Chapter 369
"Lord Nine-Tails..."
Isayama Yomi knelt on one knee in the hall, speaking respectfully while gazing at the back of the Nine-Tailed Fox.
"Go and kill Tsuchimiyaka Kagura for me."
Back turned toward Isayama Yomi, the Nine-Tailed Fox issued the order without a single ripple of emotion.
"What?"
Upon hearing the name Tsuchimiyaka Kagura, Yomi felt as if something within her body had been awakened. However, very quickly, the spiritual brand of the Nine-Tailed Fox on her forehead forced her back into a state of clarity.
"I understand."
Suppressing the confusion in her heart, Isayama Yomi nodded obediently, then turned and walked out of the shrine.
"In all probability, she will defect."
Watching Yomi's departing figure, the Nine-Tailed Fox's eyes were filled with coldness. It held absolutely no hope that Yomi would succeed in assassinating Tsuchimiyaka Kagura. After all, her previous abnormalities and her hesitation just now when hearing Kagura's name were enough to prove that Yomi was already a failed puppet.
"Let her defect then. As long as she serves her purpose."
Recalling the original intent behind having Mitogawa Kazuhiro create these two puppets, the Nine-Tailed Fox's face returned to a state of calm. It then stood up, walked to the front of Yurikawa Hana, and began to suck away the life force within her body.
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After receiving the mission to assassinate Tsuchimiyaka Kagura, Isayama Yomi rushed toward the Tokyo city area without pause. Meanwhile, Hikigaya Hachiman, having finished his phone call, followed the system's guidance toward the abandoned shrine where the Nine-Tailed Fox had been hiding.
Due to a deviation in their routes, coupled with Yomi's deliberate concealment of her aura, Hachiman did not encounter her. The two parties brushed past each other, moving toward their respective targets.
By the time Hachiman reached the abandoned shrine, the place was already empty.
"Left not long ago?"
After checking the surroundings, Hachiman immediately deduced the time of the Nine-Tailed Fox's departure. However, one point puzzled him: the Fox's wicked energy ended abruptly upon its return here. Regarding its current whereabouts, Hachiman could no longer use the wicked energy for tracking.
"Did it notice my tracking method and deliberately shield itself?"
Subconsciously, Hachiman considered this possibility. Given the Nine-Tailed Fox's intelligence, upon realizing he was charging straight for the shrine, it would definitely reflect on how it had been exposed.
"What should I do next?"
With the pursuit of the Nine-Tailed Fox yielding no results, Hachiman began to survey the environment around the shrine, hoping to find new clues.
Sniff, sniff...
Suddenly, while passing a certain spot in the shrine, Hachiman caught a faint fragrance.
"This scent..."
Though it was a bit embarrassing to admit, Hachiman vaguely remembered smelling a similar fragrance on Isayama Yomi's person. Following the direction of the scent's movement, Hachiman walked all the way down the mountain.
As he walked, Hachiman suddenly felt something was wrong.
"If I continue in this direction, aren't I just going back to the Isayama estate?"
Recalling the location of the Isayama family's base, Hachiman's mind was in a state of disarray. Just what kind of grudge did that Nine-Tailed Fox have against the Isayama family? Not only were both puppets made from the Isayama family's genius children, and not only did it lead an army of spirits to attack them later, but now, even after being heavily injured, it was still running back to the Isayama estate?!
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"Yomi?"
Inside the Isayama estate, Tsuchimiyaka Kagura looked on in disbelief at Isayama Yomi, who had broken in after killing the guards in the courtyard.
"Yo, Kagura, we meet again."
With a smile, Yomi sliced off the head of the last guard blocking her path to Kagura. Holding her blood-dripping tachi, she closed in on Kagura.
"Don't force me, I don't want to fight you!"
Reaching out to grasp the hilt of the tachi at her waist, Kagura pleaded earnestly. Having already lost one family member, she did not want to lose—or be forced to personally kill—Isayama Yomi, who was closer to her than a real sister.
"But I want to fight you."
Tilting her head, Yomi gave a cold laugh and charged toward Kagura. Seeing Yomi closing in, Kagura gritted her teeth; just as she resolved to draw her sword, she suddenly heard the sound of a tachi falling to the ground.
"No, stop!"
With a look of agony, Isayama Yomi clutched her head and slowly backed away. As Yomi struggled, the butterfly mark on her forehead grew fainter until it finally vanished completely...
The entire process looked like a beautiful story of Isayama Yomi struggling with all her might to protect her most precious person, finally breaking free from the Nine-Tailed Fox's control; it was harmonious and without a single point of suspicion.
"Yomi, are you okay?"
Seeing Yomi gasping for breath after breaking free from the control, Kagura maintained her vigilance as she walked over to investigate the situation.
"Kagura..."
Hearing the familiar voice in her ear, Yomi struggled to open her eyes. Seeing that Kagura was unharmed and that she hadn't committed a mistake she would regret for the rest of her life, she closed her eyes in relief and fainted.
"Kagura!"
Shortly after Yomi fainted, Isayama Naraku arrived with a large number of guards after receiving news that Kagura had been attacked. The moment he stepped into the courtyard, Naraku discovered the unconscious Isayama Yomi in Kagura's arms.
"This rebellious daughter!"
Looking at the corpses scattered across the ground and thinking of Yomi and Mei's recent actions, Naraku drew his sword in front of the numerous clansmen and swung it violently toward Isayama Yomi!
"Uncle Naraku, please wait!"
Kagura timely drew her sword and parried Naraku's strike.
"Kagura, she is no longer the person you knew!"
Seeing Kagura block his attack, Naraku breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, but on the surface, he continued to earnestly advise Kagura to give up her attempt to protect Yomi.
"No, Yomi just broke free from the control! I saw it with my own eyes!"
Shaking her head, Kagura defended Yomi.
"But she murdered her own clansmen; she is still marked for death regardless!"
Naraku was both stating Yomi's crimes and reminding Kagura of how she might save her. Having received Naraku's hint, Kagura immediately understood what to do.
"Yomi was being controlled by the culprit behind the scenes when she did those things. Moreover, we need to get information about the enemy from her, don't we?"
"But..."
Hearing Kagura's words, Naraku seemed to waver. Seeing this, Kagura used the negotiation tactic Tsuchimiyaka Gaku had taught her before his departure.
Suddenly, Kagura released the aura belonging to her General-level strength. The massive pressure instantly forced Naraku's guards—who were generally only Middle-level—to retreat several steps.
"After my father Tsuchimiyaka Gaku's death, I am now the head of the Tsuchimiyaka family. Uncle Naraku, surely you can follow the suggestion of the Tsuchimiyaka Head?"
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