The Time is Midnight

Chronology
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Chapter 1127
Information
Title:	The Time is Midnight
Japanese title:	時限は零時 (Jigen wa Reiji)
Original release:	June 19th, 2024
Shōnen Sunday issue:	#30/2024
Volume:	106
Pages:	16
Viz Media version
English title:	The Deadline is Midnight
English release:	June 19th, 2024 (Simulpub)

The Time is Midnight (時限は零時 ,Jigen wa Reiji) is the 1127th 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 #30/2024 on June 19, 2024 and was reprinted as part of Volume 106 on October 18, 2024. It was released in English by Viz Manga on the same day under the name The Deadline is Midnight.

Characters

Introduced

Criminal A
	Kidnapper in mask and hood

Criminal B
	Kidnapper in mask and hood

Featured

Characters
Conan Edogawa Azusa Enomoto Ran Mouri Sonoko Suzuki Masumi Sera Rei Furuya Man Kiyoshi Hanke (background) Reita Kanamaru (background) Keisuke Omura (background)

Gadgets

Gadgets
Detective Boys Badge

Settings

• Japan
  • Unknown prefecture
    • Unknown building
  • Tokyo Prefecture
    • Beika Ward
      • Beika Town
        • Café Poirot

Plot

As Azusa falls to the ground after realizing there is a head in a jar inside the fridge, she shuts the fridge's door. While sitting on the floor, she wonders where Conan and her have landed and touches something squishy with her hand. When she turns herself, she sees that it is a chopped-up finger next to a hacksaw and panicks, thinking that they have been brought to the hideout of the killer from the news. She remembers what Sera said earlier about how the police was not sure if the killer had accomplices, and thinks to herself that the accomplices could have kidnapped them. Then, she hears the buzzing sound of the still-unconscious Conan's detective badge and picks it up. She is relieved to hear the voices of Amuro, Sera, Sonoko and Ran, who used the spare badge in Conan's room to try to reach Conan and Azusa. They are happy to know she is still alive and well and ask her what she knows at the moment. Azusa says that as soon as they saw the black van, they were stunned by the people who were following them and then brought to a locked room, but Conan is currently still unconscious. Sonoko asks if she knows where she might be held and she says she might be at the hideout of the killer's accomplices, which shocks Amuro and the girls. She continues, saying that she saw a cut finger on the ground and a severed head in the fridge. Amuro then says that they should be able to locate her with her cellphone's location, but Azusa says that the kidnappers took her cellphone, and that all she has is her wallet, a handkerchief, a matchbox and wireless earphones. Sera then asks her if maybe one of the three customers from earlier was among the kidnappers, and as Azusa prepares to tell her that it was actually one of the three, she is interrupted by two tall masked men with sunglasses, who ask her if she is talking to someone. Amuro and the girls hear from their side Azusa yelling and then the sound of the badge being crushed. As the second kidnapper wonders how the badge was actually a communication device, the first kidnapper asks him to keep watch on Azusa so she does not try anything again. The same kidnapper then says that they only need to keep her for four more hours, until midnight that is. Amuro and the girls, who could still from the badge on their side, yell from shock, and the two kidnappers realize that it is still working and crush it a second time, breaking it for good. As the first kidnapper prepares to leave, he tells his partner not to mess up like "the other one" and make sure the two captive are not able to take back their phones. The second kidnapper acquiesces, saying that he kept the phones in his back pocket.

