Kuroto thought of Uchiha Madara who removed his Rinnegan and transplanted them into Nagato.
Although the Rinnegan remained in a dormant state for a long time until Nagato awakened them in his later years under heavy emotional stimulation, it is still undeniable that Madara did transplant his Rinnegan to Nagato.
"Perhaps it was because Nagato was too young at that time and his soul was able to partially fuse with the Madara's Rinnegan as he grew up, or maybe Madara also abandoned a part of his soul when he removed the Rinnegan." – This was Kuroto's conclusion.
There is no doubt that Madara wasn't ignorant of the knowledge of the soul in his later years because of knowing the Yin-Yang Techniques.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have attempted to create Black Zetsu to monitor Obito before his death.
So, the fact that the presence of the Soul plays a vital role has been determined.
With that understood, Kuroto didn't remain in the Clone-A for too long and withdrew his soul back to the main body.
Before cultivating the Water Clone, he must first take care of the Ryuumyaku that is sealed within his body, after all, once his soul leaves the main body and enters the Clone Body, then the suppression on the Ryuumyaku would disappear, and it would become nearly impossible for him to suppress the extremely large amount of Ryuumyaku Chakra.
Ryuumyaku may stay fine for some time, but it would inevitably go on a rampage as Ryuumyaku's consciousness is obviously not mature enough to handle such large chakra.
This hidden danger must be solved first, otherwise, it might lead to some disastrous consequences, so after leaving a Shadow Clone in the Village, Kuroto again secretly sneaked out of Konohagakure!
…
A few days later.
The Land of Demon, Temple of Miko.
"Shion-Sama, don't run so fast and be careful to not fall…"
A large group of maids chased after the young Shion.
The little girl who ran ahead didn't listen to the urging of the maids and kept running while holding a beautiful kite, panting and struggling to fly the kite but there was a clear smile on her face and she giggled occasionally in excitement.
The guards around the temple shook their heads and sighed helplessly as this wasn't the first time they were witnessing the predicament of the maids.
In the private room on the other side of the main hall, Miroku looked through some documents with a frowned expression.
Thud… Thud…
When suddenly she heard the muffled sounds of the bodies collapsing on the floor and not long after a person with a black mask and black full-body cloak walked into the room from the front door.
Looking at the person walking towards her calmly, Miroku was a little doubtful because she couldn't sense any negative intentions from the other party and asked with a confused expression, "Who are you?"
Hearing Miko-Sama's question the person removed his mask and greeted her with a polite apologetic smile, "Please don't be cautious Miko-Sama, it is I, Hyuga Kuroto!"
Looking at the familiar face of Hyuga Kuroto, Miroku sighed in relief and immediately asked again, "Ara, Kuroto-Kun, how come you managed to sneak in? The enchantment barrier has obviously been activated, and upgraded from the last time!"
Kuroto awkwardly rubbed the back of his head and apologized for his discourtesy, "I had to hide my identity and my visit to Miroku-Sama, therefore I had to sneak in, as for the barrier enchantment, passing through it is no longer that difficult for me, please forgive me for this disrespect!"
The enchantment arranged by Miko-Sama is indeed difficult to pass through, but that's only for ordinary shinobi, such a minor enchantment cannot stop Kuroto.
Using his Tenseigan, Kuroto only had to study the basic structure of the enchantment, the Chakra flow around it, and simply use the Truth-Seeking Orbs to cut a small entrance and sneak inside, pretty easy, isn't that right?
From beginning to end, it was all a piece of cake for him.
As for the reason why he had to sneak into the temple?
There was obviously a reason behind it.
Although the Land of Demon is an independent country with no shinobi Village here, that does not stop the infiltration of intelligence agents into the Land of Demons, so the possibility of the presence of spies inside the temple of Miko cannot be ruled out.
Especially after the other Shinobi Villages witnessed the power of Moryo the Demon.
And in this case, if Kuroto was to come here openly, there are chances that this intelligence might be passed onto other Villages, which is not something Kuroto wants to deal with, so being cautious is the best choice.
Miko-Sama nodded in understanding and said, "Maa, it's fine if it is you, I owe you my life and trust you, so it is alright, by the way, you were so anxious to meet me, what's the matter?"
Kuroto briefly summarised the matter of Ryuumyaku to Miko-Sama and then asked, "I needed your help in sealing Ryuumyaku in an artifact, but I am not confident enough to carry out this type of sealing, so coming here was the only option, as this matter is important."
Miroku was surprised at this and muttered, "So the person behind the disappearance of the Ryuumyaku was really you Kuroto-Kun!"
Kuroto learned all the sealing techniques involved in the artificial tailed beast creation project under Miko-Sama's teaching, additionally, the purple clay was also provided by her, so when she heard the news of the disappearance of Ryuumyaku, the first target of suspicion was naturally Hyuga Kuroto.
Kuroto nodded with a happy smile, "Yes, I needed a large enough Chakra Source for the Artificial Tailed Beast Project, and Ryuumyaku just happened to fit the requirements, therefore, I used it!"
"Fair enough, but you should know that it was quite a bold action, you have to be careful, the power of Ryuumyaku wouldn't be so easy to control!" – Miko-Sama warned.
Kuroto nodded.
With that out of the way, Miroku spoke after a little consideration, "So, you want to seal the Ryuumyaku's Chakra in an artifact? Hmm, considering there are stories of Ichibi being sealed inside a tea kettle, so it is possible!"
