"After all, the Kujou Clan has served the Shogun-sama for many years. Completely wiping them out would easily chill the hearts of the people below."
After the Shura Anyakonsen-shou said this much, the old thief Takayuki's expression visibly changed.
He had tied himself together with the Kujou Clan precisely for this reason—after all, the law does not punish the masses. If the Kujou Clan survives, his own chance of survival would greatly increase.
"Does Shura Anyakonsen-shou-sama mean to say...?"
Just moments ago he was calling him a thug and rogue, but now it was "sama." From arrogance to deference—the change was almost laughable.
"Inazuma's waters have stagnated for far too long. The families controlling the three great commissions have held power for too long; the water in the pool has already turned foul..."
The old thief Takayuki followed the Shura Anyakonsen-shou's words and thought along those lines.
From a grand perspective, the Kujou Clan absolutely could not be destroyed. If it were, no matter how successful the previous blood transfusion had been, the fall of such a colossal entity would cause damage.
But the Shura Anyakonsen-shou's meaning seemed to be "when a whale falls, all things are born"...
Deal with the Kujou Clan, and let the other families divide up the empty cake...
That would be disastrous. If the Shogun-sama and Shura Anyakonsen-shou were dead set on dealing with the Kujou Clan along with everything else, they could absolutely do it...
This is bad—he himself would be finished!
The old thief Takayuki changed expressions again, now looking solemn as if he were a wronged scholar with grand ideals.
"Ah, but new water will eventually turn stagnant too. At that time, an experienced person is needed to secretly stir the waters..."
If he were going to die, then he would definitely protect his posthumous reputation. But if he could live...
For someone whose heart contained only himself, he would unhesitatingly abandon everything to seize that one lifesaving straw.
The old thief Takayuki understood the implication in the Shura Anyakonsen-shou's words.
The Shura Anyakonsen-shou wanted a dirty glove that could serve him from the shadows...
This was very normal. Those in high positions liked to do this, and he himself was absolutely the most useful among such dirty gloves...
So they were the same kind of person...
Reaching this conclusion, the old thief Takayuki awkwardly showed the kind of fawning smile that his subordinates used to give him.
"Shura Anyakonsen-shou-sama, I believe I can be of help."
The Shura Anyakonsen-shou looked coldly at the old thief Takayuki.
"You cannot keep the Kujou Clan—that would be destroying the bait-feeding fish. Have you thought this through?"
"Isn't that necessary? I am willing to establish a new force, rooted in the dark side of Inazuma, to provide nourishment for the Shogun-sama's eternity."
"Heh, not bad. Then the name of your organization shall be 'Root.' What do you think?"
He had even thought of the name already—and it was obvious he had planned this long in advance!
The old thief Takayuki breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed he was going to live...
"I defer entirely to your instructions, my lord."
Face and dignity—no longer mattered... As long as he could survive... Only by surviving could he have everything...!
At that moment, a crimson polearm appeared in the Shura Anyakonsen-shou's hand...
"This spear is named the Dragonspine Spear, forged from dragon fangs combined with starsilver ore... I once used it to stab cockroaches to train the precision of my spear technique..."
It seemed this item was to serve as the token of the "Root" organization. Cockroaches were filthy creatures, which quite fit the organization's standards...
Then...
Cloud-Piercing connects to the brain, Dragonspine replaces thinking.
With a zero-frame startup, in the very next second the Shura Anyakonsen-shou used the Dragonspine Spear to nail this shameless old thief to the wall.
What the heck—exploring the inner heart of scum like you was truly the worst decision I've ever made. It made me sick to my stomach.
Once things here are wrapped up, I definitely need to go find the kids and wash my eyes.