Chapter 138: Natsuba Taiga, Devoured a Big Turd!
The next day.
Warm sunlight shone down on the massive, flourishing oak tree in the Natsuba main residence.
This was the end of summer.
The outer leaves of the oak tree were beginning to turn yellow, but new branches were also sprouting, with tender green buds.
With the cool breeze between summer and autumn, the tender buds swayed gently, while the yellowing outer leaves fluttered down.
They slowly drifted and hovered in the sky.
Until they fell.
And landed in a small, slender, and delicate hand.
A pair of red, glass-like eyes stared at the yellow leaf in her palm. She murmured to herself,
“It’s almost autumn.”
Natsuba Hanae looked up at the massive oak tree that blotted out the sun, a flicker of emotion in her eyes.
And Chikari Makoto, beside her, only understood the literal meaning of her words. She couldn’t help but smile.
“Yes, Second Miss.”
“It’ll be autumn in about half a month.”
“At that time, it’ll be so fun to have a picnic under this oak tree.”
Hearing this, a gentle smile appeared on Natsuba Hanae’s lips, and she looked at Chikari Makoto with affection.
“Yes, I’ll definitely be with you then.”
Then, her gentle smile slowly faded, and her gaze became distant as her mind began to race.
She was now standing at the north gate.
This was the gate guarded by the Kyōkotsu branch and Natsuba Genryū’s confidants.
According to the information she had heard last night…
The Natsuba conglomerate would definitely send someone to participate in this operation. She had come here just to confirm it.
However, from what she had heard from Kujō Sujin last night, it seemed that this capture operation was led by the Kujō family, with the Natsuba family as a subordinate.
Since the wedding was approaching, and the Natsuba family had no intention of returning the supernatural materials from the betrothal gift, and the two families hadn’t fallen out…
This meant that the Natsuba family had offered other benefits.
And the most likely possibility was that they had given the spoils of this operation to the Kujō family.
And the biggest prize in this operation was undoubtedly Natsuba Rinrei.
This was the original deal between the Natsuba and Kujō conglomerates. If they were to hand over Natsuba Rinrei to the Kujō family, then there was no need to return the supernatural materials.
This idea perfectly suited the current interests of both sides.
However, in that case…
The Natsuba conglomerate probably wouldn’t send a very strong force. After all, they were just a subordinate, and the benefits would mostly go to the Kujō family.
They would probably just send a B-rank to show their face.
Just as Natsuba Hanae was thinking this, her sleeve was gently tugged by Chikari Makoto.
And a small voice came from her ear.
“Second Miss…”
“Someone’s coming.”
“But it’s too far away, I can’t see who it is.”
Chikari Makoto’s abilities were in speed and strength. Her eyesight was only slightly better than an ordinary B-rank’s, because her template was a bird yokai.
Of course, it wasn’t much better.
And Natsuba Hanae, hearing Chikari Makoto’s words, her thoughts slowly returned to reality.
If nothing unexpected happened, this group of people was likely the ones who would participate in the capture of Natsuba Rinrei with the Kujō family.
She looked in the direction Chikari Makoto had indicated.
And the person who appeared in her line of sight made her pupils widen slightly, a look of astonishment on her face.
Silver hair stood on end, pale golden pupils were like black dots, filled with malice. His figure was burly and muscular, and his sharp teeth were visible as he chewed bubble gum.
A white tiger-skin cloak hung over his shoulders. His abdomen and chest were bare, his muscles clearly defined. He stood with his arms crossed, an arrogant expression on his face, and walked straight towards the north gate.
The newcomer was Natsuba Taiga.
And following behind him, with a claw scar across his right eye that even his sunglasses couldn’t hide, was naturally the powerhouse of the Kyōjū branch, Kyōkotsu Rōichi.
The combination of these two made Natsuba Hanae a little surprised.
To appear here at this time, it was undoubtedly Natsuba Taiga and Kyōkotsu Rōichi who were participating in the capture of Natsuba Rinrei.
Just based on the condition of being a subordinate, to have Natsuba Taiga participate, whether in terms of supernatural user rank or status, was too important.
Since Natsuba Kouryu’s death, almost all the forces outside had tacitly acknowledged Natsuba Taiga as the next head of the Natsuba conglomerate.
If the person who came from the Kujō family this time wasn’t Kujō Sujin or a candidate for the Kujō family head…
The roles of leader and subordinate in this operation might even be switched.
However, the Kujō family currently had no candidate for the head position. From Kujō Sujin’s age, he was only in his sixties. And with his blood ability, he still had a long time to live.
