" Shinsei, your eyes."
Shinsei turned around. Kaguya was already sitting up straight, staring into his eyes. Her pupils were light, reflecting the barely suppressed blue light in his eyes.
"You can tell?" Shinsei asked.
Kaguya nodded. "I'm very hungry."
Shinsei didn't speak. She hit the nail on the head with one word. Those eyes were incredibly hungry right now. Hungry to the point of being frantic, so hungry that it made one want to rush out and tear those immortals of Takamagahara apart, one by one, and stuff them all into those eyes.
Shinsei never imagined that his Mangekyō would one day feel like a living thing, eliciting such an impulse from him.
He thought he had mastered those eyes, made them his own. But only now did he realize that the Mangekyō might hold secrets he didn't know.
" Shinsei."
"What's wrong?" Shinsei turned around and saw Otsutsuki Kaguya looking worried and pitiful.
"Do you want to eat them?"
"Huh?" Shinsei was taken aback. The longing deep in his eyes had been accurately read by Otsutsuki Kaguya. But on second thought, he could understand, since the bloodline of those eyes originated from the girl before him.
"I'm sorry, but these eyes have their own thoughts." Shinsei that Otsutsuki Kaguya had brought up the topic, Shinji decided to stop hiding it and admit it directly.
Otsutsuki Kaguya let out a soft sigh, as if a heavy burden had been lifted from her heart.
"So Shinsei, you have this problem with your eyes too? I thought it was just me."
Otsutsuki Kaguya, looking rather embarrassed, as if she had committed some grave mistake.
My eyes also told me of that desire. But I didn't want to eat them.
Shinsei listened intently to Otsutsuki Kaguya's story. He found it hard to believe that this kind-hearted girl would one day become the Progenitor of Chakra, the Rabbit Goddess, along with her two sons, nearly destroyed the world.
What exactly caused her to transform from a kind person into a terrifying demon king? Perhaps it has something to do with the gods of Takamagahara.
Shinsei quickly started thinking. He realized that the special abilities of the Mangekyō Sharingan all corresponded to a certain deity. For example, Itachi's Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi, Sasuke's Kagutsuchi, and Shisui Uchiha's Kotoamatsukami.
These abilities either correspond to the names of gods or to locations in myths and legends.
Could it be that Otsutsuki Kaguya inherited these abilities by devouring these divine or legendary lands? And what about her own eyes? Does the urge to devour gods also stem from this?
With too few clues, Shinsei has no idea what to do. He can only put it aside for now.
"Are you still listening?" Otsutsuki Kaguya swallowed hard. Her beautiful Byakugan looked timidly at Shinsei.
Shinsei nodded, making a reassuring expression.
"I'm listening, but I think we should leave here for now. I'm afraid if we see any more gods, these eyes won't be able to control themselves."
Otsutsuki Kaguya nodded slightly, stood up, and patted her dress.
"Let's go, I don't want to stay here either. Let's deal with the God Tree after your eyes have healed."
Ninigi-no-Mikoto walked to the stone platform, took out an extremely thin scroll from her sleeve, and unrolled it.
The first line of the scroll bore a name, the ink a vibrant red, like blood. The words written on it were Ninigi-no-Mikoto. He bit his thumb, pressed the blood onto the name, and whispered.
"Come out."
White smoke rose, and a White Snake emerged from it. As soon as it landed, it looked up at Ninigi-no-Mikoto, then quickly lowered its head, its tongue flicking out rapidly and briefly, as if trembling.
"Please forgive me, my Ninigi-no-Mikoto! I was unaware of your summons and am late; I deserve to die." The White Snake bowed its head low. "Rest assured, my lord, with you and the other immortals in command, those who refuse to submit in Ryūchi Cave will be wiped out sooner or later. In the future, the entire Ryūchi Cave will become the snake's lair of Takamagahara."
Ninigi-no-Mikoto felt relieved, her expression softened slightly, but her tone remained cold. "Where is Kagutsuchi-no-Mikoto now?"
"My lord, God Kagutsuchi is still Ryūchi Cave, fighting against the White Snake's forces. Those beasts are stubbornly resisting, taking advantage of the complex underground terrain, and it's difficult to break through for the time being. Does my lord need me to deliver a message? I'll go and tell you right away."
Ninigi-no-Mikoto took out a scroll from behind her and threw it on the ground. "Tell him there's no need to attack anymore. Go back to Takamagahara immediately and stop Shinsei at the Cloud Wall."
"Yes."
The White Snake opened its huge mouth and swallowed the scroll on the ground whole. Its figure shrank and vanished into smoke.
Ninigi-no-Mikoto looked at the dissipating white smoke on the ground and the saliva dropped by the White Snake, her face showing disgust.
Ryūchi Cave.
The Yamaiwa were charred black, and billowing smoke rose from them. Within a radius of several miles, even the stones were smoking. The ground looked as if someone had turned it over with a red-hot iron plow, and not a blade of grass could grow.
Kagutsuchi-no-Mikoto stood in the center of that scorched earth.
He was extremely tall, two heads taller than ordinary immortals. His long, dark red hair cascaded down his back, the ends curling as if licked by flames.
His skin was dark and shiny, like the color left by years of smoke and fire. His face and arms were covered with fine cracks, like a cracked riverbed, with a faint red glow flowing through the cracks, as if what flowed beneath his skin was not blood, but magma.
His eyes were like two burning embers, without pupils, only a dark red light.
When he looked at someone, it was as if he wanted to roast them from the inside out. He stood on the vitrified rubble, flames still burning all over him, as if he were wearing a robe woven from lava.
He flicked his hand forward, and a tongue of fire shot out, burning along the ground.
Several giant snakes were fleeing in disarray, overtaken by the flames. Before they could even let out a proper scream, they were curled up in a ball, their flesh charred and torn, revealing the grayish-white bones beneath.
"Useless wretch," Kagutsuchi-no-Mikoto cursed under his breath. The flames parted automatically, revealing his eyes, which glowed red like two burning embers. "I came personally, and you couldn't even conquer a snake's den. We still have to wait for news from those worthless traitors."
A small snake slithered out of the shadows and bent down toward him.
" God Kagutsuchi, please calm your anger. The number of snakes Takamagahara is still small, and even fewer are capable of leading the way in."
The White Snake Clan has long harbored rebellious intentions, but the Ryūchi Cave is riddled with too many winding paths and poisonous swamps, so there's no time to rush things. Once more snake immortals have pledged allegiance to the various deities, things will naturally fall into place.
Kagutsuchi-no-Mikoto didn't speak. He looked down at the small snake, his anger intensifying. But he didn't make a move; he merely snorted and stomped on a cracked stone, crushing it to pieces.
"A demon is a demon. If you dare mention the words 'snake spirit' again, I'll rip off your tongue. If it weren't for Great Goddess Amaterasu's orders, I could easily burn the entire Ryūchi Cave to ashes. You'd better listen to me clearly; I don't have the patience to wait for you to slowly wear me down."
"Yes... yes." The little snake crouched even lower, its entire body pressed against the ground.
Just then, a White Snake emerged from the ground and swam quickly to him; it was the same snake that had come from where Ninigi-no-Mikoto.
It whispered a few words in Kagutsuchi-no-Mikoto's ear. After listening, Kagutsuchi-no-Mikoto's face still showed anger, but also a hint of excitement.
He turned and left, the flames following him, engulfing all the pebbles and snake skin at his feet. The little snake shrank into the crevice, daring not to make a sound again.
Ryūchi Cave, only scorched earth and wisps of lingering black smoke remained, like land plowed by the wrath of a god.