I'm a demon in Tokyo!

Chapter 161: The Second Ring: The Lord of Tōkaidō! The predecessor of Honganji Temple, Onmyoji Che, a fraud and a thief!
Imagawa Yoshimoto was very strange.

Maybe it's a woman's natural intuition, or maybe it's some other factor.

She always felt that just after the moment she raised her eyes, Uesugi Toru, who was walking towards her, seemed to have become different.

It's very different.

The young head of the Imagawa family repeatedly looked at Uesugi Tetsu who was slowly walking towards him, pinching his chin with his index finger and thumb.

——Could it be that because Che is so handsome, my attitude towards him has changed unconsciously?

After all, he had never seen such a handsome and steady boy before.

The key is composure.

Imagawa Yoshimoto liked his calmness of "no matter what happens in the outside world, I remain unmoved", especially his smile as faint as a calm lake.

It gives people a strong sense of security.

"But that won't do."

Imagawa Yoshimoto thought coldly in his heart.

She is the head of the Imagawa family, the common master of the three countries of Mikawa, Totomi, and Suruga, and is the daimyo who will surely rule the world in the future.

Therefore, she cannot have any private feelings that could affect her self-judgment.

Imagawa Yoshimoto looked at himself from a third-party perspective.

She had to ensure that no matter what means she used to win over this Onmyoji Che, no matter how she behaved towards him, or how she acted in the outside world—

Ultimately, he needed to maintain calm judgment from beginning to end, so as to maximize the role of Che, a rare Onmyoji in the world.

As for those personal affairs between young people, it is not too late to discuss them after you become the master of the world.

After a good self-examination, Imagawa Yoshimoto regained his inner peace.

Then she said to Hattori Hanzo who was kneeling on one knee facing her and looking behind her,
"Hanzo, this is the Onmyoji Che I mentioned earlier. There's no need to be shy. It just so happens that he's here to listen."

After saying that, Imagawa Yoshimoto smiled and waved towards Uesugi Che, pointing to the small rattan chair beside him and said, "Mr. Che, please take a seat."

After staying in the gray "time still" state for a long time, Uesugi Tetsu came over only when all the "aftereffects of time travel" disappeared, without saying much.

He sat down next to Imagawa Yoshimoto under Hanzo's indifferent gaze.

Then the girl curled her lips slightly, raised her hand and said to Hanzo,

"Go on, be thorough and detailed, leaving out as much detail as possible, and mark any uncertainties."

Wrapped in black, Hanzo nodded silently.

He lowered his head, recalling the image of Uesugi Tetsu that was deeply imprinted in his mind.

——Onmyoji Che.

The moment I looked at him just now, his aura suddenly became much stronger. Was it a show of force?

A lot of information related to Uesugi Tetsu suddenly emerged in Hanzo's memory, and he naturally remembered what his lord Matsudaira Motoyasu had said to him a few days ago.

Che is undoubtedly an Onmyoji with rich skills.

But when I looked at him, I saw a body of strong and explosive muscles underneath his thin clothes.

Moreover, his skin seemed to have been specially tempered, and perhaps even ordinary swords and knives could not cut into it.

Hanzo even discovered that there was a constant flow of air surrounding Che's body, which seemed to be the "internal energy circulation" that could only be achieved by a warrior who had practiced to an extremely deep level.

Is this the Onmyoji who "can only rely on Onmyoji techniques and Shikigami, but whose body is extremely fragile"?
——This Che is definitely not as simple as he appears.

I have to tell my lord.

Hanzo finished his thought, lowered his head, and spoke in a hoarse but clear voice, "This riot was mainly caused by the local powerful families of Mikawa Province."

Imagawa Yoshimoto raised his eyes and responded,
"Is it the Okudaira, Saigo, and Toda gang again?"

These guys had just rebelled a year and a half ago, and were easily suppressed by her.

She murmured doubtfully, "Could it be that my punishment was too light, too merciful?"

"During this time, at best, I've just been letting those rural warriors from Mikawa and Owari wear down each other's strength, but I haven't even changed the taxes."

Imagawa Yoshimoto concluded: "There is no reason for a rebellion that is bound to fail."

"What about the Matsudaira family? Are they just going to watch?"

she continued to ask.

Uesugi Tetsu didn't say anything, but just collected and organized the current information.

He heard Hanzo's reply: "The Matsudaira clan and their subordinates, the Sakai clan and the Honda clan, have taken some measures, but they have mostly remained indifferent. Apart from reporting it, they have acted as if nothing had happened."

By doing superficial work, one can express one's attitude without being overly targeted by local powerful families afterwards.

——If Matsudaira Motoyasu had not been held as a hostage of the Imagawa family in Sunpu Castle, there is a high possibility that the Matsudaira family would have joined this riot in the Mikawa region.

Imagawa Yoshimoto heard the Matsudaira family's behavior, which could almost be described as lip service, but he did not get angry. Instead, he asked the two most important words about this incident.

"What about the 'great demon'? What's the situation with the great demon? What did the head of the Jodo Shinshu sect in Mikawa say?"