There was no hurry to choose a candidate for the head position.
So, unless the person who came was Kujō Sujin, he would be suppressed by Natsuba Taiga.
This violated the good-faith cooperation between the two families.
Natsuba Hanae didn’t believe that Natsuba Taiga hadn’t thought of this.
Unless…
Natsuba Taiga was doing it on purpose.
He wanted to be the leader in this operation.
In Natsuba Taiga’s thoughts, Natsuba Rinrei was not important to the Kujō family, but she was an obstacle to him becoming the head of the Natsuba family.
He had to be the one to lead, and not to capture, but to kill!
After all, in his view, the reason Kujō Sujin had captured Natsuba Rinrei was to enjoy the Natsuba twin sisters and satisfy his own selfish desires.
He would not kill Natsuba Rinrei.
What if… what if the Master of Summer Harvest Mountain reacted later and rescued Natsuba Rinrei from the Kujō family? As long as she was alive, she had the possibility of competing with him for the head position.
And that prophecy about the dragon and the tiger made him unable to rest easy.
But Natsuba Taiga didn’t know that Natsuba Rinrei was also very important to the Kujō family and Kujō Sujin, as the key to his absorption of divine power.
And from the information Natsuba Hanae had heard last night, Kujō Sujin would personally act.
Natsuba Taiga’s ambition would likely be dashed the moment he saw Kujō Sujin.
When Natsuba Taiga was not far from Natsuba Hanae…
Natsuba Hanae quickly walked to the center of the corridor. She performed a curtsy and said with a slight pout,
“Good day, brother.”
“Where are you going in such a hurry today?”
She looked at Natsuba Taiga with her brilliant, deep red eyes. His burly, strong figure, compared to her delicate frame, had a clear sense of pressure.
But she saw that Natsuba Taiga’s momentum didn’t slow, and his steps didn’t pause.
His pale golden pupils condescendingly glanced at Natsuba Hanae, and he swung his left hand, roughly pushing her away.
“Don’t stand in my way. Get out of my way!”
Under the immense force, Natsuba Hanae was thrown away. She crashed into a wall, let out a cry of pain, and curled up on the ground.
Seeing this, Chikari Makoto’s eyes widened, and she was stunned.
Mom, at the peak of A-rank, was actually pushed away by a peak B-rank Natsuba Taiga.
What kind of operation was this?
However, when she saw the ripples in Mom’s red, glass-like eyes, she quickly reacted, and her expression became anxious.
“Second Miss, are you alright!”
She quickly went to help Natsuba Hanae up.
And Natsuba Taiga’s pale golden pupils continued to look at Natsuba Hanae’s condition. Looking at her face, which was similar to Natsuba Rinrei’s, a fierce look appeared in them.
He clenched his fists and said,
“Seeing this face is so annoying.”
Then, he turned and continued to walk out without looking back, not seeing the wisp of Sanctuary Flame flash on the arm he had used to push her away.
And Kyōkotsu Rōichi followed closely behind. He advised,
“Young Master, your actions towards the Second Miss will cause gossip among the servants and stewards of the main residence. And if she’s injured, it will affect the wedding in a few dozen days…”
“That’s not the act of a family head.”
Kyōkotsu Rōichi was already advising Natsuba Taiga according to the behavior of a family head. Indeed, according to Natsuba Hanae’s excellent reputation in the main residence, and the fact that she was an ordinary person and posed no threat to Natsuba Taiga…
There was really no need to be so rough.
Like Natsuba Genryū, although he looked down on Natsuba Hanae in his heart, on the surface, he treated all his children equally.
He couldn’t find any fault with him.
This was a true multifaceted face. Although Natsuba Taiga had his own schemes and plans, he was clearly far from that.
And Natsuba Hanae looked at Natsuba Taiga walking further and further away.
With Chikari Makoto’s help, she pretended to struggle to her feet.
She looked at the leaf in her palm, which she had accidentally crushed into a yellow powder.
She couldn’t help but sigh softly.
“I wanted to make it into a bookmark, but it’s completely destroyed.”
“I guess that was its fate.”
Natsuba Hanae murmured to herself.
Her gaze no longer followed Natsuba Taiga, who had already gone out the door, but turned back to the lush oak tree. She casually waved her right hand.
A gentle breeze blew, and the crushed leaves drifted back to the ground under the oak tree.
The decaying leaves would become nourishment, allowing the new branches and buds to flourish with new life.
A strange light appeared in Natsuba Hanae’s eyes, dazzling and brilliant. Her gaze seemed to be able to pierce through the soil under the oak tree, to the unknown depths, to Susanoo’s sleeping place.
