"You're really useless. How did you run out of demonic power again?"
Uchiha Retsu bent down, grabbed Xia Lan by the back of her collar, and lifted her off the ground. His tone was full of exasperation.
"What do you mean useless?!" Xia Lan glared up at him angrily. "It's obviously because you've gotten stronger again! Summoning you this time cost way more demonic power than last time!
"I've been training really hard lately! My power has increased a lot, okay?!"
"…"
Retsu was about to mock her again when Xia Lan, dangling in his hand, suddenly twitched her nose and leaned closer, sniffing him carefully.
He thought she had noticed that he had regained his physical body and was about to explain.
But instead, her expression changed drastically. She stared at him and shouted angrily,
"Retsu! Did you secretly eat something delicious without me?! Why didn't you call me?!!"
"Uh…"
Retsu stiffened, then awkwardly looked up at the sky.
He had miscalculated. He had forgotten that he had just been eating barbecue, and the smell was still on him.
"You actually ate good food without me!"
Seeing his guilty expression, Xia Lan became even angrier. She struggled wildly in his grip, waving her arms as she tried to pounce on him.
"Retsu! You promised! You said if there was good food, you'd bring me some!"
"My fault, my fault!"
Retsu quickly admitted defeat. His Mangekyo Sharingan appeared, and a spatial vortex opened in the Kamui dimension. He reached in and took out a bundle of grilled meat wrapped in leaves, handing it to her.
"Look, I saved some for you!"
This was meat his shadow clone had grilled earlier and stored in Kamui.
As soon as Xia Lan smelled the barbecue, she immediately stopped struggling. She grabbed the bundle, sniffed it carefully, confirmed that it matched the scent on Retsu, and instantly beamed.
"Alright, I forgive you."
Retsu muttered to himself.
This cat demon is surprisingly easy to appease.
He set her down and watched as she eagerly unwrapped the leaves, grabbed a piece of meat, and stuffed it into her mouth. Her eyes narrowed in satisfaction, clearly delighted by the taste.
"So," Retsu said, lifting his head to look at the three panther-cat demons opposite him, "why did you summon me?"
While he and Xia Lan were talking, the three of them had remained completely silent, simply watching.
"Mm…"
Xia Lan, who was eating enthusiastically, finally remembered the main issue. She swallowed and pointed her greasy finger at Dong Lan, shouting arrogantly,
"Retsu! Help me beat up Big Sister! I want to be the leader!"
Good grief. She actually wanted to overthrow her boss.
Retsu froze for a moment. He glanced at Dong Lan, who was already frowning, then at Xia Lan's smug face.
"Can I ask why you're so determined to be the leader?" he asked curiously.
"I told Big Sister that using Shikon Jewel shards to revive the Lord was dangerous, but she didn't believe me!"
Xia Lan stomped angrily.
"She even said I was fooled by those stupid dog demons!"
"Then just let her revive him," Retsu said casually. "She'll understand after suffering once."
"No!" Xia Lan shook her head and puffed out her chest.
"I thought about it! What if the Lord goes crazy after being revived and kills all of us? That'd be a huge loss!
"So I came up with a plan! If I become the leader, Big Sister has to listen to me!"
Looking at her proud expression, Retsu couldn't help pouring cold water on her.
"But think about it. After I beat her up for you and leave, won't she just come after you later?"
"Uh…"
Xia Lan froze. Her eyes rolled around. Then she said confidently,
"If she dares hit me, I'll just summon you again!"
"But your demonic power gets drained every time you summon me," Retsu pointed out. "You'd have to wait a long time to recover."
"Th-This…"
Xia Lan was instantly speechless.
She had only argued with Dong Lan earlier in a fit of anger and blurted out that she'd take over. She hadn't thought about what would happen afterward.
Now that Retsu exposed the flaw, she realized she would probably get beaten badly later.
"Don't worry, Xia Lan. Second Sister supports you."
At that moment, a crisp female voice rang out.
Retsu turned around and saw Chun Lan walking over.
Noticing his gaze, Chun Lan smiled slightly. She sniffed him, then showed a surprised expression.
"So you're human. Xia Lan said you're very strong. I wonder if that's true."
As she spoke, she suddenly stretched out her fair little hand and smiled.
"First meeting. Isn't it reasonable to ask for a gift?"
Retsu was stunned for a moment. Following her gaze, he looked at the barbecue in Xia Lan's arms and immediately understood.
He activated Kamui. A spatial vortex flashed, and another leaf-wrapped bundle of grilled meat appeared in Chun Lan's hands.
Seeing the barbecue appear out of thin air and the fleeting vortex, Chun Lan was startled internally.
But she kept smiling and patted Retsu's arm.
"Thanks. I'll help you plead for mercy with Big Sister later."
Retsu turned to look at Dong Lan.
He saw cold demonic power slowly spreading around her, while an ice crystal spear had already formed in her hand.
Meanwhile, Qiu Lan, who had been behind her, quietly retreated to the side.
It seemed this fight was unavoidable.
Retsu glanced at Chun Lan, who had pulled Xia Lan aside, and smiled.
"Don't worry. I'll go easy on her."
"Retsu! Just teach Big Sister a small lesson! You must hold back!"
Xia Lan shouted loudly from the side.
Hearing this, Dong Lan's brows knitted even tighter, and the chill around her grew stronger.
Retsu sighed inwardly.
This girl is definitely getting beaten later. Let's just hope she knows when to back down.
"Come on," Retsu said casually as he looked at Dong Lan. "Hurry up. After this, I still need to go back and finish my barbecue."
"Hmph, arrogant!"
Dong Lan snorted coldly and stopped holding back. The ice spear in her hand shot forward, aiming straight for his chest.
"Kamui!"
Facing the incoming spear, Retsu's Mangekyo Sharingan spun rapidly. A spatial vortex flashed in front of the spear's tip, and it was instantly swallowed, disappearing without a trace.
"Space ability?"
Seeing her attack vanish, Dong Lan remained calm. She didn't look surprised at all.
She had already seen Retsu retrieve items from space earlier and had instantly understood what had happened.
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