He also wrote of discarding the "Heavenly Spear" he forged, and casually passing forging skills to a craftsman. Yunchuan 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 Xu Fu," he said slowly.
"At Mount Xu Fu on the border of the Land of Fire, and the miracle curing 'Xu 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.
Fourth Raikage fell into silence once more, this time in shock and doubt. He looked down at the deciphered text, and his feelings were completely different from the first reading.
Only a bone chilling awe and fear remained. These words were written across a span far beyond the rise and fall of humanity in Ninja World, measured in thousands of years or more.
Behind those dark, lost, and unknown legends and histories, the shadow of that existence loomed faintly, vast enough to seem to cover the entire civilization of Ninja World. Viewing the universe as a nursery, feeding on planets, transcending life and death as an Outsider, and wielding power where a single drop of blood could devastate a region.
Even titles like god or sage could not fully describe the scale of such power. That heavy presence from the unknown had not been washed away by a thousand years of history, and could still be felt through scattered words.
"So that means," Fourth Raikage murmured after a long silence, "that underground palace was left by an existence stronger than Sage of Six Paths?"
"What lies inside?" he continued. "Ancient secrets, divine weapons he forged, techniques he left behind, or even the remains left after his 'death'?"
His voice grew deeper and more forceful, each word striking the hearts of those present. By the end, his gaze was unfathomable, and the pressure rising from his body weighed heavily on the room.
"Send word," he said without hesitation. "Tell Yugito Nii to put the surprise attack on Konoha on hold. No matter what it takes, open that door for me."
"No. That is not enough."
Before anyone could react, Fourth Raikage stood up abruptly, his towering figure casting a massive shadow. Lightning Release Chakra surged unconsciously around him, faint arcs of electricity crackling in the air.
Crack. His clenched fist sounded as he said in a low voice, "I will go myself."
The usually cautious Mabui opened her mouth, but no words of persuasion came. In the eyes of Fourth Raikage and all of Kumogakure, the first, second, and even the Third Shinobi World War losses to the Konoha Root had a single root cause.
It was not that Kumogakure Ninja lacked talent compared to Konoha Ninja, nor that they were less united. It was because they did not have the same depth of Ninjutsu as Konoha.
This belief had become an obsession throughout Kumogakure. That was why they secretly bullied the weak and used numbers to seize Ninjutsu everywhere, until it even reached the point where Fourth Raikage personally stole secret techniques from the Land of Cedar.
If that underground palace truly held a legacy left by such an existence, even if it was not secret techniques or Ninjutsu, a treasure like the Six Paths Ninja Tools would be enough to move them. It was a possibility that could change the future of Kumogakure.
"Mabui," Fourth Raikage said as he turned to her. "Have Killer B guard the village. Everything discussed here today must not be leaked in the slightest."
As he spoke, no one noticed a flicker in the eyes of someone standing behind the bespectacled ninja. Mabui bowed slightly.
"Yes, Raikage-sama. Please rest assured," she replied. "And please, you must be sure to…"
Boom.
Before she could finish, Fourth Raikage turned and smashed through the wall with a single punch, then leapt straight down. Mabui looked up at the gaping hole in the wall and the crushed desk, raised a hand to cover her face, and her mouth twitched helplessly.
After a moment, she let out a long breath. Alongside a rising sense of anticipation, an inexplicable unease welled up inside her.
She quickly forced it down and returned to a calm expression. With Raikage acting personally, and Yugito Nii as the Two-Tails Jinchuriki, nothing should go wrong.
"May everything go smoothly," she murmured as she watched the lightning flash disappear into the distance.
"Yugito Nii, are you ready?"
At the border where Land of Moon meets Land of Hot Water, Yugito Nii, as the Two-Tails Jinchuriki, led the Kumogakure Ninja as they circled behind and stood on tree branches, watching the distant camp with their eyes fixed forward. Because they feared being spotted by the Konoha Hyuga Clan, they kept a very long distance from the enemy position. From this range, normal Ninjutsu could not affect the camp at all, unless one used Tailed Beast Ball to cause massive damage.
However, Yugito Nii still could not reach the level of full transformation like Killer B. With only partial control over the Tailed Beasts, she was unable to use Tailed Beast Ball at present. It was almost ironic, since she had become the Two-Tails Jinchuriki at the age of two and kept training despite being disliked in Kumogakure. Yet she had still been surpassed by Killer B, who became the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki later.