Sleuth

Chronology
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Chapter 1122
Information
Title:	Sleuth
Japanese title:	探偵 (Tantei)
Original release:	November 29th, 2023
Shōnen Sunday issue:	#1/2024
Volume:	105
Pages:	16
Viz Media version
English title:	Sleuth
English release:	November 30th, 2023 (Simulpub)

Sleuth (探偵 ,Tantei) is the 1122nd chapter of the manga of Detective Conan. It was written by Gosho Aoyama, drawn by him and his assistants and first released in Shōnen Sunday #1/2024 on November 29, 2023 and was reprinted as part of Volume 105 on April 10, 2024. It was released in English by Viz Manga on the next day under the same name.

Characters

Characters
Conan Edogawa Ran Mouri Sonoko Suzuki Kaitou Kid Shinichi Kudo (Kaitou Kid in disguise/background) Saguru Hakuba Jirokichi Suzuki Ginzo Nakamori Juzo Megure Wataru Takagi Youtarou Kichida (flashback) Masuo Kase Satsuki Kichida Kyuuya Kamiji

Gadgets

Heist Info

Azure Throne
	Chair featuring on of the largest tanzanites in the world

Featured

Gadgets
Voice-Changing Bowtie Hang Glider Cape

Settings

• Japan
  • Tokyo Prefecture
    • Sumida Ward
      • Tokyo Bell Tree Tower

Plot

After gathering everyone in front of the "Sky Room", "Shinichi" reveals that he solved the case. He plans to also unveil the truth behind all the events that led to the murder as well, adding that he will not "doze off like Ran's dad", the famous Sleeping Kogoro, which irks Ran. Saguru asks if he can share his deductions with Shinichi, as well as Conan, which unsettles the latter. The group head inside the "Sky Room" where "Shinichi" starts his deduction, with Conan relaying the info via microphones: Ten minutes before Kid's announced arrival, Kichida, Kase and the staff went inside the room to do a final checkup and after they exited the room, a blackout occurred. "Shinichi" and Conan thus went inside the room, only to find Kichida's dead body sitting on the throne, shot through the head. Kaitou Kid was not caught on the camera feed because of the previously revealed Lubor's lens, which Saguru knew about, but the culprit knew as well. Thus, they used that occasion to slip in as well and kill Kichida, since the camera will not be able to detect Kid nor them. This surprizes everyone, and ask if Kichida was killed in the "Sky Room" before Kid's arrival, which "Shinichi" confirms. He continues by saying that Kid did not need to use a blackout as he was already hiding in the fake extinguisher case in the hallway leading to the room, and he had planned to escape by removing the Lubor's lens as he left, waiting for the riot squad to come in and then blending in with them. While saying all this which Conan just fed to him via his microphone, Kid thinks to himself that Conan saw right through his plan.

Masuo Kase interrupts Shinichi and says that Kichida could not have been killed before the blackout, because he came out of the room with Kase after the final check, and only went back inside for about 10 seconds, which he says is all shown on the camera. Saguru follows up and says that since Kichida was wearing glasses and could not speak due to his sore throat, and that his only distinguishable facial features were his mustache and brushy eyebrows, someone else could have pretended to be him while wearing the protective gear without any problems, noting as well that the room was foggy. Kase contests that, saying that when "Kichida" came out of the room and made the "OK" sign, there was no body seen in the "Sky Room". Saguru answers him by saying that from the camera footage, when "Kichida" exited the room, he was in front of the Azure Throne and thus, the body was completely hidden by the fake "Kichida" in front of it. As the staff came back to line up to sign off in front of the camera, "Kichida" did not move at all, further supporting the fact he was standing there on purpose. The culprit likely entered with the staff by pretending to be a staff member, and nobody would notice an extra person, and just before exiting, he asked Kichida to check something and as Kichida leant towards the "something", the culprit shot him through the head. After the murder, they quickly removed their staff cap and exited the room as "Kichida" and motioned to Kase they needed 10 more seconds and went back inside to move the body on the Azure Throne. After Saguru says this, Satsuki Kichida angrily replies that if Kichida was shot then, they would have heard gunshots, but Kase then says that the smoke machine was too loud and they would not have been able to hear. Kyuya Kamiji joins in the discussion and says that even with that said, the culprit's identity could not be deduced, but "Shinichi" dismisses him, saying that they could figure out the culprit due to a certain "behavior" from the culprit. He then pulls out pictures of Satsuki and her husband as well as the deceased Kichida and Kamiji and explains that people will put their arms on their pelvis a certain way. From the pictures, Satsuki and Yotaro Kichida both put their right hand in front of their left, and from the security footage, Kase is seen doing the same, but the fake Kichida has his left hand in front of his right's, just like the only person doing so in the room, Kyuuya Kamiji.

