While visiting the Kawanakajima battlefield in Nagano,
we ran into Nagano Prefectural Police Inspector Yamato and his associates,
who showed us around.
When we arrived at the Chikumagawa River,
we discovered a human head floating down the river.
The head that had a woodpecker's footprint pressed into its forehead with blood
belonged to Nagano Prefectural Police Inspector Takeda.
Furthermore, Lieutenant Kano of Takeda's squad
was found hanging by his neck in his home.
Sergeant Akiyama of Takeda's squad was murdered as well.
All of the evidence pointed to one man.
Yamato Kansuke
K-Kan-chan sent the e-mail?!
We'll put out a BOLO for him as a murder suspect!
But Inspector Yamato would never kill someone!
We should prioritize justice over emotion now.
If we let him get away now, we might regret it.
Okay. Set up checkpoints.
We'll capture Yamato one way or another.
Don't go easy on him just because you know him.
Think of him as a murderer who's killed three cops in a row.
Chief Kuroda, we got a tip from someone,
who says they saw someone who looked like Yamato.
I'd like to go check it out, but no cars are available.
Perfect timing.
Morofushi, can you lend me your car?
Actually, I...
Is there a problem?
No. It's just that Saegusa-san is a slightly reckless driver.
Morofushi.
Yes, sir.
It's an emergency. Let him use it.
That's an order.
Yes, sir.
Go ahead.
Thanks.
If the information's credible, let us know right away.
Yes, sir!
I am Bishamonten.
The god of war who will destroy the woodpecker.
Go like the river. Yamato
"Go like the river."
Kansuke-kun...
What's wrong?
Nothing.
I received this e-mail from Kansuke-kun.
What? Is this...?
Morofushi, do you have a minute?
Yes, sir.
Excuse me.
Kan-chan, why?
Hey, Detective Yui.
What?
With the same feelings we've always held still in our hearts,
we fly powerfully into our twentieth year.
As the case closes in on the truth, a surprising turn of events occurs.
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 Three)
"The Darkness of the Prefectural Police, Part Three!"
Damn it.
Damn you, Yamato.
I won't be able to escape a BOLO.
Borrow Morofushi's fast car and meet me at the shack on Mt. Saijo!
Help me leave the prefecture!
Otherwise I'll reveal what I know about X!
How do you know about X?
I am Bishamonten.
The god of war who will destroy
the woodpecker.
X?
The Woodpecker Society was called X?
Yeah. Based on what Detective Yui said, probably.
And woodpeckers have X-shaped feet, too.
But isn't the Woodpecker Society
that suspicious group that might exist inside the Nagano Prefectural Police?
Yeah.
The three murder victims were members of the Woodpecker Society.
What?
But remember what Detective Yui said earlier?
The victims all had names similar
to commanders who died at the Battle of Kawanakajima.
There's no way they'd form a group around that.
Besides, I heard that you're the one who told her that.
That's what I thought at the time.
I didn't know the Woodpecker Society was called X.
What does it matter if they're called X?
X is the 24th letter of the alphabet.
Takeda's most famous 24 are the 24 Generals of Takeda Shingen.
The 24 Generals of Takeda?
Yes. The first victim whose head was cut off,
Detective Takeda Shigeru, was Shingen's younger brother Takeda Nobushige.
The second victim who was strangled and hanged from the ceiling,
Lieutenant Kano Shoji, formerly went by the name Tsuchiya,
so he was Shingen's advisor Tsuchiya Masatsugu.
And the third victim who had a rope tied around his neck
and was dragged off a cliff by a car,
Sergeant Akiyama Shinsuke, Akiyama Nobutomo,
who talked Shingen into forming an alliance with Oda Nobunaga.
Inspector Morofushi said it was possible if they imagined themselves
as the 24 Generals of Takeda and were looking for more members.
Really?
So the next victim is probably Inspector Saegusa Mamoru,
whose name resembles that of Takeda army's foot soldier general Saegusa Moritomo.
Hey, wait.
If they're the 24 Generals of Takeda,
then naturally tactician Yamamoto Kansuke would be included as well.
Yeah. That's why Lieutenant Kano said what he did at the shrine.
