The divine radiance had restored Granny Huan’s youthful body, but time had still left its traces upon her.
The habits her body had developed during her years of aging did not disappear simply because she had regained her youth.
She still stooped forward, leaned on her cane, raised her head, and moved slowly, one step at a time.
Her posture resembled a dragon bending its back, or a great bell settling upon the earth.
From a distance, Granny Huan still looked like an old woman.
Only when one approached could they discover the astonishing beauty that had defied the passage of time.
Joseph and Johnny, standing nearby, saw the change in Granny Huan and could not help but mutter enviously:
"Old and shameless Danjō really lucked out!"
Even Danjō probably never imagined that at his age he would still have the chance to enjoy the old saying about a young pear blossom resting against an old crabapple tree.
And this crabapple tree was his original, genuine lover.
That old dog Danjō really had won the lottery of life.
At this moment, however, only an innocent child was completely unconcerned about the change in Granny Huan.
Himawari only wanted to know exactly how powerful her idol, Lord Kei, really was.
"Little lamb, reveal your ugliness beneath Lord Kei’s gaze!"
While in the arms of the elderly Granny Huan, Himawari had always been considerate.
Granny Huan’s aged body could not withstand her constant squirming and playing around.
But a strong, youthful body was another matter entirely.
The moment Granny Huan became stronger and younger, the previously quiet Himawari became lively and energetic.
Cradled in Granny Huan’s strong arms, Himawari waved her hands and feet excitedly, cheering for Kei from behind.
And Uchiha Kei did not disappoint her.
Encouraged by Himawari’s cheers, he increased the intensity of his attacks.
Today, we’ll kill a god and give our little girl something exciting to watch.
"Divine Spirit of Myōjin!"
Uchiha Kei brought his hands together.
Beneath the radiance, pure white feathers began descending from the heavens, swirling through the air like windblown snow.
Chains formed from divine light emerged from the void.
One after another, they wrapped around the Evil Buddha, locking it in place.
Upon closer inspection, each of those densely packed feathers actually contained the hands of a clock.
Every movement of those hands pushed the universe’s time forward.
The radiance itself became frozen in midair.
The Kingdom of Heaven stood suspended above them.
Time was cut off.
Space was sealed.
This technique completely separated Uchiha Kei and the Evil Buddha into two different domains.
The region where Uchiha Kei and the Evil Buddha fought was completely severed from the Naruto world.
"Holy, holy, holy."
Himawari stared at the scene with even greater fanaticism.
She asked Joseph in an almost feverish voice:
"Uncle Joseph, who’s stronger? You or Lord Kei?"
The question left Joseph speechless.
Everyone in Nanga, Konoha, and even the Land of Fire knew that Joseph was an unlucky, frustrated man.
His wife was pregnant with their second child.
His house had a mortgage.
His children needed to attend an expensive school.
And his family even had three dogs.
He was basically a security guard standing watch at the gate.
He was the only lower-status person in Nanga who had suffered genuine unequal treatment.
He was also precisely the sort of person ambitious factions wanted to recruit and buy over.
But those closest to Uchiha Kei knew the truth.
Joseph was actually Lord Kei’s strongest combatant.
His greatest weapon.
Yet Himawari, a little girl who understood nothing about social etiquette, had asked an exceptionally difficult question.
Joseph had no idea how he was supposed to answer.
"(⊙o⊙)... Uh!"
Joseph did not dare answer.
Prestige, worship, and the enhancement provided by his followers made Lord Kei appear virtually invincible.
But Joseph possessed the ability to challenge those above his station, so he knew that Lord Kei was nowhere near as powerful as everyone imagined.
It might look as though Lord Kei was beating the Evil God without giving it any chance to retaliate.
But that was simply a matter of specialization.
The Evil God belonged to the realm of mythology.
And Uchiha Kei was the one who wrote mythology.
Fighting a mythological being was like a top-ranked player entering a beginner’s match to massacre novices.
