On the other side.
Ashidzu led Yuto to a building resembling a shrine and stopped on his own.
This shrine was a place only Lady Chiyome could enter. But since Chiyome had agreed to the request, Ashidzu saw no need to obstruct further.
"Lord Yuto, everything you wish to see is inside."
Ashidzu's face still wore a respectful expression, but his voice carried a cold edge.
"Thank you for your trouble."
Yuto paid little mind to Ashidzu's cold demeanor and walked toward the shrine with a light laugh.
After a few steps, Yuto seemed to remember something. He turned back to look at Ashidzu behind him and said with a light laugh:
"Oh, I forgot to remind you. Your shrine maiden's mood likely won't be very good for the next few days."
"Post some extra guards nearby. Otherwise, if something happens, don't suspect me."
After speaking, Yuto turned and walked into the shrine. Only after Yuto's figure had completely disappeared inside did Ashidzu react.
It was already too late to ask for the reason.
Ashidzu's expression held a trace of anxiety as he turned back the way he had come, his face showing obvious urgency.
The shrine itself was not large, and its decorations were extremely simple. What surprised Yuto slightly was that the shrine contained no statues of any deities.
On the leftmost wall stood a row of bookshelves, placed casually.
These books on the shelves were the records of successive shrine maidens that Yuto had come to find.
Since the last time he reviewed the Hyuga clan's records about the ancient shinobi world, Yuto had been extremely interested in that era's history.
As a separate lineage from the ninja system, the shrine maidens naturally fascinated Yuto greatly.
While Yuto stayed in the shrine, examining the records and related books passed down through successive shrine maidens, the entire Land of Demons became unsettled by his appearance.
Especially when Ashidzu returned to find that their shrine maiden had locked herself away, allowing no one to approach.
If not for Chiyome repeatedly confirming that she simply wanted to be alone and was not locked away for any other reason, Ashidzu would have thought the shrine maiden had been controlled by Yuto.
Under these circumstances, the guards and soldiers of the Land of Demons' palace tripled their patrols, and a force of over a hundred soldiers appeared and established camp near the shrine where Yuto was.
Though Yuto had shown no ill intent from beginning to end, Ashidzu still had to be fully prepared.
Even though deep down, Ashidzu knew these guards and soldiers were useless.
He hoped that if the First Mizukage Yuto harbored ill intentions or something went wrong, these people could buy even a sliver of time for the shrine maiden.
Now, inside the shrine, Yuto remained completely unaware of the undercurrents in the Land of Demons. Of course, even if he had noticed, he would not have cared.
For instance, the small army of about a hundred soldiers that had suddenly camped outside the shrine – Yuto had sensed their arrival the moment they appeared, but he simply didn't care.
Yuto sat casually on the ground, continuously reading the shrine's books and the notes left by successive shrine maidens.
Overall, nearly ninety percent of these materials were of little use. But even so, Yuto read through them one by one carefully, terrified of overlooking any useful information.
Of course, with Yuto's current spiritual power, reading ten lines at a glance was trivially easy. So though the bookshelves held many materials, it would not take Yuto long to finish them all.
Time passed unnoticed.
From before noon that day until dawn the next morning, Yuto finally finished reviewing all the materials in the shrine.
"There isn't much useful information, but the harvest has been considerable."
Yuto set down the last document and rubbed his temples, murmuring to himself.
Through these materials, Yuto had finally gained a relatively clear understanding of the shrine maiden system.
According to the records, the shrine maiden system had existed for as long as – or even longer than – the ninja system. In fact, it seemed the shrine maidens had been present since the ninja system's inception.
What was interesting was.
When mentioning ninja, one naturally thought of the legendary Sage of Six Paths who created the ninja system, as the two were directly connected.
But when mentioning shrine maidens, one inevitably thought of another existence – demons!
It seemed that wherever demons existed, shrine maidens would also exist. Among the vast materials recorded in the shrine, many stories and records described shrine maidens helping the shinobi world's civilians eliminate demons.
And demons had existed for even longer. The clearest records indicated that demons already existed during the era of the Sage of Six Paths.
If Yuto remembered correctly, in the Blood Prison movie, there existed a mysterious box called the "Blissful Death Box."
Inside this mysterious box was a demon called "Gomo."
This "Blissful Death Box" existed during the era of the Sage of Six Paths, and it was even rumored that the Sage himself had once used its power.
Notably, the "Blissful Death Box" had existed for an even longer time.
At first, Yuto had thought these so-called demons might be related to the Ten-Tails, perhaps individual organisms derived from it.
But after reviewing the shrine's materials, Yuto had basically confirmed that these so-called demons were native organisms of the shinobi world.
Moreover, the existence of demons could be traced back to ancient times. From this, one could infer backward that shrine maidens likely already existed in ancient times.
