Lu Mingfei, who had read Dragon Clan before slaying the dragon

"Master Fengma, you've said that the war between our family and the demonic people is long and arduous. It's a cruel and bloody history," Yuan Zhisheng said calmly. "Not all history leads to the right end. Why should we inherit a history that was wrong?"

"Head, although you are the head of the family, you are still too young. You have not been in the family for long. You cannot understand the meaning of 'mortal enemy' and 'criminal'." Fuma Kotaro looked directly into Minamoto no Chisei's eyes. "Perhaps when you have the experience and knowledge like Mr. Masamune, you will understand all this, but now is far from the time to stop the war."

Fuma Kotaro's meaning was quite straightforward. The old man almost told Minamoto no Chisei that he was no match for Tachibana Masamune at the moment and was not qualified to sit in the position of the head of the family. The decision he made was simply a child's play.

Chapter 401 Courage

As soon as Fuma Kotaro finished speaking, before Gen Chisei could speak, another vicissitudes of life voice sounded from below.

"Is that so? So understanding of history is reflected by age? Does that mean the older a person gets, the richer their experience? The more profound their understanding of the world?" It was Inuyama He who spoke. He looked at Fuuma Kotaro and asked in a questioning tone, "But I'm so old now, I've lived so long, why haven't I understood the meaning of 'mortal enemy' and 'sin' like Fuuma-kun? Fuuma-kun means that the fate of the family should be continuous bloodshed and war, right?"

Anyone could hear the dissatisfaction in Inuyama He's words, but the family heads present could also understand why the old head of the Inuyama family suddenly angrily refuted Fuma Kotaro at this moment, because Inuyama He has always been a staunch advocate of peace.

At the last meeting at the main hall of the family's old shrine, Inuyama He had fully stated his position. Faced with the former head of the family, Tachibana Masamune's pro-war approach, the straightforward old head of the family was the first to express his disgust for war and hatred for bloodshed, but he was unable to stop it, so he chose the option of peace and left.

However, things went against their wishes. Under the leadership of the pro-war faction headed by the head of the Fuma family, the outcome of that meeting still tilted towards war.

Subsequently, a lightning war broke out between the Eight Snake Families and the Menggui Clan and their subordinate forces, and the battle almost covered the entire territory of Japan.

In one city, one road, two prefectures and forty-three counties, more than fifty gangs of all sizes that were affiliated with the Oni Clan were wiped out overnight. Even the Oni Clan's base camp, Jileguan, was uprooted by Minamoto Chisei. It was precisely because of this large-scale action of the Snake Eight Families that aroused the vigilance and fear of the Congress, so they dispatched Genji Heavy Industries from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department to investigate, which resulted in the Snake Eight Families paying a high price of 2 billion yen to end this action.

In fact, the loss of money is secondary. What makes Inuyama He most distressed is... the war has started again!

Many people shed blood in the war, and many people died in the war. But any old man with a little seniority among the Eight Families of Sheqi probably knows why Inuyama He hates war so much. This old patriarch simply hates war to the point of being utterly disgusted with it.

Because Inuyama He's father was the most radical war advocate in the entire family during World War II. Because of Inuyama He's father's wrong decision, the entire Inuyama family suffered a tragedy of near genocide. Among all the direct descendants of the Inuyama family, only Inuyama He survived.

It was his father's paranoid advocacy of war that brought Inuyama He an extremely miserable and unbearable childhood. Until now, that nightmarish memory still haunts the old Inuyama He, making him unable to let go for a long time.

When the Inuyama family was at its lowest point, the family's properties and businesses were divided up by the other seven families, among which the Fuma family alone swallowed up nearly one-third of the Inuyama family's resources. The head of the Fuma family who was the most powerful in taking advantage of the situation was none other than the "King of Ninjas" of the previous generation, the father of the current head of the Fuma family, Fuma Kotaro... That's why the head of the Inuyama family of this generation was so dissatisfied with the Fuma family's pro-war philosophy. Everyone thought that this probably contained the grudges and entanglements left over from the previous generation of their fathers.

