Chapter 681

PS: Starting tomorrow, we resume two updates per day.

In short, whether it's Uesugi Muneyuki and Tei Reiji or Sohō Hinata, Yamada Nana, Moriya Akane, Murayama Yuiri, Okada Nana, Satō Tsubasa, Taniguchi Megumi, Matsumura Kaori—everyone spent the night in silence.

The next morning, the solemnity of Uesugi Shinai was replaced by a carefully packaged bustle.

Beneath the vermilion torii gate, a bustling crowd gathered, with media wielding long and short lenses and fans holding up cheer boards, shutting out the winter chill.

The filming of Fuji TV's "Hand of God" New Year special, having endured yesterday's brief panic interlude, continued in an almost forced "business as usual" manner.

Yesterday, Uesugi Muneyuki's disappearance detonated the entire show team; outside Fuji TV and the Metropolitan Police Department, even the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office called to inquire, and after learning it was a false alarm, Watanabe Eiji angrily declared, "Don't pull this startling nonsense!"

The father-in-law and father, who is also the Superintendent General, is currently pushing hard to establish the Criminal Investigation Department's "Special Mission Division"; now is precisely the time for him to lobby and settle matters with various major departments during his New Year holiday—if Uesugi Muneyuki were to have an accident now, what would become of the Special Mission Division? What would become of Minami? And how would this Superintendent General, whose term as Superintendent General has only one year left, cope?

This left the show team, operations, and the reporting Date Nagamune on this side merely uttering hesitant affirmatives.

The air was filled with the mixed scent of incense, cosmetics, and excited sweat.

Members of YKC48 and Red Slope 46, dressed in brightly colored kimonos or modern-designed shrine maiden attire, displayed rigorously trained smiles before the camera, performing New Year worship, lottery drawing, and writing votive horse tablets.

Every item on the schedule was executed precisely, as if yesterday's rear-mountain turmoil and a certain regular guest's brief "disappearance" had never occurred.

Actually, today is not New Year's Day but the day before New Year's; we recorded in advance, after all, on New Year's Day, the number of visitors to Uesugi Shinai for worship would certainly be large.

But subtle cracks still remained.

Whispers among Fuji TV staff grew more frequent, their glances occasionally drifting toward Uesugi Muneyuki, who stood quietly at the edge of the director's team.

He had changed into a dark gray suit, over which he wore a black long coat; his expression was consistently calm, though he would occasionally lift his eyes slightly, gazing toward the direction of the graveyard behind the main hall, where deep in his eyes seemed to linger an undispersed mist.

Having seen Kenshin Kō, but———

Uesugi Muneyuki's thoughts lingered on the phone call he had received earlier.

Shortly before, he had received a call from Mai Xuejie: "The chief priestess of the Kanto Shinai Alliance, Shirakawa Mai, along with Sakura and Asuka, encountered an unexpected avalanche blocking the mountain road on their way to Yonezawa. Although the personnel are unharmed, road clearance requires time, so she cannot arrive today."

Fuji TV discussed it and decided to wait for Mai Xuejie's arrival to supplement her scenes, first finishing the filming of the 48 and 46 groups' parts—this is also a very normal approach—but it still made Uesugi Muneyuki feel a hint of strangeness.

Date Nagamune then stood awkwardly beside him—officially stating that he had twisted his leg and suffered severe bruising while searching for friends yesterday, with only a few knowing the true extent of the "injury"; this patrol officer now stood beside Uesugi Muneyuki in some indescribable posture, though his complexion was not good, as if he had been violently struck, shrouded in a layer of gray; Uesugi Muneyuki wanted to ask, but with so many people around and involving his personal "privacy," he could only suppress his laughter and stay silent.

The show's filming proceeded quite smoothly; outdoor scenes, after all, required neither acting nor show effects, and Fuji TV viewers mainly came to see Uesugi Muneyuki and Shirakawa Mai's two faces and their interaction, yet even so, Fuji TV still arranged a novel and criticism-heavy planning segment.

The climax segment of the show was the playful and symbolically rich "Kawanakajima Battle Reenactment."

Sugai Yuuka was dressed as Uesugi Kenshin, wearing a white battle surcoat, holding a replica "Chōkō" katana, riding a docile brown horse, head high and chest out, deliberately imitating dignity and aloofness in her brow.

On the other side, Sashihara Rino donned Takeda Shingen's signature visored helmet, held a military-issue war fan, and strove to adopt the composed bearing of a great general.

Under the director's command and exaggerated sound effects, the two "commanders" symbolically clashed before the shrine.

Sugai Yuuka (Kenshin) charged forward on horseback, her katana pointing emptily, shouting: "Shingen!!! Shinanai Shinanai Shinanai!!!"

