Six-Eyed Sukuna, starting from Hunter x Hunter

Chapter 203 Shrine (Two Chapters Combined)

"...So why do so many people believe this rumor?"

When this rumor reached Su Wu's ears, he looked puzzled.

No, do these people in Heian-kyo have some kind of problem with their brains that causes intellectual disability?

He was born to Gojo Haru and a goddess from heaven... But tell me, which goddess was she? He doesn't even dare to mention which goddess she is, yet he speaks of her in such a detailed and convincing way.

They actually believe that?

"What's there to disbelieve? Scandals about erotic encounters between humans and demons, or humans and gods, always spread far and wide." Gojo Haru didn't seem to mind at all, and even comforted the boy's mind.

"The love story between Lord Seimei's father and the fox spirit was also embellished in a very touching way."

"And about my love affair with that goddess..." Gojo Haru said, raising her hand to cover her face with her sleeve.

"From an outsider's perspective, it is indeed touching enough," said Gojo Haru.

"...You mean that story where you love her, and she loves you too, but the gods of Takamagahara don't allow humans and gods to fall in love, so they threaten her to return to heaven, leaving you alone on earth?" Su Wu summarized the story expressionlessly.

Unfortunately, Su Wu herself also has a small role in the story.

The story continues with the goddess returning to Takamagahara, only to discover she was pregnant, and deciding to keep the child a secret from the other gods.

Since the story was fabricated, Su Wu didn't bother to investigate why a god couldn't accurately know when she became pregnant.

In short, the child born to the goddess in the story is Su Wu, a half-human, half-god who grew up in Takamagahara and is no different from a god.

As for why he descended to the mortal realm, the storyteller offered an explanation—the half-human, half-god Su Wu was different from the other gods in Takamagahara, which made him doubt himself. In the end, he learned from the other gods that he actually had a human father.

So the divine child came from Takamagahara just to see his own father.

As for why she went on a killing spree and even gouged out her own father's eyes, it was because the divine child believed that these people were preventing the goddess mother from loving her human father, and regarded the human father as a scumbag who had betrayed his mother.

Those who were killed were actually innocent, because it was actually members of the Gojo family who prevented Haru Gojo from falling in love with the goddess.

But the divine child Su Wu didn't know this, so he directly took his anger out on everyone.

In order to appease his anger, the emperor decided to build a shrine to enshrine him.

This fabrication is so plausible and reasonable that anyone unaware of the truth would surely believe it.

However, from Su Wu's perspective as the person involved, he only had one thought—are all these people in Heian-kyo master storytellers?

And some people were actually moved to tears by this story?

For some reason, the other members of the Gojo family all tacitly accepted the story, and even when asked, they would just lower their heads, appearing inscrutable.

As a result, the members of the Gojo family were isolated once again.

Heian-kyo residents: So it was you who brought the Demon King to Heian-kyo?

"Isn't this great? They've fabricated a noble background for you," Gojo Haru said with a smirk, displaying a spoiled and arrogant demeanor.

It was a tradition among the nobles of Heian-kyo to fabricate a noble origin for famous figures.

It seems that this explains why they couldn't compete with each other.

After all, they come from a noble family, have a noble lineage, and are naturally extraordinary.

"...I don't need this kind of story to prove my nobility," Su Wu retorted expressionlessly.

What's so special about demigods? How are they different from ordinary mixed-race individuals, especially a Japanese goddess...?

If you said he was the child of a god from the other side of the land of flowers, he would accept it.

But what did the goddess from the Chinese side do wrong to have a story fabricated about her being with Gojo Haru?

"Never mind... it's just an April Fool's Day celebration." Su Wu sighed and put the story out of her mind.

No one would be foolish enough to call him a demigod to his face.

"Regarding what I said about giving me Tsukuyomi's divine status, what is the attitude of the others?" Su Wu changed the subject.

"...The situation is not optimistic." Gojo Haru shook his head.

The name of one of the Three Noble Sons is not something that can be easily replaced.

"What if I kill this emperor?" the white-haired boy asked.

"...With your words, there shouldn't be any problems." Gojo Haru smiled.

This statement is equivalent to saying, "Kill anyone who disagrees, and keep killing until everyone agrees."

