I planted a sacred tree in Tokyo.

Chapter 55 The drama begins

Suijian High School

Have you heard?

"The monster incident that happened in Kawasaki City yesterday."

A girl whispered to the classmate next to her.

"I heard that some content creators were live streaming at the time, but unfortunately I didn't catch it."

"There are so many rumors circulating online, saying that a giant octopus is fighting the American Navy. Is it true or false?"

"Is it said that an American experimental subject went berserk?"

"I heard it was caused by biological mutations due to nuclear wastewater."

"Whichever it is, it's terrifying."

When the female classmates talked, their tone was no longer as enthusiastic as usual, but full of worry: Kawasaki City is right next to Tokyo, and it only takes an hour to get there by boat. If a giant octopus can cause trouble in Kawasaki City, it can also cause trouble in Tokyo.

"Don't worry, even if something happens, it'll be the Central District first, the Port District will be the first to encounter the monsters, right?"

"Monsters? That's just too unbelievable."

Just as the girls were talking, an ordinary-looking boy in the class suddenly stood up and shouted.

"Monsters exist in this world!"

He wasn't answering the girl's question; he was refuting his friend's statement.

Rumors spread incredibly fast among students; they were just discussing this topic together.

But as the saying goes, "no picture, no truth," and no one can convince anyone else with just words.

The fact that this boy is so eloquent clearly indicates that he has 'evidence' to back it up.

After saying that, he took out his phone:

"If you don't believe me, this is a video I saved yesterday."

"true and false?"

“Send it to me—”

"Obey, let me see!"

His words immediately ignited the class, and most of the students gathered around him.

People peered at the screen on his phone, some of whom, unable to squeeze in, simply stood on tables and chairs and craned their necks.

Although many people online claimed to have witnessed a giant octopus battling a warship and posted photos and videos, these claims were immediately and completely deleted. No matter what platform they were on, no "evidence" could be found, and accounts that repeatedly mentioned the topic quickly disappeared without a trace.

As for major news outlets and media, they focused intensely on the love triangle between several big stars, quickly overshadowing the incident in Kawasaki City.

Only the scattered footage stored on private devices confirms that the 'live broadcast' that caused such a huge uproar yesterday was real.

The boy, who had never received such attention before, wiped the sweat from his forehead, calmed himself down, and opened his phone.

"Then I'll play it now,"

"Yu-kun, aren't you curious?"

Unlike the other students, who gathered around Nao, the class president, and curiously questioned the motionless Akihi Yu, they did not.

"No,"

"Qiong and I watched the live stream yesterday."

"I see. So, the extraordinary has already made its way into the public eye?"

As an 'insider', class president Nao couldn't help but sigh. Her high school life was only halfway over, and the whole world suddenly felt unfamiliar.

"Don't worry, even if some extraordinary event occurs, I will protect you."

The class monitor smiled at Qiu Riyou's confident words.

"Yes, I believe in Yu-kun."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Shibuya Ward, Tokyo.

When people talk about Shibuya, the first thing that comes to mind is the 24-hour entertainment and food scene, as well as Shibuya Station where thousands of people can pass by at a single traffic light.

There's also the famous 'Hachiko, the loyal dog' statue in front of the station: this Akita dog from the last century would accompany its owner to the station every day, seeing him off to work. Until one day, its owner suffered a sudden heart attack and died despite all efforts to save him, but Hachiko continued to wait in front of Shibuya Station every day.

This wait lasted nine years.

Rain or shine, it persists until the end of its life.

For a dog whose lifespan is only a little over ten years, it spends almost its entire life waiting for its owner who will never return.

However, besides its glamorous scenery and reputation for loyalty and bravery, Shibuya Ward also harbors a great deal of filth and darkness.

Minamidai Town, Area 45
There is a modern high-rise building here.
Surrounded by greenery, it looks at first glance like a university library or similar building.

On the marble wall at the entrance hangs a large plaque that reads "World Peace and Unification Family Federation," giving the impression of a charitable organization. However, looking further up, one sees "Heaven's Parents' Holy Association," with four small figures on the left labeled "Religious Corporation," immediately making it clear to anyone with a modicum of sense:

This is a Frankenstein's monster, a mix of religious, Christian, peace, and family-related ideas!
As we all know, the more stitches there are, the worse the essence becomes.

