Dragon Raja: Lu Mingfei finds a Freylian

Then Genji released his hand.

Caesar reached out to grab him, but his fingertips only brushed against the hem of his clothes.

Genjiro and Deadpool fell together.

As he fell, he drew the sword from his waist, gripped the hilt with both hands, aimed the tip at his abdomen, and plunged it in hard!

The long sword pierced through his body, its blade emerging from behind, precisely cutting into Deadpool's throat and piercing his cervical vertebrae. Genji violently twisted the hilt, the blade churning through flesh and blood. While severely injuring his own internal organs, he also shredded Deadpool's bones.

Blood rained down.

Yuan Zhisheng looked up. The elevator doors receded further and further away, growing smaller and smaller, like the opening of a deep well, letting in only a last sliver of faint light. He saw Caesar and Chu Zihang rush to the gap torn open by Deadpool, shouting at him. Shouting what? He couldn't hear them. The wind howled in his ears, and darkness surged in from all directions, swallowing everything.

He fell downwards.

Plunging into boundless darkness.

“Child…” Genji said softly, his voice drowned out by the howling wind, “I’m here.”

He began to see a revolving lantern. A face identical to his own fell into the well, shedding a string of tears. The tears grew farther and farther away, darker and darker, until finally disappearing into eternal darkness.

Genji reached out his hand, as if trying to grab something.

You can't grasp anything.

Darkness swallowed him.

At this crucial moment that will change his fate, does Genjiro believe in Tachibana Masamune?

1. Believe – Enter the original world timeline

2. Disbelief – Entering a New World Line

It would be incredibly difficult to convince Genjiro that Tachibana Masamune was a good person, since he basically considered him his father. I'm thinking of getting Frilian, since she's fought Genjiro before and he trusts her character. Lu Mingfei, Caesar, and Chu Zihang will take care of Erii.

I'll write a moderately long piece, about 20-30 chapters. The overall title will be "Please Enter the Trap."

Chapter 702 A Friend of Justice (Part 1)

A gust of wind swept over him, carrying a chill. Genji slowly opened his eyes; all around him was deathly silent.

The wound in his abdomen was still throbbing with excruciating pain, the constant spasms causing the nerve endings at the wound site to spasm with each heartbeat. But his body wasn't so weak anymore; the dizziness from excessive blood loss was fading, and the vibrant life force of his mixed-race heritage was flowing through his veins. He struggled to sit up, but found his body completely unresponsive, his limbs seemingly fixed in place by invisible chains, his muscles tense yet powerless.

He felt as if he were firmly bound in darkness. The feeling was so familiar, so familiar that it sent chills down his spine. Years ago, he had felt the same way, listening to the low growls of the monsters called "ghosts" coming from the family prison.

Where is this place? Hell? Or did death ultimately not spare him and take him to hell?

He had no religious beliefs and grew up under the strict upbringing of the Snake Clan. The head of the Executive Bureau never believed in heaven or hell. But standing in this pitch-black place, as dark as an ancient well, he suddenly became uncertain. Perhaps death really does exist in some form, perhaps after death one really does return to the place of their greatest fear, reliving those unpleasant memories over and over again.

He had a dream where he died and fell into a bottomless well. The well walls were covered in slippery moss, the water was icy cold, and floating in it were the skeletons of the ghosts he had killed. The skeletons opened their eyes and looked at him, their eye sockets empty, as if asking: Why did you kill us? Aren't you a friend of justice?

A bright little flame suddenly burst forth in the darkness, illuminating a pair of golden pupils.

The flame was so warm, flickering like hope in the darkness. A cigarette was offered to his chapped lips, and the person holding the lighter leaned in to light it for him. He took a deep drag, the spiciness of the tobacco and the stimulation of the nicotine clearing his muddled mind somewhat.

"As expected of the emperor of the Snake Clan, your wounds heal incredibly quickly." The person holding the fire brought the lighter closer to his face, illuminating his handsome features. "I wish I had such a great physique. You know, I'm considered to have a strong recovery ability in the academy, but compared to you, it's like a tortoise and a hare race—and you, the hare, don't fall asleep halfway through."

Cesare Gattuso put the lighter back in his pocket, a large cigar dangling from his mouth, his posture as relaxed as if he were sitting on an outdoor seat in a Venice café, rather than squatting on a rickety beam.

Chu Zihang squatted down beside him, applying antibacterial ointment to Yuan Zhisheng's abdominal wound. First, he used the purified water he carried with him to wash away the blood around the wound, then carefully wiped the wound with a sterile cotton swab, and finally squeezed out the ointment and applied it evenly to the wound that had begun to heal.

