Tokyo Gods Only Want Beautiful Priestesses

"Does this mean that the Demon Mother Goddess is loyal to him and willing to conquer Buddhism for him?"

The speaker was Ebisu, a god who always appeared cheerful, but at this moment he had to become serious and carefully consider what Kishimo had said.

"Yes, please understand it that way. I have already assured him that the Buddhist community will completely submit and do everything he wants."

Kishi no Mu had no intention of explaining her predicament to everyone; since she had already made her decision, there was no need to say anything more.

"Isn't this approach a bit too reckless?"

"Yes, yes, and besides, we have a prior covenant with Buddhism, how can we break our promise so easily?"

Immediately, criticism arose among the gods and Buddhas, and only a few who were more familiar with the Demon Mother could guess her intentions.

After the voices of dissent from the gods and Buddhas gradually subsided, the Demon Mother finally spoke.

"I can understand your thoughts. After all, I am also a guardian deity of Buddhism, so I naturally understand the issues of covenants and responsibilities."

"However, your alliance with Buddhism is merely a cooperation of interests, and the main body of the alliance is the entire Buddhist community, not a particular sect or its leader, is that right?"

These words cleverly found a good angle, and even Vaishravana couldn't refute them for a moment.

"So, Buddhism is still Buddhism; it's just that it has been transferred from the hands of the Buddha in this very life to our hands. There's no difference at all, is there?"

The Demon Mother clearly saw that some of the gods and Buddhas showed signs of interest and spoke up in support of her.

“That’s right, the Buddhist system should indeed learn from the Shinto.”

It is true that Buddhas and Bodhisattvas do not interfere in worldly affairs, but the gods and Buddhas produced by the combination of these deities and Buddhas are different.

If they could, why would they be happy to be just clay idols? So Kishi-mother knew they just needed a reason and a way out.

"As for the matter of loyalty, you are all joking. This country is now under the control of the Divine Palace; this is simply the proper course of action. Do you perhaps intend to rely on..."

Is one pretending to be free under the great tree of Buddhism?

It tore away the facade that gods and Buddhas usually wear, revealing the simplest and most direct truth.

After Amaterasu Omikami, the true and legitimate ruler of this country, ceased to appear, power changed hands several times, but naturally could not command the gods and Buddhas in the same way as when Amaterasu was alive.

Therefore, when dealing with them, we should maintain a certain level of dignity, and on the surface, we should not be in a subordinate relationship.

But things are different now. Unlike others who rose to power through power struggles, Jingu conquered the country with pure violence.

So the last bit of face they had preserved was now in grave danger, but at least during the last Obon festival, the shrine did not tyrannically demand that they submit and bow down.

However, this last shred of dignity has now been torn away by the Demon Mother, highlighting the plight of many gods and Buddhas.

"Don't get agitated. It's just a fact, and that's exactly what that person intends to do."

Seeing the angry expressions on some of the gods and Buddhas, the demon mother couldn't help but laugh to herself.

Is it because she's here that they dare to show anger on their faces?

“I will punish you with heavenly fire, completely leveling Mount Koya, and next will be Mount Hiei, Kyoto’s Honganji Temple… until the Buddhist community is willing to submit. These are the words of that lord.”

The faces of the gods and Buddhas froze. The pit on Mount Koya still retained its warmth, proving that it was not a lie.

"Is this a threat? Is it about using Mount Koya as a first target, and then threatening everyone else to submit?"

Vaishravana stared into Hariti's eyes, trying to discern something.

“This is not a threat. In fact, he has already done so. It is only because I have pledged my life to guarantee this that the decision has been postponed.”

Hariti did not meet Vaishravana's gaze; instead, she looked around at all the gods and Buddhas present, her eyes seeming to say something.

"If anyone is unwilling, they are welcome to challenge the Divine Palace."

Of course, the result is self-evident. There have been too many examples to prove the result, and the gods and Buddhas present are not so confident.

The atmosphere gradually froze. The reasons were complete, and the mother knew she needed to give them a way out, otherwise it would be difficult to persuade them.

"However, this matter is not as terrible as everyone thinks."

Kishimo suddenly smiled and exchanged a glance with Iizuna Maru.

"As Vaishravana said, he was a very reckless person, with nonsensical doctrines and ideas. But precisely because of this, he was not the kind of person who required everyone to kneel down and submit to him as their master."

"He just needs his own impulsive idea, and no one will object to it or prevent him from carrying it out. That's all."

If these words were spoken to an ordinary person, they would be blatant dictatorship and tyranny. But when they are used to describe the Shinto shrine, which is known for its erratic behavior, it is a different story.

"If that's the case..."

Sure enough, many gods and Buddhas have already softened their stance by taking advantage of the situation presented by Hariti.

After all, the shrine is not a power-hungry person; as long as we respect him and support his ideas, that's enough.

Therefore, as long as you change your mindset and perspective, it is not an unacceptable thing.

Their escape route was blocked by the shrine's violence. Just as Kishimo said, even if they didn't participate here, if the shrine came looking for trouble one day, the result would be the same.

After much deliberation, more and more deities and Buddhas chose to join Hariti's side, thus changing the current state of Buddhism.

Chapter 238 Imperial Pillar Festival

Ah, after I die, I'll definitely go to hell, right?

Kimura gazed at the petite figure faintly visible within the palanquin, and murmured to himself.

This story begins a few days ago.

