A man among dragons, building a mysterious ancient church.

Chapter 302 Tachibana Masamune Begins to Get Nervous About His 'Precious Daughter'

Genji Heavy Industries, Tokyo.

The area in front of Genji Heavy Industries was unusually lively today, with thousands of gangsters standing in neat rows, wearing sunglasses, black suits and ties.

The entire area was black. If these gang members were holding weapons instead of flowers, they might be mistaken for an armed rebellion.

Anyway, the residents living nearby started spreading rumors that Genji Heavy Industries, such a large company, was excessively exploiting its yakuza employees, which caused the yakuza bosses to unite and force the company to resign.

What he said makes sense.

The road in front of Genji Heavy Industries was forcibly cleared, and thousands of gangsters stood there. Who would dare to drive over there?
Fuma Kotaro, who was entrusted with an important task by Genjiro and temporarily took charge of the Snake-Headed Eight Families, was old but had excellent eyesight. He was the first to see the black convoy coming from the end of the road: "They're back."

Inuyama He and other family heads, along with Tachibana Masamune, the former patriarch, walked to the front of the yakuza members to welcome Genji's return.

A convoy of more than a dozen Hondas drove up to the front of Genji Heavy Industries. Genji, who was in the lead car, had already seen the grand scene and got out of the car first, feeling rather helpless. He really didn't want such a big show.

Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. When they saw Yuanzhi being born, thousands of people shouted together, "Congratulations on the victorious return of our leader!"

Gangsters forcefully scattered freshly picked flower petals that clashed with their own image, creating an artificial rain of sweet petals.

"Thank you, thank you all for your kindness." Genji was barely able to keep his smile going. He knew that Fuuma Kotaro, the mature and steady head of the family, wouldn't pull off such a stunt.

Who could have arranged it? My father, Tachibana Masamune? It seems like it could only be Tachibana Masamune.

He himself arranged for the head of the Fuma family to temporarily manage the eight families. The other heads of the five families below him should not dare to overstep the Fuma family head and make such a show on their own. His father, Tachibana Masamune, might be able to persuade the head of the Fuma family.

As expected of my father, even though he resigned because of that incident, he was still able to persuade the head of the Fengmo family.

Yes, this is Genjiro's true thought. He has no fear of Tachibana Masamune's influence and even thinks that Tachibana Masamune is quite capable.

It can't be said that Genjiro was stupid. Tachibana Masamune did give him 'fatherly love'. In Genjiro's heart, this adoptive father was no different from his biological father.

Yuan Zhisheng waved to his brothers on both sides and hurried inside, wanting to lead the family heads upstairs to chat. He was about to sneeze if he continued standing in the rain of petals.

The Emperor's keen senses were somewhat overwhelmed by the aroma.

But as the head of the family, how could he sneeze in front of so many people? He could only hold it in.

Kotaro Fuma and the other family heads silently followed behind Genjiro, while only Masamune Tachibana looked stunned as he glanced at the carriage where Genjiro was sitting and saw only three retainers, Sakura Yabuki.

With a furrowed brow, Tachibana Masamune turned and strode past the other family heads to reach Genjiro's side: "Head of the family, where is the Uesugi family head?"

Despite his inner urgency, Tachibana Masamune did not show it. Instead, he showed great respect for Genjiro, never addressing him as "Chisei" or Erii by her given name in public, but instead referring to him as "Head of the Family" or "Head of the Uesugi Clan."

When the other family heads saw Tachibana Masamune pass by them, some remained expressionless, some were indifferent, and some frowned secretly.

But upon hearing this question, they realized, "Oh right, where is the Snake Clan's ultimate weapon—Uesugi Erii? Why didn't she come back with Genji?"
Previously, Genjiro clearly sent back a message from the sea to report that he and Erii were safe and sound, and also mentioned that the Black King was missing. So there shouldn't be anything that could threaten the head of the Uesugi family, right? Where is he?

Yuan Zhisheng suppressed the urge to sneeze and poked upwards with his right index finger: "Let's go up and talk about it at Xingshen Temple."