"If Inuyama-kun hadn't told me, I really wouldn't have known you didn't even know what 'mortal enemy' and 'criminal' meant." Fuma Kotaro looked at Inuyama He and said coldly, "So you've spent over sixty years practicing kendo, not to defeat your mortal enemy, Principal Ange, and wash away the humiliation you suffered at his hands? Inuyama-kun, you practice kendo just for fun, like the head of a family, right?"

As soon as Fuma Kotaro said this, Inuyama He's eyes turned cold and gloomy when he looked at him.

Although the hatred between him and Ange had long since disappeared with the battle at Tamamonomae, the topic of his teacher Ange was always a thorn deep in Inuyama He's heart, because no matter what, he could not deny that the rise of the Inuyama family today was achieved with the support of Ange. Without Ange, there would be no Inuyama family today.

From time to time, some people in the family privately compared Inuyama He to Ange's puppet, and some even said that he was Ange's dog. Inuyama He could endure all these because those gossips would only appear in places he could not see. No one dared to discuss the right and wrong of a respected family head in his youth. But no one had ever put the grievances between Inuyama He and Ange out in the open like Fuma Kotaro did today, and said it in front of so many family heads. For Inuyama He, this was undoubtedly opening up his most painful scar.

"What happened between me and the principal is different from what we are discussing now." Inuyama He said coldly.

"Things are different, but the principles are the same," Fuma Kotaro said. "The war between Inuyama-kun and Principal Ange was also a war, a one-on-one war with bloodshed and even death. It's no different from the war between the family and the demons. Inuyama-kun, you spent over sixty years seeking revenge on the principal out of personal vengeance, yet you persuade the family to abandon its centuries-old grudge against the demons. Don't you find this behavior utterly selfish?"

"How dare the head of the Fuma family say he's completely selfless?" Inuyama He asked back, "I remember clearly that whenever a war breaks out, it's always you ninjas who make a fortune. Selfless people will take advantage of the chaos to plunder everywhere, right?"

"Everyone is selfish. I've never said I'm unselfish, but I'm willing to sacrifice my personal interests in front of the Fuuma family. If the Fuuma family can also abandon the gains and losses of the entire family in front of the entire Snake Eight Families, then I and the entire Fuuma family will always be prepared to sacrifice ourselves for the greater good of our family!" Fuuma Kotaro stared at Inuyama He and asked loudly, "May I ask Inuyama-kun, over sixty years ago, the Inuyama family, which helped Principal Ange establish the Japanese branch and rose to prominence thanks to Principal Ange, do we always have the awareness to sacrifice ourselves for the family?"

Inuyama He took a deep breath. He knew in his heart that the fact that he had been supported by Ange had always been a handle on him. Now that Fuma Kotaro used it to criticize him, he could only endure it. Because the other party led the topic to this matter, he had no room for rebuttal. Inuyama He could only stare at Fuma Kotaro coldly. If the gaze was a knife, the person Inuyama He was staring at had probably had his throat cut hundreds of times by now.

But the other party was Fuma Kotaro, an old man who was known as the strongest ninja in the world. Facing Inuyama He's stern gaze, he looked at him without hesitation, and his majesty was no less than that of the other party. If Inuyama He's eyes were as sharp as a sword, then Fuma Kotaro's eyes were as creepy as the fangs of a poisonous snake.

For a moment, the head of the Inuyama family and the head of the Fuma family were at loggerheads on the table. The supreme swordsman of the eight snake families and the king of ninjas were facing each other silently, and a cold aura slowly spread from the two of them.

The temperature in the air seemed to drop a few degrees, and the heads of the families subconsciously avoided looking at each other between the two old men. This was the feud between the Fuma family and the Inuyama family, and also the conflict between the pro-war and pro-peace factions in the family. Both Fuma Kotaro and Inuyama He were the most senior and experienced elders among the heads of the families present, and none of the other heads of the families wanted to be involved in this war without reason.

A calm voice interrupted the confrontation between Inuyama He and Fuma Kotaro. Along with this voice, a fierce momentum suddenly broke into the aura of the two old patriarchs, carrying with it a cold majesty.

"Enough, the two of you have gone off topic. The grudge between the two family heads should be settled privately after this meeting." It was Minamoto no Chisei who suddenly spoke. He interrupted the frozen and silent atmosphere and turned to look at Fuma Kotaro.

