I became Hokage in Tokyo

Chapters 232 and 233: The Jade Branch of Penglai

"The pharmacist is actually looking for the elixir of immortality! Does the elixir of immortality really exist?"

Grace could hardly believe her ears, and for a moment her mind went blank.

"But why would he be in Wakasa Bay, Fukui Prefecture?"

Although Grace is a foreigner, she studied in Japan and has a deep understanding of East Asian culture. Especially after April, when various mythical creatures and deities made their appearances, the Metropolitan Police Department even invited folklore and history scholars to give extra lessons to their foreign staff.

Unlike the Western pursuit of eternal bliss in heaven or the Buddhist concept of reincarnation, the romantic notion of immortality and ascension to heaven is the East Asian ideal.

Throughout history, emperors and generals have risked their lives and spent fortunes in pursuit of immortality, only to find it all to be nothing more than a mirage.

One of the most well-known legends in East Asia related to immortality is that the First Emperor of Qin sent Xu Fu with three thousand girls to sail eastward to search for the mythical Penglai Island, hoping that the immortals would bestow upon them the secret to immortality.

Japan is also an East Asian country, and there are many anecdotes about elixirs of immortality in folk tales from various regions.

There is a popular theory in Japan that Japan is actually the Penglai Island that the First Emperor of Qin explored, and that Xu Fu, who brought three thousand boys with him, is the ancestor of the Japanese people. There is even a Xu Fu Shrine in Saga City.

Some scholars have even written "A Study on Xu Fu's Founding of Japan," arguing that Xu Fu was Emperor Jimmu.

However, the archaeological community scoffs at this argument because before Xu Fu's eastward voyage, Japan already had an ancient Paleolithic civilization called the Jomon period, which lasted until 300 BC, so this is simply a fantasy.

"Pharmacist, you...you've come here for the mermaid?"

Grace had a sudden inspiration and remembered the legend of the Eight Hundred Bhikkhunis that was popular in Wakasa Bay.

The nun who ate the mermaid's flesh gained a lifespan of over a thousand years, of which two hundred years were dedicated to the Emperor. With a lifespan of a thousand years and an unchanging appearance, she could be considered immortal.

The pharmacist shook the test tube in his hand noncommittally, then took out a long, thin dropper and drew blood from it. The bright red drop of blood from the dropper tip shone with a captivating luster, like a ruby.

As Grace watched Kabuto examine Suzuki Maika's blood sample, her doubts grew, leaving her feeling lost and confused.

"If she really came from the merfolk, then what's the point of collecting Suzuki Maika's blood? What's the connection between the Suzuki sisters and the merfolk?"

Grace discreetly observed Kabuto Yakushi. This extraordinary person was very different from the others. Extraordinary people either wore strange clothes like black robes with red clouds, or they wore the clothing of ancient people from Taiga dramas, which was out of step with the times.

Not only does Kabuto Yakushi wear round glasses that are clearly from the modern era, but he also uses a single tube and dropper with great skill, making him seem unlike an old-fashioned person who lives in seclusion.

However, Grace didn't dare to guess Kabuto's age easily. Although he looked to be only about twenty years old, who knew if he had some kind of secret to maintaining his youthful appearance?

"Pharmacist, what's the purpose of collecting Suzuki's blood sample? And you said you came for the Suzuki sisters, what did that mean?"

Because Kabuto Yakushi had a very kind and gentle demeanor, was refined and approachable, Grace mustered her courage and cautiously probed.

"Well, that's a long story."

"Waaah..."

Just then, Suzuki Maika, who was lying on the ground, groaned, her eyelids twitched, and she slowly opened her eyes.

"elder sister!"

Suzuki Maika first looked around in confusion, her eyes wide with shock. She struggled to stand up, but her legs went weak and she collapsed to the ground.

"Miss Suzuki Maika, although I have my medicine, you have lost too much blood and cannot move freely for the time being. You should rest for a while."

Kabuto lowered his head and looked at Maika Suzuki, giving her a caring smile that resembled a doctor's concern for a patient.

"I was clearly shot in the neck, but I don't feel any pain at all. Did you save me? And who are you...?"

After calming down a bit, Suzuki Maika looked terrified. She touched her neck with lingering fear, and when she looked at it, she saw that although there was still a lot of blood left, she was now completely unharmed.

The previous shot to the neck seemed like an illusion.

"Are you the mysterious person who appeared in the car accident and did the open-chest surgery to stop the bleeding?"

Upon seeing Kabuto Yakushi's face clearly, Maika Suzuki exclaimed in surprise.