With their doubts, they could only take the private elevator with Genjiro to the 30th floor of the Awakening Temple, where they sat properly in their respective seats.

Because they were merely retainers, Yabuki Sakura and her two companions took a separate elevator to the 30th floor. After that, they had seven trays of tea prepared and served one tray to each head of the household before respectfully leaving the Awakening Temple.

As soon as they left, Tachibana Masamune could no longer contain his doubts: "Chiki, where did Erii go? Did something happen to her?!"

His concerned expression made Genjiro and the other family heads think that Tachibana Masamune was genuinely concerned about his daughter.

Little did he know, Tachibana Masamune was simply concerned about his own godhood filter, and was afraid of losing it.

“Father, don’t worry.” Yuan Zhisheng quickly explained, “On this trip to Bello Island, we happened to encounter the Old Church’s fleet, and we traveled together and supported each other.”

"Our Snake Clan has successfully established a cooperative relationship with the Old Church."

"Eri encountered danger many times on Bello Island, but was saved by the old church's Nuwa and Bishop Aso. The three of them became very good friends as a result."

"Before returning from this trip, Bishop Aso suggested that he take Erii on a trip around the country, and I agreed."

"What?!" Tachibana Masamune was alarmed. Erii had actually fallen into the hands of the Old Church?

This is terrible! What if the Old Church discovers Erii's secret?
It's highly likely they'll steal his filter!

Those with dark minds, judging others by their own standards, also perceive the Old Church as incredibly sinister, and privately believe that once the Old Church discovers Erii's secret, they will inevitably do something: "Waki!"

"How could you hand Erii over to the Old Days Church? What if, what if the Old Days Church conducts unauthorized research on Erii?! That's the secret of the royal bloodline of the Snake Clan!"

"And you know, Erii needs to be injected with Deadpool serum regularly, otherwise her dragon blood will go out of control and cause a disaster. How could you..."

Genji quickly reassured the anxious Tachibana Masamune: "Father, don't worry, I would never let Erii be in danger."

"The medicine from the old church can better protect Erii's safety; I saw it with my own eyes." "I was away for three months, and I brought the Deadpool serum that you gave me, Father, but Erii didn't need it at all. She only needed to drink the medicine provided by Bishop Aso to control her dragon blood."

“You said…” Tachibana Masamune couldn’t sit still any longer: “You said the potion from the Old Church can suppress Erii’s dragon blood?!”

How is this possible?
Tachibana Masamune secretly researched the bloodlines of the Genji brothers and Erii, the three imperial bloodlines, for over twenty years before finally discovering the Dead Servant Servant serum.

As a result, the bishops of the old church developed a drug to suppress Erii's bloodline in a short period of time.

Is that human being?
What incredible talent! Those who don't study the field of Dragon Blood Medicine will never understand this enormous gap.

Once he realized that the gap between their levels was as vast as an insurmountable chasm, Tachibana Masamune panicked and broke out in a cold sweat. This Aso Makoto, with such a high level of research on dragon blood, wouldn't he be able to discover the secrets of the imperial blood in no time?

If Asou Makoto learns of the existence of 'God,' wouldn't he also know the secret that Erii can act as a filter?
No, absolutely not!
“Chiki, Erii is our ultimate weapon. No matter what, she shouldn’t be in the hands of the Old Church.”

"Which nuclear superpower would store its nuclear weapons in another country's treasury?"

Tachibana Masamune hurriedly racked his brains, trying to persuade Genjiro to bring Erii back.

The five family heads sitting below each had their own thoughts.

Some family heads agree with Tachibana Masamune's view that it is best to keep their family's ultimate weapon in their own hands.

Some heads of households approved of Yuan Zhisheng's arrangement, feeling that it would demonstrate their sincerity in cooperating with the old church.

Some family heads wondered why Tachibana Masamune was so nervous. Was it really because he cared about his daughter? And also about the interests of the Snake-Headed Eight Families?

Genjiro was somewhat puzzled. Tachibana Masamune was right. The heads of the Snake-Headed Eight Families basically regarded Erii as a weapon, not as a human being.

