It's been a long time since I had such a long dream, and it was the same dream!
It's not strange to dream, and it's not strange to occasionally have the same or continuous dreams once or twice, but what's strange is that Inoyue has been having the same dream for ten consecutive days.
It seemed to be the same, but it also seemed to be a continuation of the last one, because she kept walking in the dream, and the only difference was a slight change in the environment. It was as if she was going somewhere, but this place had not appeared in the dream after ten days of walking.
The dream continued, but the promise made to others still needed to be fulfilled.
Inoyue had visited the Royal Library, which had a very rich collection of books, including not only records of the royal family's daily life, but also astronomy, geography, historical records, and so on.
For ten days, Inoyue spent five days in the library consulting material. At such times, the Shadow Clone Technique played a significant role.
With multiple clones, the efficiency of reading skyrocketed. After dispelling the Shadow Clones, the memories converged in the main body's mind; this feeling was truly wonderful. If this technique could be used for studying in the modern world of her past life, she would be a disservice to herself if she didn't become an academic overachiever.
...
After investigation, Inoyue could confirm that there were no problems with the daily life. Then, she could only start from the places Asakura Ichikai had visited.
Although Asakura Ichikai didn't travel much outside Kikyo Castle a year ago, he had been to many places. After careful comparison, there were only three suspicious places: Cloud Cave Temple, Altar of Heaven, and the Royal Forbidden Grounds.
Cloud Cave Temple was a Buddhist temple, nothing strange; the Altar of Heaven was just an ancient high platform, basically nothing to see. As for the Royal Forbidden Grounds, Inoyue had also been inside; it enshrined the ancestors of the Asakura Clan and an unknown statue of a deity.
Regarding the statue, Inoyue had asked, but it was too ancient, and Asakura Yuichi only had a partial understanding, knowing only that it should be an ancestral deity of the clan and must be worshipped, as it had been passed down through every generation.
The clue led to a dead end. In desperation, Inoyue could only start from the history of Kikyo Castle to see if she could find anything useful.
The Ninja World is full of strangeness. Ancient artifacts that are old may contain some peculiarities. For example, those left by the Six Paths Sage, which one didn't cause chaos and display great power in the theatrical versions?
Inoyue started from this point, picked up a chronicle, and began to read. However, what she found was truly astonishing.
Indeed, you don't know until you look, and once you look, you're startled. Inoyue was quickly deeply attracted by these historical records.
The history of Kikyo Castle is quite long. As for how long? It's truly surprising.
Kikyo Castle already existed before the recorded history of the Ninja World. The current Kikyo Castle was also expanded on the foundation of the old city.
When did Ninja history begin? Perhaps some say it started when the Six Paths Sage sealed the Tailed Beasts, or when Ōtsutsuki Kaguya ate the Chakra fruit. But in reality, there is another record here: the true beginning of the Ninja World's history actually started with the birth of the Chakra tree.
Originally, this world had no Chakra, let alone a Chakra tree. The Chakra tree, like Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, came from another world, or one could say from outside the heavens.
There is a passage of text recorded as follows: A celestial phenomenon occurred, a comet fell, a divine tree was born, and then it accelerated its growth. The five elements of the world began to disorder, and Yin and Yang inverted and collapsed; from then on, the source of the Onmyōji's power began to dry up, and their abilities rapidly declined. Recorded in the 103rd year of the Yin Era.
...
It was shocking! Before the history of the Ninja World, another power dominated this world. That was the Onmyōji. Onmyōji could communicate with Yin and Yang, summon Shikigami, and deploy barriers. Overall, from a power system perspective, it was gentler than Ninjutsu but more mysterious.
From the birth of the Chakra tree, the Onmyōji's power began to wane. After the Chakra tree bore fruit, they almost completely lost their power, unable to use Shikigami or release barriers, gradually transitioning to ordinary people.
During the Six Paths Sage's era, the two brothers Hagoromo and Hamura fought their mother, Ōtsutsuki Kaguya. The original moon was shattered and fell to the ground. The two brothers sealed the Ten-Tails, which was their mother, forming the current new moon. It was from this time that Onmyōji lost even their most basic ability to communicate with Yin and Yang, and from then on, they became truly ordinary people.
