I became Hokage in Tokyo

Chapters 460 and 461: Hashirama Uchiha

"Drinking up the ocean, moving mountains, and tearing apart continents are nothing more than trivial matters to the world-destroying beast, the Ten-Tailed Fox."

Before the ancient and weathered Ten-Tails mural, imbued with a profound sense of history, Itachi Uchiha recounted the secrets of the Age of Gods. Everyone held their breath, not daring to even breathe loudly.

"After destroying the glorious Age of Gods and nearly devouring all the gods, the Ten-Tails became the source of all things in the universe, possessing the divine power to create heaven and earth!"

Uchiha Sage's face was ashen, his eyes radiating a captivating, eerie red light as he stared unblinkingly at the massive half-mural.

The enormous alien, known as the Ten-Tailed, has ten uneven tails behind it, a protruding head, and a single, conspicuous eye.

Within the ring-like circles in the Ten-Tails' pupils, there are six black tomoe similar to those in the Sharingan.

"So this is also the Mangekyou Sharingan...?"

After a moment of contemplation, Uchiha Senmon, who possessed the power of Wood Release, noticed another feature of the Ten-Tails on the mural.

The Ten-Tails' back is raised like a tree branch, and the texture and color of its body are clearly not flesh and blood, but woody fibers like tree bark.

A flash of inspiration struck Uchiha Senmon's mind, making him feel as if he had been struck by lightning, and his eyes narrowed.

"Ten-Tails... Wood Release, Sharingan, could it be?!"

"Itachi, no, Lord Uchiha Itachi!"

Professor Nagayama, his face flushed with excitement and his eyes brimming with thirst for knowledge, disregarded his awe of Itachi Uchiha and stammered as he spoke:

"Where did the Ten-Tails come from, and why is it unheard of in the myths of various cultures around the world?"

Uchiha Itachi glanced casually at Professor Nagayama, who had asked the question, ignoring his rudeness and offense, and recited as if chanting:

"The seeds of destruction fell from the sky, took root and sprouted, and ultimately led to the destruction of the Age of Gods."

Upon hearing this, Professor Nagayama and the naval colonel exchanged glances, then simultaneously felt a jolt, recalling the guidance that Jiraiya had given them before the Zetsu Tendō.

One of the two possibilities for the destruction of the Age of Gods is that a seed from outside the universe took root in the mountains, absorbed the spiritual energy of the entire Earth, and grew into a towering divine tree.

As spiritual energy and mystery waned, the gods and extraordinary beings retreated into the inner world, and the era of the extraordinary inevitably came to an end.

"Lord Jiraiya said something similar."

Professor Nagayama adjusted his glasses, his lips dry, and said, "And there's this apocalyptic mythical beast with forty-five tails and stuff..."

"Mount Myoboku has a long history, and only a few fragments of the truth are known, but only the Uchiha clan knows the whole story."

"The Ten-Tails is a divine tree that grew from a seed; more specifically, it is a part of the divine tree."

Itachi Uchiha remained expressionless, but uttered a startling statement:

"The divine tree was not static, but rather a violently moving natural disaster that swept away all the divine civilizations on the surface of the earth, forcing the surviving gods to retreat to the inner world to eke out a living."

"The power of the Ten-Tails is so immense that even after being split into nine tailed beasts, from the One-Tails to the Nine-Tails, each individual still possesses overwhelming power."

I see!

Professor Changshan seemed to have been enlightened, his face showing a look of sudden realization.

The forty-five tails represent the total number of tails of all the tailed beasts from the One-Tailed to the Nine-Tailed. The Ten-Tail is a combination of the nine tailed beasts. The divine beast mentioned by Jiraiya is a metaphor for the Ten-Tail.

Only by piecing together the two possibilities mentioned by the Toad Sage can the truth be revealed.

The conclusions of Jiraiya and Itachi, two Kage-level powerhouses, corroborate each other perfectly, making this irrefutable evidence!

And the divine tree...

Professor Changshan's eyes gleamed.

The Jianmu and Fusang trees in China, the World Tree in Northern Europe, the Tower of Babel in the Bible, and other giant trees or pillars connecting heaven and earth are frequently seen in the myths and legends of various peoples around the world. It is very likely that these are the national memories left by the ancient peoples who visited the sacred trees.

Professor Changshan couldn't help but applaud his own boundless imagination.

No, this is almost the truth!

Uchiha Senmon pursed his lips, half believing and half doubting.

The Divine Tree and the Ten-Tails sound like something out of a fantasy, bizarre and fantastical.

However, facts speak louder than words. The Four-Tails' awakening in the Yellowstone supervolcano has proven that Itachi Uchiha's absurd myths were not just empty words.