A week ago, a mysterious bespectacled man who appeared at the private Jinguji High School demonstrated incredible skills right under Suzuki Maika's nose: he could stop bleeding with his bare hands and perform CPR by opening his chest with his bare hands.

From that day on, Suzuki Maika remained troubled by the matter. Afterwards, she even inquired about Yakushi Kabuto at school, trying to find out who he was, but there was no such person at all. Unable to find him anywhere, Suzuki Maika had no choice but to give up in frustration.

"Ms. Suzuki Maika, isn't this your first meeting with Mr. Pharmacist?" Grace asked, her spirits lifting as she made her point.

"Shh, don't speak yet."

Yakushi Kabuto produced a jade branch about ten centimeters long from somewhere. The top of the branch branched out into several twigs, and the jade was crystal clear, shimmering with light and exuding a jade-like luster.

What is this?

Grace stared intently at Yuzhi.

The quality of this jade is unprecedented. If the jade branch was carved, it can be described as a masterpiece.

Yakushi Kabuto solemnly picked up the dropper and dripped a drop of Suzuki Maika's blood onto the jade branch that resembled red agate.

After the blood dripped onto it, it splattered down the jade branch and onto the ground without any unusual phenomenon.

"No reaction. It really isn't mermaid blood..."

Yakushi pushed up his round glasses on the bridge of his nose. Although his voice was calm, he couldn't hide his disappointment.

"Pharmacist, could you please enlighten me? I have absolutely no idea what you're doing," Grace said with a wry smile.

Is this my blood?

What happened while I was unconscious? What was he going to do with my blood?

Suzuki Maika was also completely bewildered, her face full of confusion.

"Well, let me explain briefly."

With a flick of his wrist, the pharmacist seemingly conjured everything up as if by magic, disappearing it into who-knows-where.

"Ms. Suzuki, it was your scent that attracted me when we were in Tokyo. To be more precise, it was your bewitching aura that caught my attention."

Kabuto Yakushi was known for his outrageous remarks, and his opening statement immediately shocked Grace and Maika Suzuki.

Does the pharmacist mean that Suzuki Maika is a monster?

Grace looked at Suzuki Maika with suspicion and instinctively put her hand behind her waist and touched the pistol.

However, all of Suzuki Maika's resume from birth to adulthood, as well as all her medical records, had already been dug up by the Metropolitan Police Department. She had always been unremarkable and no different from an ordinary person. Could it be that Suzuki Maika had hidden herself so well?

Suzuki Maika also fell into self-doubt.

She initially disdained supernatural and bizarre things, but when she saw her blood-related older sister turn into a half-human, half-octopus monster, she couldn't help but waver.

If the older sister can transform into a demonic form, perhaps her younger sister can too?

The monster is actually myself?!

"Perhaps I misunderstood something. Miss Suzuki, you are a descendant of a yokai!" Kabuto Yakushi looked at the two people with different expressions and shrugged with a smile.

"But I don't know if it was dozens of generations ago. Through continuous interbreeding with humans, Miss Suzuki, only a trace of yokai blood remains in your bloodline, so faint that it is almost gone. You are almost no different from an ordinary person."

"Is it...like this?"

Suzuki Maika was utterly shocked and stammered. It's no wonder she looked like that; anyone would be astonished to hear that their ancestor had a monster.

"After the Age of Gods, hybrid descendants of yokai are quite rare. I was just curious and secretly took a look at you before I was about to leave, but then a car accident happened, and the injured person was on the verge of death, so I stepped in to save them," Kabuto Yakushi explained.

"After leaving Tokyo, I came to Wakasa Bay in search of the elixir of immortality. I never expected to encounter Ms. Suzuki again under these circumstances."

"But what does Miss Suzuki's blood have to do with the elixir of immortality?"

"After Ms. Suzuki was seriously injured and bleeding, I smelled the fishy and salty smell of the ocean in her monster blood. Ms. Suzuki's ancestor must have been a sea monster! And since it was Wakasa Bay, where mermaids are said to roam, I clung to the thought that Ms. Suzuki might be a descendant of a mermaid. Unfortunately..."

Yakushi Kabuto let out a long sigh, and his expression turned to one of disinterest.

Hmm, judging from the pharmacist's obvious disappointment, Suzuki Maika is definitely not a descendant of mermaids.

"If Miss Suzuki is a descendant of mermaids, then mermaid blood might be able to activate the Penglai Jade Branch, allowing me to find Penglai, where mermaids reside. In the present world, the most likely place to find the elixir of immortality is Penglai."

