Chapter 180: Kyoto Crisis
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--- Chapter 177 ---
Huo Yuhao and the five beautiful ladies arrived at the Yasaka Shrine, where the current vice-leader of the Kyoto Faction lived. It used to be a youkai faction that governed Kyoto before Huo Yun'er came with Amaterasu.
"The atmosphere is nice," Grayfia commented while scanning the area with her ruby-like eyes. "I thought there would be heavy attackers here?"
Huo Yuhao shook his head gently and replied, "We went on a date here yesterday, Fia. They probably were hiding somewhere else."
'Date?!' The four other ladies were stunned on the spot.
It's like something burned inside them all of a sudden.
Minamoto no Raikou blinked her eyes and called him, "Hey, Honey."
"Yes, Raikou-san?"
"What about a little tour around Kyoto? Even though I'm part of this country's history, witnessing its growth in the recent year was fascinating to me. You know, just you and me."
Hearing Raikou's slick request, Venelana twirled her hair and said, "W-Well, it's been a while since I visited the human world. I don't mind a small tour around the area."
"That's true... We were busy cultivating in the main base." Misla nodded her head while planning something too.
"Uh..." Nico Robin stared at these women with an amazed look. She also wanted to become closer to Huo Yuhao, but knowing the competition intensity, she decided to take it slow.
Even though Robin is confident in her beauty, having such a thing is common in this world. There are beauties left and right with unique traits, such as Devil, Angel, Vampire, and even Gods.
And she should compete with them?
Being an attractive woman isn't enough to charm Huo Yuhao. That's what Qianye Ying'er taught to everyone in her cul-! Club!
'Personality, huh?' Nico Robin thought while looking down at her trapped chest. She modestly dressed because visiting Kyoto was part of the job, which also applied to other ladies accompanying Huo Yuhao.
"Well, looking around new places is fine to me. As an archaeologist, gaining new knowledge is interesting enough."
"Kyoto, I can't wait to see what this beautiful city could offer."
"Then, do you want me to escort you guys? Fufu~." A feminine voice from behind. It caused Nico Robin to turn around at breakneck speed.
They followed the voice's source and saw a young woman with a voluptuous body, wearing a loose shrine maiden outfit.
She had very long blonde hair with matching golden eyes. A woman with delicate facial features and her eyebrows are cut very short and round.
"My name is Yasaka, and I'm the vice leader of the Thousand Women Association." The woman introduced herself.
"Welcome to Kyoto, Young Master Huo."
"The ladies too." She smiled at them politely.
Nico Robin sighed in relief because Yasaka's appearance almost triggered her to use Devil Fruit's ability. Even though this woman doesn't seem to possess ill intentions, growing up in a chaotic pirate world makes Robin enter fight-or-flight now and then.
Huo Yuhao patted Nico Robin's shoulder and said, "Everything is fine with me around, Robin. You can depend on me, you know? Haha."
Nico Robin let out a small chuckle and replied, "I'll do so, Yuhao-sama."
Nico Robin was indebted to Huo Yuhao, but leaning on his back didn't seem bad. She has a crew in the pirate world that could give her a sense of reassurance and family, but Huo Yuhao makes her feel comfortable.
Noticing Nico Robin's alert reaction, Yasaka felt somewhat horrible about her sudden entrance to the group. She didn't mean this because they seemed absorbed in the environment.
"I'm sorry for the lack of awareness." Yasaka bowed slightly. "I'll be more careful with my approach from now on."
"Lady there."
Yasaka stared at Nico Robin with a worried expression.
"As the vice leader of the Thousand Women Association, I'll try my best to compensate you."
"It's fine." Nico Robin responded awkwardly.
"You haven't done anything wrong, Yasaka-san."
"No, I can't leave this behind! Follow me! I'll escort you guys around the Yasaka Shrine." Yasaka firmly declared, which honestly made her look adorable.
Yasaka gracefully escorted them throughout the Yasaka Shrine. The excitement in her eyes when telling them about the history of this place was so bright akin to shining gold.
They arrived at the living quarter of the Yasaka Shrine, where Yasaka and Kunou lived together for years. It was a comfortable Japanese-style compound with a lush bamboo forest surrounding it. Not far away, there is also a calm-streaming river nearby, flowing from a mountain behind the shrine.
As they enjoyed the scenery while drinking tea that Yasaka made personally for them, the blonde nine-tailed fox opened her mouth and said, "Shall we talk about the problem now?"
"Go ahead." Huo Yuhao nodded casually, acknowledging Yasaka's ability to create this peaceful mood.
Yasaka sipped her tea calmly and stated, "Around a week ago, or more precisely eight days ago. The Rune Barrier set up by the Goddess Huo was "briefly." broken down by an outsider."
"It was such a small gap, but enough to smuggle a few people within five minutes. Those people infiltrated Kyoto and hid in the shadow carefully."
"They got trapped here, but with an unknown motive... I don't want to take any chances and request help from the Dragon Nest."
"Very well. But what about Indra? That God of War should have entered Kyoto as well, no?" Huo Yuhao asked doubtfully.
Yasaka sighed and answered shamefully, "We couldn't detect God Indra, Young Master Huo. Even though my strength is qualified to satisfy Instructor Scathach's criteria, detecting a being with divinity is outside my realm."
