Chapter 157. This is The Raiden's Desire
Futsu Mitama had no awareness of the turmoil brewing within the Kujou Clan.
After returning to his residence, he immediately began preparing for wine production. He acquired large quantities of Naku Weed, Amakumo Fruit, Sweet Flowers, rice, and other necessary ingredients.
Within Inazuma City, he owned three expansive estates—the former holdings of the Futsu Clan. When he first transmigrated, mora had been scarce, but housing had never been an issue.
At one point, he had even considered that if he ever fell into true poverty, selling a single estate to another noble house would easily bring tens of millions of mora. That alone would secure food and drink for years.
Still, unless absolutely necessary, he had no intention of selling. If he had descendants in the future, these properties would serve as inheritance. Even now, their value lay not only in wealth but in utility.
One of the estates was outfitted specifically for brewing. It contained professional fermentation equipment and extensive storage dedicated solely to finished alcohol.
After several hours of steady work, all preparations were complete. The mash was sealed. The only remaining variable was time.
Fermentation would require at least four to five days.
With nothing further to adjust, Futsu Mitama entered the Chat Group.
He was curious about the situation on Watatsumi Island—and even more curious about the encounter between Azhdaha and Guizhong. Earlier, inside Tenshukaku, Azhdaha had mentioned that Guizhong immediately noticed the bloodjade branch on his tail.
If those two had met, did the other adeptus know as well?
The thought amused him.
In the Chat Group:
Futsu Mitama: "Preparations are complete. If nothing unexpected occurs, I'll return to the Resistance in four days."
Aila: "Four days? Isn't that too long? Young Master, shall I return to attend you?"
Kuki Shinobu: "Aila, we still have matters here."
Shenhe: "If today's opponents are the standard, my junior sister staying beside him poses no issue."
Aila: "Thank you, Senior Sister!"
Kamisato Ayaka: "You're already in Inazuma City? Futsu Mitama, would you like to have dinner tonight? My brother is here, and Thoma as well. Shall we have hotpot together?"
Futsu Mitama: "Not for now. There are too many matters to handle. Once things are mostly resolved, we can dine together. Perhaps it will be a celebration banquet."
Futsu Mitama: "And Aila, there's no need to rush back. I can manage myself. I have a feeling war is about to begin."
Raiden Makoto: "That is correct. With your and Miko's return, the Tenryou Commission and the Fatui will likely advance their timetable. Once Sangonomiya Kokomi awakens, have her prepare for full engagement. I am uncertain how much the Resistance's overall strength has grown."
Yae Miko: "I've been busy all day. I finally understand why little Kokomi looks exhausted all the time. There are too many trivial administrative matters. Watatsumi Island barely has clerical staff handling these areas!"
Yae Miko: "Managing everything personally is practically torture."
Keqing: "Handling everything personally isn't unusual. The Liyue Qixing operate that way."
Albedo: "Acting Grand Master Jean does the same in Mondstadt."
Yae Miko: "Imagine all the Qixing's workload concentrated on a single person. That's my current situation."
Keqing: "The Archon's perspective?"
Yae Miko: "Hm?"
Azhdaha: "Little fox, you truly don't understand. Morax handled most affairs himself."
Guizhong: "It is different now. I assist him."
Raiden Makoto: "You may find it novel for a while. Eventually, it becomes burdensome. That is precisely why I established the Tri-Commission."
Maha Rukkhadevata: "Energy—whether human or divine—is finite. In Sumeru, I established the Akademiya for that reason."
Maha Rukkhadevata: "It seems the Resistance lacks sufficient administrative talent."
The conversation drifted toward governance rather than warfare.
Futsu Mitama leaned back slightly.
On the surface, the coming conflict appeared to be about military strength.
In reality, it was about endurance.
Logistics. Administration. Personnel. Morale.
Kokomi's strategic brilliance could win battles—but without structure behind her, even brilliance would erode under exhaustion.
Four days, he thought. That might be just enough time.
Yae Miko let out an exaggerated sigh in the Chat Group.
Yae Miko: "Less? I could tolerate less. There are none at all. I have so many administrative matters piled up that I likely won't have time to chat later. Still, one thing is reassuring. The morale within the Resistance is excellent, and their military reserves are solid."
Yae Miko: "With Guizhong's automatons, Klee's Jumpy Dumpty, and several top-tier combatants, we can now contend with the Tenryou Commission. Contend, mind you. Outside of that, we'll still need strategy to secure victory."
Raiden Makoto responded calmly.