"Master Fengmo, you said I was too young and didn't understand our family's history, what 'mortal enemy' and 'crime' meant." Yuan Zhisheng paused. "Then, may I ask, Master Fengmo, our family and the fierce ghosts are fundamentally of the same origin. What caused us to become mortal enemies? And what are the crimes of the fierce ghosts?"

"Bloodline," Fuma Kotaro answered without hesitation. "Since ancient times, those 'ghosts' have always been the family's affliction. It's like a normal person whose body part has completely died due to an incurable disease. If the part isn't severed in time, the diseased area will spread until the healthy part is also incurable. A bloodline cursed by the 'gods' is an incurable disease. Only by killing the cursed part of the family bloodline can the entire Sheqi Eight Clan survive."

"So the cause of this war is the family's desire to sever the cursed bloodline. The family won't allow 'ghosts' with such bloodline to exist in the world," Yuan Zhisheng said. "So, wasn't it the family that started this war?"

"No, the cause of the war is the curse of the 'God.' Those cursed are born as 'Demons.' This cursed bloodline is original sin," said Fuma Kotaro. "And the all-out war against the Oni Clan that Masamune is proposing is because they want to resurrect the 'God.' This is absolutely not allowed, because the resurrection of the 'God' will inevitably lead to unimaginable disasters. Therefore, the operation to annihilate the Oni Clan must not be stopped."

"No, I think what you said is wrong, Master Fengma." Yuan Zhisheng slowly shook his head. "Since you also said that everything stems from the curse of the 'God', and we are now waging an all-out war against the Menggui people to prevent them from resurrecting the 'God', then doesn't the root of all evil come from that evil 'God'?"

"Even if, I mean even if, we fought an endless battle with the demons, and our family finally won a tragic victory, the 'God' was still unfortunately resurrected." At this point, Minamoto Chisei glanced calmly at Tachibana Masamune beside him and continued, "Or if we are lucky and the 'God' is not resurrected, do we still need to find the 'God' and destroy her remains?"

"Of course," Fuma Kotaro said matter-of-factly. "Regardless of whether the Snake Eight Clan wins the war against the Oni Clan, and regardless of whether the 'God' is finally resurrected by the Oni Clan, we must completely kill the 'God' now. We cannot pass on such a huge crisis to future generations."

"That's no problem. Since the head of the Fengma family also wants to suspend the war with the Menggui people, I think we have reached a consensus." Yuan Zhisheng clapped his hands lightly.

"Wait a minute." Fuma Kotaro frowned deeply, "When did I ever say we wanted to suspend the war with the Oni Clan?"

"Master Fuma, haven't you figured it out yet? The root of all conflict is 'God,' and our ultimate goal is also 'God.' So why are we wasting so much manpower and financial resources on a war with the Oni Clan?" Gen Chisei looked at Fuma Kotaro, raised his voice, and demanded forcefully, "Have you not realized yet? The one who wants to resurrect 'God' is probably hoping for a mutually devastating fight between us and the Oni Clan. Ultimately, the complete annihilation of one side would truly fulfill his wish."

"Hiding one's actions amidst the chaos of war is the easiest way to conceal them," Yuan Zhisheng reasoned. "If I were the one who wanted to revive 'God', I would definitely not let any of the Ghost Clan members know of my plan. The fewer people who know, the higher the chance of success. In this case, even if we ultimately wiped out the entire Ghost Clan, what would we gain? Perhaps the one who wanted to revive 'God' has already awakened him through war."

"Has Patriarch Fengma considered the possibility of our failure? You keep saying you're doing this for the sake of the family, but have you ever considered what would happen if we lost the war?" Yuan Zhisheng asked loudly. "There's no doubt the entire Sheqi Eight Clans will cease to exist. The resurrection of the 'God' will be the inevitable result. Who will then save this inevitable outcome? Principal Ange? The mixed-blood families of North America? Or those Dragon Kings who haven't awakened yet?"

Fuma Kotaro opened his mouth, but no words came out.

"Fellow Patriarchs, my proposal to halt the war is the result of careful consideration. Our ultimate enemy isn't the demonic hordes, but the 'god' whose awakening remains uncertain," Yuan Zhisheng said. "Last night's crisis taught us all that the eight Sheqi families aren't united. A sudden disaster could deal a heavy blow to a family. In this situation, we should focus all our efforts on searching for and killing the 'god'."

