Chapter no.82 Religion
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Shinobi rarely placed their faith in anything beyond themselves and their village. However, clans and civilians differed; each harbored their own beliefs about the origins of the world and chakra.
Among these was the famous tale of the Great Rabbit Mother, a deity who descended from the heavens to cultivate the Tree of Life, nurturing the barren lands below. Humans, driven by greed, battled over the verdant earth she had created. In an attempt to restore peace, the Mother consumed the sole fruit of the Tree. Tragically, her love for a human led to betrayal; her husband, envious of her powers, murdered the Tree to drink its sap. Their two sons, inheriting her immense power, avenged their mother by defeating their own father.
One son became known as the Sage of Six Paths, or the Chakra God, while his brother ascended to the heavens, becoming the Eternal Watcher.
The Sage of Six Paths bestowed chakra upon humanity, but he witnessed only greed for power in their hearts.
Evil lurked, yet it dared not show itself while he lived.
It was only in his later years that the Sage, disillusioned, created two sons from nothing—a talented son and a talentless one—to see which path would bring peace. The talented son believed in enforcing peace through control, while the talentless one sought peace through understanding. The Sage ultimately chose the talentless son, Asura, to inherit his legacy as he himself ascended to become the Yang God.
Fueled by anger and jealousy, the talented brother, Indra, killed the Sage and consumed his body, ascending to godhood as the Yin God.
This divine conflict between the two brothers formed the foundation of a deep-seated religious divide: the Senju clan worshiped Asura, the Yang God, while the Uchiha clan venerated Indra, the Yin God. This dichotomy of belief persisted even among the Konoha Shinobi, who, despite generally eschewing other deities like the Great Rabbit Mother or the Sage of Six Paths, respected the gods of the two clans that founded Konohagakure.
[ Skill 'Secret Ninja Art: Mind Library' has leveled up ]
Naruto's gaze shifted towards the notification tab, but he soon closed the book, taking a moment to observe his surroundings. The train compartment hummed with the rhythm of the tracks, and he looked around.
Tiger sat with his eyes closed, his body motionless except for the subtle rise and fall of his chest. Despite appearances, he wasn't sleeping; he was meditating.
Cat, seated across from Tiger, meticulously maintained her Ninjato. Her fingers were careful and precise as they moved along the blade, ensuring every inch was free of imperfections.
Beside Naruto, Dog was engaged in a less serene activity. She wrestled with the task of feeding her large ninja hounds their medicine. The dogs, with their thick brown top fur and contrasting white underfur, resembled powerful wolves. They howled and squirmed, resisting her efforts. "Who told you to eat that tapeworm, now eat this or we'll do it the hard way!"
Naruto cringed slightly as one of the ninken reluctantly whispered before finally swallowing his medicine.
As the train plunged into a tunnel, casting the compartment into momentary darkness, Tiger's voice cut through the dimness. "Did you finish the book, Recruit?"
"No, sir, I just had a few questions."
"Ask," Cat said, not looking up from her blade.
"Is the story about the Great Rabbit Mother true?"
"Depends on who you're asking," Tiger responded without opening his eyes, his voice calm and measured. "To some, it might be true; to others, it's not, as they believe in a different religion."
Naruto's thoughts briefly flickered to the strange transactional religion of the Uzumaki clan before he posed another question. "What about you three?"
"I like to believe it's true," Tiger admitted, a trace of warmth in his voice as the religion spiritually connected him to the Senju clan unlike his forced bloodline.
"I believe in the art of the blade," Cat stated firmly, confusing Naruto.
"It's a samurai religion," Dog told him.
"It's an ideology, not a religion."
"Tomato, tomato."
Naruto glanced at his senapi.
"I believe in the pack that is Konoha."
"Is this an Inuzuka thing?"
"Yes."
Naruto went back to reading the book as his eyes looked at the skill tab.
[ Secret Ninja Art: Mind Library ]
[ Description: A Yamanaka clan jutsu created during the Warring States Era to combat much stronger clans by enabling the storage and transfer of large amounts of memories so that after each battle, the Yamanaka clan could reap the knowledge of the dead and as they say the true weapon of a Shinobi Is Knowledge. It works by enhancing the brain's nerves via Yang chakra. ]
[ Passive Enhancements: ]
- [ Mind Resistance: Increases resistance towards all forms of abilities that affect the mind, such as Genjutsu, by 10%. ]
- [ Mindscape Transference: Access to the subconscious mindscape by splitting Yin and Yang of one's consciousness. ]
[ Active Enhancements: ]
- [ Vault of Meditation: Store memories in the form of a vault in the mindscape, accessible through meditation. ]
- [ Sleep Reduction: Reduces the time needed to mentally rest by 20%. ]
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An hour into the journey, Naruto was nearly done with his book—a tedious read—when Tiger's voice broke his focus.
"A question for you, recruit. What information can you tell us about the mission?"
Naruto took a deep breath, considering whether to use Spirit Possession or not.
He ultimately decided against it; he wanted to rely on his own skills, his own growth. That was the whole point of joining the ANBU, wasn't it?
Closing the book with a quiet thud, he responded.
