An ability that nullifies all abilities—Amaterasu Dragon Gate.
Luo Shu stared at Maya Natsume, the black flame mark between her eyebrows, while his left hand unconsciously rubbed the hilt of the Kusanagi Sword.
In terms of ability, Maya Natsume's power seemed remarkably similar to the Kusanagi Sword's—both capable of sealing others' abilities.
However, the Kusanagi Sword also housed a Sword Spirit and enhanced swordsmanship, though Luo Shu was well aware of its limitations.
In contrast, he knew little about the restrictions of Maya Natsume's Amaterasu Dragon Gate.
For the Mysticism Encyclopaedia to divine detailed information, sufficient data sources were required—such as hair, blood, or other bodily components, all of which could reveal intriguing insights...
At this thought, Luo Shu glanced at Maya Natsume, a vague idea forming in his mind that wasn't suitable to act upon now:
"What restrictions does the Amaterasu Dragon Gate have?"
"The awakening process is extremely difficult."
For reasons unknown, Shin Natsume openly disclosed:
"First condition: They must be a female of the Natsume family with a dense Amaterasu bloodline. Second condition: sufficient innate talent with physical training reaching a certain threshold – at least Exquisite Skill Level."
Luo Shu understood what Exquisite Skill Level disciples meant – essentially, those below Master Level but holding a License of Full Transmission in their school. In terms of ranking, it's roughly equivalent to an Elite Rank.
'A bloodline awakenable at Elite Rank? Is this a Class?'
As Luo Shu speculated, Shin Natsume continued:
"The third condition is encountering sufficient external evil invasion while meeting the first two requirements."
Here, Shin Natsume couldn't help looking at present-day Maya Natsume.
The Natsume family had a saying – the stronger the external evil encountered during Amaterasu Dragon Gate awakening, provided one could withstand it, the better.
This would activate a more potent Amaterasu bloodline and greater talent elevation. Nearly every successful awakener became the Natsume family's undisputed strongest for a century – the natural head of the family.
Out of concern for Maya, Shin naturally wished his sister could awaken a stronger bloodline. Hence, when the Dragon Eye detected that this Abyss World contained Maya's awakening opportunity, the previously reluctant Shin had tacitly brought her into the Abyss Warring States World.
His goal was Maya's Amaterasu Dragon Gate awakening as foreseen by the Dragon Eye.
"Actually, regarding external evil invasion, the optimal choice would be..."
Luo Shu suddenly interjected teasingly:
"An out-of-control Dragon Eye, right?"
Shin froze momentarily before smiling wryly, silently lighting a cigarette:
"You saw through it! Indeed, the Natsume's Dragon Eye is essentially nourishment for the Amaterasu Dragon Gate. The more severely the Dragon Eye is out of control, the more effective it is for the gate. But if it's too severely out of control..."
He left the sentence unfinished, though Luo Shu understood perfectly.
'Kill the brother to complete oneself? This Natsume family's rather sinister – sure they weren't originally called Uchiha?'
Luo Shu mused internally before remarking:
"But presently you needn't worry. So'unga is this world's ancient evil spirit – possibly the sealed soul of Yamata-no-Orochi. As external evils go, it's practically top-tier."
"True, So'unga is indeed the strongest external evil I could currently find."
Shin took a slow drag, voicing his concern:
"Only... I fear this evil might be too powerful. What if Maya can't endure..."
As the words left his mouth, Maya suddenly groaned, blood trickling from her lips as the black flame mark on her forehead flickered erratically.
Simultaneously, So'unga's roar shook the temple:
"Mere godly bloodline thinks to suppress me? Don't underestimate me, you scheming human mongrel!!"
Hearing this, Luo Shu blinked and turned to the stunned Shin:
"About what you just said... how do I put it... Maybe don't say that next time."
Hearing this, Shin Natsume's face turned ashen. Finally, he took a deep breath after glancing at Maya Natsume, who lay convulsing in pain amidst the straw, and addressed Luo Shu:
"Director Luo, Maya is no longer suited to remain in the Bujin-shū now that she's awakened the Amaterasu Dragon Gate."
"Oh?" Luo Shu's expression immediately showed interest. "What do you mean by that?"
"The Takayanagi family rose to prominence later. Among the former Bujin-shū, or rather the twelve families inheriting the divine blood of Takama-ga-hara, the Natsume family was originally the sovereign house."
Shin Natsume calmly recounted secrets known only to certain high-ranking members of the Bujin-shū:
"The head of the Natsume family who awakens the Amaterasu Dragon Gate possesses power that counters all supernatural abilities. The current leading Takayanagi family would never allow Maya to continue her carefree life after awakening this power."
"Marrying in? Or perhaps co-opting her?"
Luo Shu nodded in understanding, then regarded Shin Natsume with keen interest:
"So your Dragon Eye can actually see my future, witness the scenes where I use my abilities?"
"No, I can't." Shin Natsume shook his head, his expression grave. "Or rather, in this world, the futures of many people simply can't be seen by the Dragon Eye."
"The Dragon Eye only glimpses fragments of images. If people appear in those fragments, their context must be interpreted."
At this point, Shin glanced at Maya Natsume before continuing:
"I only guessed you had the ability to solve Maya's problem because I saw her complaining to me in the future about why she had to join the Hidden Management Department to do odd jobs."
"I see."
Luo Shu nodded in understanding, then also turned to look at Maya Natsume:
"A power-erasing ability user, then?"
Hearing Luo Shu's words and detecting the calculating tone, Shin immediately declared:
"Full transfer."
"I entrust this child's future to you!"
Watching Shin bow deeply at a 90-degree angle, Luo Shu stroked his chin, looked down at the sweat-drenched Maya on the ground, and narrowed his eyes:
"A full transfer? That does sound like a good deal."
After saying this, Luo Shu slowly sheathed the Kusanagi Sword, stepped forward until he stood before Maya, then glanced sideways at Shin:
"Are you sure you want to stand here and watch?"
Hearing this, Shin's heart skipped a beat, but he silently turned and walked out of the temple gates.
Just as he began moving away, Luo Shu suddenly added:
"Though having you watch would actually be quite exciting too."
Shin's mouth twitched. With a dark expression, he quickly distanced himself from the temple, only stopping when he reached a desolate mountainside where no sounds could be heard. Gazing at the peaks, he sighed:
"I just hope Maya won't hate me for this later..."