"This isn't a discussion. I've said it from the beginning. This is my decision as the patriarch." Yuan Zhisheng glanced at everyone. "Concentrating the family's strength and going all out to recruit and kill the 'God' isn't up for discussion. Of course, the Sheqi Eight Clan meetings are never one-man shows, and the heads of the clans still have the right to object."

Each of the family heads present had a different expression, but no one spoke. Even the head of the Fengmo family sighed deeply after a long period of confusion, and then slowly shook his head.

Only one person.

The gauze-wrapped face of Tachibana Masamune looked as ugly as if he had eaten shit.

Chapter 402: Tachibana Masamune's Bad Day

Today, Minamoto no Nakasei seems to have become a stranger. Tachibana Masamune used to be the person closest to Minamoto no Nakasei, whom Minamoto no Nakasei respectfully called "Dad" and regarded as a father figure. But in the past, Tachibana Masamune had never seen Minamoto no Nakasei like he is today, aloof, iron-fisted, and full of majesty.

Tachibana Masamune thought he knew Minamoto no Nakasei well enough, just like adults think they can easily see through a half-grown child. In Tachibana Masamune's memory, Minamoto no Nakasei should be a free-spirited, indecisive and a bit stubborn child. If Minamoto no Nakasei played a role like the head of a family or the emperor, he would be the kind of mediocre monarch who "does not seek merit but avoids mistakes", the easiest to be manipulated and the most convenient puppet to be controlled.

Therefore, Masamune Tachibana ignored the opposition and single-handedly supported Minamoto no Nakasei to the position of the head of the family. Because if he wanted to realize his plan, he had to hide behind the scenes, and Masamune Tachibana was also confident that Minamoto no Nakasei could not escape his control. But the development of things has completely exceeded Masamune Tachibana's expectations, and the thread he used to control Minamoto no Nakasei seemed... broken.

The proposal to start a full-scale war against the demon clan was made by Tachibana Masamune himself in the main hall of the family's old shrine not long ago. In order to convince everyone in the family, Tachibana Masamune even privately instructed Minamoto no Chisei to take the lead in expressing his position when the other family heads were hesitant, so as to strengthen their determination to go to war. Although Minamoto no Chisei went through a long psychological struggle at that time, he finally nodded. Minamoto no Chisei agreed to the resolution to go to war, and a large part of the reason why he agreed to the resolution was due to his respect for Masamune.

Including later when Minamoto no Chisei led the Executive Bureau to wipe out the Gokurakukan, the base camp of the Oni Clan. Without the instruction of Tachibana Masamune, Minamoto no Chisei would not have done so, because Minamoto no Chisei was not a person who longed for war and killing. The previous Minamoto no Chisei was like a sharp blade in Tachibana Masamune's hand. As Tachibana Masamune waved his finger, Minamoto no Chisei would use the sharpest part to chop the enemy.

But now, Minamoto no Chisei rejected and overturned his previous resolution in front of all the family heads, which made Tachibana Masamune panic for no reason. From Tachibana Masamune's perspective, this meant that the control of Minamoto no Chisei's sharp blade seemed to have gradually been lost from his hands, and there was even a tendency for the blade to slowly move towards him.

What made Tachibana Masamune most uneasy was that when Gennochi had just refuted Fuma Kotaro, he had analyzed the psychological state of the person behind the scenes who wanted to resurrect the "God"... almost all of it was correct.

He instigated the war between the Snake Eight Clan and the Menggui Clan just to use the war to cover up his tracks. Large-scale war is the easiest way to confuse people. Tachibana Masamune tried to use this to divert the attention of the Snake Eight Clan. If such a huge force as the Snake Eight Clan tried their best to find the "God", it would undoubtedly bring unnecessary obstacles to his plan.

Fortunately, the war started smoothly. Not only did the Snake Eight Families use all their strength to fight against the Demon Clan, they were also suddenly investigated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. Last night, the Genji Heavy Industries Building was attacked by the snake-like Deadpool, causing such a huge disaster that the Snake Eight Families suffered heavy losses.

