Outside the temple, the commotion among the gods and immortals grew louder and louder. Just now, out of anger, the gods had forced Amaterasu to abdicate.
Now that Amaterasu had truly abdicated, the gods felt somewhat lost and disoriented.
"What do we do now?" a celestial asked in a low voice.
No one could answer. The crowd fell silent at first, then erupted in uproar.
The first to step forward was the Ame-no-Tajikarao-no-Kami. He was extremely burly, with arms thicker than other people's waists. He was once the god in charge of clearing the way during the Takamagahara festival, and legend has it that he was the one who opened the heavy door of Ame-no-Iwato.
He clenched his fists, his voice sounding like it was rolling out of his chest.
"Of course we're going to fight those two outsiders to the death! Takemikazuchi-no-Kami and Susanoo can't have died in vain! The Takamagahara can't be trampled underfoot!"
"Fight to the death?" A very thin, handsome man next to him sneered. He was Futodama no Mikoto, the divination god of Takamagahara, who was most skilled at distinguishing good and bad fortune.
He always speaks as if he's sighing.
" Ame-no-Tajikarao-no-Kami, you can open the stone door, but can you really open Madara Uchiha's Sage Art: Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands?"
Even Susanoo's Susanoo was smashed into mud.
"If you go up there, will you just make Takamagahara lose another god?"
The Ame-no-Tajikarao-no-Kami choked for a moment, his face turning purple.
"We can't just sit here and wait to die!"
"That's why I said, go cut down the God Tree."
An old god draped in a mountain robe spoke up. He had been burned half to death by the black flames when he fought Amaterasu, and his arm was still wrapped in charred cloth, but his tone remained deep.
"Without the God Tree, the Ōtsutsuki will never come again. All our suffering began with that tree. If you won't cut it down, I will!"
"Are you crazy?"
Konohanasakuya-hime walked out from the crowd. Her face was still very pale, as if she had not recovered from a serious illness.
She shares the same origin as the Ōyamatsumi-no-Kami and understands the relationship between the God Tree and the land best.
"If the God Tree is cut down, the Ōtsutsuki will sense it immediately. We can't even handle these two people right now, and we want to lure the Ōtsutsuki here? Takamagahara will be flattened."
"So we'll just watch it drain the earth's veins?" Ōyamatsumi-no-Kami sneered. "Once the Natural Energy is gone, we'll die anyway. Since we're going to die anyway, we might as well take that tree with us."
Why must one die?
A clear female voice rang out. Everyone looked over and saw it was Ame no Uzume no Mikoto.
She used to dance in Takamagahara, and all the gods loved to watch. But now, her eyes held a different kind of brilliance.
" Shinsei is an immortal, and he also uses Natural Energy. He doesn't necessarily want to kill us all."
Sarutahiko-no-Mikoto and I met him. He didn't kill us then. So, we and outsiders aren't necessarily enemies."
"So you're going to side with the enemy?" The Ame-no-Tajikarao-no-Kami strode up to her, as if about to attack.
Ame no Uzume no Mikoto did not back down. She raised her head, her eyes slightly red, but her voice remained steady.
"If he can really solve the problem with the God Tree, what's wrong with joining him? It's better than you all going to your deaths. Or are you saying you'd rather Takamagahara be nothing but stones and ashes than live on by bowing your head first?"
The hand of the Ame-no-Tajikarao-no-Kami remained frozen in mid-air. He ultimately did not strike.
Ame no Uzume no Mikoto is the goddess of dance in Takamagahara, and she has brought laughter to all the gods.
The gods looked at her, then at the Ame-no-Tajikarao-no-Kami, and no one spoke.
I disagree.
The silent Sukuna Hikona no Mikoto spoke. He was short and stood behind the gods, his voice soft yet drawing everyone's attention. He was the god of medicine in Takamagahara, always carrying an old medicine chest. He slowly rose from the edge of the steps.
"We can leave Takamagahara. The world is vast; we don't need to fight anyone to the death, nor do we need to bow down to anyone. Over the years, we've long forgotten that even gods can leave."
"Leave?" Futodama no Mikoto sighed again. "If we don't even want Takamagahara, what's the difference between us gods and mortals?"
"Then let us be mortals," said Sukuna Hikona no Mikoto, "Which is better than being sacrificed to be drained of life by the God Tree and crushed by the Ōtsutsuki."