A frightened Kamiji tries to explain himself, saying that many people put their left hand in front and shows the text he received from Kichida. "Shinichi" destroys his ploy and explains that Kamiji likely sent the texts to himself and Satsuki using the dead Kichida's phone, which was later found in the hallway, and during the blackout, left the staff group, removed his disguise, then went to the staff room and pretended he needed to go somewhere by telling Satsuki. Kamiji still does not back off, and explains that he could not have moved the body to the throne in ten seconds. "Shinichi", through Conan whispering to him, reveals that he used the fireman's carry to move Kichida quickly. Saguru then asks to use "Shinichi" so he could demonstrate it himself. While doing it on "Shinichi", Saguru lays the body on the ground, then raises the knees, holds the feet in place by stepping on them and "Shinichi"'s arms to lift him up and carry him on his back, showing that this can easily be done in less than 10 seconds, especially with people of the same size, like Kichida and Kamiji. Some evidence was left behind from that, including the bloodstain on the curtain, which got there when Kichida's head smeared it, and the marks on Kichida's shoes. Moving the body was necessary, since if was left in the corner where he was killed, the police would have suspected that he was killed earlier and left hidden there. As a last plea of innocence, Kichida's secretary says that he forgot how to do the fireman's carry, even though he used to be one himself, but as Saguru mentions the bloodstain on the carpet in front of the Azure Throne, which likely came from Kamiji's shoe and should be still under it, the defeated culprit falls to the ground. When Satsuki asks him why he killed Kichida, Conan comes from behind her and says that Kichida most likely found out about Kamiji and Satsuki's affair, since there is a tan line on his ring finger but no ring, and the picture of him and Satsuki in front of the Bell Tree Tower was left face down. Kamiji confirms this, saying that Kichida cornered him the previous week and said that he was going to lay him off and file for divorce, but Kamiji, being up to his neck in debts, could not forfeit his job. When he heard about Saguru's idea to install a Lubor's lens, he hatched his plan and talked the staff into going to karaoke with Kichida, so Kichida would get a sore throat and so he could steal the president's contact lenses and force him to use glasses later on. He says that during the karaoke night, when a drunk Kichida offered him the microphone to sing, Kamiji refused, knowing that if he did, he would have lost his killing intent since it would make him remember the older days when they would sing together.

After Kamiji is taken away by Megure and Takagi, "Shinichi" asks Saguru to let him down and stop carrying him, but Saguru refuses, saying that he would instead bring "Shinichi", or Kaitou Kid straight to the Metropolitan Police Headquarters. As Saguru tries to leave, he sees his legs were cuffed by Kaitou Kid without his knowledge, who escapes using his smoke bombs. After leaving the "Sky Room", Kid arrives in front of Ran and Sonoko and Ran asks him what happened, and Kid says that he needs to catch Kaitou Kid who just escaped. Before he can leave though, Ran grabs his hand and lets him know she saw through his disguise, but when Kid asks her how, she says that he said the wrong side of the cheek when he mentioned the kiss Ran did to him at Kiyomizu-dera. Kid is however able to wriggle himself out of Ran's grasp, by using a fake hand and having his real hand inside the sleeve, and is able to successfully escape the Bell Tree Tower. As Ran gets infuriated and flustered because of all the romantic things the fake Shinichi told her, Saguru arrives and says that she should not wory, as those were Shinichi's real words and looks over at Conan, who starts panicking, thinking his real self as Shinichi Kudo was found out. Saguru continues, and says that Kichida was already dead when Kid arrived, but the Kid card left at the scene did not mention it, because Kid did not have time to change the note since Conan arrived and stumbled upon him. Saguru adds that he likely convinced Conan by showing his sleeves had not gunpowder and Conan collaborated and let him off by calling Shinichi Kudo. Conan is relieved that Saguru did not find out, as the high-school detective says that Shinichi most likely relayed the information, which Conan relayed to Kid disguised as Shinichi. As Ran is moved by the explanation, she asks Saguru why Shinichi would help Kid, and Saguru replies with:

You don't understand a detective's heat. If there's a mystery, we must solve it. You can say... it's the only thing keeping our brains going. That's the essence of a detective.

—Saguru Hakuba, to Ran Mouri.

Later, as Kid is seen flying away using his cape, Conan thinks to himself that that was a close call.

Continuity

Referencing

• The Light Crimson Answer (Manga: Volume 95, file 1 (1004)) : Ran recalls the scene where she kissed Shinichi on the cheek at Kiyomizu-dera.
• The Sky to Proof (Manga: Volume 105, files 6-8 (1119-1121)) : Flashbacks to Kichida's dead body, the design team entering the "Sky Room", pictures of Kichida posing with his wife and Kamiji and more scenes.

Major events

• Saguru Hakuba comes close to figuring out Conan's identity, and discovers the use of the bowtie as a microphone, but not as a voice-changer.

Trivia

Shonen Sunday #52/2023 and #1/2024 next to each other vertically.

• The cover of Shonen Sunday #1/2024 shows Conan, who is looking at Kaitou Kid. The cover is part of a series of two covers to promote the current case and the start of 30th anniversary project.
• The view of Tokyo Skytree on page 2 is from below the Keisei Bridge (京成橋), directly on the Kitajikken River (北十間川).

See also

• Manga
• Volume 101-110
• Detective Conan