But you're perfect for our squad.
Remember?
Which means the Takeda Squad was the Woodpecker Society.
But didn't Inspector Saegusa go out somewhere?
Yeah. The culprit probably called him somewhere.
So, who is the culprit, anyway?!
Well...
Why?
It's...
You...
Is it Inspector Yamato?
Kan-chan...
I came to pick you up like you asked, Yamato.
Yes. Nagano Prefectural Police Section One...
Kan-chan!
Hey, Yamato.
...Takeda Squad's
Sergeant Akiyama Shinsuke.
What?
Detective Akiyama is the culprit?
But didn't you say Detective Akiyama fell off a cliff with a car?
Yeah. While he was falling, his body got caught on a tree.
The rope around his neck severed it, and he fell off the cliff.
But the head was a fake.
He probably gave a practice mannequin from his family's salon his own haircut,
hid the head inside his hood, and released it along with fake blood as he was falling.
B-But wasn't the rope connected to the car wrapped around his neck?
He was just holding the crisscrossed rope in front of his neck.
Once you let go, it comes undone easily.
And by setting up a headless corpse wearing his clothes in a tree beforehand,
and dangling from a lifeline tied to it,
the people at the top of the cliff wouldn't be able to see him,
making it look like his head had been severed and fallen to the bottom.
A-A headless corpse?
It's Inspector Takeda's body.
He probably used it because they had similar builds.
Inspector Takeda's head was probably cut off on Mt. Saijo.
Then what about the burned corpse found under the bridge?
That was probably the body of the wanted robber.
By cutting off just Inspector Takeda's toe
and placing it along with the body, he was able to fool the DNA test.
The robber's head was probably inside the car that fell off the cliff and exploded.
Once it's burned, he'd be able to make us think it belonged to him.
Now that you mention it,
Detective Yui said Inspector Yamato called Detective Akiyama somewhere.
Detective Akiyama set that up, too.
He e-mailed his own phone using Inspector Takeda's, his first victim's, phone,
making it look like Inspector Yamato summoned him.
Then he added Inspector Yamato's number to his blocked contacts,
to make it look like he was ensuring the message wouldn't be erased.
...to frame Inspector Yamato Kansuke.
What?
Inspector Yamato's fingerprints were found on the rope
around Lieutenant Kano's neck because of Detective Akiyama, too.
Lieutenant Kano was hanged from two loops of rope linked together like this.
While taking him down, Inspector Yamato touched the upper rope.
But if you grab the rope around his neck and pull it through...
See? The upper and lower loops switch in the blink of an eye.
You're right. That's amazing.
Detective Akiyama used this trick to switch the upper rope
that Inspector Yamato touched with the rope around his neck.
He called Lieutenant Kano's phone and did it while everyone was distracted.
That's why he fanned the flames between Inspector Yamato and Inspector Morofushi, too.
If Inspector Yamato didn't get upset,
and insist on investigating alone, he wouldn't be able to frame him.
They're both a bit contrarian, so they'll insult each other if they're called great friends.
But weren't things tense between them since before Detective Akiyama said anything?
Komei, are you...?
Even parasites inside a lion will eat their host.
Remember that?
That was a trap they set for the culprit.
Since the culprit was trying to frame Inspector Yamato,
they made it seem as though they argued.
And Inspector Yamato chose to act alone according to his plan,
so they could see what he'd do next.
From the eyewitness testimony, it was obvious that he was trying to frame him,
claiming someone saw him near the bridge where the crime took place.
Then who was the person the witness saw?
Detective Akiyama wore a hooded sweatshirt
and walked around using the same cane Inspector Yamato has.
He probably used elevator shoes to increase his height.
But wouldn't Inspector Yamato acting alone be playing into the culprit's hands?
No one will be able to back up his alibi.
He already has an alibi.
Inspector Morofushi's car has a dash cam,
and there was a spare tire in the back seat.
That's it! The car's trunk.
As long as he stays in there, the dash cam will prove his alibi.
That's amazing, Conan-kun.
This is all stuff Inspector Morofushi told me, though.
Hold on, though.
Didn't Inspector Saegusa take Inspector Morofushi's car to meet the culprit?
