Chapter 178: Natsuba Genryū: “This Time, It’s in the Bag”
Kamishiro Hime was still in Kyoto.
The battle between the Master of Summer Harvest Mountain and Kamishiro Naraku had left Kyoto in ruins, and Hime needed to be there to command the reconstruction. Not only that, but the imperial family’s prestige had not been managed in person for a long time, since her father and grandfather had been injured.
And Kamishiro Hime was going to restore that prestige, to show everyone in this country that the imperial family had never left, but was only sleeping, and had now awakened.
Besides, there was no benefit in staying in Takamagahara. It was better to come to Kyoto for a breath of fresh air.
Moreover…
The days of inhaling her mother’s divine statue’s scent were numbered.
This was the most important reason.
And one more thing: the Summer Harvest Mountain meeting was in fourteen days. That was a chance to see the strength of Summer Harvest Mountain and, more importantly, to see her mother in person. Until now, Hime had only seen her mother’s statue and had not yet seen her real face.
She wondered if her mother’s real scent would be even richer, even more pleasant.
Thinking of this, Kamishiro Hime licked her slightly dry lips. A look of anticipation appeared in her pure white, flawless eyes, but soon, this anticipation turned into regret. Because after seeing her mother, the statue Hime shared with Tamamo-no-Mae would have to be returned. In the future, she would no longer be able to enjoy that soft warmth and touch.
With so many reasons, Hime was reluctant to leave Kyoto.
Just as Kamishiro Hime was lost in thought, a scorching heat suddenly warmed in her bosom. A look of confusion appeared in her eyes, and she took out the object.
Opening her hand, Hime saw the purplish-black scale—the scale of Yamata no Orochi.
At this moment, the purplish-black aura was churning endlessly. It transformed into a snake shape and suddenly rushed outwards, but it was blocked by a mirror-like, dazzling light barrier before it could travel even half an inch. In the next moment, the purplish-black aura stopped churning and fell silent.
However, this strange movement naturally made Kamishiro Hime frown slightly.
“Why would the scale of Yamata no Orochi change like this?”
“Yamata no Orochi is an extremely powerful evil god. Only another evil god could cause the scale to change. Could it be that a new evil god has been born?”
What was an evil god? A god that brought disaster.
From the information Kamishiro Hime had learned from the imperial family’s secret archives, an evil god was a deity whose divinity had been completely invaded by a strange power—a god with divinity as an auxiliary and the strange power as the main force.
Of course, the Old God did not belong to this category; the Old God was simply one of the most powerful types of supernatural beings. When Kamishiro Naraku had worshipped the Old God, allowing it to obtain a wisp of divinity, it had caused an extremely drastic change. If that change had progressed to its extreme, that Old God would have likely become an evil god.
From this, it could be seen that the formation of an evil god was either a god being invaded by a strange being and becoming an evil god, or a strange being absorbing divinity to become an evil god. The former was Yamata no Orochi, and the latter was the Old God.
Of course, this did not mean that every evil god had A-rank or even god-level strength. But this also showed that the lower limit of an evil god was at least B-rank. The growth potential of an evil god was naturally terrifying; the “god” in its name meant that its highest upper limit could be a god-level combatant.
Kamishiro Hime naturally could not be lax about this. Her expression was a little troubled, and she gently rubbed her brow.
“Kyoto has not yet been completely repaired, and now an evil god has appeared from somewhere.”
“If only someone could share my worries.”
“But… that dead fox!!”
Thinking of this, Kamishiro Hime became very angry, her pure white eyes filled with rage.
“That dead fox, to savor the last dozen or so days, she actually holds that statue every moment and refuses to let go. Now she won’t even help!”
There weren’t many people Kamishiro Hime could use, and Tamamo-no-Mae was definitely one of them. Even the fox’s strategic mind was almost on par with Hime’s own. But Tamamo-no-Mae was lazy, loved pleasure, and was obsessed with her mother’s divine statue hug pillow.
How hateful.
Hime also wanted to hold the statue all day.
Kamishiro Hime thought of Tamamo-no-Mae holding the statue, and the more she thought about it, the angrier she became.
At that moment, a servant with a tengu mask walked in. The voice from behind the mask was muffled. The servant knelt on both knees and said to Kamishiro Hime, “Your Holiness, the head of the Natsuba conglomerate is asking to see you outside the gate.”
Since Kamishiro Hime had reached A-rank, the Kamishiro imperial family had gradually handed over power to her. Now, Hime was the acting representative of the imperial family.
