Celestial Path Chapter 27

A light crack rang out as my bruised back muscles and bones readjusted to their optimal position as I got up from where I got thrown through a tree and more.

But even as Kiyome and Kaori hit the giant boar Daiyoukai with more fire jutsu, it just ignored. It's darkly glowing beady eyes from the nearby fires was locked onto me and the Black Knife in my hand.

"You are rather fireproof aren't ya?" I said teasingly as I saw its eye twitch as Kiyome exhaled a dense pillar of flames that washed over it.

But it just snorted with a hazy and cloying chakra violently blooming off it's form to blow back the nearby flames before the Daiyoukai squealed out furiously.

"A half breed mongrel like you has no right to speak such nonsense to me a Daiyoukai! Even if you are favored by the Sun Goddess, I am going to eat you and then just leave these lands!"

In response to his howling squeal of a threat the crimson and black flames on the Black Knife burst into life and covered my form as I activated my darkness blessing that turned my white and red-tipped kitsune traits to black and darkly glowing blue.

Then, with a flicker of silver light, Divine Dividing's divine armor formed on my body as well.

The Daiyoukai, seeing my transformation, reeled back along with Kiyome and Kaori as the Divine Dividing's wings spread out from my back, and then the ground cratered below me as I launched myself forward with a roar as my chakra exploded around me as I fully activated the constantly opened three Gates I had broken open.

My fist smashed directly into the skull of the Daiyoukai and with a loud crack, I felt the supernaturally strong skull of the boar Daiyoukai crack under the force of the fist.

Then even as the Divine Dividing rang out with a loud. 'Divide!' All the while the Daiyoukai was stunned from a crack in it's skull. Yoruichi finally made her move as she blitzed in at a speed even I could barely track for good reason as she slammed a lightning-covered fist and arm through the eye of the Daiyoukai.

'Is that the Chidori? Did Kakashi teach her when they were both in the Anbu or something?' I thought even as while her lightning stunned the Daiyoukai I brough the Black Knife down with all my power, where I cracked the skull of the Daiyoukai.

But with a gasp, the tusk of the youkai slammed into my stomach as it thrust its head upwards, and I could hear as Yoruchi's fist hit the back of the youkai's eye socket as we were both thrown outwards.

'Fuck! That's a ruptured spleen and liver.' I thought as the helmet of Divine Dividing retracted with a thought allowing me to vomit out some bile in mid air before I caught myself in the air with my wing,s even as my immortality went to work all but instantly fixing my injuries.

"Ahh! You bastard ninjas! The rest of the youkai will hear of another Hashirama, I swear it!" 

The giant boar then roared with it's chakra blasted outwards and sending Yoruichi and the other two off before it collapsed inwards, and I watched with a scowl as a tiny little 'piglet' burrowed into the ground, which rippled like water.

"Little shitter just ran away." I muttered with a curse as I knew that wasn't some simple Mole Jutsu, it was basically using the earth to compress space to all move at obscene speed with the aid of compressing all of it's power and essence into the much smaller form.

And although it got away, compressing its essence like that was going to take that Daiyoukai years to heal from this fight... To say nothing of the damage to its life force from my Black Knife.

A loud cough rang out as the samurai who had gotten thrown around like the unwanted fucking step child he was. Hobbled back to the carriage and held onto it to steady himself.

And for a moment he just gasped for air as he clearly had fractured a rib when he got yeeted into the sky via the Daiyoukai. Until he finally managed to spit out. "Good... Work, now let us go!"

Yoruichi walked over with Kiyome and Kaori, with Yoruichi asking quietly. "Are you alright Akari? You got hit pretty hard back there."

With a sigh I allowed the Divine Dividing to fade around me in a flicker of lights that broke apart in the air.

"Yeah, I am fine, just hit my stomach and made me lose a breath for a moment," 

Then I looked over at Kiyome and Kaori and after seeing they were fine, I blinked at seeing that servant girl having awoken from all the noise and impacts from the fight.

"I am going to make sure the girl didn't lose her fucking mind. We need to keep up with that carriage, that samurai is going to run those poor horses into the ground to have us reach the temple tonight." I said with a grunt of annoyance.

As those horses keel over in exhaustion, then we would need to drag that mutated monster of a clan heir to the temple by hand. And worse, we will have to escort the little shit back to his holdings on foot!

-

Five more hours of marching with our team switching around duties in carrying the civilian girl finally resulted in us reaching the temple thankfully without any major event as the young heir was 'apparently' terrified of me for some reason.

Said reason wasn't at all that his now half youkai form allowed him to quickly and painfully heal from the bone bruising punch I gave him. And my glare as he leaned out of the carriage to demand food and being silenced had nothing to do with it obviously.

Obviously, no reason at all...

'Shinano is close now?' I mused as I could feel the five-tailed silver-haired kitsune's chakra signature close to us as our carriage was directed into a quiet side path into the massive Fire Temple.

And the Main Temple for the Land of Fire was fucking massive! Itself was bigger than the literal capital city and the amount of chakra and youkai signatures was beyond my count!

