"Madman Guy, before we fight, I have something to ask you."
Zabuza Momochi gave up on correcting Guy for getting his name wrong. He pointed his right index finger at his temple and said:
"When you were summoned to this city, you should have been given basic knowledge of the Human Realm and the rules of this death game, just like me."
"How much do you know about this death game?"
"There's only one technique that could summon dead men like us from the Underworld back to the world of the living, isn't there?" Guy pondered for a moment before slowly speaking.
"The Ritual of the Lord of Mount Tai."
Zabuza Momochi and Guy spoke in unison.
Having recovered some strength, Teruzo Kurogane struggled up from the ground and sat there, gasping for breath.
But when he heard the words "Ritual of the Lord of Mount Tai," his eyes involuntarily widened.
"The Ritual... of the Lord of Mount Tai?"
After the Asakusa Incident three years ago, the Lord of Mount Tai had suddenly become renowned, his might shaking the world, and Japan's government had recognized him as a guardian deity of the nation.
The Lord of Mount Tai had regained his status as a principal deity of state worship, which had been stripped from him during the Meiji Restoration, and his standing had even surpassed what it once was.
Because the Lord of Mount Tai, King Kshitigarbha Bodhisattva, and Great King Enma were a trinity, Japan's Obon Festival (Ghost Festival) had also become a grand celebration honoring the Lord of Mount Tai starting in the fifth year of Reiwa.
Every year at this time, the Japanese government held an extravagant Ritual of the Lord of Mount Tai, attracting delegations from countries around the world to witness the ceremony.
The revised