When I got home, it was evening.
I met with Yagura in the morning and discussed the future simple plan. Then I had a meal with Yagura, my collaborator, at noon and sent him to the Land of Ghosts.
After all, Yagura's identity is sensitive. Even if he comes to the Kingdom of Demons this time as an official envoy, if he stays for too long, it may arouse some people's suspicions.
When dealing with the power of the five major countries, Baishi still seemed cautious and did not dare to be careless.
After that, I worked for a long time in the afternoon, which was actually not as long as half a day. By about three o'clock in the afternoon, I had already finished the work.
When he first came to the Kingdom of Ghosts three years ago, Shiraishi was still very busy with various government affairs. After everything was on track, his subordinates performed their duties and assigned the work well, and he seemed to have enough time.
In the two-story single-family villa, Lei Mingwan was lying in the pet house in the courtyard looking after the door, Tianyu Nu was busy with housework, and the Water Dragon God shrank in size and swam happily in the pool.
There are three clones guarding the house at all times, which makes Shiraishi feel more at ease.
When he entered the house, Shiraishi did not see Liuli, only Ayane sitting in the living room and Tian Yunv who was busy with dinner in the kitchen.
"Welcome back, Shiraishi-kun. You come back relatively early these days."
Ayane said with a smile while sitting on the sofa.
"Because the things there can be handled well by the people below. I don't want to raise some incompetent subordinates who only eat and don't work."
This is Shiraishi's view.
The abilities of subordinates are different, and their priorities are also different. This cannot be changed, but the sense of participation is a very important experience.
A sense of participation will give people a sense of identity.
"By the way, isn't Liuli at home?"
"Ruri went to Aunt Miyoko's place and said she wouldn't be back tonight. Asuka and Kazuhime were also taken there."
Ayane answered Shiraishi's question.
The flying birds and Yi Ji she mentioned were the children of Bai Shi and Liu Li.
Following the idea that men take their mother's surname and women take their father's surname, the children's names are Uchiha Asuka and Chiba Kazuhime.
Unlike Kazuki, who is a natural alien, Asuka, as the eldest son, is no different from an ordinary Uchiha baby.
After all, if Kazuhime's unusual talent could be considered the norm, then the Uchiha clan's bloodline would be too terrifying.
Shiraishi nodded in understanding and did not ask further.
"So, there are only two of us tonight, Shiraishi-kun can bully me as much as he wants."
Ayane showed an ambiguous smile on her face, as if she was deliberately tempting Shiraishi to commit a crime.
After Liuli left, Ayane couldn't control her turbulent heart and body.
"Let's talk about this kind of thing in the evening. My stomach is a little empty now."
Shiraishi gave a bitter smile. Tonight is another day to pay public rations. I hope Ayane won't bother until it's too late.
"Tianyu Girl is already cooking there. Speaking of which, it's been a lot more comfortable outside recently, and things seem to be going smoothly over there in Konoha. I really want to go over there and add a few more fires to make Konoha's new leaves burn brighter. .”
Ayane is very concerned about things in Konoha.
First, Sunagakure withdrew from the Konoha battlefield, and then Iwagakure was forced to sign an armistice agreement with Konoha. Now only Kumogakure and Konoha are left facing off.
According to the momentum that Konoha has shown recently, Kumogakure may not be able to benefit from Konoha's hands.
"Don't mess around at this time. I have more important things for you to do next. Konoha's current battle damage has been very serious. Even if we defeat Kumogakure, we will not be able to vacate it in the next few years." Take action against us."
Because next, Konoha will fall into extremely complicated political infighting, and it will be difficult for its own people to achieve unity, let alone deter external forces.
Shiraishi already knew from the information transmitted back from Kakashi that the root leader Shimura Danzo was already preparing to make a move in secret.
Coupled with the post-war settlement issues of the Uchiha clan and the Hyuga clan, it was enough to give the Third Hokage and the others a headache for a while.
"What about the Kingdom of Water?"
Ayane had no choice but to suppress her eager heart.
