"My Lord, what exactly is this creature?"
Tatyana looked at Bai Luo with slight exasperation as Sayu buried herself in her embrace, refusing to let go.
This thing, which appeared to be a human child, also somewhat resembled a tanuki.
Could it be that those fellows in the Shuumatsuban actually gave human children to tanukis to raise in order to cultivate subordinates with enough wild instinct?
"Ah, just treat her as a human-shaped tanuki."
Bai Luo said nonchalantly.
However, his words caused Sayu, clinging to her last shred of dignity, to stubbornly turn her head.
"I am Sayu! And this is not a tanuki suit, it's a mujina suit!"
"It's a tanuki."
"It's a mujina!"
"It's a mujina."
"It's a tanuki!"
"See, she admitted it herself."
"..."
[A/N: Haha...Sayu sure is a little airhead]
Bai Luo might not be the best babysitter, but he was certainly the best at taming unruly brats.
Having worked under The Doctor, he had dealt with many children.
He had also volunteered at the House of the Hearth.
Unlike his colleagues who resorted to beatings or scolding, Bai Luo excelled at mingling with the kids and then, from their perspective, completely dominating them.
In short, the King of the Kids.
Perhaps this was one of the reasons The Doctor had favored him back then.
After all, in the entire Fatui, Bai Luo seemed to be the only one capable of such a feat.
"Alright, pack up. Get ready to move out."
Since Sayu had finished eating under Bai Luo's "supervision," there was no need for the three of them to stay any longer.
Transporting that batch of Mora to Watatsumi Island would take some time, so he planned to use this interval to handle another matter.
"My Lord, where are we going?"
Though he said "pack up," there really wasn't much to pack.
Just some dry rations that were easy to store and a flask of milk.
However, Sayu seemed to have a fervent passion for Lavender Melons; she secretly swiped two from the fruit pile and stuffed them into her clothes.
She didn't know if it was an illusion, but lately, she kept smelling a faint, lingering fishy scent in the air.
"Is that thing really that tasty?"
Seeing Sayu's little maneuver, Bai Luo couldn't help but ask.
"The pulp of this fruit is excellent for replenishing the sugar and water the body needs. Plus, after special processing, the juice from the skin becomes a dye that can be sprinkled nearby as secret signals. Such a perfect item is excellent emergency food for a ninja!"
"Oh, so when you've been eating Lavender Melons lately, you were actually..."
"..."
A few minutes later, the Lavender Melons Sayu had stuffed in her clothes vanished, replaced by incredibly sweet Sunsettias.
Faced with Sayu's protests, Bai Luo remained completely unmoved.
He even gave them a fancy name—"Sunset Melons."
After the trio crossed Tatarasuna, they arrived near Nazuchi Beach once again.
However, compared to before, Nazuchi Beach was guarded much more heavily.
The sound of the Kamuijima Cannons a while back had strained the relationship between the two sides, which had previously been in a ceasefire.
As a battlefield, Nazuchi Beach had already seen several small-scale skirmishes.
After Bai Luo sent back news about the refugee ship, the Resistance, who had been in the wrong, finally reclaimed the moral high ground.
Due to the Tatarigami energy, the shipwreck hadn't been cleared away, so anyone could see the Resistance wasn't lying.
But the Shogunate's newly arrived Tengu General was also brave and resourceful.
Faced with the accusations from the Resistance, she chose neither to hide nor evade.
First, she deeply mourned the refugees who died in the bombardment. Then, she strongly condemned the inhumane actions of the former general and stated that he had been dealt with according to military law.
But the so-called military punishment was merely stripping him of his position.
Once the storm blew over, he would return to the Tenryou Commission headquarters in Inazuma City and continue being the General.
And Kujou Masahito, who had been punished, would be reinstated to his original post.
After apologizing, she turned the tables, claiming that the refugees were sick patients deliberately sent by the Resistance to infect the residents of Narukami Island with the same disease.
It must be said, humans are selfish creatures.
Rumors about the Tatarigami had already been intentionally spread by interested parties, causing an uproar in Inazuma City. Even the miserable state of those tainted by the Tatarigami's aura was described vividly.
When the Tengu General's explanation came out, the Shogunate army's reputation on Narukami Island actually improved quite a bit.
After all, regardless of the Vision Hunt Decree issued by the Shogun, Kujou Sara's prestige in Inazuma City was indeed beyond comparison to ordinary people.
Moreover, since the Tatarigami was originally suppressed by the wards, its release was entirely due to the Resistance's sabotage.
So, in this war without smoke, after efforts from both sides, the scales didn't tip in anyone's favor.
The Resistance didn't suffer too great a loss, and the Shogunate wasn't critically damaged either.
The biggest losers were the ordinary people living on Yashiori Island.
While the generals on both sides were busy with the war outside of public opinion...
Washizu, under the influence of the Tatarigami, had lost his mind and even begun sacrificing villagers and innocent people to "It."
Yasumoto, clutching the Naku Weed left to him by Naoko, persisted in researching a way to defeat the Tatarigami.
Everything seemed calm on the surface, yet it was not calm at all.
...
"Hold on! You have to hold on!"
On the road to Fort Fujitou, Teppei called out to the one-eyed uncle on his back, over and over again.
Reasonably speaking, with such a severe eye injury, the uncle had every reason to retire to the rear lines and do a safe job.
But for the first live battle after the propaganda war, he was still the first to sign up.
Teppei tagged along as well.
Not as a warrior, but as a medic.
According to what Bai Luo told him, this was called a "combat medic."
Even so, the sword hanging at his side already had chips in its blade.
"Teppei, lad, put me down. I know my own body."
One of the one-eyed uncle's arms was completely gone. In the uneven wound, bone fragments were still visible.
He had gone to the battlefield purely seeking death; he had no intention of surviving.
"We can save you, there's still hope. As long as we ask Her Excellency Sangonomiya..."
"Teppei!"
Though weak to the extreme, he found strength from somewhere to shout and stop Teppei, who was still running with all his might.
Immediately after, he said in a weak voice, "Put me down. I want a drink of water."
After a moment of silence, Teppei carefully set him down beside a tree. He reached for the canteen on his back, intending to give him some water.
But he discovered that his canteen had been slashed open at some point.
Thanks to this canteen, he hadn't been slashed to death.
"I'll go get water. I'll go get water right now."
Trembling, Teppei threw aside the ruined canteen. He wanted to look for a water source but was stopped by the one-eyed uncle.
With his remaining good right hand, the uncle picked up the katana beside him, looking at it with affection.
Unfortunately, in his current state, he had absolutely no way to unsheathe it.
"Teppei, lad, can you do me a favor?"
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