"Hmm? How do you know about Ichibi being sealed inside the Tea Kettle at the Temple in the Land of Wind?" – Kuroto asked in confusion, as such information shouldn't be easily accessible for Miko-Sama.
"Are you underestimating me Kuroto-Kun? The authority of the Miko is more than you might think and after the last incident because I didn't die while sealing Moryo, as per my prediction of the future, so I decided to learn all that I can about the sealing so that I can create a path for my daughter when it is her turn to face the other half!" – Miko-Sama explained.
"Does that mean you have had another prediction of the future!?" – Kuroto asked doubtfully.
Miko-Sama nodded, and looking at her Kuroto wanted to ask but before he could speak, Miko-Sama spoke, "I know that you want to know what that might be, but it's better not to, all you need to know is that my daughter too will play a critical role in the future, as for what that is, I am not perfectly sure either…"
Kuroto nodded, if Miko-Sama says that it's better to not know then he will leave it aside for now.
"Anyway, coming back to your request, as I said, it's not impossible but ordinary artifacts can't be used for sealing Ryuumyaku, as they will just collapse!"
Understanding that Miko-Sama was indeed right, Kuroto asked quickly, "Then what kind of artifact do you suggest Miko-Sama?"
Miroku didn't speak directly, but stood up and removed a scroll from the many scrolls aligned on the shelf nearby.
Taking the scroll, she spread it on the table before Kuroto.
Kuroto's gaze was immediately attracted by the contents of the scroll that seemed to be a map of the land of Demons.
The map printed on the scroll was a very detailed one, as it clearly marked the location of most of the towns, villages, famous mountains, rivers, lakes, forest territories, etc, that are part of the Land of Demons.
While Kuroto was looking at the detailed map, Miko-Sama pointed at a mountain named 'Morning Mountain' and said, "This is the place where we can find the required artifact material, and you are lucky enough to be here at just the right time for its harvest!"
Kuroto asked curiously, "What treasure is it?"
Miko-Sama folded back the scroll and said with a mischievous smile, "Wouldn't it be better to directly see it?"
With that said, Miko-Sama announced seclusion, for important research, and quickly sneaked out of the temple with Kuroto and went to the Morning Mountain.
…
On the way, while he held Miko-Sama on his back, Kuroto asked something that has been bugging him for a while, "Miko-Sama, when I sneaked into the Temple, I noticed that the security at the temple was very strict and the guards looked as if they were all battle-ready to face an enemy, what happened to make you so cautious?"
Hearing Kuroto's question, Miroku sighed helplessly and said, "Sigh, Yomi has appeared again!"
Kuroto narrowed his eyes and spoke after a bit of thinking, "Don't worry, I will help you to completely eliminate Yomi and his cult!"
Miko-Sama immediately cheered up and spoke, "In that case, I am grateful to you Kuroto-Kun!"
The two of them continued some light conversation along the way and soon arrived at the foot of the Morning Mountain.
After walking for another quarter of an hour under Miko-Sama's guidance, they finally stopped in front of a rock wall.
As they stopped before the rock wall, Miroku got off Kuroto's back, walked closer to the wall, made a few hand seals, and pressed lightly on the rock wall.
As soon as she pressed her fingers at the rock wall, complex sealing symbols emerged at the wall and soon a brilliant light flashed.
The previous rock wall immediately blurred and became transparent, and finally disappeared along with the disappearance of the brilliance.
Kuroto who was standing at the back was shocked at such a scene and thought to himself, 'Miko's bloodline seals are really extraordinary, even me with the Tenseigan couldn't see through the entrance!'
Miko-Sama noticed Kuroto's shock and beckoned him to follow after her, "Keep calm as this is just the beginning of what you are about to see, come on in!"
Following Miko-Sama's lead, Kuroto passed through the enchantment barrier and was again surprised at the sight before him.
What lied before Kuroto was the beautiful scenery inside the mountain.
A beautiful valley with lush green grass and beautiful flowers that oozed vitality and sweet fragrance, then there was a lake that had several lotuses floating in the clear water at the center of which stood a small tree with a face of a woman on its trunk.
Miko-sama enjoyed Kuroto's surprised look and spoke, "Beautiful, right?"
Kuroto could only nod, as this might just be the most beautiful scenery he has ever witnessed, and asked in wonder, "Ahem, Miko-Sama, what is this place!?"
"Heh, well this mountain is the Morning Mountain and this place inside is called the 'Morning Valley' It is actually the spot where the first light of the day comes to illuminate that tree over there, which is called the Mother Tree, apparently the face engraved on that tree is of the first Miko of the Land of Demon, and it is said that the tree is her true body. Therefore, we call it the Mother TreeI" – said Miko-Sama as she pointed towards the green gourd vine hanging from the lower center of the tree that has a hole in it, "That gourd vine is the perfect artifact material!"
Kuroto looked over and saw the green gourd that reminded him of the small gourd Gaara carried with him to store Sand within it.
"Legends say that the Sage of the Six Path spent twenty years of his life in the Morning Valley after the catastrophic battle of the myth and finally obtained a gourd out of the Mother Tree and refined a powerful artifact out of it!" – Miko-Sama continued with a smile, "But this is just a legend, although I am not very sure whether the last part involving the Sage of Six Path is true or not, the story of the First Miko is true as I have the memories about her!"
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Read up to Chapter - 320 on P.a.t.r.e.o.n. Page: p-atreon.com/Milta_translations