Although the sudden rebellion of Deadpool, whom he secretly raised, was completely unexpected by Masamune Tachibana, and he himself indirectly lost an eye and both ears, and even lost the trust of Minamoto no Chisei, Masamune Tachibana also firmly believed that the Eight Snake Families would be stuck in the mud for a while and would be unable to take care of themselves, and would have no energy to search for the "God" who was hiding somewhere in a short period of time.

Before today, although the development of things was slightly beyond Tachibana Masamune's expectations and he himself was injured, these pains and unexpected situations were not so difficult for him to accept, because Tachibana Masamune believed that the overall situation was still developing in a good direction. As long as his plan went smoothly, at the moment of the end, all the pain and humiliation he had suffered would be washed away. Compared with that supreme throne and that new era, all the forbearance was worth it, and the dawn would come at dawn.

But today's meeting was undoubtedly a painful blow to Masamune Tachibana, and what Masamune Tachibana never expected was that the one who dealt him such a painful blow was actually Gen Chisei, one of the most important chess pieces in his plan.

Stopping the war between the Snake Eight Clan and the Oni Clan was undoubtedly a wake-up call for Masamune Tachibana's plan. In fact, the Snake Eight Clan and the Oni Clan did not continue to consume each other, or the Snake Eight Clan put all their strength into the goal of finding "God". These were not what Masamune Tachibana was most worried about. What made Masamune Tachibana most uneasy was that Eri was missing, but Minamoto no Chisei did not seem to be in a hurry to find Eri.

Masamune Tachibana couldn't understand why Minamoto no Chisei knew in his heart how dangerous Eri was to the city, and Eri was someone Minamoto no Chisei always regarded as a sister, but why did Minamoto no Chisei still remain so calm after Eri was lost?

Of course, Masamune Tachibana didn't know that it was because he personally told Minamoto no Nakasei about the situation of his father Uesugi Kotsu, which prompted Minamoto no Nakasei and Uesugi Kotsu to have a secret conversation at the ramen stall. So Masamune Tachibana would never have thought that his current difficult situation was caused by his own mouth. Masamune Tachibana only knew that if on the day when the Yaki Eight Family really found the "God", Masamune Tachibana still failed to get Eri as the container again, his plan would become difficult.

Just when Tachibana Masamune was extremely anxious and thinking about how to save everything, Minamoto no Chisei, the head monk, spoke again. Minamoto no Chisei's next words almost plunged Tachibana Masamune into the abyss.

"Next, I will announce to all the family heads part of the truth about 'Deadpool's attack on the Genji Heavy Industries Building' last night." Genji Zhisheng's voice reached the ears of every family head clearly, and the expressions of the family heads were extremely solemn.

A look of disbelief flashed across Tachibana Masamune's only remaining eye. Could it be that... Gennochio wanted to reveal the truth about him raising Deadpool to the public?

Damn it! If Minamoto no Chisei really did that, it would be tantamount to humiliating Tachibana Masamune. In that case, the prestige and reputation he had painstakingly built up over the past twenty years among the eight families of Snake would be completely destroyed!

"I didn't want to make this public, but after pondering it all night, I've decided to do so. The Sheqi Eight Clan are everyone's clan, and the clan heads have the right to know the truth." Yuan Zhisheng said this as he pushed a sealed brown paper document bag to the center of the table. "Contained within this is not only the truth about last night's disaster, but also some unknown events about the Sheqi Eight Clan in recent years."

All the family heads' eyes fell on the pile of document bags in the center of the round table, and then they all gathered on Fuma Kotaro. It was obvious that Minamoto no Chisei had no intention of opening these document bags himself. The highly respected Mr. Masamune was seriously injured. The most prestigious person present was the oldest head of the Fuma family. When he was young, Fuma Kotaro was not only the "wakagami" of the eight Snake families, he was still the leader of the five families under the family.

In front of everyone's gaze, Fuma Kotaro gathered the file bags in front of him, and then opened them one by one in front of the heads of the families. The paper documents and photos were sorted into different categories... When Fuma Kotaro saw the first photo, his pupils couldn't help but shrink, which was a sign of extreme surprise. The old man seemed to have seen something extraordinary in the photo.