Although he didn't know if the emperor's body would be infected by bacteria, applying the ointment was always a good idea. This was Chu Zihang's consistent belief: to do things to the best of one's ability, even when facing enemies. He was adept at applying medicine and bandaging; he himself was often covered in wounds. The saying "experience makes a good doctor" couldn't be more fitting for him.

Yuan Zhisheng was stunned for a few seconds, his brain struggling to process the information in front of him.

How could someone survive a fall from hundreds of meters in the air?

He clearly remembered dispelling his dragon-bone form, the whooshing sound of the elevator shaft, the weightless feeling of falling, and then darkness. He knew he possessed healing abilities far exceeding those of ordinary people. As the emperor of the Snake Clan, a once-in-a-millennium talent, the seppuku wound might not have been fatal—but it was seppuku, not a fall from a skyscraper. Falling from hundreds of meters high would displace internal organs; even a monster like him would have been reduced to an unrecognizable mass of flesh and blood.

He tried to move his arms and legs, only to find himself suspended in mid-air by a thick purple rope. The rope was quite tight, and his arms were already feeling numb. He remembered that before he boarded the elevator, Caesar had taken advantage of his momentary lapse in attention to tie him up with the thick purple rope. He had only managed to free his arms at the last moment before the fall, but his body was still firmly bound.

He was still hanging in the elevator shaft. Caesar and Chu Zihang were squatting on a rusty I-beam beam, which was obviously erected for elevator maintenance. In the darkness, they looked like three bats perched above an abyss.

"Should I be put down?" Yuan Zhisheng smiled bitterly, the movement aggravating his abdominal wound and causing him to gasp. "It's inconvenient to smoke while hanging upside down. All the blood is rushing to my brain, and I feel my temples throbbing and I'm seeing stars."

“That won’t do.” Caesar, cigar in hand, leisurely exhaled a perfect smoke ring, watching it slowly rise and dissipate into the darkness. “I don’t trust you. I know your men are searching the area. A casual chat is fine, safety first, right?”

"Is the young master of the Gattuso family such a shameless scoundrel?" Genji exhaled a puff of smoke, which also drifted upwards, making him feel somewhat comical, as if the world had been turned upside down.

"What's so special about this?" Caesar shrugged, his movement so large that he almost slipped off the beam, but Chu Zihang grabbed him. "Just look at my dad and you'll know what shamelessness is. The shameless things he's done are enough to fill an 'Encyclopedia of Shamelessness,' and there could even be a sequel."

silence.

A few seconds later, Caesar said in a low voice, "I'm sorry."

Genjiro was stunned for a moment, then realized what he was talking about.

“There’s no need to apologize to me.” Genji looked into the darkness. “At that time, I really wanted to escape alone. It wasn’t acting or testing; it was a genuine thought. I’m not a champion of justice; I’ve done a lot of bad things and killed a lot of people. In a life-or-death situation, my first instinct was to save myself—I’ve done this too many times; I’m very good at it.”

"A ghost?" Chu Zihang asked while continuing to bandage the wound.

“The family’s explanation is that they are hybrids like us, only more unstable,” Yuan Zhisheng’s voice lowered. “In a sense, everyone is a potential demon. The only difference is that some people have already crossed the line, while others are still struggling on the edge. And those who have crossed the line are the ones I have to deal with. From my first mission until now, I have killed so many people that I can’t count them on my hands.”

"The murals are ruined," Caesar changed the subject, not wanting to dwell on this heavy issue. "But Chu Zihang and I took photos. Even if you don't want to, you still have to take those photos. Now that Deadpool is gone, the cooperation is over. We're back to being enemies."

“Then you’d better hurry up and leave,” Genji replied. “I just tried it, and I feel my limbs regaining sensation. You probably don’t understand the Emperor’s power.”

Chapter 703 Friends of Justice (Part 2)

“Trying to scare us,” Caesar sneered. “This rope is made of wisteria used in Buddhist rituals, the kind used to tie large bells at shrines; it can even hold an elephant. I also tied a sailor’s knot that gets tighter the more you struggle. The old Italian sailor I learned navigation in the Mediterranean when I was sixteen told me it was the strongest knot. Besides, your body isn’t as strong as we think.”

He paused for a moment, carefully examining Genjiro, who was hanging upside down in the air.

"You, this super hybrid, are only slightly stronger than us. Your bones and muscles can't compare to those of a true dragon, not even as good as Deadpool's. Deadpool's muscle density is several times that of a normal person, and his bone strength is astonishing. Your Word of Power is incredibly powerful; theoretically, releasing that level of Word of Power requires extremely high blood purity. However, after releasing such Word of Power, you are completely defenseless, and all of your body's energy is used to maintain the domain. In short, you are very strong, but you are not without weaknesses. Like a peerless sword, it is extremely sharp, but the blade is too thin and easily broken."

