From Naruto onwards, I've become a dreamer.

Chapter 303 Erii's Disappearance!

"Pretty hard."

At this moment, Uesugi Koshi shook his right hand and expressed his thoughts.

Regardless, Kazama Ruri was ultimately a demon who had fallen into the 'abyss,' and her bloodline concentration had almost reached the limit of a Deadpool, making her no less than a next-generation demon.

Fortunately, he was more skilled, which allowed him to knock out Kazama Ruri in a way that left her 'confused but not brain-damaged'.

As for what to do next, he was actually unsure. After all, dragon blood is irreversible, especially for Kazama Ruri, who was so deeply corrupted that she was practically a 'dead servant'. Even if she survived, she would probably be imprisoned by the Snake Clan for the rest of her life until she died.

But for some reason, Uesugi Yue always harbored a sliver of hope in his heart.

Perhaps, that man named 'Zongyue' might have a way to reverse the complete transformation of Genji into a Deadpool?

Meanwhile, Inuyama He and Genjiro stared at the scene in disbelief.

So, this is the real King of Shadows?!

The fleeting glimpse of the enormous 'black sun,' the lingering extreme heat in the air, and the traces of immense gravity tearing the ground all seemed like illusions.

Uesugi Eshi seemed to have transformed back into an ordinary and unremarkable ramen chef. His wrinkled, aged face was filled with an extremely complex expression, a mixture of timidity and excitement, much like an elder who had done something wrong, wanting to apologize but constrained by his status, appearing somewhat at a loss.

“Chisato, it’s me.”

He was about to say something when Genji raised his hand to interrupt him.

"Sorry, now is not the time to talk about these things."

Yuan Zhisheng's face hardened, and he said in a somewhat cold tone, "Let's talk about it after this matter is resolved."

Even though he was rationally aware that the other party was related to him by blood, he still couldn't accept the feeling of being abandoned for twenty years when faced with a suddenly appearing 'father'.

Through the young man's cold, hard gaze and tone, Uesugi Kotsugu could clearly understand what the other man was thinking, but now was not the time to argue, so he could only sigh and nod in agreement.

Genjiro took a breath, but just then, he suddenly realized that someone seemed to be missing. He looked around and his expression changed drastically: "Wait, where did Herzog go?!"

Herzog?

Sakura and Inuyama He were suddenly startled, only to realize that the culprit who orchestrated all of this had quietly disappeared without them noticing.

"Sakura, have you seen Herzog?" Genji asked hurriedly, a strong sense of unease welling up inside him.

"I" parted my cherry-pink lips slightly, a guilty expression on my face: "I'm sorry, young master, I was watching you the whole time and didn't notice when Herzog disappeared."

Inuyama He, standing to the side, also showed a hint of guilt: "I didn't notice either, when did Masamune... no, I should say Herzog disappear?"

"May I ask a question? Who is Herzog?"

Seeing the drastic change in their expressions, Uesugi Kotetsu frowned and asked, "When I arrived here, I didn't find anyone else."

Herzog is

Yuan Zhisheng paused for a moment, and he still felt heartache when he mentioned that name again.

“Let me explain.” Inuyama He understood his predicament and took over the conversation, saying, “Lord Shadow Emperor, Herzog, under the alias Tachibana Masamune, has infiltrated the Snake-Headed Eight Families for decades. In the name of the patriarch, he has led us to fight against the Demon Clan. His other identity is actually the leader of the Demon Clan, ‘King General.’ It can be said that all of this is the result of his own manipulation.”

"The leader of the Demon Clan, the head of the Snake Clan, is truly complicated."

Uesugi Kotsushi rubbed his furrowed brow and said in a deep voice, "I understand the general situation, but what is the purpose of this guy's sudden exposure, his instigation of the two brothers to fight, and his use of the Corpse Guardian horde to hold back the Snake-Headed Eight Families? And why did he choose this time?"

"This"

Inuyama He was stunned; they seemed genuinely unclear about Herzog's purpose in doing so.

"Under what circumstances would the mastermind behind the scenes choose to expose themselves?" Genji muttered to himself, then seemed to realize something, his pupils suddenly contracted, and he exclaimed in horror, "Unless... he deliberately exposed his identity to conceal his true purpose!" Uesugi Yue, who had been silent, seemed to have suddenly thought of something terrible, and his breath hitched.