"Since the Divine Tree possesses the power to sweep away the ancient civilization of Earth and uses it as nourishment to grow, why hasn't the world perished? The age of gods in Japan even continued until the Heian period a thousand years ago, which is simply unbelievable."

After pondering for a long time, the Uchiha Immortal Sect grasped the key point and asked Uchiha Itachi:

"What happened to the Divine Tree afterward? Was it cut down? And you said the Ten-Tails was split into nine tailed beasts. Who could have done that?"

Yup!

According to Itachi Uchiha's description, the Divine Tree that directly led to the decline of the Age of Gods was something that the entire pantheon combined could not match, and even a supreme god of the underworld like the Lord of Mount Tai was no match for it.

The great divine tree that reaches to the heavens and the earth should have existed forever, just like the sun and the moon. Why did it disappear long ago, and why can we only glimpse its traces in myths and legends?

Professor Nagayama perked up, turned and looked at Itachi Uchiha with burning eyes, eagerly awaiting his answer.

What follows is sure to be ten times more explosive than the destruction of the Age of Gods!

"Hehe, Immortal Sect, you've always been curious about why the Mangekyou Sharingan and Wood Release are effective against Tailed Beasts, haven't you?"

A faint smile suddenly appeared on Itachi Uchiha's indifferent face, causing the Uchiha Sage Sect to shudder and feel somewhat nervous.

What Itachi Uchiha is about to reveal will be the deepest secret of the Uchiha clan and the entire extraordinary world.

"Although the divine tree is a divine object that descended from the universe, its essence is still that of a 'tree'."

A fleeting smile crossed Itachi Uchiha's lips as he resumed his indifferent expression, saying calmly:

"The seed sprouts, takes root, grows, then blossoms, and finally bears fruit!"

The divine fruit borne by the sacred tree must be extraordinary.

Like the peaches of immortality and ginseng fruit in Journey to the West, they bloom once every three thousand years, bear fruit once every three thousand years, and ripen once every three thousand years. Just smelling them can make you live for 360 years, and eating one can make you live for 47,000 years.

Professor Nagayama gasped for breath, swallowed hard, his thoughts wandering uncontrollably.

No, no!

The divine fruit of the sacred tree must be a hundred times more miraculous than the herb-returning elixir. Eating it will surely grant immortality, ascension to immortality, and ultimately, world-destroying power!

Could it be that the divine tree withered after bearing fruit?

Uchiha Senmon frowned; judging from his expression, he seemed to have thought of the same thing as Professor Nagayama.

However, he felt it wasn't that simple.

"No, the sacred tree did not bear fruit; it stopped growing after it reached the flowering stage."

Uchiha Itachi lowered his eyes and said calmly, "Even if we wiped out the ancient civilization on the surface and drained the spiritual energy from the earth's veins and atmosphere, it would still not be enough to support the Divine Tree bearing fruit."

Professor Nagayama and the naval colonel both looked horrified, swallowing hard, their foreheads already covered in cold sweat.

The glory of the Age of Gods can be seen from the immense power of the various immortals, gods, and shadow-level powerhouses, which has surpassed the imagination of modern civilization. Even with the entire Age of Gods as nourishment, it was still not enough for the Divine Tree to blossom and bear fruit.

"The divine tree, which was just one step away from bearing fruit, finally took root on a floating island in the far east."

Japan.

Since the sacred tree once existed in Japan, why have we never heard of giant trees or pillars of heaven in Japanese mythology?

Upon hearing this, Uchiha Senmon frowned, then slowly relaxed.

This history takes place during the Age of Gods, three or four thousand years ago, or even earlier, while Japan's first history book, the Kojiki, was compiled in the 8th century AD. The time span between these events is many times longer than the 1,300 years from the writing of the Kojiki to the present day.

Even the Kojiki cannot be considered reliable history, as it contains countless supernatural and fantastical elements and can only be used as a reference.

It is not surprising that not a single written record of the sacred tree has survived.

"The inhabitants of the Japanese islands at that time were primitive clans without civilization, and the ancestors naturally worshipped the sacred tree as a deity."

Itachi Uchiha paused slightly, his expression calm, and said in a flat tone:

"The sacred tree was supposed to wait for the planet's spiritual energy to accumulate again before continuing to grow until it bore fruit. But with the blessings and prayers of our ancestors, the sacred tree actually gave birth to two new souls."

Gudong.

The sound of swallowing saliva came from Professor Nagayama and the naval colonel's throats. They felt so nervous that they could hardly breathe, but they dared not miss a single word.

The greatest secret of the Age of Gods is finally about to be revealed.

Red light flickered in Uchiha Senmon's eyes, and his lips moved silently a few times.

"The two beings born from the sacred tree are the founding deities of Japan, Izanagi and Izanami!"

