But the other two Buddhist weapons are actually quite impressive.
One is a robe, capable of instantly absorbing energy attacks on the level of Truth-Seeking Orbs, then converting them into Buddhist light attacks—or directly slamming into the enemy with tens of thousands of pounds of force to release that energy.
After testing it, you discovered that the robe can swallow seven or eight Truth-Seeking Orbs in one go.
This item is extraordinary. Once mastered, even a Jōnin would have the power to challenge someone on the level of the Ōtsutsuki.
However, if it hasn't absorbed energy beforehand, its defensive power is quite weak—far inferior to the Gunbai made from God Tree branches.
...
The other weapon is a Demon-Suppressing Vajra.
As long as you inject a large amount of any energy into it, it can unleash power strong enough to heavily injure your current self.
And if you pour in your full strength, it could potentially blow up half of the shinobi world!
Its durability is also virtually indestructible. You suspect it's even stronger than your Death Scythe.
...
From the scriptures, it seems—
These inheritances came from a divine war during the ancient era. A golden-bodied Arhat from the Buddhist Realm arrived to aid the battle, and left these behind upon reaching nirvana. This partially confirms what the Shinigami mentioned in the previous simulation...
The scriptures mention the Buddhist Realm, golden-bodied Arhats, and so on.
These likely refer to other worlds beyond the shinobi world, and their unique cultivation systems and terminology for power levels.
Unfortunately, they don't describe how to reach such worlds. The scriptures only depict scenes of life for cultivators within the Buddhist Realm,
As well as the golden-bodied Arhat's longing for his homeland as he passed away...
But based on the items he left behind,
You infer that his strength far surpassed divine beings like Jashin or the Shinigami. Whether he reached the level of the Sage of Six Paths or the Slug Sage remains uncertain...
As for the depictions of Buddhist cultivation, they're mostly mundane—chanting, rituals, and calm meditation. Very similar to the monks of shinobi temples.
Occasionally, enlightenment is mentioned as a way to gain power, but obviously, enlightenment can't be controlled by will.
The only seemingly active method to improve strength is through making a "Great Vow"—swearing to powerful and spiritual forces in nature or before Buddha statues,
To borrow strength that way.
Unfortunately, this method is extremely unstable. The borrowed power must be repaid—and often more than borrowed.
Unless the vow is fulfilled, you can only retain a tiny portion of the power permanently...
It's a method of cultivation riddled with drawbacks—worse even than the path to godhood.
At least becoming a god doesn't make your strength fluctuate. What's yours is yours; the worst you'll face is a bottleneck.
But with the vow method, your rank is gained through sudden insight, and your strength is essentially on loan... It's frankly ridiculous.
...
Fortunately, even if the cultivation paths to improve one's essence are poor,
The techniques themselves are not:
Never mind the Buddhist weapons that could pose a threat—
The "Indestructible Body" and "Battle Saint Scripture" cultivated by the White Ape are both extremely advanced techniques.
The former can permanently strengthen the body's defense and strength by applying and absorbing Arhat blood. Other than the rarity of materials, it has no drawbacks.
The latter has absolutely no learning threshold, much like the Eight Gates.
It has ten levels. Each level doubles your strength, and at full ten levels, your power multiplies thousands of times!
Just like the Eight Gates, as long as the body is strong enough, it can withstand and recover from the backlash of the explosion in power.
The only downside—
Is that it builds up evil thoughts in your heart. The higher the level, the faster the accumulation, and you'll need fasting, chanting, or profound Buddhist teachings to purge it.
The White Ape obviously failed to do that—hence, he became a slave to power...
...
These techniques are referred to as "Guardian Arts" in the scriptures.
And above them are the so-called "Divine Powers" of the Buddhist school—the Six Abilities:
Heavenly Eye, Heavenly Ear, Mind Reading, Past-Life Insight, Divine Foot, and Exhaustion Purge. Each, when cultivated to the extreme, is terrifying in its own right!
The White Ape had cultivated two of them:
One is "Heavenly Ear," capable of ignoring Dragon Vein interference and even eavesdropping on the Pure Land. The only flaw is that if the opponent is stronger, they might detect it.
The other is the highly advanced spatial movement technique, "Divine Foot." It requires no charge-up like Kamui, nor pre-set markers like Flying Thunder God.
Just one step—and you arrive wherever you desire. Unbelievably nimble...
In your eyes, it already rivals a divine-level jutsu!
...
As for the Ring the White Ape first tried to use to enslave you—
That wasn't part of any inheritance. It was originally at the Mountain's Dragon Vein exit. He just got lucky and picked it up.
But the mysterious runes on it are beyond your comprehension. For now, you've made rubbings of them and given them to Boss Black Cat to investigate.
...
After sorting through the weapons, you decide to start with cultivating the "Indestructible Body" to see just how much it can enhance your physical form.
〖Third Year〗
You dive into training with total focus, reveling in the pleasure of your lifeform level continuously rising...
Outside, many shinobi with various motives who set out to sea to search for you and the White Ape Sage have spent a whole year without success.
Most have given up. Only a handful persist in their search.
...
In Konohagakure, your complete immersion in training caused you to forget all about Uchiha Itachi lying in the hospital. Due to a medical mishap,
Itachi's neck wound became infected, bacteria entered his bloodstream, and he suffered fevers every three days and emergency rescues every five.
Though his external injuries eventually healed, the repeated fevers damaged his brain—leaving him mentally disabled.
Uchiha Sasuke is about to graduate from the Academy. In his heart, he suspects there's something suspicious about how his brother was injured.
He's resolved to train harder and, once he becomes a shinobi, find the culprit behind Itachi's suffering from the vast shinobi world!
...
In the world of Summoned Beasts, tales of your battle with the White Ape Sage have spread far and wide—across all the major sacred lands and even among ordinary beast clans.
Some believe you both perished together. Others think you lost, or that the White Ape lost, and the victor went into hiding at Mountain to heal.
The Orca Clan, the most powerful sea tribe and direct participants, remain silent.
Boss Black Cat and the ninja cat clan, aware you mustn't be disturbed, also say nothing—pretending they only formed a contract with a regular Uchiha.
Though the entire Summoned Beast world is in an uproar over this, no seasoned practitioner dares venture to Mountain to investigate.
As for the riffraff—those small fries—the Shark Sage and Eel Sage who dwell on either side of the Dragon's Spine are deterrent enough...
...
After a full year of focused cultivation, using your Mangekyō techniques, you completely absorbed all four drops of the golden-bodied Arhat's blood without wasting a speck of energy.
However, because your physical form is so overwhelmingly powerful—your dragon body massive, and your breathing techniques constantly circulating to balance spirit and body—
Even after digesting the stored medicinal energy in your body, and absorbing a good deal of natural energy, you've only completed the first level of the "Indestructible Body."
With eight levels total, and each harder to master than the last, the full version is still a long way off...
Fortunately, even a single level of this Buddhist Guardian Art is mighty. Just one level has boosted your strength by ten percent, and your defense is terrifying.
However, since you've only mastered the first level, you still can't passively maintain the ability—it requires actively spending energy...
You've noticed that the natural energy flowing from Mountain's Dragon Vein has thinned somewhat.
So, you decide to let it recover for a while, and switch to training the less energy-intensive "Battle Saint Scripture"—while also seeing just how far this technique pushes the negative emotions building in your heart.
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