The deciphering of the secret scrolls had reached a bottleneck, and the Shrine Maiden intended to consult older documents to help interpret them. Still, she happily told everyone that the scrolls recorded the first Shrine Maiden's life, beginning with her own account. Once they had been fully deciphered, they should offer a deeper understanding of that era.
Hyuga Qi and the others cared more about Ninshu's unique secret techniques than its history, but there seemed to be little about those in the scrolls, leaving them somewhat disappointed. For Kazemori Masaki, however, the culture and history of the Ninshu era were precisely what he needed. Europe's Renaissance had begun with medieval people's pursuit of classical Greek and Roman culture, which they regarded as advanced.
Before the Shinobi Continent descended into the chaos of the Warring States Period, when Ninshu still flourished, the continent should have enjoyed an age of peace, just as the Sage of Six Paths had hoped. Only after Ninshu declined and people stopped honoring its teachings had it gradually entered an era of feudal fragmentation and endless warfare. People who now suffered so much from war might well yearn for the days when Ninshu was widely practiced. Previously, the lack of concrete documents had made it impossible to draw attention to that era, but the emergence of these secret scrolls could give people a clear picture of its prosperity.
Kazemori Masaki glanced at the distracted Kana and asked tentatively, "Miss Kana, you must be happy. We can finally learn the true history of the Ninshu era."
"Ah." Kana seemed to come back to her senses just then. Recalling what Kazemori Masaki had said, she nodded repeatedly. "Yes. I wonder what the Ninshu era was really like, and whether it was as prosperous as the stories say."
Kana's response