Sure enough, a pair of all-too-familiar divine names uttered from Itachi Uchiha's mouth:

"The flower bud of the Divine Tree evolved into Izanagi, who possesses the Sharingan; Izanami was born from the main trunk of the Divine Tree, and her power is Wood Release."

"And the remaining part of the divine tree, its roots and stems, are the ten tails!"

Professor Nagayama and the naval colonel exchanged a glance, their expressions both quite interesting.

The naval captain regretted not having extra recording equipment so he could record Itachi Uchiha's words and had to rely on his memory to memorize them.

"Although Izanagi and Izanami are the flower and pillar of the Divine Tree, they possess individual wills independent of the Divine Tree."

The torches inside the secret chamber flickered and burned, and the ten tails on the murals seemed to be alive, baring their fangs and brandishing their claws, sending chills down one's spine at first glance.

"Without the flower and the pillar, the Divine Tree could no longer bear fruit. The ten tails that were formed from the roots of the Divine Tree awoke in fury, wanting to devour Izanagi and Izanami once more."

Although Itachi Uchiha's words were very calm, they exploded in everyone's ears like a thunderclap.

"In the end, the Ten-Tails was defeated by Izanagi and Izanami working together. Because the Ten-Tails' power was too strong and it was immortal, they could only divide the Ten-Tails into nine tailed beasts and seal them away separately."

"After quelling the Ten-Tails' rebellion, Izanagi and Izanami became husband and wife and began to rule the land as the founding gods of Japan."

After revealing these earth-shattering secrets, Itachi Uchiha gave Senmon Uchiha a meaningful look.

While Professor Nagayama and his companion were still engrossed in the shocking story, Uchiha Senmon came to his senses and gradually understood everything.

The reason why the Mangekyou Sharingan and Wood Release can control the Tailed Beasts is because they are powers that, like the Ten-Tails, originate from the same source as the God Tree!

"Is that why Madara Uchiha's Sharingan, Izanagi, possesses such immense power?"

The three tomoe in Uchiha Senmon's eyes spun rapidly as he pondered.

He had always harbored doubts. Even though Madara Uchiha was the creator god of Japan, the power of the Mangekyou Sharingan clearly exceeded the scope of the island nation's main god and could even change the end of the world.

Izanagi is a deity born from the divine tree that destroyed the Age of Gods, not a native god of Earth, and his status was instantly elevated to the top.

"I see."

Professor Nagayama sighed, his face clearing like the sun after a storm.

The clues that were previously unclear have now become clear.

The reason why Japan's Age of Gods ended the latest, even extending into the Heian period a thousand years ago; and why, after its mysterious revival, Japan became a place where extraordinary events frequently occurred, with deities such as Princess Kaguya and Princess Konohanasakuya constantly appearing, all have reasonable explanations.

While other countries' pantheons were severely damaged by the Ten-Tails, the Japanese pantheon, which arose from Izanagi and Izanami after the Ten-Tails was sealed, did not experience this catastrophe.

Professor Nagasaki, who thrives in this extraordinary era, is certainly not a rigid, old-fashioned scholar who adheres to outdated rules.

If one cannot constantly reshape their values ​​in the extraordinary era, they would have been eliminated long ago. How could he have climbed to the position of advisor to the Supernatural Hall and lived such a comfortable life?

Professor Nagayama immediately shaped his worldview into the form depicted by Itachi Uchiha in the Age of Gods.

"Lord Uchiha Itachi, I have a question to ask you."

Professor Nagayama, mustering his courage and seeing that Itachi Uchiha showed no sign of anger, continued cautiously to ask:

"Since Izanagi-no-Mikoto's name is Uchiha Madara-sama, does Izanami-no-Mikoto also have her own name?"

"Izanagi and Izanami are both honorific names given by our ancestors to the two founding gods. Uchiha Madara is the name Izanagi gave himself, while Izanami never used a name."

Itachi Uchiha said expressionlessly:

"Izanami was born from the pillars of the sacred tree, so she can be called the Pillar."

Pillar? That seems to mean pillar.

Professor Changshan smacked his lips a few times.

Although he did not witness the existence of the divine tree with his own eyes, one can only imagine the magnificent sight of the divine tree connecting heaven and earth like a pillar supporting the sky.

Although Hashirama doesn't sound like a woman's name, it's quite fitting.

According to the Japanese custom that women take their husband's surname after marriage, Izanagi Uchiha Madara's wife, Izanami, should be called...

Uchiha Hashirama?

Hashirama will not appear; he will only serve as a background character.

Madara's prototype is Izanagi, so naturally, we can't avoid talking about Izanami, who had a love-hate relationship with him.

(End of this chapter)