Raiden Makoto: "There are also the Fatui elites to consider. Time remains insufficient. Even with accelerated growth, this is our current limit. However, high-level combat power can indeed shift the tide of war. That is encouraging."
Futsu Mitama leaned forward slightly.
Futsu Mitama: "My companion weapon is being forged. Once it is complete, with Shenhe and Guuji Yae Miko, defeating Scaramouche should not be an issue."
Shenhe: "Scaramouche?"
Yae Miko: "A troublesome existence. A predecessor to the Raiden Shogun. Currently the Sixth of the Fatui Harbingers."
Scaramouche. Fatui Harbingers Shenhe's tone remained level.
Shenhe: "Is he strong?"
Aila: "Very."
Futsu Mitama: "Especially hard."
Yae Miko: "If the three of us coordinate, we can defeat him—provided he has no additional trump cards. If he does, the situation becomes complicated."
Shenhe: "That is excellent. My master sent me to gain experience for precisely such battles."
Guizhong: "Go! Defeat that Scaramouche!"
Futsu Mitama: "Guizhong, when exactly did you meet Azhdaha? Do the adeptus know?"
Azhdaha: "Two days ago. Wasn't it mentioned here?"
Aila: "No. I checked the logs."
Zhongli: "It was not."
Venti: "I've been on the Nameless Island checking daily. I didn't see it either."
Guizhong: "It was nothing significant. I casually asked where Azhdaha had gone. Cloud Retainer and Ping sighed and led me to Mt. Hulao."
Guizhong: "They warned me not to provoke him. If he spoke harshly, I was to understand—it was erosion."
Futsu Mitama: "And then? What happened?"
Zhongli: "I am curious."
Keqing: "+1."
Guizhong: "His evil consciousness—the little girl—looked at me in shock. There was no hostility. She kept asking how I was still alive. Then Azhdaha suppressed the erosion briefly and spoke with me. We conversed for a while before he lost control again."
Azhdaha: "After she left, the erosion remained. This Chat Group suppresses it slightly. I can move freely for roughly half an hour at a time."
Futsu Mitama nodded.
Futsu Mitama: "I see."
Raiden Makoto: "That alone is fortunate. Erosion was once unstoppable."
Maha Rukkhadevata: "Indeed."
Venti: "If only there were more condensed resin~ You could recover faster."
Azhdaha: "There is no urgency. Unless something occurs in Liyue Harbor, I am content beneath the earth. Look at Inazuma. It is in chaos."
Venti laughed.
Venti: "I'm doing quite well on the Nameless Island!"
Raiden Makoto: "???"
Yae Miko: "???"
Reading the exchange, Futsu Mitama smiled faintly. He lay back in his courtyard, gazing at the star-filled sky above Inazuma City.
Four or five years ago, he had lain in this exact spot, calculating how to survive in a nation gripped by decrees and unrest. At that time, the Chat Group had been a gamble—a desperate tool for recruitment and survival.
Now, he had stable resources, property, influence. The Chat Group was lively, filled with gods and mortals alike.
The contrast was almost surreal.
He exhaled softly.
"Since I have time… I might as well train."
Opening the group files, he selected "Raiden Style · Martial Arts."
The next opponent would be Scaramouche. Caution was mandatory. Even if the Raiden Shogun had once severed his hand and foot, no one knew how Dottore had reconstructed him—or what enhancements had been added.
Better to overprepare than underestimate.
Minutes turned to hours. Hours to days.
Two days passed.
During that time, Inazuma shifted dramatically.
The Tenryou Commission began aggressively recruiting powerful individuals.
If Kujou Sara's earlier effort had been to assemble a capable elite unit, this new initiative was different. It aimed to form a strike force composed entirely of high-tier combatants—a blade designed to eradicate the Resistance in a single decisive campaign.
Kujou Takayuki personally guaranteed astonishing rewards for those who achieved extraordinary military merit.
Noble status. Swordsmanship once praised by the Shogun five centuries ago. Master-forged treasured blades. Or five hundred million mora.
The terms spread across Inazuma like wildfire.
Takayuki, however, was shrewd. He appointed Kujou Sara as examiner. Only those she approved could join. This prevented opportunists from diluting the unit's strength.
Warriors, fallen school inheritors, ambitious fighters—all began moving toward Inazuma City.
Yet almost simultaneously, the Resistance made its own declaration.
Resistance side announced open recruitment. Generous rewards. Future noble recognition once the Sakoku Decree and Vision Hunt Decree were lifted.
