Chapter 247: Uesugi Kenshin Is a Stubborn Duck
A moment later.
The main hall of the shrine.
The three of them sat kneeling before a low wooden table.
Kobe Hikaru sat in the center, Kikyo positioned quietly on his left, and the newly reborn generation of Uesugi Kenshin directly opposite them.
The hem of the young girl's blue, short-robed battle outfit remained neatly tucked beneath her knees. The polished scabbard of her sword rested horizontally to her right, easily within reach but entirely unthreatening. A pristine white headband wrapped around her forehead, catching the warm, flickering candlelight, while her deep indigo hair cascaded smoothly over her shoulders.
Her bright, dark eyes appeared exceptionally clear in the dim, shifting shadows of the room.
She had already forced down that inexplicable, fluttering palpitation from just a moment ago. Her breathing was even, her posture impeccable.
On the low table between them sat three cups of steaming hot tea. The fragrant brew had been prepared by Momiji—or rather, it would be far more accurate to say that Momiji had been physically dragged into the kitchen by Botan, held up by the arms, and forced to brew it with violently trembling hands.
Momiji currently knelt outside the sliding paper door, pressing her ear against the wood to eavesdrop. Botan lay flat on her back right beside her, doing the exact same thing.
Naoe Kanetsugu stood rigidly by a thick wooden pillar on the side of the main hall. Her posture was perfectly upright, the faint, lingering blood-mist mark on her neck barely visible in the dancing candlelight.
Her sharp gaze shifted back and forth between Kenshin and Hikaru.
The Chief General of the Uesugi Clan had been held captive by this undead demon for nearly two months. They had been at each other's throats, fighting brutal battles of attrition, yet now her Lord was sitting casually opposite him, blowing on hot tea. The entire situation was so utterly absurd that Kanetsugu felt a dull ache throbbing behind her eyes. She simply could not bring herself to care anymore.
Of course, if Kanetsugu could fully comprehend that the Lord sitting before her was fundamentally not the same entity as the Lord of the past, she would likely find the situation even more mind-bending.
Unfortunately, she lacked that context.
The power of gods and Buddhas was simply that unreasonable.
Hikaru picked up his ceramic teacup and took a slow, measured sip. The bitter warmth slid down his throat.
His Crimson Demon Eyes swept across the young woman sitting opposite him.
She was truly a completely different existence from the previous generation's imposing figure with silver-white hair and piercing golden eyes. The oppressive, divine aura was gone, replaced by something far more grounded.
But the 'Seed' he had forcibly buried deep within her Soul in the past was still there. He could feel its faint, rhythmic pulse.
He could also confirm that as long as that Seed remained present, the girl sitting across from him would not, and fundamentally could not, become his enemy.
Once he confirmed she was not a threat, that was enough for him. He set the cup down with a soft clink.
"Tell me," Hikaru said, his voice flat and pragmatic. "What exactly is the origin of those moths."
Kenshin lowered her teacup. Before addressing the business at hand, she tilted her head slightly. Her dark pupils seemed to harden with a sudden, determined resolve before she dared to look directly into his Crimson Demon Eyes.
"Before talking about that, there is something I must say first."
Her tone was incredibly steady. Her voice had returned to being clear and pure, devoid of any divine arrogance or hidden scheming.
"The previous matters. Forcibly bestowing names, besieging this land. Those things should not have been done."
She phrased it carefully. It was that they should not have been done, not merely that they were done by the previous generation.
Because in the perception of Kanetsugu and the rest of the world, she was the exact same person who had committed those acts.
Uesugi Kenshin was a direct continuation of the previous generation. Even if her memories, physical appearance, and core personality were completely different, her identity as the Dragon of Echigo was an unchangeable fact. She carried the weight of that name.
Therefore.
"This is a formal apology. It is a debt that needs to be made up for."
She bowed her head a fraction of an inch. "Besides that, there is also a debt of gratitude."