This was equivalent to a change of dynasty; Ninja replaced Onmyōji and became the dominant power in this world.
"Onmyōji, huh? Very strange," Inoyue mumbled. She had only seen some memories of Onmyōji in movies from her previous life; they were nothing more than similar to Chinese ghost-catching Taoists, dealing with demons, ghosts, and such—anything related to unclean things.
"Wait, maybe the other soul in Asakura Ichikai's body is related to Onmyōji's Yin-Yang Release?" This thought suddenly appeared in Inoyue's mind, and the more she thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. There was a high probability that Asakura Ichikai was possessed by a ghost!
If he was truly possessed by a ghost, what should she do?
I can't perform ghost-catching Taoist techniques, nor am I an Onmyōji. How can I deal with this? Am I supposed to use my Second-Order Underworld Eyes to control the soul inside him?
Can this work? I can control him, but I can only control him to slit his throat; I can't make him do other actions at all. The Second-Order Underworld Eyes are just a killing dōjutsu; they are not the same type as ghost-expelling Taoist techniques.
"Think, with so many books here, maybe there's a book that teaches how to exorcise ghosts. Maybe there is! Let's look. It would be best if I can find one; that way, I can try it regardless of whether it's useful or not."
Inoyue was a practical person; she acted as soon as she thought of something and immediately started searching frantically in the library. She wanted to finish this so-called B-rank mission quickly and leave this place sooner. Kikyo Castle was not safe; this was the site of a famous battle during the Third Shinobi World War, and if things went wrong, she could be drawn into the center of this whirlpool.
She was just a Chunin; perhaps after the war, not even a trace would be left.
"I don't want to die!" Inoyue's small hands clenched, shouting in her heart. The fear of death was a kind of pressure, but also a kind of motivation. Although the library had a vast collection of books, Inoyue managed to flip through every single one.
But, in the end, she couldn't find even a tiny bit of ghost-exorcism technique.
Looking at the books scattered all over the floor of the library, which she had rummaged through, Inoyue covered her face with one hand. Next, she would have to put them back in order, which was a troublesome task.
Will I have to use Shadow Clones again?
No, I can ask them to come in and clean up! And while they're at it, I can see which books Karura is interested in, to determine her goals, since she comes here to check every night.
This was truly killing two birds with one stone. Inoyue smiled knowingly, feeling a bit smug, sensing that she had gained the upper hand in this confrontation with Karura.
The profession of a Ninja, no matter when, being hidden in the shadows or behind the scenes, always has a significant advantage. Typical examples of such figures include Danzo, Uchiha Madara, Black Zetsu, and so on.
...
Karura and the others were maids and were not allowed to enter here without permission. Inoyue's command this time was naturally a heaven-sent opportunity for them.
The books here were categorized, so Karura and Bai Lu were quite meticulous when organizing them, while the other three maids were much less so.
According to Inoyue's secret observation, books introducing Kikyo Castle stayed in their hands for a longer time.
Are they here to look for some place? Inoyue asked herself inwardly.
The war between the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire, especially with the Kazekage missing, made its purpose highly worth investigating. Although the outside world was not certain about the Kazekage's disappearance, this did not prevent Inoyue from using it as a basis for her deduction.
The leader of the Sand Ninja was missing, yet they still went to war, unless there was something in Kikyo Castle that was worth fighting for. This thing must bring them immense benefits.
Was it a monetary treasure? Or a system power that could enhance a Ninja's strength? Inoyue considered these two possibilities, making this bold guess based on the premise that she knew the Kazekage had disappeared.
Because under this premise, things became very easy to understand. Apart from these two possibilities, nothing else was worth going to war for.
Could it be Yin-Yang Release? It's possible, but the probability is not high, because this thing can no longer be used. So, only one possibility remains. The thing they are looking for should be a treasure left over from the pre-Ninja World history within Kikyo Castle.
Pre-Ninja World history treasure! Just thinking about it made Inoyue's heart burn with excitement.
[ + 1 chapter. 20 New collection (3/5) ]