Chapter 936: Being Too Cautious |
"The Shimazu Family will definitely not just stand by and let the Ii Family's people wander around on their turf, but we all know the current situation of the Shimazu Family. Even if Shimazu Nakano wanted to stop them, he wouldn't be able to do it. Moreover, this would easily let other forces realize that the Shimazu Family is in trouble. So this time, Shimazu Nakano decided to let the Ii Family roam freely in their territory, but the Ii Family must live-stream their movements." Shimada Sho explained.
Live-stream?
Liu Xing raised his eyebrows, not immediately understanding what Shimazu Nakano was trying to achieve with this move.
However, after a moment's thought, Liu Xing realized that Shimazu Nakano had no other choice. By doing this, Shimazu Nakano could claim the moral high ground—as sworn enemies, we, the Shimazu Family, trust that you, the Ii Family, will not cause trouble in Kagoshima. Therefore, you must remember to be cautious and refrain from any strange actions in Kagoshima.
If the Ii Family understood this, they should just go through the motions in Kagoshima and then leave for the next location to search for Ii Naoyoshi's whereabouts.
However, even if the Ii Family only wanted to go through the motions, they would still have to visit all the places they were supposed to during the live-stream, including Lu Wu, as it was one of the most important seafood distribution centers in Kagoshima and had a high foot traffic. It was the most suitable place for Ii Naoyoshi to hide in Kagoshima.
Therefore, Liu Xing was certain that the people sent by the Ii Family would definitely go to Lu Wu and even walk down every street. As long as Ii Naoyoshi had not returned to the Dreamrealm, he would surely be discovered by his relatives.
This would be quite a spectacle.
Liu Xing could already guess the subsequent developments—first, after confirming that Ii Naoyoshi was in Lu Wu, the Warrior Faction and the Public Faction would definitely argue for a while. The Public Faction would not miss the opportunity to smear the Warrior Faction, and they would most likely accuse the Warrior Faction of "harboring Ii Naoyoshi."
After all, Ii Naoyoshi was a common enemy of the Public Faction and the Warrior Faction, or even the entire Island Nation.
However, Liu Xing believed that the Warrior Faction would most likely be unwilling to let the Public Faction get involved, just as the Shimazu Family did not want the Ii Family to come to Kagoshima. Kagoshima was not only the Shimazu Family's territory but also the Warrior Faction's stronghold. If the Public Faction had any ulterior motives and planted spies or turned traitors within the Warrior Faction, it would be very uncomfortable for the Warrior Faction.
But just as the Shimazu Family could not stop the Ii Family from entering Kagoshima, the Warrior Faction could not prevent the Public Faction from getting involved. When the Warrior Faction discovered the group of people around Ii Naoyoshi, they would proactively seek help from the Public Faction.
Because the Warrior Faction could not deal with Ii Naoyoshi and his group.
At that time, the Public Faction should also consider the bigger picture and send a large number of people to cooperate with the Warrior Faction, joining forces to drive Ii Naoyoshi and his group back into the Dreamrealm.
This was the best outcome Liu Xing could think of.
However, Liu Xing guessed that this best outcome was unlikely to be achieved. Even if the Public Faction was willing to cooperate with the Warrior Faction, they would most likely still make some small moves. As a result, the Warrior Faction and the Public Faction might appear to cooperate on the surface but have underlying conflicts, and their hidden disagreements would deepen over time. Of course, Liu Xing also thought that the Warrior Faction might have a bold idea—after dealing with Ii Naoyoshi and his group, they could turn against the Public Faction's forces.
After all, Kagoshima was the Warrior Faction's stronghold, so it wouldn't be difficult for them to eliminate this group of reinforcements from the Public Faction on Kyushu Island.
Therefore, even if the Public Faction and the Warrior Faction could reach a cooperation agreement, the animosity between them would still affect the final outcome.
At this thought, Liu Xing suddenly suspected that Ii Naoyoshi and his group might become the ultimate winners.
"If there are no surprises, the Ii Family's people should arrive in Kagoshima tomorrow morning. So, I plan to send someone to follow them and, if necessary, lead them away from Lu Wu to prevent them from discovering Ii Naoyoshi's whereabouts."
As Shimada Sho spoke, he turned to Liu Xing, "What do you think, Liu Xing?"
Liu Xing did not expect Shimada Sho to seek his opinion at this time, so he stammered, "Well, I think you're right, Shimada Sho. It's not a good thing for the Ii Family to discover Ii Naoyoshi's whereabouts now, as Ii Naoyoshi may benefit from it."
"Benefit from it?" Matsui Yui asked with some confusion, "The Public Faction and the Warrior Faction have already marked Ii Naoyoshi as a thorn in their side, so how could Ii Naoyoshi benefit from this situation?"
Liu Xing shook his head and explained his thoughts, "It may seem that way, but it's not the case. Kagoshima is such a great place that both the Public Faction and the Warrior Faction have developed some bold ideas."
Upon hearing Liu Xing's explanation, Matsui Yui suddenly realized, "So that's it! You're right, Liu Xing. If Ii Naoyoshi were discovered in Shikoku Island, the Public Faction and the Warrior Faction should cooperate honestly and work together to deal with the troublemaker Ii Naoyoshi. But Kagoshima is different. The Public Faction wants to take the opportunity to cause trouble, while the Warrior Faction wants the Public Faction to suffer here. However, the most important thing is that they both know what the other is thinking. So, it's very likely that their cooperation will turn into infighting, and Ii Naoyoshi will be able to reap the benefits."
Liu Xing nodded and said seriously, "That's right, and there's one more thing that Yui didn't mention. The current Kagoshima is no longer under Shimazu Nakano's control, and he will not voluntarily make this matter public. Therefore, Shima Takeshi becomes the biggest variable in this event. Who knows if Shima Takeshi will mistake the Public Faction and the Warrior Faction's coalition forces for an attack on him when they arrive, and then burn down the Shimazu Residence?"
