I planted a sacred tree in Tokyo.

Chapter 221 Abe no Seimei
Okayama City,
Located in the southern part of Okayama Prefecture, an island nation, this city is the seat of the Okayama Prefectural Government.

Because Hyogo and Osaka are right next door, the defense forces that came here were naturally led by 'General Kafka'.

"Fifth squad, fire the flares!"

Special flares shot into the sky, emitting a blinding white light.

These flares, mounted on small parachutes, could provide long-term illumination of the battlefield: partly because the sky over Okayama was overcast, and partly to distinguish the 'new type of evil spirits' among the evil spirits.

“Pay close attention to the feet,”

"Kill any 'new type of evil spirit' you encounter immediately!"

A large number of Ground Self-Defense Force soldiers slid down ropes from the helicopter, picked up their Type 89 rifles, drew their bayonets and attached them to the barrels, and then surrounded the helicopter from all sides.

Because below the crack in the sky, a figure with 'demon power' rising like flames was flying and refracting at high speed.

He doesn't need to attack; simply passing through the battlefield, his 'demon power' is enough to burn evil spirits to ashes.

If in the eyes of evil spirits ordinary people are candlelight and extraordinary people are torches, then Kafka is an erupting volcano: touch him and you die, brush against him and you get hurt!
In this situation, the evil spirits that surged out scattered and fled almost immediately. The other Self-Defense Force soldiers' goal was to intercept these evil spirits. If they were allowed to spread completely, although it would not cause large-scale casualties in the short term, it would have endless consequences.

"Ok?"

Besides these numerous but weak ordinary evil spirits, there are also relatively rare but powerful fused evil spirits.

A gigantic head emerged from the crack, bald on top with only a ring of loose hair around the edges, resembling that of a beheaded warrior. Its chaotic pupils swept over the invincible Kafka, filled with apprehension.

The next second, the enormous head flew into the sky; it clearly still retained some intelligence and knew that it could not be defeated by force.

The other party did not demonstrate the ability to fly, as long as...
call out----

A straight beam of light flashed by, instantly piercing through the enormous head.

?

Half a head was gone, the enormous skull's face filled with horror, and the remaining eyeball rolled, looking at the distant building above:

A woman carrying a large iron cannon or similar weapon was aiming the cannon at him.

call out----

The next moment, golden light struck again, causing the giant head to go black.

"This is the third squad of the defense force. The target has been eliminated."

After two shots destroyed the giant head,
The female Self-Defense Force officer carrying the huge cannon barrel pressed her earpiece.
No, look closely, this high-tech weapon is actually fused to her right hand!

"Thank you for your hard work, Captain Ya Bai."

"Your heavy spirit cannon is consuming a lot of energy. Please keep it in standby mode."

"clear,"

The female officer lowered her hand from the earpiece.

The Self-Defense Forces are not just sitting idly by: most of the superhumans in the island nation today are descended from the blood of 'Hyakki' (a type of Japanese demon).

So, could Kafka's Riku, this 'jinchūriki', also be considered a source of extraordinary power?
The answer is yes: using his blood, the Self-Defense Forces also created extraordinary drugs.

Unfortunately, Kafka's power was too domineering. Even after repeated dilution of the serum, it was not something ordinary people could withstand: after losing a large number of volunteers, only a few individuals were successfully obtained.

The female lieutenant and the 'heavy spiritual sniper cannon' fused with her right hand were created by drinking the extraordinary potion made from Kafka Lu's serum.

The ability is simple: gather the spiritual energy within the body and emit it as a beam of light.

Although it has no other abilities, it is not even able to defeat a wolf-level opponent once someone gets close.

However, the female lieutenant 'Abai's' sniper cannon can threaten the Tiger-class destroyers, making her an important combat force for the Self-Defense Forces.

"Captain Ya Bai, leave the henchmen to us~~"

Several Self-Defense Force members who were specifically responsible for protecting her drew their melee weapons and met the evil spirits that were charging towards them.

"You should focus on dealing with the large evil spirits."

"it is good,"

The female officer didn't waste any words, her gaze constantly sweeping across the sky.

Her mission was to intercept large evil spirits: if these powerful evil spirits were allowed to escape, they would quickly grow stronger after devouring large numbers of people: for both safety and the lives of the people, they could not be allowed to escape.

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.

Nagano City

"Phew, it's finally done."

Kawai Mai plopped down on the massive 'earth spider' and rubbed her ears.

In the previous battle, she was grazed by an attack from a 'fused evil spirit', her earpiece was shattered and flew away somewhere unknown.

The former policewoman has now grown into a "big shot" in the Extraordinary Countermeasures Division: she commands dozens of extraordinary special police officers, has "Tsuchigumo" as her mount, "Ukikumushi" as her henchman, and has barely mastered the "Uranium Light Wave Fist." Both her strength and influence are already quite remarkable.

In ancient times, that would have been considered a 'famous name' to some extent.
"Cough cough, chrysanthemum bug, stop spraying poison."

The irritating gas in the air made Mayi fan her nose and couldn't help but remind them.

