I planted a sacred tree in Tokyo.

Chapter 218 Expansion of the Underworld
"It's actually that 'Lord in Yellow'."

Upon hearing this name, Dr. Ramley, Edgar Sr., and Colonel Anderson looked solemn and somewhat surprised.

Hastur, an Old One, is known as the 'Nameless One' and the 'Lord of the Deep Space'. Because he often appears clad in a yellow robe, he is also called the 'Lord in Yellow'.

In fact, the Yellow King is merely one of Hastur's commonly used 'avatars': a skeletal body hidden beneath layers of tattered yellow robes. Although he appears thin and clumsy, his every move is exceptionally agile, exuding an elegance that is far beyond that of ordinary beings.

Beneath the opponent's yellow robe were endless, coiled tentacles that could easily absorb a person's will.

Strictly speaking, this being and the 'Cthulhu' they believe in are actually cousins.

But—they are also mortal enemies.

As for why they became enemies?
Cough cough, does anyone dare to go and ask the person involved, or is the person involved a god?
Your courage is commendable; here's a 'mind-stealing technique' for you.

In short, the church now faces the following challenges:

“Your Majesty, since that being has intervened, we must proceed with extreme caution.”

If it were the America of the past, it would be no match for the churches that have grown and developed in the past: because there are a large number of faithful believers in the military, political and business circles.

But now, the American leader has suddenly gained the support of the 'Lord in Yellow': even if this support is just the 'Father' of that being, who is constantly sabotaging the church and the daily life of the people, they have no choice but to take it seriously.

"It doesn't matter,"

The little octopus 'Kshira' calmly spoke.
"That being's true form is located on the 'Black Star,' and at most it's just projecting power."

"All we have to face is a group of 'yellow-clad retinues': pass down the order to assemble the troops loyal to us."

The wars of mortals are ultimately fought by mortals. The gods, high above, merely glance at the battle; how could they possibly intervene?
It is rumored that the unnamed 'Hastur' is imprisoned on the star 9 Pleiades in the Pleiades cluster, a planet known as the 'Black Star'. However, since that being can influence this planet, it means that it has broken free and even corrupted the Black Star.

But these are all issues that a 'father' should consider.
The blonde beauty lowered her eyes. Her power, under normal circumstances, was slightly weaker than that of the island nation's 'great demons,' and considering war in the stars at this moment was far too far off.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"what?"

"The two presidents of America have accused each other of being imposters."

For the island nation on the other side of the planet, it meant waking up to find America engulfed in a 'civil war'!

In the living room, Sora was reading the information on her phone: unlike the shocked ordinary people, she had obtained a lot of confidential information through her own intelligence network: namely, Hongo Hime's 'Kengan Association'.

"The two sides fought a major battle in Washington, with more than 10,000 troops involved."

"It's said that the White House nearly fell, but at the critical moment, more than ten wolf-level and tiger-level superhumans suddenly arrived and saved the president from the White House. Interesting~~"

Even Qiong Mei, who never showed her emotions, smiled.

America suffered a setback.

It's definitely a source of amusement that the whole world enjoys.

It goes without saying that in many countries, especially in the Middle East, three days and three nights of revelry are not enough to release pent-up emotions.

Because of America's "oil strategy"—using tactics of courting, dividing, provoking, and suppressing—the entire Middle East is in turmoil, plagued by annual conflicts, with tens of thousands of deaths that don't even make the news. For America, this is a true blood feud.

and also
"It is said that many countries are frequently active and preparing to unite to attack Jerusalem."

Qiong Mei glanced at the intelligence sent by the major conglomerates, then changed the subject:
"What's for breakfast today?"

"Hi~~ The tamagoyaki I made, paired with the miso soup that Nao-nee brought, is delicious!"

Yuluo, who was cooking in the kitchen, picked up a spatula and proudly introduced her dish.

This pleased Yu quite a bit. Aside from her penchant for using incredibly long move names and her slightly airheaded nature, the girl was a skilled cook, polite and earnest, and extremely reliable in battle—absolutely perfect.
"Ok?"

Faced with Qiong's wary gaze, You touched his chin.

"Yuluo, how are your father and brother's Yin-Yang techniques progressing?"

"We have already trained our own battle shikigami, however..."

Thinking of those shikigami that couldn't last more than a few moves against her 'Greedy Wolf', Yura couldn't help but feel a little troubled.

"Their strength is still too weak."

The members of the Kakaiin: We're so weak, we're really sorry.

"Well, actually it's already pretty good. Not everyone is as talented as you."

