In the basement, Kyokotsu kept glancing upwards into the impenetrable darkness, as if trying to gauge Hagoromo Gitsune's emotional state through sheer willpower.
Amidst her nervousness, an ink-black, stunningly beautiful maiden stepped gracefully from the shadows, speaking in refined tones:
"So Jūhyakuyaku Senju and Kidōmaru have perished..."
Apart from Kyokotsu and some Small Yokai, many of the yokai under the Hagoromo Group were those subdued by Abe no Seimei during his lifetime. After his death, they were tasked with protecting Hagoromo Gitsune and attempting to revive Abe no Seimei.
Calculating the time, the Twenty-Seven-Faced Thousand-Armed Centipede and Kidōmaru had followed Hagoromo Gitsune for a thousand years. Even if they hadn't achieved great merits, their toil was undeniable.
Now that they had suddenly perished, even Hagoromo Gitsune couldn't help but be emotionally shaken, her face tinged with sorrow.
"Yes, elder sister."
Kyokotsu, who had been peeking earlier, now lowered her head in fright upon seeing Hagoromo Gitsune emerge, stammering:
"According to reports... It's said that six clan heads from the twelve families of the Bujin-shū launched a sudden ambush on our Tokyo stronghold during its relocation, wielding powerful Abyss Artefacts."
"The two lords were caught unprepared and killed in the ensuing battle, while Tsuchigumo managed to fight a retreating battle before disappearing without a trace."
"Tsuchigumo..." Hagoromo Gitsune frowned upon hearing this, then said, "If it's him, there's no need for concern."
Compared to the other two, Tsuchigumo was among the top Great Yokai in the Hagoromo Group, with extraordinary regenerative abilities due to his racial traits.
Thus, though she'd heard of Tsuchigumo being severely wounded, Hagoromo Gitsune wasn't overly worried.
However...
"And what of this Bujin-shū's twelve families? Minagoroshi Jizō, where is your intelligence on this?"
Hagoromo Gitsune's sharp gaze fell behind Kyokotsu, where the elderly yokai with an unusually large, elongated head had been standing unnoticed until now. When named, he revealed an awkward smile.
"The Bujin-shū is a special division under the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, composed of martial arts families who cultivate qi, with twelve core families led by the Takayanagi clan as the ruling lineage."
Here, Minagoroshi Jizō continued in a somewhat unnatural tone:
"According to newly compiled intelligence, the heads of these twelve families—and even some minor affiliated clans—are all martial arts prodigies at the Master Level."
"Based on current intelligence, every martial arts master seems to possess the level of a Great Yokai. Those assisted by Abyss Artefacts even surpass ordinary Great Yokais."
Hearing this, Hagoromo Gitsune gave Minagoroshi Jizō a deep look before coldly stating:
"Why wasn't this intelligence reported after my resurrection?"
"That's because... because... this subordinate is guilty!!"
Minagoroshi Jizō attempted to justify himself but ultimately had to confess.
Of course, even while confessing, Minagoroshi Jizō was cursing inwardly.
The target of his curses was none other than the Great Tengu, whose position he had usurped.
In truth, the Hagoromo Group's intelligence chief had always been the Great Tengu.
With their outstanding shapeshifting abilities, tengu had always been the yokai community's intelligence specialists - this was equally true for both the Hagoromo Group and Nura Clan.
The problem was that Minagoroshi Jizō had used his memory-altering abilities to force the Great Tengu out of the Hagoromo Group and seize his position.
What would a Great Yokai do upon discovering none of his comrades from centuries of struggle recognised him anymore?
Naturally, he would defect from the organisation.
Thus, the Great Tengu's departure took all tengu yokai with him, causing the Hagoromo Group's intelligence division to collapse overnight.
Before Hagoromo Gitsune's resurrection, the Great Tengu had taken all the intelligence gathered by the tengu over the years with him.
Under their leader's orders, the tengu strictly followed commands - their swift actions outpaced even Minagoroshi Jizō's attempts to alter memories and turn them.
After all, tengu were synonymous with speed among island yokai.