When Kamishiro Hime heard the name of the Natsuba conglomerate, her pure white eyes immediately narrowed, and thoughts began to emerge. If she remembered correctly, the meeting in fourteen days was to be held at the main residence of the Natsuba conglomerate.
Although Hime didn’t know what relationship Summer Harvest Mountain had with the Natsuba conglomerate, the fact that the meeting was held at the Natsuba main residence meant that there was definitely some connection between the two. And since the visitor was the head of the Natsuba conglomerate, perhaps it was another of her mother’s arrangements, to have the man come and see her?
Thinking of this, Kamishiro Hime pursed her pink lips and said, “Let him in to see me.”
“Yes.”
The tengu servant replied, then stood up and left. Not long after, he led Natsuba Genryū into the room.
Natsuba Genryū didn’t waste any words. The moment he knelt down, he stated his purpose.
“I request that Lady Hime join forces with the Natsuba conglomerate to annihilate the rebellious force—Summer Harvest Mountain.”
“The forces of Summer Harvest Mountain have already been established. Now, they have a peak A-rank mountain lord and an A-rank member. Summer Harvest Mountain has only had two members appear, and both are A-rank. Among the remaining members, it is highly likely that another A-rank will emerge.”
“Their power is already very great. Three A-ranks will affect the imperial family’s recently restored prestige. The Natsuba conglomerate is willing to take the lead in attacking Summer Harvest Mountain, but our strength is insufficient, and we hope to ask for help from the imperial family.”
In a few words, Natsuba Genryū had turned his request for help into a righteous act. He was not asking for help because of the conflict between the Natsuba conglomerate and Summer Harvest Mountain, but to stabilize the imperial family, and he was willing to be the vanguard in the attack. These words not only made his intentions clear but also seemed to be entirely for the sake of the imperial family.
Hearing Natsuba Genryū’s words, Kamishiro Hime’s mind was full of question marks.
In her view, the Natsuba conglomerate should have come on her mother’s orders. But now the head of the Natsuba conglomerate was telling her that his family was asking for help from the imperial family so they could attack Summer Harvest Mountain together?
Leaving aside everything else… just the part about Summer Harvest Mountain being highly likely to have another A-rank…
It wasn’t highly likely, it was a certainty. She was right here. Yes, it was Hime herself.
Kamishiro Hime was the third A-rank of Summer Harvest Mountain. To have an A-rank from Summer Harvest Mountain attack Summer Harvest Mountain… the conglomerate lord named Natsuba Genryū had a truly interesting idea.
Of course, after understanding that the Natsuba conglomerate and Summer Harvest Mountain were not related, Kamishiro Hime’s thinking immediately changed. Although she didn’t know why her mother wanted to hold the meeting at the Natsuba main residence, she could also understand that the current Natsuba conglomerate was an enemy, not a friend.
If possible, Hime really wanted to take down Natsuba Genryū directly.
Unfortunately, she couldn’t. The imperial family naturally had intelligence on the heads of the major forces in the country, and Natsuba Genryū’s file was among them.
In his youth, Natsuba Genryū had also reached the peak of A-rank. Kamishiro Hime had witnessed such peak A-rank strength during the battle between Natsuba Hanae and Kamishiro Naraku. Although Natsuba Genryū was not necessarily as strong as her mother, his rank was there, so he wouldn’t be far off.
Not to mention, Natsuba Genryū’s A-rank was achieved through a series of battles; he was undoubtedly a peak A-rank combatant. Although he was now in his old age, just from Hime’s pure eyes, his aura was still powerful. A swaying, blood-red killing intent enveloped his skinny body. Natsuba Genryū was not, as he appeared on the surface, a true old man.
However… even if Natsuba Genryū was her mother’s enemy, it was not impossible for Hime to agree to this request for help. Perhaps it would be useful in the future.
Thinking of this, a hint of admiration for Natsuba Genryū appeared in Kamishiro Hime’s pure white eyes. She said with satisfaction, “Lord Natsuba, you have a point. This force, Summer Harvest Mountain, I’ve also been learning about it recently.”
“Before, I knew that the Master of Summer Harvest Mountain had the strength of around a peak A-rank, and I didn’t pay much attention, thinking I could fight the Master with a divine artifact. But if Summer Harvest Mountain really has three A-ranks as you say, then the publicly known A-ranks do indeed pose a threat to the imperial family’s rule.”
“Then, Lord Natsuba, what strategy do you have to annihilate Summer Harvest Mountain in one fell swoop?”
Kamishiro Hime looked down at Natsuba Genryū. She planned to listen to his plan first and then make a decision.
