Hero? I'm just here to borrow power!

Subsequently, under Genjiro's command, they annihilated all the hundreds of corpse guards who had survived the underwater explosion and were attempting to land.

This was undoubtedly a glorious feat worthy of being recorded in history for the Snake Clan.

The patriarch, Tachibana Masamune, is giving a speech to all the elite members of the clan in the main hall of the shrine, inspiring them and talking about how to restore the former glory of the Snake-Headed Eight Families.

However, just as he was speaking at his most impassioned moment, a black figure descended from the sky like divine punishment! Wielding two ornate swords, one black and one white, the figure sliced ​​the highly respected patriarch, Tachibana Masamune, in two at the waist with a single strike, amidst the shocked and incredulous gazes of the crowd!

Before he could even utter a final word, the man who descended like a ghost swiftly delivered a second blow! With a backhand grip, a flash of cold light appeared, and in an instant, he cleaved open Tachibana Masamune's gaping head, which seemed to want to say something!

Blood and brains splattered across the ancient shrine bricks at that moment.

Bai Ye's movements were incredibly fast.

The family elites present were completely caught off guard, except for the young master Genji, who stood beside Tachibana Masamune. He reacted as Bai Ye unleashed his second strike! He swiftly drew his alchemical sword, "Spider Cutter," and slashed fiercely at Bai Ye's flank! The cold blade clashed with the black, deadly blade in Bai Ye's hand, named "Gan Jiang & Mo Xie," creating a series of dazzling sparks in the air!

With a series of cracking sounds, Genjiro didn't even have time to feel the shock and grief. The number of bones in his body, far exceeding that of an ordinary person, had already deformed and locked in an instant, putting him into the strongest "Dragon Bone State"!

After Genjiro entered "Dragon Bone State," Byakuya and the sword in his hand clashed dozens of times in a fraction of a second! Then, before most people could even see the action, Genjiro was sent flying backward as if hit by a speeding train, crashing heavily into the shrine's pillars!

The result of the first clash was obvious: even between two "emperors," there was a gap.

Some of the people around, who had already recovered from their shock, began to think this way.

They simply couldn't understand why Byakuya, a man who also possessed the blood of the "Emperor," would suddenly appear, attack, and cruelly kill their beloved patriarch, Tachibana Masamune.

Genjiro couldn't understand it either.

He opened his eyes wide, those eyes that usually carried a hint of melancholy, and deep in his pupils remained a profound disbelief.

"Bai Ye! Why?" Genji roared.

"The person I killed was not Tachibana Masamune, or rather, the Tachibana Masamune you think he was never even existed," Byakuya said calmly, gazing at the warm blood belonging to Tachibana Masamune slowly flowing on the white stone bricks of the shrine.

"What do you mean by this?!" Yuan Zhisheng asked, bewildered, his voice filled with anger and confusion.

"Let him answer this question."

Bai Ye's gaze slowly swept around the surroundings. He saw Crow and Yaksha in the crowd, pointing submachine guns at him. When they met Bai Ye's cold gaze, they couldn't help but swallow hard and silently lowered the muzzles of their guns.

"Come out, Master Yue."

Bai Ye's voice echoed in the silent shrine, "The usurper has been slain by me. As the true 'Emperor' and the former patriarch, you must have a lot to say to your old friends, right?"

As Baiye finished speaking, a series of heavy, weary footsteps echoed outside the ancient gates of the shrine.

The last Shadow Emperor, the last naturally born "Emperor" of the Snake Clan, Uesugi Kotsu.

Finally, at this moment, after sixty years, he reappeared in the family he once ruled.

Black Moon Tide: Chapter 123 The Emperor's Wrath (4K)

Uesugi Koshi is a bastard.

He should have died sixty years ago in that fire that consumed everything, turning to ashes along with his youth, his throne, and all his cursed bloodline.

Even he himself felt that way.

Day after day, year after year, amidst the white steam billowing from the ramen cart, he looked at his face, etched with wrinkles by time, in the mirror and thought more than once that this face shouldn't have survived to this day.

But the young man named Bai Ye found him and told him that only the living have the opportunity to pay for their mistakes.

Pay the bill? Uesugi scoffed inwardly.

His debts are so great that he can't possibly pay them off.

But he still came after all.

Tokyo is ablaze with lights tonight, like a sea of ​​stars reflected on earth.

But deep within this sea of ​​stars, the main shrine of the Snake Clan is like an isolated island forgotten by the light, immersed in a suffocating silence. The air is filled with an eerie atmosphere of sandalwood and blood, like a new wound on an old scar.

