Uchiha's personal opinion

"But I wonder which deity Your Excellency Deguang intends to introduce?"

The shrine maiden Risa breathed a sigh of relief, then cautiously asked.

"The Goddess of the Rabbit, the Sage of Six Paths..."

Uchiha Tokumitsu said, "If possible, we would also like to mention the ancestors of the Uchiha clan."

"That's no problem at all."

"The shrine maiden Risa quickly said."

This practice is not unusual, since the shrines and family temples of the daimyo and noble families in the ninja world often worship their ancestors in the side halls, so this is a common practice.

"However, the primary and secondary roles of the Goddess of the Rabbit and the Sage of Six Paths..."

"The Goddess of Rabbit is the chief deity."

Uchiha Tokumitsu spoke without even thinking.

Although she found it strange that it wasn't the Sage of Six Paths, who was revered as the "ancestor of ninjas," who was the chief priest, the priestess Risa didn't ask any further questions and simply made a note of it.

The goddess of the rabbit, also known as Kaguya Otsutsuki, who was sealed on the moon, has had her legends circulating throughout the ninja world.

However, perhaps due to deliberate alteration or erasure, there are not many records about the Goddess of the Rabbit. Even those who worship her as the main deity are mostly folk shrines, and she is mostly regarded as the goddess of marriage and childbirth. On the contrary, her identity as the source of chakra is unknown.

However, as a priestess, she should not interfere with the choices of her master, so the priestess Risa only continued to discuss the festival itself with Uchiha Tokumitsu.

"By the way, this sacrifice will be a blood sacrifice."

Uchiha Tokumitsu added, "As you may know, the village recently captured a group of anomalies from Mount Myōboku and Ryūchi Cave."

"Blood sacrifice... I understand."

The shrine maiden Risa suddenly felt a little numb, but she didn't dare to say anything and had no choice but to bite the bullet and agree.

Fortunately, shrine maidens are beings who serve spirits and use their power to eliminate demons and protect humanity. As long as they don't use humans for blood sacrifices, shrine maidens generally don't see much of a problem.

However, the fact that Uchiha Tokumitsu used the creatures of the legendary holy land for a blood sacrifice truly surprised the priestess Risa.

"I have another question. Can the power of faith in a priest be transmitted to the deity who presides over the ceremony?"

"The power of will is a real and undeniable existence, and the true names of the main deities are accurate and truly exist..."

"That's what the shrine maiden Risa said tactfully."

This means that after performing a specific ritual, a certain mysterious power can indeed be generated, but whether the deity can receive it depends on whether He truly exists.

To be honest, even the experienced shrine maiden Risa had never seen a ninja who claimed to possess great power act so "superstitiously" before.

"That's fine then..."

Uchiha Tokumitsu nodded, seemingly lost in thought.

The reason he staged this wasn't just for fun; he wanted to test the existence of the Goddess of Rabbit and the Sage of Six Paths through a sacrificial ceremony.

Even if they can't get any benefits from the Goddess of the Rabbit through blood sacrifice, they can still use the blood of the toads of Mount Myōboku to provoke that biased old man of the Six Paths and see what kind of existence he is now.

After all, Mount Myōboku was an ally that instigated and supported the Hagoromo brothers to rebel against their mother, Kaguya Otsutsuki. Uchiha Tokumitsu also wanted to see how the Sage of Six Paths, whose soul was lurking somewhere, would react to this.

Of course, it would be even better if one could obtain some benefits about the origin of bloodlines from the ancestral god Kaguya Otsutsuki through blood sacrifice and the connection of wishes.

"By the way, this is a rendering of the shrine. You can take a look at how the rituals and procedures are arranged."

Uchiha Tokumitsu handed over a document.

The shrine maiden Risa immediately accepted the book with both hands, bowed, and began to peruse it.

"Your Excellency Deguang, may I ask what this building is...?"

Although Uchiha Tokumitsu's design differed somewhat from the shrines commonly found in the ninja world, the priestess Risa, with her rich experience, quickly devised a ritual procedure that conformed to etiquette.

However, she was somewhat bewildered when she saw a circular platform in the rendering.

"Oh, this one."

Uchiha Tokumitsu said with a smile, "I call it the Altar of Heaven."

Chapter 357 Blood Sacrifice to the Ancestral God

One hundred and eight fully armed young Uchiha ninjas lined up outside the torii gate of the newly built Tokuko Shrine. Uchiha Tokuko, who was at the head of the group, was wearing a red armor with an ancient style. Thirty-six chakra cannons with gold and colorful decorations were lined up on both sides, with their thick barrels pointing straight to the sky.

Although the clansmen didn't quite understand why Uchiha Tokumitsu valued a mere shrine's rituals, under his imposing presence, they still stood very respectfully and solemnly, showing none of the perfunctory attitude they displayed when visiting the clan's Namaka River Shrine.

At this moment, seventy-two Uchiha boys and girls dressed in hunting robes lined both sides of the approach, gently shaking hand drums to a special rhythm. Inside the Kagura Hall of the shrine, the priestess Risa was playing and singing the pre-ritual dance music.

The main hall of the shrine was still closed at this time.