For these reasons, Minagoroshi Jizō's understanding of Japan's major organisations wasn't much greater than the newly resurrected Hagoromo Gitsune's.
In fact, his current intelligence had to be purchased from a Tokyo-based tengu.
'Abe no Seimei, oh Abe no Seimei, when you resurrected me from hell, why didn't you explain the Great Tengu's importance? This is practically murder...'
As Minagoroshi Jizō cursed inwardly, Hagoromo Gitsune regarded his confession with icy detachment.
Were it not for Minagoroshi Jizō's longstanding position as the Hagoromo Group's senior elder, she might have executed this negligent fool on the spot.
An intelligence chief who failed to detect other organisations' surprise attacks on the Hagoromo Group - resulting in two officers' deaths and a senior officer's disappearance - wasn't just negligent; this bordered on treason.
Considering Minagoroshi Jizō's repeated failures and elder status, Hagoromo Gitsune's expression shifted before she finally took a deep breath and declared:
"Minagoroshi Jizō, from this moment, intelligence operations will be handled by Kyokotsu."
Hearing Hagoromo Gitsune's command, Kyokotsu immediately agreed without thinking:
"Sister is absolutely right. If you can't do the job properly, don't do it at all."
"Wait... Sister, who did you say will handle intelligence? Me?"
The young Kyokotsu was completely bewildered. She'd never worked in intelligence before, nor held any managerial position. Wouldn't this sudden promotion make her a laughingstock?
Being ridiculed was one thing, but what if she hindered Sister's plans? Wouldn't that be worse?
Kyokotsu's internal conflict didn't escape Hagoromo Gitsune's notice. She understood this almost-adopted daughter's personality all too well.
Though Kyokotsu worried about mismanaging the intelligence organisation, Hagoromo Gitsune held different expectations.
With years of experience in intelligence, Minagoroshi Jizō had long firmly controlled the information department. For Kyokotsu - this clueless little girl - to suddenly step over his head was both an outlet for his anger and a warning.
As long as Minagoroshi Jizō wasn't stupid, he should know what to do. He'd inevitably have the tengu under him continue delivering intelligence as usual to cooperate with Kyokotsu's work.
Just as Hagoromo Gitsune had anticipated, Minagoroshi Jizō immediately guessed her intentions after some thought.
But unlike Hagoromo Gitsune's expectations, Minagoroshi Jizō was truly stuck between a rock and a hard place.
If it were the Great Tengu, Hagoromo Gitsune's move would indeed be fine. The intelligence department's structure would remain intact, the personnel would still be there - it would just mean changing to a mascot leader, nominally at that. At most, the Great Tengu would lose face, but the work could still proceed.
The problem was... Minagoroshi Jizō wasn't the Great Tengu. He couldn't conjure up those loyal tengu information dealers!!
Without a single information dealer under his command, how was he supposed to cooperate with Kyokotsu's intelligence work?
Pull intelligence out of thin air?
If exposed, that would undoubtedly mean certain death.
But if he tried to cover it up now, where would he find tengu to gather intelligence?
Tengu were all factional group members - wild tengu were either supremely powerful or utterly weak. Where could he recruit any in such a short time?
Die now or die a few days later?
After a moment of internal struggle, Minagoroshi Jizō chose the latter:
"This subordinate will cooperate fully with Miss Kyokotsu's work."
As he said this, Minagoroshi Jizō nearly ground his few remaining front teeth to dust.
If abandoning the Great Tengu's identity wouldn't cause all the altered memories to resurface - leading to the entire Hagoromo Group hunting him down - he would have definitely abandoned the identity and fled.
Abe no Seimei, working with your mother is truly too difficult!!
Seeing Minagoroshi Jizō submit, Hagoromo Gitsune merely glanced at him before ignoring him completely, turning instead to address Kyokotsu:
"Kyokotsu, I'm giving you one night to gather intelligence on all the factions in this country. The top priority is that organisation called SDS. Do you understand?"
"Yes! Kyokotsu will help elder sister accomplish her mission!"
At this moment, Kyokotsu was brimming with confidence from her elder sister's trust, like a newborn calf fearless of tigers!