I, Uchiha Hikaru, have joined the chat group.

Chapter 281 Can I keep a panda as a pet?

In the original story, after Constantine was transported back to Kassel College, Old Tang was commissioned by Lu Mingze to infiltrate the college, where he met Constantine and witnessed his death before his eyes, which awakened him to become "Dragon King Norton".

Although Constantine was snatched away by Uchiha Hikaru beforehand.

However, given Lu Mingze's methods, there must be other ways to help Lao Tang awaken smoothly.

Uchiha Hikaru didn't ask Lu Mingze about his plans in detail, but only mentioned the reason for his visit: "I heard that Norton once forged an alchemical weapon called 'The Seven Deadly Sins' in order to kill his seven brothers and sisters, and that he sealed it inside this 'Bronze City'... Is that true?"

"...Is this what you mean?"

Lu Mingze paused for a moment, then raised his hand and waved.

A ripple of air followed.

A simple, rectangular box appeared on the bronze-cast ground.

Then, as Lu Mingze gently tapped the groove above, a "click" was heard, and the groove opened, revealing the components inside spread out in a fan shape, revealing seven swords of different shapes—from a heavy sword in the shape of a horse-slaying sword, to a curved-blade Yatkan longsword, an elegant straight-bladed sword, and a wakizashi only the length of a forearm... Each sword was adorned with intricate and profound patterns, with dark golden light flowing around the blade.

"Wow~"

Uchiha Hikaru narrowed his eyes slightly.

It's better to say something than to say it.

The appearance of "Seven Deadly Sins" is really cool.

These seven knives correspond one-to-one with famous knives from around the world, each representing a specific crime. Because they were personally crafted by Norton, the lines of the blades are more refined and exquisite than any weapon made by hand, making them resemble works of art.

—It's just unclear whether the designs of these swords are Norton's original creations or plagiarized from the human world. If it's the former, then the "King of Bronze and Fire" has quite a keen eye for aesthetics.

the other side.

Lu Mingze raised his chin: "How about it, want to give it a try?"

"May I?"

Uchiha Hikaru asked a question.

After receiving Lu Mingze's approval, she went up and tried to pull out the knife.

Hmm... I can't pull it out.

That's normal.

According to the established rules, the "Seven Deadly Sins" have a built-in bloodline detection system, and only hybrids with a bloodline purity of A-rank or higher, as well as pure-blooded dragons, can be extracted. Uchiha Hikaru does not meet this condition.

However, every restriction has its limits.

If one possessed "sufficient" strength, it wouldn't be impossible to forcefully break through the Seven Deadly Sins, thus removing them despite not being of dragon blood. However, Uchiha Hikari, being a delicate and frail woman, clearly lacked that level of strength.

"...What a pity."

"That's a hundred million US dollars..."

Uchiha Hikaru sighed, dismissing the thought of selling the "Seven Deadly Sins" to Kassel College for a large sum of money, and then said lazily, "If there's nothing else to discuss, then let's part ways here. Go and handle Norton's matter, and don't forget to leave me some of his blood sample."

"it is good."

Lu Mingze's figure twisted for a moment, then gradually disappeared into the air.

—This guy, like Minato Namikaze, is in spirit form, his true form being sealed within the old site of Black Swan Harbor. Therefore, he doesn't need to go through the gate guarded by living spirits to enter or leave "Bronze Castle".

But Hikaru Uchiha had no choice but to walk back on his own.

on the way back.

She roughly searched through the remaining rooms and courtyards in the "Bronze City" and found several ancient books written in Han Dynasty clerical script, which she guessed were left behind by Norton when he was still "Li Xiong".

There are also some antique-style cups and ornaments.

Since these items were all unclaimed anyway, she simply took them all and planned to take them back to study them, to see if there were any records of "alchemy". If there were, she could study them with Kikyo and Minato Namikaze; if not, she could simply keep them as collectibles.

……

That evening.

Uchiha Hikaru, along with Erii and the others, arrived in a nearby city and experienced the local specialty, Sichuan hot pot.

For Esdeath and Erii, this was a unique way of eating.

Erii, a Japanese girl with a light palate, was choked by the spicy sauce in the soup and couldn't help sticking out her tongue while fanning herself with her small hands.

Esdeath, on the other hand, appeared quite calm, her expression remaining unchanged throughout.

of course……

It only "appears" to be.

If you observe closely, you'll notice that Esdeath drinks water exceptionally fast and occasionally uses the power of "Demon's Essence" to manually add ice to herself.

"What's wrong?"

Esdeath chewed a few ice cubes without making a sound, swallowed them, and then turned to look at Uchiha Hikaru beside her.

"...No, it's nothing."

Uchiha Hikaru smiled and handed over the juice in his hand: "Give me some too."