Hanzo: "The news about the great demon came from the mouth of that master."

Imagawa Yoshimoto stopped talking, she narrowed her eyes and fell into deep thought.

Uesugi Tetsu raised his eyebrows in surprise - Jodo Shinshu, these four words left a deep impression on him after he had cram school on the knowledge of the Warring States Period.

Because the predecessor of Honganji is the Jodo Shinshu sect.

Moreover, Buddhism of this era seemed to be directly involved in the struggles between daimyo, whether in politics, economy, or military.

There were even cases where Buddhist sects dispatched monk soldiers to aid daimyo.

However, these Buddhist sects are not like the samurai who would shout "loyalty" and swear allegiance to a daimyo and follow him to the end.

For example, even though the Jodo Shinshu sect is currently still under the jurisdiction of Imagawa Yoshimoto, it is nominally her subordinate.

However, once Imagawa Yoshimoto lost power or fell from power, Jodo Shinshu would be immediately taken over and become a sect under the command of other daimyo.

For example, in the original timeline, after the defeat in the Battle of Okehazama, a sect became subordinates of Oda Nobunaga...

Oh no, that's totally impossible.

Because Oda Nobunaga only knew how to kill, he almost wiped out all the rampant Buddhism.

Uesugi Tetsu recalled the knowledge he had read and summarized them one or two -

The only thing these different sects scattered across Japan have in common is probably the pursuit of profit.

Money, crafts, weapons... no matter what it is, as long as the price is right, you can definitely get the help of the sect.

After all, most monks and Buddhists of this era have simply changed their identities in order to make a living.

Therefore, the leader of the Jodo Shinshu sect bluntly stated that the unrest in Mikawa was caused by a great demon, and the intention behind it is still worth considering.

He looked again at the task prompt that had popped up earlier—

[Please note that the second main quest, Lord of Tōkaidō, has been unlocked!]

[Lord of Tōkaidō: Raise the Imagawa clan's koku to 2 million koku, or occupy more than one-third of Tōkaidō.]

[——The best archer in Tōkaidō? The greatest daimyo in the world? These empty titles don't matter to me. I just want to hold the world in my hands.]

[Task time limit: None]

Compared to the first ring of the main quest, which can be completed easily, the requirements and difficulty of the second ring increase exponentially.

——Let Imagawa Yoshimoto become the de facto master of the entire Tokaido.

The meaning of these five words "Lord of Tōkaidō" is so simple and direct. But who are the daimyo of Tōkaidō?

——Takeda Shingen, the "Tiger of Kai", Hojo Ujiyasu, the "Lion of Sagami", and even Oda Nobunaga, who defeated Imagawa Yoshimoto in the future and was later called the "Sixth Heaven Demon King".

Moreover, the first two are the current allies of the Imagawa family.

Therefore, there is almost no need to think too much about the goal of "occupying more than one-third of the entire Tokaido", as it is absolutely impossible to achieve.

Naturally, the goal is to increase the number of stones.

and so……

Uesugi Che's eyes moved slightly.

How much can be squeezed out of the Pure Land Sect, which is definitely very rich, can be discussed in detail.

It just so happens that this Sanhe turmoil is an opportunity.

However, Imagawa Yoshimoto seemed to have spent a long time in the temple since he was a child. In order to avoid losing her favor, he had to find out what she had to say.

Uesugi Tetsu looked at Imagawa Yoshimoto, who had a cold face and slightly furrowed brows, and suddenly reacted.

——There were many Buddhist sects during the Warring States Period, and the temple where Imagawa Yoshimoto stayed was most likely not related to the Jodo Shinshu sect.

I'm afraid she herself has already been thinking about how to get rid of the Pure Land Sect that has been constantly exploiting the territory in both open and covert ways.

It's just that perhaps the local powerful families in Sanhe joined forces to stop them, so it was difficult to take action.

Uesugi Tetsu thought of this and immediately said, "Lord Yoshimoto, perhaps you could have me go to the Jodo Shinshu sect to discuss and test the waters to see if the so-called great demon is true."

His words interrupted Imagawa Yoshimoto's thoughts.

Just as the girl looked up, she heard Uesugi Tetsu say meaningfully, "If that great demon were to hide in the Jodo Shinshu sect by accident..."

Imagawa Yoshimoto was slightly startled.

The next moment, she realized the implication of Uesugi Tetsu's words, so she pursed her lips, but still couldn't hide the happiness on her face.

"Then let's do as Mr. Che said..."

But just as Imagawa Yoshimoto finished speaking, another cold male voice came from not far away.

"—My Lord, you are placing too much trust in this Onmyoji Che."

Before this voice appeared, Hanzo, who was originally kneeling on one knee in front of the two of them, had already disappeared.

Uesugi Che followed the voice and saw a tall young man with a tough face, a strong body, a topknot, and a height of nearly 1.7 meters.

I have some impression of this family pattern.

He searched his memory for a while and finally found that he seemed to have seen this family crest during the coming-of-age ceremony.