The torii gate at the shrine entrance, which he had once burned down, now stands silently in the night. The black wood, burned by the fire, gleams with a cold, hard luster under the moonlight, like a wound that can never heal, mocking his naive farewell back then.

Uesugi stepped onto the familiar yet unfamiliar stone steps, each step feeling like he was treading on his own decaying bones, producing a dull echo.

He took off his greasy ramen chef uniform and removed his ridiculous white headscarf. The "Master Yue" who had been living in the city for sixty years was stripped away along with these items.

He changed into a long, dark overcoat, the hem fluttering in the night wind like a banner summoning a soul. This old man, who already had one foot in the grave, was not burly, but rather somewhat hunched over. However, when he raised his head, the majesty that once belonged to the supreme ruler of the underworld emerged like a dragon awakening from its aging body.

He is the true "Emperor," the last "Emperor" naturally born in this era by the Snake Clan.

A word that should have been completely forgotten by history has now returned, carrying the scent of blood and fire.

The guards of the Snake Clan were too young. Their memories were filled with the iron fist of the Execution Bureau and the prestige of the various clan heads. They had never seen this old man who seemed to have stepped out of an ancient painting. As was their duty, they took out their pistols and wakizashi and blocked the way in a crisscross pattern. The cold metal gleamed in the moonlight.

"Halt! This is forbidden territory!" the young gatekeeper shouted sternly, trying to mask his unease with his voice.

Uesugi Kotsushi didn't speak, but slowly raised his eyes.

In that instant, time seemed to freeze. What eyes they were! In those brilliant golden pupils, Uesugi Etsushi's emotions were as calm as a bottomless ancient pool. Yet, beneath that still water lay a raging storm and towering waves.

The young guards felt their very souls tremble; a fear from the deepest recesses of their blood gripped their hearts, making it hard to breathe. Their arms, gripping their weapons, shook uncontrollably, and the urge to kneel and worship overwhelmed their will like a tidal wave.

That was a gaze that even the young master, Genjiro, had never possessed. If Genjiro's golden evil eyes were sharp swords and burning fire, then this old man's pupils were the abyss itself, teeming with swords and fire.

Uesugi Koshi calmly walked past the two young guards who were almost kneeling on the ground, as if he were just passing by two nameless stones. He pushed open the heavy palace door and stepped into the center of that tense vortex.

Inside the main hall, the air seemed to have solidified, each breath carrying a blade-like sharpness. Tachibana Masamune's corpse still lay on the cold floor, cut into four pieces by the sharp twin swords, its blood staining the ancient wooden floor. Genji Chisei, wielding the famous sword "Spider Cutter," lay beside the pillars. The heads of the various clans held either swords or guns, and the atmosphere in the air was extremely tense.

The old man's figure didn't initially cause much of a stir; everyone's attention was focused on Genjiro and Byakuya, until the old patriarchs of the Snake Clan, those who had truly experienced the storms of the old era, noticed him.

Inuyama He, the head of the Inuyama family, a respected elder among the five non-family clans, was the first to notice the figure. His pupils suddenly contracted, and he stared intently at the back of the figure in the black trench coat. His lips trembled, and after the initial shock, he seemed to understand something. A mixture of excitement and awe appeared on his face. Without hesitation, he straightened his clothes, knelt down in the direction of the figure, and pressed his forehead tightly against the cold ground.

"This figure... could it be... the former Shadow Emperor?" The head of the Fuma family, Fuma Kotaro, the ninja leader who was always hidden in the shadows like a shadow, also noticed the person who stepped into the main hall. A look of disbelief and horror flashed in his cloudy eyes, as if he had seen a dead soul returning from hell.

Unlike other young family heads, the two heads of the Snake-Headed Eight Families were both elderly men with white hair. They had both served as subordinates of Uesugi Kotsugi, the true "Emperor." Although they may not have become family heads at that time, but were just inconspicuous newcomers in the family, they would never forget everything that man had done.

"The Emperor of Shadows... that's a title I haven't heard in a long time."

Uesugi Kotsushi finally spoke, his voice hoarse, filled with endless bitterness and self-mockery. He didn't even turn around to look at the two kneeling old men; his gaze passed through the tense crowd in the hall and landed directly on the young man who was slowly climbing up from the pillar.

"Is he Genjiro?" he asked Byakuya beside him.

He was a handsome young man with the same striking features as when he was young, but now he was disheveled, his eyes filled with anger, sadness and confusion, like a lion trapped in a cage.