Putting aside talent, Yura's practice of the 'Oni-Garara Technique' is a top-tier secret technique involving bloodstains. Although achieving the Bloodstain Network is no less difficult than ascending to heaven, as long as she follows the steps steadily, becoming a Kage-level expert is not a problem.

The rest of the Keikain family had to start by training summoning beasts, or shikigami.

Without Yu's secret cheating, it would be quite an achievement to become a Genin and even reach the 'Wolf Level'.

"Wolf-level is sufficient."

Yu clapped his hands, saying the American Civil War was 'too far away';
The crisis in the island nation is far from over; everyone needs to work hard.

"The 'Yamata no Orochi' in the underworld should be making its move soon."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Huangquan Hirazaka,

The space remained dimly lit.
The sky is always a gloomy gray, and the ground is always barren rocks.

This scene, composed of the lingering echoes of countless souls, represents despair and death.

But recently, this place has become lively.

"Dude, are there any evil spirits around here?"

"there is none left,"

Two elderly men, armed with hunting rifles, strode out of the mist. They were dressed entirely in black, wearing traditional Wu clothing on the upper body and extremely wide-legged trousers that reached their ankles and tapered at the cuffs. It was a fusion of kimono and hunting robes: the exclusive attire of the underworld captains.

That's right, these two veteran hunters have been promoted.

That being said, most of the six departments and twelve squads of the underworld are still vacant.

The underworld's 'Fengdu' now has quite a few residents, and many want to become 'captains' to share the burdens of that great one, but unfortunately, they are all stuck:

In terms of strength.

"Roar----"

A roar came from the mist, and a giant centipede suddenly rushed out.

No, this is not a 'centipede', but a large evil spirit made up of countless people strung together. Each 'person' with arms supporting the ground is one of the evil spirit's legs, and its body is made up of countless human heads mixed together, with joy, anger, sorrow, fear, love, hatred and desire all over it.

However, what greeted this monster was the dark muzzle of a gun.

boom!
A beam of light streaked straight across, piercing from the head to the tail of the giant 'centipede demon,' instantly turning it into countless mangled limbs.

"Honestly, if you're dead, don't cause trouble for others."

Amidst the old hunter Ishikawa's complaints, the pierced remains of the evil spirit began to drift away.

"There is no one worth us."

Boom! ...

Before Ishikawa could finish speaking, he was interrupted by a violent tremor.

"What the hell?"

"Even the underworld experiences earthquakes."

The next second, an invisible pressure descended, and caught off guard, he immediately knelt on one knee.

Clang,

As he planted his hunting rifle into the ground, the old hunter Fujiwara couldn't help but twitch his face.

"You're such a bad mouth!"

As the two looked up, a red moon appeared in the gray sky.

Under the glow of the 'red moon', they could barely make out that it was actually the serpentine head of a mountain range; it carried an aura of primordial chaos, dominance, and ferocity, and even after falling into the underworld, it still wantonly displayed its invincible aura.

Rumble, rumble! !
As this head moved, more heads appeared in the sky.

One, two, three, eight!

Layer upon layer of oppressive force assaulted them, rendering them immobile. Amidst the increasingly violent tremors, a sheer cliff rapidly moved ahead, until finally, after several minutes, or even more, the seemingly endless cliff vanished. "Whoosh—"

With a long sigh of relief, the old hunter Ishikawa, who had been kneeling on the ground, managed to stand up.

"Yama no Orochi?"

Upon hearing his companion's hoarse voice, the old hunter Fujiwara took a deep breath.

"Yes,"

After saying that, he turned around and left.

"Hey bro, where are you going?"

"Go back to Fengdu."

"Wait. Help me up, my legs are too weak."

"Captain Fujiwara, Vice-Captain Ishikawa!"

When the two old hunters strode back to the city bathed in the light of the 'Twin Sal Trees', a group of people transporting stones outside the city bowed to them in respect.

"Um,"

The two hunters responded and continued speeding past.

They can be considered 'veterans' of the underworld, after all, they were personally recruited by that great one.

After joining the Underworld, he worked day and night to eliminate evil spirits, and his strength skyrocketed. Now he is the captain and vice-captain of one of the two teams of the 'Ministry of Works', and is an undisputed high-ranking official in the city.

"What's going on here?"

"I don't know, I've only been dead for a few days."

As the two returned to the city, the streets were filled with people gazing at them with puzzled expressions.

They were all astonished by the inexplicable 'tremor,' just like the old hunter Ishikawa's question: Where did the earthquake come from in the underworld?
"Captain Fujiwara,"

"Vice Captain Ishikawa,"

As the two men, dressed in black and with hunting rifles at their waists, strode past, the crowd retreated to the side of the street.