Luxury cars kept driving into the parking lot in front of the building.

The people getting out of the luxury cars were all middle-aged and elderly men in suits and ties, exuding the air of 'chamber of commerce presidents' in every gesture.

In fact, they were all presidents of the chamber of commerce.

The presidents of various organizations, such as the 'World Peace Federation,' 'World Peace Summit,' 'International Education Foundation,' and 'International Friendship and Relief Foundation,' have increasingly prestigious titles, and some are even figures from traditional print media giants like the 'Washington Times.'

Besides these seemingly prestigious organizations, these middle-aged and elderly people also own a large number of industrial factories:
The workers are all true believers in 'voluntary overtime,' and the phrase 'a small investment yields huge profits' is an understatement."

In their eyes, ordinary people are just cattle and horses, livestock that can be manipulated at will. Even the media dare not report a single thing about them before something goes wrong!
You should know that their "Unification Church" is capable of organizing weddings for thousands of people, with each person armed with an M16 to "protect their faith"! Killing a few reporters would be a piece of cake for them.

However, due to the actions of a certain "lone gunman" two years ago, the Unification Church has recently been subjected to a series of "difficulties" by the island nation's government. Although the noise was loud but the actual results were weak, it still made these "priests" who were used to being high and mighty feel inexplicably annoyed.

"It's not over yet, you utterly devout fool!"

The door of the black Bugatti suddenly opened, and a beautiful young woman was kicked out, coughing repeatedly.

Immediately afterwards, a burly man carrying his belt stepped off the car. Even though he was wearing a handmade suit, the only word to describe him was "fierce and menacing".

"Hey, do you know why we've been summoned this time?"

The burly man buckled his belt, not even glancing at the respectfully kneeling girl at his feet, and gestured with his chin toward the middle-aged man who stepped out of the luxury car beside him.

"Who knows?"

The middle-aged man, with his hair combed back and wearing a striped suit, gave a curt reply.

"Perhaps it's the island nation's government causing us trouble again, perhaps."

It's related to the recent uproar over 'extraordinary'!
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

“Fellow priests, you have probably already heard why I have summoned you all here.”

In the building's largest conference room, people were already waiting. The one who spoke was an elderly woman with gray hair: despite her kind face, she was none other than the wife of the leader of the "Unification Church," a group that spanned three countries—Japan, the West, and America. The leader?

Ah, a few years ago, he was summoned by the Lord and went to heaven to enjoy bliss.

Although he was barely clinging to life in his hospital bed before going to 'heaven,' struggling to stay alive under the ventilator, such things need not be known to his followers.

As the seated 'priests' exchanged glances, the old woman sitting on the ornate crown chair continued:
"That's right, it's the appearance of the extraordinary."

? !
In the meeting room, some of the priests who had rushed over suddenly realized something, some pondered silently, and some were utterly astonished. The old woman, who was the 'godmother,' slightly opened her eyelids and swept her cold gaze over everyone.

“I learned it from my informant,”

“The island nation’s traditional Inari god has bestowed divine power and enlightened a ‘divine child’.”

watt?

Ah Xi Bar——

This information greatly surprised everyone present.

Although they had a vague understanding of what kind of 'experiments' the island nation and America were conducting in secret, they had not yet been able to access such core information.

After all, the Unification Church's biggest ally in the island nation had already died in the streets two years ago.

"What are your suggestions for addressing this?"

Upon hearing this question, the 'priests' present exchanged bewildered glances.

Those who are family know their own situation. Although they are nominally followers of 'Yahweh,' given their daily actions, if Yahweh were to truly descend to earth, the first thing he would do is throw them into hell and burn them tens of thousands of times.

Yes, it is the "World Peace and Unification Family Union" of the Unification Church, formerly known as the "World Christian Unification Holy Spirit Association".

They wave the banner of Yahweh, yet they have never read the Bible for a single day. Their so-called "Christ" is merely a facade for legitimate missionary work.

"Could we recruit that 'divine child' into our faith?"

Someone subconsciously speaks up, trying to pull the other person into their camp. This is a tactic that the Unification Church has used many times before: when their leader first came to the island nation, he sent four beautiful girls to serve the grandfather of former Prime Minister Abe, which "moved" him and allowed him to successfully spread the religion.