In reality, if it weren’t Summer Harvest Mountain with three A-ranks, but some other organization, the imperial family would have definitely acted. For the current public, most people did not know about the existence of gods and divine artifacts. Even Kamishiro Hime only learned everything after becoming an A-rank and returning to Takamagahara, where her father and grandfather shared all the information with her. If another force had three A-ranks, in the eyes of the public, that would be on par with the imperial family. This would clearly shake the foundation of the imperial family, which was why they needed to be suppressed.
At this moment, Natsuba Genryū heard Kamishiro Hime’s words. Although he showed no expression on the surface, his narrowed pupils opened a slit, and a hint of joy appeared in his pale golden eyes.
On his trip here, Genryū had been afraid that Kamishiro Hime, relying on the imperial family’s self-importance and possessing the strongest divine artifact, would dismiss Summer Harvest Mountain as nothing and drive him away. But now, Kamishiro Hime clearly had the idea of cooperating to destroy Summer Harvest Mountain.
In this way, the purpose of his trip was more than half complete. As long as the imperial family had this idea, then with his decades of experience over Hime, was he afraid he couldn’t lure her in? Never mind Kamishiro Hime, a mere girl; even if her father came, in terms of this kind of scheming, he was no match for Genryū. For example, the cooperation between himself and the Kujō head was actually led by the Natsuba conglomerate.
And so, Natsuba Genryū threw out the benefits. In his amiable tone, with a hint of temptation, he said, “The Master of Summer Harvest Mountain has a method for supernatural users to master a Rule. If this method is controlled by the imperial family, then the imperial family’s authority will be greatly enhanced, and you will obtain a trump card that other forces do not possess.”
“As for the strategy, it’s also very simple. To this day, I still possess the strength of a peak A-rank. General against general, king against king. Lady Hime, with a divine artifact, will be responsible for fighting the Master of Summer Harvest Mountain. A while ago, I already probed the full strength and means of another A-rank from Summer Harvest Mountain; I know them like the back of my hand.”
“This A-rank, I don’t need two hours to completely kill her. At that time, with the divine artifact of the Natsuba family, we will besiege the Master of Summer Harvest Mountain together. Even if the Master has the power of a peak A-rank, she is by no means a match for the two of us A-ranks with divine artifacts. The strategy is very simple, but very effective.”
Natsuba Genryū slowly explained.
Hearing this, Kamishiro Hime added her own doubts. “In that case, I heard that the Master of Summer Harvest Mountain is elusive. How can Lord Natsuba lure her out?”
Natsuba Genryū continued, “Lady Hime need not worry about this. At that time, even if it’s not the Master of Summer Harvest Mountain who is lured out, it will definitely be another A-rank. As long as we weaken Summer Harvest Mountain’s strength, our efforts will not be in vain.”
Natsuba Genryū’s thoughts were very simple: continue to use Natsuba Rinrei as bait. As long as he took Natsuba Rinrei outside the main residence and put her in a fatal situation, he didn’t believe that the Master of Summer Harvest Mountain wouldn’t come out to rescue the girl. After all, there was already a precedent with the Hero Association.
If Natsuba Rinrei went missing and lost Kimura Sakura’s surveillance, it would indeed be difficult to find her. But that wasn’t a problem either. He just needed to release the news that he was going to kill Natsuba Hanae, and Natsuba Rinrei would surely come back.
And so, Natsuba Genryū and Kamishiro Hime communicated again and again. To show his sincerity in cooperating, Genryū revealed almost his entire plan to gain the support of the imperial family, while Hime often nodded and pondered.
Finally, when the two had finished their discussion, Kamishiro Hime pursed her lips and said softly, “Lord Natsuba, Summer Harvest Mountain is indeed a great force now. Then we’ll do as you say. I will borrow the divine artifact of the Kamishiro family and will come to help you then.”
Hearing this, even with Natsuba Genryū’s disposition, he couldn’t help but be overjoyed. He kowtowed and said, “Thank you, Lady Hime.”
After the cooperation was reached, Genryū’s eyes suddenly became sinister. He thought to himself, Master of Summer Harvest Mountain, I will make you pay with your blood!
With the help of the Kamishiro imperial family, the strongest divine artifact, and the Natsuba conglomerate’s most offensive divine artifact, even the Master of Summer Harvest Mountain would have no chance of survival. Not to mention, their plan was very effective. And the imperial family was not like the Kujō family, with the possibility of betrayal. This time, it was absolutely in the bag.
Ten minutes after Natsuba Genryū had left, Kamishiro Hime appeared at the Ryūko Shrine.
She kicked Tamamo-no-Mae, who was hugging the statue on the bed, and said, “I have something to report to Mother.”