Even Genjiro himself, after taking the position of patriarch, had a period of time when he wanted to keep Erii locked up and didn't want her to go out freely.

However, after seeing Erii's frequent smiles during this trip to Bellor Island, Genji quietly changed his mind and could no longer regard this little sister as a mere weapon.

Erii smiles brightly when she makes new friends; she wants to protect her friends and fights against the dangerous 'Lu Mingfei'.
How can such a living, breathing person be treated as a weapon and shelved?

Having promised Erii and Asou Makoto to go out and have fun, Genjiro anticipated that he would face internal pressure from the Snake Clan.

Genjiro thought that if he came back, at least Erii's father, his adoptive father Tachibana Masamune, would support his idea.

Unexpectedly, the one who reacted the most and was the most anxious was none other than Tachibana Masamune.

"But, Dad, haven't you always wanted Erii to live a happy life?"

This is what puzzles Genjiro the most. When Erii was imprisoned, Tachibana Masamune would sigh and lament in front of him every day, saying how much he had wronged Erii.

He even said that he must cure Erii and then take her out to have fun.

She even went so far as to raise Dead Servants so that Erii could live.

Now that Erii has made new friends and her dragon blood can be stably suppressed, Tachibana Masamune is as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. Isn't that strange?
The sweat on Tachibana Masamune's forehead was even thicker and hotter, but so many years of pretense had long since made him understand the greater good.

This time, Tachibana Masamune's reason was incredibly 'righteous': "Yes, I hope Erii can be happy, but this must not come at the expense of the Snake-Headed Eight Families' interests!"

"In my heart, the Snake-Headed Eight Families will always be the top priority and the most important! If, if it is necessary to sacrifice Erii's happiness for the sake of the Snake-Headed Eight Families, then I will definitely sacrifice Erii's happiness for the sake of the Snake-Headed Eight Families!"

Tachibana Masamune spoke these words with such conviction and righteous indignation that he was practically ready to offer his heart to the Snake-Headed Eight Families.

That imposing manner prompted the head of the Miyamoto family below to exclaim in admiration, "Patriarch!"

It has to be the former patriarch! He was willing to sacrifice everything for the family, even his own daughter. I admire him!
Genji was speechless. He turned to look at the family heads and began to doubt himself. Was it a mistake to let Erii go out to play?
Seeing the questioning look in the current patriarch's eyes, the head of the Ryoma family also spoke up for Tachibana Masamune: "Patriarch, I also agree with Mr. Tachibana's opinion. Ultimately, it is most reassuring to keep weapons in one's own hands at all times."

"No." The head of the Fuma family, as always, rigidly sided with Genjiro: "The patriarch's decision is not a problem."

“If the old church can truly cure the head of the Uesugi family completely, that would be in the best interest of the Snake-Headed Eight Families.”

Sakurai Nanami, the head of the Sakurai family who had been wavering, immediately echoed the sentiment of the former head of the Fuma family: "That's what I think too."

"Sigh." The last head of the family, Inuyama He, sighed softly and still sided with Genjiro.

He knew perfectly well that only the Snake-Qi Eight Families with the Emperor were considered true Snake-Qi Eight Families; without the Emperor, the Snake-Qi Eight Families were nothing compared to the Secret Party.

Therefore, no matter what, Inuyama He will firmly support the Emperor. This is the rule at the bottom of the mixed-blood circle: the strong are respected. "It is not advisable to antagonize the Old Church now."

The bottom five are in a 3-2 split. As for the top three, let's not even talk about them. Tachibana Masamune, in principle, has no decision-making power after committing a crime, not even the right to vote. The fact that he can sit here is because Genjiro is giving him face.

So Erii's matter was ultimately left unresolved. On the surface, Tachibana Masamune accepted this outcome, but behind the scenes, he returned to the Tachibana residence and immediately smashed things all over the place!
"Yuan Zhisheng! The old church! No, no! Don't even think about it, no one can take away my chance to become a god!"

(End of this chapter)