"Lord Seimei, everything is arranged."
After the curtain fell, two figures in the distance immediately appeared behind Abe no Seimei.
"You've worked hard, Ibaraki Doji, Kyokotsu."
'Ibaraki Doji?'
Eichi looked at the two Shikigami behind Abe no Seimei.
Ibaraki Doji was one of the most well-known Yokai in Japan.
Moreover, he had a close relationship with Shuten Doji, one of Japan's three great Yokai.
Some versions said Ibaraki Doji was Shuten Doji's capable subordinate.
Other versions said Ibaraki Doji was actually a woman, the wife of the Oni King Shuten Doji.
However, as a Master, he did not need to think too much about it, because among the Heroic Spirits, both Shuten Doji and Ibaraki Doji were female.
'The little girl holding a skull must be Kyokotsu, which means Ibaraki Doji in this world is male.'
Eichi curiously observed Ibaraki Doji.
Ibaraki Doji was wearing classic samurai attire, his hair was spiky and a bit shorter than Megumi's, and his eyes were as sharp as swords.
The most striking feature was that the left half of his face was covered by a long piece of wood.
The wood extended down to his chest and upward more than ten centimeters above his head.
"Lord Seimei, please allow me to slay this enemy for you."
Ibaraki Doji was somewhat annoyed by Eichi's gaze, and he drew the katana from his waist, ready to act.
The large piece of wood on the left side of Ibaraki Doji's face was actually his father Shuten Doji's tombstone.
Beneath the tombstone was the face of his father, Shuten Doji.
Although there were many historical versions, in this world, Ibaraki Doji was Shuten Doji's son.
After Shuten Doji's death, Ibaraki Doji buried his body within himself, which made half of his face resemble a demon, and the long piece of wood covering that half of his face was the tombstone.
Abe no Seimei nodded, and upon seeing his agreement, Ibaraki Doji immediately lunged at Eichi.
Clang!
Ibaraki Doji's sword was blocked by the Sword of Exorcism that suddenly extended from Eichi's shadow.
Mahoraga's figure enveloped Ibaraki Doji.
Ibaraki Doji was repelled, but he drew his sword again for a fierce assault, yet he was still unable to break through Mahoraga's defenses.
What angered Ibaraki Doji the most was that Eichi's gaze remained on Abe no Seimei, never once acknowledging him from the moment he launched his attack until now.
"Is that Mahoraga?
I see. Based on divine treasures, chanting the words of purification, the strongest Shikigami created by imitating Yamata no Orochi. Interesting."
Abe no Seimei showed a look of keen interest.
Even he, who had once possessed countless Shikigami, had to admit Mahoraga's power and wonder.
"Thank you for the compliment. I heard that your Shikigami were not obtained through inherited Cursed Techniques, but created by yourself?"
"Indeed. Your Ten Shadows Technique was originally just about manipulating shadows.
It was not until a genius appeared among your ancestors, who integrated the power of the Ten Treasures into his own shadow, that the Shikigami of the Ten Shadows Technique came into being."
Eichi understood.
When his Soul first sank into the Shadow World and he saw that peculiar Spell array composed of the Ten Treasures, Eichi had already made some guesses.
Now, Abe no Seimei's words had turned those guesses into reality.
The Ten Shadows Technique might have originally been just the Shadow Spell, a Spell capable of manipulating shadows and communicating with a mysterious Shadow World.
It was somewhat similar to the alternate dimension that Uchiha Obito's Kamui could enter.
At that time, the Shadow Spell did not have the quantifier "Ten," nor did it have the fixed ten Shikigami.
It was not until an ancestor of the Zen'in Family, likely that genius Taira no Masakado, obtained the legendary cursed tool, the Ten Treasures.
He used the Ten Treasures as a foundation to construct a Spell array, submerged it into the Shadow World, and finally made it resonate with the Shadow Spell.
Since then, every person who awakens the Shadow Spell has their Soul resonate with the Spell array deep within the Shadow World, engraving a projection of the array into their own shadow and gaining the ability to summon ten types of Shikigami.
This was also why the Ten Shadows Technique had been passed down for so long, and why even though its Shikigami had been completely destroyed countless times, new awakened individuals could still summon Shikigami.
What was destroyed was the projection in the awakened individual's shadow, not the original Spell array in the Shadow World.
From then on, the Shadow Spell evolved into the Ten Shadows Technique, becoming a powerful Cursed Technique capable of rivaling the Six Eyes and Limitless.
"If only I could meet that ancestor."
Eichi felt a touch of emotion.
"Then you might be disappointed. His body and Soul have been completely destroyed by those who feared him, and even if he were resurrected, he would only draw his sword against all of you."
"Why?"
"Because among those who killed him back then, there were also members of his own clan."
Eichi fell silent.
Although he had not experienced such a thing and could not understand such feelings.
But Eichi knew what a person who had suffered such betrayal would do.
No need to look far, Uchiha Madara from the neighboring story was an example.
When he left, no one from the Uchiha was willing to go with him, and later, when his successor developed the idea of destroying the Uchiha, he did not correct it either.
No, rather than saying he did not correct it, it was more accurate to say that Uchiha Madara secretly fanned the flames while he was alive.
"Is that so? What a pity."
Eichi shook his head, looking at Abe no Seimei with even more curiosity.
"Do you know him?"
"I would not say I knew him. I only saw him when I was a child."
At this point, Eichi suddenly remembered a rumor.
"Are you Taira no Masakado's son?"
Eichi looked curious.
Taira no Masakado's birth year was unknown, and he died in 940 AD.
According to historical records, Abe no Seimei lived from 921 AD to 1005 AD, so their eras partially overlapped.
Coupled with various rumors from the noble circles at the time.
Thus, there was a rumor that Abe no Seimei's original name was Taira no Masakuni, and he was Taira no Masakado's son.
The reason for changing his name to Abe no Seimei was the influence of Taira no Masakado's rebellion.
Some historians believed that the two should be the same person.
"No."
Hearing Eichi's words, Abe no Seimei's expression darkened considerably.
His gaze also shifted from Mahoraga and settled on Eichi.
He had already seen Mahoraga. Now it was time to see what level Eichi was at.
Kyokotsu, behind Abe no Seimei, raised the skull she held in her arms to her front, and a green venomous snake with a flicking tongue slithered through the skull's eye sockets.
At the same time, numerous skulls and venomous snakes appeared around Eichi.
'Very short, no signs of muscle or training, no obvious weapons other than the skull, plus this wide-range Cursed Technique effect...'
Eichi's gaze lingered for a while on the Kyokotsu loli, who was even shorter than Momo from Jujutsu Kaisen, and he drew a conclusion.
'This is a magic-user loli, not good at close-quarters combat.'
The Ten Shadows Treasure Wheel rotated, and Eichi planned to summon a Chimera with Bansho and Nue as its core.
A large volume of water could scatter the skulls and snakes summoned by Kyokotsu's Cursed Technique, and lightning used with water could prevent the venomous snakes from swimming through it.
But Eichi quickly froze.
The Ten Shadows Treasure Wheel was still rotating, but the Chimera's figure did not appear.
"Heh heh."
Kyokotsu keenly noticed the change in Eichi's expression, and countless venomous snakes lunged at Eichi, biting.
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)