Tokyo, but I'm a deceitful scumbag.

At this moment, Tendo Ryuji's body trembled.

Noticing this, the ninja frowned and asked, "What's wrong? Is this body still resisting you?"

"After all, he's a genius of the Tendo family this generation. It would be strange if I could easily control him in just a few days." Tendo Ryuji said with a sneer, "But it doesn't matter, it won't affect anything... Let's go."

"okay!"

After their conversation, Tendo Ryuji and the ninjas hurried along the path in a completely different direction from the other Onmyoji.

After running about two kilometers.

They came to a small pond.

Tendo Ryuji narrowed his eyes: "Is that long-haired demon king really here?"

"That's the information we received from above. Don't worry, there won't be any problems... Look, it's right there."

The ninja spoke, pointing to a dark figure standing in the water.

"It looks a bit strange..."

A deep frown appeared on Tendo Ryuji's forehead, but he still formed a hand seal, summoned eight demon swords, and launched a tentative attack...

Then he poked the dark shape to pieces, as easily as a child popping a balloon.

"...This is not the Ghost King!"

"How, how could it be!"

The ninja next to him widened his eyes, pulled out a walkie-talkie with a talisman attached to it from his pocket, turned it on, and asked, "What's going on? Where's the Demon King!"

"What? We can't be sure? Because there are many suspected targets? More than twenty!?"

"That's impossible, absolutely impossible!"

puff~

The sudden laughter made the ninja and Tendo Ryuji both look up!

"who!"

"Of course it's me!"

The voice came from the shoulder of a ninja. Startled, he turned around and was shocked to see a single hair on his shoulder flying around without wind, transforming into a handsome man.

It was none other than Hideyuki Hoshino!

As soon as the fox appeared, he swiftly slammed the Wind and Thunder Fan onto the head of the ninja beside him, electrifying him to the ground with a flash of lightning. Then, with a slight smile, he stepped on the ninja's body and addressed the remaining three ninjas and Tendo Ryuji:

"My friends, let's use our imaginations! Who says we can't have twenty-odd ghost kings? Everyone has an official position, that's what equality is all about!"

"you you you……"

Upon seeing the suddenly appearing fox, the ninjas were terrified. Why was this happening? What happened to our invincible intelligence?!

Ryuji Tendo, his face grim, drew his sword and asked coldly, "You bastard, did you set a trap for us instead?! How is that possible!"

So...

What's impossible?

The fox smiled, its eyes narrowing.

The entire plan was finalized when we left the cave yesterday.

At that moment, the fox and the girl thought of how Tendo Ryuji had somehow managed to find the Buddha statue.

That means conducting reconnaissance from the sky!

It sounds simple, but it's actually very difficult.

Aerial reconnaissance has always been a technically demanding task that consumes a lot of manpower and resources. It's not simply a matter of standing high and seeing far. The ever-changing environment at high altitudes and the vast distances involved make this job as difficult as finding a needle in a haystack.

Otherwise, reconnaissance planes during World War II wouldn't have been fooled by fake tanks every few days, or missed aircraft carriers at sea.

Therefore, in theory, even if a single Onmyoji came up with such a method, they could only use it on a small scale and it would be impossible to find 24 Buddha statues in one go.

but……

If we assume that Tendo Ryuji is not alone, but rather in league with the masterminds behind the disruption of the trials, then all the aforementioned difficulties can be overcome.

After all, the masterminds behind the scenes had completely mastered the tricks to entering and exiting the secret realm.

If they could send in a corpse along with a fox just for the sake of secrecy, then obviously sending in an entire high-altitude reconnaissance team wouldn't be a problem either.

Even Hoshino Hideyuki suspected that the reason the long-haired demon was able to steal the Buddha statue was because these people leaked the secret.

If you follow this line of reasoning, everything makes sense.

Why doesn't Tendo Ryuji need to check the compass?

Because his teammates were monitoring all the long-haired ghosts from the very beginning, it was like having a full map cheat when playing StarCraft or Age of Empires, so naturally he didn't need a useless compass!

Similarly, why could the female ninja find Hoshino Hideyuki and Asuka at the beginning, but then couldn't find them anymore?

