The Sage of Six Paths vanished, and Yōkō's consciousness returned to his body.
He raised his hands, staring at them.
Chakra was brought by Ōtsutsuki Kaguya and spread by the Sage of Six Paths.
Most of this power was controlled by the Ōtsutsuki line.
The fact that the Sage's soul remained within the chakra and Kekkei Genkai cells felt utterly terrible.
Lowering his hands, Yōkō looked up at the moon in the night sky.
To return peace to the shinobi world... it's better if you all just disappear...
Yōkō began checking his condition.
Chakra: 1.0x Super Kage-level.
After attaining sudden enlightenment of the Three Worlds Vidyārāja Form, Yōkō's chakra reserve had broken through the shinobi's limits, reaching the Super Kage-level.
More crucially, the quality of his chakra had significantly improved along with the strengthening of his spiritual energy.
Judging from the difference between his Thousand-Handed Vidyārāja and the True Several Thousand Hands, his chakra reserve was roughly half that of Senju Hashirama.
At the Super Kage stage, it was difficult to exhaust one's chakra. The focus shifted more towards researching powerful secret techniques suited to oneself.
Yōkō raised his hand, and a thin mist appeared in his palm.
This mist looked like water vapor, but it was actually finely crystallized Water Release chakra.
Following Absolute Defense: Copper Light, he had obtained a new crystallization refinement secret technique. He named this technique Absolute Resistance: Crystal Mist.
The characteristic of this technique was that all attacks entering the Crystal Mist would instantly encounter infinite resistance.
Yōkō created a Shadow Clone and had it throw a kunai at him.
The kunai was extremely fast; with Yōkō's current strength, it was like a cannonball.
However, Yōkō waved his hand, and a shallow cloud of Crystal Mist appeared in front of him.
After the kunai shot into the Crystal Mist, it rapidly decelerated, advancing only a few centimeters before suspending within the mist.
Excellent. The interception effect of Absolute Resistance: Crystal Mist was very good.
With two types of chakra crystallization – Water Release crystallization to delay physical attacks and consume ninjutsu energy, and Earth Release crystallization to block physical attacks – his defensive capabilities had reached a new level.
A bit melancholy... He had accidentally raised his defense too high. He wondered if he would still encounter any worthy opponents.
It felt a bit lonely at the top.
Besides Wood Release and chakra crystallization, his other abilities had also improved.
Yōkō used the Body Flicker Technique towards the Fire Temple.
After his significant increase in strength, his Body Flicker Technique was extremely fast, allowing him to arrive at the foot of the Fire Temple three nights earlier than in his previous life.
Sarutobi Shinnosuke's mission had to be completed.
This was also for Konoha's benefit. Konoha would not allow the Daimyō of the Land of Fire to be half-hearted.
The Daimyō's safety was secondary; his security must be managed by Konoha.
To put it bluntly, the Daimyō's... assets, must be held firmly in Konoha's hands.
Inside the Abbot's quarters.
The flickering candlelight fell upon the image of the Thousand-Handed Kannon, the shadows of its hundred arms swaying in layers.
The white-bearded old monk bent over the desk, looking at the scroll, trying to find a point of entry for negotiations with Konoha Village from the connection between Senju Hashirama and the Fire Temple.
The old monk, Kaigyō, suddenly looked up and saw a figure at the door.
His old eyes were dim; it took him a few seconds to see clearly that there was indeed someone there.
A certain understanding arose in his heart.
He was going to die tonight.
Matters of life and death are significant.
Liberation and ease, freedom in life and death, this is Parinirvana.
Kaigyō felt not fear towards death, but rather a sense of liberation.
He sighed inwardly. Was tonight's liberation considered ease? Was tonight's life and death considered free?
Yōkō walked towards the desk and sat cross-legged opposite Abbot Kaigyō.
Kaigyō looked at Yōkō. His white beard instantly turned from gray-white to a deathly pale, losing its luster.
"Practitioner, I observe the karma of killing is extremely heavy between your brows, yet why do you possess the radiant countenance of the Buddha?"
Yōkō replied candidly: "Abbot, I do not understand the Buddhist Dharma. I merely coincidentally comprehended the decree of the Trailokyavijaya Vidyārāja through repeated deaths.
Subduing the past, present, and future lifetimes, transcending the three realms of life/death, reincarnation, and nirvana.
Subduing the three lifetimes and three realms is true freedom.
Master, I have comprehended."
Kaigyō understood in his heart: "I see. Practitioner, yours is not cultivation, but a destined opportunity."
"Yes, a great opportunity."
"Then, practitioner, why have you come to see me?"
Yōkō stared at Kaigyō, as if seeing a great monk from a past life.
Whether in speech or demeanor, he greatly resembled the great monks in the Buddhist temples of his previous life.
The Tōkai Master's legacy was truly excellent.
Yōkō said: "Master, you seek the position of the Daimyō's Guardian Ninja for the Fire Temple. I am here to stop you for Konoha's sake.
