Uminari was the eldest among all the sea folk. He had lived in the waters of the Sea Nation for a very long time, and through the accumulation of experience, he had become the wisest existence among them. Even during the chaotic eras of the Sea Nation, he was a sage respected by all factions. After Suzuka Gozen unified the Sea Nation, he became a military counselor and advisor.
Uminari possessed a special ability: random revelations. He could see things in his dreams, such as where schools of fish were most dense or where fierce demonic beasts lurked. These revelations were incredibly accurate. Relying on this power, Uminari could easily assist other sea folk. During the time Suzuka Gozen unified the Sea Nation, Uminari played a vital role, and thus the entire Sea Nation placed great weight on his words.
As the decline of the Sea Nation became increasingly severe, the people were thrown into a state of panic, desperately seeking a solution. They tried various methods, but in the end, nothing worked. The phenomenon of withering was unstoppable, and the entire Sea Nation seemed to have fallen into a desperate situation.
Ultimately, the hopes of all the sea folk in the Sea Nation converged on Uminari. They hoped his revelations could find a way out for their people. Under immense pressure, Uminari finally received a corresponding revelation, and this time, the insight truly gave him a shock.
'The power sustaining the Sea Nation's vitality is fading. The only remedy is to obtain new power. Go to the land, pillage the power of the ley lines there, and bring it back. Replenishing the Sea Nation with it will allow it to regain its life...'
This revelation was the most detailed Uminari had ever encountered in his life. It directly pointed out the method to solve their difficulties and showed a way out of the Sea Nation's current predicament.
Although Uminari himself felt a flicker of confusion regarding this revelation, there were simply no other solutions to the crisis facing the Sea Nation. Therefore, despite his doubts, Uminari informed the masses of the Sea Nation of the revelation's contents.
The revelation Uminari obtained greatly bolstered the spirits of the sea folk. Having tried everything else with no results, this revelation became their only life-saving straw. From that moment on, the entire Sea Nation began expanding its military and preparing for war, actively planning for a conflict against the land.
Seizing ley lines was an incredibly ruthless tactic. Land deprived of the nourishment of ley lines would become barren, unable to grow even a blade of grass. The Sea Nation understood that they had to seize this precious resource from the surface through war. Thus, they had entered a state of war preparation long ago.
In the end, they raised an army of a hundred thousand. Combined with tidal jutsu-shiki and countless ghost ships, they felt victory was within their grasp. After drafting a strategy to first conquer the rivers and then penetrate the land through them, they marched toward the northern lands.
However, the final result was that as soon as they reached the offshore waters, they were instantaneously and completely crushed by the gods in the sky.
...
Inside the spaceship, Miketsu let out a long sigh of relief as she looked over the report regarding the Sea Nation sent by Kikyo. The matters within were just as she had expected—highly suspicious.
First, what exactly was that power nourishing the Sea Nation? Why would it exist in such a desolate deep sea, and why would it suddenly begin to vanish, pushing the Sea Nation to the brink of survival?
Second, what was the so-called revelation Uminari received? Was it a prophecy brought about by his own ability, or was some kind of will influencing him?
Furthermore, could the Sea Nation really pillage the ley lines of the land? What ability did they actually have to snatch ley lines away? From what Miketsu knew, those capable of influencing ley lines on a large scale were no ordinary figures—the White-robed Daoist, Tokoyo-no-Kami, and Suwako.
Among them, the ancient god Suwako could likely play with ley lines like a piece of string. It was extremely difficult for other mortal beings to influence ley lines. Even if the Sea Nation conquered the land, could they really divert the ley lines into the deep sea?
Casually manipulating the control console in front of her, Miketsu brought up a world map. Looking at the map, she fell into deep thought for a moment. Just then, she noticed an anomaly in an indicator area on the screen.
"Hmm? This... I think this is communication? Is the shrine sending a transmission to this ship?"
With a hint of doubt, Miketsu began to recall the instructions she had recently asked the moon rabbits for and started fumbling with the controls. Thanks to her experience operating computers in her past life, it didn't take long for her to figure out how to open the incoming transmission. Then, Tsuruha's face appeared on the screen.
"Ah, oh my! It's Lady Uka! I can actually see you!" Behind the screen, Tsuruha looked at the camera with a look of shock and wonder. Her face was written with curiosity and surprise; clearly, it was her first time operating such equipment.
"It's Tsuruha. Is there something you need to contact me about?" Miketsu spoke to the screen with a relaxed expression. Since Tsuruha hadn't contacted her through the divine messenger contract, it likely wasn't anything major.
"Uh... it's like this, Lord Miketsu. Someone suddenly came to the shrine looking for you. Since you weren't here, I asked the moon rabbits to contact your iron ship. I thought we might be able to communicate this way..." On the other side of the screen, Tsuruha tried her best to calm her fox-like curiosity, looking around the screen as she spoke.
"Someone is looking for me?" Hearing Tsuruha's words, a flicker of doubt appeared in Miketsu's eyes. Then, a female voice familiar to Miketsu rang out.
"My Lord, it has been a long time..." On the screen, Okina's figure walked in from the side. Seeing this figure, Miketsu couldn't help but be slightly stunned.
"Ah... you've finally returned."
"Yes. Because I discovered the ancestral residence from when my forebears first arrived in Japan during my journey, I spent some time exploring it. Therefore, I was unable to return immediately as you had hoped," Okina said as she bowed slightly in apology.
"It's fine. It's good that you're back. Communicating like this isn't bad either. Tsuruha, please have the rabbits and foxes on your end step away for a moment," Miketsu said directly. Tsuruha nodded and disappeared from the screen.
A moment later, Tsuruha returned to announce that everyone had withdrawn and then left. Miketsu now began a one-on-one video call with Okina.
Afterward, Miketsu brought out the questions she had prepared for a long time, tentatively asking Okina if she knew anything about the remains of the Hata Clan's divine beasts. However, Okina's answer left Miketsu somewhat disappointed.
"Divine beast remains... I am sorry, but I have no information regarding such a thing... Even during my time as the clan leader, I never heard of anything related to that..." Okina said apologetically. Hearing this, Miketsu roughly confirmed that Okina did not know about the ancient gods. She perhaps only knew that her identity was that of an ancestral spirit of the Hata Clan and had no way of knowing anything deeper.
After all, Hata no Kawakatsu was a figure from only a few centuries ago; it was impossible for him to know too much. To have such information, one would likely need to be a person of Qin from at least the pre-Qin era...
"By the way, you are currently at the seaside, aren't you? According to your Divine Messenger, you went to handle the movements of the sea folk. Is there something unusual about them?" Okina suddenly asked. Miketsu answered frankly.
"Yes, the Sea Nation has been very restless lately..." Miketsu then informed Okina of the situation with the Sea Nation. Although she didn't know why Okina was suddenly interested, perhaps she could help analyze the matter from a different perspective.
After listening to Miketsu's account, Okina fell into silence. Only after a long while did she speak.
"Actually, while I was organizing the ancestral residence earlier, I collected some strange documents. Within these documents are some rather peculiar legends... One of them... I feel might have some connection to this matter with the Sea Nation."
"A legend? What legend?" Miketsu asked curiously.
"Actually, it cannot be called entirely a legend. It is more like a very mysterious supplement to existing history. This legend mainly concerns the First Emperor..."
"I wonder... if you have heard the story of how the First Emperor once shot and killed a 'Sea God' in the East Sea."
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