Chapter 123: Realization

"That's a big ass crystal...and is that a dragon's head on the inside...?"

Deciding to shelve his retribution until he was strong enough to personally give his grandfather a good punch, Nobu turned his attention towards the massive crystal on the far side of the room. He had also noticed a pedestal containing some kind of metallic fragment, but, compared to the yacht-sized dragon head, it didn't really stand out.

Though he continued glaring at his father for several seconds, Senken eventually looked toward Nobu before shifting his attention to the same crystal and explaining, "This big bastard is known as Yamata-no-Orochi. According to legend, it was defeated by Susanoo-no-Mikoto-sama near the ass end of the Age of Gods. Unfortunately, as you can see here, it possesses an immortal and undying body. It managed to piece itself back together with a bit of help from the demons of Onigashima. It took the combined efforts of every clan, sect, and village within Nian to fell the beast a second time, and, were it not for the sacrifice of Queen Himiko, it might have destroyed the entire Archipelago..."

Staring into the beast's eyes, Nobu felt an indescribable sensation of trepidation at the very core of his being. His 'plot sense' was sounding alarm bells in his mind, and, even though the monstrosity was currently sealed within a massive crystal, he got the distinct impression he would be fighting it at some point in the future.

"There's no fucking way..."

Having seen the Godzilla vs. Kong movie prior to his death, Nobu could easily envision just how large the united body of Yamata-no-Orochi must be. The head in front of him made the skull of King Ghidorah look like a fucking smart car in comparison. Since the latter could literally perch atop mountains, its wingspan enough to embrace entire city blocks, it wasn't difficult to imagine Yamata-no-Orochi destroying the underdeveloped cities of Nian just by walking through them...

Raising his brows in response to Nobu's reaction, Senken asked, "What's wrong, brat? You look like you're about to shit yourself. Don't worry. As scary as this bastard might look, it isn't getting out of that crystal any time soon..."

Groaning in response to his father's careless words, Nobu earned curious looks from both Senken and Senichi as he palmed his forehead and muttered, "Well, that about confirms it.." in a tired and exasperated tone.

Just as his father was about to ask, Nobu met Senken's gaze, asking, "Let me guess...the Oda Clan has been entrusted with keeping watch over the head of Yamata-no-Orochi and one of the items required to free it? I'm guessing the other Great Noble Clans have a similar duty while the Imperial Family protects the items required to bring them all together? Since that piece of metal over there looks like part of a sword, I'm guessing it's a fragment of the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi. That must mean the Yata-no-Kagami mirror and Yasakani-no-Magatama jewel are kept elsewhere..."

As the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi, Yata-no-Kagami, and Yasakani-no-Magatama were the 'Three Sacred Regalia' of the Imperial Family back in his previous world, Nobu could easily surmise they were the items used to both seal and release Yamata-no-Orochi. After all, according to the legend, they were literally forged from sections of its body. It stood to reason that they would be required to make it whole again.

Surprised by Nobu's sudden reference to two of the Imperial Family's Heavenly Treasures, Senken's expression displayed his incredulity as he remarked, "The Yata-no-Kagami mirror and Yasakani-no-Magatama jewels are two of the Imperial Family's most sacred Heavenly Treasures. Who informed you of their existence? I didn't learn about them until I had already become Daimyo and there's no way in hell that old bat would have revealed such sensitive information..."

Having already thought about how he would answer questions pertaining to his previous life, Nobu appeared calm as he held up his invisible stone tablet, dangling it as he shamelessly stated, "One of the people on my Friends List is a Goddess. Every now and then, she is generous enough to give me important information related to the history of Nian."

Feeling the stone tablet vibrate in his hand, Nobu's smile visibly cracked as he thumbed the screen to check his notifications. When he saw the threat contained within, a cold sweat broke out across his body. In spite of this, he maintained an uncomfortable smile as he jokingly appended, "I wasn't supposed to tell you that..."

Though he wasn't sure how they would react, Nobu wasn't particularly surprised when looks of realization appeared on the faces of his father and grandfather. He had already started to suspect they knew about his reincarnation, but, for reasons he could only guess at, the Goddess didn't want them on the same page. Her behavior reminded him of one of those asshole Dungeon Masters that got pissy whenever someone meta-gamed in the middle of a D&D(Dungeons & Dragons) session...

After promising he wouldn't mention her a second time, Nobu placed the stone tablet in his sleeve pocket before shifting his attention to the metal shard on the pedestal and asking, "Is that piece of metal a part of the seal, or does it just function as a key?"

Unsure of how to answer his son's question, Senken looked towards his father. In response, Senichi just shrugged his shoulders, answering, "In cases like this, it is common for the people entrusted to guard the seal to remain ignorant of its functions and release. Before you mentioned them, it never even occurred to me that the Yata-no-Kagami and the Yasakani-no-Magatama might be required to unseal the beast. Our duties tasked us with protecting the Dragon's Chamber and the secrets sealed within. Nothing more, nothing less."