"If you keep spewing nonsense, the cleanup will be a huge hassle."

?

Yu Juchong, whose upper body is that of a traditional woman and whose lower body is that of a caterpillar, turned her head. Although she was expressionless, the words "You are the one who asked me to spray poison, and you are the one who despises me" were almost written on her face.

According to the legends of the island nation, there was a girl named 'Okiku' in Harima Province who was killed in the Banshu Saraya and her body was thrown into a well.

Several days later, the girl crawled out of the well: her lower body had turned into an insect, causing a sensation.

Some say that Kiku's resentful spirit possessed the insect's body, while others say that the insect absorbed Kiku's soul. But none of that matters. What matters is that ever since Yu wrote her on the spirit scroll, she has become a staff member of the Metropolitan Police Department.

He holds the nominal title of 'Police Superintendent', and he has no shortage of salary and benefits. He even has five professional 'maids' to take care of his daily life.

She could even bring over handsome men from all over the world to have sex with if she wanted!
Compared to those ambitious, disobedient superhumans;
These animals that devoured the true spirits of a hundred demons, transformed into 'extraordinary beings,' are the best cattle and horses for the island nation's government!
Ox Demon: It feels like someone is talking badly about me behind my back.
"Section Chief Kawai, most of the evil spirits in the city have been eliminated."

"The Kakeruin family is sealing the rift. Please provide instructions—"

The policewoman wanted to sigh as her subordinate jogged over and stood at attention to salute.

A year ago, she was just a "patrolman" who recorded license plates and directed traffic; now she manages hundreds or even thousands of armed personnel, and her every word and action affects the lives of hundreds of thousands of people.
The pressure is immense!

"Thanks for your hard work,"

"Let those whose spiritual energy is more than half depleted rest first."

"The rest of you, hang in there and sort through the city one more time."

"Yes!"

"Guaranteed to complete the mission!"

The subordinate's answer was firm and resolute. He then turned and jogged away to assign personnel.

"Now, I should rest too~~"

"Section Chief Kawai!"

Before Mayi, with her bobbed hair, could even stretch, another subordinate came running up to ask for instructions.

"Should we lift the wartime alert?"

"Oh, sure."

Soon, Kawai Mai regretted her order.

"Sister Mai!"

On the deserted street, a little girl in an elegant dress with neatly draped long hair waved and ran towards her.

The 'Rift of the Underworld' caused considerable casualties, but did little to damage the environment; most evil spirits do not interfere with reality.

Only 'wolf-level' fused evil spirits can destroy physical matter with their attacks. Therefore, the city after the great battle was not in chaos or filled with smoke and dust; this is why the little girl named 'Nine Sky Shaking Love' was able to appear here so quickly.

No, she should be said that she arrived in the city a long time ago, but she was only able to enter the combat zone now.

"You're not hurt, are you?"

"Little Yao'ai, what are you doing here?"

Kawai Mai squatted down, intending to scold him, but the words that came out of her mouth turned into persuasion.

"A supernatural disaster called the 'Rift of the Underworld' has just occurred here; ordinary people must act collectively."

"Hehehe~~ Sister Mayi, isn't there still him?"

The little girl raised her hand in greeting, and the scarred man in sunglasses behind her immediately stepped forward.

"It's still too dangerous," the little girl calmly raised her hand and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear in response to Kawai Mai's continued persuasion.

"Now, in island nations, which place isn't dangerous?"

This left Kawai Mai in a difficult position to respond to.

Two 'Rift of the Underworld' crises erupted in succession, covering more than a dozen major cities in the island nation, causing casualties that the government has not disclosed.

Numerous evil spirits are scattered outside the city, and there are frequent reports of unfortunate people being killed.

There are also quite a few who committed suicide intentionally.
If we're talking about safety, then of course there's Tokyo's 'Shinju Ward'!
However, the land prices in the Sacred Tree District are no longer just about the price of the land itself; it's about reaching a certain 'level' to move into that area. It's the truly top-tier 'elite district' that no one in the island nation speaks of, but everyone tacitly agrees upon.

The Jiukong Consortium's net worth of several hundred billion seems impressive, but it's only 'impressive' in the strictest sense.

In the eyes of Tokyo's zaibatsu, they were nothing more than 'country bumpkins' nouveau riche.

"The safety of other areas in Tokyo is also..."

"Sister Mai, Tokyo can only accommodate a maximum of 4 million people."

"Besides, if everyone flocks to Tokyo, are we just giving up on other places?"

"My family's business is in Hiroshima. Ah, let's not talk about these unpleasant topics. It seems that this 'Rift of the Underworld' didn't cause too many casualties?"

The little girl took the initiative to shift the topic to extraordinary disasters, and Mai Kawai followed suit.

"right,"

"Because we already have previous experience,"

"Thankfully, we had enough manpower this time, so we managed to avoid a major disaster."

"that is really good!"

"Sister Mai, these cracks..."

During the question-and-answer session, the little girl secretly tried to extract information, but no matter how naive Kawai Mai was, she was a professionally trained police officer, and with more than a year of training, keeping information confidential had become second nature to her.

