At dinner that evening, Miroku called her mother out to jointly welcome Fumori masaki and Uchiha Kagami.
Although Miroku was the current Miko, she was still young; her mother had been the one to receive Fumori masaki back then, so having her mother present would avoid appearing disrespectful.
"It's truly been a long time, I never expected you to come in person," the previous Miko said, surprised when she heard about it, and quickly came out to greet them.
"We apologize for our unannounced visit, I hope we haven't disturbed you?" Fumori masaki asked.
"Not at all," the previous Miko shook her head and said with a smile, "Ever since I retired from being the Miko, my days have been very leisurely.
I spend my time tending to flowers, reading books, and occasionally exchanging letters with Miss Kana to discuss the teachings of the Shinobi Sect."
"That sounds like a truly relaxed life; I hope to have such a time someday," Fumori masaki chuckled.
"Being a Hokage isn't a position one can easily retire from, is it? I wonder if Mr. Kazamori has anyone in mind as a successor?" the previous Miko asked.
Uchiha Kagami, standing nearby, also looked over with some curiosity.
Hokage was a lifelong position; if the current Hokage didn't intend to step down, they could remain in power until death.
A rational Hokage would naturally choose a new successor when they grew old and frail, but Fumori masaki was not yet old and could easily remain Hokage for another twenty or thirty years.
Uchiha Kagami knew that because of his Senjutsu training, Fumori masaki's aging process was slower than others, which was evident in his appearance.
Compared to others of the same age, Fumori masaki clearly looked younger than even Uchiha Kagami, who was known for taking good care of himself.
"Well, that's hard to say," Fumori masaki did not reveal his true intentions.
After all, he was in front of outsiders, so it was best not to casually mention the Hokage's successor.
In front of his own people, he might hint at it more or less.
The previous Miko understood that her question was a bit presumptuous, and she smiled apologetically, saying, "My apologies."
"It's fine.
If I could retire early, perhaps I could also write to you to discuss the development of the Shinobi Sect's teachings," Fumori masaki said nonchalantly.
However, no one knew that these were Fumori masaki's true feelings; he genuinely intended to retire early.
Once he had dealt with Black Zetsu and ensured the Daimyo could no longer stir up trouble, he would entrust the position to someone else, only remaining to supervise and observe.
"I truly look forward to that," the previous Miko smiled and asked, "How is Miss Kana doing now? I heard that the relationship between your village and your country's Daimyo seems to be..."
The establishment of the Twelve Guardian Ninja was no secret; the Daimyo had intentionally publicized it.
After all, if people knew there were such twelve elite guards by his side, anyone contemplating assassination would have to weigh their abilities, wondering if they would die without even seeing the Daimyo.
The previous Miko could tell this was a political maneuver reminiscent of the Warring States period, and she felt a faint worry.
Since the Fire Daimyo had resorted to such methods, it indicated a deep conflict with the Hidden Leaf Village that required containment.
In that case, Kana's situation seemed somewhat precarious.
"She is still relatively safe for now.
Should the situation change in the future, I will make arrangements," Fumori masaki said simply, without delving too deeply.
Similarly, discussing the country's Daimyo in front of outsiders was rather inappropriate.
However, he understood that the previous Miko was concerned about Kana's situation, as they were friends and pen pals, so he revealed a little.
The previous Miko was also discerning and did not press further, nodding slightly.
"That's good.
Ah, Miroku happens to be able to foresee the safety of people with whom she has a certain connection.
If Miroku senses anything, I will also write to inform Mr. Kazamori."
Upon hearing this, Miroku quickly nodded and said, "Yes, if I foresee anything regarding Miss Kana, I will immediately tell my mother to inform Mr. Kazamori."
The Miko's lineage's inherited precognitive ability might be a spiritual ability derived from traditional training, similar to the Yamanaka and Kato clans' spiritual secret techniques, just taking a different path.
