Chapter 183: Chikari Makoto is Bald, but Not Completely
“Mom! Mom! Mom!”
“Moooom—!”
Natsuba Hanae looked at the small white snake coiled on her body. Through their soul resonance, it was constantly calling her “Mom,” and Hanae couldn’t help but feel a little helpless. The snake wagged its tail like a puppy, its emotions clearly joyful.
Although Natsuba Hanae was a little helpless, she also felt that this might be a good daughter for her. After all, this soul, like a newborn’s, was very malleable. As long as Hanae disciplined it well in the future, it would surely become quite normal, and not like some of her other daughters, who were gradually becoming perverted.
Not only that, but in reality, with the infusion of the Yamata no Orochi template, the small white snake should not have maintained this form. It should have swelled into a behemoth.
Hanae gently stroked the snake’s head, and the small white snake lay quietly in her palm. In the small crevices between its scales, a faint purple light emanated, shimmering with a faint glow, giving it a noble air.
In fact, due to the injection of the Yamata no Orochi template, the small white snake was far from what it was before. The Yamata no Orochi template, among the many templates, was also an absolute high-tier. Even the current small white snake already possessed at least A-rank power.
Right now, the small white snake should not have maintained this form, but should have swelled into a behemoth. The reason it hadn’t was Natsuba Hanae’s deliberate doing. She had the small white snake restrain its power. After all, although it was A-rank, it possessed a considerable amount of divinity. Once it swelled and was stimulated, it would attract the unconscious divine attack of Susanoo, and that would even be the best outcome. A worse outcome would be to attract a part of Susanoo’s true consciousness to awaken. After all, this was the divinity of Yamata no Orochi, Susanoo’s mortal enemy.
With such strength, the small white snake had leaped to become the number one general in Natsuba Hanae’s hands.
Here, Hanae had to criticize a certain daughter of the “yokai” category. Some daughters had been with her for the longest time. Not only had they become perverted over the decades, but their level was not yet A-rank. And this new daughter, not only had it been with her for the shortest time, but its personality seemed cheerful and lively, and its level had instantly reached the ceiling.
This was an A-rank that had been reached at the time of bestowing the template. Although the Yamata no Orochi template itself was very powerful, the small white snake’s own bloodline was also extraordinary. The two factors combined, which was why this situation had occurred. As time passed, it would likely be the first of Natsuba Hanae’s daughters to reach the divine realm. After all, Yamata no Orochi’s own growth limit was a peak god, and the small white snake was a combination of two Yamata no Orochis. Its upper limit would only be higher.
Thinking of her many underachieving daughters, Natsuba Hanae grew more and more fond of the small white snake.
Soon, a thought occurred to her. Her brow furrowed slightly, and a thoughtful look appeared in her deep red eyes. After careful consideration, she said softly, “I should give you a name.”
Hearing this, a hint of purple appeared in the small white snake’s deep emerald green pupils, filled with anticipation.
Natsuba Hanae continued, “You are a combination of two Yamata no Orochis, and you were born with an A-rank level. This name should have a certain grandeur.”
The anticipation in the small white snake’s eyes grew even stronger.
“But you were just born, and you’re a daughter. The name should have a hint of restraint in its grandeur, to prevent you from being too rigid and easily broken.”
The small white snake’s tail wagged quickly. It was more and more eager to get its own name.
Finally, after much hesitation, Natsuba Hanae confirmed the small white snake’s name in her mind.
“You are small and cute, and you have flawless, exquisite scales, as dazzling and charming as a beautiful jade.”
“I’ll call you… Xiao Bai.” (Little White)
The small white snake: “…”
So, what did all that praise have to do with my name?
Seeing this, Natsuba Hanae’s brow furrowed slightly. In their soul connection, she seemed to sense a hint of dejection in the small white snake. It seemed a little dissatisfied.
“Are you not satisfied with the name Xiao Bai? I thought it was a little better than Kuchiki Mei’s name.”
“In that case, I’ll think of another name for you.”
Hearing this, a hint of excitement rose in the small white snake’s heart, and its snake tail wagged gently.
“I have it.”
“You are the positive side of Yamata no Orochi. I think a two-character name is cuter. So I’ll take the two characters from Yamata, and reverse them.”