If titles were unavailable, alternatives would be granted: The complete Onmyoudo inheritance of Harunosuke. Secret treasures of legendary great yokai. Sword manuscripts attributed to the Raiden Shogun. More than a dozen weapons of the Raiden Gokaden.
And finally—One personal item belonging to Guuji.
Silence followed that announcement.
Then an avalanche.
Strong individuals across Inazuma began heading toward the Resistance instead.
The reason was obvious.
Everything before that was enticing.
But that final reward?
It electrified the imagination.
More importantly, the message was unmistakable: Yae Miko was openly backing the Resistance.
She was no longer neutral.
The Resistance's slogan had always been clear—they did not oppose the Shogun herself, only the Sakoku Decree and Vision Hunt Decree.
For many citizens, the Vision Hunt Decree was distant.
The Sakoku Decree, however, affected trade, livelihood, opportunity.
That decree touched everyone.
And now, war was no longer merely military.
It was ideological.
Inazuma descended into open turbulence.
Both the Tenryou Commission and the Resistance competed aggressively for capable fighters. Anyone with basic political awareness understood the implication: neutrality was no longer sustainable. A choice had to be made.
Support the Commission—or stand with the Resistance, now openly associated with Yae Miko.
The outcome was telling. The majority of high-caliber individuals chose the Resistance.
The logic was straightforward. If Yae Miko truly stood behind them, then whatever incentives the Kujou Clan could produce—wealth, techniques, weapons—she could exceed. A being who had lived five centuries was assumed to possess reserves beyond calculation. No one could quantify her assets, and that uncertainty alone carried weight.
Meanwhile, the Commission suffered from an image deficit. Since the enforcement of the Sakoku Decree, the actions of the Shogunate Army had bred quiet resentment. People understood. They simply did not dare articulate it.
In Inazuma City, rumor metastasized rapidly.
Some whispered that the Shogunate Army would fail.
Others predicted a severe setback.
Some clarified that the Resistance did not oppose the Shogun herself, only the Vision Hunt Decree and Sakoku Decree.
A more provocative claim circulated as well—that legitimacy now lay with the Resistance, and that the Commission had become the true usurper.
There was, however, a limit to permissible speech.
Under orders from Kujou Takayuki, the Shogunate Army began selective enforcement. The most outspoken individuals were detained. Not en masse—the prisons lacked the capacity—but strategically. A handful were made examples of.
They were bound before the Tenshukaku and publicly flogged.
The message was precise: there are boundaries.
The tactic worked, superficially. Public discourse quieted. Inazuma City appeared calm once more.
But calm did not equal stability.
That evening, Futsu Mitama stepped outside. He was fully aware of the developments; none of this surprised him. According to a certain sly fox, the Commission was leveraging institutional authority to consolidate military talent before open conflict erupted.
Yet Yae Miko's counter was strategically elegant. By semi-publicly aligning herself with the Resistance, she had shifted the incentive structure entirely. It was a calculated escalation.
If the Resistance ultimately failed, she possessed a final contingency: bring Raiden Ei into the Chat Group and allow Raiden Makoto to intervene directly.
But that outcome would signify strategic failure.
Ei would not mature through confrontation. Makoto's revival would merely restore the old equilibrium—burden transferred, stagnation resumed. Five centuries of Inazuma's suffering would amount to nothing. And history might simply repeat itself: another catastrophe, another retreat into isolation.
Thus, Yae Miko revealed herself not for spectacle—but necessity. War was imminent. Concealed trump cards are useless if never deployed.
However, her decision created an unexpected operational crisis.
Workload.
The Resistance's administrative burden surged overnight. Recruitment inquiries multiplied. Logistics intensified. Strategic coordination expanded.
And Sangonomiya Kokomi was nowhere to be found.
She had been asleep for three days.
Not one. Three.
Her location remained unknown. Even Yae Miko could not locate her. The frustration was palpable. Kokomi had stated she would rest for a single day—yet she had vanished into uninterrupted slumber.
Even with an unusual constitution, three days without food bordered on reckless.
Yae Miko's irritation was no longer subtle. Had little Kokomi overextended herself to that extent?
Or worse—Was she deliberately avoiding the avalanche of responsibilities waiting for her awakening?
"It's quieter than usual…"
Walking through the streets of Inazuma City, Futsu Mitama felt the shift immediately. The lively marketplace atmosphere was gone. Conversations were subdued. Foot traffic had thinned.
Patrols from the Tenryou Commission moved with deliberate intensity, their armor clinking sharply in the silence. Suppression efforts were no longer subtle.