"And Amaterasu-sama was out of reach till yesterday. She entered her cave(home) back to train her power under Goddess Huo's order."
'Just for giving me a wallet...' Huo Yuhao now realized how humorous Huo Yun'er influence over this place was.
Nico Robin suddenly opened her mouth and questioned, "Is there any casualty that happened in the last eight days? If there is, I'd like to see the map and route of the infiltrator."
"Yes, there is. The outsider attacked some places across Kyoto and killed over ninety-six youkai. Mainly Tengu and Nekoshou." Yasaka replied while placing Kyoto's map before them, highlighting places with red dots.
"Nekoshou?" Huo Yuhao frowned slightly.
Yasaka tilted her head and reconfirmed her words, "Ah, I mean Nekomata, Young Master Huo. I sometimes forget Nekoshou and Nekomata are different but somewhat connected."
"A year ago, when Goddess Huo appeared, she unified the West Youkai Faction and East Youkai Faction. Well, it was either die or surrender condition, so most of the East Youkai Faction surrounded quickly."
"Fast forward to now, Kansai and Kyoto are under the control of the Dragon Nest. The Thousand Women Association is just a sub-company."
"You might know the current leader of the Nekoshou Clan, Young Master Huo. She's a beautiful young Nekoshou with the name Kuroka."
"I see..." Huo Yuhao couldn't help but smile a little, remembering the mischievous cat girl.
Nico Robin scanned the map and mumbled, "Something is weird."
"Why does the pattern of attacks seems to be directed outside Kyoto? As if they want to draw our attention away."
"I mean... If they want to do something in this city, shouldn't it be at an important place?"
"Like this castle, for example." Her finger pointed at the castle nearby.
It was a castle built by Tokugawa Shogunate in 1626 and was "currently." used as a tourist spot.
"Oh no..." Yasaka reacted as if something horrible would happen.
"That place... Nijo Castle is the place where Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi kept."
"Kusanagi, the Sword of the Gathering Clouds of Heaven..." Grayfia pondered about something. "A holy sword. Why did they aim for such an item, knowing it wouldn't work against Yuhao-sama."
"It wouldn't work on Lord Yuhao, but still extremely fatal for us, Grayfia." Venelana Bael commented while shaking her head. "Living around Lord Yuhao and others from the Dragon Nest changes your perspective."
"You can't blame her... I'd think the same with the Invincible Devil God-Sama around me." Misla teased Grayfia, making the Devil Maid blush a little.
"I wonder what kind of date you had with him."
"T-That's a secret..." Grayfia whispered, dodging the gazes from Venelana and Misla.
Minamoto no Rakou has been quiet for the entire conversation, staring at the Kyoto Map with a nostalgic look. It was a rough sketch, but she could see some landscapes similar to the past.
'This is a different world than mine, but their history isn't too far-fetched. Of course, me being a male in this world is somewhat weird, but whatever...' Raikou thought to herself, overhearing about the Kusanagi.
"Hmm??"
"Are you interested, Raikou-san?" Huo Yuhao suddenly called her name.
"A little," Raikou responded with a nod.
Loud footsteps echoed in the corridor.
"YASAKA-SAMA!" A tengu appeared after pushing away the sliding door.
"P-Princess Kunou is kidnapped!"
"A group of humans appeared and kidnapped her from the Teleportation Gate."
Yasaka's golden eyes widened in disbelief, knowing the Teleportation Gate was a protected place. "What happened? Tell me in detail?" She calmed herself.
"Princess Kunou is returning home after school. She was about to cross the road, but a purple mist suddenly appeared with a human, who warned us about their plan."
"H-He told us to hand over Rune Stones from the Dragon Nest and yourself as ransom if you want Kunou to be safe." The tengu kneeled on the ground. He gritted his teeth because he couldn't do anything.
"When and where?" Huo Yuhao asked while finishing his tea.
"Tonight. Nijo Castle." The tengu answered worriedly.
Yasaka rubbed her temple and said, "They resorted to kidnapping my child in the end, huh?"
"What a group of trash..."
Dark aura swirls from Yasaka's body, which Huo Yuhao is familiar with because he has seen Scathach slaughter aura.
"It's probably a Sacred Gear User, A Dimension Lost, to be exact." Huo Yuhao commented calmly. "It can manipulate space and create barriers, allowing them to exploit Primordial Rune Barrier's weakness."
"No wonder."
"Yasaka, just accept their terms for now. I'll help you."
"Thanks, Young Master Huo." Yasaka kneeled to him.
"I'll follow your advice and order from now on."
"You don't have to..." Huo Yuhao smiled helplessly.
Yasaka shook her head and returned, "No! I insist!"
"But why did they need something like Rune Stones? It's useless for them." Venelana said. After all, only Spirit Master could benefit from the Rune Stone.
Absorbing it without being one is suicide because the Spirit Beast's Spirit Ring within the Rune Stones is wild. Not to mention the compatibility, adding Spirit Ring into an unawakened body(martial soul) will result in Energy Overload. And Death.
"We only have to find out." Raikou shrugged her shoulders, making Huo Yuhao laugh.
"Yes, we have to find out the reason."
Huo Yuhao's shadow expanded and covered the whole room, causing countless shadowy eyes to appear. "And let's make it interesting."
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