"If Shima Takeshi really burns down the Shimazu Residence or blows up the Shimazu Group building, it will be like lighting the fuse between the Public Faction and the Warrior Faction. The Warrior Faction will think that the Public Faction is deliberately causing trouble, while the Public Faction will think that the Warrior Faction is trying to create a pretext for war. In any case, even if the Public Faction and the Warrior Faction don't fight at that time, they will definitely fight after dealing with the Ii Naoyoshi issue."
"So, you're saying that as long as the Public Faction and the Warrior Faction join forces to deal with Ii Naoyoshi, they are destined to fight in Kagoshima?" Matsui Yui asked in surprise.
"Most likely," Shimada Sho continued, "So, if we want to prevent this from happening, the best way is to keep the Ii Family away from Ii Naoyoshi, as the information-gathering equipment can only work within a one-kilometer range. Therefore, we still have a lot of room to maneuver."
"So, let me handle it."
Liu Xing spoke up, "I think I'm the most suitable for this mission because I have a teammate in Lu Wu, and she has already discovered Ii Naoyoshi's whereabouts. I can maintain phone contact with her to constantly confirm Ii Naoyoshi's location and distance from the Ii Family."
After a moment of contemplation, Shimada Sho nodded and said, "I initially planned to assign you to this mission because my subordinates are all mythical creatures, and it would be easy for them to be discovered if they followed the Ii Family members. So, I'll put you in charge of this mission."
After speaking, Shimada Sho stood up and took out a photo album from a drawer, pulling out five photos.
"These five photos are the subordinates I mentioned. Although you'll be the only one following the Ii Family members closely tomorrow, they will also be on standby nearby. So, if you make an OK gesture towards them, they will immediately come to your aid."
Shimada Sho handed the photos to Liu Xing.
Liu Xing looked at the five photos and realized that Shimada Sho's subordinates were indeed quite noticeable, as they all had distinctive appearances—in short, they were the most eye-catching in a crowd.
However, this also made it easier for Liu Xing to remember them.
After confirming the time and location of the next day's operation, Matsui Yui eagerly said to Shimada Sho, "Shimada Sho, do you know what you missed today?"
Shimada Sho looked at Matsui Yui with some confusion and shook his head, "If I remember correctly, the place you went to find was a Deep One named MacIntyre, who is somewhat famous in the Island Nation. But in the end, he's just a small pirate, so there shouldn't be anything valuable in his hidden treasure, right?"
Matsui Yui laughed and shook her head, "I knew you'd think that, Shimada Sho, but to be honest, I thought the same at first. Anyway, I won't keep you in suspense. We actually found a fragment of the Poetry and Song World in MacIntyre's treasure!"
"What? A fragment of the Poetry and Song World!"
Shimada Sho exclaimed in surprise, "Matsui Yui, you're not joking with me, are you? How could there be a fragment of the Poetry and Song World in MacIntyre's treasure? You should know that a fragment of the Poetry and Song World is priceless, or rather, it's invaluable."
Matsui Yui explained the situation with the fragment of the Poetry and Song World to Shimada Sho.
"So it was Yatagarasu," Shimada Sho said, his face showing a standard expression of reminiscence, "I remember that during the Warring States period, I was also involved in some important events, such as the fall of the Ashikaga Shogunate. At that time, Oda Nobunaga expelled Ashikaga Yoshiaki, the last shogun of the Ashikaga Shogunate, and then planned to visit the Emperor to gain legitimacy. So, I wanted to meet Yatagarasu in advance because he was very famous in the mythical creature circle of the Island Nation at that time."
"I've known Yatagarasu for hundreds of years. At that time, I felt that Yatagarasu was too cautious. With his strength, even if he couldn't defeat Yui's father, God Dagon, he was still much stronger than the leaders of all the mythical creature tribes in the Island Nation at that time. Therefore, he was considered the leader of the mythical creature circle in the Island Nation, but he was completely unaware of it and did nothing but stay in his own small world."
"If I remember correctly, the shogun Ashikaga Yoshiteru once sought his help. If Yatagarasu had agreed to help Ashikaga Yoshiteru at that time, perhaps the Warring States period in the Island Nation would have ended earlier. Although the other daimyo families also had the support of various mythical creature tribes and even avatars of Great Old Ones, they would still be willing to give Yatagarasu some face, as their reasons for supporting those daimyo families were simple—they had nothing better to do."
"However, what no one expected was that Yatagarasu refused Ashikaga Yoshiteru's request and never appeared again. So, I took the opportunity of Oda Nobunaga overthrowing the Ashikaga Shogunate to go and see Yatagarasu. When I arrived at Yatagarasu's residence, I found that Yatagarasu had disappeared without a trace. At that time, I thought he had gone abroad, but I never expected him to hide in a fragment of the Poetry and Song World."
Liu Xing raised his eyebrows, realizing that Yatagarasu was even more powerful than he had imagined.
To be honest, after listening to Yatagarasu's self-introduction, Liu Xing had thought that Yatagarasu's strength was only slightly better than Matsui Yui's and definitely not a match for Baruka.
However, he was surprised to find that Yatagarasu's strength was only slightly inferior to Dagon's, making him a formidable ally.
Liu Xing thought about it and decided to put the plan to find MacIntyre on the agenda, hoping to improve his favorability with Yatagarasu.
At this moment, Dogo Aige called Matsui Yui.
The content of the call was simple: after the treasure chamber door was opened, the underwater cave began to show signs of leakage, so Dogo Aige asked Matsui Yui to send more people to retrieve the valuable treasures.
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