“I’ll name you…”
The small white snake instinctively felt that this name was not very good and quickly said through its soul resonance, “Mom—! I still like the name Xiao Bai.”
Hearing this, Natsuba Hanae pursed her lips. Actually, she still thought the name Qiba was more meaningful, but since Xiao Bai preferred this name, she would naturally prioritize its opinion. After all, in Natsuba Hanae’s view, the two names she had come up with were both excellent, and it was difficult to choose between them. So she naturally prioritized Xiao Bai’s opinion. In this aspect, as a mother, she was very magnanimous and merciful.
“Then your name will be Xiao Bai from now on.”
Natsuba Hanae nodded slightly.
Xiao Bai’s snake tail couldn’t help but wag even more happily. Although this name was a bit ordinary, for the snake, it was endowed with a new meaning. It was no longer living as a clone of Yamata no Orochi, but as a new individual, Xiao Bai.
At that moment, Chikari Makoto walked in from the door of the room. Her aura was even stronger. Although she wasn’t using any force, a pale golden aura was uncontrollably emanating from her body, faint and powerful.
In these dozen or so days, Makoto hadn’t stayed in the main residence, but had been constantly hunting alone. Through constant fighting and devouring supernatural materials, she had made herself stronger. Now, Chikari Makoto was only one opportunity away from breaking through from the B-rank critical point to A-rank, and catching up to the first line of combat power among Natsuba Hanae’s daughters.
This trip had clearly been fruitful. And seeing Natsuba Hanae after more than ten days, Chikari Makoto’s mood was quite good. Her smile was as bright as a sunflower, full of warmth.
“Mom, I’m back,” Chikari Makoto bowed to Natsuba Hanae and said softly.
Hearing this, Natsuba Hanae stood up and slowly turned around, a faint smile on her lips as usual, “Makoto, welcome back…”
A hint of unnaturalness flashed in Natsuba Hanae’s eyes. She stared at Chikari Makoto’s head, which was exposed because of her bow, and felt that Makoto’s hair was clearly much thinner…
Hanae’s expression was a little stiff for a moment. Her index finger gently rubbed her lips as she tried hard not to laugh. Although Makoto’s golden hair had become thinner, it also showed that her fighting in these dozen or so days had been very diligent. Hanae couldn’t laugh; what if she damaged Chikari Makoto’s character? Makoto might even drop back to peak B-rank from the B-rank critical point due to a broken mentality.
Thinking of this, Natsuba Hanae began to encourage her daughter.
“In these dozen or so days, you seem to have worked very hard. I can feel the improvement in your strength.”
At this, Chikari Makoto’s spirits immediately lifted. “Mom, you don’t know. I haven’t slept much these past dozen or so days. I’ve experienced dozens of battles a day, and I’ve killed at least ten supernatural beings every day. If not for the fact that I’m about to reach A-rank, I feel my body wouldn’t have been able to hold on. But as long as I can reach A-rank, it’s all worth it.”
Is it worth sacrificing your hair? Natsuba Hanae couldn’t help but think. This is truly “going bald and getting stronger.”
Not having slept much for more than ten days, one could imagine Makoto had been staying up all night. And dozens of battles a day meant hundreds of battles over the past two weeks. Chikari Makoto’s ability was to use her hair as a weapon; the toll on her hair was undoubtedly adding insult to injury.
However, for a supernatural user, due to the evolution of their life level, their body, in a sense, had also become a supernatural material. Hair was naturally one of them. In the future, for Chikari Makoto to regenerate her hair would probably not be too easy.
After Natsuba Hanae had noticed Makoto’s head, Chikari Makoto’s gleaming golden eyes also noticed the small white snake in Natsuba Hanae’s arms.
“Mom, this is…”
Natsuba Hanae followed Chikari Makoto’s gaze and understood what she meant. Hanae explained, “This is a new daughter I’ve taken in. Her name is Xiao Bai. You have to take good care of her in the future. In a sense, she’s only been born for a little over ten days, and her mind is only about ten years old.”
Hearing this, Chikari Makoto’s gleaming golden eyes suddenly lit up. “That’s great! I finally have a real little sister! Mom, I’ll definitely take good care of her in the future. No matter what danger she encounters, I’ll be the first to stand in front of her!”
For Chikari Makoto, although she was one of the first three to join Summer Harvest Mountain and was a veritable senior, her status as an “older sister” had never been very real. Because even now, she had always been the youngest.
