After hearing the descriptions from Samui and the others, Fourth Raikage's first reaction was that it could not have been caused by Konoha. The terrifying power that reshaped the terrain was something Root could never achieve with ordinary ninja, and could only mean some other existence had emerged and casually killed people from both Konoha and Kumogakure.
At Mabui's suggestion, Fourth Raikage made the same choice as Hiruzen Sarutobi and sent people again to investigate. Kakashi Hatake had originally set out several days earlier than Kumogakure, and even with a detour to Land of Rain to gather intelligence, he should have arrived first.
No one expected that everyone under Kakashi Hatake would fall in Amegakure. Yamato barely made it back to Konoha with severe injuries for treatment, and instead the slightly delayed team from Kumogakure reached the depths of the hollow first.
According to that squad, they saw an underground palace but were blocked by a door. When one of them tried to push it, the memory of the corpse that had been drained dry flashed through Fourth Raikage's eyes with a dark look.
Just touching that so called door drained all Chakra in one second, then stripped away flesh and blood within two more. That was a living special Jonin, who did not die to an enemy but in front of a door, a death so strange it made the skin crawl.
And yet these research obsessed fools wanted him to send Two-Tails Jinchuriki there again. He had sent Yugito Nii to Land of Hot Water to circle around and strike the Konoha Root base, not to send Yugito Nii back to that inexplicable nightmare.
"Raikage-sama, we did discover something," said a bespectacled middle aged ninja as he stepped forward. In a steady tone he continued, "Although the previous team could not enter the underground palace, we deciphered the texts they copied."
Fourth Raikage froze for a moment and asked, "You mean the words they copied from the stone monument outside the palace?" The man nodded. "Yes. We found that the underground palace is actually a tomb."
"The owner of the tomb is a member of Sage of Six Paths's clan, an existence that survived from the time of Ninshu or even earlier."
A question mark seemed to hang in the air. Fourth Raikage stared at him with eyes wide like bells, completely confused.
A clan member of Sage of Six Paths? The era of Ninshu? Survived? A tomb? He understood every word, but together they made no sense.
Setting aside what Sage of Six Paths's clan even meant, why would someone who was alive have a tomb? The middle aged ninja adjusted his glasses and spoke calmly.
"Before I explain, I need to confirm one thing with you. Raikage-sama, do you believe that Sage of Six Paths and Ninshu truly existed?"
Fourth Raikage frowned, then nodded in the end. Even though the Shichiseiken, Kinjō, Kohaku no Jōhei, and Bashōsen were gone, one of the Six Paths Ninja Tools, the Kohaku no Jōhei, was still in Kumogakure.
In terms of historical inheritance, aside from places like the Land of Demons that preserved old traditions, the entire Ninja World likely only had Kumogakure and Konoha that retained a meaningful record of history. As early as the Warring States period, the Uchiha Clan had contact with Land of Lightning, and the group responsible for guarding the Blood Pond clan there had been the Uchiha Clan.
That was even earlier than the era when Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha fought, proving that Land of Lightning existed in or before the Warring States period. Even so, figures like Kinkaku and Ginkaku who claimed descent from Sage of Six Paths only knew of Sage of Six Paths and Ninshu by name.
They knew nothing of Sage of Six Paths's surname or origin, let alone the existence and source of the Otsutsuki Clan. But now, things were different.
"Deciphering the text was extremely difficult," the middle aged ninja continued. "By combining ancient records and repeatedly appearing symbols, we pieced together some fragmented information."
"Information?" Fourth Raikage leaned forward in his chair. "What information?"
The silent Mabui stepped forward and handed over a Scroll. Fourth Raikage frowned and opened it, his eyes scanning the contents.