Those words made Hikaru pause, his deadpan expression cracking just a millimeter. Beside him, the usually stoic priestess couldn't help but lift her gaze, her dark eyes studying the girl.
The apology went without saying. No matter how one analyzed the situation, the previous Kenshin's aggressive southward invasion was entirely unjustified toward Hikaru and Kikyo.
At that time, they had been living in relative peace in Kaede Village. They had been targeted and besieged for absolutely no logical reason other than divine whimsy.
But gratitude? No matter how Hikaru calculated the variables, he couldn't find a reason for her to be thankful. He had shattered her predecessor's divine form.
However, as he stared at the young girl opposite him, his eyes narrowed slightly. The gears in his pragmatic mind turned, and he began to understand.
Kikyo lowered her eyes, her long eyelashes trembling slightly in the candlelight.
Together, they listened in silence as the second-generation Kenshin spoke.
"You made me realize something."
She didn't immediately specify what that realization was.
But Hikaru truly knew.
Although the mechanics of it were incredible and more than a little strange, it all traced back to one specific moment.
That kneel.
The exact moment the previous Kenshin was physically forced to bend her knees into the dirt before five hundred of her own devout believers. After the high-and-mighty, invincible golden body of the Incarnation of Bishamonten shattered into pieces, what was revealed beneath the divine light was not an empty void, but fragile, bleeding flesh and bone.
The previous Kenshin had stated that although the next generation would not retain her specific memories, she would still inherit everything else. She would inherit the deep realizations gained in that agonizing instant, and she would definitely return to find Kobe Hikaru.
Memory is not the equivalent of a person's entirety. Some thoughts, some deep shifts in perspective, are permanently etched into the Soul itself.
And this newborn Kenshin sitting before them had clearly inherited the heavy realization from the exact moment her predecessor's knees hit the earth.
A god who has been forced to kneel is no different from a Mortal.
Through that humiliation, she finally understood the fragile, beating heart of a Mortal.
It was no wonder this new generation of Kenshin looked so much more human, her aura radiating a warmth that the previous golden-eyed deity completely lacked.
She had inherited this painful realization from her predecessor and, bizarrely, regarded it as a massive favor.
"That kneel made the previous generation... made us understand that while gods and Buddhas may sit high above the clouds, we are still Mortals bleeding on the earth."
Kenshin looked up, her expression intensely solemn and direct.
She spoke nothing but the absolute truth.
This was the core origin of her so-called gratitude.
"So, Your Excellency Hikaru, you should have felt it during the skirmish, right? My army operates differently now. You completely broke the infallible prestige of Bishamonten. You made my soldiers realize that the existence known as Uesugi Kenshin is not absolutely high above them, nor is she absolutely invincible. And that..." She took a soft breath. "That gives me the opportunity to finally interact with them as equals."
A military force composed entirely of blind fanatics is naturally terrifying in its power. But often, relying solely on the absolute infallibility of so-called gods and Buddhas easily leads a nation to lose its own internal motivation to adapt and advance. When the god falls, the army crumbles.
Today's land of Echigo, and even Kozuke Province, were undoubtedly freer. The suffocating weight of divine expectation had lifted.
Although her current forces might not possess the same mindless, terrifying strength as they did under the previous generation.
They possessed far more potential to grow.
"So I want to thank you. I have been actively looking for an opportunity to repay this favor."
This current military movement south was exactly that.
It was not for conquest. It was not for a bloody invasion. And it certainly was not to establish some delusional 'Divine Kingdom on Earth'. The human world should have a human kingdom, built by human hands, completely unrelated to the whims of gods and Buddhas.
She was simply looking for a chance to pay off her spiritual debt.
Kanetsugu stood stiffly by the pillar, her brow furrowing imperceptibly. She felt that something was deeply, fundamentally off about this entire conversation. Yet, looking at the girl's earnest face, she couldn't help but feel that this current Lord seemed far better than the cold deity she had served before.