"Yakura and I talked this morning. He still needs some time to prepare. Now the Kingdom of Ghosts only needs to develop step by step and according to the plan. Before the official action, try to avoid unnecessary complications."
Shiraishi answered Ayane’s question.
"If I remember correctly, the next step should be to deal with the Country of Wind. Is it really necessary to take action against that country that is full of sand?"
Ayane's sense of the Country of Wind is not very good. In her impression, the inside of that country is either sand or sand, and it is basically a barren land.
"I have secretly sent people to investigate. There are important resources that the Kingdom of Ghosts is in urgent need of. However, before taking action against the Kingdom of Wind, some obstacles on the road need to be cleared. I will complete the arrangements in the near future."
Ayane believes that Shiraishi can do these tasks well. This man has never let him down since he was a child, except for one thing.
Therefore, I stopped worrying about Shiraishi.
Today is a rare world for two people, and Ayane no longer asks about these embarrassing things at work.
After eating a sumptuous dinner prepared by Tianyu Nu, and then accompanying Bai Shi to read in the study for a while, the two of them entered the bedroom and began a wonderful night life.
Shiraishi was already familiar with Ayane's body, but it would bring him a different experience every time.
That kind of broad-mindedness that can integrate a man's body into it, or even drown it, is something Liuli can't match.
Well... to sum it up in one sentence, it is too majestic.
◎
Time soon came to May.
Konoha and Kumogakure were completely at war with each other.
Kumogakure is far more difficult to deal with than Iwagakure, and the most important point is that there seem to be ninjas in Kumogakure who master high-level space-time ninjutsu and can transfer materials in the camp at will. It is said that Konoha's yellow flash wave Feng Minato , attacked Yunyin's camp several times in succession, but failed to destroy Yunyin's supplies.
Kumogakure's actions undoubtedly proved that Konoha's methods against the other ninja villages were ineffective against Kumogakure.
It is estimated that the other ninja villages were also wary of Kumogakure's power when Konoha was locked in a bitter battle.
Before the battle with Kumogakure, Konoha had been confronting Sunagakure and Iwagakure for a long time. In fact, they were already exhausted, and they had to pay a considerable price to repel Sunagakure and Iwagakure ninjas.
Under such circumstances, they still have to grit their teeth and persist in fighting Kumogakure. Konoha is currently in a state of decline in general.
This situation cannot be changed in a short time even after the yellow flash enters the Kumogakure battlefield.
The battle between Kumogakure and Konoha will naturally not affect the Demon Country where Shiraishi is located.
His current focus is not on the battle between Konoha and Kumogakure, but on the next strategic layout of the Kingdom of Demons.
At this moment, after the reforms in the Kingdom of Ghosts in recent years, various industries are full of vitality and are in a period of rapid development.
In particular, economic and military power are advancing at an extremely fast speed.
However, limited by territory and population, it is still a long way from becoming a major country.
Population means productivity, and territory means resource production. This is something Shiraishi attaches great importance to.
The next strategy of the Kingdom of Ghosts, in Shiraishi's opinion, is to focus on plundering the population and territory.
The only way to plunder population and territory is through war of external expansion.
However, the Kingdom of Oni is a neutral country. If it wants to expand the war, as Yagura said, the neutral country's position cannot be guaranteed.
To some extent, neutrality is both a protection and a restriction.
At least for the current Ghost Country, its status as a neutral country is a limitation.
Shiraishi has already predicted how to face the international situation of the ninja world in the future.
Weaken the military power of the Fire Nation and even Konoha.
Kirigakure will become a secret alliance and will not become an obstacle to the Kingdom of Demons.
Kumogakure is fighting Konoha, which can be regarded as completing the task of weakening Konoha's power for Shiraishi. At the same time, Kumogakure's power will also decrease as a result.
On the other hand, Iwagakure's third-generation Tsuchikage, Onoki Mu, is sullen and has long lost his ambition to be enterprising. If the time comes to form an alliance to crusade against the Demon Country, they will definitely sit on the sidelines.
