Tokyo, a traditional Japanese soba noodle shop.
At this moment.
Led by Fūwa Miko, Zhang Wei and his group arrived here.
"I might have to leave in a moment. I just received notification that a supernatural event has occurred nearby, and I need to go. Xiao Qi, please entertain Mr. Zhang Wei first. If you've finished eating, head to the figurine shop. Xiao Qi, send me the address, and I'll be there."
Fūwa Miko was the one speaking.
After ordering soba noodles and before she could introduce how delicious this soba noodle was to Zhang Wei, a call came in. It was a message from the Onmyōji Association, requesting her to handle a supernatural event nearby.
"Do you need my help?"
Zhang Wei asked, playing with the Kamen Rider in Fūwa Masato's hand.
Yu Xiaoqi also chimed in:
"Miko, be careful. Don't push yourself. If you can't handle it, let Brother Wei help you. I can pay Brother Wei for his services."
"No need. That ghost is just a newly-arrived Red-clothed Fierce Ghost. I can handle it with my eyes closed."
Fūwa Miko smiled.
However, as she got up to leave, and considering Fūwa Miko was Yu Xiaoqi's girlfriend, Zhang Wei called out to her after some thought. He then borrowed a Kamen Rider 555 phone Henshin device from Fūwa Masato's pocket.
"Ding! Enchanting Kamen Rider 555 phone Henshin device toy grants 1 system point."
"Xiao Qi, have Miko take this toy of Masato's. If anything goes wrong, then you..."
Zhang Wei whispered something in his ear.
Yu Xiaoqi was stunned upon hearing this, his surprise showing without any concealment:
"Uh, Brother Wei, are you sure Miko doing this will protect her?"
"Yes, I swear on my ding-dong. If it can't protect her, my ding-dong will only be used for peeing from now on. How about that?"
"No, no, that's not necessary. Brother Wei, you don't have to make such a vicious oath."
Yu Xiaoqi said, quickly handing the phone Henshin device to Fūwa Miko and whispering:
"Miko, if you encounter danger, take this out."
He then told her how to use it.
As soon as he finished speaking.
Fūwa Miko looked bewildered and asked in surprise:
"This... are you sure? Isn't this Masato's toy? Mr. Zhang Wei, you're so fast to enchant it. But do I really have to use it like this? It's a bit hazukashii (embarrassing)."
In the end.
Fūwa Miko left with the Henshin device.
...
Meanwhile.
At the Onmyōji Association's Tokyo headquarters.
In a massive conference room, there was a large round table that could seat a hundred people. Currently, it was filled with people – all high-ranking officials of the Onmyōji Association, as well as elders from various Onmyōji families and prominent clans across Sakura Country. Fūwa family elders were also among them.
Shinraji's actions had caused heavy losses to the Onmyōji Association, prompting them to convene a supreme meeting to discuss how to deal with Shinraji.
At this moment.
A staff member was presenting some information about Shinraji provided by the Guarding Department to the Onmyōji Association. Although the information was not extensive, it was enough to get a glimpse of Shinraji's terrifying nature.
It could be seen that.
As the information about Shinraji was disclosed, everyone present frowned, their expressions grave.
"Is Shinraji that terrifying? It even has a soul-summoning banner. Even the Guarding Department finds it so troublesome. How can we retaliate?"
An Onmyōji's mouth twitched.
He was the new Deputy Director, succeeding the former Deputy Director Abe. He had originally planned to use Shinraji as a stepping stone for his new position, to make a strong debut and solidify his status. But now, it seemed things had exceeded expectations. If mishandled, he might not only fail to solidify his position but also fall hard.
Upon his words.
The Onmyōji and Miko present also sighed:
"Given Shinraji's situation, we're dealing with ghosts of at least one, or even two, national-level Onmyōji. To deal with it, we'd need at least three national-level Onmyōji, otherwise, we risk failure. The key is that we'd also need to bring out the national-level artifact, the Yasakani no Magatama, otherwise, we can't deal with the soul-summoning banner."
"Even with it, we might not be able to deal with it. The Guarding Department has over thirty True Dragon Guards, and they still couldn't annihilate Shinraji. Where would we find that many True Dragon Guard Onmyōji?"
"How about we give up on retaliation? Publicly announce that we're temporarily handling domestic supernatural events and let the Guarding Department deal with Shinraji. The Guarding Department will eventually deal with Shinraji, and we can just lend a hand then."
"I agree. After all, national-level Onmyōji are already scarce. We can't afford to lose even one, so we can't afford to lose any more."
"Alas, if we had more national-level Onmyōji, we wouldn't be so hesitant."
"It's easier said than done. National-level Onmyōji, how can they be reached so easily? If one national-level Onmyōji can be produced in a few decades, we'd be grateful."
"It's not impossible to have more national-level Onmyōji in our country in a short period."
The last statement caused everyone present to jolt and turn their gazes towards the new Deputy Director who had spoken.
Then.
Before anyone could ask, sensing their gazes, the new Deputy Director assumed a posture like Gendo Ikari from Neon Genesis Evangelion, with his hands clasped before his mouth:
"Does everyone still remember Deputy Director Abe's new discovery yesterday? That anime character can also form like Sadako or Kuchisake-onna through word-of-mouth transmission. Have you all witnessed the terror of Sadako? Of course, I'm not referring to her physique, but her power."
"When she first appeared, her power was that of a Red-clothed Fierce Ghost. As word spread, people's fear of her deepened, and her strength visibly increased. Deputy Director Abe discovered this point, which is why he pushed for research into the formation of anime characters last night."
"My idea is very simple: execute that plan at all costs, and ensure that anime characters are formed through word-of-mouth transmission. I believe most of you have watched anime and know that some characters in anime have very overpowered abilities."
"And Sadako, who was formed, her abilities were derived from word-of-mouth transmission. So, let's assume, if we were to form Goku from Dragon Ball, he would definitely be a national-level entity. If we create a few more, wouldn't we have many national-level entities?"
His voice boomed like thunder, echoing in everyone's ears at that moment, shocking everyone, their eyes shining.
"This idea of yours is excellent!"
"Yes, this method. The matter of Shinraji has made us realize that although our Onmyōji Association is strong within our own country, compared to the world, we are simply not enough. We are completely incomparable to behemoths like the Guarding Department."
"Indeed. However, if we can create ghosts like Goku and Doraemon, we will definitely become the foremost ghost-exorcising organization in the world!"
"It's indeed a good idea. Since things can't get any worse, let's go all out and vigorously promote the influence of anime characters. No! Let's expand the influence to the entire world, using people worldwide for word-of-mouth transmission!"
"Then which anime characters should we promote? They must be powerful enough."
Subsequently.
After a period of discussion, they decided to promote national-level anime such as Dragon Ball and Doraemon. These anime already had considerable popularity, making it easy to accumulate word-of-mouth transmission. Simultaneously, they would vigorously develop Isekai manga featuring overpowered protagonists, creating more invincible protagonists who travel to other worlds.
For a time.
The Onmyōji Association's highest-level meeting turned into an anime production discussion. As the discussion progressed, everyone became more passionate, eagerly anticipating the day when anime characters would materialize!
...