Chapter 60

It took me twelve hours to find what I needed. The historical records surrounding the time of the Obsidian Empress were fragmentary, written in an ancient dialect so old that it may as well have been mutually intelligible with sealing script. Fortunately, I was versed enough in archaic writing and Fuuinjutsu to decipher it in a mere eight hours. The tale itself painted a very bleak picture of the state of the world at the time.

As I read, the degree of civil strife that preceded the Great Calamity was made apparent quickly. Decades of war and back-and-forth invasions had gone between the three claimants to the rulership of the Immortal Empire of the Jade Emperor. However, the downfall was apparently caused by all too human factors. Pride, arrogance, impatience, and greed all played a part in the unleashing of terrible forces upon the world.

As I read the tale, I couldn't help but be enraptured by the tragedy that played out on weathered parchments before my eyes. . .

XXXX

In the years since the Azure Emperor's death without heirs, the war was unceasing. The conflict between the three feuding claimants to the Immortal Throne lasted for multiple decades. Each claimant had heirs of their own and it was looking as if the three-way split might be a permanent state of affairs.

The Topaz Emperor reigned supreme in the Old Imperial Capital, known as Heian-Kyo, Luoyang, Wangeom-Song, and a dozen other names depending on who was talking. His armies of Samurai were large enough to push any invasion of his territory back into the sea. He had recently done so to an attempt by the Pearl Emperor to move west from Modern-Day Wave Country to seize the territory that would become Hot Springs Country.

Meanwhile, the Pearl Emperor ruling from modern-day Sea Country had uncontested command of the seas with his large navy and his island territories were practically impregnable. Every attempt had been pushed back by the cunning of his admirals and the strength of his fleets. An attack from the Onyx Emperor to seize parts of the Outer Isles of Modern-Day Water Country had been intercepted at sea and the invasion fleet captured or sunk.

By contrast, the Onyx Emperor, who ruled from Modern Day Demon Country had little enough naval or land capacity for his military, certainly nothing to contest the Isles or Western Continent. What he did have were a number of priests who commanded potent Spiritual Energy Techniques. It was those techniques that allowed the Onyx Emperor to rouse the Kami of Sky Country to conjure a storm that sunk an invasion fleet from the Topaz Emperor in the Kasumi Strait.

Of the three claimants, the Onyx Emperor was the most likely to fall for the tricks of an Oni Woman. He was the youngest, with the hottest temper, and quickest of the three to take insult. By contrast, the Pearl Emperor was said to be more even-tempered and clever, while the Topaz Emperor was considered to be the most honorable and the eldest of the three, which in turn brought wisdom.

That was why it was interesting to note that the corruption did not start with the Onyx Emperor himself but with his priests. Apparently, worship of a number of Gods known as the Atua was prevalent at the time in the Onyx Emperor's Lands, but above all the Priesthood of the Skyfather Ranginui was pre-eminent. It was his priests who called forth the spirits of wind and lightning to sink the Topaz Emperor's fleet, and it was his priests who presided over the Onyx Emperor's Coronation in the Old Capital of the Eastern Continent, known locally as Te Hokianga-nui-a-kupe.

Unfortunately, as the years went on, bringing only stalemate to the Onyx Emperor, he began to lose more and more of his patience. If the priests of Ranginui would not grant him ultimate victory, he would turn to the other orders of his lands instead.

First, he turned to the priests of Tangaroa-whakamau-tai, the god of the Seas, in the hopes that their rituals would allow him to successfully invade the Pearl Emperor's territory. The priests of Tangaroa-whakamau-tai communed with their God and he granted them favorable tides which allowed the Onyx Emperor's fleet to slip past the Pearl Emperor's Navy and land troops on the Outer Isles of Water Country. However, the rugged terrain and fierce resistance by the Pearl Emperor's Forces put paid to the invasion in a single year's fighting.

Next, he turned to the priests of the God Tūmatauenga, the God of War in the hopes that their rituals would supercharge his warriors. His Army went into battle, possessed of a berserk fury that was capable of granting them immense feats of strength and stamina. They landed in modern-day Lightning Country on the coastal plain of Neolb-eun Haean but though they slew many and had some success, they were fought back in two years of fighting by many times their numbers of the Topaz Emperor's Samurai.

