I became Hokage in Tokyo

Chapters 280 and 281: Don't say the stone Buddha has only one eye; A-Fei sends out a pre-announcement letter.

"The test results are in. The stone used for the Buddha statue is exactly the same as the stone bowl in front of it!"

As night deepened and the moon rose high in the sky, several industrial lights near the main gate of Senso-ji Temple cast dazzling beams of light, illuminating the area as bright as day. A group of workers wearing hard hats were busily working.

The Nakamise shopping street has been dug into a huge pit by the Metropolitan Police Department.

Digging backwards from the Buddha's foot discovered under the Fenglei God Gate, they were astonished to find a large blue stone Buddha, over twenty meters long, lying flat on the ground.

"Do the high-ranking monks of Senso-ji Temple have any insights into the origin of this Buddha statue buried underground?"

Superintendent Matsuura of the Metropolitan Police Department's Fourth Investigation Division asked the bewildered head priest of Senso-ji Temple and several monks.

Seeing the prime real estate of Nakamise Shopping Street reduced to its current state by excavation, the head priest of Senso-ji Temple was heartbroken, but he knew he couldn't fight against the powerful forces at play.

Fortunately, the Metropolitan Police Department knew its limits and only excavated the ground of the Nakamise Shopping Street, without affecting the Furaishin Gate or other major buildings.

"Our temple enshrines Guanyin Bodhisattva, and this secret Buddha is not a Guanyin statue... Our temple truly does not know."

The huge stone Buddha unearthed from the ground has an ancient style. Its upper body is broken, and its remaining right hand is resting in front of its abdomen. Half of the Buddha's face is also missing, so the face cannot be seen.

It was impossible to tell which Buddha it was at first glance, but it was clearly not a Guanyin statue.

Senso-ji Temple, also known as Senso-ji Temple, is the head sect of the Japanese Kannon sect. However, the Asakusa Kannon statue, which is revered as a Japanese National Treasure, cannot be seen inside the temple because it is an absolutely secret Buddha.

The term "secret Buddha" refers to Buddha statues that are not publicly displayed.

When Buddhism was introduced to Japan, it was inevitably influenced by Shintoism. The combination of Shinto and Buddhism led to Shinto believing that all things have spirits and that gods exist in nature as sacred beings without fixed forms and invisible, exhibiting a strong tendency towards mysticism.

On the other hand, many esoteric Buddhist statues depict terrifying and ferocious deities, as well as images of the Buddha of Blissful Delight, which are associated with sexual intercourse. To avoid causing fear and misunderstanding among ordinary believers, these statues are not publicly displayed.

Many Japanese temples display their secret Buddha images only a few times a year, or once every few years; this is called "opening the gate".

There are even absolutely secret Buddha statues that are never opened, such as the Asakusa Kannon statue enshrined at Senso-ji Temple, which has a history of 1,300 to 1,400 years.

This refers to the golden Guanyin statue that was salvaged from the Miyato River back then.

Even the abbot of Senso-ji Temple only knew where the Asakusa Kannon statue was kept, but had never seen it in person.

This enormous stone Buddha, buried deep beneath Senso-ji Temple for countless years, has only recently been unearthed and can be considered, in a sense, an absolute mystery.

In the ancient legends passed down orally at Senso-ji Temple, the Absolute Secret Buddha is a being that mortals cannot look directly at, and those who dare to offend it will suffer divine retribution.

and also……

The abbot of Senso-ji Temple secretly opened his eyes and looked at the Buddha's face, which was now only half-faced, with its remaining left eye looking compassionately at the sky.

"Don't underestimate this stone man with only one eye; he could incite rebellion across the Yellow River!"

Upon thinking of this, the abbot of Senso-ji Temple felt a chill run down his spine, his scalp tingled, and large beads of sweat appeared on his bald head.

The discovery of this unnamed stone Buddha at Senso-ji Temple is not a good omen, but rather a very bad one!

Inspector Matsuura, however, didn't think that much about it. He stared at the huge stone Buddha lying flat in the pit, lost in thought.

The stone Buddha's feet alone are the size of a rockery, and its body is over twenty meters long. If it were erected, it would certainly be quite spectacular.

More importantly, the color, hardness, and texture of the stone used to make the Buddha statue are exactly the same as the stone bowl in front of the Buddha that ended up in the hands of the Metropolitan Police Department!

The miraculous healing of the onlookers' illnesses by the golden lotus mentioned in the report is exactly the same as the stone bowl in front of the Buddha.

Could it be that the giant stone Buddha and the stone bowl in front of it are one piece?

Inspector Matsuura swallowed hard, his gaze involuntarily drifting towards the stone Buddha's outstretched right palm.

Indeed, placing some ritual implements on it would make it look more natural.

However, the right palm of the stone Buddha is large enough to fit a car, which is disproportionate to the size of the stone bowl in front of the Buddha.

"Which deity or Buddha appeared in the dream to Shinbara? Well, let's leave these complicated matters to the scholars in the expert group."

Inspector Matsuura frowned, looked at Yuji Kanbara who was standing silently to the side, and smiled:

"Inspector Kanbara, you've only been at Senso-ji Temple for a few days, and you've already given the Metropolitan Police Department such a big surprise. You truly have a deep connection with Buddhism!"

The other high-ranking monks of Senso-ji Temple couldn't help but waver in their Zen practice and began to doubt themselves.

Golden lotuses sprang from the ground—this is a grand scene from Buddhist legends, depicting a powerful being reciting scriptures.

It's unbearable to repair!

I have been practicing Buddhism for decades, so why has the Buddha never appeared to me in a dream?

