Chapter 140: Capturing Natsuba Rinrei, the Plan Begins!
In Kujō Sujin’s mind…
Although the Natsuba conglomerate hadn’t sent Natsuba Genryū himself, Natsuba Taiga was still the face of the conglomerate, only slightly inferior to his father.
After this operation was over…
Natsuba Rinrei would be captured as a prisoner, and Natsuba Taiga would naturally be the heir to the Natsuba conglomerate.
This news would be known by the other forces.
If he were to distribute the spoils of this operation as if the Natsuba conglomerate were a subordinate, it would obviously offend them.
So, even if they were subordinates, the distribution of benefits had to be somewhere between subordinate and leader.
This way, the cooperation between the Kujō and Natsuba conglomerates could be long-term.
Until the Natsuba conglomerate’s god was completely drained by him, then he could swallow the Natsuba conglomerate whole.
And the Kujō conglomerate’s combat power and financial power would both reach the top. At that time, they would be at the pinnacle of the three major conglomerates.
As for the Kujō conglomerate’s god being the mid-tier Ebisu?
Please, the gods were not showing themselves now.
Besides being used as an unconscious divine barrier for the residence, the gods had not appeared for a thousand years.
If it weren’t for the records in the family archives and the divine artifacts they possessed, no one in the world would probably believe that gods actually existed.
Now, the position of power was determined by people.
However…
What Kujō Sujin hadn’t expected was that he had thought Natsuba Genryū would just send a B-rank to assist him, just to watch. He hadn’t expected Natsuba Taiga to come.
He didn’t know what he was thinking.
Kujō Sujin’s pupils moved slightly, a little puzzled. But the two were slowly approaching.
He could only put aside his thoughts.
And focus on the present.
Looking at Natsuba Taiga’s figure, which was half a head taller than his, a loving and hearty smile appeared on his lips.
“Hahahahahaha.”
He walked up to Natsuba Taiga and patted his sturdy arm.
“Taiga, I didn’t see you when I went to the Natsuba main residence yesterday. I missed you so much.”
“I remember seeing you a few decades ago.”
“You were as small as Kōta then. I didn’t expect you to grow so big in the blink of an eye.”
Kujō Sujin’s mouth was full of sighs, and a look of nostalgia appeared on his face, as if he were seeing the Natsuba Taiga of the past.
However…
This time, his words naturally lowered Natsuba Taiga’s status by one position.
He almost didn’t say it outright.
Even if your identity is the future head of the family, in his eyes, you are still the same as his nephew, a junior who has not grown up, a little brat.
This time, don’t overstep your bounds and act on your own.
Not only that, but when Kujō Sujin had touched Natsuba Taiga’s arm just now, he had touched a bit of sweat, and he was carefully sensing it.
From it, he could feel that the other’s strength had not reached the critical point of B-rank. It was just peak B-rank. Although he had been at peak B-rank for a long time, he was still just a peak B-rank.
With him here, if the other had any strange movements, it wouldn’t have much of an impact on this trip.
And Kyōkotsu Rōichi, who was behind Natsuba Taiga, his information had long been known by the Kujō family. He was just a mid-B-rank Kyōjū branch.
Not enough to be taken seriously by him.
And Natsuba Taiga, hearing Kujō Sujin’s words, his city was not deep, although he had heard the hidden meaning in the other’s words, he had no restraint.
His face immediately turned black, and his expression was filled with gloom.
But he was, after all, influenced by being around Natsuba Genryū. His expression gradually returned to its usual arrogant and uninhibited state, and he said with a relaxed tone,
“Seeing Uncle Sujin, I just feel very close.”
“It’s also true that the Natsuba and Kujō conglomerates have cooperated for so long, and I’ve never paid a visit.”
“After this is over, I’ll bring a generous gift and personally visit Uncle Sujin in a private capacity.”
Natsuba Taiga perfectly embodied what it meant to be a true smiling tiger.
His lips curled, but it was a smile without a smile. His pale golden pupils were filled with indifference.
And his implication was that it was no problem to visit in a private capacity in the future. But this time, he was not representing himself, but the Natsuba conglomerate.
And his status was not on the same level as Kujō Sujin’s nephew.
But a veritable heir to the Natsuba conglomerate, the future head of the family.
Hearing this, Kujō Sujin’s smile faded slightly. He nodded. Although Natsuba Taiga’s city was not deep, his response was not bad.