Hikaru's expression remained entirely neutral.
He didn't harbor any grand ideas about burying the hatchet and becoming sworn allies. He simply processed the data: the person sitting before him was indeed a different individual with different operating parameters.
Her tone was casual, but her attitude was clear enough to establish a baseline of trust.
A faint glimmer of light reflected in Kenshin's dark eyes, and the subtle curve of her lips deepened just a fraction.
The girl tucked her hands neatly into her blue sleeves. "Now then, it is time to talk business."
The atmosphere in the room shifted, the tension sharpening.
"The question you just asked. Those moths come from Mutsu Province in the freezing northeast."
She provided a clear direction.
"Moth Youkai have inhabited the dense mountain forests of northern Mutsu since ancient times. Historically, they have always been scattered, disorganized, and relatively weak. But in recent years..."
Kenshin paused, her expression darkening.
"They have acquired a leader."
"What is his name?" Hikaru asked, his tone flat.
"Menomaru."
As soon as those syllables hung in the air, Hikaru's Crimson Demon Eyes twitched slightly.
He had a distinct impression of that name. Menomaru was a Great Yokai of significant infamy.
His background was deeply rooted in ancient bloodshed. He was the direct offspring of Hyoga, a terrifying Great Yokai from the mainland of the Celestial Empire who had crossed the ocean to Japan. Hyoga had ultimately been defeated and sealed away by the legendary Dog General, Toga. Menomaru had inherited that top-tier Bloodline.
But if Hikaru's memory of the lore served him correctly, Menomaru should have been permanently sealed away along with his father's overwhelming demonic power.
, although he possessed the Bloodline of a top-tier Great Yokai, Menomaru's species operated differently from someone like Sesshomaru. The Moth Youkai race was not naturally born with world-shattering strength. Instead, they possessed the unique, terrifying ability to directly inherit the raw power and even the accumulated memories of their ancestors and peers. They achieved a perfect Legacy across generations.
In other words.
This Menomaru had likely awakened from his ancient seal, and along with his consciousness, the vast, terrifying demonic power of his father, Hyoga, had also broken free.
Hikaru's mind rapidly connected the dots, pulling up another piece of data.
Gakimaru.
One of the four monstrous vanguards dispatched by the Kyoto faction a few months ago.
"Previously, the holy Barrier of Mount Hakurei entirely suppressed the Turbid Qi of the Kanto region," Kenshin explained, her voice pulling him back to the present. "The north is cold, barren, and harsh. Those yokai have long desired to head south to claim more fertile, warmer land. The Moth Youkai you killed recently was actually an advanced scout they sent out, actively collaborating with Kyoto's yokai forces to test the waters and infiltrate Kanto."
She traced a finger lightly over the rim of her teacup. "After that specific Moth Youkai died, Menomaru absorbed its lingering memory fragments from afar. He learned about the current power vacuum in Kanto, realizing that there are no true Great Yokai currently holding territory here. Coupled with the sudden disappearance of Mount Hakurei, the holy Barrier is completely gone. Menomaru, who has been plotting in the shadows for a long time, has officially mobilized his Moth Legion southward."
"So, those three tribes of yokai from Tono were driven out of their territory by this advancing force earlier." Hikaru stated, the puzzle pieces snapping perfectly into place.
"Correct." Kenshin nodded firmly. "Those creatures you fought just now were only the absolute vanguard. Menomaru's main body hasn't even arrived yet. Make no mistake, he is a true Great Yokai. His raw power is not much weaker than the Tsuchigumo you once faced in battle."
Kenshin's gaze lingered heavily on Hikaru's face.
That slight, fluttering palpitation in her chest flared up again, but she ruthlessly squashed it down.
At a critical time like this, discussing military movements and Great Yokai, she absolutely could not let her mind wander to strange places.
The new generation Kenshin scolded herself internally.
"How did he manage to pull human armies into this?" Hikaru asked, deliberately pretending to be unaware of the obvious tactics.
