Chapter 954: Trust Issues |
"So, after obtaining the bronze bell, you humans didn't choose to use it, instead, you directly collected it and even gave it a new name. I believe you should know this name, Liu Xing." Shimada Sho continued.
The bronze bell's name?
Liu Xing raised an eyebrow, instinctively saying, "Dong Huang Bell?"
In Liu Xing's impression, the most famous name for the bronze bell was Dong Huang Bell.
Shimada Sho smiled and said, "That's right, it's Dong Huang Bell. You humans got this bronze bell from the so-called Demon Clan, and the Demon Clan's king is Dong Huang Taiyi, so the bell is called Dong Huang Bell."
Liu Xing stroked his chin, surprised to learn that this bronze bell was actually the legendary Dong Huang Bell.
"Alright, let's get back to the main topic. Not long after Dong Huang Bell was collected, a massive internal conflict erupted among your human race, leading to the bell's disappearance for thousands of years. Unexpectedly, it reappeared in the Island Nation and was used again... But I suspect that Shimazu Nakano might have mythical creature support behind him, otherwise he wouldn't know the bell's function." Shimada Sho said seriously.
Liu Xing nodded and asked, "Now that we know the location of the Unnamed Temple, can we destroy the bell to harm Shimazu Nakano or force him to remain in his current body?"
"Of course, if you stop the bell now, Shimazu Nakano will be forced to stay in his current body, while the other body will directly become a vegetable. The bell is actually quite easy to destroy, it's essentially just a bronze bell with various attachments." Shimada Sho pondered for a moment, "However, I don't recommend doing that because Shimazu Nakano is still controlling Shima Takeshi. You wouldn't want to see the Warrior Faction leaderless, would you?"
If they destroyed the bell now, this special Mission would be secured. Shimazu Nakano is now Shima Takeshi, so his best option would be to reveal the truth to Shima Mitsuhiro and the Shimazu Family members, then quietly abdicate and become a wealthy man... Otherwise, Shimazu Nakano would have no choice but to continue on this path and completely become Shima Takeshi.
But Liu Xing believed that while Shimazu Nakano was cunning, he wouldn't become a parricide, especially one who would destroy his own family.
Most importantly, Shimazu Nakano should be aware that he couldn't support the Shimazu Family alone.
Therefore, as long as Shimazu Nakano is rational, he should choose to tell the truth and pass the Shimazu Family's leadership to Shima Mitsuhiro. This would allow Liu Xing and his team to successfully complete their Side Quest.
However, this also means that "Shimazu Nakano" would become a vegetable, and the Warrior Faction would lose its nominal leader.
The Warrior Faction would then likely fall into chaos, as no faction currently possesses the authority to lead and unite the others. This means everyone would want to become the leader, believing they have a chance.
Of course, Liu Xing and the others could wait until Shimazu Nakano returns to his own body before destroying the bell. However, "Shima Takeshi" is currently acting discreetly, and Shimazu Nakano is hiding in the resort without appearing. Therefore, unless a major event forces Shimazu Nakano to appear in public, it would be difficult for Liu Xing and the others to determine if he is controlling that body.
"Alright, Liu Xing, don't overthink things. Although you know the location of the Unnamed Temple, the bell has likely been moved. Shimazu Nakano would anticipate the bell becoming a weakness, so he'd hide it in a place he deems safest. Like how the lich in your human fantasy novels would hide their phylactery," Shimada Sho confidently stated.
Upon hearing this, Liu Xing realized he was overthinking things. Shimazu Nakano wouldn't keep the bell, so crucial to him, in one place. Therefore, going to the Unnamed Temple now would likely be a waste of time.
However, speaking of phylactery, Liu Xing suddenly thought of someone - Sirius.
Now that Liu Xing has recovered his character card, Sirius has been missing. He didn't know if Sirius was eliminated by Ithaqua, simply discarded, or if Ithaqua helped him find a new body.