Resisting the temptation to walk over and place the sword fragment inside his storage dimension, Nobu caressed his chin for a few moments as he stared directly at the crimson-eyed beast. He had felt an emotion similar to existential dread when he first met its gaze, but, now that he was thinking about how to best fuck it over, it seemed considerably less intimidating. Almost like he was playing a game.

As that thought crossed his mind, a somewhat mischievous smile spread across Nobu's face as he turned around and promptly took a selfie with the monstrous serpent. He remembered one of his favorite streaming duos, Game Grumps, doing something similar during a Windwaker playthrough in his previous life. He had found it pretty funny at the time, so, now that he had the chance to pose with a literal legendary creature, why the fuck not?

Though his actions earned him incredulous looks from his father and grandfather, Nobu largely ignored them as he absentmindedly droned, "My Heavenly Treasure allows me to..."

Furrowing his brows, Nobu briefly shifted his attention away from the stone tablet to stare back at Yamata-no-Orochi. The aforementioned King Ghidorah possessed the ability to communicate with its other heads via telepathy. He didn't want to think anyone had the ability to interface with one of the monstrous serpent's heads, but, understanding there was a non-zero chance of such an event occurring, he promptly supplanted, "Actually, we shouldn't be talking in front of this thing. It's way too calm for a monster that has been sealed inside of a crystal. If my intuition is correct, someone might be controlling one of its other heads to spy on the other seven..."

The moment he finished speaking, Nobu noticed the pupils of Yamata-no-Orochi's massive eyes contract. He might not have noticed it if the creature was the size of an actual snake, but, with eyes twice the size of a ceremonial gong, it was pretty fucking hard to miss.

Fortunately, Nobu wasn't the only one to notice the not-so-subtle change. Senken and Senichi were both in the latter half of the Sixth Realm. They could even perceive the flapping of a hummingbird's wings so there was no way in hell they would fail to discern Yamata-no-Orochi's peculiar reaction to Nobu's words...

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Located nearly eight thousand kilometers North-East of Owari-Shuto was the Fortress City of Date, a major city located near the center of Nian's Mutsu Province.

Years prior, the city of Date had a relatively small population of only 23,492 people. Despite this, it had made a name for itself across the Archipelago as nearly every resident of the city was either a Warrior or a battle-hardened soldier.

Alongside the Uesugi, Ashina, and Satake Clans, the rulers of Date City, the Date Clan, had helped to defend against the encroachment of Onigashima for generations. This had garnered them a tremendous amount of support for the Nianese people and countless commendations from the Imperial Family.

Unfortunately, shortly after the betrayal of the Mogami Clan, their closest ally, the leader of the Date Clan, Date Terumune, fell fatally ill when his son, Data Masamune, contracted smallpox. It left the young Masamune without his left eye while his Terumune, suffering from a congenital breathing problem, inevitably passed away after squandering the family's resources in pursuit of a cure.

Succeeding his father at the young age of seventeen, Masamune struggled to establish himself as Daimyo due to his limited experience and lacking cultivation base. He was a highly skilled warrior, but, with many of his relatives surpassing him in cultivation, it was only a matter of time before the family began fighting amongst itself.

After failing to gain control even after three years, Masamune was eventually contacted by an old friend in the Mogami Clan. Soon after, a massive army flying the banner of Onigashima appeared north of Date City. The forces of the city were more than prepared to repel them, but, shortly after the battle ended, the warriors in charge of the rout learned that every mainline descendant of the Date Clan had been assassinated.

At the behest of Masamune, a group of elites manages to penetrate the Date Clan estate using a number of secret passages. They managed to wipe out the forces opposing the young Daimyo's reign, and, in exchange for his fealty, they were willing to grant him power and help him spread his name throughout the Archipelago.

By sacrificing his humanity and becoming a demon, Masamune had become much stronger than the warriors who had pledged their allegiance to his clan. He had also allowed a veritable army to invade the city through its secret passages. Since then, the population of the city had grown from 23,492 to more than 69,000. The only caveat was that most of these newer residents were demons, youkai, and evil spirits. As for the human population, those that had failed to escape were basically relegated to livestock as the warriors still loyal to the Date Clan were either executed or converted to demons.

As a cadet family to one of the original Eight Great Clans, the Date Clan had inherited the duty of protecting one of Yamata-no-Orochi's heads. Masamune had only become aware of this after his betrayal, but, having already tied his fate to Onigashima, he had little choice but to allow them to study and attempt to deconstruct the seal. The latter proved impossible, but, after several years of analysis, the group of youkai researchers had managed to interface with the head sealed within by infesting it with a parasite. Said parasite was also a youkai, and, thanks to its efforts, they had been able to spy on the other Great Noble Clans for the better part of a decade.

"Hoooo...I never expected that those barbarians in the Oda Clan would be the first to ascertain the truth. It seems this youth, Nobu, possesses quite the unique treasure..."

Though Nobu had managed to catch himself before he revealed too much, the existence of his Heavenly Treasure was no known to his enemies. They weren't aware of its functions, but, knowing it allowed him to communicate with a Goddess was more than enough to catch the interest of the one-eyed man seated atop a throne formed from the bones of his deceased family members...

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(A/N: Amongus...)