Chapter 128: The Natsuba Hanae Figurine Show-Off Session
The words, filled with extreme fear, exploded in Kujō Sujin’s mind.
It made him forcibly stop his advance.
Then, Natsuba Hanae widened her beautiful, red, glass-like eyes, and asked with a look of confusion and innocence.
“Lord Kujō, what’s wrong?”
Her voice was as warm as the sun, filled with warmth.
And seeing Natsuba Hanae’s performance…
Kujō Sujin was filled with doubt. Kamishiro Naraku and Natsuba Hanae’s expressions were a stark contrast. How could a demon and a monster be such a young and exquisite girl?
And Natsuba Hanae was not yet sixteen this year. How could a monster be so monstrous? Could she have reached the strength of a god?
According to the intelligence, she was just an ordinary person.
Although Kamishiro Naraku’s terrified voice in his mind was very shocking…
But Kamishiro Naraku had not made a move to use his power to escape, and this fear was too abnormal.
It made Kujō Sujin think that he had died once, and that this was a stress reaction caused by some reason, and that what he was experiencing now was a fantasy.
However, Kujō Sujin would never have thought…
That Kamishiro Naraku hadn’t run away was precisely because he had retained a final sliver of reason in his extreme fear.
With his current strength, in front of the Master of Summer Harvest Mountain, escape was a dead end.
Rather than escape, it was better to stay put.
Staying put, there was still a glimmer of hope. By not activating any of his power, perhaps the Master of Summer Harvest Mountain wouldn’t see him hidden in Kujō Sujin’s body.
And now, as an ant, escaping might attract the Master of Summer Harvest Mountain’s attention. But by not escaping, the Master of Summer Harvest Mountain would just be passing by an ant and wouldn’t bother to crush it.
However…
Is Kujō Sujin an idiot?!!
Kamishiro Naraku roared in his heart.
It didn’t matter if he was courting death, but to dare to sign a marriage contract with the Master of Summer Harvest Mountain was to think he had too long to live. And after more than ten years, he had not discovered anything unusual about Natsuba Hanae.
His brain was like a pig’s.
But if this was Natsuba Hanae’s elaborate concealment…
Then the Master of Summer Harvest Mountain was even more terrifying.
Besides her unparalleled power, she also possessed a resourceful wisdom, a flawless hexagonal warrior.
Not only that, but according to the information Kamishiro Naraku knew, Natsuba Hanae was not yet sixteen, and at such a young age, she possessed the power of a god.
This was simply unbelievable!
Then, what about when she was twenty, thirty, or forty?
Would she surpass the gods?!!
The more he thought about it, the more terrified Kamishiro Naraku became. He was like an ostrich in the desert, burying his head deep in his black robe, praying that the Master of Summer Harvest Mountain wouldn’t discover him.
And at this moment, Natsuba Hanae’s eyes were filled with a cunning, interested smile.
From the first moment she had come into close contact with Kujō Sujin…
Her otherworldly perception, combined with the positioning of the Sanctuary Flame, she had instantly understood his current situation.
She hadn’t expected Kamishiro Naraku to have such a skill, to seize a part of Kujō Sujin’s body’s power and form himself, parasitizing his body.
What a brilliant idea.
This made Natsuba Hanae a little appreciative of him.
Whether it was the Old God plan or the current plan, if he hadn’t met her, he would have probably achieved great things.
In a few years, it wouldn’t be impossible for him to approach godhood.
Unfortunately…
Unfortunately, Kamishiro Naraku was a man.
Otherwise, Natsuba Hanae would have taken him as her daughter. Even if she didn’t trust him, she could give him some dangerous, life-threatening tasks, and he would probably be very useful.
But if she took him as a normal subordinate, she couldn’t see his loyalty value, and couldn’t know his psychology through observation.
She couldn’t use him with confidence.
However, Natsuba Hanae’s current divinity was extremely vast, and she keenly sensed…
Natsuba Genryū’s cane was a divine artifact, and Kujō Sujin’s divine artifact was also hidden in his body.
And what was very interesting was that Kujō Sujin’s divine artifact was currently being slowly eroded by a wisp of divinity that Kamishiro Naraku controlled, and he had gained a little control over it.
This was very interesting.
Not only that, but Natsuba Genryū’s old injuries had burst, and Natsuba Hanae’s eyes could see it all.
In other words, the three of them were like surface-level brothers, with countless small movements in the dark, wishing the other would die first.