"Master Fuma?" Seeing Fuma Kotaro's expression, Sakurai Nanami couldn't help but ask, "What exactly are the contents of those documents and photos?"

Fuma Kotaro shook his head slowly. He did not answer Sakurai Nanami's question immediately. Instead, he handed the photo to Sakurai Nanami and said, "You'll know after you see it."

After Sakurai Nanami took the photo and saw the scene in the photo clearly, the woman's beautiful eyes couldn't help but widen, and her surprised expression was almost exactly the same as Fuma Kotaro's. After looking at the photo, she silently passed it to the next head of the family, and then took the next photo and document from Fuma Kotaro. The contents of these document bags were circulated continuously among the heads of the family.

After the documents and photos were passed around one by one, they were finally handed to Masamune Tachibana. He took the documents and photos with trembling hands. After seeing the contents clearly, Masamune Tachibana's fingers unconsciously clenched the corners of the photos, creating exaggerated wrinkles. Masamune Tachibana's face instantly turned pale, and the sinister emotion in his remaining eye could hardly be concealed.

Finally, Tachibana Masamune weakly let go of the documents and photos and spread them out on the table.

"If you've all looked through these documents and photos, it shouldn't be hard to tell that the documents contain the structural design drawings for the Genji Heavy Industries Building, while the photos show the source of the Deadpools who attacked the building last night." Gen Zhisheng tapped the photos on the desk. "Or rather, the Deadpools'... 'home'."

All the family heads looked unhappy.

Those paper documents are roughly divided into two parts. The first part is the structural diagram of the Genji Heavy Industries Building recorded in Kaguya-sama's data. It is the backup record provided to the family by Maruyama Construction when the building was completed. The backup for the family is different from the information disclosed to the outside world. The content recorded in Kaguya-sama should be complete and true, and there should not be any concealed parts. Even such hidden locations as the Shinto, the screen wall and the armory will be noted in the backup file of the structural diagram... But when everyone looked at the second part of the file, contradictions appeared.

The second part of the document is an overall structural diagram of the Genji Heavy Industries Building analyzed using sonar and infrared scanners. Unlike the documents in the first part, these high-precision instruments scanned the bottom of the Genji Heavy Industries Building, which is deeper than the underground dock of the Iron Dome Temple and the Ganliu Research Institute, and has an extremely wide cavity.

The cavity is very large, with a height of more than 20 meters. It is located very deep and relies on the extremely wide underground river of the Iron Dome Temple above. This cavity also has an extremely complete and hidden water circulation system and air circulation system.

With such a large area, such complete facilities, and such a hidden location, there are so many possible uses for this cavity... Maybe it can be used as an experimental site for some private research, maybe it can be built into an underground prison that never sees the sun, or maybe some unknown rare and exotic animals can be raised here.

However, the purpose of this cavity is well explained in those photos.

The tones of the photos are very dark, but they are still clear. The pictures combined together form an extremely spacious darkroom.

Huge piles of glass are pieced together to form a huge glass curtain wall. There is a collapsed part on the glass curtain wall, and the accumulated water is spreading on the ground. The remaining water waves are rippling below the broken opening of the glass curtain wall. It looks like this was originally a huge water tank... But apart from the residence of marine animals in the aquarium for people to watch, what kind of water tank needs to be built with transparent glass?

The following photos were even more shocking… The bottom of the huge water tank was littered with snow-white debris, which looked like the remains of some large animals that had been eaten by some ferocious creatures. The accumulated water on the floor was mixed with eye-catching black and red, and the thick blood was like pieces of aged plaster that could not be dissolved in water. In the corner of the room were huge operating tables, thick steel chains, large surgical forceps, scalpels, and white gauze, which seemed to be equipment for dissecting or studying some kind of creature.

If these photos are not enough to directly explain the purpose of this darkroom, then the last few photos will reveal the darkness hidden in this darkroom.

Broken arms and body parts piled up in the corner. They were deformed creatures covered with black scales and long snake tails. Not only corpses, but even living snake-like creatures were twisting and wriggling on the floor. They had human-like faces, but jagged fangs in their mouths. In the dark environment, the two dark golden spots deep in their pupils were like creepy will-o'-the-wisp.