Combining the data from the Hyuga clan with the records he had seen in the shrine, Yuto now had a general hypothesis.
In that era, the Land of Ancestors, where Kaguya Otsutsuki resided, had withstood an attack from another great nation.
This great nation likely possessed the power of shrine maidens, or even demons. Otherwise, with the strength the Otsutsuki clan possessed, they would not have been pressured.
"If we speculate along these lines, things become clearer."
Yuto's eyes narrowed slightly as he murmured softly.
Kaguya Otsutsuki might have eaten the fruit under the pressure of two nations, then used the Ten-Tails' power to single-handedly end the war.
What followed was naturally pregnancy, childbirth, and the use of the Infinite Tsukuyomi to create White Zetsu soldiers.
Yuto stroked his chin thoughtfully.
If not for this, Kaguya Otsutsuki would have had no reason to end a war that had nothing to do with her.
After all, Kaguya Otsutsuki was not native to this planet. With the Otsutsuki clan's arrogant nature, they would not consider this planet's inhabitants as their own people. So whatever wars occurred here were none of their concern.
This had always been Yuto's doubt – why would Kaguya Otsutsuki end a war that had nothing to do with her? Was she pitying the suffering inhabitants?
Yuto did not believe the Otsutsuki clan was that kind. If they were, they wouldn't be wandering from planet to planet planting God Trees.
The reason they did so was because this matter had directly affected Kaguya Otsutsuki. Otherwise, she could simply have maintained her aloof stance.
Of course!
These were merely Yuto's speculations. This was something from ancient times, thousands of years ago. The only ones who knew the truth were likely Kaguya Otsutsuki herself.
After arranging the materials before him, Yuto stretched lazily.
The actual cause was unimportant to Yuto. What mattered was that through these records, Yuto could confirm that the shrine maiden's power was not to be underestimated.
"This trip was truly worth it."
A smile crossed Yuto's face as he turned and walked toward the shrine's exit.
The moment Yuto stepped outside, he spotted a small army in armor patrolling not far from the shrine.
The moment they saw Yuto emerge from the shrine, the soldiers tensed up, their faces full of tension as they looked toward him.
Seeing this, Yuto narrowed his eyes slightly. An invisible pressure descended from him.
In an instant, the soldiers felt the air around them grow thick, as if a mountain pressed down on their backs, making it hard to breathe.
In the blink of an eye, all the soldiers had collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
Yuto glanced at them casually, then stood with his arms crossed, waiting quietly.
Sure enough, not long after.
Ashidzu arrived at a run from a distant corridor, drenched in sweat. Clearly, upon receiving the news, he had not delayed for a moment.
Seeing the soldiers sprawled on the ground, Ashidzu felt a chill and quickened his pace.
When he reached the soldiers, he quickly assessed their condition and found they were merely unconscious, allowing him to breathe a heavy sigh of relief.
"Greetings, Lord Yuto."
"I wonder if the materials in the shrine satisfied Lord Yuto."
Ashidzu placed himself in an extremely low position, bowing deeply with exceptional respect.
[
Dear Readers,
I hope you are doing well. I am writing to you today because I need to be completely honest — things are genuinely tough right now, and I cannot keep going without your help.
My financial situation is the worst it has ever been. I am struggling to stay afloat, and every bit of support matters more than I can put into words. I do not say this lightly, but I really need your help as much as you can give.
Despite everything, I am still posting 5 chapters every single day across all my active fictions. That is a relentless schedule, and I am pouring everything I have into making sure you never have to wait. I love doing this, and I do not want to stop — but I cannot do it alone for much longer.
If you have been reading and enjoying the work, please consider supporting me. I have structured the tiers to give you incredible value in return:
Adventurer — $3/month
- 20 chapters ahead of free release for all my works
Warrior — $7/month
- 40 chapters ahead of free release for all my works
Immortal — $10/month (Best Value)
- 60 chapters ahead of free release for all my works
- Access to character images and visual references
- Bonus side stories and exclusive content
Special Note: On top of the early access above, every tier receives 150 chapters across all fics per month — a massive library of content waiting for you no matter which level you choose.
Important: Subscribing through the Apple App adds an extra 30% fee due to Apple/Patreon policy, and payments are delayed by 2–3 months. Please subscribe through your browser so more of your support reaches me when I need it most.
I am not asking for charity — I am asking because this is what keeps the daily chapters coming, what keeps the stories alive, and what keeps me from drowning right now. Even $3 makes a real difference. If you cannot subscribe, sharing my work with even one person who might enjoy it helps more than you know.
Thank you for reading. Thank you for your time. And thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for even considering it.
Patreon: patreon.com/anish_44
Ko-fi: ko-fi.com/anish_44
]