Sashihara Rino (Shingen) then blocked with her war fan, responding in her signature style, slightly tinged with Kansai accent, in a variety-show tone: "No way, no way, no way!!!"

"Shingen!!!"

"Kenshin!!!"

"Shingen"

"~~

"Watching this scene, Uesugi Muneyuki's face was full of black lines, too lazy to even retort.

At this time, Uesugi Kenshin was not yet called Kenshin; his name was still Uesugi Masatora, and shouting "Kenshin" in Uesugi Muneyuki's eyes simply felt like a "I am Xiao Zhuang" aesthetic, and moreover, a Kyushu accent and a court official accent were simply unbearable to behold.

Sugai Yuuka and Sashihara Rino shouted each other's names frenziedly, giving the feeling of being like in Naruto, "Kill him!" "Which way!" that kind of mutual shouting, and honestly, it didn't sound like mutual respect mixed with mutual contempt between archrivals.

Well, but Japanese Sengoku history really is like that—compared to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which is seven parts true and three parts false, Japanese Sengoku history is actually three parts true and seven parts false; back then there was no unified historical record, each family's military writings tended to exaggerate their own battle results to avoid unfavorable situations, and accounts between them were chaotic and inconsistent, then came all sorts of commercial mutual puffing.

Japanese people just love this—I conquered him, so I brag, because I'm strong; we fought to a draw, so we brag, because we're both strong; I can't beat him, so I brag, because he's too strong, so I only lose because he's too strong, thus showing how strong I am.

And finally, whether it's a mule or a horse, only when they are pulled onto the Korean battlefield to clash with the Ming army does the truth become clear.

Even the "Nobunaga Kō Military Chronicle," which is obviously a private wild history, is considered factual history simply because Ota Gyuichi himself is relatively reliable and holds numerous firsthand sources.

Actually, whether the Fourth Battle of Kawanakajima in the official histories is as recorded in the Kōshū Military Chronicle is hard to say, and the popularly transmitted tale of Kenshin and Shingen's "single combat duel"—that is, when the Takeda army's Wife and Daughter Mountain Detachment returns and sees the Uesugi army gradually losing, Uesugi Kenshin personally rides out, one man cutting a blood path to Shingen's presence and slashing three times, the first blow blocked by Shingen's retainers, the second blow cutting down Shingen's retainers, the third blow wounding Shingen's shoulder but unable to penetrate due to thick armor, then Kogen Toratane leads the spear unit forward to wound Kenshin's war horse, forcing Kenshin to withdraw—after which the Kō army retreats, the Kō army wins but loses many famous generals like Takeda Nobushige and Yamamoto Kansuke, this scene has also been acclaimed as the absolute peak of the Battle of Kawanakajima.

But———everyone knows it's fake.

Later, even the authorities know it's fake; since fake won't do, they simply announced that the one who charged into enemy lines was Uesugi Kenshin's body double, Arakawa Chōjitsu.

Still fake.

Whenever Uesugi Muneyuki recalls these things, he wants to laugh; this kind of falseness is similar to "Hong Xuanye," "Chen Hongli," "Qiánlóng, your mother is Li Jin'gui"—just hearing it, you know it's fake, but it's fun, it's interesting, leading to later artistic creations wildly adopting it, to the point of becoming a default template.

The masses like it; you don't like it, what are you anyway?

Indeed, the surrounding members let out matching gasps and laughter, and fans frenziedly clicked their shutters.

This scene was faithfully recorded by countless cameras and played back via a nearby monitor for everyone to watch.

In many people's eyes, this is merely entertainment-style historical cosplay; but in certain concerned individuals, such as Sohō Hinata mixed among the staff, this crude performance seemed to touch some intangible ripple. He stood in the shadow, the corner of his mouth holding a hint of satisfied smile, his fingers unconsciously rubbing his pocket; in his eyes, the white garment on Sugai Yuuka's body seemed to faintly overlap with the white coat Uesugi Muneyuki returned in unharmed yesterday, stirring his inner interest mixed with wariness and malice.

"Kawanakajima" ended with Red Slope's "Kenshin" using "aura suppression" and YKC's "Shingen" using "strategic retreat"; the director timely inserted off-screen audio, hinting at "the alternation of the new era and the inheritance of traditional spirit."

The camera captured Sugai Yuuka reining in her horse and looking back, shouting like a villain in profile, as well as Sashihara Rino removing her helmet to reveal a somewhat complex yet still diligent smile; applause rang out on-site, but beneath the applause, a subtle undercurrent of Kanpai Group's fortune rising and falling quietly stirred in the hearts of some sensitive fans and members.

The prayer recording entered its final stage.

Members one by one hung their ema, filled with personal wishes, onto the dedicated rack.