If it weren’t for the common enemy of the Master of Summer Harvest Mountain…
They would have probably already been in a mess.
And Kujō Sujin still hadn’t made any move to retreat, clearly not believing the Kamishiro Naraku who was parasitizing his body.
In that case, if she continued to hide her identity as the Master of Summer Harvest Mountain…
Thinking of this, a thoughtful glint appeared in Natsuba Hanae’s eyes.
And at such a close distance, she could do some more tricks.
Kujō Sujin, Kamishiro Naraku, and the Natsuba direct descendants were different. Even if she harmed him in the Natsuba main residence, it wouldn’t trigger the divinity of Susanoo, and wouldn’t attract the attention of the nearby Natsuba Genryū.
In Natsuba Hanae’s red, glass-like eyes, a black bird, about to spread its wings, flashed for a moment, and at an extremely fast speed, as if space-jumping, it carried a huge amount of Sanctuary Flame and a wisp of divinity wrapped within it.
And suddenly appeared in the depths of Kamishiro Naraku’s soul, in the Sanctuary Flame.
Kamishiro Naraku felt a suffocation, and a massive sense of fear instantly came, and he felt that a disaster was about to come.
His body uncontrollably wanted to activate all its power and escape immediately.
But after a moment, this feeling of fear disappeared.
This made Kamishiro Naraku think that what he had just felt was an illusion.
But he didn’t know that in the center of the Sanctuary Flame, a terrifying crimson vertical pupil had opened its eyes.
Kujō Sujin’s body, Kamishiro Naraku, Kamishiro Naraku’s body, Natsuba Hanae…
The thousand-layer cake was complete.
And Kujō Sujin, although he thought Kamishiro Naraku was going crazy, after being disturbed by him, his original thoughts were gone.
Anyway, in a month, he would have plenty of time to communicate with Natsuba Hanae.
There was no need to rush.
And regarding Kamishiro Naraku’s earlier deception, and his hysterical appearance, he had a lot of things to discuss with him when he got back.
Thinking of this, he bid farewell to Natsuba Genryū.
“Lord Genryū, it’s getting late today.”
“We’ve more or less finalized our plan. At that time, I’ll send someone over to discuss the detailed distribution of benefits and points of attention.”
“If there are no problems, then the cooperation will be reached.”
Hearing this, although Natsuba Genryū had just used his home field advantage and sensed a series of abnormal auras and operations…
He was still half-ignorant and ultimately said nothing.
Instead, he said,
“Then I’ll trouble Lord Sujin.”
With that, Natsuba Genryū showed a benevolent smile and watched as Kujō Sujin walked out of the west gate.
At that time, a Kujō family steward’s car, which had arrived at some point, was waiting there. He got into the car and quickly left.
And Natsuba Genryū’s pale golden pupils were hidden under his eyelids. He gave Natsuba Rinrei a cold glance, but his lips still held a kind smile.
He nodded at Natsuba Hanae and then turned and left without any hesitation.
Seeing this, Natsuba Hanae slowly looked up. A strange light shone in her deep red eyes, and she pursed her lips.
“Honestly, Father.”
“Even if you’re just pretending, you could at least console me a little. You just gave me a fake smile and left. You’re so heartless.”
The gentle smile on her lips remained, unchanged by anyone.
However, she quickly thought of the purpose of the two family heads’ meeting.
“I’m afraid the Kujō and Natsuba conglomerates have already joined forces to search for Summer Harvest Mountain.”
“But…”
“How can they possibly find it?”
“Summer Harvest Mountain is located in the Natsuba main residence. Unless the Natsuba conglomerate conducts a self-search, they might find some clues. But if they search outside…”
“They probably won’t find any clues even if they turn the country upside down.”
Unconsciously, Natsuba Hanae was a little disappointed with Natsuba Genryū’s actions. She felt it was not challenging enough.
If not for the presence of divine power in the Natsuba main residence, she could have overthrown everything long ago.
Speaking of gods, she still needed to continuously investigate and obtain information about them.
Now, the sun was gradually setting.
The night fell with a few bright stars.
After Natsuba Hanae and Chikari Makoto entered the room, they saw another figure standing in the room.
Short, valiant black hair, deep eyes, and a black outfit that almost blended into the darkness.
It was Kuchiki Mei.
“Mei, you’re back too. Where did you go today?”
Chikari Makoto, seeing this, quickly ran over.
And Kuchiki Mei, hearing this, because the two had a good relationship, and were both her mother’s daughters, there was no need to hide information.
