Afterward, Miroku and the previous Miko accompanied Fumori masaki and Uchiha Kagami to the coast where the cave was located. It was within the Land of Demons and not too far away.
This trip was under the guise of visiting the scenic spots of the Land of Demons, mainly to avoid attracting attention and to somewhat conceal their true purpose. It also allowed them to conduct diplomatic relations, which was Uchiha Kagami's other mission besides investigating the whereabouts of the Totsuka Blade.
In the eyes of the world, Uchiha Kagami's trip was originally to strengthen ties with the Land of Demons, so visiting the cave there could be seen as a reasonable detour, and most people wouldn't find anything suspicious about it.
The Hidden Leaf Village was lush with vegetation and vibrant green, but it lacked much of the natural coastal scenery. After all, the Hidden Leaf Village was located inland, while the Land of Demons was closer to the sea.
Two successive generations of Miko, who held high status in the Land of Demons, accompanied the Hidden Leaf Village envoys, touring along the coast.
Since the trip was ostensibly for sightseeing in the Land of Demons, having the two Miko accompany them was perfectly fine. Miroku could also introduce the scenery of the Land of Demons to them. The last time Fumori masaki visited, it was for a mission, and he hadn't had a proper chance to tour everything in the Land of Demons.
For example, this coast was new to Fumori masaki; it was his first time hearing about it and visiting it. He certainly wouldn't have thought that the Totsuka Blade might be in a place like this, and he wondered how Uchiha Itachi had found it.
Thinking about it, it's possible that after Uchiha Itachi defected from the village, he consciously collected various documents and materials related to the Uchiha clan and found clues about the Totsuka Blade from them. Perhaps he specifically sought out the Totsuka Blade after learning that Orochimaru's cursed seal had been placed on Sasuke.
The four walked along the coast together. The sound of the surging waves had a unique charm, carrying a hint of the sea's scent. The coast was rugged with jagged rocks, making it a bit inconvenient to walk, but for ninjas, it was almost like flat ground.
Somewhat surprisingly, the high-ranking Miko also seemed to walk with ease.
"We occasionally train our bodies too. Chakra training, when supplemented with physical exercise, often brings benefits," the previous Miko explained.
This was indeed true. Currently, chakra is defined as a combination of physical and spiritual energy, but in the early days of Ninshu, chakra was primarily spiritual energy. At that time, the Sage of Six Paths' idea was to establish a spiritual connection through chakra, thereby allowing hearts to communicate.
However, afterward, it is unknown who started it—perhaps Indra—but physical energy was added to chakra, greatly amplifying its power. From then on, the power of chakra became incomparable to what it once was, and its function gradually changed, becoming a tool for conflict. Thus, the chakra primarily combining physical and spiritual energy was passed down.
The Land of Demons was known for preserving traditions, but after a millennium, it was impossible for it to be exactly as it was when Ninshu was first established. Moreover, even without considering chakra, daily physical exercise was a good choice.
Nobles in this era often lacked physical exercise because, in their eyes, sweating was not very elegant. Except for certain nobles with special professions or temperaments, most nobles were basically inactive individuals.
As Miko with high status in the Land of Demons, their daily activities mainly involved prayers and blessings. Even with chakra training, it was truly commendable that they focused on physical exercise. Perhaps these two Miko were actually more capable fighters than many male nobles?
"Ah, this is the place," Miroku jumped onto a rock, pointing in a direction ahead, and said to Fumori masaki and Uchiha Kagami.
The two quickly flashed to Miroku's side and looked in the direction she was pointing. They saw the outline of a cave, and next to it, there seemed to be something like steps. According to Miroku, this was naturally formed—at least, no one had heard of it being built by anyone, and there were no obvious traces of artificial construction on the surface.
It was precisely because of these step-like formations, combined with the appearance of the cave, that people thought it was a place of reincarnation.
Upon approaching, Uchiha Kagami looked at the cave's outline and nodded slightly: "No wonder people would think so. This cave indeed has a meaning of rebirth."