As for Sunagakure... it is the easiest country to prey on among the five major countries, and its national power is the weakest among the five major countries.
At the same time, it is close enough to the Kingdom of Ghosts. It is vast and sparsely populated. There are many resources in the desert that Shiraishi wants but that have not yet been taken seriously by other countries——
oil.
But if you want to attack the Kingdom of Wind, you need to find a suitable excuse.
Excuses found, there is another problem.
That is, the Kingdom of Ghosts is close to the Kingdom of Wind, but they are not bordering each other.
Only when the two countries are settled can we border the Kingdom of Wind.
The country of bears and the country of ghosts.
Among them, the Kingdom of Netherworld is influenced by the Kingdom of Ghosts, and the witch culture is relatively popular, which has always been ambiguous with the Kingdom of Ghosts.
The development of the Kingdom of Ghosts has also driven the economy of the Kingdom of Ghosts to a certain extent.
This country is Shiraishi's preferred springboard for attacking the Wind Country.
The Bear Country is more difficult to crack. It is a small country with a ninja village. Although Shiraishi is not afraid of it, it is always a bit troublesome to deal with it.
Not only that, the Snow Country in the north is also what Shiraishi wants to achieve.
If you combine these small countries into one and tear off a piece from the territory of the Kingdom of Wind, you can have the same size as the five major countries.
In the final analysis, the foundation of all this comes from its own powerful force.
After annexing these areas, it will be difficult for the Kingdom of Ghosts to cover up... No, it is estimated that during the planning process, there will be no way to cover up, and it will be targeted by the five major countries.
But as Shiraishi had thought before, at that time, it was the period when each of the five major countries was weak. It was too late to lick their wounds, and even if they wanted to control the country of ghosts, they were powerless.
Konoha, the strongest country, is separated from the Kingdom of Demons by many countries. At most, it is just a verbal warning and threat, which is not painful at all for Shiraishi.
The next development plan of the Kingdom of Ghosts is to continue to focus on developing domestic economic and military strength, while at the same time conveying the unique witch culture of the Kingdom of Ghosts to surrounding countries.
Finally, expand the territory and increase the population.
This plan was named the Ten-Year Plan by Shiraishi.
To be completed within the next ten years.
After all, how to transport the culture of witches, annex the territories of these countries, how not to cause opposition and panic among the local people, and how to make the people recognize the rule of the Ghost Country requires careful planning. Simply using violence is not feasible and requires long-term thinking. Counseling work.
The Kingdom of Ghosts wants to transform, but its status as a neutral country is an obstacle.
He believed Maitreya Maiden had already seen this.
Therefore, after formulating this strategy, Shiraishi had to communicate with Maitreya Maiden, because the assistance and approval of Maitreya Maiden was needed to convey the witch culture of the Kingdom of Ghosts to neighboring countries.
Make your way to the shrine and follow the circular path upwards.
Arriving at the familiar but deserted main hall, Shiraishi found it strange that there was not a single guard or maid in the shrine palace here today.
Normally, no matter how few people there are, there will still be a few guards and maids left, but now they have all disappeared.
And this palace looks no different from usual, but for some reason, Shiraishi always feels that something is wrong with the atmosphere in the palace, and there is an aura that makes Shiraishi's hair stand on end in the air.
Looking directly at the miko Maitreya behind her through the curtain, she was sitting there as upright as ever.
"Lord Maitreya, I need a large number of witches."
Shiraishi put his thoughts aside, and as soon as he arrived here, he made his request to Maitreya Miko in a concise and concise manner.
"A large number of miko? I wonder what Mr. Shiraishi is going to do?"
Miroku did not agree or object, he just asked Shiraishi's reason for asking for a large number of miko.
Shiraishi prepared a sentence and said to Maitreya: "Your Excellency Maitreya, I learned from the history of the Kingdom of Ghosts that in the past, there were many witches in the Kingdom of Ghosts who traveled around the world and hung pots to help the world. I wonder if there is such a thing?"