So she pursed her lips and said frankly,
“In the morning, Natsuba Kouryu sent out a signal flare. Uncle Tanishi, Mizuō Morishige, and I went to rescue him.”
“But we didn’t expect the person he was going to deal with to be Mom.”
“And then… Natsuba Kouryu was no more.”
But for Chikari Makoto, the information below was of no value. Her attention was focused on the fact that Kuchiki Mei had been alone with Mom all day?!
Uncle Tanishi and Mizuō Morishige were Mom’s subordinates. They definitely wouldn’t have stayed with her all the time. But Kuchiki Mei was different. She must have had many opportunities to be alone with her from morning to afternoon.
Chikari Makoto, unable to hold back her thoughts, immediately asked, her gleaming golden eyes burning with envy.
“Damn it!!”
“Why wasn’t I in the main residence this morning!!”
Chikari Makoto had been out for a short while this morning due to a temporary mission and had missed this. And the rest of the time, she had been waiting for Natsuba Hanae in the main residence.
She continued,
“So you had a chance to be alone with Mom?!”
“Even though you just came, you had such a rare good time.”
However, hearing this, Kuchiki Mei shook her head.
“I wasn’t alone with Mom. I was shopping with…”
“—And me.”
An ethereal, clear voice sounded.
Just then, in front of Chikari Makoto, to the left of Kuchiki Mei, a brilliant and vast scene like a galaxy of stars appeared. Under the specks of starlight, Hoshikawa Oto’s figure appeared.
From the beginning, she had been standing here, just that her body had been soul-ized.
So, Chikari Makoto hadn’t discovered her.
At the same time, when she saw Chikari Makoto for the first time, a hint of confusion appeared in Hoshikawa Oto’s heart. And after de-soul-izing, she immediately asked,
“Makoto, it’s been a few years.”
“Has your golden hair gotten a lot thinner?”
Chikari Makoto: “…”
“Impossible! Absolutely impossible!”
Chikari Makoto quickly touched her head. Even if she used her golden hair as a weapon in her missions and lost some, it was still very thick.
Hoshikawa Oto was talking nonsense!
And this was very likely a trick to change the subject.
Hoshikawa Oto and Kuchiki Mei had actually gone shopping with Mom!
Because of Mom’s situation, she hadn’t been shopping with her for nearly six years. This was a bolt from the blue. The treatment she received while by Mom’s side was actually worse than those who were away.
Just as Chikari Makoto was comforting herself, thinking that the so-called shopping was just ordinary looking around, and not as long as the time she spent with Mom on missions…
Kuchiki Mei, at her side, showed a rare smile. She took out a Q-version wooden carving of Natsuba Hanae from her pocket.
“This is what Mom bought when we were shopping, a precious supernatural wood, and then she used Sanctuary Flame to carve it.”
“It’s a small gift for us.”
Then, Chikari Makoto saw Hoshikawa Oto also take out the same Q-version wooden carving of Natsuba Hanae.
Not only that, but Hoshikawa Oto reached out and, from her long, beautiful hair that swayed like a galaxy, opened a black hole-like shape.
And from within, she took out a one-meter-tall figurine of Natsuba Hanae.
This was something Hoshikawa Oto carried with her!
“Makoto, look.”
“This is something I specially ordered from someone outside. It’s mostly made of supernatural materials, and the detail is very realistic.”
A look of pride appeared on her face, and she began to show off.
Since Hoshikawa Oto had revealed her true nature in front of Natsuba Hanae…
And she thought that since she had already exposed herself in front of the most important person, her mother, why should she still hide her personality in front of her sisters?
So, now she was showing a bit of her true nature.
Seeing all this, Chikari Makoto’s expression went from envy to jealousy. In her hands, she had no carvings or figurines.
Only some photos of her with Mom.
She felt that life was hopeless.
She looked at the one-meter figurine in Hoshikawa Oto’s hand. She pursed her lips, and a pale golden aura suddenly rose from her toes. She shot forward!
“I want one too!”
In an instant, the room was in chaos.
Seeing this, Natsuba Hanae slowly shook her head.
Indeed, these three daughters were still not mature enough, and they were also a bit young. If it were Tamamo-no-Mae and Kamishiro Hime, they would probably be more mature.
They wouldn’t fight over her carvings and figurines like this.
Now, it was nine o’clock at night.
Tamamo-no-Mae and Kamishiro Hime were also resting. It was time to possess the statue and send them a message.
