Genjo nodded, his gaze falling on Isshiki Otsutsuki as he said, "Speaking of which, it seems this young monk judged wrongly before. Senior Brother's falseness is neither for concealing the body nor for obscuring the eyes, but for entering emptiness."
"Like a mustard seed hidden within sumeru, though dwelling peacefully within it, he is not assimilated by sumeru; though immersed in emptiness, he is not transformed by emptiness. He appears to be an ordinary monk, yet in truth, he is not; he appears to be cultivating together with others, yet in truth, he has never sought the Dharma."
"Senior Brother is neither a true monk nor a false monk, but rather a heavenly being who takes borrowing as a vessel, borrowing a form through which to walk."
Using a monk as a vessel, borrowing a form through which to walk… a heavenly being!
"So I've been seen through, have I?"
Isshiki Otsutsuki closed his eyes and made no further sound at all, while the power within his body quietly adjusted itself in silence.
Since he had already been seen through, there was no need to leave anyone behind!
"What is a heavenly being?"
Madara Uchiha asked.
"Heavenly beings refer to all sentient creatures who dwell in the Deva Path and enjoy the blessings of the heavenly realm. Although they possess divine abilities, blessings, longevity, and ease, they still remain within the six paths of reincarnation and have not escaped the afflictions of life and death."
Genjo explained unhurriedly: "Senior Brother Ichisun is one of the heavenly beings; only at present, he is in the midst of the suffering of reincarnation."
"I see." Madara Uchiha glanced at the silent gray-robed monk with his eyes closed.
He had not really understood those specific Buddhist terms, but with his own interpretation, he could piece together a rough picture: this monk called Ichisun, like himself, had once been a great figure who stood at an extremely high place, and now his condition was likewise terrible, lingering on in miserable survival just like him.
No wonder his skill in concealing his aura was so extraordinary; no wonder he had noticed absolutely nothing before stepping into the temple gate.
And yet Isshiki, who stood at the center of the two men's discussion, had no reaction from beginning to end. Those closed eyes had already grown as cold and indifferent as a glacier that had not melted for a thousand years, like a deity looking down upon the endless cycle of life and death of all living things!
He had already confirmed it: the young monk before him had completely seen through his true identity. At this very moment, he was adjusting his state, preparing to erupt and kill his way out of here.
Just as that power which had lain dormant within him for a thousand years was about to break out of its shell, a voice as warm and gentle as jade suddenly sounded softly.
"Senior Brother Ichisun."
Isshiki opened his eyes and looked expressionlessly at the young monk.
"You have given rise to anger."
After meeting his gaze, Genjo said softly, "Tonight in this temple, beneath the same eaves in wind and rain, the three of us are all fake monks. Yet even fake monks are still, in the end, monks. This kasaya may not be able to cover the shadows of our past lives, but it can cover the skin that should not be peeled away at this moment. Since we are fake monks, why not cultivate within that falseness? Let the shadows of the past remain undiscussed today. If this body is a monk, then it is a monk."
"If Senior Brother peels off this layer of skin now, not only will it expose your own traces, bringing consequences impossible to predict, it will also tear apart the only remaining eave in this temple that still shelters us from the rain, and that would be rather unseemly."
Isshiki Otsutsuki was silent for quite a while.
In the end, he suppressed the killing intent in his heart that had reached its boiling point.
Pressing his palms together, he replied in a low voice, "Excellent. Junior Brother speaks correctly. It was I who gave rise to anger. The dust of the past has long gone distant, and old traces are hard to find. Tonight, in this body, there is only Ichisun. He is a monk, he is false, and it is also cultivation."
Seeing this, Genjo showed nothing on his face, but inwardly smiled slightly.
If it had been in any other setting, if he had encountered either one of these two alone, even knowing full well that neither of them was anywhere near their peak state at the moment, and even knowing that each of them had their own concerns and their own reasons for not acting lightly, he would absolutely not have dared to jump around like this.
But who told them to run into each other at exactly the same time?
One was Madara Uchiha, the other Isshiki Otsutsuki. In this ruined temple amid the torrential rain, the two of them each wore a monk's robe, each harbored ulterior motives, feared one another, and restrained one another.
Madara Uchiha could not see through Isshiki Otsutsuki, and Isshiki Otsutsuki was wary of Madara Uchiha, or rather, wary of the Sage of Six Paths behind Madara Uchiha, so neither of them dared to move first.
It was precisely this subtle balance that allowed him to maneuver calmly within this ruined temple, leaping back and forth through the cracks between them.
Putting on an act? Feigning mystery?
When it came to playing the part of a sage before others, Genjo had never been inferior to anyone in his life.
At worst, he would simply discard this body and sink the Shinobi World!
In the end, Isshiki Otsutsuki still did not choose to tear away the layer of skin called monk Ichisun, just as the mysterious young monk before him had said.
The consequences were impossible to predict!
This young monk, Genjo, was simply too mysterious.
He could not see through the other party, yet the other party seemed to have seen through everything about him.
Not only had Genjo seen through his identity, but he had also seen through his current state; the phrase heavenly being hinted at his identity as an Otsutsuki.
And the suffering of reincarnation pointed with precision to his current predicament of dwelling within a frail shell, lingering in life through the residual power of Kāma.
To Madara Uchiha, who did not understand Buddhist scriptures, it might have sounded as though the two of them were in roughly similar situations, both powerful beings who had once stood at great heights and were now fallen, barely clinging to life.
But in reality, his own situation was far more complicated than the others.
This was simply inconceivable.
He was confident that even Kaguya of those days, who had swallowed the fruit of the God Tree and gathered all the might of this world into herself, would never have been able to see through his true current state so easily.
Although, in his perception, the strength this young monk displayed might perhaps count as decent among mortals, before the true power he possessed, that level of strength was simply not worth mentioning, something he could erase with a casual gesture.