"What!"
"How rude! What are you saying!"
The kunoichi shouted indignantly, glaring at the King's Herald.
The King's Herald was already taller than the average man, and among these women, he stood out like a crane in a flock of chickens, able to see everyone's expressions clearly.
Even so, he acted as though he was completely oblivious to their hostility, calmly gazing at Yumiko.
But before Yumiko could speak, Shizuka snapped, "Please allow me to deal with this person."
As she spoke, Shizuka flung off her outer robe, revealing the ninja battle uniform underneath, and prepared to charge forward.
However, her movement was quickly stopped by Yumiko, who raised a hand to block her.
To Yumiko, this dark figure was far too strange. If Shizuka, with her current abilities, approached recklessly, she would undoubtedly suffer a loss.
"Stranger, do you understand the gravity of your words?"
Yumiko's hand steadied Shizuka's trembling shoulder, but her own demeanor seemed slightly off.
"Of course. But don't misunderstand. What I want is all of your souls. If you surrender your souls to me and become mine, I won't harm you. Isn't that a wonderful deal?"
"Come now. Sign the soul contract with me!"
The King's Herald suddenly spread his arms wide, as if preparing to embrace them all, as though wanting to gather their beautiful bodies into his chest.
But this gesture backfired; instead, everyone took half a step back, wary.
"S-Souls?"
Yumiko's voice trembled slightly, her body shrinking back more and more, yet she still mustered all her courage.
"W-What are you talking about?"
For some reason, the more she spoke with the man, the more her heart was consumed by fear.
This abnormality did not escape the notice of Tokiwa, who immediately stepped forward to support her faintly trembling body.
At this touch, she was instantly shocked.
"Why is Yumiko-sama's body so cold?"
The icy sensation was as if Yumiko had already become a corpse.
"What have you done to her?!"
Tokiwa glared at the King's Herald furiously, but the figure remained unfazed.
As Kagami observed Yumiko shrinking away, he realized that the King's Herald's words were already taking effect on her.
But this wasn't enough. he wanted to claim all the women of Nadeshiko Village, and he couldn't achieve that by persuading them one by one.
He needed to instill a fear of something greater in them, breaking their psychological defenses entirely before signing soul contracts with them.
Just like the soul contract Izumi had forged with the Black Pharaoh.
Kagami's thoughts stirred as he released the indescribable entity he had long prepared.
From the other side of the street, a loud rumble resounded, accompanied by a faint tremor in the ground.
All the kunoichi immediately turned to look in the direction of the noise, only to see a terrifying form illuminated by the crescent moonlight.
On the street stood a black mass that, at first glance, resembled a tree. But upon closer inspection, it was clear that it was no tree at all.
It was more like a six-meter-tall pillar of flesh, with numerous black, whip-like tentacles extending from its top.
On its surface were dozens of wide-open mouths, each dripping with a green, foul-smelling slime.
Below the mass were four massive black goat hooves, which made it easy to mistake the thing for a tree trunk at first glance, while the tentacles above resembled its canopy.
"What is that!"
"Ahhh!"
The kunoichi screamed in terror at the sight of the horrific entity.
Some of the less composed kunoichi even collapsed to the ground in fright.
This was the first time Kagami had observed people so closely while they were driven to panic.
Seizing the moment of peak terror, he immediately infiltrated the minds of each ninja, plunging his consciousness into their thoughts.
In the dark, mental world of their consciousness, the King's Herald appeared, holding the Book of Azathoth as he approached each woman, asking if they would sign a soul contract.
This was an inquiry on the soul level. Signing a soul contract didn't require a physical signature—any wavering of the soul's will was enough to seal the deal and sell their soul.
Desperate to escape the nightmare-like reality, almost all of the kunoichi instinctively chose to let their blood drip onto the book's pages, just like Izumi had.
However, among them, there were still a few stubborn souls who resisted.
He quickly noticed someone who hadn't yet signed the contract—this person was Shizuka.
In the dark world, she frowned, staring at the Book of Azathoth. In her heart, the shadow of Sagiri still lingered, refusing to fade.
It was this memory of this man that made Shizuka hesitate to sign the soul contract.
The King's Herald appeared in her soul world.
"You... What do you want from me?"
Upon seeing the sudden appearance of this stranger, Shizuka immediately curled up her body, her fearful expression making her look even more pitiful and vulnerable.
The King's Herald nodded affirmatively and said in a lightly teasing tone, "To think that your love for a mere mortal man has kept you resisting this long. Impressive."
Before Shizuka could reply, the King's Herald's body transformed into an almost imperceptible shadow and appeared instantly in front of her, lifting her chin.
In an instant, Shizuka's emerald-green eyes were consumed by the King's Herald's obsidian-black gaze, her entire consciousness drawn into the void. Her green irises were slowly devoured by darkness, until they were completely black.
In a daze, she reached out and touched the Book of Azathoth.
A single drop of crimson blood fell onto the book's page, joining the dozens of other bloodstains already there.
Looking around at the panting kunoichi, Kagami nodded in satisfaction.
Now that the souls of these kunoichi were already in his possession, he didn't need to rush into invoking the birth of the Black Goat.
Using it now, causing dozens of people to become pregnant simultaneously, would undoubtedly lead to significant chaos in Nadeshiko Village.
Such chaos would not be conducive to the birth of the Offsprings of the Wind.
Thus, his goal was no longer limited to these few kunoichi but extended to the entire village.