Kenshin's dark eyelashes lowered, casting long shadows over her cheeks.
"According to the intelligence gathered by my elder sister... cough, the Kanto Deputy, Aya-gozen. Mutsu has always been in a state of absolute chaos. No single daimyo has ever been able to stabilize the political situation there. Bandits, rogue samurai, and outlaws are everywhere. Menomaru used his parasitic scales to forcibly mind-control one group of humans, and used raw demonic power and wealth to bribe another. Exchanging power for absolute loyalty. There is certainly no shortage of such greedy characters among human villains."
Hikaru remained silent for a long moment.
His mind calculated further down the timeline.
The three tribes of Tono.
The Great Kappa, the Kamaitachi, and the Yuki-onna. That large, desperate group of yokai that had aggressively moved south from the direction of Mutsu a few months ago.
At the time, he had briefly wondered what kind of terrifying existence could possibly drive such proud yokai out of their ancestral homes and force them to flee into Kanto.
Now he had the exact answer.
They had been violently driven out by the newly awakened Menomaru.
Menomaru had brutally integrated the scattered forces of yokai and human bandits in northern Mutsu, swallowing the weak and mercilessly expelling anyone who defied his rule. The three tribes of Tono were unable to resist his overwhelming power, but they refused to yield and become his slaves, so they chose the only other option: mass migration south.
Of course, just as Kenshin pointed out, there was also the most crucial, overarching variable. Mount Hakurei.
Before Master Hakushin attained Nirvana and dissolved his domain, the massive, invisible wall of Buddha Power radiating from Mount Hakurei covered a massive area of northern Kanto. That holy Barrier exerted a crushing suppressive force on all yokai, especially Great Yokai. It made it physically impossible for them to stay in the region for long, even if they managed to cross the border.
Because of that absolute deterrent, Menomaru could not move his forces south.
Now that the Barrier had vanished into thin air, the highway was wide open.
So the ultimate question remained.
Who exactly had awakened Menomaru from his ancient seal? Who had allowed him to inherit his father's catastrophic power and memories, elevating him to the undisputed leader of the Moth Youkai?
Hikaru turned his sharp gaze back to Kenshin. "Will Menomaru personally take action on the front lines?"
Kenshin fell silent for a moment, her brow furrowing as she ran through tactical simulations in her head. Only after a long pause did she seem to arrive at an answer.
"If it were before, under the old circumstances, I would say yes without hesitation."
She looked up. "But now..."
"Not necessarily, right?" Hikaru finished the sentence for her, his voice dry.
Kenshin nodded slightly, the corners of her lips curling upward. "Exactly. Because of your existence."
He was not technically a Great Yokai, but he possessed the raw, terrifying strength to briefly rival and violently clash with one. This was the current Kishin, Kobe Hikaru.
One of the primary reasons Menomaru dared to mobilize his army south was because the Turbid Qi in the Kanto region had been suppressed by Mount Hakurei for so long that absolutely no true Great Yokai existed to challenge his claim to the territory.
Now, Hikaru had violently filled that power void.
Things were drastically different now.
The tea in their cups had grown completely cold.
Hikaru placed his ceramic teacup back onto the low wooden table. "So, what exactly do you plan to do?"
How did she intend to repay this supposed favor?
Kenshin lifted her chin. Her eyes, catching the silver light of the candles, appeared exceptionally bright and resolute.
"I will stay."
Three simple words.
By the wooden pillar, Kanetsugu's entire body instantly went rigid, as if struck by lightning.
Outside the sliding door, Momiji gasped loudly, and Botan jerked backward in shock, bumping hard into Momiji's back and nearly biting her own tongue off in the process.
Beside Hikaru, Kikyo's hand, which had been gracefully holding her teacup, completely stopped in mid-air.
"I owe you a massive favor. I must repay it."