God after god he entreated the priests of different gods, and each time, their rituals would not win him his desired throne. The Priests of Tāne-mahuta, God of Forests, failed to deliver the Outer Isles of Water Country to him when the forest that his army was using as a fortress was burned to ash by the Pearl Emperor's Forces. The Priests of Tama-nui-te-rā, God of the Sun, failed to deliver more than one victory with their rituals of blinding, as the Topaz Emperor's Samurai grew wise to the tactic. The priests of Mahuika, Goddess of Fire, were able to divine the tactics of the Pearl Emperor's Generals in their flames and set a trap, but could do nothing against the rainstorm that rolled in off the ocean and caused the defeat of the Onyx Emperor's Army on O'uzu Island.

On it went with each Gods' Rituals failing in turn until one day, a woman turned up at the Onyx Emperor's Court claiming to be a daughter of the god Whiro-te-tipua, the God of Darkness. Her hair was jet black and her skin a pale, milky, white, which was an oddity in those lands and lent credence to her claims. All the other priests warned the Onyx Emperor that Whiro-te-tipua was the God of Darkness for a reason, that all unwholesome things were under his purview.

It was to no avail. The Onyx Emperor was fed up with the stalemate, and after this Woman called down the wrath of her father to blind an invasion force from the Topaz Emperor and set venomous serpents upon a sleeping invasion force from the Pearl Emperor that had attacked at the same time, the Onyx Emperor for once managed the upper hand against both of his opponents.

Both the Topaz Emperor and the Pearl Emperor had sent significant forces to attack the Eastern Continent. Both figured the Onyx Emperor would fold under the force of two massive invasions and neither wished the other to gain more territory out of such an outcome than they did themselves. When the Daughter of Whiro-te-tipua's rituals resulted in the decimation of both invasion forces, the Onyx Emperor immediately declared that Whiro-te-tipua was now the pre-eminent god of his lands and that his Daughter was to be made Empress.

The Onyx Emperor elevated the Daughter of Whiro-te-tipua to the position of his wife, and she took the regnal name of the Obsidian Empress. Her first act was to anoint the Army of the Onyx Emperor with special oils made from ichor and the blood of lizards. These allowed them to see in the dark and infused them with an unnatural strength, toughness, and agility. These qualities aided them as she began to work a ritual to occlude the sun for five days straight. In that time, the army attacked and conquered Frost Country, before keeping their momentum with the return of the sun and taking Hot Springs and Rice Country.

With the Topaz Emperor cut off from his forces in Lightning Country, a second army, this one seemingly bolstered by shadowy forms that could command the shadows attacked into Lightning Country, conquering it within a year and a half of fighting. The Onyx Emperor was pleased, but even with the shadowy forms helping, his forces were stretched thin.

That was when the Obsidian Empress approached him with a plan to alleviate that bottleneck She would call forth the full might of her father's armies from the depths of the Earth, but such a task required sacrifice. The Onyx Emperor must give up his son, along with the firstborn sons of each of the Major Regional Noble Families in his territory. She promised that they would bleed only enough to fuel the ritual that would grant them total victory.

In his greed, the Onyx Emperor agreed, coveting the Immortal Throne above all else. In his Impatience, he refused to wait and agreed to gamble it all on a Spiritual Working of dubious provenance. In his arrogance, he believed he was not being used by his wife and so agreed to her request. Finally, in his pride, he demanded that his nobles sacrifice their sons, as he sacrificed his, to attain ultimate victory.

In this, it proved his undoing, for he had been deceived. The firstborn noble sons of the Lords of Marsh, Sky, Wolf, Valley, Neck, Forest, Vegetable, Honey, Bird, Wood, and Key Countries, along with his own firstborn son, the twelve-year-old Prince Atama were slain in the ritual, their bodies bled over a foul altar in a ritual that would open up the very earth and bring forth the darkness of Jigoku.

The bodies of the Prince and the Firstborn Sons of the Eleven Great Lords of the Onyx Emperor's Realm all rose again, throats mending as great and powerful Oni entered their corpses, possessing them. The shadowy beings in Lightning Country threw off their concealing shadows and revealed themselves to be Onryō, the hungry dead of murderers and similar, plucked from their eternal torments in Jigoku to serve as foot soldiers for the Obsidian Empress' attempt to bring Hell on Earth. The blessings conferred on the mortal Warriors of the Army changed them from men into Akuma, evil spirits in the shape of men.