The civilians' reactions were even more telling. When soldiers passed, eyes lowered—but not in respect. It was restraint. Beneath that restraint flickered fear… and something colder.
Hostility.
Futsu Mitama shook his head slightly. Losing popular support was one matter. Standing openly against public sentiment was another. The Commission was accelerating toward a breaking point.
Still, he understood Kujou Takayuki's calculus.
This was an all-in maneuver. Victory would cement the Kujou Clan's authority for a century. Defeat would reduce the Commission's prestige to ashes—but Takayuki could resign, absorb blame, and preserve the clan's core interests.
A ruthless but coherent gamble.
As Futsu Mitama turned toward the path leading to the Tenshukaku, he stopped.
"Eh?"
Ahead stood a familiar, broad-shouldered figure with two crimson horns.
A booming laugh erupted.
"Yo! Isn't that Mitama no Anchan?! What a coincidence!"
Arataki Itto strode forward, grinning widely.
Futsu Mitama smiled back. "Long time no see."
Behind Itto stood Kujou Sara and several other warriors—members of the elite squad she had assembled earlier. Their posture suggested tension. A conversation had clearly been interrupted.
Itto scratched his head. "Where's Shinobu? Still in Liyue? Graduation certificate not done yet?"
Futsu Mitama answered lightly. "She has matters to attend to. I'll explain later."
Itto nodded, satisfied.
Kujou Sara, however, looked exhausted. Dark circles lingered beneath her eyes. The past days had taken a toll. Before she could speak, a young swordsman stepped forward.
"Our team has decided to defect to the Resistance."
For a moment, Futsu Mitama simply stared.
"In Inazuma City?" he thought. "In front of Kujou Sara?"
Even Itto blinked.
Sara closed her eyes briefly but did not interrupt. She could not. Arresting them would ignite exactly the unrest she was struggling to contain.
"Why?" Futsu Mitama asked calmly.
A burly swordsman answered. "Because the Commission has disappointed us."
He spoke without hesitation. "Launching war recklessly. Ignoring public sentiment. Cooperating with the Fatui to secure victory. Watatsumi's people are still citizens of Inazuma. They live under the Raiden Shogun's lightning. The Fatui are outsiders—from Snezhnaya."
He continued, voice steady. "Suppressing public speech. Advancing the war schedule. These are not just tactics. They are tyranny."
His gaze flickered toward Sara. He softened slightly. "If not for Lady Sara, we would never have joined the Commission in the first place."
The others nodded.
The young man bowed respectfully to Sara. "Our admiration for you has not changed. But our ideals no longer align with the Tenryou Commission."
"Those whose paths differ cannot plan together. If you wish to arrest us, we will resist."
They bowed once more—then walked toward the city gates without hesitation.
Sara did not move.
Arataki Itto exhaled. "Don't look so down, Kujou Tengu. Everyone has their own convictions."
He scratched his cheek awkwardly. "Honestly… if the Commission hadn't allied with the Fatui, things might not have come to this."
He had been invited to defect as well. He refused—not from loyalty to the Commission, but responsibility to his gang. If he chose, his subordinates would follow blindly. And that would drag Kuki Shinobu into a forced choice.
So he chose neutrality.
Let the giants clash.
Inside, however, he knew something had broken.
Sara watched her former comrades disappear.
"I understand," she said quietly. "But—"
The situation was deteriorating faster than discipline could contain. Rural villages echoed similar dissent. Ritou simmered. Inazuma City stood on a knife's edge.
She turned to Futsu Mitama.
"Come with me." Her voice was firm. "There's something I must ask."
He agreed without resistance. The time for concealment had ended.
They stepped into a narrow alley.
Silence hung between them.
Sara inhaled deeply.
"Is the Guuji with the Resistance?"
"Yes," Futsu Mitama replied evenly. "She is currently Sangonomiya Kokomi."
Sara's pupils contracted.
"What about the real Kokomi?" flashed through her mind—but she held the question.
"Why?" she demanded instead.
"You and the Guuji are both retainers of the Shogun. If change is needed, could it not be achieved through counsel? Through loyalty? Why war?"
Her voice tightened.
"With a word from you, Inazuma would shift. The Shogun would listen."
This was what she could not reconcile. If reform was the goal, why ignite civil conflict?
Futsu Mitama's expression grew unexpectedly weary.
"What if," he said quietly, "I told you this is what the Raiden's desires?"
Silence.
Complete silence.
Sara's mind stalled.
Information collided violently with belief.
The Shogun… desired this?
Her breath caught slightly.
The foundation beneath her certainty trembled.
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