"Then what kind of monster am I descended from?"

Suzuki Maika's eyes darted around as she listened, and she couldn't help but glance at the octopus tentacles that Suzuki Kimie had grown, her lips twitching:

"Could we sisters be descendants of giant octopus feet?"

The giant octopus is a type of octopus sea monster in Japanese folklore that abducts young girls.

In the Omishima Strait of the Seto Inland Sea, local legend tells of a giant octopus that took a liking to a beautiful fisherwoman and forced her to submit, threatening to unleash a devastating wave to destroy the fishing village if she refused.

The clever fisherwoman pretended to agree, but then complained that the giant octopus's eight legs were ugly, demanding that she cut off one of its legs every day until it had only two legs like a human. The lustful giant octopus agreed. With each leg cut off, the monster's power weakened. When it had only two legs left, the fisherwoman tried to fight back, but was ultimately dragged into the sea by the giant octopus, perishing together.

The fisherwoman's parents were so heartbroken that they turned into two rocks, Grandfather Rock and Grandmother Rock.

"No, although I can't be sure what kind of sea monster you sisters are descended from, you shouldn't be giant octopuses," Kabuto Yakushi said thoughtfully, pushing up his glasses.

"But there's probably another reason why your sister grows octopus tentacles."

Grace's eyes flickered; she knew perfectly well that the creature sent for the experiment of fusing with the evil spirits of Wakasa Bay was a small octopus monster.

Suzuki Kimie's current form is definitely not unrelated to this.

"Investigator, are you alright?"

"Maika! Maika!"

After the aftermath of the battle in the detention room subsided, the other Fifth Section agents, who were on standby, also rushed over to provide reinforcements, trembling with fear.

Sakaki Nami ran over from the crowd, and with her help, Suzuki Maika finally stood up.

"Although you seem to be fine now, you still need to take care of yourselves and eat more blood-nourishing foods."

After giving his medical instructions, Yakushi Kabuto slowly walked toward Suzuki Kimie, who was still unconscious.

"I'll take Suzuki Kimie with me for now. Although she's not the mermaid I'm looking for, I'm preparing to set sail from Wakasa Bay to find Hourai. Unfortunately, I'm not good at water-style techniques, so it will be much easier with Suzuki Kimie here."

"No, you can't take my sister away!"

Suzuki Mai was overcome with a sudden surge of heat and was about to lean in when she stumbled and nearly fell to the ground.

"Miss Suzuki, you wouldn't want your sister to remain in this irrational, beast-like state, would you?" Kabuto Yakushi said with a gentle smile.

"Consider it payment for my work. I will do my best to treat Suzuki Kimie and restore her sanity."

"But..." Suzuki Maika's eyes were filled with tears.

"Don't worry, this is not goodbye forever. We will meet again someday."

"An investigator?!"

The man in the black suit from the Fifth Division, standing behind the American beauty, was somewhat unwilling to let such an extraordinary being be taken away so easily with a single sentence.

However, having witnessed Kabuto Yakushi catch Grace with his bare hands, a black flash that was even more terrifying than a mortar shell, he wisely refrained from intercepting her.

Seeing that Kabuto was forming hand seals, preparing to teleport away, Grace blurted out on a whim:

"Master Pharmacist, even a transcendent being like yourself from the heavens, do you yearn for the elixir of immortality?"

"The so-called Celestial Realm is just a term used by some people who think too highly of themselves. It is nothing more than the outer layer of your world. Even if you obtain the title of Shadow-level, how can you live forever without truly becoming an immortal, saint, or Buddha?"

Kabuto pushed up his glasses, a look of anticipation and fervor on his face:

"Besides, for a pharmacist like me, the elixir of immortality is the ultimate pursuit, so how could I give up so easily?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Kabuto squatted down, reached out his palm and pressed it against Suzuki Kimie. Suzuki Kimie turned into wisps of green smoke and disappeared in front of everyone.

It's teleportation again!!!

Looking at the devastated Kohama City Police Station, with its walls riddled with holes and reduced to a dangerous building by bombing, Grace felt both the joy of surviving a disaster and the frustration of having gained nothing.

"Ring ring ring—"

"Whose phone rang? Weren't you told to turn your phones off during the mission?"

Grace said with displeasure, deciding to teach that unlucky guy a lesson.

Namikazu Sakaki picked up her phone and exclaimed in surprise:

"It was my brother-in-law calling!"

(End of this chapter)