Then, as if bringing the Armies of Jigoku to the Mortal Realm wasn't enough, the very foundation of the world shook as the Heavens quaked with fear at the sudden appearance of so many Demons, Oni, and Evil Spirits. Amagi Island, where the main Fleet of the Pearl Emperor was based was swallowed up by the Sea and a great crevasse opened up in the earth that dragged the Imperial Capital down into Jigoku, along with the Topaz Emperor, his family, and his Court.

Then a final series of invasions began, as the Forces of Jigoku made manifest pushed the disorganized forces of the Pearl Emperor and the now-dead Topaz Emperor to the brink. It was the Western Continent that fell first, but the Islands did not last long after that. In five years, the Topaz Emperor's remaining forces were dead, his territories were under the heel of Jigoku. The same went for the Pearl Emperor and his territories, with his heir fleeing aboard the last ship, sailing West into the unknown, never to be seen again.

The Obsidian Empress' Victory was absolute. She would reign for three hundred years, tainting the Earth with Impure Chi and Dark Spiritual Energies so as to make any hope of resistance by any would-be Samurai or Monk impossible.

Thus was the state of the world until the coming of Yamato Hagoromo, the man now known as the Sage of the Six Paths, blessings of the Heavens upon his name. . .

XXXX

I frowned as I read. The accounts of what went on during the lost three hundred years were vague and fragmentary. There were hints here and there of things that had happened, but they seemed to only reference events that were described in greater detail elsewhere. I couldn't find any of the volumes that were referenced, so it seemed as if they were truly lost.

For example, there was something about the destruction of the Temple of Hanuman in the hills outside the City of Peken Payuk in Modern-Day Southern Tea Country and the head Monk managing to ferret away the Temple's Sacred Relics into the hills before the Oni and Akuma arrived, but apparently, the Lagu Saka Tanah (Song of the Land) had more detail, only the Lagu Saka Tanah hadn't survived the Warring Clans Era.

Likewise, the appearance of the Tailed Beasts were said to have come about from nine of the eleven Oni who had taken over the bodies of the Noble Sons of the Lords that the Onyx Emperor allowed to be sacrificed. Apparently, the Tailed Beasts were using those bodies to gestate. The full grisly details were apparently discovered by one of the Sage's Followers, a man named Kazama, who would later go on to found the Uzumaki Clan. Apparently, they were written down in the Arashi no Nendai-ki (Chronicles of the Storm) of which, the only extant copies were lost with Uzushiogakure.

The arrival of the Sage, however, was very well-documented. In almost poetic detail that I was forced to use more time to parse. I could already see the beginnings of the deification the guy had undergone after his death, and these chronicles were being written while he was still alive!

Reading on, I hoped to parse something useful from the tale of how he defeated the Obsidian Empress. . .

XXXX

The Man known at first only as Hagoromo came from the lands formerly known as Yamato in modern-day River Country, which had been the heart of the Immortal Empire before the Saffron Emperor had moved the Capital north to the newly-built Imperial Capital at Hean-Kyo in what was now disputed territory between Grass, Waterfall, and Earth Country. He was said to have the Jade Emperor's Eyes, the famed Rinnegan, capable of banishing Oni, the Hungry Dead, and Evil Spirits with a glare.

Hagoromo took the name Yamato as his own and set out to right the world once more. With the Chi and Spiritual Energy of the world so out of balance, however, any attempt to utilize Chi or Spiritual Energy by any would-be hero to overthrow the Obsidian Empress would be doomed to failure. The weakness that mortal humans would suffer from using such energies would be compounded by the susceptibility to dark influences that utilizing such energies would induce. One could not cultivate Chi or draw in Spiritual Energy without filtering in some energy from the Environment, after all.

That was when Hagoromo discovered Chakra, an energy that could be utilized by combining Chi and Spiritual Energy together. What's more, it was an entirely internal energy that did not rely on cycling or meditation, which would draw in dark contaminants and could be utilized to do any number of things, including that which could not be done with either Chi or Spiritual Energy.

