"Ashura, I have obtained the Yin power left behind by the Old Man in the Tomb of the Six Paths. Now is the perfect time to test my strength against you!" Indra flicked his long blade, pointing it directly at Ashura as he spoke calmly.
"I never expected you to actually claim Father's strongest weapon from his lifetime—the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi—along with his Yin power. Still, this is the Tomb of the Six Paths. If you want to fight, at least wait until we're outside!" Ashura replied angrily. With a gentle wave of his hand, a black long spear materialized in his grip—the Spear of the Marsh.
The Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi, also known as the Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi, was a powerful divine artifact that was neither quite a blade nor a traditional sword. The Six Paths Sage had used this weapon to pacify the chaotic world before founding the Ninja Sect. Once the world found peace and the sect was established, he had switched to the Spear of the Marsh, a weapon that symbolized benevolence and righteousness. These two artifacts were the Sage's strongest divine weapons, and their power was said to be equal.
"Hahaha! Ashura, now that we each possess one of the Old Man's strongest weapons, the other divine artifacts in this tomb hold little meaning for us anymore. If you don't want to fight here, then follow me outside!" Although Indra harbored deep resentment toward his father, he was not heartless. No matter how much he disliked the Six Paths Sage, the man was still his father. It was said that death settled all grudges—especially when it came to one's own parent. Unless absolutely necessary, Indra had no desire to disturb his father's eternal rest.
It wasn't that the other divine artifacts were useless to them, but that no matter how many others obtained, they posed no real threat. For Indra and Ashura, whether they claimed the remaining treasures or not made little difference.
"It seems this battle is unavoidable," Ashura said. "Since you're so eager to be defeated by me, let's take it outside!" He said no more. After years of clashing, the two brothers understood each other perfectly. If he refused to leave, Indra would surely rampage through the tomb to force his hand, risking the destruction of their father's resting place.
Having reached an agreement, the two said nothing further and left the Tomb of the Six Paths one after the other.
"Isamu, was someone fighting just now?"
The commotion caused by Indra and Ashura had been loud enough that nearly everyone inside the tomb heard it—including Isamu and Garuda.
"This chakra signature… it's Ashura's. It must be him fighting Indra. I didn't expect the two of them to run into each other here," Isamu muttered, frowning slightly. He hadn't sensed Ashura's arrival earlier. Feeling Indra's steadily rising aura, he assumed the elder brother had already claimed what he came for.
At this moment, Indra's presence was in no way inferior to Ashura's. It was impossible to predict who would emerge victorious. Still, Isamu quickly set the matter aside. This was a battle between Indra and Ashura; all he needed to do was wait for the outcome and the space-time portal to open. He wasn't sure exactly when or how the portal would appear, but he trusted the system would alert him at the critical moment. After all, he belonged to an era a thousand years in the future.
"Those two idiots, starting a fight at a time like this!" Garuda stomped her foot in frustration. After venting her irritation, she looked at Isamu with a conflicted expression. Deep down, she wanted to stop the fight—after all, she and Mandala had come here specifically to resolve the conflict between her brothers. But now that she was Isamu's, she couldn't simply act on her own. As a noble lady, she understood proper etiquette.
"Let's go take a look," Isamu said after a moment of thought. He decided to abandon the search for more divine artifacts. They had already been inside for four or five hours—two hours to obtain the three artifacts, another two spent in the Kamui dimension with Garuda, and nearly an hour of fruitless searching afterward. There was no point in continuing.
He had originally hoped to find the legendary remains of the Six Paths Sage, but he had failed. No matter what method Isamu used, he could detect no trace of them. Perhaps they were sealed behind an incredibly powerful barrier, or perhaps they were not in the tomb at all. Either way, the location of the Sage's remains would remain a mystery.
"Is that really alright?" Garuda asked. "There might still be divine artifacts in here that no one has found yet…" She thought Isamu was only saying this to spare her feelings, and while it touched her, she also felt guilty.
"It's fine," Isamu replied. "Divine artifacts have a will of their own. If I can't find them, it means they aren't meant for me. Besides, three is more than enough. There's no point in endlessly searching. More artifacts won't change anything." His words sounded casual, but in truth Isamu had little resistance to treasures. Even if he couldn't use them, simply owning them would have been satisfying. However, with Ashura and Indra already fighting, he couldn't risk missing the space-time portal.
More importantly, it was likely that few—if any—divine artifacts remained. So many people had entered the tomb, and Isamu alone already possessed three. Even the less fortunate should have claimed something by now. There were quite a few Super Kage-level experts present; in Isamu's era, any one of them would have been a regional powerhouse.
Hearing his reassurance, Garuda took it to heart. Worried about the battle between her brothers, she nodded quickly and pulled Isamu toward the exit. The once-bustling Tomb of the Six Paths had grown quiet, as most of the treasure hunters had been drawn outside by the clash between Indra and Ashura. People of this era were fiercely loyal to their leaders.
Following the passageway, Isamu and Garuda soon reached the area where the brothers had first fought. The once-pristine corridor was now in ruins. Several massive stone pillars that supported the tomb had collapsed, smashing everything around them. Isamu could only shake his head. This was their father's tomb—destroying it like this was truly unfilial. If his own descendants ever dared such a thing, he would climb out of his grave just to strangle them.
"Isamu, let's get out of here quickly!" Garuda urged, growing more anxious at the sight. Loud explosions and clashes echoed from outside; the battle between Indra and Ashura had already reached a fever pitch.
"Mhm." Isamu nodded. Just as they were about to leave, a strange pattern caught his eye. Ignoring Garuda for a moment, he moved closer. It was the entrance to a hidden stone chamber, now largely destroyed by Indra and Ashura's earlier clash—only that destruction had revealed the pattern to him.
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