But outside the realm of mythology, Lord Kei was still Lord Kei.
A genuine powerhouse could still pin him to the ground and beat him senseless.
So it was difficult to say whether Lord Kei was truly strong or weak.
He could barely be considered part of the first tier of combatants.
But among those in the first tier, he was the one who could probably lose to everyone.
At the same time, because of his strange abilities, he could somehow maneuver against almost anyone.
That was simply the truth.
But Joseph was Uchiha Kei’s subordinate.
Who would he dare tell the truth to?
"Lord Kei is actually pretty weak. You’re all overestimating him. I could kill him with one slash."
He couldn’t say that.
He wouldn’t dare.
This Himawari really was an innocent child who didn’t understand anything.
But Joseph was a grown man.
How could he behave just as irresponsibly?
Therefore, Joseph decided to ignore Himawari’s question.
Granny Huan saw his expression and immediately understood.
"Ah...
"Perhaps we really shouldn’t let Lord Kei wander around so freely in the future.
"If he develops the mistaken belief that he’s actually very powerful, that could become troublesome."
Even after becoming young again, Granny Huan was still the same kind-hearted elder who worried about everything.
But Himawari refused to let Joseph escape simply because he had avoided answering.
After all, Lord Kei seemed to become more powerful the longer he fought.
Himawari therefore concluded that Joseph was simply jealous of him.
Over on Kei’s side, the magnificent Kingdom of Heaven began to boil.
Endless feathers spread throughout the heavenly realm.
One Evil God’s tentacle after another vanished.
The sickly green color spread at astonishing speed.
Within only a few breaths, the entire Kingdom of Heaven had been dyed a ghastly green.
Himawari grabbed Joseph’s hand excitedly.
"Look!
"Lord Kei is suppressing it so completely, yet the Evil God can still fight back!
"Brother Joseph, can you defeat this Evil God?"
Himawari’s words suddenly enlightened Joseph.
The Evil God might look as though it was being completely overwhelmed by Kei, with no ability to retaliate.
But it was still a god.
An undeserving god.
A fallen god.
An underestimated god.
Joseph could kill Uchiha Kei with a single slash.
But against the Evil God, his ability to challenge those above his station was no longer a buff.
It was a debuff.
The fallen god might not live up to its divine name, but Joseph would still be unable to survive more than a few exchanges against it.
"I definitely wouldn’t be able to defeat the Evil God."
Joseph answered with a resolute expression.
I admit that I’m weaker than the Evil God.
And Lord Kei is stronger than the Evil God.
Isn’t that enough to prove how powerful Lord Kei is?
That answer was more than sufficient to fool a little girl.
Hearing Joseph’s answer, the stars in Himawari’s eyes seemed to illuminate the entire sky.
"As expected, Lord Kei is an invincible existence!"
As she spoke, Himawari struggled free from Granny Huan’s embrace and flew into the sky, soaring through the heavens as she prayed.
"My Lord who walks upon the earth, the hour has come.
"Glorify Your people, that Your people may glorify You, just as You have given us authority over all flesh, so that we may grant eternal life to those You have given us."
As Himawari prayed, the inner divine domain and the outer world began to resonate with one another.
"...Righteous Lord, the world has not known You, but I have known You.
"And these people know that You sent me."
Himawari flew through the sky like a beacon.
The Uchiha, those red-eyed clansmen, and everyone who saw Himawari could not help but begin praying alongside her.
"Your servant has revealed Your name to us.
"Continue to reveal it to us, so that the love with which You love us may dwell within us, and that You may dwell within us."
In the sky, God’s servant Himawari began performing a ritual dance dedicated to the divine.
Faith gathered within Himawari’s body.
Her entire being gradually merged into a pillar of faith.
That pillar of faith projected into the inner domain created by Kei.
The light of faith became the sole connection between the inner and outer domains.
Within the divine domain, Uchiha Kei had seized the Evil Buddha with one hand.