I am Bishamonten.
The god of war who will destroy...
...the woodpecker.
I did it! I did it!
Hiding in the trunk was a clever idea, Inspector Yamato.
But I was one step ahead of you.
Now I'll take your gun from your body,
use it to kill Saegusa, and make it look like you killed each other.
And after burning Takeda's body, I'll disappear.
Are you stupid?
There's no way I'd sit naked in a place where I can't even move.
A-A riot police shield!
You used that to block the bullets?
Akiyama, I know exactly what you're thinking.
I've known since this morning when I heard about the eyewitness account
claiming a man pretending to be me was walking around near the river.
Only someone who knew I wouldn't be crossing that bridge this morning could've done that.
In other words, my friend who got high on drugs,
fired a gun in the city, and was shot dead by Takeda.
Or the surviving family of the victim struck by a stray bullet,
who knew I visit her grave every morning on the day of her death.
Yes.
You're the brother of Aburakawa Tsuyako-san,
a middle school student who died instantly
when a bullet from my friend's gun pierced her forehead.
Aburakawa Shinsuke, you're the suspect in this serial murder case.
You left the woodpecker footprint on the foreheads
of the bodies because that was where your sister was shot.
You deliberately made Kano-san realize this so he'd go home and you could kill him.
Then you set a trap to frame me using that rope.
Because I had no idea why you murdered them, I was waiting to see what you'd do.
While hiding in the trunk,
I overheard you talking about Uehara, and I was able to figure it out.
Takeda's gang was stealing and selling guns
they had seized under the name X to line their pockets.
Yes. I didn't know either until I changed my name to Akiyama,
and was invited to join the Woodpecker Society by Chief Takeda.
Then I learned that the gun that killed Tsuyako was one of the guns they had sold!
That's why I taught Takeda and Kano a lesson!
You're next.
Akiyama.
You're guilty as well, Inspector Yamato.
It's your fault for having such a stupid friend.
After killing you, I'll kill Saegusa, too.
Now I can avenge Tsuyako.
That's enough, Akiyama.
You can't win.
How many bullets can you avoid using that shield?
Akiyama.
You're already surrounded.
When?
"Without making a sound, they crossed the river at night."
Like Uesugi Kenshin, who sniffed out the Woodpecker Strategy,
we approached you without a sound and have been watching you
since you were still hanging from the tree on the cliff.
We only just arrived, though.
Then the BOLO on Inspector Yamato and the decision to leave the body...
I deliberately said those things,
so you'd hear them so you'd let your guard down and we could nail you here.
Morofushi's car will be a bit tight with the spare tire in the back.
We knew you'd act if you knew where Yamato was.
N-No...
Get him!
Hey, is Saegusa okay?
Yes, sir. He's breathing.
Okay. It seems he'll have to be questioned thoroughly later,
but I'll have to ask you to do it for me.
What?
Kan-chan, are you okay?
Yeah.
As you can see, there isn't a scratch on me.
I was worried about you!
When Conan-kun told me about the situation,
and I saw the e-mail you sent Inspector Morofushi, I...
You mean "go like the river," right?
That's what Yamamoto Kansuke said when he charged into enemy lines.
Was that...?
It was a joke.
You don't need to question every little thing I do.
What are you, my mom?
Sheesh!
Fine, I get it.
I won't worry about you anymore.
I doubt you want the concern of a woman with a black mark on her romantic history.
You idiot. I've got a mark on my face, too.
What?
A big ol' woodpecker's foot.
Kan-chan...
So it's nothing to worry about.
By the way, Kansuke-kun...
What?
What was it that you had to do this afternoon?
I was seeing the grandma of my friend who went on a shooting spree.
His grave is in a remote area with no cell reception.
I take her there every year around that time.
I see.
He seems to have known about that and used it against you, too.
Yeah.
I sure am hungry, though.
Let's get some soba and go home.
I'll have pasta.
I'm stuffed.
Dad, don't you think you ate too much?
You idiot.
One of the greatest joys of traveling
is stuffing yourself with foods that can only be acquired locally.
And speaking of Nagano...
I forgot to eat Shinshu Soba!