"?"

Although somewhat puzzled, Esdeath still snapped her fingers as instructed, causing several ice shards to freeze out of thin air in the juice. This scene made Natsumi, who was standing nearby, look on with envy: "Speaking of which, what exactly is Esdeath's Word of Power? This ability to instantly create ice without even needing to chant dragon script is just too convenient."

"Well, you can assume she's a hybrid of the 'Water King' lineage for now. As for her specific identity... I'll tell you when necessary."

Uchiha Hikaru explained somewhat vaguely.

"……All right."

Xia Mi pursed her lips and didn't ask any further questions.

The next few days.

Uchiha Hikaru stayed in the Sichuan region and took Erii and Esdeath to visit some nearby attractions.

The Three Gorges, Dujiangyan Irrigation System, Mount Qingcheng, Panda Base...

These were places that even Hikaru Uchiha, let alone Esdeath and her companion, had never been to before.

On the contrary, Xia Mi seemed to know the ropes very well, skillfully planning a tour route and then leading them around.

"Well, I worked at a travel agency for a while during the summer vacation a couple of years ago, so I'm quite familiar with these procedures. Also, I visited the Three Gorges area a few months ago when I was scouting it out, so being your tour guide shouldn't be a problem."

Xia Mi said with a proud look on her face.

Also.

This "next-generation" dragon king is quite dedicated to imitating humans, and since he is a dragon, he has superhuman mobility, so it's easy to understand why he does thorough preparation.

During a visit to the panda base.

Erii tugged at Uchiha Hikaru's sleeve, then, under her gaze, held up her little notebook and asked her earnestly if she could adopt a giant panda cub to take back to Japan to raise.

"?"

Raising pandas?

Uchiha Hikaru turned his head and glanced at the goofy-looking black and white bears in the protective base, then hesitated for a moment: "Well... it's not impossible."

In theory, pandas cannot be kept as pets.

However, this problem can essentially be solved with money.

The Snake Clan can even mass-produce things like "Snake-like Dead Servants," so a few Iron-Eating Beasts are naturally no problem for them. Don't be fooled by the fact that this thing belongs to the "Bear" family and has relatively strong clawing and biting abilities among bears. In a real hand-to-hand combat, it might not be able to defeat the seemingly weak Erii.

but……

Taking on Caesar Gattuso shouldn't be a problem, after all, the latter has a glorious record of being defeated by the polar bear...

During this period of time.

Uchiha Hikaru hadn't been paying close attention to the situation in Kassel, so she didn't know how Lu Mingze's plan was progressing. Since he hadn't contacted her, she guessed the operation against Norton was probably still incomplete.

However, the Snake-Headed Eight Family made two phone calls to Erii, one from Uesugi Koshi and the other from Genji Chisei, inquiring about her recent situation.

Of course……

Erii couldn't speak, so when she answered the phone, Hikaru Uchiha stayed by her side, relaying the two phone calls written in a small notebook for her.

In this process.

Genji briefly mentioned things in Tokyo:

"Recently, the principal... Hilbert Jean Angers from Kassel College, has called a few times, saying he wants to come to Japan in person to meet with the Snake-Headed Hachike family. What do you think... should we agree, or refuse him?"

"Oh? Angers is coming?"

Uchiha Hikaru raised an eyebrow.

This, it seems, is the true purpose of the phone calls made by Genjiro and Uesugi Koshi. They wanted her to make a decision regarding matters concerning Angers.

In the original work, Angers did indeed visit the Snake Clan, but that was during Ryuzo's third year—that is, in 2011. Moreover, the main reason he embarked on that trip was that the Japanese branch had betrayed the Kassel headquarters, and the Lu Mingfei trio had lost contact. Therefore, as one of the leaders of the Secret Party and a seasoned gangster, he had no choice but to personally go to Japan to maintain order.

And now...

"It seems that the Kassel side has also found some clues."

While thinking this to himself, Uchiha Hikaru remained outwardly composed: "This is a matter between you and Kassel. You can handle it yourselves. Whether you meet or not, just let me know the result once you've made your decision."

Speaking of which...

Uchiha Hikaru had previously wanted to meet Angers and see the latter's Word of Power "Time Zero".

But now.

With Lu Mingze as a more valuable trading partner, "Time Zero" becomes less important. If I remember correctly, Lu Mingze also possesses a similar ability—the same ability he used during Long Er's time to freeze the roller coaster at Liupanshan Amusement Park—and what I've learned from him should be the same.

present.

Uchiha Hikaru stretched and looked at the mahjong table in front of her—something she had just started playing with Erii and the others over the past couple of days.

"I'll relax for a couple more days, then go back to Tokyo for a visit."

(End of this chapter)