Because she and Ryuji Tendo are teammates and she also has a full map cheat, she can easily track the fox into a helicopter, but she has no way to track the underground cave!

After refining this assumption.

Last night, the fox used Sun Wukong's carefully selected intelligence-gathering method—transforming into a fly—to follow Tendo Ryuji all night, witnessing his interactions with the ninjas and completely confirming his hypothesis.

Tendo Ryuji is an accomplice of the mastermind. Their goal is to eliminate competitors and seize the Tendo family's ancestral shikigami, Tanlang!

As for what these people will do after seeing Greedy Wolf, Fox is not quite sure.

But the intelligence they have is enough for him and the girl to devise a countermeasure plan for today!

They split into two groups: the girl went to find the real long-haired demon king and, following the normal procedure, ended the trial.

Meanwhile, the fox used its seventy-two transformations to take advantage of the opponent's full map vision and lure Tendo Ryuji outside to attack!

Didn't you want to take advantage of your intelligence to win everything in one fell swoop?

Alright, then take your pick from these twenty-odd Ghost Kings!

The problem with full map display is that while it seems like you can see everything, it also makes you easily tempted or overwhelmed by a massive amount of information!

"Gentlemen, what were you saying just now... um, something like we're guaranteed to win? That's hilarious."

Back to the present, the fox twisted its neck and gave Tendo Ryuji and the three ninjas a friendly smile:

Have you ever heard this saying?

"When you gaze into the abyss, the abyss also gazes into you; conversely, when I know you have a cheat code, it's as if I have one too."

"Did you have a great time looking for Buddha statues before?"

"Well, sorry then, you now have to pay your debts."

Chapter 218 Sorry, you're not the protagonist, I, the fox, am!

"What a joke!"

The three ninjas who were still standing stared wide-eyed, unable to believe that their advantageous position had suddenly been turned around.

Although Tendo Ryuji, known as the Immortal Primal Captain, was initially stunned, he was ultimately a captain and was the first to calm down, staring at the fox and saying:

"Your shikigami is quite capable."

"but……"

Why are you so confident in facing me?

As he spoke, he summoned a series of samurai swords, just like a sword immortal in a fantasy game. Each sword was beautifully designed and gleamed coldly in the moonlight.

"You're just a 16-year-old girl's shikigami. I'll kill you soon, then go back and catch up with your master. In the end... victory will still be ours!"

These words rekindled the ninjas' spirits.

"As expected of Captain Undying Former!"

"That's right. With Captain Undying here, what do we have to fear even if we fall into a trap?"

"Let's attack together and take down this fox!"

On the other side, looking at the menacing enemies, the fox blinked innocently.

Why are you yelling so loudly!

Why should I be confident...? Can't I be confident? Boys are born confident! Besides, I'm a male fox!

and many more……

These people don't seem to know I'm the Smiling Fox? Hmm...

So Asuka was right after all. My being pulled into this was an accident, to the point that the masterminds behind it all thought I was just a shikigami.

Hoshino Hideyuki blinked, then feigned fear and backed away, saying:

"You...you stop talking big! Your female ninja companion couldn't do anything to me! You think you can..."

"Heh, you haven't seen our skills yet."

The moment the word "skill" left his lips, Tendo Ryuji's body vanished from the spot, and then, almost instantly, appeared above Hoshino Hideyuki's head. He then conjured two katana from his empty sleeve and slashed at Hoshino Hideyuki in a crisscross pattern!

At the same time, the swords he summoned shot out at lightning speed, surrounding Hoshino Hideyuki from all directions, leaving him with nowhere to escape!

To be honest, it was a ruthless and meticulously executed tactic.

The only problem is...

The fox had no intention of escaping at all.

"I'm sorry, but as someone with social anxiety, I don't like people getting too close to me, so..."

"Burn, Heart Moonfire~"

call!

The sudden burst of flames formed a dazzling tornado on the spot, engulfing Tendo Ryuji and all his demon swords!

"W-what!"

The ninjas who originally wanted to provide support were unable to lift their feet due to the heat. Tendo Ryuji, who was in the center of the flames, let out a scream and frantically used his sword wind to cut an opening, rolling away into the pool of water next to him!

Thump! Then came gurgling sounds!