Chapter 67: Darn It, Being Beaten to It
Uesugi Kiyoshi followed Hoshimi Rie and arrived at the Ikeda family in Chiyoda Ward.
After ringing the doorbell, a graceful and beautiful woman with long hair opened the door. She looked to be around twenty-five or twenty-six years old, holding a broom, seemingly cleaning.
"Who are you?"
Hoshimi Rie respectfully presented a gift and said. I'm Hoshimi Rie, a former student of Teacher Hideo Ikeda.
"Ah, my dad mentioned you. Please come in! I am his daughter, Ikeda Lizi."
Lizi took the gift and invited the two inside.
Although it was already late and the light was dim, Uesugi Kiyoshi keenly noticed that Lizi appeared somewhat ethereal, with the outline of objects behind her visible through her body.
"Dad, your guests are here!"
Lizi walked towards the back room, and soon a thin, gray-haired man entered.
When he saw Hoshimi Rie and Uesugi Kiyoshi, his sad expression instantly disappeared, and he couldn't contain his excitement.
"Hoshimi, you're here! Does that mean..."
"Yes, teacher." Hoshimi Rie tugged at Uesugi Kiyoshi's sleeve, signaling him to step forward. "The person I've brought can surely help you!"
"Really?" Hideo Ikeda asked reflexively, then realizing his mistake, he quickly apologized. "I'm sorry for doubting you. Who are you?"
"Uesugi Kiyoshi."
Hideo Ikeda's hand froze in mid-air, his expression becoming rigid. Just as Uesugi Kiyoshi was about to speak, he suddenly screamed.
"My daughter is not strange!"
"..."
Uesugi Kiyoshi made a lot of effort to promise that he wouldn't take away the old man's daughter and wouldn't force her to do anything against her will, finally calming down the excited elder.
Unfair, this time he visited without any ulterior motives!
"Teacher, please explain your requirements to Mr. Uesugi again, he will definitely be able to help," Hoshimi Rie advised.
Uesugi Kiyoshi quickly nodded.
Hideo Ikeda glanced at Uesugi Kiyoshi, then at Hoshimi Rie, finally made up his mind, and expressed his wish.
"I-I just don't want to go through the pain of losing my daughter again, that's all!"
How could he, as a father, not know that his daughter had passed away?!
The pain of an older person burying the younger one, Hideo Ikeda could hardly bear it.
Only after learning about the shadow from Tokura Makoto did he regain some strength. From then on, on every significant day, he would visit the Tokura family to see his daughter once more.
Even if it's just a shadow.
Hideo Ikeda always wanted to be with his daughter, but when the day finally came, he could only watch as she grew distant in front of him.
As a father, the pain of losing his daughter twice was unbearable for him!
"I understand."
After hearing Hideo Ikeda's heartfelt words, Uesugi Kiyoshi stood up without hesitation and took the responsibility upon himself.
"Please don't worry, I will take care of this."
"...Please!" Hideo Ikeda deeply bowed with tears streaming down his face.
Since he promised to help, after leaving the Ikeda's house, the next stop naturally was the Tokura family.
Compared to the previous simple visits, this time's visit was much grander. Even before Uesugi Kiyoshi arrived, dozens of cars were already lined up outside the Tokura family's gates, and nearly a hundred accompanying personnel blocked the roads solidly.
"It's Uesugi Kiyoshi, the president of the Uesugi Society. He will be visiting personally very soon," reported Tokura Makoto, panting.
When Tokura Kazuo heard this name, he jumped up from his seat in disbelief.
Even though the Tokura family is a prestigious one, there are many prestigious families in Japan. Even the largest royal family has never heard of Uesugi Kiyoshi paying a visit.
"Is it really him? Are you sure?"
Tokura Makoto patted his chest and emphatically replied, "Absolutely!"
"...I understand, he must have recognized the abilities of our Tokura family!"
As the head of the family, Tokura Kazuo keenly perceived Uesugi Kiyoshi's intentions. After all, besides this, there was nothing else in their family that the other party would be interested in.
"Immediately call the heads of the other branches of the family here for a meeting. And make sure to tell them to be loyal to the family and keep secrets!"
"Yes, father!"
After watching his son leave, Tokura Kazuo calmed himself down and then quickly walked to the archives to look for relevant information.
If you have to betray the family, make sure to do it before anyone else and let him do it!
This is a rare chance to impress Japan's top person, he won't act like Matsunaga Hisahide!
..................
In the reception room, more than ten members of the Tokura main and branch families gathered together to welcome Uesugi Kiyoshi's arrival.
Without hesitation, Uesugi Kiyoshi got straight to the point as soon as he sat down, "I'm here to learn about Tokura's ability to create replicas."
Just as expected!
Tokura and Kuma smiled at each other.
Giving is necessary, but before that, one must raise their own value in order to gain the maximum benefit.
Before he could speak, branch family head Hucang Shanbo stood up beside him and took out a stack of papers.
"The ability to create residual images is divided into four parts: history, evolution, process, and conditions, all of which are here for your review!"
Uesugi Kiyoshi took the materials and nodded as he looked at them, saying, "They are indeed very detailed."
It's really a shame for the Tokura family, betraying their family's secrets just for a small gain!
Tokura, Bear, and others glared angrily at Hucang Shanbo, but he remained shameless, standing tall and looking pleased with himself.
"By the way, where is all the data related to the residual images so far?" Uesugi Kiyoshi hurriedly flipped through the materials and asked.
Tokura Kazuo was about to get up when Tokura Yuma, another branch family head, pulled out a laptop.
"Everything is here! All the data has been cleaned, categorized, regression models established, data mined, and visually presented with bar charts, pie charts, line graphs, scatter plots, you'll definitely not be disappointed!"
"Great!" Uesugi Kiyoshi encouraged with a smile.
Not only great, but downright intentional, premeditated! Even Hucang Shanbo threw an angry look now.
"Now, for the final question, who has the family tree of the Tokura family?"
"Me!"
"Me!"
In the midst of the commotion, Tokura Kazuo supported himself with both hands, rolled over, and came in front of Uesugi Kiyoshi, taking out the family tree from his bosom and offering it with both hands.
"The family tree of the Tokura family is here!"