Once this message gets out, no one will object.

"About two weeks from now, there will be a completion ceremony. You'll need to prepare something to place in the shrine for the priests and shrine maidens to offer," Gojo Haru reminded her.

"Prepare something? No, just make me a statue, like the Buddha statues in temples. I want a statue of a god just like me to put in the shrine." The white-haired boy, with his hair flowing freely, made his demand capriciously.

In Japanese shrines, there are basically no statues of gods. Most of them enshrine items that are said to have been used by gods, or talismans with the gods' names written on them.

But as a rabbit, Su Wu was still more used to the idol.

"Oh, right, just like there's a fox statue at the entrance of Inari Shrine, there should also be a statue at the entrance of my shrine, carved in the shape of Kū." Su Wu casually pointed to the large white tiger next to her.

Otherwise, who would be able to tell that it's his shrine?

However, the shrine contains a statue identical to him, and there is a statue identical to Sora at the entrance. Anyone who has seen him knows that this is his shrine.

"They can do it, right?" Su Wu asked with a smile.

"I think it'll be fine," Gojo Haru said with a smile.

Faced with the prospect of death if they fail to meet the requirements, most people would definitely try their best to fulfill the task.

However... the way the other party made the request was quite natural.

Even if Gojo Haru were to be worshipped as a god, he would not casually and confidently demand that people build a life-size statue of him that is the same size as his own.

The conversation between Su Wu and Gojo Haru naturally reached the ears of those outside who were eagerly awaiting news.

"What? He actually wants a statue of a god made?"

"Even if he truly is the son of a goddess, he's far too arrogant..."

"As the losers, we have no right to oppose the demands made by the victors."

The group, led by Minister Fujiwara, looked at each other in bewilderment, and finally went to the Emperor with these requests.

The Emperor's attitude towards this? No attitude.

Since they made the request, we should do it. After all, the purpose of building a shrine is to satisfy people.

Since you've already decided to worship the other person like a god, why care about saving face?

And so, this special shrine was built.

Those responsible for building the shrine were sorcerers, onmyoji, and other professionals.

They're in charge of teaching, while the sorcerers and onmyoji are responsible for speeding up the process; after all, they can call on shikigami for help.

Alternatively, one can use incantations and spiritual power.

What might take an ordinary person a year or two to build, is accomplished at lightning speed by these people with superpowers.

Besides the statues...

"Make my idol look handsome." Su Wu stood in front of the person in charge of making the idol, showing them every detail of her work.

The details the other party needed to carve were the curse marks on his face and the patterns on his clothes.

"I...I understand..." the man holding the tools replied hesitantly.

This carving took nearly half a month to complete.

The two-meter-tall white marble statue has every strand of hair clearly visible, each hair distinct. The eyes are made of Paraiba tourmaline provided by Su Wu. The crystal-clear and pure fluorescent blue gemstone was praised as something that could only be found in Takamagahara.

As for the clothes, they used paint mixed with gemstone powder, similar to painting a Thangka, to create a set of colorful and exceptionally luxurious clothes for him.

It looks extremely expensive; in this day and age, you can't find a piece of art that's more expensive than it.

The shrine was completed the day after the statue was finished.

Then comes a series of tedious rituals, including welcoming the statue into the shrine and offering food and other sacrifices.

Then, following Su Wu's instructions, they knelt and bowed.

This step did cause a brief hiccup.

Su Wu sat down next to her idol, glancing at the offerings laid out in front of her while smiling at them.

"three……"

"one."

A row of people knelt down in unison.

A few who didn't react in time were beheaded on the spot in front of the palace.

On the newly built, jade-like ground, there were indelible bloodstains.

"Pack up and let's continue," the white-haired boy said casually, continuing to munch on the apple he had pulled out of his pocket.

He couldn't be bothered to eat the offerings that the group of people placed on the altar of the deity.

It's not that the product is bad.

Wild boar meat, pheasant meat, abalone, and similar ingredients are quite good.

However, the cooking skills... were just average.

The finished product looks completely unappetizing.

Maro and Sora naturally dragged the body out and threw it outside the shrine before returning to continue the ritual.