Regarding what Shiraishi said, Maitreya Priestess did not hide anything and answered Shiraishi naturally:
"There is indeed such a thing, but it was already in the Warring States Period and before. After ninjas became the mainstream of the era, miko witches have withdrawn from the stage of history. I don't know much about these things, they should have happened a long time ago ”
"Now I plan to reuse these witches. The distribution area will not be too wide. Just let them operate in several surrounding countries. I need them to help me with some publicity work. I will guarantee their salary and safety."
Not only that, Shiraishi also plans to put some female members of the military into witch uniforms and start a cultural invasion of neighboring countries.
"If you can guarantee salary and safety, you can lend some to Mr. Shiraishi."
After all, mikos in the Kingdom of Ghosts also need to live. Most mikos live in poverty. If Shiraishi can make some extra money for them, Miroku would be happy to see this happen.
"Grateful."
"Speaking of which, I happen to have something important to tell Mr. Shiraishi."
Maitreya Miko's voice came out from the curtain, and it sounded no different from before.
"important things?"
This was the first time that Maitreya Maiden had been so cautious about something. Although she couldn't tell this feeling from her tone, Shiraishi had a vague feeling that what Maitreya Maiden was going to say next was definitely not trivial.
But no matter how he guessed, Shiraishi couldn't guess what the important thing Maitreya said was.
So, Bai Shi's face became solemn and he said seriously: "Please speak, Your Excellency Maitreya."
"I am pregnant."
"?"
Maybe it was the meaning of this sentence, which was very jumpy. After hearing this sentence, Shiraishi sat on the mat and was stunned.
Pregnant?
After reacting, Bai Shi's face was full of weirdness, and he resisted the desire to complain.
"Um, Lord Maitreya, who is your husband..."
As far as he knew, the witch Maitreya kept herself clean and had no close dealings with any man.
Then where did this child... come from?
To say this was a joke would be a bit much.
But Shiraishi knew that Miroku was not joking.
She is really pregnant.
Because of this, Shiraishi felt that things were strange.
"I don't have a husband, nor do I have a boyfriend."
Bai Shi remained silent, but there was a chill behind him.
"The girl's name is Ziyuan, and she will be born in nineteen months."
Maitreya Miko said something again that shocked Shiraishi.
"..."
Shiraishi's eyes widened immediately, his face full of disbelief.
Nineteen months later? born?
The pregnancy period of a human woman is approximately ten months, nineteen months...
And why does time have to be so accurate?
Even confirm the gender?
Are the Maitreya witch girls...really human?
Even Shiraishi had to consider the answer to this question.
From a long time ago, he had a vague feeling that Maitreya Maiden was not a human being.
But that's just a feeling, there is no real evidence to prove that Maitreya Miko is not human.
Now that Maitreya Miko says this, if there is something wrong with her brain, it means that Maitreya is probably not a human being, at least not an ordinary human being.
"It's normal for Mr. Shiraishi to be surprised. This is also the reaction that normal people should have."
"Um... Lord Maitreya, can you put it more plainly?"
"I am not a human being...including my mother, and all the miko maidens of previous generations, are not human beings. In words that Mr. Shiraishi can understand, it is parthenogenesis."
At the same time, the daughter who is not yet born is not human either.
Maitreya Miko carefully told Shiraishi these secrets.
Shiraishi fell into thinking.
To be honest, it does sound surprising at first that an inhuman being becomes a shrine maiden who protects a country.
But when I think about the toads of Mt. Myoboku actually wanting to choose the son of prophecy among humans to save the world and establish a so-called peaceful age, the inhuman status of the ghost country witch doesn’t seem so hard to accept.
"Your Excellency Maitreya told me this, what do you want me to do?"
Shiraishi took a deep breath, knowing that Maitreya Miko must be asking for something when she told him this.
"I hope Mr. Shiraishi can recognize Shion as his goddaughter. She means a lot to humans."
"……I see."
Shiraishi just lowered his head and thought for a moment, then raised his head and looked at the Maitreya witch behind the curtain, and nodded in agreement.