The outline of the cave looked a bit like an egg, and an egg is the state before a life is born. In the eyes of ancient, uneducated people, it was not impossible for it to be endowed with the meanings of rebirth and reincarnation, especially since this place was truly naturally formed, which would further reinforce such an impression.
"Although there are various legends, there's nothing truly special here, Mr. Kagami. Have you noticed anything?" Miroku asked.
"I don't know." Uchiha Kagami had already activated his Sharingan, but he couldn't discern anything from the surface of the cave. "Let's go inside and take a look."
Everyone followed the rock formations that resembled steps—although they looked like steps, they were only superficially similar, and ordinary people would find them very difficult to navigate—to the entrance of the cave. The Miko's guards waited in the distance, unable to enter.
Once inside the cave, out of sight of others, Fumori masaki dispelled his Transformation Jutsu, changing his appearance.
Although using the Transformation Jutsu would incur an additional chakra cost, Fumori masaki's chakra reserves were still very abundant after distributing chakra, making him outstanding among jonin. This alone would not cause such a significant drain on his shadow clone.
Theoretically, the power possessed by a shadow clone of his caliber would be formidable even against several jonin, and his strength remained firmly at the 'Kage' level.
"How is it? Did you find anything?" Fumori masaki asked, looking at Uchiha Kagami, who was frowning.
"Hmm, it seems there are indeed some special features," Uchiha Kagami said, as he transformed his ordinary Sharingan into the Mangekyo Sharingan.
The two Miko beside them showed surprised expressions upon seeing Uchiha Kagami's Mangekyo Sharingan. They weren't entirely unfamiliar with the ordinary Sharingan; it was the most common form of the Uchiha clan's kekkei genkai, and anyone with some knowledge would know a bit about it.
However, the Mangekyo Sharingan was not something everyone knew about. Miroku and the previous Miko were seeing this legendary Sharingan for the first time. They immediately realized that this might be the Mangekyo Sharingan, as it was mentioned in the Ninshu scriptures they studied as a special stage of the Sharingan.
"Mr. Kazamori, could this be the Mangekyo Sharingan?" Miroku asked.
"Oh, you recognize it. Indeed, this is the Mangekyo Sharingan." Fumori masaki nodded, confirming Miroku's guess. This was the legendary Mangekyo Sharingan.
"I never expected Mr. Kagami to possess such eyes. I've heard that in the past, the only one who possessed the Mangekyo Sharingan was Uchiha Madara, the Uchiha clan head at the time of the Hidden Leaf Village's founding," the previous Miko said.
"There was also his younger brother, but he died unexpectedly before the village was founded. If we're only talking about after the Hidden Leaf Village was established, then indeed, he was the only one," Fumori masaki said. He looked at Uchiha Kagami, who was observing the interior of the cave with his Mangekyo Sharingan, anticipating good news from him.
After a while, Uchiha Kagami showed a pensive expression. Seeing this, Fumori masaki asked, "How is it, Kagami? Did you find anything?"
"Masaki, who do you think the guardian Susanoo in the legends truly was?" Uchiha Kagami asked.
"Well, I don't know. The guardians during the Ninshu period theoretically should have all been ordinary people who followed the Sage of Six Paths to learn chakra, or people chosen from the Sage of Six Paths' descendants to serve as guardians after him," Fumori masaki said.
Everyone possesses the power of chakra. Even before the God Tree appeared in this world, humans had chakra within them, but they didn't know how to use or condense it, so it was as if it didn't exist. It wasn't until the Sage of Six Paths taught the ways of Ninshu that humanity first recognized the existence of chakra.
Aside from those with the innate bloodline advantage of the Sage's lineage, all others who could use chakra were followers of the Sage of Six Paths. Without exception, they were all commoners. Perhaps there might have been some nobles among them—given the Sage of Six Paths' esteemed status, it's not impossible for nobles to have chosen to become his disciples.
They relied on their innate talent, and in the relatively primitive stage of chakra training, learned to use the power of chakra. Precisely because of their exceptional talent, as their chakra training deepened, they became rare and powerful individuals.