She said softly,
“Rinrei’s strength is comparable to Natsuba Taiga’s. Why not use this opportunity…”
“To see if she can break through to A-rank.”
“Once she breaks through, it will be helpful to the current situation of the Kujō and Natsuba conglomerates.”
She pursed her lips, her gaze deep.
“Makoto, let’s go back to our room first.”
“Then you can spread the word that I was injured by Natsuba Taiga’s push and need to rest for a few days.”
Although Chikari Makoto didn’t understand the specific reason…
But she was one hundred percent obedient to Natsuba Hanae’s orders.
“Yes, Second Miss.”
And for Natsuba Hanae…
With the aura of the Sanctuary Flame, she could lock onto the existence of Kamishiro Naraku, Kujō Sujin, Natsuba Taiga, and even Natsuba Rinrei, by the intersection of their templates.
The key figures in this incident were all as transparent as glass in her eyes.
She knew most of everyone’s plans.
It was as if she had a see-through cheat, and was a level one with six god-tier items, entering a game with a fog of war. The result would naturally be cruel and simple.
So, let’s begin.
Natsuba Hanae’s pink tongue lightly licked her lips, and a mischievous smile appeared on her lips. She took a step, and her red, glass-like eyes suddenly shone with an endless, brilliant light.
And high above the Natsuba main residence…
As if a massive, multi-headed bird phoenix was spreading its wings, covering the entire Natsuba main residence in its shadow.
Its multicolored, glass-like pupils, like the sun, met a pair of brilliant golden lightning eyes below.
And an immense spark was produced.
“I’m looking forward to it.”
An ethereal voice, ancient and melodious.
…
…
And at this moment, Natsuba Taiga was sitting in a gray car.
He looked at the rapidly receding scenery outside the window.
A look of increasing interest appeared in his pale golden pupils, and his sharp teeth fiercely chewed on the bubble gum in his mouth.
He laughed heartily and freely.
“Hahahahahaha.”
“This is fate’s arrangement. The death of Natsuba Kouryu, the predicament of Natsuba Rinrei, the uselessness of Natsuba Yosuke, and the weakness of Natsuba Hanae.”
“I can be the head of the Natsuba conglomerate, and only I can be the head of the Natsuba conglomerate.”
“No other direct descendant can compare to me!”
“As long as I eliminate Natsuba Rinrei, there will be no other direct descendant qualified to compete with me.”
“Hmph, the cooperation between the Natsuba and Kujō conglomerates?”
“No, no, no, that’s just a cooperation between the old geezer and the Kujō family. When I become the head, I can completely ignore this bullshit cooperation.”
“The old geezer is really old. To marry into a conglomerate like the Kujō family, which only knows how to manage wealth, and to cooperate?”
“How ridiculous.”
“The Natsuba conglomerate is the undisputed strongest in terms of military power among the four major conglomerates!”
“And our god has two divine artifacts!”
“The Kujō family? If not for the fact that they were established a thousand years before us, if we had been established at the same time, they would have been crushed under our feet.”
Natsuba Taiga said the information he knew without a care.
As the first son of the Natsuba conglomerate, he knew more secrets than even Natsuba Kouryu.
These words were heard by Kyōkotsu Rōichi.
Kyōkotsu Rōichi frowned slightly.
He felt that when Natsuba Kouryu was still alive, Natsuba Taiga’s intelligence was still online. He hadn’t expected him to be so arrogant and defiant now.
Even his intelligence was a bit…
Even if it was just the two of them in the car, he shouldn’t say such things. He should just keep them in his heart.
Clearly, his city was not deep enough.
But as a subordinate, he had no right to criticize him. Serving a king is like serving a tiger. And Natsuba Taiga was a veritable… tiger.
But it was no wonder that Natsuba Taiga thought this way.
Even in Kyōkotsu Rōichi’s view…
Natsuba Taiga’s advantage was very great now. It could be said that he had all the advantages of time, place, and people.
There was no possibility of him not becoming the head of the Natsuba family. In that case, the Kyōkotsu branch would also rise with him and completely crush the Mizuō branch.
Thinking of this, a smile also appeared on Kyōkotsu Rōichi’s lips.
He stepped on the accelerator even harder.
Until a few hours later…
At the meeting point agreed upon by the Kujō and Natsuba conglomerates…
Natsuba Taiga and Kyōkotsu Rōichi saw Kujō Sujin appear. The smile he had before was now replaced by an embarrassed expression, and his face was as if he had eaten a big turd.