Although Shiraishi didn't know why Maitreya Miko persisted in doing this, the sentence "She is of extraordinary significance to human beings" made Shiraishi even more interested.
Can we think that the specialness of witches is for the entire human group?
Moreover, Maitreya Maiden helped him a lot, but she just asked for her daughter to be recognized as her own, and he was too embarrassed to refuse.
"As a reward for agreeing to this matter, Mr. Shiraishi can make his own decisions in the Kingdom of Ghosts without asking me for instructions."
Maitreya Miko's words are equivalent to letting Shiraishi take the position of the leader of the Kingdom of Ghosts, replacing the miko's supreme position.
"Is it okay to do this?"
Shiraishi was a little unable to adapt to this sudden joy, and he couldn't figure out what Maitreya Miko wanted to do.
Giving away all your power to others feels like you are explaining the aftermath.
"There is no problem, because the ghost country is actually a country without a master."
"A country without a master?"
This was the first time Shiraishi heard this statement.
But next, Maitreya Miko avoided talking about Shiraishi's doubts. She was obviously avoiding something. It may have something to do with the establishment of the Kingdom of Ghosts and the origin of the miko.
"Mr. Shiraishi, do you have anything else to do?"
"It's gone. That's it for today. I'll leave first, Lord Maitreya."
Shiraishi stood up from the cushion and prepared to leave.
"By the way, there is one more thing I forgot to mention. Before the child is born in my belly, which is nineteen months, Mr. Shiraishi had better not get close to the shrine here. Otherwise, I cannot guarantee Mr. Shiraishi's life safety. .”
It was obviously a very dangerous matter, but in Maitreya's mouth, it was like an ordinary and trivial matter.
Next, the shrine will become very dangerous.
"Understood."
Bai Shi sighed quietly in his heart. No wonder there was no one in the palace today. They must have been kicked out by the witch.
Is it so dangerous for a witch girl to give birth?
In other words, starting from today, in the nineteen months before the child is born, there is no way to visit Maitreya.
Nineteen months later, he could come and ask Maitreya the truth about the matter.
After walking out of the palace, Shiraishi wanted to leave along the road down the mountain. Suddenly he sensed something and looked back at the palace.
An unprecedented malice turned into a strange purple thick fog and enveloped the entire palace.
Shiraishi could hear the roaring sound like a monster in the palace, which seemed to be angry and roaring at Maitreya Maiden.
The voice was full of all kinds of evil thoughts, making Shiraishi's body feel instinctively dangerous and uncomfortable.
It was clearly daytime, but Shiraishi felt that the sacred shrine on the mountain had become eerie and ghostly, as scary as a ghost.
Then he thought of the name of the girl that Miroku Maitreya was going to give birth to - Shion.
That is the same name as the capital of Oni Country and the national flower of Oni Country.
Shiraishi thought to himself that the miko who inherited this name must have a special meaning.
After stopping and staring at the palace for a long time, the evil screams of the monsters in his ears became louder and louder. Baishi woke up from his false alarm and accelerated his pace down the mountain.
Just now, he had an evil thought in his mind that wanted to kill people crazily and destroy everywhere. It was obvious that his will was unknowingly affected by some existence.
If you continue to stay here, I'm afraid it will be more deeply affected.
"Are they the monsters and sprites that have been passed down from ancient times in the land of ghosts?"
Shiraishi murmured.
Shiraishi had already heard about the monster legends in the Kingdom of Ghosts, and had collected some information in the past to support some of his guesses.
But for monsters and monsters, the data and information are all intermittent, and many things cannot be verified.
All I know is that it is a powerful monster that only a miko can deal with.
He has some mysterious power and can control the army of terracotta warriors and horses. He has once invaded the ninja world on a large scale, and the lands of various countries have been ravaged by the terracotta warriors and horses.
And the monster that roared and raged in the palace that Shiraishi felt just now was just like the evil thoughts gathered by human beings.
If that is the true form of the monster sprite, things will become very interesting.
I really want to put it on the test bench and dissect it.
