"Everyone, it's showtime!"

Boom!

The concert stage, once pitch-black, burst into a spectacle of dazzling fireworks at the shout.

Emilio leapt up from beneath the rising platform.

As the music flooded the arena, the audience erupted into thunderous cheers.

At the side of the stage was the backstage area.

The lighting effects and monitoring equipment were all wired to the control console, where manager Claudia watched the scene with a smile on her face... and behind her stood a stern-looking Inspector Megure and a slightly worried Ran.

Luciano Carnevale was planning to carry out an illegal deal during the concert.

Kogoro Mouri had already informed Inspector Megure, and now several plainclothes officers were stationed around the concert venue, watching discreetly.

"The singing's actually pretty good. I think I finally understand the charm of idols," Hayashi Yoshiki remarked nonchalantly, listening to the performance from the stage.

Then he looked at Ran:

"But are you sure it's okay to leave Sonoko alone in the front row?"

"Sonoko's totally focused on cheering right now," Ran chuckled mischievously.

She wasn't wrong.

On the monitor showing the front-row audience, Sonoko Suzuki had taken up three whole seats and was waving two cheering fans, happily shouting along with the performance.

Hayashi Yoshiki let out a soft laugh.

He patted Ran gently on the back and leaned close to her ear:

"You should go keep Sonoko company and enjoy the show. Don't worry—Luciano's deal isn't happening inside the concert venue."

"Eh?"

Ran looked surprised.

She wasn't quite sure how Yoshiki knew that, but she quickly seemed to remember something:

"Then... what about you, Yoshiki-niisan?"

"I need to step away to take care of something important. Don't worry—it'll be fine."

Ran looked at him with a hint of concern.

But she quickly nodded, showing her usual understanding.

"I don't know what you're going to do, Yoshiki-niisan, but... please be careful."

"Don't worry."

Hayashi Yoshiki smiled and turned to leave.

A short while later, Ran, following his advice, returned to the audience seats.

"Emilio, GOGO! Emilio!! Ah, Ran, you're finally here!"

Waving to her cheering fans with full energy, Sonoko lit up at the sight of Ran and pulled her down to sit beside her.

"Where's Yoshiki-niisan? Hasn't he come yet?"

"He said he had something important to do! He might be a little late!"

"I see! Then sit down already!"

With the speakers booming from all directions, the two had to raise their voices just to hear each other.

As she sat down, Ran found herself unable to fully concentrate on the performance.

Yoshiki-niisan… he'll be alright, won't he?

Because Hayashi Yoshiki always carried himself with such calm and maturity, it didn't seem right to stop him or beg him to stay.

Haneda Airport – Old Maintenance District

As a meeting place for a secret deal, it was certainly remote.

One of the old, weathered hangars stood in quiet obscurity.

"This must be our first time meeting face to face, yes?"

The plump Italian man, Luciano Carnevale, stepped out of the car.

With the concert swarming with police surveillance, it was astonishing how he had slipped away unnoticed—

But that's because Luciano had never planned to conduct the deal inside the venue.

From the beginning, he had arranged for a secret underground passage leading out of the concert hall.

"Indeed, this is our first meeting, Mr. Luciano."

A well-dressed blond man stepped down from the car, holding a briefcase in his hand.

He was the same man who had fooled Fujiko Mine earlier.

"My name is Aron Smith."

Luciano eyed the briefcase suspiciously.

The amount of money involved in this deal couldn't possibly fit in a single case, but he didn't press the issue.

Instead, he motioned for the goods to be brought forward.

—The Vespania Ore was highly malleable, so Luciano had it disguised as spare keyboard parts for musical instruments and shipped to the airport under the concert's name.

"These haven't even been registered yet, and even if they were inspected, nothing would be found."

He displayed the items before Aron Smith, who smiled and opened his own briefcase in response.

"Well, I've brought the agreed payment. This is the cherry sapphire we talked about."

"Sapphire?"

Luciano froze.

"What are you talking about? What the hell is that? Are you joking?"

"What do you mean?"

Snap!

The hangar lights abruptly went out.

Both parties, along with their men, instantly tensed and drew their weapons in the darkness.

At that moment, a beam of light shone at the entrance of the hangar.

A silhouette resembling Lupin III stood at the doorway, hand on hip, facing them.

"Well, well, hiding in such a remote place... took me a while to find you."

The response was a storm of gunfire.

Bullets rained down on the figure of Lupin III, tearing holes through him—but he remained still.

"Tch, just a cardboard cutout?"

As the gunmen realized something was wrong and stopped firing, they failed to notice—

The muzzle flashes had completely exposed their positions.

Suddenly—

From the shadows, Daisuke Jigen fired with stunning speed and precision, disarming the entire group.

Lupin III took this chance to move.

Using the faint glow from Jigen's shots, he dashed forward and snatched the briefcase out of Luciano's arms.

But none of them realized—

A short distance away from the hangar, several figures had been watching the situation unfold like hawks.

"That's Lupin III, huh?"

"He's quite skilled. And that guy—Daisuke Jigen—his marksmanship... yeah, we can't underestimate him."

A cautious blond man in a riot helmet kept his eyes fixed on the hangar.

The center of his helmet bore a gleaming five-pointed sun emblem, which also adorned the back of his bulletproof vest.

Suddenly, he pressed on his earpiece.

"What is it, Kazami?"

"I just spotted a white Mercedes approaching. Is he heading this way?"

"Got it. Understood."

After ending the call, the blond man wasted no time—

He pulled his face cover tightly in place, preparing for what came next.