Detective Conan - Itakura Suguru's Software
Summary of Events up to Chapter 1141
In a shocking turn of events, the Itakura Suguru case has made a comeback! With chapter 1144 coming out soon, I wanted to do a recap of the hints dropped in recent chapters regarding Itakura Suguru and the Black Organization. This thrilling arc is one of my favorites in the entire series, so I was really happy to see it being brought up again.
Conan and the Mouri's were tasked with finding Itakura Suguru by his colleagues, one of whom ended up killing him. During this investigation, Conan discovered that Itakura made contact with Tequila and was able to take his diary after solving the case.
Thanks to this diary, he found out that Itakura was forced to create a mysterious software program for the Organization, but he decided to give up on this project and flee "for the sake of humanity" (although he was killed in a separate incident before he could flee).
Conan delivered the unfinished program to Gin and Vodka in the hopes of tracking them, but failed. Not much is known about the program at this point.
Over 750 chapters later, this case suddenly flashed back into Conan's mind when Eri explained that a cat's cry and a baby's cry sound similar.
A few chapters after the Itakura Suguru case, there was mention of a cat's cry in Itakura's diary. Vermouth, who had forcibly pulled Itakura into working for the Org, was heard with a cat crying in the background of a phone call. Vermouth is not a character shown to get nervous easily, so for her to get nervous and suddenly cut out the call just from the cry of a cat is a interesting thing to specify.
Yukiko confronts Vermouth regarding this during the Bell Tree Express, noting the she famously did not get along with Itakura. Most likely, the Org requested someone skilled in software development, and Vermouth offered Itakura up. Although, the reasoning for their initial disagreement has not been explained yet. Given Yukiko's close relationship with Vermouth, I think she would be able to confirm with Conan if she ever had any dislike or allergy with cats in particular.
However, with this new piece of information from Eri, we know that this was likely not a cat at all, but rather the cry of a baby! Now, what would a baby be doing here in a situation like this?
If you recall the case of Azusa and Conan being kidnapped, you may remember the old woman and baby that briefly appeared. The baby in her stroller not only didn't have any distinct features shown, but was completely blacked out, similar to how a character that isn't ready to be revealed yet is drawn.
Eri's cat was also mentioned to the old woman, who said she has a cat allergy. The woman was shown to be hanging around Poirot in both scenes she appeared briefly in. Perhaps this is Vermouth in disguise, keeping an eye on Amuro and the Mouri Detective Agency.
With the main plot of physical age regression, it's easy to assume that this may very well be the Boss himself, shrunken down to the size of a baby. This transformation would also make it incredibly hard for someone to find the Boss if they are looking for him in his original form.
While movies are usually not canon, Movie 26 had a surprising moment around the 1 hour 15 min mark, revealing previously unknown info that Rum, the Boss' second in command, had in fact not seen him in a while and wants to search for him. Is the Boss currently hiding with Vermouth or a caretaker, unable to show his face because he is in the body of a baby? Is the software shown in the movie similar to what Itakura was developing?
Not only that, but Conan also recalled another early case from chapter 191, in which Haibara mentioned punishment upon going against the "stream of time." This phrasing was used by Vermouth, as mentioned in Itakura's diary.
It is also used by Masumi Sera when referring to Haibara's temporary APTX-4869 antidote.
Did the Boss find himself close to death, impatiently taking an unfinished version of APTX-4869 and becoming a baby?
Is the punishment a dreadfully lonely life, seeing everyone pass by as you continue to remain in the same young form? It is confirmed that those who survive APTX-4869 not only de-age, but remain in that state indefinitely. 20 years after de-aging, Vermouth has not changed. Conan and Ai have not grown even slightly taller, either. This could explain Vermouth's hatred for the Miyano's, who created a drug that put her into this state of physical purgatory.
If the boss did indeed shrink into a baby, he won't be able to just grow out of it, he will have to find a cure or be stuck in this form forever.
I recommend reading MeiTanteixX's post below if you want to know more about the Org's drug developments and timeline.
💬 5 🔁 4 ❤️ 21 · Hi! I hope you’re doing well. I want to ask what’s your opinion on the difference between the drug that Shiho’s parents di
I hope that at least some of this is touched upon in the upcoming chapter. It is very exciting to see some movement on this plot line that was introduced over 20 years ago!