His words were less of a provocation and more of a well-intentioned reminder.

“Alright, alright, Gattuso-kun, you’re right,” Genji sighed. “Are you going to hang me up here for interrogation? I should tell you beforehand that I know all the secrets of the Snake Clan, but I won’t say a word.”

“Taking you away is impossible,” Caesar said frankly. “Your men are searching the entire building for you, and the elevator shaft will be searched sooner or later. In the end, we decided to leave you here. Your men are searching the whole building, but they haven’t yet considered that you might be hanging in the middle of the elevator shaft. This is a blind spot in thinking; normal people don’t look up.”

He exhaled another smoke ring and watched it slowly dissipate.

"Seriously, I have a personal question for you," Caesar said, his tone becoming somewhat gossipy. "Your assistant, Sakura, is good-looking and skilled, and she seems to really like you. Don't you think so?"

Genjiro paused for a moment, then gave a wry smile.

“Why wouldn’t you think so? I’m not blind,” he said softly. “But some things can’t be done just because two people are in love. I won’t find a girlfriend until I leave Japan. My identity, my family, the blood on my hands—these things are too heavy, too heavy for me to hold anyone’s hand and move forward together. And to ask a girl who grew up among assassins to give up the only life she knows and go to France with you to sell sunscreen. Do you think that’s too much?”

"Abandoning his status as the patriarch to go to France?" Caesar raised an eyebrow.

“I’m a man who has done many evil deeds, and my hands are stained with the blood of many demons,” Genji said quietly. “Some of those demons truly deserved to die; they killed without hesitation and fed on humans. But some… some were just children, children who couldn’t control their own words of power. When they died, there was still fear in their eyes; they didn’t understand why their uncles, who loved them yesterday, would come to kill them today. I’d rather escape to France, find a small seaside town, open a sunscreen shop, and watch tourists come and go every day. If I could settle down like that, I’d be content. I’m not going to France; I’m escaping.”

The word "escape" was spoken very softly, so softly that it was almost inaudible.

"You want to be a friend of justice?" Caesar carefully chose his words. He knew the word was somewhat naive, but it was the most appropriate word he could think of at that moment.

“What child doesn’t want to be a friend of justice?” Yuan Zhisheng said calmly. “Back then, the school gave out a piece of paper and asked everyone to write down what kind of person they wanted to be in the future. Half of the boys wrote this: a friend of justice.”

"Are you mocking me for being a child?" Caesar said with displeasure, giving Genjiro a nudge that sent him spinning like a pendulum.

"Friends of Justice, that's what Ultraman says. Ultraman is a cartoon for kids," Genji said, spinning around. Caesar and Chu Zihang appeared alternately in his field of vision, then disappeared into the darkness, only to reappear again.

"What is Ultraman?" Caesar frowned in confusion; the name was completely unfamiliar to him.

"Aliens who came to Earth from Nebula M78 to help Earthlings fight against alien monsters," Genji explained, his voice slightly erratic due to the spinning. "Gattuso-kun hasn't seen it, has he? But we Japanese all watched it when we were little, every boy loved it. Elementary school students would argue about which Ultraman was stronger, getting red in the face, and even fighting over it. We'd save our lunch money just to buy Ultraman models."

"I get it, figurines!" Caesar's eyes lit up. Lu Mingfei had taught him the word, and at the time he had laughed at the Japanese for making toys sound so high-class. Now, saying the word, he couldn't help but feel a little smug. See, I understand your culture too.

“Yes, figurines.” Genji’s voice softened considerably as he recalled something warm. “Buy an Ultraman figurine and put it on your desk, and you’ll have an Ultraman friend who’s always there to protect you. My figurine is Ultraman Hikari, which means ‘light.’ It’s painted blue, unlike the red of other Ultramen. His strongest weapon is the Knight Lightsaber, a lightsaber that springs from his wrist—it’s really cool.”

He paused, then his voice became even softer.

"Ultraman says they represent justice, and we are friends with Ultraman, so we are friends of justice. This logic is flawless in a child's mind. A friend of a friend of justice is, of course, also a friend of justice. No matter how strong the monster is, it will be defeated by Ultraman. Every episode goes like this. At the end of every episode, Ultraman stands in the sunset, gives the children a thumbs up, and then flies into the depths of space. The children firmly believe this, firmly believing that one day, a monster will appear, and then Ultraman will appear to save the world."