The guardian Susanoo should have been such a person, especially since the title this person possessed was the ultimate dōjutsu of the Mangekyo Sharingan. This made one feel that this person's strength must have been extraordinary—Susanoo was not this person's real name, but a title given by Ninshu.
"This person should have some connection with our ancestor, Lord Indra," Uchiha Kagami said. "Although it's almost non-existent now, there are some traces of the Sharingan's power."
"Is that so? Thinking about it carefully, it makes sense. Since only the Uchiha clan's ancestor once obtained the Totsuka Blade, then a connection with Indra is not impossible," Fumori masaki said.
"During the Sage of Six Paths' era, Lord Indra was still the prodigy of Ninshu. He possessed divine power innately, and everyone regarded him as the successor of Ninshu. The guardian Susanoo might have had a very close relationship with Lord Indra, and sought his help when he was ordered to guard the north," Miroku said.
As the eldest son of the Sage of Six Paths, Indra inherently inherited the Sage of Six Paths' powerful chakra. Unlike the embarrassing "Indra" in the Naruto anime, the Indra in the original work was a powerful individual born with the Six Paths Power. Asura, who received all of his father, the Sage of Six Paths' inheritance, only slightly surpassed Indra, demonstrating Indra's formidable strength.
Fumori masaki had always suspected that Indra's ordinary Sharingan could unleash power comparable to the Mangekyo Sharingan. The various side effects of later Sharingan were the result of bloodline degradation, or perhaps because Indra's descendants did not inherit his power.
If such a powerful Indra had provided any help to the guardian Susanoo, it didn't seem impossible. Moreover, if there was a connection with Indra, the name Susanoo might even have originated from Indra!
After all, the ultimate dōjutsu of the Mangekyo Sharingan, Susanoo, and the guardian Susanoo shared the same origin. If Indra was inspired by Susanoo to give the guardian the name Susanoo, there shouldn't be any major logical problem.
Before the Sage of Six Paths, in his later years, passed on the position of leader of Ninshu to Asura, Indra was a very prestigious person in Ninshu. It was reasonable for him to be able to do such things.
"Speaking of the Sharingan, I'm reminded of the legend of intoxicating the eight-headed demon with sake," Miroku said. "I don't think it's possible that the demon was actually made drunk with sake, right? Would such a demon really get drunk from something like sake?"
"Mythological stories often get embellished or use the concepts of people at the time during their transmission. In an era when papermaking technology was not very advanced, all documents had to be recorded concisely. The story says sake, but in reality, it might have been something more complex," the previous Miko said at this point.
"For example, genjutsu?" Fumori masaki said.
"This is probably the closest to the truth. It could have been the Miko at that time, or Lord Indra, but in any case, genjutsu was used to make the demon lose control of itself, and then it was beheaded and perished by the Totsuka Blade," Uchiha Kagami said.
"Myths are truly complex things," Miroku said with some emotion.
"It itself has no function; it's just a trace left by certain actions performed by someone using the Sharingan in the past. That's why I'm surprised, because even after such a long time, it can still be felt. Its dōjutsu power is extraordinary, and it can only be our ancestor, Lord Indra," Uchiha Kagami said. "The user of this Sharingan once opened a door to the world of souls here, and even after so long, a crack still remains."
Fumori masaki was slightly surprised. The Sage of Six Paths' Rinnegan had the ability to summon the King of Hell, and combined with the special abilities of the Human Path, it could almost inflict spiritual punishment on anyone without having to pay the price of life like the Reaper Death Seal. Even Naruto, who had mastered Sage Mode, when accidentally hit by the Human Path's soul attack, found his body difficult to move and his soul slowly being extracted. He could only form a Rasengan to counterattack, but the Rasengan was absorbed by the Preta Path.
It was undeniable that Indra only possessed the Sharingan, yet he also possessed such an ability. Indeed, a divine child was incomparable to his bloodline descendants. The Sage's bloodline, after all, was not like that of a Saiyan; mixing with mortal blood did not make it stronger.