Kenshin's voice was entirely candid and sincere. There wasn't a single hint of political scheming or deception in her tone.
"Although Menomaru likely won't move south personally just yet, Musashi Province is, after all, a land of constant, bloody conflict. The hostile forces gathering in the northeast are not just the Moth Legion, and they are not just yokai. Human armies will follow."
She leaned forward slightly. "Three hundred of my elite men will be stationed outside the village. We will strictly stay out of the shrine's Barrier range and will absolutely not interfere with any of your internal affairs. We will remain as a defensive vanguard until the threat from the north is permanently removed. How about it?"
It was presented as a question, but it carried the cautious, hopeful inquiry of someone offering a genuine alliance.
Finally, she added one last, careful sentence.
"Of course, if you find this arrangement inappropriate or uncomfortable... I can pack up my camp and leave immediately. I will not disturb your peace."
This version of her really is completely different from the previous generation.
Hikaru thought to himself, his face remaining a mask of deadpan apathy.
The main hall fell into a heavy, contemplative silence.
He stared at the face across from him. It was still exquisitely beautiful, but it no longer bore that inhuman, suffocating indifference. He marveled internally at the sheer absurdity of the situation. He truly hadn't expected that forcing a god to kneel once would result in a complete factory reset, producing such a drastically different Uesugi Kenshin.
He glanced sideways at Kikyo.
Kikyo looked back at him, her dark eyes calm.
She gave a tiny, almost imperceptible nod.
Acceptable.
After Mount Hakurei disappeared, Musashi Province was guaranteed to face relentless threats from the north. They truly needed the extra manpower.
No matter how incredibly strong Kikyo was with her spiritual archery, she was still only human. She couldn't physically guard every single direction twenty-four hours a day. also, her skill set was heavily focused on purifying demons and yokai; she couldn't efficiently slaughter large numbers of mundane human armies without exhausting herself.
Hikaru finally spoke, his voice cutting through the silence. "Fine."
The corners of Kenshin's mouth immediately curled up. The angle of her smile was very small, heavily restrained, but it definitely existed.
"The soldiers stay strictly outside the village," Hikaru added, his Crimson Demon Eyes locking onto hers. "And you, personally, also stay outside the village."
Kenshin's faint smile instantly froze. Then, as if her mind suddenly jumped to a very specific, embarrassing thought, her pale cheeks flushed a brilliant shade of red.
Hikaru didn't blink. "And don't even think about trying to bestow a name on me ever again."
They weren't active enemies anymore, but this bizarre new dynamic didn't exactly fall under the category of 'being friends' either.
Hikaru had to establish firm boundaries and take precautions against her weird divine habits.
Kenshin fell completely silent, her face burning.
She quickly picked up her tea bowl, ignoring the fact that the tea was now freezing cold, and took a rapid, shallow sip to hide her expression.
"Rest assured."
She lowered the bowl and raised her beautiful eyes again. They were very earnest, very firm, and still slightly panicked. "I absolutely won't do that kind of thing. I won't force my will on others ever again."
And honestly, compared to forcing him to be her Divine Artifact or something equally overbearing... her mind had actually been wandering toward entirely different, inexplicable thoughts.
Just... well, she couldn't let herself think wildly about that right now.
Witnessing this entire exchange.
Naoe Kanetsugu slowly closed her eyes, leaning heavily against the corridor pillar. She was also thinking wildly.
After all.
It really felt like something was fundamentally, terribly wrong with her Lord's brain.
Meanwhile.
A thousand miles away. Sagami Province, Odawara Castle.
Hojo Ujiyasu sat alone in a dimly lit chamber at the very top of the Tenshukaku.
A luxurious, deep purple kimono wrapped tightly around her exquisite, undulating figure. However, despite her elegant appearance, her current mood was incredibly foul, her heart and mind narrowing with intense petty frustration.
She gripped a small slip of paper tightly in her hand. The ink strokes on the parchment were crisp, clear, and utterly damning.
