Deep within the Amaterasu Palace, the light was brighter than outside, yet it was also quieter. Two rows of eternal lamps lined the stone wall, their flames golden, like sunlight fixed in place.
Great Goddess Amaterasu on a high platform, half her face hidden behind a draped white veil, revealing only a section of her extremely white wrist resting on the armrest.
Sarutahiko and Ame no Uzume no Mikoto knelt below, their heads bowed low.
Ninigi-no-Mikoto stood beside Amaterasu, her face devoid of the gentle demeanor she displayed when greeting guests outside the palace; a layer of lingering restlessness seemed to be pressing down in her eyes.
"So, even if the two of you joined forces, you still couldn't defeat that outsider?" Ninigi-no-Mikoto spoke first.
Sarutahiko didn't look up. "It's not that we can't beat him, it's that we're simply not on the same level. He wasn't even using his full strength; we couldn't even stand up against his Senjutsu."
"Isn't that perfect?" Ninigi-no-Mikoto forward and bowed to Amaterasu. "Grandmother, let me absorb his power. If his talent for Senjutsu is mine, I can cultivate the complete path of a celestial immortal. Then I can stay by your side forever, and I won't have to worry about being alone when my lifespan ends."
Amaterasu didn't move. She simply tapped the armrest lightly with her fingertip, as if counting some kind of beat.
"How was your practice today?" Amaterasu asked.
Ninigi-no-Mikoto, then lowered her voice. "Still a little short."
"Then you're not qualified to say whether or not you're absorbing anyone." Amaterasu's voice wasn't loud, but it made Ninigi-no-Mikoto swallow the rest of her words.
She then asked Sarutahiko, "What are the aptitudes of the Senjutsu among the offerings presented this time?"
Sarutahiko replied, "Two of them are not bad, but compared to Shinsei, they are like candlelight compared to the sun and moon."
Amaterasu was silent for a moment, then said, "Let's use those two first. Try giving Ninigi-no-Mikoto. If that doesn't work, then we'll talk about the outsider."
Ninigi-no-Mikoto her mouth as if to say something, but was stopped by a look from Amaterasu.
"I didn't say you couldn't touch him," Amaterasu, "It's just not the right time. The people from Ryūchi Cave and Mount Myōboku are still outside. We'll discuss how to deal with him when they return. That boy is no ordinary person. The pressure he gives me is no less than that of Ōtsutsuki Isshiki back then. To rashly confront someone like that would be a terrible death."
Ninigi-no-Mikoto still wanted to argue. "Grandmother, he's just an outsider, aren't you overestimating him?"
Amaterasu finally turned her head and looked directly at him. The half of his face behind the veil was not clearly visible; only a very faint golden line disappeared from his forehead into his hair.
"When Ōtsutsuki Isshiki came, I thought the same thing," Amaterasu.
The hall was deathly silent. Ninigi-no-Mikoto and said nothing more.
Amaterasu then looked at Sarutahiko and Ame no Uzume no Mikoto.
"Go and entertain him. Try to find out why his Senjutsu is so different from that of my Takamagahara lineage."
"What role does Natural Energy play in his life? It doesn't matter if we can't find out, but we need to lower his guard."
The two agreed in unison and backed out of the hall.
The banquet hall was very large, with pale blue lanterns hanging in the four corners, the light falling down like a thin layer of frost.
The table was laden with food, with divine fruits piled up like a small mountain, and the wine cups were carved from a single piece of white jade, reflecting the light like a pool of moonlight.
Shinsei sat down at the table, Kaguya sat to his right. Neither of them touched the wine in front of them.
Sarutahiko sat diagonally opposite, his wooden mask pushed up to his forehead, revealing his gaunt face.
The wrinkles on his face appeared extremely deep under the light, like grooves cracked in tree bark. Ame no Uzume no Mikoto leaned against the side, holding her sword, her wine cup in her hand, but she hadn't taken a sip.
"Is the night in Takamagahara brighter than on the ground?" Sarutahiko asked, raising his glass and laughing. "There is no true night here. The light of Great Goddess Amaterasu shines until dawn."
"You didn't invite me here just to see the night view." Shinsei had no appetite for the food in front of him.
"Of course not." Sarutahiko smiled faintly, as if forced. "We are genuinely curious. Takamagahara has cultivated immortal Senjutsu for a thousand years, and everyone must choose a path to coexist with Natural Energy. Some swallow cloud dew, some consume spirit stones, and some absorb the energy of the sea of clouds day and night. But you are different."
The Senjutsu you possess is incredibly powerful, mixed with an energy we can't understand. This energy is identical to the energy emanating from this young woman.
Can you tell us how you cultivated yourself to achieve this?
With your help, perhaps we can quickly quell the demonic chaos in Ryūchi Cave and Mount Myōboku.
"Perhaps it can also solve the problem of the God Tree."
Shinsei didn't respond. He knew Ame no Uzume no Mikoto was trying to trick him.
Before cultivating the Sage Mode, he was filled with longing for Natural Energy, and even once believed that the purer and more Natural Energy was, the better.
If one could completely replace Chakra with Natural Energy, the power of Ninjutsu would probably surpass that of ordinary Senjutsu Chakra.
But whether he came into contact with the gods or immortals of Takamagahara, they were purely cultivating Natural Energy, but judging from their strength, it was nothing special. Shinsei quickly demystified Natural Energy.
Its only advantage is probably its relatively long lifespan.
Kaguya sat down beside her, slowly putting down her bowl and chopsticks, and pulling her hands back into her sleeves.
Shinsei noticed her change and turned his head to ask in a low voice, "What's wrong?"
"It's so noisy," Kaguya whispered.
"Quarrel?"
"Their hearts are restless," Kaguya said. "Like those who hold stones, they actually want my life."
Her voice wasn't loud, but the banquet hall was so quiet that you could hear the faint crackling of the lamp wicks.
Sarutahiko's expression froze for a moment. Ame no Uzume no Mikoto's hand had already returned to the hilt of her sword. Shinsei didn't look at them, but simply placed his hand on the back of Kaguya's hand and patted it gently.
"Eat something," Shinsei said. "You'll have the energy to cope if you're full."
Kaguya nodded, picked up a piece of fruit, and took small bites. The atmosphere in the banquet hall was like a string stretched to its limit.
Ame no Uzume no Mikoto's hand never left the sword, Sarutahiko never picked up his sake cup again. Shinsei remained seated comfortably, one hand resting on his knee, the other refilling Kaguya's cup with water.
From the Sarutahiko uttered his first question, this meal ceased to be a meal; it became an interrogation.
They just didn't dare to overturn the table. Because they couldn't beat the people sitting on this side of the table.
The lamp wick suddenly popped.
Sarutahiko raised his wine glass and burst into laughter.
" Shinsei- chan, you are being far too cautious. How could we possibly harm guests who have traveled from afar?"
The methods for cultivating Senjutsu are Shinsei- kun's secret; he is unwilling to reveal them, so how can we forcibly seize them?
Please feel free to stay here. Great Goddess Amaterasu will receive you as soon as she has time.
After he finished speaking, he stood up and winked at the Ame no Uzume no Mikoto.
The two forced a smile, then said goodbye and left.
Shinsei put down his wine glass, a faint smile playing on his lips.
That's really interesting.