Finally, Hall Master Shūma stood up. He had been sitting on the outermost stone steps, listening to the entire argument. He didn't look at anyone, but slowly closed the ancient book in his arms.
"Everyone, you can leave now."
The gods looked at the old man who had pronounced the name of Amenominaka during the grand ceremony. His voice was hoarse, yet it seemed to calm a gust of wind.
" Takamagahara has no more choices," said Hall Master Shūma. "Each of us can only choose our own path. Those who want to fight, fight; those who want to leave, leave; those who want to surrender, surrender. Don't use the Takamagahara ' to cover up your decisions anymore."
He stood up and walked outside. His Hagoromo was old and gray, and when the wind blew, it looked like a piece of old paper about to fall.
The gods chattered and argued, like a swarm of headless flies. After the disturbance subsided, they could only disperse.
The stone steps in front of the temple were whitened by the sunlight. The divine light was still there, but the sky had no warmth.
No one announced the split, but Takamagahara had already split.
"No!!!"
A painful cry came from afar.
A richly dressed young man rushed to the front of the temple.
The top of the temple Ninigi-no-Mikoto the marks of black flames. Looking at the temple gate, her face showed extreme pain.
"Grandma!!"
The temple was deserted and no one answered his calls.
A middle-aged man strolled over from a distance, looking at Ninigi-no-Mikoto with a calm expression, as if he were looking at a noisy child.
"It's all your fault, Father! Why didn't you stop Grandmother!"
It's all your fault! If you hadn't trapped me, I could have stopped all of this! It's all your fault!
Ninigi-no-Mikoto, as if possessed, swung her fists and charged at the middle-aged man.
The middle-aged man waved his hand gently, and suddenly countless weeds sprouted wildly from the ground.
The weeds grew longer and longer, like vines, wrapping around Ninigi-no-Mikoto's entire body.
No matter how hard he struggled, he couldn't shake off these tenacious weeds.
"You can't stop it, my child. I can't stop your grandmother's decisions either."
Ninigi-no-Mikoto bound to the ground by weeds and struggled for a while before gradually losing her strength.
"Let me go," he said in a hoarse voice.
Ame-no-Oshihomimi-no-Mikoto looked at him, remained silent for a long time, and finally raised her hand.
The vines loosened little by little, like the tide receding into the soil. Ninigi-no-Mikoto didn't get up immediately. He lay on the ground, his shoulders trembling, as if he were crying, or as if he was holding back tears.
"This is not your fault," Ame-no-Oshihomimi-no-Mikoto said.
"Whose is that?" Ninigi-no-Mikoto slowly propped himself up, his face a mixture of ashes and tears. He raised his head, his eyes burning like a fire doused with cold water. "Was it Grandmother? Was it you? Or were it those gods and immortals standing below, each one more afraid of death than the last?"
Ame-no-Oshihomimi-no-Mikoto remained silent, and only silence filled the air.
"Then why should I be the grandson of the gods, someone who can't even enter the temple!" Ninigi-no-Mikoto suddenly roared, her voice echoing on the empty steps. "Grandmother is gone, Takamagahara shattered, the gods are scattered, some have fled. Who was I before? And what am I now?"
Ame-no-Oshihomimi-no-Mikoto didn't answer. He knew that saying anything at this moment would only ignite further conflict.
Ninigi-no-Mikoto slowly got up. His white clothes were covered with grass clippings and dust, his hat was askew, and half of his hair was down.
He stared at the temple's tightly closed doors, his eyes growing increasingly crazed.
"It's all Shinsei," he said. "Everything started changing after that foreign immortal appeared. My grandmother stopped protecting me; he made me, the grandson of the gods, a laughingstock! He prevented me from becoming a god. I want his life!"
He turned around and started walking down the steps. Ame-no-Oshihomimi-no-Mikoto reached out to pull him back.
Ninigi-no-Mikoto. He took out a scroll, bit his fingertip, and pressed his blood onto it.
A plume of white smoke exploded, and White Snake slithered out from it, coiling around his feet, silent.
"Take me to Shinsei!"
Ame-no-Oshihomimi-no-Mikoto away, no longer looking at her son. Her previously calm expression slowly changed.
A single tear silently rolled down her cheek.