"Caelura, Kagutsuchi, Karashi, Mitoshi, you four go personally. You must bring that father and son pair, along with that human and the Divine Tree, back to me."
Otsutsuki Yagara gave the order in a deep voice. He dispatched four divine realm supreme experts at once, clearly taking the matter seriously.
"Yes."
Regardless of the situation on Otsutsuki Zeroshiki's end, in Otsutsuki Yagara's view, four supreme experts were enough to handle everything.
In fact, if he didn't need Otsutsuki Kamikyo to help him stabilize the World Creation Divine Tree, he would have liked to send all five divine realm experts.
...
Deep within the palace.
Crack...
After ending the communication, Otsutsuki Zeroshiki crushed the magic mirror in his hand with a squeeze.
Thump...
Otsutsuki Yoshiki, startled by the noise, immediately knelt on the ground.
"Clan... Clan Head, please listen to my explanation. I did not intentionally leak your whereabouts. I just wanted to report before returning to the clan, and I accidentally mentioned you. That's... that's why..."
"Don't be foolish. Why would I blame you." Otsutsuki Zeroshiki interrupted his defense with a laugh, his attitude appearing quite gentle.
"Thank you for your understanding, Clan Head. This subordinate is willing to go through fire and water for you..."
"Enough, you may leave. I am tired."
Otsutsuki Yoshiki's words were interrupted again before he could finish.
"Yes... Clan Head, please rest. This subordinate will take his leave." Otsutsuki Yoshiki spoke cautiously.
He glanced out of the corner of his eye at Meishiki, who stood there like a wooden puppet, expressionless and showing no sign of stopping him.
'He's letting me leave just like that?'
The atmosphere inside the deep palace was indescribably strange. Looking at Otsutsuki Meishiki standing there dazedly, Otsutsuki Yoshiki suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
The Otsutsuki Meishiki before him shouldn't be this quiet. It would be reasonable for him to insult or even attack Yoshiki. Yet, at this moment, he seemed to have lost his soul, looking like a strange puppet.
Otsutsuki Yoshiki did not want to stay in this palace a moment longer. The strange changes in the Zeroshiki father and son duo made him shudder even at the thought. The next second, he forced himself to appear calm, lowered his head, and directly retreated backwards.
As soon as he exited the palace, he let out a heavy sigh of relief. However, the next moment, he ran straight into Otsutsuki Ginshiki.
"Lord Yoshiki, why is your complexion so pale?" Otsutsuki Ginshiki took the initiative to ask.
Encountering his own guardian, Otsutsuki Yoshiki felt an inexplicable sense of relief.
"Don't ask questions. This place is dangerous. Follow me. Let's leave here first."
The more Otsutsuki Yoshiki thought, the more panicked he became. He had already sensed a crisis of death. Although he didn't know why the Zeroshiki father and son hadn't killed him on the spot, he dared not face those two again.
"Yes. I will definitely protect Lord Yoshiki well."
As Otsutsuki Ginshiki spoke, he condensed a pink axe. Like his brother Kinshiki, he possessed the ability to create chakra weapons.
Otsutsuki Yoshiki said nothing more. He instinctively moved past Ginshiki and started walking forward. But before he could take a few steps, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his neck, and the world before his eyes began to spin wildly.
When his vision finally stabilized, Otsutsuki Yoshiki was horrified to see Otsutsuki Ginshiki cleave his headless body apart once more.
"Why." Otsutsuki Yoshiki was both shocked and furious at this moment.
"Forgive me, Lord Yoshiki. The Clan Head has given an order. I have no choice but to obey." Otsutsuki Ginshiki half-knelt on the ground, his expression cold.
"You..."
Otsutsuki Yoshiki never expected that his own guardian would betray him, and so ruthlessly and mercilessly, without the slightest hesitation.
Ginshiki was clearly his most loyal and reliable dog. Yet today, he suddenly bared his fangs at him.
"Why did you..."
Before Otsutsuki Yoshiki could finish his sentence, he heard the sound of someone clapping and praising.
"Well done, Ginshiki. You truly are a top-grade weapon without emotion." Otsutsuki Meishiki, controlled by Ryun, praised with a laugh. He felt calling Ginshiki a dog was an insult to dogs, so he referred to him as a weapon.
This Otsutsuki Ginshiki was one who wouldn't act unless necessary, but once he made up his mind, he would show no mercy. His strikes were ruthless and decisive. With two swings of his axe, he had completely incapacitated Otsutsuki Yoshiki.
"You are not Meishiki. He is not the Clan Head either. Who exactly are you two." On the verge of death, Otsutsuki Yoshiki seemed to have understood something. Unfortunately, his realization came too late. The next moment, his response was a sharp Six Paths Black Rod.
"Not Meishiki, not the Clan Head." Otsutsuki Yoshiki's words caused Ginshiki's eyes to widen instantly.
"A last-ditch attempt to sow discord before dying. This guy is up to no good. You mustn't be fooled by him."
Otsutsuki Meishiki offered an explanation. As he spoke, he actually walked towards Ginshiki. Ginshiki, however, subconsciously took two steps back.
"What. Are you doubting us." Otsutsuki Meishiki stopped walking, his face instantly turning dark.
"N, no, not at all. How could I possibly doubt you two." Upon hearing this, Otsutsuki Ginshiki immediately knelt on the ground. He really couldn't tell what was true or false anymore.
However, he had already made his choice by personally killing Yoshiki. Now, even if he had doubts, he had no choice but to stubbornly believe it.
"Hmph. If you're not doubting, then why did you step back. Do you believe the slander of a dying man. Crawl over to me right now." Otsutsuki Meishiki commanded in a tone that brooked no argument.
Hearing this, Otsutsuki Ginshiki swallowed hard. After only a moment's hesitation in his heart, he steeled himself and crawled to Meishiki's feet.
'What should I do. Are they really the Branch Family lords. Was Lord Yoshiki trying to harm me or warn me.'
Otsutsuki Ginshiki was filled with terror. He couldn't think of a way to deal with this situation. His loyalty to the clan forbade him from resisting Meishiki, because he wasn't sure if the person before him was an imposter.
He wasn't actually afraid of death. He was afraid of making the wrong choice. If the Lord Yoshiki he had personally killed was actually the right one, that result would be unbearable for him. Just the thought of it made him feel afraid.
"What. You're still holding that axe. Do you want to finish me off like you did Yoshiki." Otsutsuki Meishiki questioned from his superior position.
"N, no, I wouldn't dare." Otsutsuki Ginshiki hurriedly threw away his chakra axe in fright.
The moment the weapon left his hand, he had essentially made his second choice.
Otsutsuki Ginshiki prostrated himself at Meishiki's feet, lacking even the courage to look up.
"Are you afraid of me."
"N, no." Otsutsuki Ginshiki responded, but his body kept trembling.
"If not, then raise your head."
Otsutsuki Ginshiki obediently raised his head upon hearing this. But Meishiki swung his palm towards him the next moment.
Seeing this, Ginshiki subconsciously closed his eyes. Even as the crisis of death approached, he actually chose not to resist.
However, the anticipated death did not come. Otsutsuki Meishiki actually bent down, patted his shoulder, and said with a laugh,
"Don't be foolish. Why would I kill you. During the time we rest, we will still need you to attend to us."
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