"One year during a school performance, I sang the Ultraman theme song on stage. To this day, I still remember the tune, the lyrics, and the principal, teachers, and classmates sitting in the audience. I was wearing a white sailor uniform with a red paper star on my chest—that was my Ultraman transformation device. I stood on the stage, chest puffed out, and sang with all my might—"

He cleared his throat and actually started singing. Hanging upside down in the pitch-black elevator shaft, the patriarch of Japan's largest yakuza family, the "Emperor" with a bloodline purity that appears only once in a millennium, began to sing a kindergarten nursery rhyme.

"Haha, monsters are roaming the streets!"

Look behind you! Slave beasts are circling you, and you're not free to move to either side.

Invincible, invincible!

I kicked three of them away; they won't escape.

Who can reclaim freedom for the universe? Who can guard the pass for the people?

It's you, my righteous friend!

The song echoed in the deep elevator shaft. The melody was childish, the lyrics simple, but when sung by a grown man, it evoked an indescribable feeling. It was as if the child who stood on the stage years ago had sung a song that transcended time, transcended all the killing and bloodshed, and arrived here. Back then, he stood tall, his eyes bright, genuinely believing he was a friend of justice, believing in the existence of pure justice in the world, and believing that good people would always win.

No one laughed.

Caesar didn't laugh; he listened quietly, a long ash piling up from his cigar. Chu Zihang didn't laugh either; he looked up at Yuan Zhisheng, who was hanging upside down in the air.

Chapter 704 Friends of Justice (Part 2)

As the song faded, a few seconds later, Caesar clapped his hands. The solitary applause sounded particularly weak.

“But I didn’t become a friend of justice,” Genjiro’s voice was soft, his weariness seeming to seep from his very bones. “I became a bad person. Do you know what the most ironic thing is? The people I killed, those people called ‘demons,’ they also watched Ultraman when they were young, they also sang this song, they also believed in justice. But their bloodline was corrupted, their words of power went out of control, and they became ‘demons.’ And then I, someone who sang Ultraman when I was young, went to kill those who also sang Ultraman.”

He paused, sorting through his tangled thoughts in the darkness.

"My friends are all bad people. Yaksha used to be a street thug, collecting debts and breaking countless legs. Crow was the strategist for loan sharks, setting traps that ruined countless families. Sakura is an assassin, trained to kill since she was six. The bad things I've done are far more numerous than you can imagine. That night we went to the real shop, it looked like the enforcement bureau did a good deed. They swept up the loan sharks and protected the kind proprietress. But more often than not, when the enforcement bureau is mobilized, it's about bloodshed. Do you know how many enforcement orders I've signed since I took office? One hundred and thirty-seven. Behind each one is a life."

"That's how the underworld works. In this business, only violence counts. Whoever wields more violence has the loudest voice. All that talk about morality and ethics, all that talk about underworld rules, are just pretty words written for show. The only rule that really matters is: if you're strong, you're in charge; if you're weak, you disappear. That's how the underworld lives. We live by doing evil. We belong to a family, so we must be loyal to it. For the family, we might have to take action against innocent people; for the family, we can sacrifice our comrades, and we can sacrifice ourselves."

“Everyone can be sacrificed,” Genjiro’s voice trailed off, as if he were talking to himself. “That way, more people can survive. This world is that cruel—not just the underworld, but the whole world is that cruel. I’m not Ultraman Hikari, I don’t have a lightsaber, I can’t defeat all the monsters. So what if I’m an emperor? In the face of the world, I’m nothing but an insignificant thing, not much bigger than an ant. I can’t save everyone, I can’t even save myself. If doing evil can make my people’s lives a little better, if my hands are stained with blood, so that the children of the Snake-Headed Eight Families don’t have to have their hands covered in blood like mine, then I’m willing to be the bad guy.”

He's finished speaking.

After a long silence, Caesar spoke: "Render unto Satan the things that are Satan's, and unto God the things that are God's." He enunciated clearly, as if reading an ancient proverb: "Bad people can become good, but bad deeds will never become right. This is a Latin proverb I read in Europe. The translation may not be entirely accurate, but it means—no matter what your reasons are, no matter how noble your initial intentions, doing bad is still doing bad. Trying to use the wrong means to reach the right goal will only make you a blood-stained villain, and will not make the world a better place."

Yuan Zhisheng abruptly raised his head, a movement that made the veins on his neck bulge, and looked at Caesar. His eyes held a mixture of surprise, admiration, and a hint of envy.

“At your age, to be able to say such things, Mr. Gattuso, I truly envy you,” he said sincerely.

"Japanese-style sarcasm?" Caesar asked warily. He had suffered from Japanese-style politeness far too many times, it had almost become a conditioned reflex.