Prefectural Police, Part One!"
Hey, this place you said you wanted to stop by...
Yeah. We came all the way out to Nagano.
We can't leave without stopping at the the Kawanakajima battlefield,
where Uesugi Kenshin fought Takeda Shingen.
Yeah!
But, Dad, have you always liked history that much?
What? You didn't know?
Come to think of it, the other day Okino Yoko played Princess Yu,
the woman who fell in love with Yamamoto Kansuke, general of Takeda's army,
on a historical drama special.
Also, speaking of Nagano, there's Shinshu soba.
Hey, what was that strategy called?
You know, the one they used in the battle named after a bird.
The woodpecker.
It's the woodpecker strategy, Ran-chan.
Detective Yui!
The woodpecker strategy involved,
like the woodpecker that pecks wood
and lies in wait for insects to come out from the other side,
one part of Takeda's army attacked Uesugi's forces
that had taken up position in the mountains at night.
As they hurriedly descended from the mountains,
the other half of his army attacked and flanked them.
Supposedly Yamamoto Kansuke suggested this famous strategy to Takeda Shingen.
Right, Kan-chan?
It's not like I came up with it.
Of course, Uesugi Kenshin expertly saw through this disappointing strategy,
and drove Takeda Shingen into a predicament.
I told you, I didn't come up with it.
What are the three of you doing here today?
Is it a case?
No. We were canvassing the area, so we stopped by on our way back.
Besides, Inspector Yamato said he'd never been before.
Nagano Prefectural Police Inspector Yamato Kansuke.
One-eyed and of a large build.
Long-haired and walks with a cane.
The closest person to the description of Rum,
the number two of the Black Organization that Haibara mentioned.
Could he really be...?
What, kid? Is there something on my face?
Uh, no.
Hey, Yamato!
What are you doing here?
Saegusa Mamoru (37) Nagano Prefectural Police Inspector
You'd better not be on a date with your childhood friend Uehara while you're on the clock.
I-It's not like that!
Saegusa-san, what are you doing here?
Oh, right.
We're on our way to the hideout of a wanted robber.
We thought we'd pay our respects to Shingen before we go.
We're not here to waste time.
After all, I'm not Aburakawa.
My name isn't Aburakawa.
It's Akiyama.
Akiyama Shinsuke (26) Nagano Prefectural Police Sergeant
Didn't I tell you?
Last year my parents got divorced,
so I took my mother's maiden name Akiyama.
Sorry, sorry.
Anyway, have you seen our squad leader?
Your squad leader? Isn't that Takeda-san?
Kano Shoji (45) Nagano Prefectural Police Lieutenant
Yeah. He was supposed to meet us here, but we haven't found him.
He's not answering his phone, either.
Where on earth is he?
Maybe he got the wrong place.
He's getting pretty old.
Maybe so.
Let's try somewhere else.
Sorry to have bothered you.
Oh, right. If you see Takeda, tell him this:
Even if it's an order from the higher ups,
I'll never go back to that squad,
even if it kills me.
Yeah, I'll tell him.
But you're perfect for our squad.
It's too bad, really.
Did something happen with that Takeda guy?
Yes, a while ago.
Anyway, if you're visiting the Kawanakajima battlefield,
want us to show you around?
What? Really?
Well, the investigation meeting isn't for a while.
Even if we headed back to headquarters,
we'd just be drinking your awful coffee.
How rude!
The chief said my coffee's been getting better.
That was the previous chief of section one.
I believe our current chief prefers tea.
He likes tea with that face?
You're not one to criticize other people's faces.
In any case, shall we hurry?
Kansuke Shrine
First, this is the Kansuke Shrine where Yamamoto Kansuke is said to have died.
And this is Kansuke's grave.
Yamamoto Grave
And this is the Doaibashi where Kansuke's head and body matched up perfectly.
M-Matched up?
Yeah.
Kansuke's servants stole back several of the heads
of allied generals that were taken by the enemy during the battle.
But since they were all covered in blood, they didn't know which was Kansuke's.
But when one of the heads matched up perfectly with Kansuke's still armored body
that was left on the battlefield, they knew it was Kansuke's head.
That happened here on this bridge.
R-Really?
Say...
This is more of a tour of famous locations
related to Yamamoto Kansuke than a tour of the battlefield.
Well, actually...
It can't be helped.
When you have a childhood friend
with a name as similar as Yamato Kansuke, it's only natural to be curious.
Despite their similarities, however,
I hope he doesn't do anything like die recklessly
over a failed strategy like the real Yamamoto Kansuke.
Of course, you don't seem like the type to be frustrated by failure.
What did you say?
