"W-what... what is this...?"
Grandpa Higurashi stared from behind the shrine gate, his wrinkled eyes wide with disbelief.
He had spent his entire life as a shrine priest, yet he had never witnessed anything remotely comparable to the scene before him.
A man was floating in the air.
And the overwhelming aura surrounding him was so powerful that the very atmosphere seemed to grow heavier.
Grandpa Higurashi's legs suddenly gave out.
"Thump!"
His cane fell to the ground as he dropped to his knees and bowed deeply.
"G-grandfather!"
Kagome's mother and younger brother, Souta, were similarly overwhelmed by the invisible pressure and could only stare in stunned silence.
"Grandpa! Mom!"
Kagome finally recovered from her shock.
She quickly moved away from Tobirama and hurried to her family, making sure they were unharmed.
Then she turned toward the mysterious man who had rescued her.
"Th-thank you for saving me... but who are you?"
Tobirama did not immediately answer.
Instead, he looked across modern Tokyo.
Skyscrapers stretched toward the sky. Utility poles crisscrossed the streets, while countless vehicles, trains, advertisements, and voices filled the air.
The endless noise quickly became irritating.
"It has been a long time since I experienced modern life."
His eyebrows furrowed slightly.
"But it needs to be quieter."
Hum!
The instant Tobirama's expression changed, an overwhelming wave of Conqueror's Haki spread outward from Higurashi Shrine.
He controlled it precisely enough to avoid killing anyone, but its range was enormous.
Across the surrounding streets, people suddenly lost consciousness.
Drivers slumped over their steering wheels.
Pedestrians collapsed where they stood.
Trains came to emergency stops, while the city's endless noise rapidly disappeared.
Within moments, a vast section of Tokyo had fallen completely silent.
Only the people inside Higurashi Shrine remained conscious because Tobirama had deliberately protected them.
Kagome stared at the silent streets in disbelief.
"What... did you do?"
"Finally, peace and quiet."
Tobirama seemed completely satisfied.
He then looked at the shrine itself.
The old wooden buildings were small and worn, hardly suitable as a base for someone of his status.
"As a temporary foothold in this world, this place is far too small."
He turned toward Kagome.
"I need an open area of at least ten thousand mu. Clear everything surrounding this shrine."
Kagome stared at him in disbelief.
"Ten thousand mu?! That's impossible! This is Tokyo! The land around here is extremely expensive! Even our shrine has been maintained by my family for generations!"
To a modern girl, the request was simply absurd.
Tobirama paused.
Then he laughed.
"Money?"
His expression became amused.
"That is hardly a problem."
He stepped forward and calmly brought his hands together.
"Creation of All Things."
Rumble!
The earth beneath Higurashi Shrine suddenly shook violently.
Kagome and her family looked toward the back mountain in horror.
A dazzling golden radiance erupted from beneath the ground.
Then—
A massive mountain of pure gold began rising from the earth.
Ten meters.
Thirty meters.
Fifty meters.
One hundred meters!
In an incredibly short period of time, a gigantic golden mountain stood behind Higurashi Shrine, its surface reflecting the sunlight across Tokyo.
Grandpa Higurashi stared at it in complete disbelief.
"Gold... It's all gold..."
Kagome was equally speechless.
This was no ordinary treasure.
Tobirama had simply created an entire mountain of pure gold.
The appearance of the golden mountain immediately attracted worldwide attention.
Satellites locked onto the area.
Financial institutions and government officials received unprecedented readings.
The amount of gold present was enough to cause enormous disruption to the global economy.
Within an hour, helicopters filled the sky around the shrine.
Armored vehicles surrounded the surrounding streets.
Yet none of the soldiers dared approach.
Their instruments detected an overwhelming aura around the shrine, warning that anyone who approached recklessly would be placing themselves in extreme danger.
Before long, Japan's highest-ranking officials and representatives of its largest financial groups arrived.
The people who normally controlled enormous amounts of wealth and influence now stood before the shrine completely overwhelmed.
The Prime Minister stepped forward cautiously.
"Respected—"
"Enough."
Tobirama interrupted him.
He had no interest in hearing lengthy explanations.
He raised one hand toward the golden mountain.
Crack!
A massive block of pure gold was torn from the mountain.
It landed heavily before the officials.
"This is payment for the surrounding land."
Tobirama's voice was calm and absolute.
"Clear the entire area."
The officials exchanged stunned looks.
They understood immediately that refusing was not an option.
"Yes! We understand!"
The government machinery moved with extraordinary speed.
Within half an hour, the area surrounding Higurashi Shrine had been cleared.
Buildings were demolished, streets were emptied, and the land was transformed into a vast open area.
Tobirama looked across the newly cleared territory.
"The efficiency is acceptable."
He brought his hands together.
The Senjutsu Chakra within his body surged.
Wood Release erupted from beneath the earth.
Rumble!
The ground across the center of Tokyo shook even more violently than before.
Massive sacred trees burst from the earth.
But instead of forming a traditional wooden palace, they transformed according to Tobirama's will.
Their surfaces developed crystalline structures that reflected deep blue energy.
The enormous trees intertwined into a futuristic framework.
Vines filled with Spiritual Energy became luminous conduits running along the structures.
Large floating pools formed from Water Release appeared throughout the elevated terraces.
Towering structures rose into the clouds.
Skyscraper-like buildings connected to enormous platforms.
Crystal surfaces, sacred trees, flowing energy, and floating gardens merged into a single colossal complex.
In less than ten minutes, a gigantic modern divine palace had been completed.
It covered an enormous area and rose high above Tokyo, its highest towers reaching into the clouds.
The structure combined the majesty of ancient Senjutsu with an architectural style far beyond modern technology.
Kagome and her family could only stare.
"Is... this really a building?"
None of them could comprehend how something so enormous could have been created in minutes.
Compared to Tobirama's abilities, modern construction machinery seemed almost primitive.
Tobirama looked over his creation with satisfaction.
"Acceptable."
He turned toward the newly constructed palace.
Behind him, Kikyo, Ryungetsu Senki, Princess Izayoi, and Yura of the Hair remained respectfully at his side.
The once-ordinary Higurashi Shrine had now become the center of an unprecedented transformation.
And above the heart of modern Tokyo, a palace created by divine power had risen into the sky.