Uesugi Kenshin led elite forces to Kaede Village. Assisted the Thunder-slaying Demon God in repelling the Moth Youkai vanguard. The Uesugi Army has set up a permanent camp outside the village, showing absolutely no intention of leaving.
"That bastard."
Ujiyasu gritted her teeth so hard her jaw ached, violently crumpling the intelligence report into a tight ball.
What kind of place was Kaede Village?
That was the exact Shinto center she had just officially submitted a formal document to the authorities in Kyoto to establish as the 'Kishin Mitama no Mikoto'! That village was the sacred ground where the orthodox god worshipped by the two entire provinces of Sagami and Musashi—territories under her direct command—resided!
And now, the damn Dragon of Echigo had actually marched her troops right up to the front door and taken up permanent residence.
Her prized home base had just been brazenly poached right from under her nose.
"Did you even bother to ask for my opinion!?"
Ujiyasu violently slapped her palm against the low wooden table, the loud crack echoing through the silent room.
Her chest heaved. In her sudden spike of anger, she lost her usual calculating composure for a brief, blinding moment.
"My Lord, shall we dispatch the troops?" a retainer kneeling outside the paper screen asked, his voice trembling with caution.
"Dispatch what troops!?"
Ujiyasu snapped, forcing herself to take a deep breath and suppress her boiling anger. She let out a sharp, cold snort. "Send out the order immediately. Increase all security patrols around Odawara Castle. Then, send a fast rider to Suruga. Tell the people of the Imagawa Clan—especially that useless coward Imagawa Yoshimoto—that their precious god is about to be completely abducted by that Echigo woman!"
Hojo Ujiyasu harbored grand aspirations to completely dominate the Kanto region. Because of this ambition, she was naturally very clear about the complex political and military situation across all of Kanto.
Among all the Kanto provinces, if one were to talk about the absolute strongest and most economically prosperous power, it was naturally headed by the Imagawa Clan, which comfortably ruled over three entire provinces.
But if one were to talk about whose raw military power and tactical brilliance could be considered the absolute best in the world, it was definitely not the Imagawa Clan.
It was the Uesugi Clan.
The Dragon of Echigo.
That was a terrifying military existence that even the legendary Takeda Shingen of the Takeda Clan had suffered massive, bloody losses against on multiple occasions.
Even though Ujiyasu knew Kenshin had previously suffered heavy blows from Kobe Hikaru, resulting in her divine power being severely damaged and her Origin Qi being greatly depleted, that woman... that Uesugi Kenshin, was still very much alive and kicking.
Even though rumors claimed she had suffered a massive psychological blow in that battle and her core personality was suspected to have changed drastically.
Echigo Province had still recovered a terrifying amount of military strength under her continued rule.
The Hojo Clan, which was notoriously not good at direct military force and was almost equivalent to being semi-dependent on the Takeda Clan for protection in this regard, naturally couldn't possibly oppose the Uesugi Clan alone in an open field battle.
If she rashly led her troops to Kaede Village to demand an explanation, she would likely be beaten so thoroughly by Kenshin's elites that not even her ashes would remain to be buried.
She gritted her teeth again. These people who blindly believed in gods and Buddhas were all so mysterious, eccentric, and utterly unreasonable.
Uesugi Kenshin was exactly like this, and that brute Takeda Shingen was also exactly like this.
However, although she knew she couldn't win a direct physical confrontation, Hojo Ujiyasu absolutely did not plan to just sit idly by and swallow this insult. She hadn't forgotten that Kobe Hikaru and Imagawa Yoshimoto had always maintained a very close, mutually beneficial relationship.
Her own attempt to poach him to her side hadn't fully succeeded... or rather, it had only succeeded a tiny, frustrating little bit.
Since she couldn't win with swords and spears... then she could only stir the political waters first and watch them drown each other.
Oh, right. A vicious smile curled her lips.
"Send a letter to the Takeda side as well."
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