Liu Xing felt the need to investigate Sirius' whereabouts.
After ending his conversation with Shimada Sho, Liu Xing immediately called Zhang Jingxu and the others, informing them about Shimazu Nakano and the bronze bell.
"There's such a thing?" Zhang Jingxu exclaimed, "So all this time, we've been playing a game of wits with Shimazu Nakano. But speaking of which, his current situation is truly uncomfortable. On one hand, he doesn't want to give up his position as leader, on the other, he doesn't want to give up Shima Takeshi, or the opportunity for a second life. Now he's being forced to make a choice by his own self... If I were him, I wouldn't be able to choose either, because I would want both."
"But you can't have both," Liu Xing retorted, "So Shimazu Nakano can only use delaying tactics against Shima Mitsuhiro. He asked Shima Mitsuhiro to pick up the Ii Family members from the airport to force Shima Takeshi to meet him. Then he can threaten and bribe Shima Mitsuhiro to give up his claim to the Shimazu Family leadership. This way, Shimazu Nakano can smoothly pass the leadership to Shima Takeshi, or his next reincarnation."
Yin En chimed in, "But the most important question now is who Persuaded Shima Takeshi's subconscious to rebel? And does this person, or these people, know the true relationship between Shima Takeshi and Shimazu Nakano? That's quite intriguing."
Regarding Yin En's first question, Liu Xing had considered it, but couldn't find a suitable target. Whether it was Public Faction members, the United States of America, or even "teammates" within the Warrior Faction, they could all be tempted to incite chaos in Kagoshima City.
However, regarding Yin En's second question, Liu Xing felt the answer was simple - they don't know.
While finding the origins of the bronze bell was relatively simple, linking Shimazu Nakano to the bell was difficult. Over the years, Shimazu Nakano has kept a low profile. Therefore, aside from Shima Mitsuhiro, who is close to him, it would be hard for others to know that Shimazu Nakano visits an Unnamed Temple every year.
Therefore, Liu Xing believed that the mastermind behind the chaos simply got lucky, forcing Shimazu Nakano into this predicament... Of course, the situation for Liu Xing and his team wasn't much better either.
"Then, why don't we simply tell Shima Mitsuhiro about this, and let him confront Shima Takeshi, or rather Shimazu Nakano. Then both sides can compromise. Shimazu Nakano makes Shima Mitsuhiro his successor. If Shima Mitsuhiro's descendants are not fit to lead, Shimazu Nakano can become the leader again in his Shima Takeshi form. If his descendants are capable, Shimazu Nakano can leave with Shima Takeshi's identity and establish a branch family overseas. This way, both Shima Mitsuhiro and Shimazu Nakano should accept it," Zhang Wenbing suggested suddenly.
Liu Xing was quite optimistic about Zhang Wenbing's idea. It was one of the best ways to mediate this situation.
However, a serious problem remained - whether Shimazu Nakano and Shima Mitsuhiro could trust each other.
This mediation method, while good, relies on the premise of mutual trust between Shima Mitsuhiro and Shimazu Nakano: Shima Mitsuhiro needs to believe that Shimazu Nakano won't cause any more trouble before his "life" ends, and Shimazu Nakano needs to believe that Shima Mitsuhiro won't take advantage of "Shima Takeshi."
First, let's consider Shimazu Nakano's doubts.
Shima Takeshi's sudden outburst served as a wake-up call for Shimazu Nakano. After this incident, "Shima Takeshi" will undoubtedly be sealed. The way to seal a human body is either by imprisoning them in a specific location or freezing them.
However, after Shimazu Nakano fully transitions into Shima Takeshi, he becomes a sitting duck for Shima Mitsuhiro.
If Shima Mitsuhiro is ruthless, he could simply eliminate Shimazu Nakano. If he is kind, he could continue to imprison or freeze Shimazu Nakano.