I have to say that the angles of the photos taken by Ying are very well chosen. The bizarre structure, strange atmosphere, and these hideous creatures in this dark room are all captured by her with full visual sense.

"These monsters did not invade Genji Heavy Industries from the outside. These deadpools have been kept in this building from the very beginning!" Sakurai Nanami said absentmindedly. Her words stopped abruptly here, and her eyes involuntarily moved slowly to Tachibana Masamune who was next to Minamoto no Chisei.

Not only Sakurai Nanami, but all the family heads slowly turned their eyes towards Tachibana Masamune.

Because everyone can guess that this huge dark room must have been built together with Genji Heavy Industries. Since the day this building was completed, this dark and unknown room has been hidden under everyone's feet, and countless dangerous creatures are kept in it. There is only one person in the entire Sheqi Eight Families who can command the Ganliu Research Institute to build such a hidden place and avoid the sight of everyone in the family without arousing suspicion.

"Mr. Masamune...is it really you?" Fuma Kotaro's voice was cold.

Chapter 403 Questioning

Not only Fuma Kotaro, but all the family heads' attention was now focused on Tachibana Masamune. Everyone's eyes were filled with contradictions, and emotions of confusion, bewilderment and disbelief spread in everyone's pupils.

Minamoto no Chisei said nothing. He just sat quietly in his seat, watching the shocked expressions of the family heads and the gloomy face of Tachibana Masamune without any expression.

"Yes, it was me." After a long silence, Tachibana Masamune finally responded to Fuma Kotaro's question. He nodded solemnly, his voice devoid of any emotion. "I was the one who ordered Maruyama Construction to build this secret water reservoir. I was also the one who secretly raised Deadpool beneath the Genji Heavy Industries Building. The family suffered a tragic price last night, and I bear an unshirkable responsibility."

At this moment, Tachibana Masamune portrayed the deep and sad emotions vividly, and even Gennochi could not help but admire him. He thought about it, if he did not know the truth, he would never be able to tell that Tachibana Masamune admitted his crime only when he was forced into a desperate situation. Tachibana Masamune's expression was full of genuine emotions.

"But why? Why did you hide it from everyone and keep something as dangerous as Deadpool underground in Genji Heavy Industries?" Fuma Kotaro stared at Tachibana Masamune and asked unwillingly.

Among all the family heads, the head of the Fuma family has always been Mr. Masamune's most steadfast follower, but the crimes that Tachibana Masamune personally admitted at this moment undoubtedly made Fuma Kotaro feel betrayed.

Except for Inuyama He, who was informed of Tachibana Masamune's true nature by Lu Mingfei in advance, the other family heads also looked at Tachibana Masamune with scrutiny and inquiring eyes. Because in the past, among the Eight Snake Families, if you say the most senior elder, it is probably the head of the Fuma family or an elder of the strategic department, but when it comes to the most prestigious and convincing leader, this person would undoubtedly be Mr. Masamune. No one would question or object. At least half of the credit for the Eight Snake Families' current prosperity can be attributed to Mr. Masamune.

"Without Mr. Masamune, there would be no Sheqi Eight Families today"... This is a sentence recognized by all members of the Sheqi Eight Families. The young members of the family even believe that this is the absolute truth and they want to look up to Mr. Masamune as if he were a true god or even God.

Of course, none of the members of the Sheqi Eight Families, including the heads of the families, would believe that Mr. Masamune had done anything detrimental to the family... But now the facts were before their eyes, and Mr. Masamune had admitted it himself. This was as shocking to everyone as telling devout believers that the God they had believed in and been loyal to all their lives was actually the incarnation of the devil.

Everyone expected Tachibana Masamune to give an answer that would convince everyone. Tachibana Masamune sighed deeply and said, "To guard against a man who has not yet appeared, the true leader of the Oni Clan... Oushou!"

"King General?" Fuma Kotaro frowned deeply, his expression still puzzled, as if he couldn't figure out what the connection was between guarding against the King General and raising these Deadpools.

"I'm pretty sure now that Wang Jiang is an old friend of mine. He was Germany's leading scientist during World War II and a PhD expert in genetics and genetic engineering," Tachibana Masamune said solemnly. "As early as twenty years ago, Wang Jiang began researching creatures like Deadpool. His research on snake-like Deadpools is quite advanced, and he can even reliably create prototypes of dragon-like Deadpools. However, creating an army of Deadpools isn't enough for him. Wang Jiang's first goal is... to create a commanding army of Deadpools."