In the underworld, martial prowess reigns supreme, and the highest-ranking members are the various teams that venture out of the city to annihilate evil spirits. Naturally, the captains who lead these teams are the most important figures here.

Now, these important figures are all rushing to the buildings in the city center because:

"Yama no Orochi?"

"Yes, my lord."

In the hall,
The old hunter Fujiwara quickly reported what had happened to the two men.
"This upheaval was caused by the Yamata no Orochi, which I suspect."

"He also attempted to create the 'Rift to the Underworld' to wreak havoc on the human world!"

"Well, that makes sense."

After hearing the old hunter Fujiwara's report, Ghost White put down his brush.

"you--"

His gaze swept across the faces of Wataru Tanimura, Hoshino Tanimura, Ishikawa, Fujiwara, and a young man.

"Lead the team to the area where the Yamata no Orochi was active and exterminate the evil spirits there."

This is the 'second' garbage dumping operation. After creating the rift, the evil spirits that usually roam the entire underworld will instinctively move towards the rift: both the human world and the underworld begin to cleanse at the same time, eliminating these evil spirits piece by piece.

"It can be considered as lightening the burden on the world."

"Yes!"

As soon as the compassionate ghost Bai finished speaking, the five captains and vice-captains all accepted the order in unison.

They hadn't been 'dead' for long, and they still had feelings for the real world.

Destroying evil spirits is also helping the world of the living.

As for 'Ghost Messenger White':
As the evil spirits in these areas were cleared out, the roots of the 'Sala Twin Trees' he planted continued to spread out, occupying and transforming these spaces.

Just like the divine tree in reality, when its roots cover the entire Yellow Springs, that will be the time when it completely controls this world!
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

real world,

"The Rift of the Underworld?"

"You guys handle this yourselves; I'll have Yura help you."

"Me? I still have to go to school, Director Zhuya. You can't always make me do the work. How about asking the Wugu family for help?"

After hanging up the phone, You put it down.

"Actually, whether we go to school or not doesn't seem to be that important."

Sitting opposite Yu, class president Nao pushed up her round-framed glasses.

For her, going to school was about finding a good job in the future; but now, she is the president of more than a dozen companies, an undisputed big boss; if she wanted to go into politics, the entire island's cabinet would welcome her with open arms, so continuing to study seems to have no meaning.

"No, no, no, only in schools can you be so 'innocent'."

You raised her finger and pointed to the other students in the classroom. After the initial awkwardness, everyone got used to the presence of the two extraordinary individuals.

These students chatted and dreamed about the future; such a vibrant and youthful scene is a far cry from what they'll be like after entering the workforce.
"If this were in society, you would know what we would be facing now."

Flattery, ingratiation, scheming, jealousy.
Compared to before, the high school students were less cunning and more arrogant, so they wouldn't bother the two of them with such a shameless attitude.

“What Yu-kun said makes sense.”

After thinking about it, Nao had to admit that as strength increased and status became more noble, the distance between people gradually widened.

For example, her parents now act lovingly towards their daughter, and they don't argue at all; they even speak politely to each other.

For nothing else,

Simply because they were trying to 'please' Nao.

Nao's every joy and anger affects the lives of countless people!

"I'm starting to understand what 'the higher you climb, the lonelier it gets' truly means,"

"Don't panic, we're still up there."

You raised her hand and tapped the other person's nose. As the class monitor tilted her head shyly, she noticed the document in the other person's hand.

"This is?"

"National High School Kendo Competition Registration Form"

When it came to his own business, the class monitor immediately composed himself and began to explain.

"The national competition organized by the government will be held in the rebuilt Koshien Stadium—it will probably replace baseball as the most popular sport in the future."

"In addition to Kendo, there are three other competitions: archery, karate, and horse racing, all of which are open to all high school students."

After saying that, the class monitor waved the registration form in his hand and asked a slightly mischievous question.

"Does Yu-kun want to participate?"

"Don't,"

You waved her hand.
"Wouldn't it be bullying if I participated?"

"Hehe~~ Actually, even if Yu-kun wanted to participate, it wouldn't be possible."

"Only non-superhumans can participate, because the champion's reward is a superhuman potion, the runner-up's is a second-class superhuman potion, and the third-class is a third-class superhuman potion."

?

"It looks like the competition is going to be very intense."

Yu Yang raised an eyebrow. The island nation's government has really gone all out.

"Of course, this is a national competition: to become a superhuman, the competition must be extremely, extremely, extremely intense."

(End of this chapter)