Of course, Shimazu Nakano can also entrust the care of Shima Takeshi's body to someone he trusts. However, Shima Mitsuhiro could still choose to expel "Shima Takeshi" from the Shimazu Family after the fact, leaving Shimazu Nakano helpless.
While Shima Mitsuhiro seems to have the upper hand, if Shimazu Nakano chooses to be unscrupulous, Shima Mitsuhiro's position as head of the family might not last long.
The reason is simple: the Shimazu Family's resources are still in Shimazu Nakano's hands, and his current physical and mental state allow him to continue as head for another ten years. Therefore, Shimazu Nakano has ample opportunity to manipulate Shima Mitsuhiro. Shima Mitsuhiro has no way of believing that Shimazu Nakano will willingly pass the leadership on to him.
After all, Shima Mitsuhiro is prepared to hand over the leadership to "Shima Takeshi."
Therefore, Liu Xing and the others believe that it is difficult for Shimazu Nakano and Shima Mitsuhiro to trust each other.
"It's a tough situation. It seems almost impossible for Shimazu Nakano and Shima Mitsuhiro to cooperate unless Shimazu Nakano is willing to give up his position as head of the Shimazu Family and start anew overseas," Ding Kun said seriously. "But based on the current situation, Shimazu Nakano should not really be willing to kill Shima Mitsuhiro, so we don't need to worry too much about Shima Mitsuhiro's safety."
Just as Liu Xing was about to speak, he suddenly remembered something, "Right, what about Kitano Masakazu's situation?"
After a moment of silence on the other end of the line, Yin En said, "It seems we have to tell Shima Mitsuhiro about this first. Let him make the decision, or Kitano Masakazu might end up being the winner."
At that moment, Zhang Jingxu unexpectedly said, "You know, what if Shimazu Nakano and Shima Takeshi merged, and the dominant soul is actually Shima Takeshi?"
Zhang Jingxu's statement plunged Liu Xing and the others into silence again.
After a while, Liu Xing said, "I don't think that's very likely. Shima Takeshi's information is actually easy to find. We can see that he was an ordinary person, at most a bookworm, before he became Shimazu Nakano's adopted son and son-in-law. There were no abnormal signs. Therefore, it wouldn't be easy for him to reverse control Shimazu Nakano. After all, the Shimazu Family is not a pushover."
"Okay, I think so too. Unless Shima Takeshi has a force behind him that is even stronger than the Shimazu Family, it would be impossible for him to secretly take over Shimazu Nakano," Zhang Jingxu sighed. "Alright, I'll go inform Shima Mitsuhiro of this news now."
Zhang Jingxu hung up the phone after finishing his sentence.
Liu Xing put down his mobile phone and couldn't help but look towards the Shimazu Group building.
Who are you, Shimazu Nakano or Shima Takeshi?
After a while, Liu Xing received a text message from Li Hanxing - Shima Mitsuhiro suddenly left the bar and began to return to the hotel.
It seems that Zhang Jingxu and the others have informed Shima Mitsuhiro of everything.
Next, it depends on Shima Mitsuhiro's choice.
Liu Xing took a deep breath, feeling like he could finally get a good night's sleep.
After Li Hanxing and Sun Huiwen returned, Liu Xing told them about the current situation.
"Wow, there's such a thing?! No wonder Shima Mitsuhiro suddenly came back," Li Hanxing said, stroking his chin. "But this is interesting."
"Interesting your foot. The situation has actually become more complicated. If Shima Mitsuhiro confronts Shimazu Nakano, things will become awkward. After all, the Shima Takeshi incident is a hurdle that Shimazu Nakano and Shima Mitsuhiro can't easily overcome," Sun Huiwen sighed.
Liu Xing shook his head. It's not a hurdle, it's a mountain.
However, Liu Xing still hopes that Shima Mitsuhiro will put the greater good first and temporarily cooperate with Shimazu Nakano, after all, Kitano Masakazu is still trying to seize their assets.
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