Although not as good as that old geezer Natsuba Genryū, he had inherited a bit of his style.
At this, Kujō Sujin couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
“Hahahahaha, Taiga, don’t be so formal.”
“After I marry Natsuba Hanae, we’ll all be family. What private identity, other identity, it’s too distant.”
“Come, Kōta, Mien.”
“Call him big brother Taiga.”
“Big brother Taiga has a lot of good supernatural bloodlust things on him.”
Kujō Sujin emphasized the private identity. Natsuba Taiga was also naive about this point.
Kujō Sujin had thrown a ball before. Natsuba Taiga’s response had not been to throw the ball back to Kujō Sujin, but to catch it.
Although he had shifted the topic to the respective identities of the two conglomerates, he had accepted the private relationship.
And Kujō Kōta, who was behind Kujō Sujin, pursed his lips and didn’t speak. To him, even if the other had good bloodlust things, he would not greet him.
His father had always told him that although the trade relations between the Natsuba and Kujō conglomerates had been maintained for a long time…
And the two families were about to be united by marriage, but the two families wished each other dead.
In essence, it was a very bad relationship.
So, he had always been told not to approach the Natsuba conglomerate’s people without permission. So even if Kujō Sujin said this, Kujō Kōta didn’t make a move.
Besides, as the most pure blood ability user in the Kujō family, the Kujō family’s supernatural materials were mostly open to him. Did he need this little bit of good stuff?
However, when Kujō Mien heard this, her originally listless, reddish-red, jewel-like beautiful eyes suddenly lit up.
“Hello, big brother Taiga!”
“Nice to meet you. My name is Kujō Mien. Big brother Taiga can just call me Mien~”
“For a newly met little sister, big brother Taiga won’t be stingy, right? If so, I’ll go back to the Kujō main residence and spread the word that the future head of the Natsuba conglomerate is a cheapskate~”
Kujō Mien’s eyelashes fluttered, her voice soft and charming, her temperament switching between charming and elfin.
However, her words put Natsuba Taiga in a bit of a predicament, forcing him into a corner.
Kujō Sujin, seeing Kujō Mien’s words…
Was greatly satisfied.
Compared to Kujō Kōta, Kujō Mien’s scheming was undoubtedly very suitable for a confrontation of power and intrigue, and she had one of the qualities of a family head.
However, when he thought of Kujō Mien’s not-so-pure branch of the blood ability, a hint of pity appeared in his pupils.
However, this didn’t stop Kujō Sujin from adding fuel to the fire.
“Hahahahaha, Mien is still a seventeen-year-old child. She’s ignorant and just joking.”
“If you, Taiga, take out the supernatural bloodlust of a Nightmare-level supernatural being, I’ll definitely refuse on Mien’s behalf.”
What Kujō Sujin meant was that he would refuse the supernatural bloodlust of a Nightmare-level supernatural being, but they wouldn’t refuse the supernatural bloodlust of a peak Calamity-level.
Natsuba Taiga heard Kujō Sujin and Kujō Mien’s one-two punch.
His face turned green with anger.
He took a deep breath, relaxed his expression as much as possible, and then took out a piece of bubble gum made from a peak Calamity-level supernatural being, wrapped in a small piece of elite-level fur, from his pocket.
And handed it to Kujō Mien.
His teeth clenched, he forced a smile.
“Nice to meet you, Mien. I don’t have much to give you. This is a bubble gum made from the blood of a peak Calamity-level supernatural being. It’s for you.”
Although it wasn’t a bubble gum made from complete blood, it was still precious enough.
Kujō Mien, seeing this, quickly snatched the bubble gum from Natsuba Taiga’s hand.
She pursed her red lips and said again,
“Don’t call me Mien, Mien. Please call me by my full name, Kujō Mien.”
To turn against someone so quickly, she was worthy of being the number one in the Kujō family.
Natsuba Taiga’s face froze instantly.
And Kujō Sujin looked at Kujō Mien with more and more approval. The frustration he had felt from Natsuba Genryū yesterday was now being taken out on Natsuba Taiga by Kujō Mien.
Every time he thought of this, he felt more and more regret.
He regretted Kujō Mien’s future fate.
Although every descendant of a branch of the blood ability was a cherished existence…
But that depended on who they were compared to.