Of course, it could also be due to their bloodline, as the first Miko married Asura, which would certainly make them special.
"Is Miss Miroku's precognitive ability very powerful? Can she foresee things even though Kana is so far away?" Uchiha Kagami couldn't help but ask.
"It is very powerful; I have never seen such a powerful precognitive ability," the previous Miko said.
"Sometimes I worry about what impact it might have on Miroku, but Miroku has some control over her precognitive ability, and this is thanks to Mr. Kazamori."
"Me?" Fumori masaki looked somewhat surprised.
"Yes, because of the new Shinobi Sect teachings proposed by Mr. Kazamori, we have more or less revised our traditional training methods, and it has actually brought about some changes," the previous Miko seemed somewhat pleased, indicating that the improved training methods truly benefited them.
This truly surprised Fumori masaki.
However, traditional Shinobi Sect training methods leaned towards spiritual cultivation, so if they had been revised based on philosophical principles, it wasn't impossible for some miraculous changes to occur.
After all, the methods for Chakra cultivation had been gradually improved over time.
The difficulty of Chakra cultivation in the past led to the somewhat extreme inheritance methods of ninja families.
It was impossible to master the power of Chakra without experiencing arduous training; those who could were undoubtedly geniuses.
In those days, only such individuals could enter the Shinobi Sect for training.
It's no wonder that many successful practitioners of Kekkei Genkai emerged from among those Shinobi Sect ancestors.
They were selected through layers of vetting to begin with, unlike today's shinobi, many of whom benefit from better environments and training methods, naturally leading to fewer geniuses like those of the Shinobi Sect era.
"I really didn't expect that," Fumori masaki said.
"Regardless, we still have to thank Mr. Kazamori, because of this, Miroku can vaguely manage to make predictions specifically for one person, but it's not easy; it often requires inspiration to strike," the previous Miko said.
"That's normal.
Such precognitive abilities are bound to have limitations; the more incredible the power, the more so," Fumori masaki nodded slightly.
"In any case, we will pay attention to the situation, but we still hope Mr. Kazamori can pay more attention as well.
If we make a mistake here, at least it can be remedied," the previous Miko said.
"Alright," Fumori masaki smiled and nodded.
"Speaking of which, when I rested a bit this afternoon, I seemed to have a dream, but I think it had a precognitive effect," Miroku said somewhat hesitantly.
"I don't know if it's real; it felt a bit illusory."
"What was it?" the previous Miko looked at her daughter with some surprise.
Fumori masaki and Uchiha Kagami also looked towards Miroku.
"Perhaps it was because of discussing the legend of Susanoo slaying the Eight-Headed Serpent with Mr. Kazamori.
In my dream, I seemed to dream of something similar.
Although it wasn't the Eight-Headed Serpent, it had a somewhat similar appearance, but the other party was only a silhouette and quickly disappeared," Miroku said.
Fumori masaki frowned slightly.
Miroku's description reminded him of Mōryō from the movie, but Mōryō shouldn't appear.
The Land of Demons currently had no such creature as Mōryō.
The actions taken to prevent the summoning by the Evil God cultists might have permanently prevented Mōryō from appearing in this world.
After all, if Mōryō had truly been summoned, Fumori masaki couldn't have failed to see similar intelligence.
Either Mōryō was never summoned, or this Mōryō was too weak to cause any trouble.
But since Miroku said so, Fumori masaki secretly took note.
After all, she was a Miko with precognitive abilities, so her words should be taken seriously, and perhaps some previously undiscovered clues could be found.
"Maybe it was just a dream, but it's also possible..." the previous Miko paused.
"If you're really worried, then investigate thoroughly.
It's better to be prepared; better safe than sorry," Fumori masaki said.
"Mm, that's true," the previous Miko nodded.
"It's good to investigate; it's better than dealing with problems when they arise."
By this time, dinner was almost over.
The previous Miko and Miroku arranged rooms for Fumori masaki and Uchiha Kagami to rest, informing them that if they needed anything, they could instruct the guards outside.