"Otsutsuki Clan, remnants from beyond the stars, forms unlike ordinary people, horns upon the brow, strict distinction between main and branch lines…"
"They take the 'Karma' as a secret rebirth technique. Even if body and form perish, they can reside within a 'vessel', and through the vessel be reborn…"
"Our clan views the universe as a nursery. We send our kin to wander the stars, always dispatching a main and a branch together. Upon finding a fertile world, one feeds the 'Ten-Tails', flesh becoming the 'God Tree', while the other guards it for a thousand years until the fruit matures…"
"I have stayed in this world for a thousand years and grew compassion for its lives. Unwilling to sacrifice those of the Branch Family, I did not plant the 'Ten-Tails'. Instead, I used this world's Natural Energy to establish another method. Yet my long absence has aroused suspicion from the main family…"
"Branch Family Kaguya was ordered by the main family to pursue me, together with the main family's ■■. We were both gravely injured, but Kaguya feared death and betrayed the clan, poisoning me and Isshiki from the shadows. She seized the God Tree, called herself the Rabbit Goddess, bore two sons, Hagoromo and Hamura, and was later sealed by them. Her son ■■ called himself Six Paths…"
"Though I survived, I now hang by a thread and may never reincarnate. Thus I built this tomb and imprisoned myself here. When this tomb sees the light again, the world must know my name…"
Without question, Ryuji Hyuga once again fabricated a history that was two parts false and eight parts true, quietly inserting his own existence into real events. If that were all, to Fourth Raikage it would have been nothing more than a bizarre legend.
But Ryuji Hyuga did not stop at describing the Otsutsuki Clan beyond Ninja World. He calmly described turning other worlds into barren wastelands with the God Tree, and briefly recounted deeds carried out while hiding behind the civilization of Ninja World for a thousand years.
For example, he planted herbs under the name Hollow Fu, or fed a turtle with Natural Energy and collected strange plants and animals. Or he let a drop of blood fall while bleeding, turning a valley into a miasma filled dead land, and sighed at the weakness of humans in this world.
He also wrote of discarding the "Heavenly Spear" he forged, and casually passing forging skills to a craftsman. Ryuji Hyuga wrote without fear of exposure, because these so called legends were already mixed with truth and lies, and the real facts had long been lost to history.
As for whether anyone would deny these legends and his existence, the answer was simple. Words spoken by those with power and authority became accepted truth, no matter how strange, because humans admired strength.
Unless Isshiki Otsutsuki personally came out to deny it, after all, even Sage of Six Paths had not lived through that era. The more Fourth Raikage read, the more a creeping chill took hold, and he stiffly raised his head toward the middle aged ninja.
"That Hollow Fu," he said slowly.
"At Mount Hollow Fu on the border of the Land of Fire, and the miracle curing 'Hollow Fu Grass'," the man replied calmly.
"And that turtle, and the plants and animals?" Fourth Raikage asked again.
"That is the Island Turtle we use as a mobile fortress, and the training ground of Lord Killer B," the reply came, heavier now.
The Island Turtle had existed long before Kumogakure or even Land of Lightning was founded. The massive green turtle was as large as an island, home to fierce beasts and rare creatures alike.
"Then the valley filled with miasma, the so called Heavenly Spear," Fourth Raikage continued hoarsely, "and the craftsman who received forging skills?"
"The valley is Hell Valley, once used to exile and imprison the Blood Pond clan. The Heavenly Spear is the legendary spear created by an ancient god."
The middle aged ninja answered cautiously. "As for the craftsman, we guess he is most likely Qingming, the ancestor in the Land of Crafts legends who could create 'reincarnation ninja tools'."
Silence followed, as if an unseen chill swept through the room. The entire office fell into dead quiet.
After a long while, Fourth Raikage pressed his dry lips together and asked, "How credible is it?"
The room grew quiet again as people exchanged looks. Finally, another elderly man with a sharp face stepped forward.
"Raikage-sama, after deciphering these texts, we went to the locations mentioned on the monument and began collecting ancient books and artifacts we once ignored." He took a deep breath, his voice trembling slightly. "Across different periods, we indeed found fragments mentioning the God Tree, the Rabbit Goddess, and Hagoromo."
"I swear on the honor and reputation of generations of ancestors who studied the history of Ninja World that those books and artifacts are from different eras and were not forged."
If there had only been the copied text from the monument, it might have been dismissed as a single piece of evidence. But with fragments from other records to corroborate it, the credibility of the monument's contents rose sharply.