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The heavy doors creaked as they were pushed open, releasing a thick cloud of dust and the musty smell of decay that had been sealed away for thousands of years.
"Ugh..." Kaito sighed in relief. "Well, at least the Susanoo is essentially a technique made of energy and doesn't need to breathe."
After a long while, the dust settled, and the Susanoo finally stepped into the grand hall.
The vast interior was shrouded in deep darkness. Even through the Susanoo's vision, Kaito could only barely make out a small patch of the ground near the entrance.
"Madara-senpai."
"Understood."
The character for "Heaven" beneath Madara lit up, and the Susanoo raised its left hand, a flame igniting in its palm.
Kaito continued to manipulate the Susanoo, holding the flame in its left hand as it moved forward.
Unfortunately, the light from the flame only illuminated a small area around the Susanoo.
The light didn't gradually fade as it would in the outside world. Instead, it formed a sharply defined sphere, with the orange glow inside clearly separated from the thick darkness outside.
The Susanoo walked in a straight line from the center of the hall's entrance. After some time, there was still nothing ahead.
After walking for about half an hour, the light from the flame finally began to spread normally, and Kaito faintly saw some menacing figures ahead.
"Be careful," Izuna warned.
Madara made a judgment, "They're probably statues."
"Or they could be traps," Izuna hesitated.
"Hmm," Madara didn't say more.
"Don't worry," Kaito slowed the Susanoo's pace. "I'll be ready for a fight."
As the Susanoo approached, the three of them finally saw the true nature of the figures.
They were a line of demon statues, arranged in a straight row, their authenticity unclear.
The statue at the front had twisted limbs and an expression of agony. Surprisingly, its skull had been opened, and its head had been turned into a lamp.
The Susanoo extended its left hand, and the flame ignited the wick.
Once the wick was lit, the demon statue suddenly moved to the left side of the hall, illuminating a large area.
"Continue," Madara said.
"Right."
Kaito responded, and the Susanoo moved forward, lighting each demon lamp in turn.
These "lamps" had their limbs twisted into bizarre shapes—some had wicks on their heads, others in their mouths, chests, abdomens, hands, or feet...
As each lamp was lit, it moved to the base of the massive stone pillars on either side of the hall. Step by step, more of the hall was illuminated.
Finally, when the last "lamp" was in place, a wide staircase appeared before the Susanoo.
Looking up, the top of the staircase was still dim, but a figure roughly the same size as the Susanoo could be seen seated there.
"That should be King Enma's body."
The Susanoo continued to climb the stairs, holding the flame in its hand.
As it approached the throne, the Susanoo brought its hands together, splitting the flame into two and tossing them to the left and right of the throne.
Boom! Boom!
The two flames landed on bone-shaped lamp stands on either side of the throne, fully illuminating the area above the stairs.
King Enma's body sat on a throne pieced together from bones.
He wore a gray robe with a red collar, and his crown bore the character for "King" on the front, with two long white feathers on the sides.
The lower half of his face was hidden behind a cloth curtain, and his open eyes bore the ring-like patterns of the Rinnegan.
"Madara-senpai, the next step is up to you," the Susanoo closed its eyes and remained motionless.
Inside the illusory space within the gem on the Susanoo's forehead, Kaito opened his eyes.
"Right."
Madara then closed his eyes.
The triangular formation beneath the three of them began to rotate, and Madara's position moved to the front.
The Susanoo opened its eyes again, now bearing the same color and patterns as King Enma's eyes.
Taking a step forward, the Susanoo stared directly into King Enma's eyes, and a powerful ocular force began to invade his body.
"Once Madara-senpai successfully takes control of King Enma's body, I'll be able to obtain the full power of Enma," Kaito said excitedly, watching the scene through the projected vision.
"With the power of Enma in hand, our Uchiha clan will be invincible."
At this moment, Izuna was also filled with anticipation.
"Done," Madara's voice echoed in the illusory space.
Kaito was surprised. "That fast?"
"Hmph, how long did you think it would take? Don't forget that Nagato's eyes originally belonged to me," Madara said dismissively.
"I see."
Kaito made a request. "Next, please completely erase the contract you seized, allowing him to return to freedom."
"Understood."
Madara agreed, and the Rinnegan patterns in King Enma's eyes gradually faded, turning into pure black.
"Now it's my turn," Kaito said with excitement.
The formation rotated again, and Kaito moved to the front before closing his eyes.
The Susanoo's Rinnegan transformed back into the three-tomoe Sharingan, then into the five-pointed star pattern of the Mangekyō Sharingan.
"This is the first time I've tried to communicate with the Ryūmyaku in this state."
Kaito manipulated the Susanoo to form hand seals.
His voice echoed, "Ryūmyaku hidden deep within the earth, the pulse of the planet, the source of life, appear now! By this summoning, I beseech your protection! As I command, so shall it be!"
However, after the incantation, nothing happened.
"What's going on?" Kaito was stunned. "I can't connect to Ryūmyaku."
"Right now, you exist solely as a soul," Madara reminded him.
"It's not that," Kaito said firmly. "Onmyoji have always valued the soul over the body. My connection to Ryūmyaku is through my soul and consciousness."
"Could it be interference from me and my brother?" Izuna suggested another possibility.
"No, my connection to Ryūmyaku wouldn't be affected by your presence," Kaito had already figured it out. "It seems to be a problem with this alternate space."
"Of course you can't summon Ryūmyaku of the planet from an alternate space," Izuna said irritably.
"I can sense that this alternate space is connected to the planet," Kaito countered. "The most likely reason is that this alternate space is a fragment of the Land of the Dead, filled with a large amount of death energy. It's the death energy that's blocking the life energy of Ryūmyaku!"
"Then... have you thought about how you'll make a decision in the future?" Madara brought up the issue of what was to come.
Indeed, life energy and death energy were fundamentally opposing forces. If he wanted to simultaneously control the power of Ryūmyaku and the power of Enma, he might end up losing more than he gained.
However, he had never intended to incorporate the power of Enma into himself, so he would proceed with the original plan.
"Don't worry, I have a solution."
"Hmm," Madara didn't say more.
"The key isn't figuring out life energy or death energy, but how you're going to deal with King Enma's body right now!" Izuna brought the topic back.
"Don't worry, I always prepare backup plans for important matters," Kaito smiled.
He manipulated the Susanoo to crouch down, its fingertip glowing with blue spiritual light as it quickly drew a circular formation on the ground.
"Come forth, Box of Ultimate Bliss!"
Then, the Susanoo slammed its palm on the edge of the formation.