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.

"Sigh, another fruitless day."

Once seated in her private helicopter, the little girl couldn't help but rub her temples, feeling a headache coming on.

In her quest to uncover the truth behind the 'Rift of the Underworld,' the little girl 'Nine Sky Shakes Love' tried everything: exchanging favors, bribing and coercing. But everyone in her social circle was either completely unaware of, or simply uninterested in, the mastermind behind the 'Rift of the Underworld'!

What conspiracy lies behind this extraordinary disaster?
What does this have to do with us!
Even her social circle consists of local councilors, middle-class tycoons, and celebrities in the arts and sports.

But for these people, just being alive, or rather, living safely, is good enough. What mastermind behind it all? They don't care at all!
In the extraordinary world, anyone with a modicum of rationality wouldn't go out of their way to inquire about it.

What good would it do to uncover the truth?
It will only lead to a silent and unnoticed death.
Sometimes, not seeing, not hearing, and not thinking are the ways to survive.

"Dad, Mom,"

The little girl bit her nails, but she was filled with resentment.

Although she received an 'elite education' from a young age, she has not completely abandoned her emotions and is able to calmly face the hatred of her relatives: since she knows there is something fishy about the 'Yellow Spring Rift', she must find out!
just
The Kusora family is, after all, just a zaibatsu in Hiroshima. In Tokyo, people aren't even willing to associate with them.

As a high-ranking member of the Extraordinary Countermeasures Department, Mai-nee must know the inside story.
They could exploit their savior to make the little girl suffer even more, resorting to underhanded methods—not to mention whether they could get past her conscience, even if they wanted to use force, Sister Ma Yi was a veteran superhuman, capable of annihilating the Jiu Kong family's bodyguard team with a single finger.

"Good headache,"

As the helpless little girl murmured, a black crow flew past the helicopter.

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.

Tokyo,

Edogawa Ward,

With the emergence of the 'Shinju Ward', the center of Tokyo has shifted.

Shinjuku Ward, Bunkyo Ward, Shinjuku Ward, and Chiyoda Ward have become the new core areas of Tokyo, also known as the "Upper Four Wards"; Minato Ward and Shibuya, which used to be located some distance from Shinjuku, have lost their former glory.

Of course, this is only in comparison to Shinju Ward: the entire city of Tokyo is constantly receiving a large influx of people every day.

Even remote areas like Edogawa Ward have become favored by capital, with a large number of out-of-town conglomerates moving in.

"Miss, you are back."

In front of a newly renovated mansion, the white-haired old butler bowed respectfully.

"Um,"

Jiu Kongyao, in a bad mood, snorted as a greeting.

"Miss, please forgive my intrusion."

As the little girl walked past, the old butler suddenly spoke.

"Don't investigate that matter any further."

"What the master and mistress want most is to see you grow up happily."

"I'm very unhappy right now!"

The little girl suddenly turned her head, her two clenched fists trembling slightly.

"What business is it of yours to interfere in my affairs?!"

"It was I who overstepped my bounds,"

The old butler sighed inwardly and finally chose to step aside.

He was merely a steward, managing the master's residence: there were certain things he couldn't do or say, otherwise, in the master's eyes, he would be considered rude and lacking in manners.

However, as an old man who had served the Jiu Kong family for three generations, he did not want to see the young lady sink deeper into trouble.

Ordinary people get caught up in a struggle between superhumans.
This is more dangerous than walking a tightrope over a sheer cliff!

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.

"Humph,"

"Who does he think he is?"

“Miss, the butler is just concerned about you.”

Behind the little girl who stormed up to the second floor, the scarred, sunglasses-wearing bodyguard spoke up, a rare occurrence for him.

"I know!"

As they approached the study, the little girl's chest was still heaving violently.

"So I should just pretend nothing happened and live a carefree life?"

It's impossible!

The bodyguard couldn't respond to that.
In his view, escaping, though shameful, is useful.

However, as a bodyguard:
"I'll do as you say, Miss."

"call,"

"Enough of this, I need to get to work!"

As soon as she pushed the door open, the little girl stopped in her tracks and froze.

Because in her study, a stranger was standing with his hands behind his back, leisurely reading a book?

I'm still watching "Island Nation Can Say No".
Of course, the book is not important.

Importantly, the other party was dressed in a white hunting robe, with a light blue outer garment, an eboshi hat, and family crests embroidered on the finger rings of his lower body. His white hair, as white as snow, was draped behind him. He held a book in one hand and gently waved a paper fan with a pentagram and a bellflower pattern on it in the other.

"who are you?"

Amidst Jiu Kongyao's questioning voice...

The scarred bodyguard behind her rushed forward at lightning speed.

"I?"

The person reading the book turned around. Despite having strong, defined features, there was a hint of gentleness in their face, and they exuded a cool and elegant aura.

His mere glance was enough to freeze the scarred bodyguard, who was about to draw his gun, in place.

"My name is——"

"Abe Seimei."

(End of this chapter)