Seeing what was happening outside the domain, he was stunned.
"Damn it!
"These troublesome subordinates of mine really need to stop causing trouble at times like this!"
Uchiha Kei knew that Himawari’s fanaticism might once again create something unknown.
And the unknown represented something uncontrollable.
The uncontrollable did not merely represent potential gains.
It also represented risk.
If the Naruto world was a small world, then Uchiha Kei’s divine domain was a smaller world created inside that small world.
He was the sovereign of that divine domain.
He had severed the outer world’s restrictions upon the domain he had created, granting himself complete dominion within his own territory.
Thus, the support the outside world provided to the Evil Buddha no longer existed.
Within his own divine domain, Uchiha Kei was invincible.
It sounded like an overwhelmingly powerful ability.
Unfortunately, it could only drag beings belonging to the realm of mythology into his domain.
This was the first ability Uchiha Kei had mastered.
And it was also the weakest law he possessed.
[God Nullification].
Put simply—
It was an anti-god ability.
The God attribute was a debuff.
Wasn’t that a common occurrence in fiction?
But the terrifying part about the faith Himawari was using to empower Kei was that it had caused the Kingdom of Heaven surrounding Kei’s domain to loosen.
A crack had appeared in the gate of the divine domain within the Kingdom of Heaven.
If the Naruto world were a perfectly sealed iron sphere, then Uchiha Kei’s divine domain would be a bubble inside that sphere.
And now, someone had pushed a needle into that bubble.
What the needle would inject, no one knew.
"I wonder how much of an impact this will have on the world."
Kei was beginning to worry unnecessarily.
He had no idea what effect this would ultimately have on the world.
But far away, in a tiny country, everything had already descended into chaos.
In the Grand Shrine of the Land of Demons, the paper ornaments, flowers, pine branches, and sacred sake on the altar began moving violently despite the absence of wind.
The shinden, the sacred sanctuary housing the divine tablets, began to tremble.
The torii, symbolizing the boundary between the divine realm and the human world, seemed to have been crossed by an invisible presence.
The central passage, normally forbidden to ordinary people, seemed to have its restrictions scattered aside.
The sacred ropes began swaying.
The gravel along the sandō, the approach to the shrine buildings, scraped and rattled.
The dry temizuya, the purification basin, suddenly filled itself with clear water.
At the entrance to the shrine stood two stone guardian statues facing one another.
The komainu seemed almost alive.
One opened its mouth and appeared to give an "A" sound.
The other kept its mouth closed and seemed to murmur an "Un" breath.
The wind chimes hanging in the worship hall fell and began ringing.
Jing-jing-jing.
It was as though the hall were filled with worshipers.
Yet to the naked eye, it was completely empty.
Within the main sanctuary, the spiritual heart of the shrine, Miroku—the miko and leader of the Land of Demons—was ascending the steps to conduct her prayers.
Inside the inner sanctuary, the sacred tree swayed.
The divine object itself began gathering a faint radiance.
The Kusanagi Sword, Yata Mirror, and Yasakani Magatama released a power carrying an unmistakable divine presence.
Miroku wore a white kosode, an inner juban, and a scarlet hakama, with a white chihaya embroidered with subtle patterns draped over them.
Her beautiful long hair was tied up with traditional cords and ornaments.
She possessed a gentle smile and an elegant, composed bearing.
Her every movement was graceful and refined, radiating the bright yet restrained beauty of a traditional woman.
Her delicate figure embodied freshness, purity, and sanctity.
She was the last surviving high priestess of this world.
The only remaining priestess.
Miroku, who had always calmly governed the Land of Demons, was visibly shaken by the scene before her.
"A divine oracle.
"This is a divine oracle!"
Young Miroku had only ever read about such phenomena in books.
She immediately set everything aside and listened for the teachings of the gods.
For a miko, entering communion with the divine was the most direct way of receiving an oracle.