I shuddered as a cloaked figure walked past us, and I felt it's clear kage-level chakra signature that matched fucking Kushina's chakra levels and I was reminded of a lesson Jiraiya gave me after that mess with Sesshomaru and her father.

He told me how Ninja's best talents was our all around talents in genjutsu, taijutsu, and ninjutsu... But we were NOT the strongest in the world except in very specific cases with Kage level ninja's and above that also had the blessings of the gods.

Because the priests, and miko's of this world? They ALL at least for officially inducted miko's and priests had jonin-level chakra pools due to the blessings they received from their patrons over the years of their constant stream of faith energy they gave to said patrons.

Not only that, but there were many youkai, and even daiyoukai that bound themselves to the temples to be consecrated and to receive a portion of the faith energy so that they not need the spirituality that came from harming humans in one way or another.

"So many kitsune... Akari, you can probably put down your hood if you want haha." Kaori lightly joked as we saw a family of six kitsune in a male kitsune with four tails with tired eyes leading four daughters, all kitsune, while his wife, a five-tailed kitsune, happily held his arm.

"Might as well I suppose." I muttered and as I tossed down my hood, I forgot that with my hood going over my head my Halo was also being unveiled... The spinning sun halo that was a mark of Amaterasu's blessing in her very temple.

So while we got some glances as the noble heir was slapped with dozens of seals before he got pushed into a seal-covered salt and iron carriage to be dragged away to be purified. ALOT more people were staring directly at my halo above my head.

"So what now Yoruichi?" Kiyome asked quietly as we were in a bit of a pickle, as that samurai just left us without a word, after he told us to remain in the city portion of the temple for messengers to tell us when we were leaving.

Yoruichi snorted and said flatly. "It doesn't matter what we do actually. Akari was brought here to the temple for a good reason and now that he is here, we won't be lacking for messager's being able to find us."

"The kitsune." I muttered with a wry smile as I saw several single and two-tailed kitsune on the roof of the nearby building staring at me with an intensity.

Obviously marking me down so they could track me via my chakra signature, scent, and even soul wavelength if I stayed here within the temple's powerful wards and array's.

Still... While I was here in the temple I had an idle thought. 'I wonder if I can pick up the Thousand Armed Kannon Technique?'

Because I most certainly had a fuck load of chakra so being able to finally have my own rip-off of a Susanoo but Buddha themed would be great!

So I looked to Yoruchi and asked curiously. "Sooo, anyway I can learn probably one of the core secret techniques of the priests/miko?" 

Yoruichi's face twitched as I felt several chakra signatures in the distance surge at my words making my own face twitch as I realized that not only were we being tracked closely but our very words were being listened to.

"Heh, jumpy much." I joked casually, and I could all but feel the 'disappointment' and glare being focused on me from a distance and in the void by the people spying on us.

Still... I swore to myself to see if Konoha had the technique somewhere. Maybe the Uchiha had stolen it at some point? 

"Come on, lets go get some food at an inn. We have had a long trip." Yoruichi said with a chuckle at my shameless retort to our spies.

Then I looked to the civilian girl I helped before, and after shrugging, I handed over a few thousand ryo, which could get her an apartment and pay for any needs for a month. "Here, if we are fated to meet again, we shall. But I wish you the best in this life."

-

We then began walking through the massive city that was merely called the Fire Temple. And it was a fucking mess of a place in my mind at least. 

The city was clearly built with youkai and the worship of Amaterasu and her retainer deities. NOT with human's in mind obviously as for example, each main door into buildings were like close to ten meters tall for youkai to change forms in before entering the place.

And the youkai, they were everywhere, but they clearly weren't cursed youkai who had consumed human flesh/souls. 

Describing said youkai was a fool's errand as well. They all came in outlandish appearances that didn't match any other, even of their own species of youkai as well often.

Soon enough, we reached an in,n and Yorouichi sent us up to get washed up and changed while she would bring us up our food.

And once that was done and the three of us were sitting in clean clothes in the single room we had rented so we would stick together to be safe. Yoruichi came in with a grumble. "Damned kitsune... Trying to give 'supplements' to my disciple, my perfectly toned ass!"

My face twitched as Yoruichi put down three trays that contained a large bowl of rice and another bowl of some thick stew. And she glared at me and said flatly. "Akari, stay the hell away from the kitsune... They are looking at you as prime breeding material to get their bloodline closer to Amaterasu and Inari's blessing."

"I will do my best... Best that I do not enter the baths then." I muttered before we three tested the food for poison, just be sure before we began digging into it.

"Good... At least with Kiyome and Kaori, I just have to worry about someone trying to take their eyes. You are even more complicated somehow then walking around with a Hyuga without their damned seals!" Yoruichi said as she stretched before she continued.

"You three stay here and behave. I am going to go do some recon while getting my own bath and food. Stay here... For the love of Amaterasu please." Yoruchi finished with clear exasperation.

"We aren't stupid, teacher. My legs hurt anyway, so I am not going anywhere!" Kaori snapped a bit at Yoruichi who gave a chuckle before nodding and with a flicker of movement she just jumped out of the room's opened window to leave.