"Yes, he and his younger brother, Yuan Zhinü, can be said to be your sons on a genetic level." Bai Ye stated the facts calmly, his voice without a ripple, yet like a heavy hammer, striking everyone's heart.

"I never expected... it was just a tiny bit of genetic material..."

Uesugi Koshi said in a low voice, as he slowly walked to the center of the main hall, carelessly stepping over Tachibana Masamune's bones as if they were just a pile of sludge in the way. "To think that such a big child could be created."

His gaze toward Genji was so complex, containing three parts of a father's tenderness, perhaps more accurately described as benevolence, but seven parts of it was an overwhelming, unyielding sorrow.

That was his grief for himself, for his child, and even more so for this damned bloodline.

"I thought that as long as I didn't have children, I could sever this pathetic bloodline."

He said softly, as if whispering to himself, "Looking back now, I was really naive."

These words struck Yuan Zhisheng like a thunderbolt.

This shock even overwhelmed the impact of Tachibana Masamune's brutal death in front of him. The patriarch of the family was dead; he could have been angry, he could have sought revenge.

But now, he feels that something is collapsing, and that is his framework for understanding the world.

"What did you say?"

Genjiro's pupils trembled violently, his voice hoarse with disbelief. He couldn't process this sudden information; anger and chaos drove him, transforming all his emotions into killing intent. He roared, gripping the "Spider Cutter" tightly with both hands, transforming into a black lightning bolt, and slashed at Byakuya once more.

But at this moment, Bai Ye even put away Gan Jiang and Mo Xie in his hands and just stood there quietly.

Genjiro's sword flashed like lightning, tearing through the air and creating a thunderous light in the main hall.

However, the elderly man was faster than him, faster than anything he could imagine. Just as the blade was about to touch the white night, Uesugi Kotetsu moved. He passed by Genjiro the instant he flashed past him.

That was just a fleeting exchange.

When the two separated, everyone in the main hall was surprised to find that Genji was still in the posture of wielding a sword, but the iconic long sword "Spider Cutter" in his hand had somehow fallen into the hands of Uesugi Kotsu.

Yagyu Shinkage-ryu - No sword to take.

The core of this unique skill created by Yagyu Muneyoshi lies in facing a sharp blade with bare hands, closing in to suppress the opponent the moment they draw their sword, and disarming them with bare hands, thus practicing the philosophy of "winning without killing".

But behind this concept lies an absolute power disparity. Fighting a knife-wielding opponent with bare hands, and having the disadvantage against the advantage, illustrates that the "no-knife takedown" technique itself is an extreme example of the strong bullying the weak. Only when the user is so powerful that they far surpass their knife-wielding opponent even when unarmed can they execute it so effortlessly.

Who is Genjiro? He is the young master of the Snake Clan, the director of the Execution Bureau, and one of the clan's sharpest blades. Yet, this frail old man in front of him was able to so easily take away his sword, which undoubtedly proved that the old man's strength had exceeded the imagination of everyone present.

“It seems your ‘royal’ bloodline is incomplete.” Uesugi Kotetsu gripped the cold longsword, looking at Genjiro, who was frozen in place because the sword had been taken from him, and said calmly.

Based on this one encounter alone, he realized that the young man in front of him was far inferior to himself back then.

According to the historical records of the Snake Clan, the bloodline of the "Emperor" cannot be diluted or degraded due to reproduction. Every awakened "Emperor" possesses overwhelming power, yet the young man before him has failed to achieve this.

But this also made Uesugi Kotsugu even more convinced that he was a descendant of his own offspring, whose bloodline had deteriorated due to being born unnaturally, and who was bred from his own genes.

"He and his brother, Minamoto no Chiyome, were a group of embryos used in a control experiment. Tachibana no Masamune told him that he was the one who successfully inherited the 'royal' bloodline, possessing the complete 'royal' bloodline and would not fall into demonhood."

At this moment, Bai Ye spoke again, his voice like the cold wind of the Arctic, revealing the bloody truth to everyone, "In fact, he lied to Genji. The successor of the 'Emperor' will never fall into demonhood because of bloodline. This is the most basic fact of the White King's bloodline. But he never considered that it was Tachibana Masamune who deceived him. Genji was artificially turned into a so-called 'demon' because of surgery that caused her to have a split personality."

The crowd erupted in uproar. Although most of the Snake Clan members were unaware of Genji's existence, they were certain that the 'Emperor' would not become a 'Demon'.

“Tachibana Masamune? Are you talking about him?” Uesugi Koshi lowered his head and used the tip of his knife to poke at the cold corpse at his feet.