"We are currently traveling by public steam train towards Oni no Kuni, the smallest nation in the world and the holy land of the Temple of Maitreya Buddha."
Even behind the blank mask, Naruto's tone carried a hint of pride.
"Continue," Cat prompted, her voice flat.
Continue what?
Naruto thought, puzzled.
"We are going to protect the Abbess of Oni no Kuni; Miroku Maitreya. She is the spiritual leader and supreme authority in matters of faith and doctrine within the temple and serves as the head of the Oni no Kuni City State."
"Continue," Dog interjected, her voice mocking beneath the mask. Naruto could almost visualize her smirk.
He was on the verge of activating Spirit Possession but halted as the train's whistle screamed—a sharp, piercing sound that momentarily drowned out his thoughts.
Why were they traveling by train? It was an odd choice; trains were usually reserved for civilians, partly because ninja territories were too perilous for such predictable, slow-moving transport. It seemed impractical since most Genin could easily outpace a train, though they'd need to rest shortly after such exertion.
Was it a matter of endurance? Or perhaps formality? Oni no Kuni was a sacred land in one of the world's largest religions—Maitreya Buddhism. Stealthy infiltration might be considered disrespectful or even blasphemous.
Or maybe it was the location's strategic importance? Oni no Kuni sat at the epicenter of three of the Five Great Nations. Traveling openly by train might prevent conflicts at the borders, avoiding any potential skirmishes with other ninjas.
Naruto shifted uncomfortably in his seat, the fabric of the train's cushion scratching slightly against his ANBU uniform.
Naruto's inner voice urged him to observe more closely. From his past experiences with Spirit Possession, he knew that clues could be hidden in plain sight, waiting to be uncovered by a keen observer. His gaze drifted towards the door that led outside; they were situated in the last compartment of the train. He noticed that the compartment ahead was empty.
Okay then, that's sorted, he thought, piecing together a theory.
"We are going via a steam train because it would be blasphemous to sneak into the holy land," Naruto concluded, feeling somewhat confident in his deduction.
"Wrong," Tiger said abruptly, causing Naruto's head to whip back in surprise.
"How?"
"Simple, it's only blasphemous if we get caught," Dog remarked, prompting Naruto to give her a blank stare.
"Then why are we using the train?"
"Easiest way to get close," Cat interjected simply.
"Close to what?"
"Where we need to be."
Naruto was left more confused than before. "You don't think a civilian train would lead us directly to the Abbess herself."
"Then where is the train going?"
"Tourist area of Oni no Kuni."
"So?"
"The Abbess is hidden in a remote location for her safety; we need to get to that location," Tiger explained as he opened the window, letting in a rush of cool air.
"How was I supposed to figure that out?" Naruto asked, standing up in frustration.
"You weren't," Cat responded dryly.
"Huh?"
"Recruit, this is your first lesson in the ANBU: don't overestimate yourself, whether it's on the field or elsewhere. Learn when you have hit your limit and how to back down. It'll help you live longer," Tiger advised seriously.
"Got it, Captain," Naruto replied, nodding solemnly.
"Good, now let's get going. We have to reach the location before midnight."
"Yes, Sir."
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[ Author Note:
Okay, heads up, I'm going back to smaller chapters of 1.5k to 2k words daily instead of 5 to 10k words weekly. I won't be giving reasons why, but I will say that I will be uploading more chapters throughout the week, so yay!
Anyway, the majority of this chapter was lore.
1. Obviously, the Great Rabbit Mother - Kaguya, Chakra God - Hagoromo, Eternal Watcher - Hamura, Yang God - Ashura, and Yin God - Indra are all parts of canon, but their roles in the religions I'm thinking of is a cool concept for worldbuilding. Also, considering what we as readers know from canon, you can see the misunderstandings the people of Naruto have about their own origins, from Kaguya being portrayed as more innocent in religious texts to Indra being depicted as a bigger monster since he killed and ate the Sage of Six Paths' body in the texts.
Thoughts?
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2. The religion of Oni no Kuni is something I based on Maitreya.
For those who don't know, Maitreya (Sanskrit) or Metteyya (Pali) is a bodhisattva who is regarded as the future Buddha of this world in all schools of Buddhism, prophesied to become Maitreya Buddha or Metteyya Buddha. In some Buddhist literature, such as the Amitabha Sutra and the Lotus Sutra, he is also referred to as Ajitā (Invincible, Unconquerable). In Tibetan Buddhism, he is known as the "Lord of Love" or the "Noble Loving One" (Pakpa Jampa).
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IRL context aside, Maitreya is a man, so how is Miruko, the priestess from the movies, the Maitreya? Think of it like how the Pope is recognized as the Vicar of Christ, meaning he is seen as Christ's representative on Earth. It's the same here; Miruko or any of the priestesses are seen as the representation of Maitreya on Earth.
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3. In the Shippuden movie, Oni no Kuni is very large in size, but here in this fanfic, Oni no Kuni is like the Vatican City of the world, very small. So yeah.
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Next chapter, we are going to get into the mission and some training arc. The next chapter will be released on Wednesday. As I said, more chapters.
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Thank you for your continued support and engagement with my work. Have a blessed day, and I look forward to reading your thoughts in the comments!