Until Xiao Bai joined. A dozen or so days old, with a mind of only about ten, no matter what, the snake was definitely little sister material. Makoto was definitely not the youngest anymore.
However, when Makoto decided to always protect this little sister, Natsuba Hanae couldn’t help but say softly, “Protect? That’s not necessary. Xiao Bai’s level is A-rank. If you encounter an opponent you can’t fight in the future, you can throw Xiao Bai out to fight for you.”
Chikari Makoto: “…”
Sorry, I overstepped my bounds!
Whether it was Natsuba Rinrei, a “younger sister” who was older than her, or Xiao Bai, a younger sister who was younger than her, their levels had surpassed hers. Fortunately, at least there was Hoshikawa Oto to fight alongside her. The two were known as the shame of the first two to join. But in reality, it was the shame of three, because Tamamo-no-Mae had not yet broken through to A-rank. Tamamo-no-Mae’s talent in leveling up was actually higher than Chikari Makoto’s and Hoshikawa Oto’s, but unfortunately, the fox yokai was the king of slacking off and occasionally had to deal with shrine matters. So she was still bouncing back and forth between peak B-rank and the critical point.
Then, a shadow crept from outside the door and came before Natsuba Hanae, to Chikari Makoto’s side. Kuchiki Mei’s figure slowly emerged from the shadow. She carried a sword on her back, her movements valiant and simple. She immediately knelt on one knee, her short hair swaying as she lowered her head slightly.
“Mom, Mei greets you. The matter you assigned me has been completed. This is a rough layout of the Kujō main residence. And this is some of the points of attention and secret barriers and traps that Kujō Mien told me about.”
A black arm of shadow, derived from the ground, handed three scrolls of drawings to Natsuba Hanae.
Kuchiki Mei’s realm was very stable. Since the day Hanae had killed Natsuba Kouryu, Mei had been at peak B-rank. However, that time was a breakthrough, and in these recent days, she had been constantly stabilizing. Although she hadn’t improved in rank, her mastery of the Yosuzume template ability had been constantly getting stronger and more proficient. As an assassin, whether it was her hiding method or her assassination method, she was at the peak of perfection. As a scout, just in terms of hiding, Kuchiki Mei had done a very good job. This was enough.
No matter what, the Yosuzume template ability was itself slightly inferior to the other templates, and its potential was not as strong. Fortunately, although Kuchiki Mei’s ability was a perception type, her realm talent was very good, and the two could complement each other. The Yosuzume ability was exceptionally strange and, in certain environments, could even exert a huge power. For example… night.
Natsuba Hanae roughly browsed the drawings and compared them with the information on the Kujō family layout she had from the Natsuba conglomerate’s books. She found some inconsistencies and, based on Kujō Mien’s notes, corrected them. She now knew that the Natsuba conglomerate’s intelligence on the Kujō family’s layout was a bit outdated.
Kuchiki Mei’s mission had clearly been completed very well.
Natsuba Hanae said softly, “Get up, Mei. Your reconnaissance mission was completed very well. As a reward, I’ll give you a Nightmare-level material to integrate into your sword, and I’ll forge it.” Hanae could also integrate a little divinity into it. Kuchiki Mei’s assassination ability, if she had an extremely strong sword, would be exceptionally powerful.
“Thank you, Mom.”
Kuchiki Mei slowly stood up, and on her calm and beautiful face, a faint smile appeared. Looking at Natsuba Hanae, her valiant aura also softened slightly. In her deep black pupils, Natsuba Hanae’s figure was reflected. In her night, there was only her mother.
Chikari Makoto, hearing Natsuba Hanae’s praise for Kuchiki Mei, was also happy for her friend. Because the two often worked together, their relationship was quite good. Makoto walked a few steps towards Kuchiki Mei, patted her shoulder, and said, “Mei, keep it up! In a short while, your status in Mom’s heart will be a little closer to mine.”
Hearing this, Kuchiki Mei was about to say something and looked in Chikari Makoto’s direction. Her expression suddenly went blank for a moment, and her entire body froze.
Hmm…
To add a supplement. In Mei’s eyes, besides her mother’s figure, there was also Chikari Makoto’s head, which had been tempered by suffering and had grown stronger.
