The Missing Golden Buddha

Mohorito Chinen, a Head-Inspector of Cultural Assets, visits Fujita inquiring about the theft of a carved wooden Bodhisattva statue from a Buddhist temple in Nara. Intrigued, Fujita visits the temple where they see an old wooden Fudou-Myou-Ou statue carved from a tree. The old owner who believes Fujita and Chinen were sent by his son Akihiko who is after the property and resents his father for how he poorly he treated his mother. Fujita offers to restore the statue, and researches the archives about a rumored golden Buddha statue that was once in the temple. While moving the fragile statue, a metal Buddha statue falls out, but heavily corroded as it was composed of gold, copper and silver. Frustrated because he hoped to requisition a golden statue, Chinen leaves in disgust. However, the statue is a fake, planted by Fujita who then retrieves the original golden Buddha statue from inside the Fudou-Myou-Ou. Meanwhile Akihiko and his father reconcile, and after they place the golden statue inside a tree for protection, Akihiko offers to sell the Bodhisattva statue he stole to Fujita, and then use the money to preserve the temple.

ギャラリーフェイクを訪ねて来た男・知念護人。彼は国宝Ｇメンと呼ばれる国宝の判定を影で行っている人物。彼から、奈良の寺に眠る純金の黄金仏の伝説を聞いたフジタとサラは、その寺へ赴くこととなる。寺に辿りついた二人が見たものは、腐り、今にも崩れ落ちそうな不動明王。黄金仏探しもそっちのけで、フジタは修復に取り掛かる。