Gentle yet resilient.
Offered as a sacrifice to the demons and gods, yet still harboring compassion for all living beings.
Enduring immense physical and spiritual suffering for the sake of fulfilling the divine mission, offering her youth and soul to the gods.
At that moment, Miroku completed her communion with the divine.
Her young attendant, Ashiho, was even more flustered than she was and hurried in from outside.
"Miko-sama! The seal on the demon has begun to weaken!"
Fortunately, the divine communion had already ended.
Miroku quickly straightened her clothing.
Guarding the demon’s seal was the sacred duty of the Land of Demons.
It was one of the final foundations protecting the country’s survival in a world dominated by shinobi.
This was a matter concerning the very survival of the Land of Demons.
Yet Miroku showed no concern.
Instead, she spoke with an almost feverish excitement.
"Don’t worry, Ashiho.
"Tell everyone that the divine oracle has descended.
"The loosening of the timeline is the opportunity for the gods to return.
"Search with everything we have for clues concerning time!"
Ashiho hesitated upon seeing Miroku’s condition.
"But what about the demon?"
Young Ashiho felt that Miroku should perhaps be more concerned about the country’s survival.
Whether gods existed was little more than a fantasy.
After all these years, no one had ever actually seen a god.
Chakra, on the other hand, was real.
Rather than worshiping gods, it would be better to cultivate chakra.
Yet Miroku, who had always worried about the demon, was behaving completely differently.
She was actually preparing to make use of the demon’s power.
She even scolded Ashiho for questioning her.
"What demon?
"That is a divine relic!
"It is power bestowed upon the Land of Demons by the gods!
"The word ’demon’ is nothing more than slander against the gods spread by shinobi!"
Miroku had spent years pretending to be insignificant in a world dominated by shinobi.
At last, she no longer needed to pretend.
Now, she had something to rely upon.
Miroku exhaled slowly, forcing herself to calm down.
"Ashiho, go.
"Notify Yomi.
"Tell him to inject the demon’s power into inanimate objects, allowing them to acquire a continuous source of energy.
"Then inject Mōryō’s power into those useless fools who do nothing but consume our resources.
"Create enough Demon Warriors!"
The miko was filled with unprecedented ambition.
"We shall use an immortal army to welcome the return of the gods.
"The world belongs to the gods!"
After saying this, Miroku turned toward the map.
Her eyes settled on Rōran in the Land of Wind.
"To march from the north of the Land of Lightning all the way to the Land of Wind...
"We would have to conquer two great nations!"
Miroku hesitated.
Then her expression hardened.
"But with the gods’ help...
"Perhaps it isn’t impossible."
The miko fell into deep thought.
Once upon a time, the miko had ruled the world.
Unfortunately, that golden age had not lasted.
With the arrival of the God Tree, the world began to change.
The power brought by the God Tree caused local powers to grow increasingly strong.
The various daimyō, relying upon the strength of shinobi, gradually stopped obeying the royal court.
Instead, they expanded their own influence and continuously provoked conflict and war for their own interests.
During that age of warfare, the physical advantages provided by shinobi and their chakra became increasingly apparent and accepted.
A new privileged class—the shinobi class—gradually emerged.
The alliance between the daimyō and the shinobi seized control of the world’s political center.
The daimyō controlled the economy.
The shinobi provided military protection.
The miko consequently lost all political influence.
She was driven into ordinary society, surviving through fortune-telling, spirit summoning, exorcism, and even prostitution.
She became little more than an amusement, an intelligence source, and an appendage to those in power.
But now—
The gods were returning.
And the miko would return with them.
"Rōran.
"Rōran!
"You were destroyed because of the God Tree.
"And you will surely be reborn because of the God Tree!"
"Everything is the will of the gods!"
◇ BONUS & SUPPORT
◇ 1 bonus Chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus Chapter for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 70+ Chapters ahead on P@treon → patreon.com/Sagamaster789