Chapter 115: The Beginning

"Ah! What's going on? This is..." Yumi watched, tense, as Arm was engulfed in flames.

To be precise, she hadn't yet realized who it was, assuming it was a third victim.

It was only after Nana left that those present finally recovered from their splitting headaches, and a nearby Officer Jenny hurriedly released a Water-type Pokémon. But just then, Shizuka and Ginko walked over.

"Don't interfere! Wait and see for now," Shizuka commanded, her voice soft but authoritative.

"Wait? Isn't he about to burn... Huh?" Yumi, having just questioned the order, suddenly noticed that the person didn't seem to be in any distress.

He suddenly assumed an 'or2' pose, and the roaring flames began to recede, with large streams flowing back into his orifices and smaller ones retreating through his pores, all absorbed into his body. The person who had just been "burning" now collapsed backward, sitting on the ground and coughing incessantly.

"Are you okay? Wait... Arm?" Yumi finally realized she knew him.

"Cough, cough... *Hack!* Woo... woo... so refreshing!" Arm felt his entire body swelling with energy.

"What on earth happened?" Yumi asked, puzzled.

"I should be the one asking that! Aunt Yumi, Mom, why are you here?" Heiji interrupted, sounding embarrassed and annoyed.

"Oh my? Do you have a complaint? If we had let you charge in recklessly, you'd have lost your life by now, wouldn't you?" Shizuka said as if it were obvious.

Conan stood to the side, offering a dry laugh. He had been "kidnapped" by Aunt Ginko halfway through, when Heiji wasn't paying attention—the final "fishing" was left to Heiji. They couldn't let an "unrelated child" take such risks.

Their only miscalculation was not expecting "that person" to be there. Previously, they had been completely cut off by her... presumably a "Mega Alakazam's" psychic barrier, which was why they hadn't rushed in immediately.

But it wasn't too late; Hiroshi Tōdō and his Pokémon gang, along with Shigehiko, who also had murders on his hands, had all been taken into custody.

"When... when did you find out?" Heiji asked, unwilling to accept defeat. If his mother and Aunt Ginko had said they "tracked" him to find the truth, he would have felt better, but...

"When? Hmm... from the beginning," Shizuka said after pretending to think for a moment.

"From the beginning?" Heiji asked, skeptical, though mostly dejected.

Ginko then offered some consolation: "Don't blame yourself... Shizuka and I recognized this guy because, even though he had plastic surgery, we heard his voice during a chase ten years ago. That's why we knew from the start."

Indeed, although Tōdō had been careful with his tone and voice, Shizuka and Ginko had been sharp enough to recognize him immediately.

"And what about the killer this time?" Heiji asked, still not wanting to give up.

"Also from the beginning... You said he was trying to grab the girl's hand, didn't you? She was holding her lollipops like this, right?" Ginko smiled slightly and pulled a pen from Shizuka's jacket pocket, holding it together with her own pen in one hand, one above the other.

At the time, Sonoko had been holding two lollipops like that because one was meant for Arm. Heiji imagined it—if those were the lollipops, they would have had the "round tops," resembling... the "Senju clan crest."

From the very beginning, the victim had pointed out the killer who lured him to trigger the death trap. Shizuka and Ginko had noticed it too, but to wipe out Tōdō's entire gang, they didn't act immediately. What they hadn't expected was that the middle-aged woman, Uzumaki, would also fall victim.

Just then, Yumi’s phone rang. She answered it quickly.

"Yes, that's right... Is that so? That's great! Understood, let her rest well, we'll have someone keep her under watch!"

Yumi hung up and reported, "Chief Shizuka, Director Ginko, Miss Uzumaki has regained consciousness."

While on duty, Yumi addressed her aunt by her rank—Shizuka was a Police Commissioner, the Chief of the Saffron City Headquarters, and one of the five chiefs in the entire Kanto region. Ginko was a rank lower, a Police Superintendent, serving as the Director of the Criminal Investigation Department at the Saffron headquarters.

The two exchanged a look, not particularly surprised.

"Right at this moment... as expected..."

"Probably, but... never mind."

Their exchange was vague, and the others didn't understand. Shizuka and Ginko had suspected it all along, and after seeing "Nana" leave, they were certain—Uzumaki hadn't woken up earlier because Nana had used some dark trick on her.

The goal was nothing more than to buy time for her own "treasure hunt." Shizuka and Ginko couldn't pursue it, after all...

Thinking of this, they looked at Arm with more favor—though they didn't know exactly what had happened, it seemed Arm had obtained Uchiha Madara's treasure. At the very least, preventing her from getting her way was a small satisfaction.

Arm, however, was feeling conflicted after the initial rush of energy, seemingly puzzled by something. Noticing Aunt Shizuka and Aunt Ginko looking at him, and seeing everyone else’s eyes on him, he felt a bit awkward.

"I just wanted to test it out... I didn't think it would actually work... Hahaha!" Arm gave a dry laugh.

"At that time... why did those flames choose you, and not... that person?" Yumi asked, curious.

As for "that person," Shizuka had already instructed Yumi not to bring it up. After all, they couldn't exactly arrest her, so dwelling on it would only be embarrassing.

Arm couldn't say it was because he had the potential of "Mother Earth (Male)," so he braced himself and explained, "Well... I'm an alchemist, isn't it normal for me to be recognized by strange flames?"

Yumi: ???

"But is this really what Uchiha Madara left behind... the 'Eternal Flame'? I don't see what it does," Arm said, his tone troubled.

It was true he hadn't discovered any function, but what bothered him was...

Actually, before "Nana" left, she had left him with a message:

[If you want to know how to use it, go to the Saffron Gym and challenge for the badge.]

Meanwhile, Nana walked step by step toward the central tower of the Saffron Gym. With every step she took, her hair color grew paler, her pupils turned redder, and her facial features shifted ever so slightly.