The sun was high in the sky, and under the scorching sun, sweat began to bead on the foreheads of the Uchiha ninjas. However, Uchiha Tokumitsu, who was in charge, still maintained a serious expression, and no one dared to act rashly. As for the sacrifices who were neatly bound, their eyes showed fear as the hand drums and kagura grew louder and louder, but they were unable to move under the restraint of the sealing technique.

The music in the Kagura Hall grew louder and louder, and the hand drums played by the boy and girl became more and more urgent. Under the echoing beats of the shrine's special structure, a sense of solemn reverence gradually welled up in the hearts of the Uchiha ninjas.

As the sun set and the moon rose above the treetops, accompanied by a sharp whistle from within the Kagura Palace, the hand drums of the young boys and girls immediately ceased.

Then, the clansmen, who had been waiting solemnly beside the chakra cannon, immediately filled the empty chakra shells and pulled the fuses one by one.

"boom!"

Accompanied by the roar of six cannon shots per second, the clansmen, led by Uchiha Tokumitsu, slowly entered the shrine at a pace of one step per second.

Those aliens who were prepared as sacrifices were now filled with utter despair.

Both the Greninja and the Snake realized at this moment that something terrible was about to happen.

"Wash your hands!"

Led by Uchiha Tokumitsu, the clansmen took turns scooping up the clean water from the pool in the sippy basin, sipping it, and washing their hands.

After this round of rituals, the people of the tribe became more focused.

"boom!"

The roar of the chakra cannon rang out again, and Uchiha Tokumitsu continued to lead his people forward. Risa, the priestess who presided over the ceremony, also came out of the Kagura Hall and came to the main hall gate to wait for Uchiha Tokumitsu and his people to come forward.

"The radiance of the Goddess of Rabbit shines upon the ninja world."

Uchiha Tokumitsu slowly ascended the steps of the main hall, and the priestess Risa performed a blessing according to the pre-arranged ritual.

The magnificent main hall gate was pushed open by Uchiha Tokumitsu, revealing the true appearance of the deity within.

"Second bow!"

As the priestess Risa presided over the ceremony, Uchiha Tokumitsu and his clansmen bowed twice at a 90-degree angle in front of the hall.

"Second clap!"

The crowd then put their hands together in prayer and clapped twice.

"One bow!"

Everyone bowed 90 degrees once again.

"Ascend the hall to pay homage!"

Uchiha Tokumitsu took a deep breath and was the first to step over the threshold and enter the main hall.

There are three deities in the hall. The one in the center is the Goddess of the Rabbit, the one on the left is the Sage of Six Paths, and the one on the right is the ancestor of the Uchiha clan.

Although due to historical reasons, most members of the Uchiha clan do not know that their most original bloodline ancestor was named Indra, nor do they know the relationship between their ancestor and the Sage of Six Paths, this does not prevent Uchiha Tokumitsu from placing both of them as secondary offerings.

As for what the souls of the father and son would think if they were aware of it, that's none of Uchiha Tokumitsu's business.

Picking up the incense sticks from the altar, Uchiha Tokumitsu casually lit them with a fire-style technique and then placed them in the incense burner in front of the Goddess of the Rabbit.

Of course, the traditional rituals of the ninja world do not include burning incense for worship, but Uchiha Tokumitsu felt that something was missing without burning incense, so the shrine maiden Risa, who readily agreed, added this step.

Uchiha Tokumitsu bowed silently, and then offered incense before the statues of the Sage of Six Paths and Indra.

Afterwards, Uchiha Tokumitsu, led by the priestess Risa, went to the worship hall, where the Uchiha ninjas outside also went in to offer incense and pay their respects.

After everyone paid their respects, the neatly bound ninja snakes and ninja frogs were carried to the square in front of the worship hall.

The shrine maiden Risa was pale and somewhat uncomfortable, but she still stepped forward, pushed open the door of the worship hall, and then stood solemnly to one side.

Uchiha Tokumitsu drew his katana from his waist, and two clansmen immediately brought out a ninja frog and placed it in front of him.

The knife rises.

The knife fell.

Snake and frog heads rolled on the ground, dark red blood flowed in the ditch in front of the hall, and a strong stench of blood began to permeate the air.

The once sacred and solemn shrine immediately became as terrifying as a ghost town.

Even seasoned Uchiha ninjas couldn't help but feel a chill.

"Blood Sacrifice to the Ancestral God!"

As the last sacrificial animal was slain, Uchiha Tokumitsu, now completely bloodless, raised his sword and shouted.

"Blood Sacrifice to the Ancestral God!"

The Uchiha ninjas shouted in unison.

Fueled by chakra, the sound resounded throughout heaven and earth.

However, due to the soundproof barrier surrounding the shrine, it did not disturb the outside world.

"Skull Offering at the Golden Throne!"

The corpses of the sacrificial offerings were divided into two piles.

Uchiha Tokumitsu condensed a flame in his hand and ignited the cauldron.

He then used chakra to lift the heads of the offerings from a distance and threw them into the cauldron one by one.

Under the scorching heat of the extremely powerful Flame Release, the sacrificial head was burned away without even emitting a wisp of smoke.

Then the Uchiha clan members threw the sacrificial corpses into the cauldron one by one.

Under the moonlight, the dark red flames of the Fire Release technique burned even brighter.

The blood flowing between the ravines then ignited.

As the flames flickered, the unique aroma of the oil was released.

Even Risa, the priestess standing in front of the worship hall, felt nauseous.