"Controllable? Deadpool?" Sakurai Nanami cried out, "Does he want to control Deadpool? But how is that possible! Can a creature like Deadpool be controlled?"

"That guy is a genius, but also a complete madman. For a madman, nothing is impossible." Tachibana Masamune sighed deeply. "That's why I suddenly started a war against the Oni Clan. I was too afraid of the King General. Twenty years ago, the King General was already able to give Deadpool the simplest orders. He used an extremely complex surgery to tamper with Deadpool's brain structure. Then, a special sound wave affected the modified part of Deadpool's brain, instructing Deadpool to take actions such as attack, retreat, and stay still."

"The Ganliu Research Institute has conducted over a hundred experiments trying to control Deadpool or the 'Ghost,' but without exception, they've all ended in failure. We originally thought it was a dead end and had given up." A glint of insanity flashed in Miyamoto Shio's eyes, and he couldn't help but exclaim, "I never imagined someone in this world could successfully control Deadpool. Brain surgery! The breakthrough wasn't bloodline, but nerves! Mr. Masamune is right, this guy is an absolute genius! A mad genius!"

"So Mr. Masamune's purpose in raising Deadpool is to imitate the King General's method and train Deadpool into a controllable army?" The head of the Ryoma family, Ryoma Genichirō, suddenly spoke.

"Yes, it's a pity that I don't have the same talent as the King General. Until today, I have only mastered the method to stably breed Deadpool, but I am still a long way from being able to control Deadpool." Tachibana Masamune laughed bitterly at himself, "If I had mastered the method to control Deadpool, perhaps so many people in the family wouldn't have died, and so much blood wouldn't have been shed. So the source of the disaster the family suffered last night lies with me. I am the culprit."

"As the head of the family, I deserve the punishment of having my ears cut off," said Masamune Tachibana, his voice filled with regret and sadness. "But even so, I can't help but feel heartbroken. Because of my sins, so many family members have died for no reason. I truly cannot live with my conscience!"

"'Ear-cutting punishment'?" Sakurai Nanami exclaimed, looking at Tachibana Masamune's temples wrapped in white gauze. "Are you saying you suffered the 'ear-cutting punishment'?"

During Lu Mingfei's sneak attack and Deadpool's attack last night, Sakurai Nanami was with Tachibana Masamune throughout the whole process, so Sakurai Nanami remembered it very clearly. Until the end of the incident, Tachibana Masamune's face was only injured by Lu Mingfei's cut on his eye and some minor abrasions. Except for the blind eye, the other injuries were not serious.

But the image of Tachibana Masamune that appeared in front of everyone today was so shrouded that it was unbearable to look at. Sakurai Nanami was still thinking that with Mr. Masamune's character, he would not pretend to be seriously injured to attract the attention of the family heads. What she never expected was that after losing an eye, Tachibana Masamune was subjected to the "ear cutting punishment" imposed by Minamoto no Chisei!

The "punishment of cutting off the ears" is almost the most cruel and severe punishment in the underworld. In the past, only gang members who committed heinous crimes would be subjected to such torture. Generally, the younger brother colluded with the eldest sister-in-law, the traitor defected to the hostile forces, or committed some unforgivable crimes that brought shame to the entire gang... Among those who suffered the "punishment of cutting off the ears" in history, there has never been a figure like the head of the family. Even the middle-level people rarely suffered such a harsh punishment. Because compared with physical pain, the "punishment of cutting off the ears" is simply an insult to a person's personality. Cutting off the ears means that this person has brought shame to the family and lost face, so he has no face to see people.

Using the "ear-cutting punishment" on a leader like Tachibana Masamune must be a more painful punishment than killing him... However, Minamoto no Nakasei and Tachibana Masamune have a close relationship, and the two of them have always treated each other like father and son. This is something that everyone in the Sheqi family knows. Even if Tachibana Masamune committed a mistake that caused the family to suffer heavy losses, how could Minamoto no Nakasei be so cruel as to use such a cruel punishment on a man who is like a father to him?