Then, they went to investigate the rumored place where Susanoo met his demise, to look for clues about the Totsuka Blade.
In the room, Uchiha Kagami was about to rest when he saw Fumori masaki looking thoughtful, so he asked, "What are you thinking about?"
"Huh? Nothing," Fumori masaki came back to his senses, shook his head, and said nothing else.
"I'm just a little bothered by Miroku's prophecy."
"That was just a dream, wasn't it? Just because she has the ability to prophesy doesn't mean everything is a premonition.
There are no clues right now, so investigating is the best we can do.
If you take it too seriously, aren't you just scaring yourself?" Uchiha Kagami said.
"That's true, but I always feel there's something worth paying attention to, yet I can't quite put my finger on it," Fumori masaki said.
"Intuition can indeed be quite important sometimes," as a strong individual, Uchiha Kagami understood that this elusive thing called intuition sometimes truly held truth.
But intuition was intuition precisely because you couldn't articulate an exact reason for it; it was just an instinctive feeling.
"Maybe I'm just overthinking it," Fumori masaki thought for a moment, still unable to find any connections, and said.
"Get some rest soon.
You're not your main body right now, just a clone, so you need to conserve your chakra," Uchiha Kagami reminded him.
Shadow clones generally cannot replenish their own chakra.
Neither eating nor absorbing other chakra can fully serve to replenish it.
This was a matter of years of experience; Uchiha Kagami had yet to find an exception.
Long-term existing shadow clones were basically impossible.
"Mmm," Fumori masaki nodded.
Although his chakra was very abundant now, once it dropped to a certain dangerous limit, even a relatively large impact could cause him to disappear.
It was like some shadow clones could withstand fatal injuries before disappearing, while others vanished after being punched once.
This was the result of the stability of evenly distributed chakra and the amount of chakra.
The night quickly passed.
When Fumori masaki and Uchiha Kagami woke up, they had breakfast together with the previous Miko and Miroku.
Afterward, Miroku spoke up: "My mother and I have found a place where Susanoo's guardian may have died and been buried, but we don't know if the Totsuka Blade is there."
"Where is it?" Uchiha Kagami quickly asked.
"In the Shinobi Sect belief, Susanoo's guardian is called the God of the Ocean because his domain was on the coast.
According to the traditions of that time, Susanoo's guardian should also have been buried in his domain after his death.
Since Susanoo's guardian once jointly resisted the creatures of the Underworld with our ancestors, his domain should not be too far away," Miroku said.
"So, Susanoo's domain should be on a coast somewhere near the Land of Demons?" Uchiha Kagami immediately interjected, picking up on Miroku's words.
"Exactly.
And based on the information Mr. Kagami provided, we found a place that might be Susanoo's guardian's domain," Miroku placed a map in front of Fumori masaki and Uchiha Kagami, pointing to a spot and saying, "It's here.
The reason we believe it's here is because there's a local legend that there's a special cave there.
The locals believe this place is a tunnel of reincarnation, where souls of the deceased pass through to be reborn."
"Is that true?" Fumori masaki asked with some curiosity.
In this world, the boundaries between life and death were still quite strict.
The Rinne Tensei, which resurrected others, inevitably required sacrificing one's own life—if resurrecting recent individuals, and with intact bodies, many could be resurrected at once.
If resurrecting people from too long ago, only one person could be resurrected.
The Impure World Reincarnation, which summoned the dead, also required a complete human body and soul for exchange, and the summoned deceased were merely clay dolls, their strength limited by the quality of the sacrifice.
Even if such a cave were real, it would require extremely special powers, such as the Rinnegan, which could summon the King of Hell, or a Mangekyō Sharingan with certain spiritual vision and powerful spiritual strength.
"Whether it's true or not, we'll know once we go and see.
If it is, then our objective for this trip will have been achieved," Fumori said seriously.