The worship of gods and power struggles in Japan have a long history.

As can be seen from the national flag, there is no doubt that the Japanese worship the sun.

That's because, for a long time, even the teachers of the school would seriously educate the students that Japan is the kingdom of God, the emperor is the descendant of the gods of Amaterasu, the ancestor of the Japanese...

Even during the period of shogunate rule when the samurai class actually held power for hundreds of years, the samurai could only deprive the emperor of his power under the pretext of "imperial morality of the emperor" and integrate his blood into the imperial family by means of marriage, but they could never replace the emperor in the public. transcendence in the heart.

As long as the fallen emperor is at ease as a "god" and relinquishes his power, he can live a prosperous life.

Thanks to the protection of the gods, the Chrysanthemum Dynasty can be called the longest dynasty in the world. Since its establishment, it has had 125 emperors. Although it has gone through many ups and downs, it has never been replaced by other dynasties in name, and it still exists in modern times. .

Therefore, for hundreds of years, countless shogunate rulers have never given up trying to "create gods", trying to replace the status of "gods" of the emperor's family.

During the Edo shogunate period, the three-generation shogun, Tokugawa Iamitsu, issued an amnesty order to "rehabilitate" the "national thief", and portrayed him as a hero who had the courage to sacrifice himself and resist the tyranny of the imperial court.

In the same year, the shogunate moved Kanda Ming Shrine from the Demon Gate of Edo Castle, and enshrined Heishomon as one of the three-pillar gods, adding the gate mound and six shrines to construct the "Big Dipper Array".

In the end, they succeeded in enshrining the Heishan Gate as one of the three pillars of Kanda Myojin.

The Tokugawa shogunate spent a lot of time doing this series of things, naturally wanting to create a "god" that belongs to the Tokugawa family and can rival Amaterasu.

If it weren't for the Meiji Restoration and the restoration of the imperial family to power, the "Tai Chi Yin-Yang Array" and the "Five Spirits Sealing Array" were built, and the ghosts and gods were suppressed at a great price. I am afraid that in hundreds of years, the Tokugawa clan would really succeed in replacing the imperial family. status.

According to the layout of Hakone Mountain, the enshrining of Heisei Gate must be just the tip of the iceberg of their "God-making" project.

The Tokugawa clan and their collateral must have secretly tried to create other "gods".

When the Meiji Restoration began and the Tokugawa shogunate gradually declined, behaviors like "creating gods" must have been regarded as life-saving straws, and became more and more crazy and inhumane.

The question is, what kind of "god" did the Owari Tokugawa family arrange for such a vicious and **** sacrifice, and where?

With many questions and different thoughts, the two finally set foot on the top of the mountain.

Before I was in a hurry, I didn't have time to take a closer look. At this time, the two of them had time to look at the small mountain top viewing platform in front of them.

There was nothing on the summit platform, which was not more than 50 square meters, surrounded by guardrails. There was only a slate that resembled a low table, and it was printed with a bronze compass embossed on most mountain top attractions.

"On this, I don't see any shrines and other things that symbolize faith."

Walking around the platform, Xiao Niao Yuzhengong took out the rune paper and tapped it on the stone slab in the center.

A circle of blue spiritual power waves spread around the burning rune paper.

Shinto Magic.

"Spiritual power does not respond..."

After doing all this, she shook her head disappointedly.

"Teacher Araki?!"

Looking back, Araki Sosuke was lying on the ground in a very skilled and concealed posture, like a habitual criminal who spied on the bottom of his skirt.

Although she was wearing a long scarlet hakama, the little witch still subconsciously stretched out her hand to protect her knees.

"The stone below..."

Sousuke Araki's gaze didn't stop at any strange place, he just stared blankly at the big stone that served as the base under the slate.

"...very clean."

In his left eye, although there are many strange footprints left by spiritual bodies on the ground on the top of the mountain, and black fine marks dragged by branches.

But the cornerstone under the slate in front of him was terribly clean.

Even the spiritual power of Xiaoniao Yuzhengong just now did not leave the slightest trace on it.

"If neither spiritual power nor grievance can leave a trace..."

Hearing Sousuke Araki's words, Yumayumi Kotori also squatted beside him, and looked at the unremarkable, moss-covered big stone with a cute expression on his face.

"If they visit this stone..."

In a flash, she suddenly thought of something.

"This stone, could it be... is the rock seat?"

Shintoism is the worship of nature, so there are shrines that enshrine natural objects or natural phenomena as "divine bodies", and are called "Kannabi", "Iwaza", "Shenge" and so on.

"Kanabi" refers to the extraordinarily beautiful mountain as a symbol of the possession of the gods, called the sacred mountain or the spiritual mountain, the most representative of which are Mount Fuji (Sengen Shrine), Hakusan (Hakusan Shrine), and Tateyama (Xiongshan Shrine).

"Sacred hedge" worships the entire forest as a "guardian forest", and regards the tallest giant tree as a "sacred tree" and worships it as the possession of the gods. , Sugiya Betsumei Shrine), Dragon God Wood (Chichibu Imamiya Shrine), etc.

"Iwaza" is a belief in the majestic rock as a "divine body" attached to the gods, represented by Gotobuki Rock (Kankura Shrine), Sanshi (Sanshi Shrine), and Iwazu (Hanagu Shrine).

"What Iwaza... If it's just to worship a broken stone and do so many vicious things..."

Looking at the indifferent and excessively pale stone in front of him, Sousuke Araki squatted up angrily, wrapping his arms around it.

More than half an hour ago, the vicious and suffocating scene on the stairs, as well as the experiences of those spirits in their lifetimes, were like a film that made people unable to breathe, tightly covering their hearts.

"...It should be enough to destroy it?!"

At this moment, he seemed to have finally found an outlet.

"Uh ah ah ah ah!"

He pouted his hips, straightened his waist, and bulged his arms with blue veins. With all his strength, he lifted the stone, which was estimated to be 500 pounds, together with the slate above it, and smashed it to the ground.

Seeing his irritable behavior, the bird Yuzhengyu on the side was not surprised at all, but instead smiled.

Because, she recalled a few months ago, when she dragged Mr. Araki to Kamakura High School to exterminate the spirit.

At that time, Mr. Araki also easily lifted the sealing stone at the wellhead and smashed the resentful spirits in it.

Hmm~lightnovelpub.net~ Doing all the work to get rid of evil is really the usual style of Mr. Araki.

"Crack..."

As the stone and the slate above were smashed into the ground on the side, the original position revealed a lacquered black cave that was one person wide.

By the moonlight, you can see that below the entrance of the cave, there are stone steps composed of simple bluestone slabs, which continue to extend downward.

"Under this, there is actually a secret passage?!"

The two looked at each other and saw the surprise in each other's eyes.

"So, the object of their worship is actually in this mountainside?"

Although Mt. Hakone is not a popular attraction, and there are all kinds of terrifying supernatural rumors, residents and college students living nearby come here during the day to exercise and climb mountains.

It is absolutely impossible to quietly dig such a tunnel in the mountain after it is opened as a park.

This burrow must have been secretly built by the Owari Tokugawa family back then, but it has quietly existed for nearly two hundred years under the eyes of everyone.