The elements were at the command of the man who could utilize Chakra, for instance. Not only the elements but by utilizing specially prepared ink and paper, the Art of Fuuinjutsu could be made to work wonders. Genjutsu could be used to trick the Evil into undoing themselves, while Chakra could enhance your physical capabilities beyond that which could be achieved with Chi alone, at the cost of accessibility.

It was to be Chakra that would be the Sage's Trump card against the Obsidian Empress and the Forces of Jigoku. Hagoromo, now going by Yamato Hagoromo, gathered disciples to him. The Warrior Akimichi Chokaku was a descendant of the Pearl Emperor's bastard son from Sea Country, Kazama was a common-born Trickster from Hotsprings Country, Hoshigaki Saiga was a former Pirate from Water Country, Shan Dade was a mountain Bandit from Earth Country, Yi Geomchum was a Wandering Swordsman from Lightning Country, Kus Bulad was a Wind Rider of the Desert, and many, many others.

Together, these Hundred Disciples of the Sage learned the secrets of Chakra from Hogoromo before, after carefully husbanding resources in secret, forming contacts with various priestly and warrior societies that remained underground, and training, they finally launched a massive uprising.

Together, the Hundred Disciples of the Sage, in conjunction with what resistance groups remained, moved to take back the Earth from the Armies of Jigoku. The war was brutal, and many died, but ultimately, the Sage managed to use his eyes and the powers of Fuuinjutsu, first to bind the various Tailed Beasts, then to trap the Obsidian Empress within an obelisk of midnight black stone at the battle of Dan-No-Ura in the heart of Demon Country.

With their Empress Bound, and many of them slain, the Oni were forced back from much of the world, dwindling and forced to mix their lineages with humans to sustain a mere fraction of their power. It ultimately did not last, and after one hundred years, Hagoromo, now an old man, finally slew the last pure-blooded Oni at the Castle of Sekitō, which used the foundations of one of the Obsidian Empress' initial fortresses, the Tower of Pourewa Kohatu. Sekitō Castle was then raised to the ground.

The Black Stone Obelisk still stands to this day at Dan-No-Ura in the Heart of Demon Country, though it is guarded by an order of Monks dedicated to ensuring it remains undisturbed. In any case, it would take the power of each of the tailed beasts, now bound within sacred vessels to destroy the obelisk and release the Obsidian Empress. However, should the power of the Tailed Beasts be brought to bear against the Obelisk, the consequences for Humanity and the Earth will be dire. The Obsidian Empress will not look kindly on us for her imprisonment.

To you, future readers of this Chronicle, I have enclosed a number of Fuuinjutsu formulae that Lord Hagoromo himself Assures me will be of use in harming Demons as surely as any sword may harm a man. I have also enclosed the Sage's own Fuuinjutsu formula for binding powerful demons such as the tailed beasts, in case it is ever needed to use their power to re-bind the Obsidian Empress.

I can only pray that such proves unnecessary. . .

XXXX

As I got to the end of the Chronicle, I looked down at the Fuuinjutsu formulae and frowned. The Demon-Harming Seal Formula was intact, but time and the elements had worn away at the Great Demon-Binding Formula. The instructions for that were unintelligible as the ink on the page had run together from moisture at some point. Retrieving a brush and paper from my Storage Scrolls, I set to work learning the Demon-Harming Seal.

I briefly wondered why the various Lord, Daimyo, Kage, and Monks of the world had all collectively agreed to keep this a secret. Surely having everyone know about the Obelisk that shouldn't be touched would make people less curious to touch it? But then, maybe that was the point. Secrecy was a defense all on its own, after all.

Regardless, it took me twenty hours to successfully infuse a Demon-Harming Seal blank, and I was finally able to begin making my way up and out of the Archive. Fortunately, the trip back was uneventful and I was not beset by any Ghosts looking to give me impossible tasks to prove my worthiness. I climbed the stairs without being stopped, though as I reached the entrance to Inoshishi-no-Kami's Cave, I felt the hair prickle on the back of my neck.

Looking back, I spotted the four Ghostly Monks standing on the first landing of the stairs, watching me climb the last few steps back into the realm of the living. With a quartet of nods, the ghostly figures vanished back into the mists of the underworld before my very eyes. It gave me the willies, and I shuddered as I took the last few steps out of the stairway and into the cave.