Now, now, you two.
It's nearly time.
Why don't we finish the tour by seeing the Chikumagawa River?
Okay.
Wow.
What a beautiful sight.
And the river is beautiful, too.
I can't believe a battle once took place here.
Come to think of it, I think there's a poem about the river.
"The bones of the dead lying in the water
conjure images of warriors in the water of the red river."
The red river?
What does it mean?
It's unclear if this was a tributary feeding the Chikumagawa River,
but over a thousand men are said to have died in the battle of Kawanakajima.
But Asai Retsu wrote this poem based on the legend...
...that the river in front of the shrine turned red with the blood of the fallen warriors,
for three days and nights to put their souls to rest.
Since the battle, the river has been known as Akagawa, the Red River,
and the shrine has been known as Akagawa Shrine.
It's an exaggeration.
There's no way a river could turn red for three days and...
Blood?
Is that...
...a person's head?
Uehara, call forensics immediately.
Yes, sir.
Hey, was it really a human head?
Yeah.
It belonged to someone we knew.
What?
This is Nagano Prefectural Police Section One Inspector,
and Takeda Squad Leader, Inspector Takeda Shigeru.
But where's the body?
Here.
Unfortunately, not only was it burned, but it's been slightly damaged as well.
We won't be able to match the head to the body like they did with Yamamoto Kansuke's.
Ch-Chief Takeda?
By who?
Why?
Judging from the body, it was burned over half a day ago.
So why did just the head come down the river from the bridge we were on earlier?
Maybe because it was hung from the bridge's railing.
What?
Over there.
There's something that looks like a string hanging down.
The culprit probably put the head and fake blood inside a plastic bag
or something and set it up so the string would break
and fall into the river after a certain amount of time.
He probably put rocks in the bag so it would sink.
We even heard a splashing sound, so that must be it.
Right, Kogoro-no-ojisan?
What? Y-Yeah.
But why fake blood?
Real blood would have congealed and wouldn't have flowed down the river.
But why go through the trouble?
He probably wanted to make it easier to spot.
I spotted it because I happened to be looking at the river.
But otherwise, it would've just looked like trash floating down the river.
U-Um, there was an unnatural bloodstain on his forehead.
When we sprayed luminol on it, a strange mark...
What?
Is this the letter X?
No, it's no ordinary X.
It looks like an animal's footprint.
It's a woodpecker.
Woodpeckers need feet that allow them to cling tightly to trees.
That's why their claws are shaped like an X.
You didn't know?
A-A large one-eyed man?
Whoever did it must have really hated Takeda.
Though we can't be sure if this is really his body.
No, it's all right.
From the tip of his shoe that barely survived the fire, we found his right big toe.
We should be able to do a DNA comparison.
I see. Do it immediately, then.
Kuroda Hyoe (50) Nagano Prefectural Police Section One Chief
Come to think of it, wasn't the Takeda Squad supposed to take a warrant...
to the hideout of a wanted bank robber?
We couldn't get in touch with him all morning.
He wasn't at Hachiman Shrine where we supposed to meet him, either.
We didn't have a choice, so we entered the robber's house ourselves.
But he seemed to know we were coming, because it was already empty.
After that, we split up to look for Squad Leader Takeda.
Then we heard someone found a body.
You don't think he ran ahead to confront the robber himself, do you?
A-And got himself killed instead?
Takeda would never do that.
He was willing to kill in order to arrest a suspect.
I'm more interested in the woodpecker footprint left on his forehead.
We need to figure out what it means.
Maybe he used a woodpecker's foot just because he wanted to make an X?
It does look like a kill mark.
Your deductions are as violent as ever.
Does anyone know what woodpeckers might have to do with Takeda?
No.
Not in particular.
The Woodpecker Society.
When I was part of the Torada family, my late husband mentioned something.
Apparently there's a group in the Nagano Prefectural Police
known as the Woodpecker Society.
I've never heard of it.
What kind of group are they?
When I told him I was an ex-cop, he clammed up.
He didn't speak very well of the group, though.
I see. In any case, if he burned the body under this bridge,
someone may have seen a fire or smoke.
Saegusa, Kano, Akiyama, canvas the area.
Yes, sir.
Yamato, Morofushi, and Uehara.
Find anyone who may have a grudge against Takeda because of a case.
Got it.
Look closely.
Like Yamato said, if that woodpecker's footprint is a kill mark,
the suspect could be planning to come after us next.
And Detective Mori, I've heard about you.
I'm sorry, but I'm going to have you go with Uehara and the others for a while.
You're the one of the people who discovered the body.
Y-Yes, sir!
Of course.
