[Conan] Black And Silver: The Bond Of Rivals Chapter 3

Watching from the Shadows

Several days passed, and the confrontation on that rainy night at Haido Port seemed like nothing more than a fleeting storm.

Shuichi Akai had temporarily returned to the FBI’s safe house in Japan. He changed out of his wet clothes, but he couldn’t shake that figure from his mind.

Leaning against the window, he held a cup of warm black coffee between his fingers, his gaze falling on the bustling street below.

Beneath his seemingly calm exterior, his nerves remained taut.

He knew Gin all too well.

That Gin hadn’t made a move then was certainly not out of soft-heartedness, let alone giving up.

It was simply a hunter showing a bit more patience and amusement toward his most troublesome prey.

“Shu, it’s best if you cut back on going out lately.” Jodie Starling placed a file on the desk, her expression solemn. “The Organization’s activities have been unusually frequent recently. There are lookouts posted everywhere you might appear.”

Shuichi Akai nodded slightly, his eyes still fixed outside the window. “I know.”

He had sensed it long ago.

From the moment he returned to the city, a faint, intangible gaze had been following him.

They weren’t ordinary members; they were people personally arranged by Gin.

The opposition didn’t strike or follow him too closely; they simply watched his every move in silence, like a net slowly tightening.

“What exactly are they trying to do?” Jodie asked, puzzled. “They’ve had plenty of chances to strike, yet they haven’t made a move.”

Shuichi Akai picked up his coffee and took a small sip, his eyes darkening. “They’re waiting.”

Waiting for the perfect moment to trap him completely.

Waiting for the instant he would be forced to admit to all his disguises.

Jodie looked at him, hesitating to speak, but ultimately didn’t ask further. She could feel that between Shuichi Akai and that Black Organization killer, there was an entanglement that went far beyond mere enmity.

And this entanglement was extremely dangerous.

Meanwhile, inside an abandoned building on the outskirts of Tokyo.

Gin sat by a cold window, an unlit cigarette between his fingers. His cold green eyes were fixed on the surveillance footage on the screen before him.

The footage showed the area near the safe house where Shuichi Akai was staying.

“Boss, Shuichi Akai has been staying inside for the past few days. He’s hardly stepped out,” Vodka reported in a low voice from the side. “Our men don’t dare get too close for fear of being spotted.”

Gin didn’t speak, his gaze locked onto the figure that occasionally flashed across the screen.

The black knit cap, the tall and upright silhouette—even from a distance, it was impossible to look away.

He slowly curled his lips into a cold, obsessive smile.

Not coming out?

It didn’t matter.

He had all the time in the world to wait.

Shuichi Akai couldn’t hide in a safe zone forever.

He was FBI, an agent destined to step into the darkness again, to carry out missions, and to clash with him once more.

“Keep watching,” Gin finally spoke, his voice low. “Don’t make any rash moves.”

“Boss, are we really just going to keep watching like this?” Vodka asked, somewhat confused. “Wouldn’t it be easier to just storm in and drag him back?”

Gin shot him a cold glance, his eyes filled with such overwhelming pressure that Vodka was instantly silenced.

“What do you know?”

Killing him with a single shot would be too boring.

Capturing him directly would be letting him off too easy.

What he wanted wasn’t Shuichi Akai’s life.

He wanted the man who kept insisting “everything was a lie” to tear apart his own falsehoods with his own hands.

He wanted him to admit that standing side-by-side was real, the protection was real, and the emotions in his eyes were real.

He wanted him to admit that he, Shuichi Akai, whether in the light or the dark, had long since been bound to him.

“I’m waiting for him to walk out on his own,” Gin’s voice was cold and firm. “Waiting for him to take the initiative to appear before me again.”

“When that time comes, I’ll make sure he can never escape again.”

Night fell once more.

Shuichi Akai set down his coffee and picked up the jacket draped over the back of the chair.

Hiding here any longer was pointless.

He had to go out; he had to keep moving.

Only by stepping into the game could he see the opponent’s next move, and only then could he finally end this endless entanglement.

He pulled on his black knit cap, covering most of his face and leaving only his sharp jawline visible.

The moment he pushed open the door and stepped into the night, he felt it clearly—the gaze hidden in the shadows instantly intensified.

A faint curve appeared at the corner of his mouth.

Gin.

I’m coming.

This game between archnemeses… it was time to continue.