Could it be that this seemingly unenlightened layman, Shinbara, is actually a disciple of Buddhism of this era, possessing extraordinary wisdom?

Yuji Kambara touched his thick, fluffy long hair, a look of embarrassment flashing across his face, and gave an awkward smile.

"That deity must have given me some enlightenment because of the Holy Monk Dilu."

Inspector Matsuura glanced at the other monks and gave a signal to a few men in black suits. The head monk of Senso-ji Temple and several other monks were politely asked to leave, clearly not wanting them to hear the conversation that followed.

"Is that all the warning that nameless deity gave you... or rather, us, was?"

"That's right."

Inspector Matsuura nodded, looking thoughtful.

"In the year of the Demon, the world changes drastically, and evil spirits are born."

According to the expert panel's assessment, this most likely refers to a series of unusual events that occurred after 1990 (the 19th year of the Heisei era).

This has become a consensus within the Metropolitan Police Department. Extraordinary beings may have a long history, hidden behind myths and legends since ancient times, but they could be said to have disappeared before 1990. Otherwise, modern civilization could not have developed to this point.

In 1993, for reasons unknown, Pandora's box was opened, and monsters and evil spirits began to be born in Japan.

Following closely behind, those extraordinary beings hidden behind myths and legends began to resurface and set foot in the mortal world.

Although the Metropolitan Police Department has developed some hypotheses based on the conversations of the celestial beings, it is only a glimpse into the whole picture.

Those extraordinary individuals are like riddle tellers, always revealing only half of what they know, leaving the expert team scratching their heads and racking their brains to guess and bluff.

The complete asymmetry of information caused the Metropolitan Police Department a lot of trouble.

However, there was nothing they could do; the celestial beings had neither the obligation nor the interest to sit down and have a heart-to-heart talk with the Metropolitan Police Department and share intelligence.

The nameless deity who appeared in this dream may be a turning point.

"By offering the monster to the stone Buddha, you can communicate with that nameless deity and receive His protection."

Inspector Matsuura looked at Yuji Kambara with a serious expression and said, "Inspector Kambara, I'll double-check one last time, is this correct?"

"yes!"

Yuji Kambara also realized the seriousness of the problem and replied through gritted teeth.

"Okay, I understand."

Upon hearing this, Inspector Matsuura showed no joy, but instead became stern and solemn.

Although the nameless deity demonstrated the Buddhist supernatural power of the Golden Lotus Emerging from the Earth to heal the sick, and even hinted at a connection with the Holy Monk of the Earthly Land, it is difficult to say whether it is true or false, or whether it is righteous or evil.

The Metropolitan Police Department certainly wouldn't be so naive as to believe in an unknown supernatural being.

Some demons disguise themselves as benevolent gods, using sweet words and gentle persuasion to manipulate mortals to achieve their ulterior motives. This is a common occurrence in the myths of various countries around the world.

What talk of being unable to bear the suffering of living beings, what talk of protecting all living beings—it sounds better than it's sung. Who knows if behind the nameless, sacred, and magnificent Buddha's light, there might be a wicked god who drinks blood and eats meat?

If you rashly offer sacrifices to Him, you might summon some indescribable monster.

However, at least He required sacrifices from monsters that harmed humanity. If they were humans, they would definitely be demons or monsters disguised as Buddhas.

Well, that's not entirely true. Some sects of Tantric Buddhism seem to also have rituals involving the sacrifice of living people.

The Metropolitan Police Department remains vigilant against unidentified deities and Buddhas. After all, this is Tokyo, and if a similar catastrophe to Sapporo were to occur again, with the disaster spreading from the epicenter, the country would be doomed.

If it weren't for the fact that this enormous stone Buddha was too large and difficult to handle, the Metropolitan Police Department would have moved it out of Tokyo immediately.

Although Senso-ji Temple is located in Taito Ward, its proximity to Chiyoda Ward and Chuo Ward is already causing considerable anxiety.

In any case, the Metropolitan Police Department would never easily offer sacrifices to the nameless stone Buddha.

Not at least not now.

However, if forced into a desperate situation, sacrificing monsters or even living people is not out of the question.

With a population of 120 million, Japan has countless "volunteers" on the streets who are willing to generously sacrifice themselves.

"Inspector Kanbara, the Metropolitan Police Department has issued orders that your training at Senso-ji Temple has concluded. Congratulations, you have been officially promoted to Inspector."

After glancing at his phone for a few moments, Inspector Matsuura spoke to Yuji Kambara with a friendly expression.

Yuji Kambara was filled with excitement. He had been promoted two ranks in just one month. Even elite professionals couldn't be promoted so quickly.

"Inspector Kambara, if nothing unexpected happens, I'll be looking forward to working with you for the next period of time."

"Um, Inspector Uchiha, aren't you in Section 4 right now?"

Yuji Kambara hesitated for a moment before speaking.

Although he hadn't worked under Senmon Uchiha for very long, Yuuji Kanbara had a good impression of his former boss.

"Inspector Uchiha is now suspended pending investigation."

Inspector Matsuura's face darkened, and he spoke in a complicated tone.

"How could this be?" Yuji Kanbara exclaimed involuntarily.

Inspector Matsuura wanted to say something more, but just then, his phone suddenly vibrated.

A text message from the Metropolitan Police Department made his expression change.

"Damn it! This is provocation!"

"What happened now?"

Inspector Matsuura's face was ashen as he said:

"The Akatsuki organization actually sent a notice to the Metropolitan Police Department, saying they will be taking away the stone bowl in front of the Buddha tomorrow!"

3k, one more chapter tonight

(End of this chapter)