Hey, Detective Yui.
What is it, Conan-kun?
There's something I want to ask you later.
Nagano Prefectural Police Headquarters
What? He was unconscious for almost ten years in the hospital?
At the police hospital?
Section One Chief Kuroda was apparently in some kind of serious accident.
I see. No wonder he's been temporarily transferred at his age.
Yes. Normally you're transferred from the MPD to the local police when you're younger.
Then that burn...
It probably had something to do with the accident.
And his right eye is false.
Apparently the nurse who removed the bandages on his face was paralyzed with fear.
The stress from the accident turned his jet black hair white.
He was like a different person.
A different person?
He said that since he woke up, he has trouble remembering little details.
Are you interested in the section chief, Conan-kun?
Not really.
I don't blame you if you are.
He looks like the head honcho of some organization.
Your face isn't much better than his, though.
Shut up already.
Well? Did you find anything?
Yes. I reviewed all the cases Takeda-san worked on the reference room computer.
The two cases in which Takeda-san shot and killed the suspects stood out.
He... He killed them?!
Yeah. The first case happened nine years ago.
A man on drugs was shooting off a gun in the city.
The second happened six months ago.
A man was holed up inside a bank with hostages.
They both died when Takeda shot their brains out.
And both cases were submitted to the prosecutor with dead suspects.
Then maybe someone close to them resented him for it.
That's what I thought, but the parents of the man who holed up in the bank
killed themselves over their son's crime, and he had no siblings.
And the parents of the man who fired the gun nine years ago died of illness.
All that's left is the suspect's grandmother who's over eighty.
That grandma could never commit that crime.
Come to think of it, did you see any suspicious smoke or persons?
What?
I thought that bridge was on your rehabilitation course for your leg.
Today I had some stuff to do, so I didn't go.
Sorry. I've got something to do again.
E-mail me if there are any developments in the case.
Kan-chan?
Inspector Yamato called her "that grandma" earlier.
Does he know the culprit's grandmother?
Yeah. The man who fired a gun in the city nine years ago
was actually one of Inspector Yamato's childhood friends.
I remember him and Kan-chan often playing until the sun set when they were kids.
I was almost a little jealous.
You were jealous, weren't you?
Don't tell Kan-chan.
Okay!
I see. That's why he said that at the shrine.
I'll never go back to that squad, even if it kills me.
It's because Takeda shot and killed his friend.
Yes.
Right in front of his eyes.
What?
Kansuke-kun was there at the scene as a member of Takeda's squad.
Of course, since the incident had produced casualties, he said he was forced to shoot.
Where is it? Where is it?
The report on that case should be...
Found it. This is it.
Death by gunshot wound to the head.
That's it. So that's how it is.
I need to tell them about this quickly.
Hey, where's Yamato?
Where did that bastard go?
Did something happen?
Saegusa's group discovered something during their canvassing.
This morning a witness saw someone who looked like Yamato near the bridge.
What? But Kan-chan—
Rather, Inspector Yamato said he didn't go there this morning.
In any case, we need to talk to him.
Yamato Kansuke
It's Kansuke-kun.
Kansuke-kun.
Is Kano-san there?
He's asking where Kano-san is.
Kano-san said he was going home because he noticed something.
He keeps spare copies of reports of cases he's worked on at home.
He seems to have gone home.
What about Kano-san?
I had over ten missed calls from Kano-san.
He's not answering his phone.
Something must have happened to him.
I'm on my way there. Meet me there.
Hey, wait.
What's wrong?
He felt something was wrong,
since he received a number of missed calls from Kano-san,
so he's heading to Kano-san's house.
I see.
Then let's head there as well.
Yes, sir.
Morofushi.
Yes?
Don't let Yamato out of your sight.
What?
Today's the day that shooting happened nine years ago.
It's the day his friend died.
You understand what I'm trying to say, don't you?
Yes.
It's unlocked.
Kan-chan's shoes...
Where is he?!
Kano-san!
I am Bishamonten.
Kan-chan.
The god of war who will destroy the woodpecker.
Episode Preview
Only three woodpeckers remain.
Three remain
Komei, are you...?
That's right, Kansuke-kun.
It's you.
You find surprising elements to help solve cases and back up his reasoning.
The Sleeping Kogoro's bag of wisdom.
That's what they said about you at the station, Edogawa Conan-kun.
"The Darkness of the Prefectural Police (Part Two)"
The next episode of Conan is "The Darkness of the Prefectural Police, Part Two!"
Rope
Next Conan's hint!
A rope!
What sound do woodpeckers make?
Don't miss the next episode.
Knock-knock, knock-knock.
I'm still in here.