That's right, Abe's maternal grandfather was also a prime minister.

The true 'family lineage'.

"Heh, since it's your suggestion, then go ahead and do it."

Another priest sneered, his mockery undisguised: "There's no complicated reason; it's simply because the two of them are competitors in their respective 'factories.'"

"you"

The priest who suggested winning him over frowned, about to explode.

click,

The young man standing next to the old woman pulled back the bolt of his gun, taking away the priest's dissatisfaction.

"I was reckless,"

After bowing his head and apologizing, the priest said nothing more.

That makes sense. What they can give, the island nation's government can also give, and might even give more. The idea of ​​trying to win them over is just wishful thinking.

"Why not just make this divine child disappear?"

The burly priest made a gesture of cutting his throat by drawing his thumb across his neck.

As a large cult spanning three countries, the Unification Church possesses a large amount of weaponry in America, along with hundreds of thousands of fanatical followers. Killing a few people would be incredibly easy for them. As long as the bodies are disposed of cleanly enough, the police can only classify it as a 'missing person' case.

Every year, countless people disappear from island nations, their bodies never found, neither alive nor dead.

"inappropriate,"

The old woman shook her head slightly.
This place is not West Ba, where their power base is located. In addition, the incident two years ago caused them to lose their central government ally and were exposed to the public. Their actions are no longer as unscrupulous as before.

“The island nation and America have sent a large number of elite troops to protect that divine child, making it very difficult for us to succeed.”

Moreover, the old woman had another worry:

If the intelligence is accurate, and that divine child is protected by 'demonic beasts,' the island nation's Self-Defense Forces were utterly routed by these beasts, given their limited manpower.
Every cult arrogantly hopes to control the country through religion and then achieve the crazy goal of a "heaven on earth." But the state is not to be trifled with: America once sent the IRS, which no one dared to mess with, to imprison the former leader of the Unification Church on charges of "tax evasion."

Those the CIA dares not touch, the IRS will; those the FBL dares not arrest, the IRS will arrest!
No matter who you are, the incarnation of the Heavenly Father or the living Messiah, if you don't pay taxes, you'll all be going to jail!
Faced with the divine child protected by both countries, mere cults are no match for them.

"That"

Unable to win them over, and unable to eliminate them, the many priests were immediately at a loss.

"I wonder what instructions the godmother has for me?"

Some of the more astute priests realized that since it was this 'godmother' who had summoned them, she must already have a plan in mind.

"That's right, the believer who revealed this information to me claims to possess supernatural powers."

"The reason we have gathered everyone here today is to discuss the reorganization of the church."

They used to rake in billions of dollars just by talking; now, if they have supernatural protection, wouldn't they soar to new heights?
If it weren't for that 'believer's' insistence, this old woman with the title of 'godmother' would never have gathered these fools: as long as she had that 'extraordinary' in her hands, not to mention expanding her sphere of influence, even 'establishing a divine kingdom on earth' wouldn't be out of the question!
Buzz buzz~~
Upon hearing this even more explosive news, the priests in the conference room immediately erupted in excitement.

Superhumans actually exist? And they're even 'them's' people?
"Godmother, that extraordinary one..."

"Could you please bring him out so that everyone can see him?"

One of the priests couldn't help but speak up, saying that he had never actually seen anything like the extraordinary.

"Not urgent,"

The old woman waved her hand dismissively.
After the 'believer' performed a 'magical manipulation' act in front of her, he hurriedly left, saying that he would make his official debut at headquarters today.

Amazing. If the old man were still alive, he would do everything in his power to prolong his life.

Bang! !

A loud crash interrupted the old woman's thoughts. The conference room door flew open with a bang, knocking the priests sitting in the last few rows off their feet.

Amidst the astonished stares of everyone turning around, a middle-aged man who appeared to be in his thirties or forties slowly walked in.

"who?"

"They're tired of living—"

The priests stood up and rebuked them. They were all "big shots" who commanded hundreds or even thousands of believers. They were used to being high and mighty and had never experienced such intimidation before.

"My name is Toru Yamagami,"

The man was an ordinary-looking person, holding a steel pipe, and calmly gave his name.

"On the mountain."

Which mountain?

"It's on 'that' mountain!!"

Suddenly, a storm brewed in the conference room.

(End of this chapter)