After reaching a preliminary agreement, Hagoromo Gitsune departed.
Next, she would head to Kyoto to begin preparations for the ritual to resurrect Nue.
Meanwhile, Luo Shu would provide behind-the-scenes support, supplying the materials needed for Nue's revival.
These materials included a fabricated Hagoromo Gitsune vessel inscribed with techniques, the darkness of human hearts required by Nue, and the raw liver of spiritually powerful beings.
According to the terms of their cooperation, they would gradually allow Nue to be reborn within the false Hagoromo Gitsune's body and let him believe his plan was succeeding.
And as for how to provide this false Hagoromo Gitsune...
What could be more suitable... than Naraku's own body?
Luo Shu sipped his tea, silently deciding Naraku's fate as a vessel.
The flickering flame of a nearby candle cast dancing shadows across Luo Shu's silhouette.
Then, the voice of Kurumi Tokisaki rang in Luo Shu's ear:
"My, my, deceiving a mother who's deeply devoted to her 24-year-old child and turning them against each other... Shu-kun, you really have a wicked sense of humour."
Without even turning his head, Luo Shu could sense Kurumi Tokisaki clinging to his back, her arms wrapped around him.
Yet rather than savouring this intimate moment, Luo Shu was more concerned about his reputation:
"I've never engaged in any deceptive words or actions."
Luo Shu flatly denied Kurumi's accusation and pointed out the crux of the matter:
"In fact, it's entirely possible that Nue isn't Hagoromo Gitsune's child. His behaviour seems far too deliberate."
Despite knowing Hagoromo Gitsune was his birth mother, he still planted Minagoroshi Jizō as a hidden pawn and laid techniques within both her soul and prepared vessel.
All this was done to eliminate Hagoromo Gitsune as his weakness after resurrection.
This reasoning was strange and illogical.
"Family being a vulnerability is understandable, but to preemptively strike and send them to hell because they're a weakness... Don't you find that odd, Kurumi?"
Hearing Luo Shu's words and having been briefed on the relationship between Hagoromo Gitsune and Nue, Kurumi hesitated:
"Now that you mention it, it does seem strange... Almost like silencing a witness?"
"Exactly." Luo Shu nodded. He, too, suspected Nue was eliminating evidence, as he couldn't comprehend the necessity of killing Hagoromo Gitsune.
Wouldn't keeping Hagoromo Gitsune, a mid-to-high Hero Grade combatant, as an ally be more beneficial?
Why forcefully kill her and drive her to the enemy's side?
Moreover, if Nue had the means to return from hell, what use was sending Hagoromo Gitsune there?
If she truly was his weakness, wouldn't enemies find ways to retrieve her from hell?
Nue's actions in the original storyline were far too deliberate, leading Luo Shu to highly suspect Hao Asakura's relationship with Hagoromo Gitsune after discovering Hao's information concealment.
Yet Asanoha's existence confirmed Hagoromo Gitsune likely wasn't Hao's birth mother.
Which raised the question: if she wasn't Nue's mother nor Hao's, then who was Hagoromo Gitsune...?
At this thought, Luo Shu sighed deeply:
"If that's truly the case... how utterly tragic..."
...
Kyoto, Kamigyo Ward.
Seimei Shrine at dawn.
A figure utterly incongruous with the traditional shrine - dressed in a black lace lolita dress with deep orange hair braided into petite pigtails, exuding strong Western aesthetics - entered the barrier-enclosed underground of Seimei Shrine.
The click-clack of heels echoed on ancient wooden stairs.
This distinctly Western-styled woman finally descended to the massive underground shrine, where she beheld a towering, broad-shouldered man wearing a black kimono and a metal forehead protector.
The imposing middle-aged man in a black kimono glanced sideways at the newcomer:
"After issuing the summons, you're the first to return? Yuiyui."
Yuiyui Gokadoin slightly raised her head to meet the man's gaze, smiling:
"My, my, if it isn't the second family head, Lord Yoshihira? To think you were the one summoning us?"
"Such sudden summons... has something urgent occurred?"
Abe no Yoshihira gazed calmly at the exquisitely doll-like woman smiling before him, speaking in an even tone:
"Grandmother has awakened prematurely."
"Oh?" Yuiyui Gokadoin showed slight surprise before smiling again. "I don't believe I reported this matter, did I?"
As one of the Twelve Divine Generals - the White Tiger General - liaison work with the Onmyou Agency fell under Yuiyui Gokadoin's responsibilities.
When Hagoromo Gitsune was born and contacted the Gokadoin Family, attempting to have the Onmyou Agency's lineage serve as intermediaries for negotiations with the SDS Director, it was Yuiyui who facilitated the connection.
Yet she distinctly remembered not reporting this particular piece of intelligence.
Abe no Yoshihira replied impassively:
"This is Father's notification."
At these words, Yuiyui's eyes widened slightly.
Abe no Yoshihira's father was naturally the progenitor of the three great families - Abe, Gokadoin and Tsuchimikado - the Great Onmyoji Abe no Seimei, who bore the alias Nue among yokai.
To Yuiyui, sixth-generation head of the Gokadoin Family, Abe no Seimei was also her blood ancestor:
"My~~ For our ancestor in hell to expend Spiritual Power contacting the physical world... Something truly extraordinary must have occurred."
Abe no Yoshihira coldly observed Yuiyui's feigned ignorance before stating evenly:
"Any movements from the Onmyou Agency?"
Tilting her head, Yuiyui responded:
"Movements... None that I'm aware of..."
"Oh, but regarding the Asakura family - they've produced a super genius who graduated from the Onmyou Academy in just one week... Anna Kyōyama, was it? That woman who can see through hearts and commands Zenki and Goki."
"Come to think of it, the Onmyou Agency seems to want her as the Taiyin General."
"Ah, speaking of which, weren't Zenki and Goki originally our ancestor's Familiar Spirits?"
Yuiyui's cheerful demeanour left Abe no Yoshihira silent for a long moment.
Finally, he murmured:
"You... have contacted the Chō-Senjiryakketsu?"