Genjiro naturally noticed his change, opened his mouth, hesitated for a moment, and finally spoke up: "Uesugi-senpai, is something on your mind?"

“Chisei, I have a question for you.” Uesugi Kotetsu didn’t seem to care about the way he was addressed. His face was lined with wrinkles, and a rare look of tension appeared on his face. His voice trembled slightly as he asked, “Where is that child named Erii? Did she come with you?”

Upon hearing this, Genjiro's heart pounded with alarm, and cold sweat instantly soaked his back. His expression changed drastically: "Sakura, go check on Erii!"

"Yes, young master!"

Sakura moved like a black shadow, incredibly fast, rushing towards the position ahead.

However, there was another figure even faster than her, accompanied by a terrifying storm, like an ancient Tyrannosaurus Rex, causing the earth to tremble violently wherever it passed.

"Master Inuyama, please keep an eye on him."

Without a word, Genji abandoned the unconscious Kazama Ruri and followed after her, dragging his heavily injured body.

Ahead, the descendants of the Snake Clan were still engaged in a fierce battle with the Corpse Guardian Tide. The brutal fighting continued, but one figure, seemingly elven, was conspicuously absent.

"You bunch of scum, get out of my way!!!"

Blocked by the dark, overwhelming tide of corpses, Uesugi Kotsugu, in his rage, resembled an awakened dragon king.

Word of Power: Black Sun!
That terrifyingly high temperature reappeared, its gravitational pull strong enough to tear steel apart.

All the corpse guardians that tried to step into the black sun's domain were torn to pieces by the violent gravitational forces coming from different directions, and their remaining flesh was burned away by the black sun.

Uesugi Kotsugu barbarically charged into the horde of corpse guardians, like a tiger entering a flock of sheep. The corpse guardians, who had just been arrogant and brutal, were as fragile as chicks in front of this supreme being with 'royal blood,' allowing him to trample and ravage them, turning them into a bloody path covered with corpses.

Genji finally caught up with the crazed old man, and the 'meat paste' all over the ground along the way completely refreshed his understanding of the 'Emperor'.

It's not that the 'emperor' is inferior to the 'ghost' in matters of the heart; it's just that he's too weak!
"His target is nowhere to be found. It really was Erii!"

Uesugi Kotsugu stood on the shore, his body soaked in dragon blood, like a demon from the underworld, surrounded by a furious killing intent.

The shore was deserted, with only a torn sleeve remaining.

Gazing at the pure white sleeve of the shrine maiden's robe, a crack finally appeared on Genji's hardened face: "This is impossible. With Erii's Word of Power, how could Herzog have secretly taken Erii away without alerting us?"

“Young Master, unless…” Sakura hesitated for a moment, then said, “the head of the Uesugi family left with Herzog voluntarily.”

"you mean"

Genjiro's face suddenly turned ashen, then, as if remembering something, he immediately dialed the radio: "Is this Miyamoto Shigeo? I need to confirm something with you!"

"Chisato? That's great! I thought something had happened to you!"

Upon hearing Genjiro's voice, he seemed excited: "Just now, after someone suddenly broke into the restricted area, your radio was suddenly cut off. It seems you should be alright."

Miyamoto Shigeo's voice was clearly transmitted to the three people via radio.

Genjiro's heart sank, and his voice trembled slightly as he asked, "Miyamoto Shio, I'm asking you, where did Erii go?"

"The head of the Uesugi family? She left with Mr. Masamune."

Miyamoto Shigeo said, "Mr. Masamune said that the Uesugi family used their Word of Power too many times, so to prevent them from going berserk, they temporarily took her back. What happened? Chisei, judging from your tone, it sounds like something happened. What exactly happened just now?"

"Miyamoto Shio, please help me confirm Tachibana Masamune's location."

Genjiro's anger was palpable, and he said in a hoarse voice, "Just now, the Inuyama family head, the former Shadow Emperor Uesugi Kozuke, and I confirmed one fact: Tachibana Masamune is the leader of the Oni Clan, King General, whose real name is Jung von Herzog!"

(End of this chapter)