A towering ancient tree, hundreds of meters tall, seemed to be about to pierce the heavens as it stretched out its majestic form.
This scene was like a mythical descent, leaving everyone in the shrine speechless and standing there in a daze.
“How is this possible?!”
The silence was finally broken after a long time by a cry of astonishment.
It seemed that the elderly Ito Shinkan, overwhelmed by the sight, swayed and fell backward.
“Old man.”
Mitsuhiko and Genta managed to support Ito Shinkan.
“This is a miracle!!”
The old man, trembling, looked at the magnificent ancient tree with incredible excitement. This was a sign of the prosperity of their Shinto religion.
Those damn bald monks would no longer be able to lord over them.
“Good, good!!”
Ito Shinkan, looking at the still bewildered Ran, excitedly grabbed Kogoro Mouri’s hand.
“Detective Mouri, our Fushimi Inari Shrine would like to hire Miss Ran Mouri as the shrine maiden for our annual grand festival. Name your price.”
“Ito Hikoiichi.”
The elderly Miyamoto, standing nearby, immediately glared. “You dare to snatch someone in front of me?”
“Haruko, your place is too small. I’m just helping you share the burden.”
Ito Shinkan chuckled awkwardly, his hand still tightly grasping Kogoro Mouri’s, and he secretly mouthed ‘let’s talk later’.
“Ahem.”
Chief Cabinet Secretary Kumagai Hiroshi finally came to his senses. Seeing the two shrines already competing for Ran, he suppressed his inner excitement and said:
“Shinkan Ito, Miyamoto Miko, our priority now is to deal with the public relations issues following the divine tree’s manifestation and the expansion of Miyamoto Shrine.”
“Of course.”
Ito Shinkan nodded, knowing that this miracle would likely cause a stir both domestically and internationally.
This is an opportunity for Shinto!
“Then I’ll take my leave.”
Kumagai Hiroshi was also under immense pressure. After giving a deep bow to the towering tree, he turned and left.
He could already imagine the reaction from the Cabinet and the Emperor upon learning of this event.
But this was not the most important.
If the US decided to poach Ran, he would have to figure out how to respond.
...
“Not bad, I almost made back my investment.”
Meanwhile, sitting by a coffee shop window, Gu Jue watched the tourists standing on the roadside, excitedly gazing at the towering ancient tree. He smiled and stood up.
【Wish Power: 13742】
This was the time of Fushimi Inari Shrine’s festival. There were hundreds of thousands of tourists from various countries here.
Adding in the residents of the Inariyama region, this divine tree, which he created with the Wood Release, had attracted the attention of nearly a million people.
“Well, this should just be the first wave of Wish Power, there will be continuous income later…”
Thinking about this, Gu Jue felt happy. He paid his bill, left the coffee shop, and prepared to return to Tokyo.
【Ding!】
【The player has accumulated over thirty thousand Wish Power. The prize pool has unlocked a new world, *One Piece*.]
Just then, the system notification that sounded in his ears made Gu Jue stop in his tracks.
He raised his eyebrows, opened the system panel, and looked at the *One Piece* entry added to the prize pool.
“The *One Piece* world.”
Thinking of all the Devil Fruits and the Haki in *One Piece*, Gu Jue decided to try his luck with another draw.
“System, two blessed lucky bags first.”
Clang!
As his words fell, a white light flashed. Two blessed lucky bags slowly opened.
【Jutsu. Dead Body Blood Curse】
【Heaven’s Curse Mark】
Gu Jue was a little surprised.
These two skills were not bad. Jutsu. Dead Body Blood Curse was a secret technique of the Akatsuki member Hidan.
It allowed the user to use the blood of their enemy as a medium to inflict the same damage on the enemy.
And Heaven’s Curse Mark was a forbidden jutsu developed by Orochimaru. It allowed the user to unleash powerful strength at the cost of their body.
Both skills were useful.
But, they had nothing to do with *One Piece*.
“It seems the prize pool is mixed together.”
After thinking for a while, Gu Jue understood. Seeing that he still had over ten thousand Wish Power remaining, he decided to draw once more.
“System, one silver lucky bag.”
Clang.
Another flash of white light, and the silver lucky bag opened.
【Soul Soul Fruit】
“It’s actually this one.”
A smile appeared on Gu Jue’s face.
…
“Finally back!!“
Three days later, at the Mouri Detective Agency, Kogoro Mouri flopped onto the couch, not wanting to move at all.
He was simply too exhausted these past few days.
Those bureaucrats were really hard to deal with.
“Ran…”
After resting for a while, Kogoro Mouri instinctively wanted to call for his daughter to make dinner, but then he suddenly remembered that Ran was still in Kyoto, learning how to become a shrine maiden.
His estranged wife, Eri Kisaki, had even flown to Kyoto specifically to help Ran with various matters.
“This means I’m free?”
Kogoro Mouri excitedly jumped off the couch, but then he noticed that there was a drag on his freedom, sitting there with dead fish eyes, looking at him.
“There’s still you, you little rascal.”
Kogoro Mouri grumbled unhappily, waving his hand. “Let’s go, just the two of us today. Let’s just skip dinner and go eat sukiyaki outside.”
“No need.”
Conan felt extremely depressed. “I already made arrangements with Dr. Agasa. I’ll be staying at his place for the next few days.”
“That’s great.”
Kogoro Mouri immediately beamed. “Just the right time for this uncle to investigate those men in black who attacked the Metropolitan Police Department.”
“They’re so obsessed with supernatural events, maybe they’ll do something to Ran.”
You’ll never find them.
Conan secretly grumbled in his heart. He went back to his room and packed his clothes. Not long after, he came out with his luggage, every step he took feeling like the cold wind of the River Yi.
This is too hard.
Without Ran at home, he felt no warmth at all.
For Ran’s safety and to be able to return to a normal life, he had to find out about the Black Organization.
…