According to what Shiraishi said at the time, this seemed to be a hereditary noble family directly related to the Imagawa family, Asahina?

But the person who wore the clothes with this family crest at the coming-of-age ceremony was a middle-aged man... but he looked a bit similar to this young man.

The young man walked over and stood not far in front of Imagawa Yoshimoto. He first performed a complete sitting ceremony with great respect.

The so-called sitting etiquette refers to the etiquette that samurai in the Japanese Warring States Period would perform to their lords most of the time. They would take out the katana from their waists, sit upright and then salute, which is similar to the kowtow next door, and is still very solemn.

Imagawa Yoshimoto always attached great importance to the etiquette and manners of himself and his subordinates, so the young man's greeting just blocked all her rebukes.

She pursed her lips and asked with a slightly dissatisfied tone,
"Taichao, what do you want to say?"

Taicho Asahina, who was sitting in the pavilion, didn't even look at Tetsu Uesugi who was sitting next to him.

He said seriously,
"My Lord, you want to send this person to carry out such an important diplomatic mission in just a few days. Isn't this a bit too reckless and arbitrary?"

Imagawa Yoshimoto frowned when he heard this.

This guy Tai Chao... has always said that he is too dependent on the teacher in everything.

He is a military commander who can't even recognize all the characters, but he always points fingers at her. Now he even comes to say that there is something wrong with her arrangement for Che Jun.

whispering sound.

The girl looked at Taicho Asahina with a righteous look on his face, and when she thought that he probably thought his advice was very timely, she couldn't help but feel a little angry in her heart.

However, both Asahina Taitomo and his father Asahina Tainobu were core retainers who made great contributions to the Imagawa family and himself.

No matter what she thought, she couldn't disappoint these retainers.

What's more, those elders who have never seen the world have an even worse impression of Che Jun.

Not only was he dissatisfied with the salary she had given him for so many years, he also always said that he wanted to kick this liar out of the Imagawa family.

If she makes her close retainers also dislike Che Jun, many things will become difficult to handle.

We have to think of a way...

At this moment, another rough voice sounded from the previous position.

"What are you saying to the Lord, you little brat! Lord Che's strength and wisdom were clearly visible to all on that day!"

Under Uesugi Tetsu's gaze, the middle-aged man he had seen at the coming-of-age ceremony ran over quickly, came behind the young man, and immediately said loudly,
"This esteemed Master Che is a great Onmyoji personally recognized by the Lord! He is a master capable of wielding heavenly thunder!"

These words gave Uesugi Tetsu goosebumps - he was far from being worthy of the title of Great Onmyoji.

Asahina Taicho didn't reply directly, but disbelief was written all over his face.

People are always full of doubts about things they have not seen, and even the most learned and wise people cannot avoid this.

What's more, the person standing in front of Asahina Taitomo was an Onmyoji who had almost no records in the entire Warring States period.

It's normal for him to have doubts.

But Imagawa Yoshimoto was already a little annoyed - Uesugi Tetsu could clearly see it just by looking at the corners of her slightly narrowed eyes.

So Uesugi Tetsu stood up and asked Asahina Taicho who was sitting on the ground with a smile,
"Then I wonder, Lord Asahina, what will it take for me to be recognized as a qualified Onmyoji?"

Asahina Taicho was stunned by the question.

He just felt that this unknown young man with extremely handsome appearance suddenly approached his lord, and was quickly loved and trusted by his lord, even to the extent that he would come to see this young man every morning.

There must be some conspiracy or trickery going on here.

And he is here to wake up the lord and expose this conspiracy!

Asahina Taicho had never expected that the "thief" Uesugi Tetsu would make an attack.

The young general stared at the beautiful face above him, and felt a little jealous when he thought that this guy named "Che" had won the favor of his lord just by relying on this face.

The rumored Onmyoji could indeed rely on the terrain to perform some trivial magic tricks, such as creating fog in a small area. Asahina Taicho was well aware of this.

But as for using heavenly thunder to exorcise demons? What about a giant wolfhound Shikigami as tall as a man that can be summoned and removed at will?
Are you kidding me?
If you tell a lie, please make it more truthful, okay?
If these strange and supernatural beings really existed, he would have been defeated and killed by the hostile Onmyoji long ago.

Asahina Taicho let out a long breath, and also stood up, looking at Uesugi Tetsu with a hint of disgust and scrutiny.
"Then please, Master Che, accompany me to meet the elders who also have doubts about you."

Uesugi Tetsu laughed when he heard this.

It turned out that the evil visitor was waiting for him here.

He bowed slightly towards the girl and said, "Lord Yiyuan, Che will be back soon."

“If you are interested, you can also watch it.”

Imagawa Yoshimoto looked apologetic, sighed softly, and nodded.

"Then please lead the way, Lord Asahina."

Seeing his confident look, Asahina Taicho recalled what the elders had said about "Che's methods" and snorted coldly in his heart.

——Let me expose your true identity as a deceitful "Onmyoji" in front of my lord!
(End of this chapter)