If it was to cultivate an even more powerful pure blood ability user…
Then a supernatural user with a branch of the blood ability could also be abandoned.
And Kujō Mien, what was gratifying was her excellent combat awareness and combat skills. And what was a pity was that this excellence would likely become nourishment for a blood ability user.
In this model of a blood ability…
In the past, Kujō Sujin had thought of having Kujō Asano as his spare body.
And Kujō Mien, as a branch of the blood ability, her body’s suitability was even stronger.
Not only that, but a pure blood ability could choose the best. If he “used” Kujō Mien’s body, he could also master a large part of the combat awareness and combat skills contained in her body.
And if he combined a pure blood ability with Kujō Mien’s combat talent, the monster that would appear at that time would probably be unimaginable.
He would be a pillar of the Kujō family.
Of course, Kujō Mien’s individual consciousness would be abandoned.
However, to make up for his guilt, the Kujō family would give Kujō Mien a grand funeral, a vast tomb, and leave her a good name.
And the best choice for a blood ability user…
Kujō Sujin’s gaze fell on Kujō Kōta.
He was undoubtedly the best choice.
A pure and powerful blood ability, but having been in the main residence for a long time, and having received all kinds of resources, he had no combat awareness at all.
Of course, if Kujō Sujin entered early decline…
He might also use this body.
As for gender and appearance, he naturally didn’t have to worry. For a blood ability user, blood was the true main body.
The body would gradually adapt to the blood.
So, Kamishiro Naraku was rooted in Kujō Sujin’s blood, and could even make the unconscious divinity of Ebisu not notice. He was truly at Kujō Sujin’s lifeline.
Of course, this information about the blood ability…
Would only be revealed to the core members who possessed a blood ability. The branches of the blood ability would naturally not know.
In reality, the more mediocre a branch of the blood ability was, the safer they were. They might even intermarry with a blood ability user to produce a descendant with a higher chance of a blood ability and live a peaceful life.
The higher the talent of a branch of the blood ability, the more tragic they were.
Especially at Kujō Mien’s level, so high that it was a pity.
After all, inheriting her combat awareness was not a hundred percent inheritance, but a partial one.
Unfortunately, no matter which family head…
When they reached this position…
They would all plan for the overall benefit of the conglomerate and could only sacrifice the individuals within it.
Of course, if the one to be sacrificed was Kujō Sujin…
He would definitely not agree.
Back to the topic at hand, when Kujō Mien got the bubble gum, she was a little impatient to bite it and start chewing.
And Kujō Sujin looked at Natsuba Taiga and said,
“Enough with the reminiscing.”
“Now let’s go and capture Natsuba Rinrei.”
“I’ve already sent people to seal off the entire Supernatural Abilities Association. Now we just need to catch the turtle in the jar.”
“Since Natsuba Genryū sent you…”
“Then, for the benefits of this operation, I’ll give you twenty percent.”
“And what you get on your own, I won’t ask. And any trouble you cause, you’ll have to solve it yourself.”
If it were any B-rank from the Natsuba conglomerate, Kujō Sujin would only give them ten percent, and would not let them act on their own, but would have them follow him.
However, Natsuba Taiga was, after all, the future head of the family. He couldn’t possibly restrict his actions, so he could only do this.
This operation was almost a foolproof plan.
In fact, just in case, to prevent Natsuba Rinrei from having other members of Summer Harvest Mountain with her, he had predicted their strength to be B-rank, to avoid any extra trouble.
Kujō Sujin had even come out in person. He would not allow any mistakes.
And their so secret and swift action would not give Summer Harvest Mountain any information. By the time Summer Harvest Mountain reacted, Natsuba Rinrei would probably have already been sacrificed by him.
And now they needed Natsuba Rinrei’s specific whereabouts. The area of the Supernatural Abilities Association was actually quite large.
It was difficult to search aimlessly.
But…
Kujō Sujin said,
“Natsuba Taiga, have your mole report Natsuba Rinrei’s current location.”
Kyōkotsu Rōichi, who was beside Natsuba Taiga, immediately said,
“Natsuba Rinrei is currently on the seventh floor of the B-zone of the Supernatural Abilities Association, at the entrance of the meeting room.”
Hearing this, Kujō Sujin nodded.
“The sealing barrier is about to be deployed.”
“We have to be quick.”
With that, his old body suddenly became as fast as a flying arrow, and he shot into the distance.
The others quickly followed.
