Lord of the Karasu Tengu

"...As I thought, the elders who truly cared for the tribe all died during the Panther Cat invasion."

Nuregarasu's eyes remained untroubled, her expression so calm it bordered on cold as she watched the three old crows before her.

The memory of them bringing others to pressure her, demanding to see her father, surfaced in her mind.

"They're willing to call me Chieftain only because they need someone to stand in front of them, not because they truly need me."

"With these flawed remnants of a bygone era in tow, I can never lead the Karasu Tengu to a true revival."

Under Nuregarasu's gaze, as icy as a frigid pool, a chill crept through the three old crows, and their scalps began to tingle.

They had made those remarks beside the Dog Tribe without consulting Nuregarasu, naturally with ulterior motives of their own.

When Anhamaru ruled Wind-Thunder Gorge, these old crows had no room whatsoever to speak.

Now that the old order had been swept away, the three old crows who had survived the war unscathed faced the young, inexperienced Nuregarasu. Though they acknowledged her as Chieftain, they also wanted their chance to shine.

Moreover, the three old crows did not consider their ulterior motives malicious. To them, they were well-intentioned efforts to devote their minds and strength to the tribe's growth.

After all, a tribe's growth depended on its people, especially those like them who were held in such "high esteem" within it.

No matter how they looked at it, their speaking up now could only be a good thing.

For one, it would publicize the Karasu Tengu's contributions so that other tribes would not look down on them.

In the yokai world, without strength or reputation, any trash yokai could come along and trample all over them.

For another, it would let the Dog Tribe know what the Karasu Tengu had sacrificed and where they stood, preventing the dogs from playing deaf and offering no support at all for the Karasu Tengu's growth.

Besides, Nuregarasu might be too thin-skinned to say such things, but old crows like them had no such concerns.

At worst, they could apologize to Nuregarasu in private afterward. It was not as though they had committed some crime worthy of execution.

They had merely failed to consider her feelings, nothing more.

After thinking it through, the three old crows still felt they had done nothing wrong. Their hunched bodies slowly straightened, and they looked directly at Nuregarasu.

The Dog Yokai were watching events unfold, while Tōga watched both for entertainment and to learn.

This world, including the Dog Tribe, had no shortage of people who were either stupid or malicious, or even both.

Without external pressure, such people were certain to come swarming out like rats from a sewer.

How to reduce their numbers, or even eliminate them entirely, was something Tōga had to consider.

He could not let a few bad apples spoil the whole barrel.

"Do you have anything else to say?"

Nuregarasu's tone was as casual as if she were asking whether they had eaten, yet it exerted an invisible pressure that made the three old crows shudder, an intense unease rising involuntarily within them.

Then Nuregarasu extended her skeletal right hand and picked up the Thunder Spear.

Terror instantly spread across the three old crows' faces. One forced himself to summon his courage and spoke in a voice as faint as the buzzing of a gnat.

"Chieftain, everything we've said and done was for the Karasu Tengu Tribe!"

"We never intended to take part in the Cat-Dog conflict. We merely got caught up in it and suffered heavy casualties. If we don't make our contributions known, even finding somewhere to settle will be a problem."

They did not dare return to Wind-Thunder Gorge. If Oyakata of the Panther Cat grew displeased one day, he could wipe them out with a single slap.

The best path forward for the Karasu Tengu Tribe was to find somewhere within the Dog Tribe's territory and settle there.

But why would the Dog Tribe give the Karasu Tengu a good location?

Judging others by their own standards, they had immediately come up with this idea.

As for whether they could reclaim Wind-Thunder Gorge someday, that depended on whether Nuregarasu could advance further.

But the three old crows did not think much of Nuregarasu's chances of becoming a Great Yokai.

With the girl's frail, sickly appearance, as delicate as a willow in the wind, she seemed more likely to die in the very next moment.

"For the tribe?"

Nuregarasu gave a soft, derisive laugh. "Whenever I hear those words, they always strike me as absurd and laughable."

The moment she finished speaking, the winds between heaven and earth took shape as wings, steadily bearing Nuregarasu into the air.

Against the night, her figure with the Thunder Spear held point-down looked so proud, solitary, and resolute.

The Karasu Tengu present could not help recalling the scene in Wind-Thunder Gorge-Nuregarasu's long hair streaming wildly in the gale as wind and thunder surged around her.

Her resolve to face death without retreat carried a grandeur and courage far beyond that of ordinary men.

Under everyone's gaze, Nuregarasu remained calm, her fingertips brushing the mottled markings on the Thunder Spear. The three aged faces reflected in its shaft twisted and distorted.

They were the faces of the three old crows, drained of color by fear.

The night wind lifted her ornate black robes. As the tattered hem swept across the old crows' clouded eyes, they truly caught the scent of death.

"Chieftain, wait..."

A panicked plea, choked with tears, suddenly rang out through the silent night sky. But its only answer was the piercing whistle of the Thunder Spear cutting through the air.

With a flick of Nuregarasu's wrist, the Thunder Spear grazed the fattest old crow's ear and drove into the rocky ground. Shattered stones sprayed like bullets, scoring bloody lines across his face, and crimson blood slowly trickled down his cheeks.

At the sight, the other two old crows' legs gave way. They dropped to their knees with a thud, bowing to the ground and trembling like leaves as they pleaded ceaselessly for mercy.

The entire Karasu Tengu camp fell deathly silent. Even the Dog Yokai nearby went quiet at the sight.

"From this day forward, I will decide the affairs of the Karasu Tengu Tribe!"

"I alone am the lord of the Karasu Tengu!"

Looking down at the three old crows cowering like quails, Nuregarasu calmly pulled out the Thunder Spear.

The instant its tip left the ground, a Lightning Bolt snaked up the shaft, flickering and dancing at her fingertips.

It illuminated her expressionless face, lending her an even colder, more imposing air.

Nuregarasu's gaze slowly swept across the Karasu Tengu camp. Wherever it passed, the Karasu Tengu lowered their heads.

One little Karasu Tengu, however, met her gaze with bright, blinking eyes full of worry.

"This child is..."

Nuregarasu slowly descended to the ground, but she had no strength left to think further.

She was already gravely wounded, yet she had forced herself to use her yokai power and the Tribal Treasure. The agony throughout her body nearly overwhelmed her mind.

Her thick, ornate robes concealed the slight trembling of her slender body. Barely holding on to her senses, Nuregarasu dismissed the Karasu Tengu around her, only to hear a series of footsteps approaching.

An impeccably handsome face entered Nuregarasu's view, wearing the same friendly smile as when she had first seen it.

Yet the invitation that followed made her heart sink.

"Chieftain Nuregarasu, what your tribe's three elders just said gave me a rather good idea. Would you mind discussing it now?"