The enormous trees formed a vast forest that stretched as far as the eye could see. Shinsei led Otsutsuki Kaguya through this forest.
"Coo coo."
Shinsei turned his head and saw that Otsutsuki Kaguya had two blushes on her face. She stretched out her fair and slender palm and gently rubbed her stomach, looking a little embarrassed.
Are you hungry?
Kaguya gave a soft "Mmm".
Shinsei stopped and looked around.
There were plenty of wild animals in the woods. He had Kaguya find a clean rock to sit on, while he went for a walk nearby and soon returned carrying a plump wild rabbit.
He peeled, cleaned, and started a fire with practiced ease. He pulled out several small cloth bags from his ninja tool bag, containing salt, spices, and some dried chili flakes he had brought with him when he traveled through time.
People of this era had never seen anything like this. A fire was lit, and the rabbit meat slowly turned over the flames, the oil dripping down and sizzling.
The fragrance quickly spread.
Kaguya sat on the rock, staring intently without blinking.
When Shinsei handed her the roasted rabbit meat, she took a bite and her eyes widened in surprise.
"It's delicious," she said, her voice brightening.
"Eat slowly, there's still a lot left," Shinsei said.
Kaguya ignored the heat and ate in small bites, repeating the same words over and over.
"Delicious, this is really delicious."
She ate very politely, but her hands never stopped moving. Seeing how much she enjoyed her food, Shinsei tore off a piece for himself as well.
The taste was indeed excellent. The rabbit meat of this era was firm, not as fatty as in later generations, but its advantage lay in its natural quality.
With his seasonings, it's probably one of the most delicious dishes in the world.
As she was finishing her meal, Kaguya suddenly looked up. She swallowed the meat in her mouth, and her eyes slowly turned pale white.
"What's wrong?" Shinsei asked.
"Someone's coming," Kaguya said. "Very hot. Like a ball of fire, coming this way."
Shinsei put down the wooden stick in his hand and stood up. Before he could speak, a red light lit up in the distant woods.
The light was incredibly fast, flying from the south close to the treetops, leaving thick smoke billowing wherever it passed, and the treetops burning one after another.
The wind, carrying scorching ash, blew in, making the fire flicker. Shinsei smelled an extremely strong acrid smell, like the entire forest was coughing.
A figure landed.
He was an extremely tall man with long, dark red hair that cascaded down his back, the ends curled.
He stood on the charred tree trunk, with the embers of fire still burning beneath his feet.
Its entire body was covered in a layer of armor formed from solidified flames, glowing red, as if it had crawled out of the earth's core. Its eyes had no pupils, only two lumps of inextinguishable embers.
"We've found you."
Shinsei shielded Kaguya behind him. Kaguya didn't flinch, but simply stood behind him, her eyes still white.
Shinsei looked at the newcomer and said nothing more.
" From Takamagahara?"
" Kagutsuchi, the Flame of Takamagahara. By Amaterasu of Amaterasu, I will take you back. Do not resist; I will burn your hands and feet, sparing only your lives."
Shinsei raised an eyebrow. He had never seen anyone so confident. But the one in front of him was indeed not weak.
Kagutsuchi raised his right hand, and the trees within a hundred paces around him simultaneously burst into flames from within.
The fire spread incredibly fast, not from the outside in, but as if the trees themselves had caught fire. Thick smoke and sparks shot straight into the sky, and in the blink of an eye, the entire forest had turned into a sea of fire. Kagutsuchi stomped his foot, and the ground cracked open, from which a fiery snake shot out, skimming along the ground as it rushed towards Shinsei.
Shinsei dodged to the side, the fire snake grazing past his waist before crashing into the rocks behind him, scorching the rock surface and causing it to shatter.
As Shinsei retreated, he wrapped Chakra around his hands. He didn't rush to take the hit head-on; he observed first.
Kagutsuchi didn't give him that time. He charged forward like a fiery meteor, his fist wreathed in flames, aiming for Shinsei's face.
Shinsei crossed his arms to block, and flames exploded in front of his arms. The enormous force sent him sliding backward, his feet carving two furrows in the ground.
Shinsei flashed back, shielding Kaguya behind him. He shook his burned forearm; a patch of skin was charred.
"That's interesting."
A smile crept onto his lips. He was eager to see just how powerful the so-called gods of Takamagahara truly were.
Kagutsuchi didn't waste any more words. He clasped his hands together, and the flames in the entire sea of fire simultaneously gathered into the air, condensing into a three-zhang-long greatsword.
The blade was crimson, its surface bubbling with countless fire bubbles. He pointed the blade at Shinsei, a wave of heat washing over him. Shinsei held nothing back, his Senjutsu Chakra surging around him.
Two figures clashed in the sea of fire. With each collision, large swathes of trees were snapped in half by the shockwave and burned to the ground.
The once dense forest looked as if someone had slowly ripped it open with a knife. Thick smoke blotted out the sky, Kakkō made half the sky look like it was on fire.
Shinsei Kagutsuchi were thrown from the ground into the air, then crashed back down.
With each strike of the flaming blade, a deep, scorched trench appeared in the ground.
Shinsei's fist struck his flame armor like a branding iron, sizzling as it burned his skin. But Kagutsuchi didn't gain much of an advantage either.
With each crack his armor was struck, the flames grew weaker. The cracks on his face deepened, making him look like a piece of charcoal about to crumble.