Dragon Clan: I'm too lazy to talk to you, you're not worthy to listen!

Genji Heavy Industries, conference room.

Uesugi Kotsushi, still wearing a chef's hat, sat upright at the head of the table, saying nothing and with his eyes closed.

Ye Jingchen pulled Erii along and sat down in the first seat to the right of Uesugi Etsu.

Genjiro sat in the first seat to the left of Uesugi Etsu.

Inuyama He knelt on the second seat to the left of Uesugi Kotsugu, head down, eyes closed, and said nothing.

Miss Sezuko also lowered her head and stood behind Inuyama He.

The other four family heads rushed over in a panic:

Mad Kotaro, Sakurai Nanami, Ryoma Genichiro, Miyamoto Shio. The first person I saw upon entering was Inuyama He.

As a female head of the family, Sakurai Nanami showed her concern for her colleague at this moment, saying, "Thank you for your hard work, Head of the Inuyama family."

Inuyama He simply nodded without opening his eyes to reply.

Sakurai Nanami and the other family heads immediately realized something was wrong and looked towards the chief.

The person sitting at the head of the table was neither Tachibana Masamune nor Genjiro, but an old man who looked like a ramen chef.

The three younger family heads didn't have a strong impression of the old man and were momentarily confused.

But this bald old man, Mad Kotaro, has lived through the time when Uesugi Koshi was the head of the family, and even the time when Uesugi Koshi's father was the head of the family. If we include the time when Tachibana Masamune was the head of the family, Mad Kotaro can be considered a veteran of three reigns.

"Could it be that this tyrant Uesugi Kotsushi is going to come back and seize power again? If so, Mr. Tachibana Masamune's chances of winning are slim." Madman Kotaro muttered to himself.

This old fox realized this, after all, a new emperor brings a new court. He bowed to Uesugi Kotsuki and knelt down next to Inuyama Karin, which was the third seat to Uesugi Kotsuki's left. He also lowered his head and closed his eyes.

This means that, between Uesugi Koshi and Tachibana Masamune, the madman Kotaro chose to side with Uesugi Koshi.

Miyamoto Shio and Ryoma Genichiro were unsure how to kneel.

Sakurai Nanami, the female head of the family, displayed the demeanor of a business elite at this moment, saying, "Don't forget what our patriarch has done for the Snake-Headed Eight Families over the years. If it weren't for him, our three families might not have developed so rapidly."

After speaking, Sakurai Nanami knelt down opposite the row of Genji students, one seat away from Ye Jingchen.

The other five companies each have their own industry.

The Inuyama family was originally in the sex industry (later transitioning to hotels, restaurants, and other service industries, though they still managed the sex industry).

The Madman's Family, Ninjas.

The Sakurai family, business.

The Ryoma family, arms dealers.

The Miyamoto family, shipbuilding.

Under Tachibana Masamune's planning over the years, the Sakurai family has risen to become the most powerful family in terms of overall strength, followed by the Ryoma family, the Miyamoto family, the Inuyama family, and the Mad Demon family.

(The Mad Demon Clan often relied on the help of the other four clans, and at their worst, they were almost starving. At that time, Tachibana Masamune proposed a plan for the other four clans to provide financial assistance to the Mad Demon Clan according to their respective economic strengths, and this plan was approved. After all, the money earned by ninjas is not so stable.)

After thinking it over, Ryoma Genichiro and Miyamoto Shio followed Sakurai Nanami and sat down.

The faction that the bald old man, Mad Kotaro, chose didn't actually carry much weight; it was just a bunch of ninjas. The Mad Kotaro family was essentially an empty shell, with hardly any money.

Uesugi Kotsu opened his eyes at this moment, his golden pupils, like searchlights, instantly illuminating the entire conference room. He glanced at the three rebellious individuals.

A flash of golden light appeared in his eyes.

The three men, who had been holding their heads high, now lowered their heads, stared wide-eyed, and breathed heavily.

They were already kneeling, and now they wanted to kowtow to Uesugi Koshi, prostrating themselves on the ground.

That was the oppressive aura emanating from the "Emperor," a pure and violent oppressive aura.

It was more than ten times more oppressive than Genjiro's.

Inuyama He and the two old men, the Madman Kotaro, had experienced this kind of pressure long ago, and they were mentally prepared for it.

Uesugi Kotsu looked at Sakurai Nanami, who had just spoken, and said coldly, "Is this the choice made by your three families?"

Sakurai Nanami, being a business elite, immediately understood the extraordinary nature of this seemingly ordinary ramen noodle maker by observing Inuyama He and the madman Kotaro's attitudes and feeling the oppressive aura from earlier.

Sakurai Nanami followed up on Uesugi Kotsu's words, saying, "Senior, there's no such thing as a choice. The three of us have no choice."

The Japanese, having learned from Chinese culture, have mastered the art of ambiguous and subtle speech. Their words are often ambiguous, seemingly answering but actually implying something else entirely, leaving room for interpretation. They always leave themselves room for maneuver in their speech.

It's no wonder that the Sakurai family has become the most powerful family in terms of overall strength.

However, such a small trick would not pass muster with the former emperor, Uesugi Echizen.

"Having no choice means you've made a choice. Stop playing these childish tricks on me," Uesugi Kotetsu turned to Inuyama Kakeru, who was bowing his head, closing his eyes, and remaining silent. "Kakeru, do you think those three families still have any reason to exist?"

Upon hearing this, Inuyama He suddenly opened his eyes. He looked at Uesugi Yue without any doubt about Uesugi Yue's strength. This former emperor was the kind of person who could slaughter all the members of the three inner families without even blinking an eye.

Moreover, there are the other five families.

“The Uesugi family head spared the five outer families back then, which was already merciful,” Inuyama He replied respectfully with his head bowed. “But these three young heads of the family are all outstanding young people. They may have been bewitched by demons and blinded, but your majesty just now directly dispelled their inner demons and made the three young heads of the family realize their mistakes. Please forgive them.”

Inuyama He, as expected of a seasoned old man, managed to downplay the serious matter with just a few words, and even managed to resolve it completely.

Uesugi asked whether the three rebellious outer families still needed to exist. Inuyama He blamed the three young family heads and protected the innocent members of these three families.

The reason for the three young family heads' disrespect was then attributed to a "demon," who claimed that they had been bewitched by the demon and that's why they were disrespectful.

Moreover, the three young family heads had reformed and hoped to be pardoned.

The key question now is—who is the "demon"?

Upon hearing Inuyama He's reply, Uesugi Kotsugu revealed a barely perceptible smile. "He, you've grown a lot over the years."

Uesugi Koshi then scrutinized the three young family heads, Sakurai Nanami and others, and demanded sharply, "You three, tell me, who is the demon?!"

Sakurai Nanami instantly felt as if a fishbone was stuck in her throat, while the other two family heads felt as if steel knives had been inserted into their mouths.

They simply couldn't bring themselves to say the name "Tachibana Masamune," because from their perspective, Tachibana Masamune was, in every way, an excellent family leader.

"It's like a scene from a palace drama, with the emperor interrogating his servants," Ye Jingchen thought to himself, a slight smile playing on his lips as he looked at a slip of paper placed in front of Yuan Zhisheng.

Uesugi looked at the three silent men and snorted coldly, "You guys are quite loyal. If you won't speak, I'll find someone to speak for you!"