We each act for our own interests; there is no high-mindedness or baseness involved.
I have come to ask you to withdraw, in a manner that is extremely thorough and leaves Konoha completely without future worries."
"I understand..."
For Konoha to be completely without future worries, that meant he had to die.
Kaigyō said: "Before I die, may I see the Form you obtained through your destined opportunity?"
Yōkō raised his hand, forming the Scythe Seal, commonly used by wrathful Vidyārāja images.
Similar to shinobi hand seals, Buddha images also have many mudras.
The Dharma Teaching Seal, the Fear Not Seal, the Wish-Granting Seal, among others. The Scythe Seal represents the intimidation of evil.
Seeing the Scythe Seal, Kaigyō felt some bitterness in his heart, unsure who needed to intimidate evil now.
A shinobi was here to kill him; clearly, he was the one who needed to intimidate evil.
A crimson Three Worlds Vidyārāja appeared around Yōkō.
The Vidyārāja's face was ferocious, glaring at Kaigyō.
Kaigyō's last trace of wishful thinking vanished. The shinobi before him had truly attained sudden enlightenment of the Vidyārāja Form through a destined opportunity.
The Three Worlds Vidyārāja – in the history of the Fire Temple, only one high monk had attained sudden enlightenment of it after dying and returning to life.
Kaigyō looked down at the scroll and said:
"Practitioner, the First Hokage, Hashirama-sama, attained sudden enlightenment of compassion beneath the image of the Thousand-Handed Kannon, obtaining the True Several Thousand Hands.
And you, attaining sudden enlightenment who knows where, obtained the Three Worlds Vidyārāja.
To die beneath the Vidyārāja Form would not waste my decades of cultivating the Buddhist Dharma.
Before I die, I have only one wish."
"Speak."
"Do not destroy the Fire Temple."
Yōkō said: "Master worries too much. I came for Konoha's interests. As long as the Master enters Parinirvana, I have no need to destroy the Fire Temple.
The Fire Temple is an important legacy in the shinobi world.
The ninjutsu of the Five Great Shinobi Villages are indeed powerful, but they are not the only form of power.
The power of sudden enlightenment represented by the Fire Temple is equally important.
I kill you because your interests fundamentally conflict with Konoha's.
Outside of this conflict of interest, I hold the Fire Temple's legacy in great respect.
I will not destroy the Fire Temple, nor will I allow anyone other than myself to destroy the Fire Temple.
Not only will I not destroy the Fire Temple, but as I share a certain connection with it, I will also protect it."
Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, the Sage of Six Paths, Ashura, Indra, Black Zetsu – these things should all be completely eradicated.
The Fire Temple, the Three Great Sage Regions, the Shinigami, the evil god – these powers, so different from the Ōtsutsuki line, would all receive Yōkō's protection and be further explored.
Kaigyō said: "Practitioner, you actually seem somewhat sincere. Your promise contains no deception.
Practitioner, without cultivating the Buddhist Dharma, focusing on killing like a shinobi, can one truly attain sudden enlightenment of the Form?"
Yōkō said: "Although I have not cultivated the Buddhist Dharma, I have heard a few lines of sutras.
The Buddha said, one can become a Buddha directly. Everyone can become a Buddha; every path can lead to Buddhahood.
My path is somewhat unorthodox, but why can't I cultivate a Form?"
"In that case, please proceed, Practitioner.
Let me see the true difference between my Raignei: Senju Kill and your Three Worlds Vidyārāja."
The Vidyārāja Form suddenly moved, its crimson fist striking towards Abbot Kaigyō.
The chakra form of Raignei: Senju Kill appeared around Kaigyō.
However, with just one punch, the Vidyārāja's red fist shattered the Raignei: Senju Kill.
The fist halted just before Kaigyō's head.
With his Form broken, the last trace of hope in Kaigyō's eyes vanished, and his entire being became deathly still.
He had poured all his heart and soul into the Raignei: Senju Kill Form. With the Form shattered, his spirit was broken.
Yōkō dispersed the Vidyārāja Form, leaving Kaigyō's body undamaged.
Kaigyō died, blood flowing from all seven orifices.
For Konoha's sake, Yōkō had killed many people. This killing was a pure conflict of interest; Yōkō felt little fluctuation in his heart.
Seeing Kaigyō's state in death, Yōkō felt a trace of melancholy.
Kaigyō had died with blood flowing from all seven orifices, without any external wounds. Probably,when the other monks found him tomorrow morning, they would think he had died suddenly due to an error in his cultivation.
Yōkō's work was just that meticulous. Kaigyō's death resembled Parinirvana.
His figure vanished into the ground, heading north towards the Land of Hot Water.
Several days later, he encountered the fleeing Konoha group.
Nara Kyoichi saw Fox and rushed over excitedly: "Fox-sama! Advisor Shinnosuke has been killed!"
Yōkō was incredible: "What? What did you say?"
***
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(Chapter End)