Three days later.
Tenya and his group arrived in the Land of Demons.
Passing through the Land of Demons would lead them to the Land of Snow, the destination of their mission.
After experiencing one ambush, the caravan had a relatively peaceful journey. They hadn't encountered any more bandits, much to the relief of Jouichi and the others.
Along the way, Tenya immersed himself in his training whenever he had free time, never slacking off for a moment. Through his persistent efforts, he had completely mastered the A-rank sword technique gifted by Orochimaru. This had also increased his portrayal rate by another 5%.
Opening his personal panel:
- Host: Gekkou Tenya
- Character: Ukyo Tachibana
- School: Shindou Munen Ryu
- Portrayal Rate: 80.5%
- Combat Strength: Elite Jounin
- Daily Task: Swing the sword 1000 times, increasing portrayal rate by 0.01% (Completed)
- Long-term Task: Learning a new sword technique increases the portrayal rate (Note: The higher the level of the sword technique, the more portrayal rate is provided)
When the portrayal rate reached 80%, Tenya's combat strength advanced from an ordinary Jounin to an Elite Jounin. Although he had just stepped into this level, it was still significantly improved over an ordinary Jounin.
Additionally, he unlocked a new skill:
- Skill: Killing Intent Wave
- Description: An aura skill that can intimidate enemies. The strength of this skill is related to one's mental strength; the stronger the mental strength, the more intimidating the skill, and vice versa.
This skill was somewhat akin to the Conqueror's Haki from One Piece, making it a valuable ability. He looked forward to trying it out when the opportunity arose.
"There's a small town ahead. We'll rest there for the night."
After saying this, Jouichi looked at Tenya and the others. Tenya nodded, agreeing to the plan.
Upon entering the town, Tenya sensed something unusual. The air seemed to be filled with a strange, ominous aura. This aura felt rootless yet pervasive, covering the entire town.
Tenya felt as if they had entered a monster's lair, where danger could strike at any moment. He glanced around but saw nothing out of the ordinary. Turning to Kakashi and Might Dai, he noticed they seemed unfazed, as did Jouichi and the rest.
Slowing his pace, Tenya activated his Mind Net, hoping to pinpoint the source of this ominous presence. However, after a thorough search, he found nothing.
Had he been overly suspicious?
Tenya shook his head. He trusted his instincts, especially now that his senses had become sharper since advancing to Elite Jounin. There was no way he was wrong.
This wasn't the right time to investigate. Once the group settled in, he would explore the town thoroughly to uncover whatever evil lay hidden here.
The group arrived at the largest inn in town and checked in. After settling their accommodations, Tenya called Kakashi and Might Dai over.
"Kakashi, Dai-senpai, we need to be extra vigilant tonight."
"Don't worry, leave it to me. With me here, the caravan's safety is assured!"
Before Kakashi could respond, Might Dai spoke up, thumping his chest confidently.
"Did you notice something?" Kakashi, less optimistic than Dai, knew Tenya wouldn't warn them without reason.
"Nothing specific yet, but we might later." Tenya paused before continuing, "Stay alert tonight. I have a bad feeling about this. You and Dai-senpai should take turns keeping watch. I'll go out and scout around."
"Be careful," Kakashi said, nodding.
Leaving Kakashi and Might Dai, Tenya exited the inn. He walked down the street but found nothing new. Just as he was about to turn back, he heard loud commotion coming from a nearby tavern.
Approaching the tavern, he saw a middle-aged man wielding a short knife, confronting someone. The man looked off, his face showing signs of struggle, as if under some sort of control. From this man, Tenya sensed the same ominous aura he had felt upon entering the town, only stronger.
"Sigh, another person has gone mad?"
"Who knows! Lately, people in town have been going crazy. This is the fifth case!"
"Wonder what kind of scary thing they've provoked. Could it be a ghost?"
"Don't talk nonsense. It's probably a demon. I've seen people from the Shrine of Miko here investigating."
"The Shrine of Miko? I didn't expect the situation to be serious enough to involve them."
...
Listening to the surrounding conversations, Tenya pieced together the situation. It seemed there had been several cases of people going mad in town, prompting the intervention of the Shrine of Miko.
Could it be the work of a demon?
Thinking of demons, Tenya remembered the demon Moryo sealed by the Land of Demons shrine maidens. Could that demon cause this disturbance?
The more he thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.
At that moment, several armed guards rushed in, immediately tying up the mad middle-aged man and taking him out of town. Tenya followed them from a distance, curious to see if things were as he suspected.
They soon arrived at a large altar. In the center of the altar sat a young maiden with her eyes closed, seemingly waiting for something.
"Miko-sama, the person is here. We can start!"
The young maiden slowly opened her eyes, looking at the tied-up middle-aged man, who was still in a frenzied state, making animalistic sounds. It was hard to tell if he was even human anymore.
The maiden sighed lightly before making hand signs, chanting something under her breath.
The middle-aged man began struggling even more, his eyes bloodshot, seemingly about to burst. Purple smoke emerged from his body, guided by the maiden into a prepared wooden coffin.
After a while, with no more purple smoke coming from the man, the maiden stopped.
"With these malevolent thoughts, luring Moryo's avatar shouldn't be difficult."
The maiden muttered to herself, making more hand signs.
Watching from the shadows, Tenya understood that the ominous aura was malevolent energy that Moryo loved consuming.
As expected, soon a purple cloud appeared in the sky.
"Little girl, you dare use malevolent thoughts to lure me!" A hideous face appeared in the cloud, glaring at the maiden. "If you give me the malevolent thoughts now, I'll let you go. Otherwise..."
"Hmph, less talking. I'm here to seal you. Do you think I'll back down?" The maiden coldly stared at Moryo's avatar, her hands moving swiftly. "Seal!"
Moryo's avatar fell from the sky as if struck by lightning, moving towards the wooden coffin under the altar's pull. It seemed it would soon be sealed within the coffin.
"Hmph, little girl, did you think I wouldn't have a backup plan?"
As soon as the words were spoken, Moryo's avatar emitted a bright light. Screams echoed from the town, and streams of purple smoke rushed towards the avatar.
In the town, at the inn, Jouichi and the others suddenly went mad, attacking anyone nearby.
Though Kakashi and Might Dai were affected, their strong will quickly helped them break free from the control. They exchanged glances before subduing and tying up the others.
Chaos engulfed the town, with mad people everywhere.
"What the hell is happening?"
Kakashi and Might Dai were bewildered by the unfolding chaos.
Near the altar, the guards protecting the maiden seemed affected, slowly losing control and moving towards her.