A black, heavy-duty gas mask.
Hayashi Yoshiki had been holding it in his hand ever since he took it off earlier.
But now, watching the plane carrying Aron Smithy ascend into the sky, he realized it was no longer of any use. He smiled and casually tossed it aside.
At that moment, the plane had already reached the stratosphere.
After a desperate effort, Lupin III managed to hook onto the aircraft's landing gear just before takeoff and stealthily climbed aboard.
As he entered the cabin, the first thing he saw was Conan knocking out his guard with a well-aimed soccer ball.
"You really went all out, kid,"
Lupin's sudden voice startled Conan.
"What exactly are you trying to do with all this elaborate scheming?"
"What?"
"Don't play dumb. There was a full-on shootout back on the ground, yet hardly anyone died. That FBI setup—wasn't it your doing?"
Lupin III crouched in front of Conan, grinning mischievously.
"Juggling power dynamics without leaving corpses behind—tsk, tsk. What a pain. Things would've wrapped up much quicker if you'd just let them tear each other apart."
"So that was your plan all along, huh?"
"Yeah, things were going pretty smoothly...
...but still, quite a few people died."
"Ah, but don't go blaming Jigen. Public Security made the first move."
Lupin laughed.
"That guy by your side? Acts fast, doesn't he?"
"What does this have to do with Yoshiki-aniki?"
"Oh, give it a rest."
Lupin stood up, still smirking.
"The answer's right in front of you, Detective."
Conan simply smiled.
Hayashi Yoshiki is with Public Security—
That's what anyone would think after today.
Otherwise, there's no reason the Japanese PSB would show up so well-prepared and so silently.
The only explanation is that Hayashi Yoshiki, knowing Lupin's entire plan from the start, had been feeding them intel from behind the scenes.
And most telling of all—Yoshiki was the first to put on a gas mask before the tear gas was deployed.
Even the densest person, after witnessing that, would connect the dots. If not... well, then they probably didn't have a brain to begin with.
But Conan thought further.
Now that he had more insight into Yoshiki's connections with the Black Organization, the only logical conclusion was:
Hayashi Yoshiki is actually an undercover Public Security agent infiltrating the organization—just like Rena Mizunashi.
That would explain everything.
Why someone so kind could have ended up in the Black Organization's ranks.
If it was all part of a deeper operation orchestrated by Public Security, then everything finally made perfect sense.
"Alright then. Let's wrap this up and go home happy."
Lupin had no interest in what was running through Conan's head.
He pulled out his pistol, eyes gleaming with excitement, and looked toward the cockpit.
Unaware of what was happening behind him, Aron Smithy, who was acting as co-pilot, was still immersed in celebration with his men.
At last, they had secured the Vespania ore.
"Now, our country finally has the means to stand and fight."
During the operation to seize the ore in Japan, Aron Smithy had acted like royalty from a noble house.
But in truth, he was just the captain of a military force from a nation under siege.
It wasn't just a simple invasion—they were being swallowed whole by a neighboring country due to overwhelming military disparity. His homeland was practically a colony already.
But before Smithy and his men could celebrate for long, Conan and Lupin III kicked down the cockpit door and stormed inside.
The two pilots barely had time to react before Lupin knocked them both unconscious.
"Perfect. Let's head to Hachijō-jima."
"...Or how about turning this thing around and surrendering at Haneda Airport?"
Conan gave a dangerous smile as he flipped open his watch cover, aiming it at Lupin, who was now in the pilot's seat.
"FBI and Public Security are both waiting there, you know."
"You little brat—"
Lupin was about to protest when suddenly, the plane's radar let out a shrill alarm.
Both of them jumped and stared at the radar screen—
Two red signals were rapidly approaching.
"Fighter jets!?"
Conan's voice rose sharply.
"Are they here to seize the ore!?"
"No, no... this might be a response from the Vespania government."
Realizing the danger, Lupin suddenly lost his usual swagger.
He had promised Princess Mira that he would help retrieve the ore.
But he'd also warned her: if he failed and there was a chance the ore would fall into the wrong hands, the Vespania government should use official channels to destroy it before it left Japan.
Hearing that, Conan suddenly panicked.
"You should've predicted something like this!"
"Well, maybe if you hadn't thrown off all my plans!"
"What did you expect!? You pretended to be Kaito Kid! You think I'd just sit back and do nothing!?"
"You little punk, do you know how hard it is to impersonate that guy!?
Yoshiki shocked me twice with that damn taser!"
"You totally deserved that!"
As they bickered, the radar blared again—this time louder and more urgent.
Realizing that the fighters had fired missiles, both Lupin and Conan jolted into action.
They immediately pulled the plane into a steep climb and deployed countermeasures to dodge the direct missile strike.
Even so, the blast wave damaged the aircraft.
Left with no choice, Lupin III handed Conan the Vespania ore.
The ore's strategic value was no joke.
Not only could it jam radar, but under specific electrical conditions, it could emit an EMP-like pulse, knocking out nearby electronic equipment.
That kind of insane potential made Lupin determined to ensure it never landed in the hands of a military nation.
As for what was happening in the skies...
Hayashi Yoshiki wasn't particularly concerned.
He figured it would all work out fine in the end.
What truly caught his attention was the reaction he'd seen from Haibara Ai earlier.
That sharp scoff, so clearly filled with restrained anger.
Why?
Hayashi Yoshiki was decent at dealing with women, but he didn't have the intuition to read everything from their moods.
Still, considering Haibara's connection to a woman like Fujiko Mine, and how that woman was obsessed with acquiring APTX4869, it wouldn't be surprising if she had used Yoshiki's intel as a bargaining chip.
If that was the case, then things were about to get very complicated.
With that in mind, Hayashi Yoshiki couldn't help but smile slightly.