#neither maki nor any of the kids are related to lupin in any way shape or form

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LUPIN III - THE FOURTH

Aka "Lupin's extended family bullies him live on TV"

Y'all remember Maki from Blood Seal - Eternal Mermaid?

☝️ This awesome kiddo who spent half of the movie harassing Lupin into taking her as an apprentice? And who was actually quite good at thieving, good enough that she managed to get to Lupin's target by her own means?

I think she should become Lupin IV.

...And I might have gotten a bit carried away.

Yes they all call themselves Lupin IV. Yes there is an explanation to that. The explanation is to bully Lupin.

Maki: master thief, and leader of the Gang. The actual official Lupin IV as far as the Lupin succession line is concerned. Outgoing and bubbly, a determination that can break though walls. (Blood Seal - Eternal Mermaid)

Ami: tech expert and hacker. Likes to pretend she has no feelings. (Part 5)

Julia: social engineer/people person. Very strong personality and very confident. (Farewell to Nostradamus)

Kenny: gunman. Very loyal, inherited Jigen's "knight in shining armour" complex. (Part 6)

Murasaki: medic. Too tired for this bullshit but is actually having fun. A ray of sunshine. (The Fuma Conspiracy)

Long story short:

Growing up Maki never stops wanting to become a thief. By the time she's an adult, she's actually gotten quite good at it.

One day she runs by chance into Ami, and learns about how much Lupin changed her life. And how many other children - now adults their age - he impacted as well.

Maki sets out to find as many of them as she can, and founds her own thieving gang.

But Maki doesn't only have skills like Lupin's, she also has his knack for causing problems. So once she's assembled her team of "Kids Lupin Left Behind And Who Also Like Causing Problems", she goes out to find Rebecca Rosselini, aka Lupin's almost-but-not-exactly-divorced-wife (Part 4).

"Rebecca," she says, "do you mayhaps want to annoy the heck out of Lupin for funsies?"

"Boy do I!" replies Rebecca. "What do you need from me?"

"Oh nothing much," says Maki. "Just a little signature on these four adoption forms."

And thus Maki, Ami, Julia and Kenny legally acquire the last name Lupin. And all officially declare themselves Lupin the Fourth.

Lupin is fuming, Zenigata is having a stroke, the rest of the LupGang are laughing their asses off.

Murasaki is there too because these kids need a responsible adult.

EDIT: You can discover the supporting cast and more succession shenanigans here!