Back at Café Poirot, the three high school girls still wonder why Azusa and Conan were kidnapped. Sonoko remembered that Azusa said she thought she saw the face of the killer on the news before, and Ran theorizes that the killer's accomplice might have been among the three customers and Azusa was kidnapped so she would be silenced. Amuro then says that the fact they only needed Azusa and Conan until midnight would not make any sense, since if the kidnappers were really the killer's accomplices, they would have killed Azusa and Conan by now. To save them, they decide to go through the three suspicious customers from earlier. They start with Kiyoshi Hanke, who complained about the beef stew, and think that he was most likely another restaurant staff and wanted to steal the recipe from Poirot, and that maybe the deadline at midnight was so he could steal the recipe and release it alongside his recipe book at that time, as it is common for e-books to be released at midnight now. Sera says it would implausible for him to try to release the recipe right after stealing it, and Amuro says that even though she said she might have seen him before, she could have simply seen him at another restaurant. They then analyze Reita Kanamaru, the man who was only drinking coffee at the counter. Sonoko thinks that he could have been stalking Azusa and simply kidnapped her then, but Sera argues that he would probably "need her" after midnight then. Sera then remembers how Kanamaru was actually glaring more at Amuro than Azusa, and Ran and Sonoko think they might also remember him, and that he might be actually a Poirot regular. Ran and Sonoko remember him from before meeting Amuro and Sera, and this is why the latter might not remember him. Amuro thinks he might be a regular too, as he told Amuro that there was extra herb salt under the counter. Lastly, the four then go through Keisuke Omura, the chubby man working on his laptop next to the girls. Ran thinks he might be working for a game company, since he had a bag next to him with "Shudankan Archives", the name of a popular game strategy guide company, written on it. Sonoko then remembers how Azusa was mad crazy about a game called "Splatatter II" recently, a type of kill-them-all monster game. Sera thinks that she might have been kidnapped since she saw some crucial game strategy info about the game, but that it would have probably been impossible, since she could not see the screen from where she was standing. Sonoko then shows them the picture she took of the matchstick puzzle from earlier, and they can clearly see the game's logo on the reflection of the laptop screen on the window behind Omura, and understood why Omura told Azusa not to tell anyone. Sonoko then pulls out pictures of the matchstick puzzle from other angles, and both Kanamaru and Hanke can be seen in them. As they stare at Kanamaru in the picture, Sonoko and Ran still think that they have seen him before, and wonder if he is a wanted criminal. Sera then asks if Ran and Sonoko said something earlier that might have gotten Azusa kidnapped, since she went to the restroom earlier, and Sonoko says they were talking about the tug-of-war event in Beika, since they needed more members for women's six-member team. They talked about inviting Azusa too, but since she seemed weak, they decided not to invite her. From what Ran and Sonoko just said, Amuro and Sera realize something and decide to take a look at one of the photos one more time.

Back at the locked room, Azusa is staring at the second kidnapper texting his partners and starts crying, thinking she might die, but Conan's voice whispers to her she will be alright, and as she turns towards Conan, she sees Conan awake, who tells her that he will figure out a plan. The kidnapper hears voices and turns back, asking Azusa if there is anything, and she shrugs, and the kidnapper turns back again. Conan then continues, saying that he has been awake for the whole time, but pretended to be asleep so he could spy on the kidnappers. Conan then says that they will start by removing the lock on their feet, and asks Azusa for her matchbox. As Conan looks at the kidnapper's back, Azusa asks him what he is doing, and he says that he is waiting for the "cue".

Sherry's Soliloquy

Sherry's soliloquy for File 1127.

Sherry's Soliloquy (シェリーのひとりごと ,Sherī no Hitorigoto) is a collection of comments Gosho Aoyama has Ai Haibara say on the official Detective Conan website, Conan News Agency (こなん通信社 Konan Tsūshin-sha) in the course of every new chapter's publication.

Soliloquy of File 1127:
「スプラッタタァ」気になるわね・・・
"Splatatter", I'm interested...
(June 21, 2024)

Animal Crossing Promotional Hints

With every new chapter, players can receive these hints written by Gosho Aoyama in Animal Crossing: New Leaf and Animal Crossing: New Horizons by interacting with four characters named Spade (スペード), Heart (ハート), Diamond (ダイヤ), and Clover (クローバ), who appear in Gosho's Dream Town.

June 24th, 2024:
Spade: Congrats to this year's movie->
Heart: For breaking the 15 Billion Yen box office! Thanks a lot!
Diamond: Heading there, wait for me ('Д')
Clover: So that's who that customer was! (-"-

See also

• Manga
• Volume 101-110
• Detective Conan