He planned to transform all the kunoichi into witches, followers of darkness—and by extension, his followers. This would ensure no future obstacles.
This required him to manipulate his dark followers gradually, turning every woman in the village into a witch over time.
Nadeshiko Village— The Village of Witches. Not a bad name.
Moreover, as he was using the dark follower's body to sign soul contracts with the kunoichi earlier, he discovered an intriguing aspect of the soul contract.
Witches who signed a soul contract with the dark follower no longer had souls in their bodies. Their souls were stored within the soul contract, which resided in the Book of Azathoth.
In other words, the destruction of a witch's physical body did not equate to true death.
Through a magic ritual known as the "Call of the Witch," a witch whose body had perished could be reborn in flames and the chants of other witches, much like a phoenix rising from the ashes.
With this, Kagami realized that Izumi, who had been killed by Obito on the night of the clan's massacre, could also be resurrected.
He pondered the dramatic possibilities. Seeing his childhood friend, thought to be dead, appear before him might even rattle the usually composed Itachi.
However, the "Call of the Witch" was a grand ritual requiring many witches to succeed. The combined population of Nadeshiko Village's women might barely suffice.
This limitation made sense. After all, in the European Middle Ages, the origin of witches was the handiwork of dark followers. If the "Call of the Witch" were too easily performed, witches would have been unending.
Come to think of it, witches truly had it rough—tempted by dark followers on one side, hunted by humans on the other.
But in this world, witches were effectively Kagami's personal harem and the birthing ground for the Offspring of the Wind. Naturally, he wouldn't let them be tainted by external forces.
To promote the Witch Sect's influence, he knew he needed to create more opportunities to expand its power.
---
In an underground laboratory, Orochimaru was intently observing the white snake inside a tank.
After learning from Abdul in the Nameless City that he was a descendant of the Serpent Person, he had restarted his long-abandoned research on snakes.
The reason was simple: if he was a descendant of the Serpent Person and the White Snake Sage of Ryūchi Cave was a shaman and also a descendant of the Serpent Person, then could he not trace his own bloodline to recreate a white snake?
Previously, Orochimaru had considered creating a white snake by combining a scale stolen from the White Snake Sage with his own genetic material to produce a serpent entirely under his control.
However, the result was a hybrid, an unfinished product with his head and a segmented body that lacked the crucial aspects of the White Snake Sage.
What mattered most about the White Snake Sage, of course, was the Sage Mode. His greatest desire was the knowledge of Sage Mode training.
Beyond his renewed snake research, he had pursued other experiments over the years.
First was his own body.
Through his studies during his time in Konoha and Akatsuki, he had thoroughly mastered the Living Corpse Reincarnation.
He had even performed his first reincarnation.
As for the vessel used in this reincarnation, it was not Guren, who had always longed to become his host. Instead, it was the body of a female knight he acquired during a mission involving the hunt for a Mi-Go, carried out by Kakuzu and Hidan.
Rachel possessed the power of a mysterious substance known as the Greil Stone.
The stone was a translucent green crystal that, when stimulated, could generate a variety of chakra-like powers.
For example, in the body of Rachel, the Greil Stone could manifest lightning abilities. Her body could even transform into an ape-like creature, further enhancing this lightning power.
However, not all bodies could successfully utilize the power of the stone. Most of Orochimaru's test subjects failed to activate its potential.
Additionally, Abdul had once recounted the history of the new world, sparking his interest in its unique powers. As a result, Rachel's body was used as a vessel.
Beyond this, with the assistance of an Edo Tensei-revived Mi-Go, he conducted extensive research on human bodies.
The abilities possessed by the Mi-Go were something even he greatly envied. Whether it was their precision in surgical techniques or their remarkable capability for innovation and development, the Mi-Go's skills left him in awe.
What's more, despite originating from a world without chakra, the Mi-Go surprisingly demonstrated considerable aptitude in understanding and researching chakra. Over the years, their contributions to Orochimaru's chakra-related studies were significant.
This seemed to be a natural racial talent.
With the Mi-Go's help, his research progressed rapidly. Studies on human modification that would normally take decades to complete were achieved in just a few years.
The results of these high-tech and biological modifications were applied to the Sound Five, his elite subordinates. Moreover, he planned to mass-produce these techniques to further strengthen his forces.
The ultimate goal of building such a powerful army, of course, was to locate the Silver Key and the Necronomicon.
As he stood lost in thought before the white snake floating in its cultivation tank, a figure appeared at the doorway, kneeling on one knee.
"Orochimaru-sama, everything is ready. We can depart."
"Understood."
Reluctantly tearing his gaze away from the tank, Orochimaru turned and approached the shadowy figure, placing a hand on their shoulder.
"Kimimaro, is the new body adjusting well?"
"Yes, Orochimaru-sama. With Mi-Go-sama's adjustments, I have adapted well, but..."
"But what?"
"It's just... another voice in my mind keeps talking to me. It makes it hard to concentrate."
Orochimaru sneered before replying. "Don't overthink it. The Shoggoth recognizes you as its master and will consider your well-being above all else."
"If not for the Shoggoth, your body would have long since run out of vitality. Now, let's go."
He led the way, with Kimimaro silently following behind.
Reaching the end of the passage, he ascended a platform and looked down at the four remaining members of the Sound Five gathered below.
Jirōbō, Kidōmaru, Sakon and Ukon, and Tayuya.
"Well then, everyone is here. The Konoha Crush Plan... begins now!"