At this moment, Uesugi Muneyuki slowly walked to the prayer hall, inserted a coin, and shook the bell rope.

He wrote no ema, merely clasped his hands together and stood silently for a moment.

The thin winter sunlight shone on his clearly defined side profile, neither joy nor sorrow.

"Uesugi-san." Just then, Date Nagamune suddenly spoke: "You say, if you only used the back side that hasn't been used before the front side, does it still count as virgin?"

Uesugi Muneyuki: "?"

He completely failed to understand what Date Nagamune was saying.

"Um, I mean, I mean————well, my meaning is, even if that's the case, if you wore an Okamoto, with a layer in between, would it still count as virgin?" Date Nagamune asked somewhat tremblingly, then without waiting for Uesugi Muneyuki's answer, revealed a steadfast gaze: "Well, what if, I mean, what if?"

Uesugi Muneyuki: "???"

What does that mean?

"Nothing, Uesugi-san, I was wondering, if the Second Young Lady graduates in the future, what should I and her child be called?" Date Nagamune seemed to have recovered somewhat, he let out a long sigh: "Or rather, Uesugi-san, how should you and Minami Management Officer name your child in the future?"

"Regarding this, the generation name of the main house is 'Ken', so according to the naming tradition of past generations, it should be Uesugi X Ken", but I have now branched out to establish the Watanabe Uesugi clan, so if my generation name is 'Sō', then it should be Uesugi Sō X", therefore if I and Minami's first child is named 'Uesugi Sō Ken', there will be no mistake."

"What a proper and formal name, it sounds old-fashioned." Date Nagamune obviously didn't like it much: "Are you the Second Son? Don't you have any other options?"

"If you say that, there are actually many good names, I've thought them all through, for example Hikōi, Zenchū, Kokuyō, Shōyu, Cunxiào, Sīmíng, Lu Shan, Sīmíng, Shùdé, Cóngjìn, Yūtei, Shōya, Zennetsu, Shōsuke, Keigen, Shigetada, Huáiyì, these are all very good names." Uesugi Muneyuki's eyes lit up.

"It sounds like there's a kind of Hexes Chaos Battle beauty." Date Nagamune nodded, thinking I'd better not let you give opinions, taking these names how does it feel listening to listening to — Tang Finished.

The on-site director announced that the New Year outdoor shoot recording of 《Hand of God》 is completely finished.

The members collectively bowed, thanking the staff and fans present.

With the sound of "Hard work", the two groups began to disperse in an orderly manner, preparing to return to their respective buses, returning to Tokyo.

Then comes the New Year holiday, idols are also on holiday, taking five days off, although some people must appear on Kōhaku, another part of the wash-foot maids can directly take holiday.

The noise gradually faded away, the shrine returned to its due tranquility, or rather, it is a kind of brief and uneasy tranquility before the storm.

About fifteen minutes later, a young assistant of YKC48 with a strange complexion came to where Sohō Hinata and the director of the variety show were speaking softly with Tei Reiji, voice stuttering due to panic: "Strange, Kawabe Mayu-san — and Nishino Miki-san — are missing, discovered when counting the number of people boarding the vehicle just now!"

Their kimonos were taken off, but the people are not in the changing room, nor in any agreed resting point in the shrine! Mobile phone — mobile phone also cannot get through!"

Tei Reiji's smile instantly disappeared, replaced by professional solemnity and genuine worry.

The on-site director immediately grabbed the walkie-talkie.

However, after thinking for a moment he put down the walkie-talkie, and subconsciously glanced at Uesugi Muneyuki in the distance.

Having already notified the headquarters station and the Metropolitan Police Department due to Uesugi-san's disappearance, and having been severely scolded for making a mistake in the situation causing a false alarm, now reporting another possible disappearance? Isn't this crying wolf? If it's another false alarm, will the headquarters station scold me for being sick and not let me direct 《Hand of God》 anymore?

"Perhaps they dispersed on their own or went to play nearby, wasn't there such a situation before?" The director said coldly: "Anyway, all the outdoor shoots of the idol side have already been completely filmed, it doesn't matter."

"Don't alarm the headquarters station again because of this! You guys look for it yourself! We still need to reshoot other shots here later!"

The 48 members had once experienced sneaking out during filming in the golden time variety show, which at the time still caused the television station to be furious, now everything has been filmed, perhaps the members are playing nearby or directly on holiday? As long as it doesn't delay filming, it's fine.

Sohō Hinata then slowly raised his eyes, his gaze first sweeping over Uesugi Muneyuki who had stopped walking upon hearing the sound not far away, slightly frowning and looking over, then turning toward the deep main hall of the shrine and the quiet mountains behind.

There was not much surprise on his face, only a deep, almost pleasurable chill spreading in the depths of his eyes.

The show is about to begin!