Chapter 953: Repeating the Same Mistakes |
If Shimazu Nakano and Shima Takeshi were the same person, then many things would make sense... or so it seemed.
Liu Xing couldn't understand why Shimazu Nakano would rebel against himself, as it seemed rather far-fetched no matter how he thought about it.
At this moment, Sawada Yinyin provided Liu Xing with a reasonable explanation, "I know that you're probably wondering why Shimazu Nakano would control Shima Takeshi to do such a thing. You may have overlooked what I said earlier—although Shimazu Nakano and Shima Takeshi share a soul, or their two souls have been merged into one, with the dominant soul taking absolute control, the other soul becomes the subconscious. When the dominant soul controls one body, the other soul will control the other body like an AI, without revealing any abnormalities to outsiders."
"So, based on the current situation, Shima Takeshi might have been influenced by someone while under the control of his subconscious, deciding to rise up against his superiors. Unless something unexpected happens, Shima Takeshi was probably set up by Shimazu Nakano before he was adopted. Therefore, Shima Takeshi's subconscious is still stuck in that period. Although he can still passively learn some knowledge and experience, many things in Shima Takeshi's subconscious have become clearer. However, this clarity doesn't necessarily represent the truth, as a part of Shimazu Nakano's soul has also mixed into Shima Takeshi's subconscious. As a result, some of Shima Takeshi's memories may be distorted. For example, Shima Takeshi doesn't like Kamen Rider, but it's actually Shimazu Nakano who likes Kamen Rider."
As soon as Sawada Yinyin finished speaking, she sent Liu Xing a photo of a young Shimazu Nakano excitedly taking a photo with the actors of Heisei Kamen Rider.
Upon seeing this photo, Liu Xing agreed with Sawada Yinyin's idea.
"You should remember that after you and Shima Mitsuhiro left for Kagoshima City, Shimazu Nakano mostly stayed in a resort outside Osaka City and didn't show up for several days. So, I suspect that Shimazu Nakano was controlling Shima Takeshi at that time. However, things have come to this point, and Shimazu Nakano doesn't know how to resolve this problem. After all, Shima Takeshi has captured all the Shimazu Family members who stayed in Kagoshima City." Sawada Yinyin said with a smile.
To be honest, Liu Xing also felt like laughing. Shimazu Nakano's current situation was indeed very embarrassing.
First of all, it can be confirmed that Shimazu Nakano wanted to reincarnate into Shima Takeshi's body after his death, but he still had some attachment to the position of the head of the Shimazu Family. Therefore, from the beginning, he had been promoting Shima Takeshi, hoping that 'Shima Takeshi' would naturally become the new head of the Shimazu Family after his death.
Of course, Shimazu Nakano couldn't directly announce to the family members that he is Shima Takeshi and that Shima Takeshi is himself. He knew that his relatives, who are currently obedient to him, would never allow him to hold the position of the head of the Shimazu Family forever. So, if Shimazu Nakano were to announce this news, who knows how many relatives would hire assassins from Vietnam to kill him the next day.
Therefore, Shimazu Nakano is currently in a dilemma. On the one hand, it's impossible to release all his relatives and then say, "I was just joking with you." If Shimazu Nakano dares to do this, some relatives will come to Shima Takeshi's door the next day to 'joke' with him. On the other hand, Shimazu Nakano can't directly end his own life and focus on controlling Shima Takeshi's body, because the situation happened suddenly, and Shimazu Nakano hasn't transferred all his resources to Shima Takeshi's name yet. So, Shima Takeshi is like a rootless reed, seemingly powerful but actually very vulnerable. If someone makes a ruthless move, 'Shima Takeshi' might not even know how he died.
So, he can't release the hostages, and he can't become Shima Takeshi in advance. No wonder Shimazu Nakano hasn't done anything during this time.
Liu Xing stroked his chin and asked a crucial question, "Then, if Shima Takeshi dies before Shimazu Nakano, will the dominant soul of Shimazu Nakano be affected? Can Shimazu Nakano still control others?"
After a moment of thought, Sawada Yinyin replied affirmatively, "From what I know, if Shima Takeshi dies, it will definitely affect Shimazu Nakano, because their souls have merged into one. Normally, about eighty percent of the soul resides in Shimazu Nakano's body, while the remaining twenty percent remains in Shima Takeshi's body. So, if Shima Takeshi dies, Shimazu Nakano will definitely be severely affected. Even if he doesn't die, he'll be mentally unstable for a while. If Shimazu Nakano dies first and the dominant soul doesn't have time to transfer to Shima Takeshi's body, then Shima Takeshi will have to accompany Shimazu Nakano to hell."
"As for whether Shimazu Nakano can control others after Shima Takeshi's death, I think it's basically impossible. According to the records, after the last time this bronze bell appeared in public, it would emit a specific sound wave to maintain the stability of the merged soul. This means that the bronze bell can only be used again after the merged soul is completely destroyed. Therefore, if the bronze bell hasn't undergone any modifications during its disappearance, Shimazu Nakano won't be able to use it to control others again."