White tiger statues are also placed on either side of the shrine entrance.

Whether they were angry or resentful, these people suppressed their emotions in front of Su Wu and put on a meek and submissive appearance.

So after that, no one called Gojo Kiri anymore.

They called Su Wu "Moon Goddess" or "Your Highness".

Afterwards, in accordance with Su Wu's orders, his statues were gradually moved into the shrine that originally belonged to Tsukuyomi.

The act of forcibly seizing shrines, deities, and even faith did not cause any disturbance.

The so-called gods of Takamagahara did not react to this.

This greatly disappointed many people who were hoping to see Su Wu, who had committed such a heinous act, punished by the gods.

……

"Haven't I changed enough?" Su Wu muttered to herself as she sat in the deserted shrine.

After the ceremony, the group dispersed, but the priests and priestesses were said to be subject to further selection.

Because Su Wu appeared out of nowhere, no one believed in him, and even if they did, they wouldn't receive any rewards.

Although priestesses do not receive any gifts even if they worship other gods.

But other gods don't care about anything, they're like they don't exist, but Su Wu... is alive, and she's in the human world.

This makes things difficult to do.

Mistresses who grow up usually do not change their beliefs; they do not believe in one god today and another god tomorrow.

So a group of leaders had no choice but to find children who were born with spiritual power, intending to deceive them and make them believe in Su Wu.

Su Wu didn't care about priests and witches; he just felt something was a little strange.

He's already killed so many people, and even prepared to turn the three major families into his lackeys and henchmen, so why hasn't the world consciousness... emerged yet?

Doesn't this count as changing the main storyline?

What else should we do? Kill everyone in Heian-kyo, so that those future characters won't even have a chance to be created?

He wasn't that kind of killer.

"Besides, I've already stolen the god's name and the shrine... so no god has come down to fight me..."

"There shouldn't be any gods in this world, right?" the white-haired boy murmured as he sat cross-legged on the high platform.

If there really were a god, he would have gotten angry long ago after being slapped in the face like that, right?

Gods are not emotionless or without desires; they also have their own joys and sorrows.

Su Wu put himself in that shoes; if he were ever humiliated like that... he would definitely kill the person without hesitation.

He'd slap even the dog in the other person's house twice.

"System, is there a god in this world?" Su Wu asked the system.

He communicated with the system using the local Mandarin.

[In this world, there exist systems of humans, demons, gods, ghosts, and cursed spirits.] The system replied.

The world may not be big, but the variety of life is quite spectacular...

"Then why didn't any gods come down to beat me?" Su Wu asked with a hint of regret.

Who knows, maybe we can even try some god-slaying.

The system did not respond.

"The world consciousness hasn't appeared, nor has Ryoumen Sukuna. I've already caused this much trouble, isn't that enough?" Su Wu clicked her tongue, somewhat annoyed.

"Also, when can I travel through time? The main story begins a thousand years from now, that's when my stage will truly shine, right? A thousand years ago, it's my stage..."

"If I stay here too long, won't I just die of old age? There won't be enough time to reach a thousand years later..." Su Wu continued to complain.

Who knows when the system will be able to take him a thousand years into the future?

[Energy is accumulating, please remain calm, host.] The system's reply revealed a cold, businesslike indifference.

"...Tsk." Su Wu got up in disappointment and stepped back through the door.

The shrine is quite large, located on a small hill. After all, Kyoto is surrounded by mountains on three sides, and building the shrine on a hill may also effectively keep it away from ordinary residential areas.

Besides the room containing his statue, the shrine also has several other separate rooms, which are said to be for priests and shrine maidens, as well as a courtyard.

Furthermore... going up and down the mountain requires climbing a considerable number of steps.

The steps, made of piled rocks, lead to a red torii gate, which symbolizes the boundary between humans and gods. On either side of the torii gate are two marble white tiger statues.

After walking for a while, you will finally see the shrine buildings.

Su Wu was fairly satisfied with the shrine.

But since he wasn't sure how long he would stay in Heian-kyo, and whether the people of Heian-kyo would do anything to his shrine after he left, he decided... to learn barrier techniques.

A protective barrier is erected around the shrine.

(End of this chapter)