Infiltration of the Secret Base

After Miketsu learned from Ubume that a group of black-clad humans was the mastermind behind the incident, she immediately performed a divination. While confirming that Ubume had indeed spoken the truth, she also verified the identity of the group; they were undoubtedly members of the Minamoto Clan.

Miketsu’s reason for suspecting the Minamoto Clan was simple: their shadow had been present in several previous incidents. Thus, once she confirmed through divination that they were the masterminds, her counter-strategy began to take shape.

First, Miketsu reached a consensus with Ubume. After confirming that the yokai was willing to risk herself to save the other kidnapped female infants, Miketsu contacted the authorities under the guise of Owl, stating she had captured Ubume and was willing to hand her over. Miketsu did this because she knew that Minamoto no Mitsunaka, who currently held a dominant position within the Onmyoryo, would never let the opportunity pass. He would use his authority as Senior Secretary to ensure the Minamoto Clan could interrogate Ubume and learn the location of the infants they had failed to seize earlier—after all, those children were their original targets.

Once the Minamoto obtained this information, they would certainly send men to retrieve the infants immediately. At that point, Miketsu only needed to replace the babies in advance. Then, she could follow the retrievers all the way back to their secret hideout, exactly as she was doing now.

The Minamoto’s secret base had been found, yet Miketsu still harbored some confusion. To reach this point, the information and clues provided by Minamoto no Yorimitsu had been vital. However, those seemingly casual leads ultimately pointed directly back to the Minamoto Clan itself. This made Miketsu worry for a moment that it might be a conspiracy against her, but there was no reason for them to know about the connection between Owl and Asakura Hao. She had even performed a specific divination to see if this was a plot aimed at her; only after receiving a negative result did she finally feel at ease.

It seemed Yorimitsu might have simply let his tongue slip...

After confirming that the black-clad guards outside had all been dealt with, Miketsu walked slowly toward the mouth of the valley. She activated her causality vision, scanned the area, and spoke.

"There is a barrier ahead. It is a warning-type Jutsu-shiki. Anyone not identified as one of their own will trigger it upon crossing."

"Yeah, I just heard those guys say that you can't pass the barrier while riding a Shikigami. We were worried the barrier would expose us, so we just attacked directly..." Tamamura said as he walked over to Miketsu, finally ending his bickering with Konkiku.

"You did well. If you had gone across directly, the barrier would have indeed identified you," Miketsu said calmly, observing the threads of causality on Tamamura. She could clearly see that if the tanuki took a few more steps forward, he would trigger a series of large-scale causal reactions. These reactions were not lethal, so Miketsu judged them to be an alarm.

"So, Lady Owl, what should we do now? Do we charge straight in?" Tamamura said, cracking his knuckles with clear enthusiasm.

"If there is no way for everyone to enter stealthily, then we must fight our way in. However... we cannot simply use brute force. We must be wary of them trying to move the children." As Miketsu spoke, her gaze shifted to the black-clad man lying unconscious on the ground. After a short pause, she spoke again.

"Tamamura, get ready to transform again."

...

Within the deep, hidden valley, a clearing had been carved out beneath a cliff. Inside a perimeter of wooden fencing stood several simple, multi-story wooden buildings. Numerous men in black were stationed throughout the area, guarding the surroundings. This was a secret base that provided support for the covert activities of the Minamoto shadow guards; there were many such bases in Heian-kyo and throughout the entire Kinki region.

Minamoto no Mitsunaka stood in the open space between the buildings, looking up at the sky with a serious expression, his brow furrowed.

"Too slow... why haven't they arrived yet?" Mitsunaka struck the wooden fence in front of him, a hint of anger evident in his tone.

"Just a moment ago, a Shadow Guard Shikigami was flying above the valley. Based on the time, they should have landed outside and arrived by now." Standing beside Mitsunaka, Minamoto no Yorimitsu spoke up. He had just confirmed that the demonic bird crossing the valley sky was a Shikigami belonging to the shadow guards.

"Something may have happened. Yorimasa, take some men and check outside the barrier immediately!"

"Yes, Father!"

Just as Minamoto no Yorimasa responded and prepared to move, the copper bells hanging from the eaves of the wooden buildings began to vibrate violently in succession. They emitted a high-frequency, piercing sound that put all the black-clad men in the base on high alert.

"The warning barrier... someone has broken in!"

No sooner had Yorimasa spoken than a chorus of screams and cries erupted from the forest at the edge of the clearing. A man in black stumbled into the camp, shouting toward Mitsunaka and Yorimasa.

"Lord! My Lord! We were attacked outside! The others are fighting for their lives! Please, send reinforcements quickly!"

At the man's words, Mitsunaka's face darkened. He immediately asked, "An attack? By whom?"

"Owl... it's the One-Eyed Owl!" As soon as the man finished speaking, a thunderous boom echoed from the distance toward the valley entrance. A massive surge of demonic energy erupted, causing everyone present to tremble involuntarily.

"This is..."

"It's Owl's demonic energy... those stationed there have likely been wiped out..."

Seeing this, Yorimasa gripped the hilt of his long sword and shouted orders to his subordinates.

"Let's go! We shall exterminate this Great Yokai of Heian-kyo right here!"

"Wait." Just as Yorimasa was about to lead the squad out, Mitsunaka spoke to stop him.

"Although I do not know why Owl has appeared here, if he has come, his Hundred Demons must be nearby. If you all rush out, you may fall for a distraction play meant to lure the tiger from the mountain... The Chigo infants are the key to everything; we cannot afford to lose them," Mitsunaka said, maintaining his composure.

"But Father... if Owl fights his way here and turns this place into a battlefield, what then? With Owl's demonic power, he is more than capable of leveling this entire area. If that happens, the infants will be in grave danger..." Yorimasa said with a worried expression.

"Do not panic. I will go and deal with Owl myself. You lot go and protect the infants—transfer them to a safe location!" After Mitsunaka finished speaking, his sons and subordinates immediately responded.

"Yes, sir!"

Following this, Mitsunaka threw out a paper manikin. The paper burned rapidly in the air, and from the flames emerged a tall, armored black demonic horse with hooves treading on fire. After looking around proudly, it snorted, spray of fire erupting from its nostrils.

"Let's go, Kage-naki!"

After Mitsunaka leaped onto the demonic horse, it stepped onto the air and flew toward the sky, heading at high speed toward the mouth of the valley. Yorimasa looked around at the remaining guards and waved his hand.

"Follow me!"

Yorimasa headed toward the buildings, followed by the group of guards. Among them was the man who had just "narrowly escaped" to bring the news. At this moment, he followed silently at the very back of the line, his eyes narrowing slightly behind his mask.