"No, strictly speaking, it's Herzog. Tachibana Masamune, fundamentally speaking, never existed."

Bai Ye glanced around at the Snake Clan members who were speechless at his words. "Before that, you should introduce yourself, Master Yue, otherwise I think they'll be preparing to use grenade launchers and tear gas on you in a moment."

Uesugi Kotsuki then realized that he had not yet introduced himself to this family, which had become somewhat unfamiliar to him.

He turned around and faced all the members of the Snake Clan in the main hall.

"My name is Uesugi Koshi."

His voice wasn't loud, but in the deathly silent main hall of the shrine, it sounded like thunder.

"As the last member of the Uesugi family, one of the three inner clans, I am, frankly speaking, a person without much ambition."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over Inuyama He and Fuma Kotaro. "Although I served as the Shadow Emperor of the Snake-Headed Eight Families for a period of time more than sixty years ago, I made many mistakes and caused the deaths of many people."

His voice became deep and powerful, filled with uncontrollable anger and disgust.

“I have no attachment to this family! I abandoned you more than sixty years ago, and more than sixty years later I still think you should be reduced to ashes like that torii gate I burned down! But that damned torii gate still stands there, just as you are still active in Japan!”

Uesugi Koshi's voice grew louder and louder. His words were so ruthless and so "treasonous," but no one in the main hall, from the head of the family to the ordinary members, had the courage to interrupt him.

The oppressive aura emanating from the "Emperor" weighed on everyone's hearts like a tangible mountain, making it hard for them to breathe.

"Yesterday, Byakuya Kamishiro found me and told me that Japan might sink, but I still don't feel obligated to do anything. If Japan is going to sink, I'll go to France, because deep down I feel like I'm actually French! If I hadn't once belonged to the Snake Clan, if I hadn't been that damned Shadow Emperor, I would have gone back to France long ago!"

Uesugi Kotsugu was already gritting his teeth as he spoke, his golden pupils burning with ferocious flames, as if he wanted to burn the entire decaying shrine to ashes.

"But I'm back! Because my son is here!"

He pointed sharply at Genji, his voice filled with violent rage. "You bunch of pigs! In the decades since we lost our leader, you've allowed a foreigner to become the head of the family! Just because he brought back the 'Emperor'? Don't you know that the three inner families have all died out? Sixty years ago, the Snake-Headed Eight Families used my status as the last bloodline of the three inner families as an excuse to make me a breeding machine! And twenty years ago, you believed that a child from the mountains was a surviving descendant of the Genji family? Just because he possessed the 'Emperor's' blood!"

The absolute power of a super hybrid instantly erupted, and a phantom black sun faintly appeared behind Uesugi Yue. His killing intent was so real that the air in the entire main hall was buzzing, and the candlelight flickered wildly, as if it would be extinguished at any moment.

He insulted everyone in the Snake Clan, but under his oppressive aura, no one dared to retaliate or even look him in the eye.

Uesugi gripped the "Spider Cutter" tightly, turned abruptly, and unleashed a stunning slash at the "Scroll of Gods and Demons" depicting the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons on the shrine wall!

"bass--!"

After a piercing, sharp sound, a huge chasm appeared on the hard stone wall, the ancient scroll that had been passed down for hundreds of years was cut in half, as if silently telling of his boundless rage.

"If I were still the Shadow Emperor, every family head here today should commit seppuku! And I would personally act as your second!"

His voice was as cold as iron. "But I am no longer the Shadow Emperor. The Snake Clan has nothing to do with me, and I have no reason to help you cut off your foolish heads."

He slowly turned around, taking one last look at the stunned Genjiro. The violence in his eyes gradually faded, leaving only endless weariness and sorrow.

“But I cannot allow…the children who have my blood to flow to kill each other because of your stupidity, and then die here.”

Black Moon Tide: Chapter 124 One Man's Battle

Yuan Zhisheng was stunned.

He felt his brain had turned into a violent mess, and all his logic and cognition collapsed in an instant.

He just stood there, between pools of blood and corpses, between the old man who called himself his father and the man who brought destruction, like a lost child.

Although he was the young master of the Snake Clan and the future head of this huge family, he actually didn't consider himself very smart.

Compared to him, his younger brother, Yuan Zhinü, the seemingly timid and shy boy, was the one who was clever and quick-witted from a young age.

However, in the sweltering summer of his seventeenth year, he personally killed his younger brother, who had fallen and become a "demon."

However, at this moment, as he listened to what Uesugi Koshi and Byakuya were saying, the whole world began to spin, and there was a constant buzzing in his ears.