Upon hearing this, Liu Xing laughed and said, "So that's the case. No wonder Shimazu Nakano has been reluctant to let go. He doesn't want to give up Shima Takeshi's body or the position of the head of the Shimazu Family, so he's still trying to make a last-ditch effort... Wait, if the bronze bell has been modified like this, doesn't it mean that a person can only live one more life? Isn't this a reverse modification?"
"This can indeed be considered a reverse modification. After all, the original bronze bell allowed people to reincarnate an unlimited number of times. However, the ancient civilizations were so diverse and bizarre, with all kinds of creatures, that some ancient civilizations had to make corresponding modifications to use the bronze bell. As a result, the bronze bell changed its appearance every decade, ensuring that its main function remained unchanged while undergoing drastic changes in many details. So, after the bronze bell disappeared, few people would specifically search for it, as it's not easy to modify it without damaging it." Sawada Yinyin answered seriously.
Liu Xing nodded and suddenly had a thought, "Wait. If we send someone to destroy the bronze bell in that nameless temple, what would happen? Would it separate the merged souls or directly destroy the merged soul?"
This time, after a moment of silence, Sawada Yinyin slowly replied with four words, "I don't know."
It seems that Liu Xing's question was beyond her knowledge.
Therefore, after hanging up the call with Sawada Yinyin, Liu Xing didn't rush to call Zhang Jingxu and the others. Instead, he called Shimada Sho.
As a Ghoul who has lived for an unknown number of years, Liu Xing believed that Shimada Sho must have some impression of the bronze bell.
"Liu Xing, there hasn't been much progress on my side. The Ii Naoyoshi in the seafood market only appears from time to time and then goes back into the store. So, my subordinates only know that he looks exactly like Ii Naoyoshi, but it's hard to say if he's the real Ii Naoyoshi." Shimada Sho interrupted.
Liu Xing sighed and shook his head, "No, no, no. I didn't call to ask about that."
Liu Xing explained the situation with the bronze bell.
"Oh, I didn't expect this bronze bell to resurface." Shimada Sho said with some emotion, "I did see this bronze bell before, as I used to live next to that ancient civilization. First of all, let me say something unpleasant. After the great battle in the past, numerous ancient civilizations appeared on Earth, and these ancient civilizations, as well as the various creatures that still exist today, were mostly created by mythical creature races, especially technologically advanced ones like the Ancient One, snake man, and Yis People. So, although these ancient civilizations had some very powerful beings, their lifespans were relatively short due to their unstable genes."
"Of course, this was Ancient One's way of putting a lock on their creations to prevent them from getting out of control and causing chaos, as well as to prevent them from being exploited by hostile mythical creature races. However, some powerful ancient civilizations, after conquering a region, would seek immortality. After all, no matter how powerful you are, you'll eventually return to dust in a few decades. So, at that time, some ancient civilizations began to research the secret of immortality, even attacking nearby mythical creature tribes to obtain samples, regardless of the cost. After all, we mythical creatures can live forever, regardless of age or gender."
"So, the outpost I was in was attacked by the ancient civilization that created the bronze bell. But let me tell you, at that time, I was already strong enough to take on their entire civilization alone. Therefore, our outpost easily defeated their forces, but we didn't counterattack. It's like being bitten by a mosquito; you can't possibly go around spraying insecticide to kill all the mosquitoes within a ten-mile radius just because you swatted one. So, our outpost and that ancient civilization coexisted peacefully for a few more decades."
"However, after a few decades, that ancient civilization changed its strategy. They knew that directly confronting us was like seeking death, so they started worshipping us as gods, constantly sending gifts and flattering us. In the end, my friend and I became their patron gods, but we still didn't give them the secret of immortality because their physical qualities couldn't handle true immortality. After a few hundred years, the King who created the bronze bell appeared, and I even helped him with some technical guidance."
"What can I say about the bronze bell? It's a mixed bag. Although it allowed the King to constantly change bodies, indirectly achieving immortality, each time he changed bodies, his soul grew like a snowball, eventually becoming too heavy for his body to bear. Yes, souls do have weight, albeit very low, and each body can only bear a certain amount of soul weight. That's why the Yis People only exchanged souls with the souls of other creatures during their travels, instead of directly consuming souls, even though they had the ability to do so."
"So, you should already know what happened next. The King eventually died under the burden, and his ancient civilization collapsed. Other civilizations took advantage of the chaos, and that land became a battleground for countless ancient civilizations, all of whom repeated the same mistakes after obtaining the bronze bell. They were all blinded by the so-called gift of immortality, not realizing that some gifts came with a price. So, I witnessed the evolution of the bronze bell until the appearance of humans."
Upon hearing this, Liu Xing was delighted, knowing that he had found the right person.
Shimada Sho continued, "I believe you don't want to know about the origin of humans, as it's not very flattering. So, let's skip the history of human birth and get to the point—the bronze bell fell into the hands of humans, but your human ancestors were good at learning and summarizing. They knew that the bronze bell could make the leader of humanity immortal, leading humanity forward forever. But they also understood that if the leader couldn't bear the burden one day, it wouldn't just be external enemies that would cause trouble; internal strife would also severely weaken humanity."
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Next Chapter >>Chapter 954: Trust Issues