As I made my way back out of Inoshishi-no-Kami's Cave, it was to discover that although a full forty hours had passed while I had made my Journey into the Archives, only eight had passed in the mortal world. I was informed that I had returned just in time for dinner on the same day I had left by the Monk that was keeping watch over the cave.

I was led back into the dining hall and escorted to the table with the various head monks and masters such as Chiriku and Abbot Bansai. As I approached, the Abbot gave me a knowing look and cracked a small smile.

"Time does tend to pass quicker in some realms than in others. One of the great mysteries of the universe, I suspect will never fully be understood." Nodded Abbot Bansai.

"It would appear so." I agreed.

"Did you find what you were looking for?" Questioned Chiriku.

"I found some of it. How useful it will be remains to be seen." I admitted.

"I pray we need never find out. Come, have some rice." Intoned Abbot Bansai.

"Thank you, but I'm a bit tired. I didn't really sleep at all, and for me, it was forty hours, not eight." I demurred.

"It was the Ghosts, yes? You are young. I suspect such things would cause you some amount of ill-ease." Prodded Chiriku.

"It was, yes." I acknowledged.

"First, eat. Going to sleep on a full belly will help ease any potential nightmares." Offered Abbot Bansai.

"Thank you. If you think it will help." I responded.

I had some of the evening meal, fried rice with vegetables and tofu, plus miso soup. It was pretty good, for something without any meat in it. Apparently, the cook had a special spice blend he got from an Earth Country Merchant while in the capital a decade ago that made it taste better. I ate as much as I could before begging off when my fatigue got too much to bear.

It didn't help much to quell the nightmares, but after undergoing what I had and reading the chronicles I did, I was just thankful that it wasn't night terrors. Still, dreams of Oni ravaging through the world accompanied by Evil Spirits and the Hungry dead pervaded my sleep.

The next day I awoke and set out to train in the Raigo (Welcoming Approach) Style along with various other monks, taking the day to shore up my basics of the style. By the time I retired for the evening, even Chiriku was impressed by my dedication, especially after a night of poor sleep. My sleep this time was relatively untroubled, thankfully.

In the morning, I finally made my way out of the Fire Temple. My extended mission to the Fire Temple was officially over, and I was being recalled back to Konoha. I set out by myself, and, unburdened by having to slow my pace for an Ox Cart, made good time back to the Village. It turned out I had arrived just in time for the official swearing-in of Tsunade as the Fifth Hokage.

Naruto's mission had been a success while I was gone. . .

XXXX

AN: OK, so there was a lot of lore in this chapter. Sorry if I lore dumped on you, but I couldn't think of a better way to write Choji reading a chronicle about the True History of the world. I tried to interject with bits from Choji's POV to break things up a bit, but it was still a lot of lore.

But yeah, it turns out that one of the reasons for not letting anyone know about the true history was so nobody knew that the Obelisk in Demon Country was the prison of a powerful Demon that was capable of taking over the world. If nobody knows about the obelisk, nobody can try unlocking it, after all. Besides, the Demon-Harming Seals that were still legible in the Chronicle that Choji Read wouldn't do much more than inconvenience the Obsidian Empress for a moment if she did get free.

Unfortunately, there's stuff going on with Tobi that gives him special knowledge that he can drip-feed a twisted version of to Pein to get him to try and open up the Obsidian Empress' Prison. Mind you, even with the secrecy, the best defense of the Obelisk is always going to be to make sure that the Jinchuriki can't be used to open it. In Choji's case, that means keeping an eye on Naruto to help him remain free of capture.

Speaking of Naruto, his mission was a success and Tsunade has returned to the Village to take up her position as Fifth Hokage. He and Jiraiya actually managed to dodge Akatsuki this time around, thanks to being warned about their potential looking for Jinchuriki beforehand. Unfortunately, to do so, they just missed Tsunade and had to spend more time than usual to track her down. Fortunately, thanks to not having the Shinigami eat his arms, Orochimaru wasn't also looking for Tsunade as well.

At any rate, the next chapter will be back in Konoha with Choji.

Stay tuned. . .