Things started to get very strange when the shrine elders said they wanted to hold the Onbashira Festival earlier than planned.

The once-every-seven-years Onbashira Festival was suddenly and abruptly announced without any preparation, with claims that it was held in accordance with a divine decree from Suwa Myojin.

A grand, traditional Obashira Festival will be held to celebrate the awakening of the deity.

It's really baffling, but there's no harm in holding a big celebration.

Kimura, an experienced lumberjack who had participated in the Obashiri Festival several times, naturally complied with the shrine elders' request and quickly selected a suitable "Obashiri".

The term "Omakatsuki" refers to giant cedar trees that are over seventeen meters tall. After being felled and cleaned, they are then carried to the shrine by hand.

Each year, sixteen sacred pillars are made for the Obashiri Festival, which usually takes nearly a month to prepare.

However, the situation this year was urgent, and Kimura was only asked to select sixteen suitable giant sequoias.

Then, overnight, the giant cedar he had chosen was felled and shaped into a smooth, rounded pillar.

Faced with Kimura's doubts and fear, the elders at the shrine simply smiled and said:

"This is all Lady Suwa's will. She was so eager to see the grand festival that she used her divine power to help us."

This kind of talk is exactly the same as the "Red Mouth Master" used to coax children. If Kimura were to say it, he would think that some important adult has come and he should try to curry favor with them.

Kimura saw it: the strange boy who inspired fear, surrounded by the adults at the shrine, fawning and flattering them.

If there really are gods, and the legendary Suwa-sama is such a person, then that boy must be one of them.

Kimura genuinely felt this way, but the matter did not end there.

After the sacred pillars are prepared, they are carried to the shrine by manpower, a process called "leaving the mountain".

On a hillside hundreds of meters high, hordes of young people would ride on the pylons and rush down, a very dangerous activity that has often resulted in deaths and injuries in previous years.

But this time it was particularly strange; there were no medical staff prepared in advance, and no suitable organization to create the atmosphere at the time.

Moreover, at that time, a strange rain of frogs fell from the sky, as if a small tornado had sucked away many frogs from Lake Suwa.

A frog fell from the sky and crashed onto the hillside, where it was crushed by the descending pillar. A young man who lost his balance on the pillar was also crushed. The blood of the man and the frog soaked the soil and stained the pillar red.

Kimura clearly remembers that while the adults standing in front of him were getting scrambled and battered by the rain of frogs, only that godlike boy, as if he had expected it, opened his umbrella.

Amidst everyone's disheveled state, only the other party appeared leisurely and smiled at the blood-stained hillside.

"You participate in the Onbashira Festival every year, yet you don't believe in the existence of Suwa Myojin at all?"

do not know

Was it Kimura's gaze that was too direct, or was the other person truly a god who could read minds? The boy holding the umbrella looked over.

"Um...this..."

Kimura stammered. Regardless of whether the other party was a real deity or not, he was definitely a big shot whom all the shrine elders fawned over. If he said something wrong here, it would be bad.

However, Kimura didn't say anything in the end, and the other person seemed to understand his answer and suddenly laughed.

"Perfect timing, there's something important I need to discuss. Why don't you give it a try too?"

Kimura sensed a hint of mockery in the other person's smile, as if they were watching a joke.

It was then that Kimura realized that the truly unacceptable things were just beginning.

The blood-stained pillars were secured with ropes, and hundreds of people worked together to lift the sixteen pillars to the four shrines and erect them.

Amidst the joyous and lively festival, a small and delicate girl, like a porcelain doll—no, she should be called a child, not a girl at all—was present.

"These are the so-called children of the gods, the divine beings who offer Kagura and dance to the gods and then convey the divine pronouncements of Lord Suwa."

Delivering divine messages? Kimura didn't quite understand such things, but the little children awkwardly dancing the Kagura dance at the festival were indeed very cute.

As the celebratory Hashira Festival drew to a close, just when Kimura thought this eerie festival would end just as quickly, the task he had been instructed to complete finally came to pass.

"Come on, although I don't know why I'm including you in the sedan chair carriers, I'll make an exception and allow you to come with us to complete the final sacrifice."

The shrine's elders changed into festival attire, just like ordinary people. They carried exquisitely crafted palanquins on their shoulders, the curtains of which fluttered in the wind, revealing children's milky-white legs and their gorgeous shrine maiden costumes.

"What do you mean?"

For the first time ever, Kimura did not immediately follow the instructions, but instead asked the adults for advice.

"What do you mean? Isn't it obvious? We're offering the child of the god to Lord Suwa and sinking him into Lake Suwa, and we're going to do it all in front of everyone, happily and cheerfully."

The vermilion sacred bridge has been erected, stretching from Shangsha to Lake Suwa; without a doubt, this is the road to be traveled next.

Kimura felt his mouth and tongue were a little dry, and his heart was pounding.

Are these people insane? It's the 21st century! Yet they want to sacrifice children, especially those under twelve!

Kimura felt weak in the knees and wished he could say the words "I won't do it" and then snatch the girl from the palanquin.

But while the crowds outside the festival were cheering and anticipating, the shrine's elders were staring at him with an almost reproachful look. Even though he knew perfectly well that this was wrong, he couldn't bring himself to refuse.

Now, I'm sure I'll go to hell after I die, right?

He licked his pale lips, then silently bent down and, together with the shrine's elders, carried the palanquin onto the sacred bridge to the beat of drums.